As we all were, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Bernie Mac. The veteran comedian and actor was only 50, and while he had already achieved an incredible amount in his lifetime, it is tragic to consider that he will no longer be around to inspire us, entertain us and make us laugh.
I had the privilege to meet Mr. Mac once, briefly, on the set of The Bernie Mac Show in Los Angeles. Even in that short meeting, I was impressed by his huge presence, his humility and his openness. He seemed like a really good guy. This impression was only reinforced by his appearance on Tavis' program last year.
It's hard not to get a bit choked up reading the transcript again now. He was truly a self-made man, and his story is an inspiration to anyone short on resources and long on motivation. Like Sidney Poitier, who Mac names as a personal hero, Bernie Mac took lemons and made lemonade, distinguishing himself through talent, hard work, and unfaltering commitment to achieving his dreams. His obituary in the New York Times describes a life of struggle and hardship, from which Mac emerged wealthy, successful, admired and famous.
Perhaps the best way to close this post is with a word from the man himself. Back in June 2007 on The Tavis Smiley Show,Mac told a story he was fond of about his decision to become a comedian. It says much about who he was, and gives us only more cause for sadness in the wake of his tragic death.
“Some see race as a factor that should be considered in an adoption process, while others see no reason to even bring it up”
There's been so much written on this topic, and there are tons of articles out there that address the issue. Yet it's a question that's been raised off and on for a number of years now, and is coming around again.
Should individuals looking to adopt children outside of their race undergo additional training as part of the adoption process?
There are varying thoughts on an issue like this. Some see race as a factor that should be considered in an adoption process, while others see no reason to even bring it up.
Legislatively, measures have been enacted to try and reduce the barriers to adoption and the possibility of discrimination in adoption, but those legislative measures may have had unforeseen effects.
Potential parents may not be fully aware of the various cultural challenges and dispositions that a child from a different race may face when being adopted by parents of a different race. Thus, they may incur the difficulty of trying to navigate very deep and murky waters alone.
For those reasons, I don't agree with the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1996. Racial differences alone should never bar anyone from the opportunity to adopt. Understanding those challenges however should at least be considered and understood.
So, in my opinion, some type of formal guide should be in place to give parents the tools that may well help them in preparing to become the sole provider of that child.
I'm sure there are a number of opinions on this and would love to hear yours.
“The next chapter in one of the biggest political stories in history is finally here.”
The next chapter in one of the biggest political stories in history is finally here.
The Democratic National Convention is officially underway. Scores of political pundits, supporters, bloggers, party nominees and yours truly are already tuned in. Something pretty amazing is going to happen here, something big.
Members of the press are analyzing the inner workings of the convention coverage, taking note of Barack Obama's historic candidacy and what it means for American politics. The week begins with Michelle Obama addressing the convention in primetime tonight, followed by a host of party leaders addressing the nation later this week.
One event in particular that's sure to have everyone talking is what will Hillary Clinton bring to the convention this week? Will she give Barack Obama the support he needs in order to take the White House in November?
Will Clinton supporters, who still advocate for her as the best Democratic candidate for president, be willing to take a second look at Obama and vote for him?
Will the party be unified as a result of the convention, or will it take several additional weeks before the party as a whole can come together and take the fight to McCain and his running mate for the presidency? This race is still up for grabs and, like in the old adage of sports competition, "It's anybody's game."
Question: What would Clinton supporters need to hear from Mrs. Clinton to give their support to Barack Obama this fall?
“You've got to wonder what exactly Biden was doing on that day of public speaking training when they tell you that racism doesn't go over so well with people these days.”
Is it just me or was anybody else rooting for Mike Gravel? Even if you weren't (Really? Anybody?), you can be forgiven for being surprised at the Obama campaign's choice of Joe Biden to run for vice president alongside the Illinois senator.
