Voxant Newsroom Blog

Paris Hilton on the Primaries: Oh, what's that?

Oh, MTV, you sneaky dogs. Are you guys trying to sabotage Hilton's reputation as an intelligent, informed, independent woman?

MTV released some in-between-takes footage of Paris Hilton and her co-star, Christine Lakin, while they promote their film "The Hottie and the Nottie." Somehow, the subject of the Presidenital Primaries comes up and poor Lakin has the unenviable job of breaking down what, like, primaries are. Lakin attempts to fit the concept into Paris' head by speaking her Hiltonese saying "It's like, you know, you have draft picks, or whatever?" I suspect that the concept still went over Hilton's head because she responds with a disinterested, "Oh," and takes a swig of, what I presume is, water.

It's very surprising that Hilton needs to be briefed on how the electoral process works. As you all know, Hilton was an integral part of Diddy's 2004 Vote or Die campaign. Do you mean to tell me that she never bothered to figure out how the electoral process worked before hitching herself to a campaign encouraging young people to participate in it? Say it ain't so. Enjoy the clip below.

-Ricky, Editor

End of the road - 1.30.08 Image of the Day

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Although we’ve come to the end of the road
Still I can’t let you go
It’s unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you

-Ricky, Editor

John McCain and the revolution - 1.29.08 Image of the Day

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Who says that John McCain isn't about all things young, fresh, new and different?

-Ricky, Editor

Caucus fever: now what?

So we've had nearly a whole day to digest what happened in Iowa last night. Was Huckabee's come-from-behind victory a bellwether of things to come? Will Barack Obama stick with his new role as The Man To Beat?

With this year's crazy primary schedule, it's impossible to say what the next months will bring. But there's no doubt that history was made in the cornfields of Iowa last night. Barack Obama may not be the first African-American to win a Democratic primary election, he's certainly the first minority with a clear shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It's exciting. Especially when you consider that he edged out an equally-viable woman for the win.

As for Huckabee, his victory lap could be the shortest. He's no where near the top of the pack in New Hampshire, leaving the door open for another challenger to knock off Mitt Romney's damaged goods. Iowa has a history of creating candidates that burn white hot for a few days and then smolder weakly until through South Carolina.

Whatever happens, it's nice to be off and running. What happens is anyone's guess - but it's nice to be only a few steps away from the end.

- Evan

2007: the year in Politics

It may be hard to imagine, but before 2007 no one knew the significance of a wide stance when it comes to airport bathrooms. No one knew Oprah was going to step off the couch and on to the political stage or that an Arkansan best known for losing 100 lbs would lead the Republican polls heading into Iowa.

But not every story in 2007 was a surprise. The Democrats couldn't hold off Bush in Congress and Scooter Libby got a Presidential pass on Plamegate. High hopes dashed on the rocks of cynicism? That's the year in Politics 2007.

- Evan

Huckabee enters the big leagues

When no one thinks you're going to win, no one bothers digging into your past (when was the last time you saw an expose of Mike Gravel's senatorial career?)

No one knows this better than Mike Huckabee, who's recent surge in the polls has led to the full-on vetting he's avoided up to this point. Watch him manage his first potential scandal in this exclusive video from CBS News.

- Evan

Hugo Chavez's move toward a dictatorship denied

Lo siento mucho, Huey! Hugo Chavez tried his luck this Sunday when he tried to force through a huge re-write of the Venezuelan constitution that would've allowed him to run for president forever without any term limits. Yikes. It also would've granted him even more authoritarian powers over the media and businesses, but fortunately he was blocked. Venezuelans said no in the referendum to Chavez's plans and Chavez had to eat crow and swallow defeat. This is not something a man with Chavez's ego does easily! Pobrecito. Watch this clip from the AP.

The good thing is that although Chavez is one of the most pompous gasbags in the international political scene, he still conceded to the people. This is very noble of him and shows his respect for democracy. Heck, dare I say it, but Chavez is more democratic than GW Bush! When the American people are polled and give their opinions Bush poo-poos them and says that he's not worried about popularity. Hmmm, looks like Chavez could teach GW a thing or two about listening to your constituents. Watch this AFP report with footage from the streets and Venezuelan reactions from both sides.

