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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
CecilBeanie this is from an Eartha Kitt song:"I met a rather amusing fool; he bought me the Black Sea for my swimming-pool".
Eartha, what a woman! Much, much more sophisticated and cool than Paglia without even having to try.
Computers and the internet are not about Facebook, Youtube, eBay, etc. No one in their right mind would expect a president or a chief executive to be surfing or connecting with their buddies. But a chief executive who doesn't know a bloody thing about what computers can do and are capable of is simply not fit to be in charge of any major enterprise. (As the post above about the clueless Dutch executive demonstrates.)
In trivial ways we can see how McCain's ignorance has already hurt his campaign. He has said with an apparent straight face that he never said "X Y Z" whether that was yesterday or 10 years ago. Then immediately there is video and audio of him saying exactly what was reported and he has denied. YouTube killed the 2006 reelection campaign of Sen George Allen of Virginia. He seemed to be clueless that the video of him calling a reporter "Macaca" would be repeated ad nauseum. In the space of weeks he went from being considered a possible Republican presidential contender to being an ex-Senator. Where is he now?
Being savvy and well-informed and keeping up with technology is a must in a president. Doggedly sticking only to what worked 30 years ago is not evidence of being prepared to be a leader.
We are not electing a "commander in chief" by the way. That is only one of the many roles and responsibilities of a president.
And I don't know why dottiem and her mother think now is the time to start voting for a Republican. In contrast, my daughter's 70+ year old Republican in-laws from Iowa think it's time to start voting for a Democrat. This is no time to vote for a continuation of the policies of the last 8 years.
(I'm 65, by the way.) As for those who dismiss the likelihood of younger people voting this year, I think they'll be surprised.
You leave yourselves open to charges of insensitivity when you create snarky artwork like the photoshop of a McCain wearing a dunce cap and scratching his head.
McCain can't scratch his head--he can't even button his collar or comb his hair without an assistive device (or an assistant). That's because the torture left him unable to raise his arms past his shoulders.
Frankly, I've met a lot of people who spend a lot of time on their computers, and they're frigging idiots, some of them. Being facile with Google does not a genius make. You can manage just fine without it, particularly if you have a good staff who does know how to use that search engine--AND the Library of Congress, AND Lexis-Nexus.
This should have been the "Election of the New Century." Instead, we get to choose between an inexperienced, sleazy crook and an old, corporate martinet. I'm not happy about either one of them, but ageist and snarky "If you can't use Google, you ain't $h!t!" articles are pretty doggone intolerant, if you ask me, and more so, coming from a web magazine with an ostensibly liberal bent.
I want a President who has the brainpower to listen to input and come to a solid decision based on that input. I want a President who will choose good staff to carry out his (and it will be his, it would seem) directives. Google ain't gonna help anyone with that. And SALON certainly doesn't help the level of discourse with "Naaa naaa--McCain's OLD!!! He's not good at using a COMPUTER!!! Because, like...you know...he's OLD, Dude! Did I mention...he's OLD? Tee, hee!"
Those sorts of snarky insults reflect poorly on you. You come off like snobbish jerks when you do that kind of stuff, the very opposite of "liberal."
The timing of this article is brilliant! Just this morning, on NPR's Morning Edition, McCain said that people who couldn't see the humor in his Obama/Paris Hilton ad should, "turn off the computer, go outside and get some fresh air."
Not only is he ignorant about technology, he's ignorant about the people who use it.
I read an article about him (not on the Net). His name is quite memorable and I think he's now in his 90s, like McCain's mother, Roberta. These nonagenarians should be admired for their ability to survive the ups and downs of life. Amanda Terkel doesn't see it that way, however, if her snippy little reference to the "UNSAVORY topic of McCain's age" is a clue to her attitude. McCain may be an Internet dunce but I wouldn't be all that "gone" on Amanda's use of English.
so in other words, lamer, you decided that your job is to monitor me all day. How fucking precious of you.
BTW, asswipe, I have weird hours. You know, 21st century post modern globalist hours, around the clock.
Now go dust off your cheetos, asswipe.
A ticking clock on the lower left hand corner of the screen as the commercial begins... crowds in the background ... from a gray scale emerges the photo of Obama, the Magnificent, head cocked back, as always, proud, arrogant, noble and ... Imperial as always. The most popular man in the world. The crowds chant ... "O-bam-a! O-bam-a!" Democrats? No, Germans. Berliners. Rallying before the tilted back head, the ever steady stare of greatness ... the great African-American Presidential candidate ... a candidate favored to win ... in Blue State Berlin ... as long as he stays in America. Because in Blue State Berlin, no African-German would ever win as the head of Germany. Not in a hundred more years. Nor, in Blue France; Blue London; Blue Amman; Blue Tel Aviv; Blue Jerusalem.
Praise upon the Earth! Barack !!! Obama!!!!!
The clock ticks on the left hand side of the screen ... a caption -- "Each second represents one day Barack Obama, the most popular man in the world, served in the U.S. Senate." The clock stops at 146 days. Another clock, beneath it, runs ... the caption: "Each second represents one day Barack Obama, the Magnificent, has run for President." Another number clicks ... it seems stuck ... "0" keeps coming up into place. Caption: "Number of hearings the Senator from Illinois has held hearings of his committee."
For the modern who can't figure it out ... the word: "Zero. Zero. Zero" keeps flashing.
Over on the Right Side of the screen ... a smaller crowd.
Voice over: they called him an "Internet dunce," on Salon.com's August 13th edition ... many Obamistas mock him ... he's a dolt, ignorant, an anachronistic candidate ... but then ... the crowds are smaller, more "town hall." (Quick take of Obama saying: "Do these people take pride in being ignorant, or what?" [Referring to the John McCain ad showing Barack Obama, Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears ..."
Clocks click under dunce McCain's image, too. One clock clicks a second for every day Senator McCain has served in the Senate ... it's still clicking as the commerical ends. Another clock ticking ... "days spent in the Hanoi Hilton, as a Prisoner Of War ... starting five years after Barack Obama was barely born ... going until Barack Obama was 11 years old" the senate time clicks something like 15-1800 ... far more days by far than Obama's been in the Senate OR run for the White House.
Voice over: "Senator John McCain is NOT the most popular man in the world. He won't win many votes in Berlin, Paris, Amman, London ... but he's ready now, to be the President of the United States. He's spent plenty of time getting ready. And his Vice President is ready to serve, too, if needed. (If Tom Ridge: you see, both John McCain AND Tom Ridge are combat veterans of the Vietnam War. There was a Draft then, but both men enlisted, you see, not because they had to, but because they WANTED TO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY IN TIME OF WAR."
On November 5th, YOU'LL decide who will be our next President. Will it be the Most Popular Man in The WORRRLD (use Keith Olberman's Voice as he intones, nightly, his "worst person in the world!!!!"), or, Senator John McCain.
If you're one of those millions of "internet dunces," that San Francisco's Salon.com mentions, we'd suggest you consider Senator McCain first. There's more to running the country than knowing how to use the Internet."
But, of course, the people in Salon.com country -- San Francisco know about you -- small town Americans ... just like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama know about you.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