So the papers say, Biden is a consummate Washington insider, an "attack dog" with decades of experience and oodles of foreign policy connections. He was just in Georgia, you know, for a sit-down with the embattled nation's leader. He supports the war, but not the president; is a Roman Catholic, but favors abortion rights. Biden also has a good backstory, full of tribulations and struggle and working class roots. Biden brings with him the experience and foreign policy clout that Obama ostensibly lacks, while providing strength among the working class in the Midwest. It all looks great, except for the fact that the man sticks his foot in his mouth more often than your average housecat.
Couldn't the Obama team have found someone less likely to derail the whole campaign by saying something embarrassing? Now that I think of it, maybe Mike Gravel wouldn't have been such a good choice after all.
Accompanying every story of Biden's appointment is his fast-growing "Greatest Hits" of offensive faux-pas. Like the one about Indian-Americans in Delaware working at 7-11s, or the one about Obama being "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." I'm sure he meant no offense to Kanye West when he said this, but still, you've got to wonder what exactly he was doing on that day of public speaking training when they tell you that racism doesn't go over so well with people these days. Yeesh.
Not to second-guess the dozens of lawyers who pored over Biden's financial, medical and political records in the vetting process, but this has disaster written all over it. All it takes these days is a simple slip of the tongue on a rainy campaign stop in Omaha, multiplied by a few million over YouTube, to completely ruin a campaign. And if Biden couldn't even make it to the primaries without making not one but several potentially calamitous gaffes, what hope is there for him in the coming election?
If Obama's as bright as Biden says he is, he'll do the talking from here on in.
"My feet are killing me," first-time delegate Jackie Petty says with a smile. "I'm trying to take in everything, and that's impossible to do."
First-time delegate Jackie Petty (L) figures out which event to attend in the afternoon.
The retired Ameritech worker from Peoria, Illinois took time out of her hectic schedule to gush about her candidate - Barack Obama.
"I went through school and never had an African American teacher," adds Petty, who is African American. "So to think that we've come that far, I never thought I'd see it."
And, boy, has she seen it.
Petty says she was pleasantly surprised on her first night at the conventions when she was seated with the Illinois delegation six rows from the stage. Just feet away from the awe-struck Petty, Sen. Edward Kennedy made his compelling appearance, and Michelle Obama gave what many are calling a fabulous speech. (Click here to hear Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cynthia Tucker and Tavis discuss Michelle Obama's speech.)
"Just hearing the speeches, seeing these people,” Petty says, “I just can't believe that I'm here in the first place."
And she's not alone.
First-time delegate Shawn Robinson signs up for the Youth Caucus.
Shawn Robinson, 25, of Easthampton, Massachusetts, says he beat out a state representative by three votes to get to Denver and was shocked that he won.
"I immediately called my boss and said I can't come in."
If It's Not Mandatory, It's Not Universal
I noticed when I met Robinson that he had a large Hillary Clinton button on his shirt with a noticeably smaller Barack Obama button underneath. I asked him about that and found that the African American first-time delegate is likely voting for Hillary Clinton in the roll call vote.
Shawn Robinson wears both Clinton and Obama buttons.
"He won and that's great, and we can all unify behind him," Robinson says, "but this is democracy," he adds. "I believe that my vote represents the people in my congressional district."
For Robinson, the choice was about universal healthcare - an issue championed by Hillary Clinton.
"If it's not mandatory, it's not universal," Robinson says. "It takes guts to have that stance," he adds. "Unfortunately, now the dialogue has shifted, and we're talking about making healthcare affordable for everyone but not making sure everyone has healthcare."
Smaller Obama button or not, Robinson says he and die-hard Obama supporters like Petty will be united come Thursday night at Invesco.
"The convention keeps you on your feet all day," Robinson says. But about Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night he adds, "that's where the party starts."
Stockholm-based blogger Adrianne George shares her experiences of bringing the Democratic Party nomination of Sen. Barack Obama to Blacks in Europe. George blogs for Black Women in Europe, Democrats Abroad Sweden and U.S.-based African American Political Pundit and says that Sen. Barack Obama's rise this presidential election season has already improved the image of the United States abroad.
