If the deal goes through, on top of owning three New York newspapers, Murdoch also would control two New York City television stations, WNYW and WWOR (both Fox affiliates). That means on a given day, one man would be able to reach 3,251,229 people per day through newspapers alone, plus millions more through the dual TV stations.
Of course, the purchase would have also faced regulatory hurdles at the FCC, though it is somewhat doubtful the FCC would have strictly enforced its regulations.
Now, thankfully, the situation has been averted. Though Newsday may be sold to another big corporation (Cablevision), at least the potential new own doesn't already control top newspapers and broadcast TV stations in the area.
While New York's media market might not be getting more diverse in any meaningful way, at least it's not getting more consolidated.
When I was out on the road today, I got to thinking about how much it costs to maintain and drive an automobile. Doing some quick calculations in my head, I came up with a rough estimate of $8000 a year for my family's two vehicles. That figure includes one car payment, gasoline, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and repairs. $8000 represents 20% of our household income - almost equal to the national average of 19%, according to the Thoreau Institute. This figure has risen from 10% in 1935 and 14% in 1960.
Let's get hypothetical for a moment. Let's assume that every American household spends $8000 a year on transportation. That comes to a total of $880 billion for the entire country. Now, let's assume that we all reduce our transportation costs by 10%; we can car pool, buy more fuel efficient cars, buy less expensive cars, drive less, drive slower, and do a lot of other things.
Suppose we could take the money we've saved and pool it together - about $88 billion.
Just imagine what kind of public transportation systems we could build with an $88 billion annual budget. For comparison, the federal government currently budgets about $40 billion per year for highways, some of which could also be diverted toward public transportation since we'll be driving less and needing fewer new roads.
In anticipation of the Democratic primary in West Virginia, as well as the imminent end of the seemingly perpetual nomination process, my girlfriend and I went to Morgantown to volunteer for Obama's campaign this weekend. Good news, there are some Democrats here. A 74 year old white woman, offended by Hillary's recent comments about working class people, told me she is voting for Obama because he represents the working people and can actually change things. Dozens of other Morgantown residents we spoke with are enthusiastic Obama supporters, and it was clear that they appreciated canvassers' efforts to engage them and their neighbors.
Bad news, there is still an awful lot of racial and homophobic tension 'round these parts. West Virginia University had let out the day prior, so there weren't too many people bar hopping in this hotbed of liberalism on a Saturday night. There were enough to disgust me, though, so that's a start. As we walked by one club we were warned, "don't go in there unless you want to dance with spooks." A bit later, as we were waiting for a cab, we chatted up a young man in jacket and tie, discussing mostly politics. Before long he was explaining that he was against gay marriage because it is "sick" and that "homosexuals have an extra gland in their brain, it's well documented." He also said that he would rather his (future) child commit suicide than be homosexual. After attempting to abuse his illusions for a few minutes, we walked off to get our tab, wondering whether we should laugh or cry. As we walked away the young man hollered in our direction, "Walk away, gays." Sadly, he wasn't the only one. We heard concerns about gay marriage from several registered Democrats that day.
Why, in a place that has been economically devastated by NAFTA and other unsound policies, are Democrats fooled by so called "moral issues" so easily? There are theories about Kansas, but what's the matter with West Virginia? This thread is wide open. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and I'll have more later.
Behind the scenes, there were new discussions between Mr. Obama and the party leadership. Senior Democratic officials said he met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi when their paths crossed at Democratic Party headquarters. They had spoken by telephone earlier in the week. Ms. Pelosi and Mrs. Clinton have had no known recent talks.
Addressing concern among some Democrats that Mrs. Clinton would fight on to the national convention in late August, Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Clinton campaign, suggested that the race would end quickly after the final primaries early next month, sparing the party a potentially debilitating summerlong battle.
As far as I'm concerned, this is now over. From here on out, I will treat Obama as the nominee and hold him up as a leader, a unifier, and a patriot over the unstable, untrustworthy, same-as-Bush Republican nominee John McCain.
Trust me, I'm looking forward to it.
(P.S. Don't believe John McCain is the same as Bush? Take this quiz, see how well you do.)
This past Wednesday was Israeli Independence Day, the 60th, which makes it the diamond anniversary. Naturally, Palestinians saw little reason to celebrate, and they were not alone.
We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations. We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East."
In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death March. We will not be celebrating.
In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution 194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation. Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating.
In the stifling heat that surrounds the Israel/Palestine debate, there's one point that, in my mind, is unquestionable; the nuts and bolts of Israeli state-formation were an act of cruelty by Western governments.
Though the Rice-Bush thinks there will be peace in the holy land by year's end, reality is once again at odds with the world view of our nation's most prominent representatives. Unless something truly biblical in its consequences happens, the 61st Israeli independence day will not be celebrated, or protested, amidst peace. Until that peace happens, the violence and bloodshed that ensues will continue on as a testament to the West's arrogance.
Though the equation above draws scorn from most journalists, and a large segment of the U.S. population sneers at the title of "blogger," the profession (occupation? (hobby?) (pass time?)) occasionally gets some credit. Most often this share of praise falls upon foreign shoulders, where blogging is a much riskier endeavor. Por ejemplo,Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban blogger, was given a prestigious Spanish press award.
As I said, this sort of recognition eludes bloggers in the US, largely because our media here is "free." "What need is there for bloggers when we have a robust media acting as the government and corporate watchdog?" many reason. "They only rant and post stupid pictures of cats."
Well, it's hard to rebut some of that, but given that our mainstream media is so clearly beholden to corporations, and its level of reporting is so often abysmal, the US blogosphere should be getting a lot more credit.
So, for all you Tom Paine's out there, this morning thread is for you.