Looks like Chavez's socialist wet dream won't be coming to fruition. (Wow, there are a whole lot of ripe puns in that sentence.) Better luck next time Huey!

-Ricky

The guys behind the guy (and girl)

We all know what happens on stage during a political debate, but the AP gives us a great look into what happens in the Spin Room after the debate is over. This is where people who are not the candidates (except for the plucky Dennis Kucinich, of course) tell us what the candidates just said. It’s a weird system, as Howard Dean explains at the end of this clip. Check out how the sausage that is our political system is made.

- Evan

 

Iraq War Protesters all up in Condi's grill

The Iraq War has been a divisive and contentious issue from its start. Passion has been strong on both sides of the issue, with pro-war advocates saying the invasion was in the best interest of national security and anti-war advocates calling it unjust and unwarranted. However, as the years have gone on and the body count has gone up, the anti-war side has become more and more vocal about their disgust with the US's involvement in Iraq.

Today, some protesters got all up in Condi's face and told her straight up: Condoleezza you're a war criminal. Chaos ensued for a little bit as police subdued the protester and her colleagues, but the video is startling. Who the hell does this woman think she is? Does she know who Condoleezza Rice is? Condi's gangsta is respected from Atlanta to Oakland. She's a no-nonsense battle ax and if you mess with the Rice, it won't be nothing nice. The AP gives us the raw footage.

Condi didn't verbalize her thoughts, but she shot the woman a look of death. I haven't seen a gaze that fear-inspiring since Tanya Harding.

-Ricky

Bill O’Reilly: Collared by collards

Bill O’Reilly is surprised Sylvia’s isn’t some kind of gangland killing field? Now that’s some delicious racism. (Note to Factor Fans: Whites fearing Harlem is sooo 1987). At a normal network, this kind of intolerably racist talk might actually get a radio host fired. But Bill-O is part of the Fox News Mafia that the real media refuses to call out, so you can bet the only result of this visit to Sylvia’s will be a boost in Bill’s cholesterol.

- Evan

Mr. Bollinger, mind your manners

By now, we've all heard the best sound bites from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia University yesterday. In his abstract world, there are no homosexuals in Iran and Iranian women are the most free women in the world. Ahmadinejad also hinted that 9/11 might have been an inside job. I've heard the conspiracy theories on 9/11 before, and while I don't necessarily buy into them, I certainly don't put anything past the Bush administration and its capacity for deceit, lies and manipulation. Remember, the president did utilize the 9/11 tragedy as a launching pad for his crusade in Iraq, and I won't get into it about Dick Cheney. The main point is, President Bush and his cronies have already proven themselves to be pretty unscrupulous.

But back to Ahmadinejad, he was invited by Columbia University to speak, in an attempt to foster dialogue, I suppose. No matter how off-base we as Americans consider Ahmadinejad's politics to be, I think we should not ever close the door to his voice merely because we find it distasteful. I happen to be one of those Americans who still believe in the idea of free speech.

Columbia University and its president, Lee Bollinger, had unfortunately been receiving a lot of flack by people for hosting the controversial political figure in the first place. He stood by the decision to host Ahmadinejad, which I applauded. But what he did yesterday, during his introduction of Ahmadinejad, I do not applaud. Bollinger essentially berated, insulted and dressed down Ahmadinejad before allowing him to speak. He used the words "petty", "cruel" and "dictator," to describe the Iranian president, insulted his intelligence and called Ahmadinejad "astonishingly uneducated."

Look, this is Diplomacy 101: You do not use personal attacks when engaging with heads of state. You can attack his politics, you can attack his policies, but to sit there and badger the head of state of another country is poor manners, uncalled for and frankly childish. When Chavez got on the podium last year and called Bush the devil, oh how people cried and shouted about his disrespect. But now it's okay to turn around and spit in Ahmadinejad's face before we proceed to tell him how wrong and stupid he is? Gee, and we wonder why our foreign relations have gone down the toilet.....
-Ricky   

OK, now it’s just sad

While Gen. Petraeus spent the afternoon lying about the future of Iraq, our old friend Sen. Larry Craig spent yet another day of his life lying to himself. That guilty plea was our fault, he says – it was our insatiable appetite for negative news that caused him to stand before a judge and admit his behavior in that airport bathroom.