I thought I'd give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work on the Pepsi Center grounds during the Democratic National Convention in Denver - the food, the workspace, the sights. Check out this video tour.
“The New York senator received a hero's welcome to the convention floor amongst a sea of Hillary signs, which the Obama campaign provided for the occasion. It was a gesture some must have seen as a measure of support and appreciation for Hillary Clinton and unity within the Democratic Party.”
The Hillary Clinton speech everyone in the Democratic Party was waiting for occurred Tuesday night in prime time.
Speaking before legions of Democrats in Denver, Sen. Clinton gave a rousing speech in support of Barack Obama, making the case to her delegates of what's at stake in this election.
"Tonight, I ask you to remember what a presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you, the American people, and your lives, and your children's futures."
She stayed on message while adding a brief moment of humor, tying George W. Bush and John McCain to one another. She stated in her speech that the two Republicans' visit to the twin cities next week makes perfect sense because as she sees it, "theses days they're awfully hard to tell apart."
Sen. Clinton continued with her endorsement of Sen. Obama stating, "He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our times."
The New York senator received a hero's welcome to the convention floor amongst a sea of Hillary signs, which the Obama campaign provided for the occasion. It was a gesture some must have seen as a measure of support and appreciation for Hillary Clinton and unity within the Democratic Party.
Some believed that Tuesday's address for Hillary Clinton would be one of the most important speeches of her political life. If so, she met that challenge with great humanity, character, poise and statesmanship.
In closing, I think Hillary Clinton did a great job in supporting Barack Obama and made the case to her delegates and her party as a whole of what's at stake in this election.
Pam's House Blend editor and publisher Pam Spaulding tells us how DNC access for bloggers changes the political landscape and discusses how LGBT issues have been addressed this election season.
“After an emotional week of men and women coming together with an unyielding faith to work and unify their country, Barack Obama stood ready Thursday night to take the next step in a historical journey.”
In Denver, Colorado,. Sen. Barack Obama had a huge task before him: unify his party, lay out his plan for America, and show his critics he has what it takes to go after John McCain for the White House. As the first African American in history to do so, Obama's first task was to accept the nomination of his party.
A record numbers of viewers tuned into his acceptance speech, with additional viewers tuning in from across the world.
In an electrifying speech to top off this week's event at the DNC, Barack Obama formally accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party for the presidency of the United States of America.
With the amount of emotion and support fueled by Obama's candidacy, many in the audience couldn't help but think to themselves that, “This is the next President of the United States.”
After an emotional week of men and women coming together with an unyielding faith to work and unify their country, Barack Obama stood ready Thursday night to take the next step in an historical journey. Taking a step away from politics to appreciate history, John McCain thoughtfully took a moment out to congratulate the Illinois senator's achievement.
The coming weeks before November's presidential election will be an intense battle. The Republicans gear up for their convention next week and take the fight to the Democrats with John McCain, and his VP nominee Sarah Palin. All in all, the Democratic Party appeared to have a great convention, but the work is not over yet.
Our Web team made it! Ariel Fox and I arrived in Denver mid-morning and spent the day getting the lay-of-the-land, testing our equipment and checking out the workspace for Tavis' television and radio shows.
As Sen. Barack Obama visited battleground states Sunday, the Pepsi Center, where the Democratic National Convention will get underway Monday, was teeming with media and party staff prepping for the four-day event. Satellite trucks lined the parking lots, helicopters flew overhead, network television producers and correspondents readied their shows for primetime and Denver firefighters invited us to chat with them over cookies and brownies. Score!
There was a sense of urgency in the air, but it was mixed with a little awe and a lot of smiles.
“Dead heat”
Just a day after the Obama campaign announced that Delaware Sen. Joe Biden was joining the Democratic ticket this fall, a new poll from CNN and Opinion Research Corp. shows Obama locked in a "dead heat” with his Republican counterpart Sen. John McCain. That gives the Democratic Party until Thursday to try and build some momentum, show off its wares and rally around its candidate.
