The wind, or the weathervane?

Huffington Post's Thomas Edsall sees the press "jumping ship" from "support" of Obama to a favoring of Hillary Clinton.

Given the fact that the press has been so wrong about so much during this campaign, and given the fact that the press has not spent the time to do the hard work of actually examining issues, it's hard to accept Edsall's premise.

It would be foolhardy for Obama and his supporters to deny the fact that Hillary Clinton, abetted by a press who is willing to print what it is fed, has demonized Barack Obama as if he were a bomb-throwing member of the Black Panthers. It would be equally foolish to deny that a white backlash against a black candidate is possible in the dark heart of this nation.

So, if they have jumped ship, it's into a boat that they have built themselves.

The press is supposed to report news, not make it. With a 24 hour news cycle, and non-stop broadcast and web coverage, the most worthless shit gets reported and repeated as if it was worthy of consideration.

Edsall sees a shift in the reporting of Joe Klein (March 19), the New Republic (March 19, 2007) and Politico (June 6, 2007)? When exactly were they supportive of the campaign of Barack Obama?

Sticks and stones

I like a good multi-expletive curse as much as the next guy. Big MFing deal. They're only words, right?

Well, the constitutional right to free speech is one of our most important liberties we share in this country. But words can hurt. And they aren't the words you'd necessarily expect. Ask anyone who's been called fat or ugly with complete sincerity.

In the end, most of us can survive a pointed insult. Some unfortunately are not strong enough to endure a string of constant belittling comments. There are enough kids who have committed suicide after being bullied incessantly to convince anyone that words can hurt.

We all have the ability to slip into a dismissing slur, and there are no constraints by political stripe (though some of the right-wing radio hosts seem to have made a career of it). Right or left can be guilty. In the end, the person whose character suffers most by using hate speech is the person doing the spewing.

Call me politically correct (it ain't really an insult, only a description of someone who tries to be sensitive to others' sensitivities), but we all need to do a better job of policing our tongues.

Pre-production begins

In the film business, pre-production is the term used for the work needed to be done before the film shooting begins. It includes ironing out all the business elements, getting the script in shape, building the sets.

It's what began yesterday in preparation for the September report to Congress and the world about the effectiveness of the Bush administration's military surge in Iraq. It isn't working, and authorities there, like General Petraeus have begun to drop broad hints that expected goals won't be met, while Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared on Meet the Press in what Arianna Huffington called a robotic appearance to give a sneak preview of the September script.