OK, this has crossed the line now. The thrill of the decline and fall of one of the Senate’s leading anti-rights Right Wingers was fun for a while, but now it’s just pathetic. What will it mean for this man to fight a tiny misdemeanor charge he once plead guilty to? Will it finally convince his friends and family that he’s not what he’s spent his life trying to convince himself he isn’t?

I doubt it. But that’s not really the point. Please, let’s the rest of us do what Craig can’t and just let this thing go.

- Evan

Pack your bags, war supporters – it’s time to GAO

Today’s report by the Government Accountability Office (you know the one – it’s currently being overshadowed by more fancy footwork from the media’s favorite senator) can easily be dismissed as more fuel on the anti-war fire. But there’s much more to it than that. The GAO report is so damning that administration officials did anything they could to soften the blow, if even only a little.

The government’s auditing arm found little or no progress has been made in the wake of the troop surge we were promised would solve every problem remaining in Iraq. After countless more civilians have died in the face of increased military pressure by U.S. forces over the last few months nothing – absolutely nothing – has been accomplished. It would be funny if it wasn’t, you know, the war in Iraq and all.

An independent report like the one presented yesterday should leave little doubt that everything that could go wrong over there has. There’s no more time for rhetoric. It’s time to pull the plug on this thing.  But you’re not likely to hear much more about the GAO report. The Bush cronies are going to speak next week, and then there’s that pesky frequent flier from Idaho for the press to munch on endlessly.

Oh, and Anna Nicole’s baby daddy might be gay, too.  And who can resist a chance to do a stand-up from the Bahamas?

Thanks for the well-researched and insightful report, GAO – it’ll make a great shim for our wobbly dining room table. Next time, see if you can find out who Maliki’s sleeping with. That might actually earn you a minute or two of our attention.

- Evan

Bush on subprimes: Hurry up and wait

Guess what George Bush just discovered? There’s a subprime mortgage crisis in America and – who knew? – it’s affecting the economy. This has been in the news for oh, five months now of course. But hey, who can be bothered?

On first blush, Bush’s subprime plan seems like too little way too late. First, he slams so-called “speculators” and “those that made the decision to buy a home they could never afford.” This is the same man who urged everyone and anyone to buy a house just a couple of years ago – the poorer, the better. Oh and all those speculators he disparaged today? That problem is probably Bush’s fault, too.

Most of us watched with horror and amusement as the housing bubble grew larger and larger without anyone saying anything (oh, ok – this guy, but who takes him seriously?) about it. Now that it’s starting to burst though, the very worst thing we can do is stand there and fire off I-told-you-sos at the people being hurt the most. The main reason for this is purely selfish – more than 30 percent of our economy is directly related to housing. We’re not just talking construction here, folks. We’re talking professionals, retailers, all those poor, defenseless TV home-flippers. It’s a big darn deal.

The Fed has put more than $147 billion into the hands of banks over the past few weeks to keep the stock market from tanking – if some of that truly breathtaking amount of money was put in the hands of low-income homeowners to keep them in the houses Bush told them to buy, we might really be able to stop a red tide from washing over the economy. We did it for Chrysler, we did it for the airlines. Why not do it now?

- Evan

Worst campaign endorsement ever

Fidel "Is he dead?" Castro wrote in an editorial that he believes that a Clinton-Obama ticket would be the best thing for America. In the Reuters video it doesn't say which candidate Fidel thinks should be president or vice-president. But either way, Fidel's making a list and checking it twice and he's going to find out who's naughty or nice.

There was no official word from the two candidates' campaigns in the video, but I'm sure that this is exactly what both the Clinton and Obama campaigns were hoping for. Nothing  refutes the conspiracy theory that Democrats are all a bunch of commie-loving socialists more than an endorsement from America's second-least favorite man with a beard.