The week will begin with a "call to order" Monday and several caucus meetings, including the Rural Caucus, the LGBT Caucus and the Ethnic Coordinated Caucus. The theme for the day is “One Nation” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking in the evening and Michelle Obama serving as the headline primetime speaker.
The culmination of the week's events will be Thursday night, when Sen. Obama accepts the party's nomination at the 75,000-seat Invesco Field-- the home of the Denver Broncos, which we can see from the middle of the Pepsi Center grounds.
The anticipation of the speech is building, and the stadium will be packed. Democrats hope the program and the speech will give their candidate a boost in the polls and in the mind of voters as the Republican Party preps for its convention next week.
Our Web team went to a blogger's hub near the Pepsi Center called The Big Tent, where we met up with Cheryl Contee (a.k.a. Jill Tubman) of African American political blog Jack & Jill Politics. Contee chatted with us between interviews about her DNC coverage and explains how she is tasked with getting stories that go beyond what her readers would see on television.
The Pepsi Center is not the only place for Democratic National Convention action. Our Web team trekked up Colfax Avenue in the early morning heat to the nearby Colorado Convention Center where we visited the College Democrats of America, the Democratic Party's college outreach arm.
We caught up with the group's incoming national president, Katie Naranjo, and outgoing national president, Lauren Wolfe, who were attending panel discussions on climate change and religion in politics. The two were among 525 College Democrats of America students who showed up to the convention this year, and they were excited about the Democratic ticket's chances this November.
Katie Naranjo, Incoming President, College Democrats of America
“I think this is really going to be a great ticket that young people can really get behind,” says Naranjo, a 22-year-old University of Texas at Austin student. "We're here. We're united. We're together. We're ready to win,” she adds.
Youth on Biden
And that enthusiasm also applies to Sen. Obama's choice for vice-presidential candidate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
“He really represents the backbone of the party and he is going to stand up and fight for what he believes in,” Naranjo says. “I think this is really going to be a great ticket that young people can really get behind.”
Really?
Because when you consider Obama's message of change and hope and taking a new approach at home and abroad, some have argued that choosing a 65-year-old running mate who has been a senator since 1972 weakens the theme.
Not so, says Naranjo and Wolfe. "Joe Biden really says what he thinks and does what he says he's going to do,” says Wolfe, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Detroit, Mercy in Michigan. "t's kind of a refreshing way for politics to be handled.”
Underrepresented in polls
With all of the College Democrats' enthusiasm, I wondered if they hadn't noticed that their candidate was neck-and-neck in national polls with presumptive Republican Party nominee Sen. John McCain.
Wolfe says that she's not worried because she knows that young people are underrepresented in national polls.
Lauren Wolfe, Outgoing President, College Democrats of America
“They're switching addresses. They're switching phone numbers. We don't have land lines,” Wolfe says, referring to her cell phone. "How are you supposed to be polling these people who all support Sen. Obama by such a huge percentage?”
Wolfe argues that the increase in young Democratic support began in 2004 and increased in 2006, which pre-dates Obama's party ascension.
“Some if it has to do with Barack Obama and that's exciting,” Wolfe says. "A lot of it has to do with the Democratic Party standing up for what young people believe in.”
And this fall, the College Democrats of America hope that young people will stand up for “change you can believe in.”
Here are some images from outside the convention center where the caucuses and lots of other activities are taking place. Unlike the Pepsi Center, which is closed off to the public for blocks around, the scene outside the convention center is bustling. There are protesters, people selling buttons and t-shirts, and crowds of people milling around. We'll be adding more images each day.
Our web team got reactions from delegates Wednesday night after Sen. Joe Biden's speech and Sen. Barack Obama's surprise appearance on stage. All were pleasantly surprised to get a preview of what's to come Thursday night at Invesco Field. Watch the interviews to hear their thoughts on Biden, his speech and what the night meant.
