Archive for cable tv

Aug
17

Leader of the Bandwidth

Posted by: Bok | Comments (0)

100816bokloresGoogle and Verizon have proposed a deal that would require cable and other wired internet operators to provide equal broadband access to all customers. Wireless on, on the other hand, would be free of regulation.  Here’s a WSJ editorial (You may have to be a subscriber. When I accessed this through a Google search I got the whole editorial - at no additional charge) that says it might be the beginning of a good idea.  And here’s a Seattle Times column in favor of net neutrality for for everyone.

Categories : Economy, Media, cable tv, internet
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Jul
23

Post-Racial Polling Place

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100722bokloresIt began this week with the NAACP accusing the tea party of harboring racists.  The tea party, such as it is organized, excommunicated a California member for a post mocking the NAACP in a racial way.  Seemingly in exchange, the NAACP got an agriculture department employee fired for racial comments posted on Breitbart.  Except, when her remarks were considered in their full context, she was making a point against racism.  Tea Party types say all the racism talk is an attempt to distract from the butt kicking Democrats are taking in the polls due to the Obama agenda.  But that whould require a conspiracy - a cabal. Oh wait, it turns out there actually was a sort of media cabal-  on a list serve called Journolist.  And an ambition of one of its members, Spencer Ackerman, was to create a diversion to  get the Jeremiah Wright story off the front page.  The diversion?  Random accusations of racism.

Here’s a quote from Ackerman’s email as posted by the Daily Caller:  ”If the right forces us all to either defend Wright or tear him down, no matter what we choose, we lose the game they’ve put upon us. Instead, take one of them — Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists.”

Here’s a great essay by Victor Davis Hanson about the racial mess we find ourselves in today.
And another good one from Slate’s William Saletan.  He goes into the details to conclude that Andrew Breitbart lied about Shirley Sherrod and the NAACP.

Jul
21

Not Chris Matthew’s Leg Tingle

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100721bokloresThe Washington Post’s Ezra Klein ran a listserv limited to about 300 liberal media types called Journolist.  Apparently the 300 included a whistle blower .  The Daily Caller reported that Journolist archives include an NPR producer who would get a tingle out of Rush Limbaugh’s bug eyed death by heart attack - not surprising, an ignorant academic who thought that the FCC could shut down Fox News - also not surprising, and that real journalists discussed how to stop media coverage of Jeremiah Wright - way surprising.

Jul
10

Cleveland Breaks

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Brian Windhorst’s reporting in the Plain Dealer brings some more witness to the possibility of collusion.  Friday night in Miami Chris Bosh said that he, James, and Wade had been talking about “the moment for months”.  The same agency, Creative Artists,  represented all three players and Pat Riley met with LeBron in November, inspiring him to give up Michael Jordan’s number 23.

Maureen Dowd gets in on the act,calling Miami a “Hoops Cartel”.

Jul
09

Fishy in Miami

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100709boklores1Guys propose marriage on the Jumbotron all the time at sporting events so why shouldn’t LeBron let down the home town fans on national tv - for a second time, if we’re counting playoff performances?  The thing is, LeBron loves the spotlight so much it’s possible he was using his ESPN infomercial to make a confession.

By dumping on his Cleveland teammates again, this time to run off with Dwade and Heronimous Bosh, could he be guilty of collusion?

According to the same ESPN (this time wearing its reporters hat), NBA commisioner David Stern has said,  ”he’s been assured at the “highest level” that there will be no sitdown among LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the other superstars”.  Well, that’s good to know. Otherwise it might seem suspicious that the threesome signed with the same team for less - 30 million less in James case - than they could have earned elsewhere.

Jun
08

Helen Thomas Sketchbook

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100608helen1Helen Thomas was forced into early retirement yesterday at age 89. (Go here for Dana Milbank’s column. Go here to watch Helen torment Robert Gibbs.)

Helen  was recorded saying that Jews should get out of Palestine and go back to Poland.  With that she bolted across the borders of acceptable free speech.  She now exists beyond the pale along with cartoons of Muhammad and questions about the Civil Rights bill.

I wrote a children’s book with Helen and I’ve heard her talk this way about the Middle East many times. Helen’s opinions aren’t my opinions but they’ve been widely known for years.

Go here to see Ari Fleisher demand Helen’s resignation (reason enough for her to stay on).

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May
24

Why The Libertarian Crossed the Road

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100524bokloresRand Paul won Kentucky’s Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate last week.  He’s libertarian like his father, Ron Paul. Libertarians are for limited government, including the right to own property without government interference. No doubt that’s a reason the Tea Party likes him.

In 1964 private property rights ran up against the Civil Rights Act.  The day after the election Rachel Maddow turned Paul inside out on that point.  Here’s the interview.

I think it’s safe to say Rich Lowry believes in property rights too but he thinks Paul is wrong.  Lowry views the Civil Rights Act as “the last spasm of the Civil War”.  The Civil War - now there’s a government intervention for you.

Categories : Media, Politics, cable tv, senate
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May
05

Correspondents Dinner

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The polls are in. Obama’s numbers are better than Leno’s.

Apr
24

Comedy Central

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100424bokloresI like this column by Diana West about the South Park threats.  In it  Trey Parker and Matt Stone point out  that “if everyone had done what they normally do in news organizations, which would have been to print the cartoons,  they could have rallied together”.  Instead, the guy who drew Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, Kurt Westergaard (warning: the video link contains an image of The Prophet) (even worse warning: it contains subtitles) was” left hanging out to dry”.

This has always been my complaint about the Danish cartoon crisis.  By submitting to intimidation by Islamic extremists (an influential minority in a billion person religion) and not showing the cartoons, which were the basis of a major news story, a sliver of Sharia law was introduced to the U.S.  A bunch of thugs insisted the image of The Prophet may not be displayed and so, for the most part, it came to pass.

If you’re off the grid and haven’t heard about the South Park episode you’re probably not reading this either, but just in case, here is the story in the L.A. Times. And here’s a Huffington Post piece featuring a video of Jon Stewart sort of taking on his bosses at Comedy Central (warning: bad words).

Mar
03

Twelve Steps to More Fame, Money, and Power

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Thomas Sowell had another good column last week in which he asked the age old question, “why is Tiger apologizing to me?”.