The right-wingers are probably prepping their attack ads already, "Do you want to support a candidate who has the support of a communist leader Fidel Castro? Clinton and Obama will wreak their socialist agenda on America and help Fidel invade our country," or something outlandish to that effect.

Clinton and Obama just better hope that Hugo Chávez doesn't send them a dozen roses with a note saying "Best wishes from your comrade."

-Ricky

Seriously guys – get a room already

A whole bucket of schadenfreude drenched the airwaves this morning when the recent arrest of Idaho Sen. Larry Craig (oh, you better believe he’s a Republican) on charges of soliciting sex from a male undercover cop in a Minnesota airport men’s room was announced by Roll Call magazine. Craig has been in staunch opposition of gay rights for decades, which coincidentally is just about as long as rumors about his own sexuality have swirled around his political career.

The Senator denies any wrongdoing of course, but we all know where this is headed. Just like Rep. Mark Foley, former Spokane, WA Mayor Jim West and (my personal favorite) televangelist Ted Haggard, Craig will eventually buckle and admit the truth of who he is. Then – after a short stint in rehab somewhere – he’ll ask to be left alone with his newfound openness.

What is with these guys? We all know people who pretend they’re not gay, but that’s their business and generally they don’t go around making other people’s sexual habits a pathway to fame and fortune. Guys like Craig are a special breed, committed to forcing their misery in the bedroom (and the mirror) on the rest of us. Today was not about outing someone (despite the fact that the eyes of TV anchors do sparkle with glee whenever they get to do one of these stories). Who Sen. Craig chooses to sleep with is no concern of anyone but the unfortunate soul he selects. What’s infuriating about this is the depth to which all three of these men have gone to make life more difficult for people facing the same struggles as them. Dick Cheney’s connections to Haliburton are newsworthy because of how outrageous they are in the face of all the terrible things that company has done. Sen. Craig’s furtive foot movements in a busy airport men’s room aren’t the least bit important, save for the fact that Craig would be the first to build a pyre under anyone else caught doing the same thing.

- Evan

Alberto Gonzales is gone. Long live Alberto Gonzales.

Yes, he’s gone for good. But what does this really mean? Beyond allowing the Bushies to control the spin during what should be a bad week for him (my media prediction: “What Katrina anniversary? Let's going to speculate endlessly about what’s going to happen at a lame duck Justice Department for the next year”), what is really going to change with Gonzalez gone? A high-level insider like Paul Clement (Gonzalez’ interim successor) could bring a new focus of actually enforcing laws to the Justice Department, but I think it’s unlikely that Bush & Co. will loosen the political reigns they have spent years using to bend executive branch’s most powerful domestic tool to their whim.

It’s a powerful blow against political corruption to have Alberto out, there’s no doubt about that. But we can’t let him be the fall guy that the Administration is going to make him out to be. More than almost anyone else in the current administration, Gonzales is a True Believer – Bush can literally do no wrong in his eyes. While still White House counsel, Gonzalez declared the the Geneva Conventions “quaint” because that’s what he had to do to ensure his President could torture and imprison without feeling guilty about it. Gonzales lobbied a sick man at the side of his hospital bed because The Powers That Be demanded the right to circumvent the rule of law and spy on us without seeking a warrant first. 

The day Gonzalez packs his bags and leaves the office for the last time will certainly be a happy one. But without stricter oversight and accountability for the leaders who made Gonzales what he was, today’s resignation will go down as little more than another opportunity for Alberto to stand before us and pretend no mistakes were ever made. After all, that’s the job Gonzales does best.

- Evan

Week In Review: We're baaaack

Dangerous amounts of air blustering around at rapid speed. Destructive forces leading to desperate pleas.

Also, there were some weather stories this week.

In a week that started with Democratic presidential debate number 27, the repetition of old news was the order of the day. The first old chestnut was the blundering Mr. Magoos that lead America’s intelligence services. A heretofore secret internal CIA report from 2005 starkly illustrated the failures of our intelligence leaders in the lead up and aftermath of 9/11. The report says George Tenet, the former CIA director and darling of three presidents, never really got it together when it came to Al Qaeda and ignored need for a comprehensive intelligence plan to combat the terrorist threat. Tenet said the report is completely wrong, but it sounds like a slam-dunk to me.