Picture it. My Web team partner, Ariel Fox, and I are walking down the street in the hot sun carrying heavy camera and video equipment. We are trying to make our way from our media pavilion on the Pepsi Center grounds to The Big Tent for a few interviews.
A woman on a white and green bike rides up and tells us that, if we want help navigating the city, we can check out a bike from a depot nearby. She gives us a card and rides off. I figure I missed something, so I ask Ariel, “How much is it?"
“It's free,” Ariel says.
Free wheels?!
Indeed it is. It is part of a project called Freewheelin, created by the Bikes Belong Coalition and Humana to demonstrate that bikes are a healthy, energy-saving way to get around the city.
The project provided a thousand bikes in Denver, at the Democratic National Convention, and will provide a thousand in Minneapolis-St. Paul during the Republican National Convention with a goal of 10,000 rides and 25,000 miles between the two cities. The groups also track calories burned and carbon offset.
There's also a little friendly competition as well. On the day we visited, Denver had gotten 4,500 rides and 17,000 miles. We'll see whether participants in Minneapolis-St. Paul can outdo those totals.
All of this is to encourage people to bike it when they can, and eventually to encourage cities like Denver and Minneapolis to set up a more permanent bike transit system.
“Nearly 40 percent of all trips in the United States are two miles or less,” says Avery Stonich of the Bikes Belong Coalition. “That's the perfect distance for a bike ride.”
Other cities use the bike sharing system. There's a project a lot like it that began last year in Paris in which people pay to pick up bikes for short trips throughout the city.
So how do they make sure someone doesn't make off with a bike? There is a registration process much like checking out a movie from the local video store that requires a picture I.D. and a credit card to secure the account.
UC-Denver students Meggie Kratz and Nina Afshar were checking out bikes for the second time at the bike depot.
“It's one of the best ways to get around the town,” Afshar says.
“You can explore more places, and it's safe,” Kratz adds.
But most importantly, Kratz says, “It's free.”
If the project catches on the way the planners hope, it won't be free for long.
Today, we visited our work site at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, MN, where we will be stationed for the Republican National Convention. We went to the floor where media and convention staff were setting the stage for the four-day convention, which begins Monday, and visited Radio Row and other media quarters as we made our way to the set for Tavis' television and radio shows.
The mood of this convention is different from the Democratic National Convention as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast. (Click here to post or get information on Hurricane Gustav).
I spoke to a few delegates today who were concerned about their schedules for the week. One delegate, Ashley Barbera, says that rumors were flying this afternoon when she arrived that the entire convention had been canceled. She later found that was not the case.
So far, the RNC has shortened its Day One schedule and will run from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT, with President Bush and Vice President Cheney canceling their speeches to remain in Texas to meet with workers and evacuees.
Additionally, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has bowed out of his primetime speech Monday because of the budget stalemate in Sacramento.
The schedule for the rest of the week is tentative at this point and will be reassessed as the Category 3 storm meets land.
We will forge ahead talking to first-time delegates, College Republicans and attending a couple of protests this week. But Hurricane Gustav and its impact will inevitably color the experience for all involved--including us.
Blogger Mo'Kelly, founder of The Mo'Kelly Report, explains why he's not looking forward to blogging from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
“Could Palin be just the kind of candidate those undecideds have been looking for? A sort of bible-thumping Hillary of the North?”
For a while there, it was looking pretty good for the Democrats. Not only did they have Barack Obama, who is young, black, cool and friends with Scarlett Johansson, they had Hillary Clinton, who is not only feisty, and a woman, but is married to the closest thing America's had to a black president, Bill Clinton. In a country mired in mortgage debt and Middle Eastern wars-for-oil without end, people were a bit fed up with the "Old White Man" way of doing things. They wanted a change, the more drastic the better, and the Democrats were happy to provide just that. Sure Obama was a bit inexperienced, and Clinton was a little in the pocket of some lobbyists, they represented something far more important than that.
The Republicans, meanwhile, were having a hard time. They were divided by the young idealists who were just as eager for change as their Democratic counterparts (abortion and gay rights notwithstanding) and the evangelical-immigrant-hating-heartland-base, who wanted only the kind of change that involved burning every copy of Harry Potter in the school library. One side would have been very happy to see a woman in office, although a black man may be pushing things a bit. The other side would have been happy to elect Jerry Falwell to office or, failing that, any other white guy who'd look at home in a Denny's in Tampa eating dinner at 4:30.
Then Hillary was ousted by the young Obama, and the whole pantsuits-and-Oprah demographic of Democrats were left wondering whether Obama would really represent their needs in Washington. When Obama chose Joe Biden to run alongside him, their suspicion grew. After all, nothing says change like a gray-haired white Catholic guy from Delaware. Dreams of the Clinton-Obama ticket were dashed. There could be no compromise here, and even though Hillary insisted that her supporters should do anything to keep John McCain out of the White House (yes, even voting for you-know-who) there were some skeptical looks. Did they really want Scarlett Johansson swapping iPod playlists with the leader of the free world?
John McCain had never looked better to millions of newly-undecided voters, and being the wily fox that he is, he jumped on the chance to boost his numbers. Enter Sarah Palin, the feisty beauty queen from Alaska. A Washington outsider, Palin comes with a fresh perspective and a surplus of youthful energy. She'll appease the youngsters because she's a woman (and nothing says change like electing a woman!), and she'll appeal to the base because she hates abortion and loves guns (and nothing says old-fashioned family values like having lots of babies and shooting stuff!) Could she be just the kind of candidate those undecideds have been looking for? A sort of bible-thumping Hillary of the North? The GOP certainly hopes so.
To the rest of us, though, Palin looks exactly like what she is: a feeble and misguided attempt to revitalize a campaign sagging under the weight of its 72-year-old candidate's cumbersome bulk.
After taking some well deserved TiVo time for myself, I got a chance to catch up on some of this week's earlier shows. If you didn't get a chance to watch Tuesday night's show, definitely check it out.
The show began with Joey Cheek, an Olympian who stood up to some of the injustices he's seen in the international realm and took action against it in 2006.
The interview with Joey Cheek really stuck with me. I was left wondering how a guy who was once regarded for his embodiment of Olympic ideals, become rejected for taking those ideals and championing such a serious cause. It was a question that really stuck with me as I watched the program and began to appreciate the courage in Mr. Cheek.
After seeing Joey Check I was introduced to another guest whose ideals and belief in himself were so rich and so evident, he may just be my new favorite actor! His name: Chazz Palminteri.
Mr. Chazz Palminteri grew up in the Bronx where he witnessed a horrible tragedy at a very young age. Despite that impactful moment of his life, his perspective, determination, and belief in himself was an inspiration and a reminder to all that perseverance and drive with some help from God can take you far.
I realized from watching that night of television that television and society is at its best when it can connect with the people, places, and ideas that we never knew of. That mission was accomplished Tuesday night, when audiences were introduced to two men of tremendous accomplishment and extraordinary ideals.
“A quick Internet search reveals at least three pint-sized Santanas who are currently likewise making older people feel bad about themselves.”
Last week, the story of Tallan "T-Man" Latz seemed to be everywhere. Such things happen when the AP picks up on such perfect bite-sized feel-good news stories, often about kids (or sometimes animals) doing crazy things, more often than not with some YouTube video that makes the rounds at the office.
Latz, the eight-year-old native of Elkhorn, WI, we learned, is something of a guitar prodigy. He's been playing since he was five, and has quickly amassed the skills of a much older guitarist, wowing crowds at bars and festivals across his home state and beyond. Latz has two bands, T-Man's Blues Project and Tallan "The T-Man" Latz and the Young Guns (humility never an attractive quality in a rockstar, of course), and has so far shared the stage with Les Paul and Jackson Browne.