Climate change also found its way into the headlines yet again this week. As the Southeast baked under record high temperatures, floods drowned the Midwest and the Category 5 Hurricane Dean slammed into the Caribbean and Mexico. Dean didn’t do as much damage as was originally expected, but it still found a way to clear out tourists and bring the space shuttle home early. Go buy a hand-crank radio and some Exxon stock – we’re going to have more weather like this before we ever start having less. 

Making the week’s most surprising encore onto the news stage was of course the Vietnam War. Remember it? It was endless conflict based on a lie that left America with nothing but thousands of dead soldiers and lost global credibility. President Bush finally admitted that the flawed logic behind that war was part of the flawed logic behind the current quagmire in Iraq. In a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Bush said that the pullout of troops from the war he skipped shouldn’t be repeated in the country he skipped out on Osama to blow up. Yet again, he’s asking other people to keep dying pointlessly so he can save a little face. The ballsy part? He gave this speech before the room most likely to have people in it that would be dead if we never left Vietnam.

Finally, Sen. John Warner reprised the role of the hundreds of reports and experts he ignored in the run-up to Iraq and said basically that winning there is hopeless. Seems new, but it’s actually the oldest story in the book – politician jumps on the bandwagon just as soon as the tide turns.

- Evan

I’ll have a number 2 with an egg roll. Hold the poison.

Another day, another China-is-poisoning-you story. Look, if you didn’t want melamine in your pet food, you could have just asked – China is all about customer service now. Just ask the country’s former head of food safety. (Hint: Don’t wait too long for a reply.)

Quite frankly, this is our fault. We turned over production of just about every consumer product you can think of to a gestational economy in a nation-state started by this guy. I’m truly sorry for Fido and Rex and Muffin and Mittens and all the other dogs now in heaven (where they all go, Chairman Mao, you hear me?) because of this. But, to stretch a metaphor, all these lovable and now dead pets are canaries in our collective coal mine. There has to be a point where the elimination of food safety rules and labor laws and environmental regulations in the name of free trade comes to an end. I mean what do these people have to do before you’ll get up and demand some trade policies that favor more than just corporations? Kill your dog?

Oh, right…sorry.

- Evan

Fidel Castro called. He wants his idea back.

A secret Bush administration guide to dealing with protestors at presidential appearances calls for “rally squads” to shout down any anti-Bush commentary that may come from the audience. If yelling doesn’t work, the manual calls for the protestors to be removed.

No wonder Bush is so clueless – I guess the poor guy must really think everyone out there likes him after hanging out at all those well-scrubbed rallies.

- Evan

Central Incompetence Agency

Yesterday, the CIA released a lightly-redacted executive summary (pdf) of a 2005 internal CIA report suggesting that America’s top spy agency didn’t do enough to combat Al-Qaeda in the lead-up to 9/11. The growing terrorist threat became apparent in the mid-1990s, the report says, but then-CIA chief George Tenet failed to create a comprehensive strategy to combat it.

Tenet, of course, was the second-longest serving CIA chief in history, earning kudos from presidents Clinton and both Bushes. He was the architect of the first phase of the war in Afghanistan (you know, the part where we were actually tracking down Osama) and was widely praised for the high morale he brought to Langley.

You have to be wary of the public officials our elected leaders really like. Respect is OK, but when a politician really likes you, it’s usually because you tell him what he wants to hear and make him feel really smart. Clinton, Bush I and Bush II have very different leadership styles, agendas and policy-making staff, so it’s difficult to understand how Tenet could have caught the eye of all of them unless he was kissing butt.

We don’t need a “good buddy” running our intelligence. We need a person people in power think is kind of a smart-alecy know-it-all. Tenet’s CIA legacy is nothing but failure when it comes to all of us regular people – the African embassy bombings, 9/11 and those pesky WMDs – but he gets a free pass from just about everyone because he was part of The Club. In a global environment like today’s, where enemies hide in shadows rather than ride around on tank convoys, a president’s best friend is the one who tells him no.

- Evan