The AP story concerned Latz being banned from playing in bars due to Wisconsin's child labor laws (apparently, a jealous regular-aged bluesman blew the whistle on him to the child welfare authorities.) He seems to be bouncing back, though, and most agree that this is merely more fuel for his blues fire.
But Latz is not the only eight-year-old guitar prodigy out there. A quick Internet search reveals at least two more pint-sized Santanas who are currently likewise making older people feel bad about themselves. Lucciano "Lucchy" Pizzichini was born in Argentina but now lives in Miami. He's been playing since the age of two and claims to have played more than 250 live shows in the two years since his sixth birthday. Here's a nice video of him playing an outdoor show (note the awesome bowl-cut and lack of shirt. He obviously knows cool.)
Additionally, there's Yuto Miyazawa of Japan, who appears to be more into rock than Latz, and more into wearing a shirt than Pizzichini. Check him out here on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
While it may seem silly to ask who is the best of these three musical genii, one can't help but wonder who would win in a face-to-face play-off. The Wisconsin bluesman? The Japanese metalhead? The Argentinian virtuoso? We may never know. Unless they form the world's first-ever eight-year-old supergroup. Here's hoping they do.
“The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ... would certainly shore up Sen. Obama's foreign policy credentials.”
It's Joe Biden. That's the word at about 3 a.m. ET.
On Sen. Barack Obama's Web site and breaking all over the news - the presumptive Democratic nominee for president has selected Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who recently visited Georgian President Saakashvili whose country is in a heated faceoff with Russia, would certainly shore up Sen. Obama's foreign policy credentials. (Watch Tavis' interview with Sen. Biden in August 2007, when he was still a presidential contender).
And the vice presidential news couldn't have come at a better time, as our team loads its cameras, packs its bags and prepares to take this show on the road to cover the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Denver, CO and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN respectively. The Democratic National Convention is from August 25 to 28 and the Republican National Convention is from September 1 to 4.
We hope you'll join us on the site as we talk to first-time delegates, who can shed some light on what delegates do all day; African American bloggers, who can explain why some of them were held up in the credential process; Republican convention protestors, who will tell us why they are suing the city regarding their free-speech rights; as well as College Democrats, College Republicans and local citizens, who are watching as more than 50,000 people arrive in their hometown.
The U.S. has experienced a very successful run thus far in the Summer Olympics competition.
U. S. Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps have taken the world by storm, shattering previous world records while simultaneously creating new ones.
It would seem that by most accounts the U.S. has gone up against some of the best athletes in the world and proven victorious.
Despite the allure and excitement of these U.S. victories, there's one topic that seems to keep resurfacing. The concern is over the use of technology-based features in the athletic gear worn by the Olympic athletes during competition.
The question is whether or not the U.S. is unfairly benefitting from the use of these technology-based features in the testing, training and competition of the Olympic Games.
One article, however, discusses that some of the technology can actually be found in many of the sports equipment and products already used in the marketplace today.
Olympic officials have stated that the tech-based suits are in fact legal, but are certainly keeping a watchful eye on the issue as this debate continues.
So here's my question: Should we use the best technology available to us in the U.S. when competing on the world stage? Or, should we scale back our tech savvy abilities in an effort to level the proverbial playing field worldwide?
“I was smitten, captivated, hooked. I devoured the rest of the season in short order, swept away by a riptide of Lucky Strike smoke and rye whiskey.”
Ever since that storied final episode of The Sopranos, TV watching hasn't been the same for me. In the last year, I've floundered around, trying to find a show that could fill the void left by the departure of Tony, Paulie Walnuts, Junior, et al. I got caught up on a lot of Heroes, discovered Dexter, and kept up with the alternately frustrating and sublime fourth season of Lost, but none of those really did it for me in the same way. None of those had the visceral, dark, realness of David Chase's epochal series. None of the characters were quite as complex or compelling; none of the stories were bleakly funny enough.
I watched a lot of David Attenborough, too. The Life of Birds, Life in the Undergrowth, The Blue Planet,Planet Earth; and while those series are incredible and mind-blowing in their own ways, I still longed for something I could sink my teeth into, so to speak.
Then came Mad Men. For some reason I had completely missed the first season. Maybe it's because I live in Canada, or maybe I'm just not reading the right blogs, but until a few weeks ago I was totally ignorant of the quiet smoldering charisma of Don Draper, the beguiling charm of Peggy Olsen, the sleazy loveability of Roger Sterling. After watching a few episodes of Mad Men on DVD I was smitten, captivated, hooked. I devoured the rest of the season in short order, swept away by a riptide of Lucky Strike smoke and rye whiskey.
Tonight's guest is Jon Hamm, who plays the mysterious Draper on the show. He's been getting a lot of press recently, now that season two is underway, and with good reason. His performance is easily on par with any of those on The Sopranos. As the family man with the murky past, we get the sense that if we don't know who Don Draper really is, that's because nobody does, least of all himself. It is the kind of character that makes you come back, week after week, looking for just a little bit more insight into what makes him tick. Suffice to say, Sunday nights just got fun again.
The world needs Hunter S. Thompson more now than ever.
That was the prominent message beneath Alex Gibney's poignant Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The documentary, which is playing at select cinemas nationwide, delves into the life, legend and legacy of one of the greatest American writers of the last century. Gibney is the director of last year's Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side. Thompson is, well, Thompson.
The Dr. Thompson we mostly know is his raving, drug-addled alter-ego, Raoul Duke, made infamous most recently by Johnny Depp in Terry Gilliam's 1998 adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That was the Thompson who made a name for himself as a brilliant iconoclast in his essays on culture, politics and the American Dream. In works like Hell's Angels, Fear andLoathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, Hunter S. Thompson set himself apart from most of the other writers of his time through his electric, fearless prose, in which he was usually a character. The man was crazy, granted. But his madness, such as it was, was his gift.
There's another Thompson, though, one who knew the Constitution backwards and forwards, who loved America passionately, who believed strongly in the founding fathers' promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. This is the Thompson who comes through most prominently in Gibney's film. One who watched America slide from the idealism of the early sixties to the drug-fueled decadence of the 1970s, to the turbulent excesses of the 1980s, to the present day's wars on drugs, terror, truth, etc.
The man documented in the movie was crushed by the sight of people bludgeoned on the streets in Chicago in 1968, by the loss of George McGovern to Richard Nixon in 1972, by the war in Vietnam, and the destruction wrought by Nixon's America in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. The film would have us believe he never fully recovered from these events, which, coupled with his rock star-like fame, left him unable to write as he once did. Covering Jimmy Carter's run for president, Thompson had to sign more autographs than Carter did.
Thompson's story is both inspiring and sad. An inspiration to anyone with a passion for journalism, anyone who believes in the potential of America to be the place Martin Luther King dreamed it could be, and believes in the power of the written word to drive that change. Sad for the loss of one of our country's most brilliant writers, by suicide, before his time. To many, Thompson's death was symbolic of his life: willful, dramatic, decisive and crazy. An indelible statement. An old man cashing it in while he still had the will and means to do so, going out on top. To others, though, it isn't quite so simple.
Thompson's first wife, Sondi Wright, expresses it best towards the end of the film. His suicide, she says, was an act of cowardice. In her eyes, Thompson was far from the top of his game. He had given up long ago, hadn't written anything in years to match the fierce immediacy of the works that made him famous. As the country sank into a quagmire of war, debt and decadent depravity, Thompson finally turned his back, leaving behind an America that was more in need of his voice, his passion and his perspective than ever before.
Thompson's legacy remains to inspire new generations of writers, but one can't help wish he had hung around a few years longer, to shed some light on these dark days, and help us regain some of the idealism that has been lost.
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