Head Games, That's All I Get From You...

Dear Mainstream Media:

Just shut up. Really.

Dear McCain-Palin supporters:

This election is not sewn up, despite what ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and others have said. The media is not acting as a nonpartisan observer. And the folks at Hillbuzz explain very nicely how the media is trying to keep you at home, so that you don't cast that vote for Senator McCain. ("It's over anyway, so what's the point?")

Here are the three things you have already seen and will continue to see until November 4 at about 10pm:

(1) Calls for McCain to just give up and quit, because the race is over.

(2) Wild claims of Obama winning states that shock and surprise you.

(3) Repeated insistence that blacks and young people will decide this election, and they are all going to vote in record numbers for Obama.

Hillbuzz knows all about this, because the same thing happened to Hillary voters earlier this year. Don't listen to what the media is telling. Make your own decision, and get out there and vote.

Seriously: go read this story. And really, don't believe the hype. Actually, I advise the following for the next few days:

• Don't watch the news. Not ABC, not CBS, not NBC, not Fox, not CNN, nothing. (Especially not KXAN, if you happen to be here in Austin. Let 'em tank in the November sweeps ratings.)
• Don't read the newspapers. Not the unwanted daily, not the worthless weekly, and absolutely not the New York Times.
• Don't read the comments on a lot of the media's political blogs. Or if you do, do your research on astroturfing. (What about comments on your blog, Snowed? C'mon, I don't get those types of comments. Heck, I usually don't get any comments, period.)
  
• If you must watch or read, take all these stories with a grain of salt.
• Tell your fellow McCain voters that they also should take these stories with a grain of salt.
• Get out there and vote!

(Hat tip: Jim Treacher)

KLRU2 To Be Removed From Channel 20 November 4th

It is now official: Time Warner Cable is moving KLRU2 to be a digital-tier-only channel on November 4. (That's Tuesday, for the calendar-challenged. There's some sort of important thing going on that day...is Time Warner hoping that with everything happening, we won't notice the change?)

And, unlike the recent KXAN situation, I do not expect that KLRU2 will be replaced with a fairly good family movie channel. Instead, I expect channel 20 will look a lot like the test pattern currently appearing on channel 77 for basic/standard customers (or, as the 23-month-old calls it, "rainbow").

I'm running out of reasons to stay with Time Warner.

KXAN Returns

While most Austinites slept last night, KXAN/LIN-TV reached a deal with Time Warner Cable, and KXAN has returned to channel 4. This appears (per KXAN's site) to be a permanent deal, and just in time for sweeps to begin.

Mrs. Snowed found the return of KXAN to be "very disappointing". Mrs. Snowed was enjoying Starz quite a bit more than NBC.

Beyonce's New Album, Jay-Z's New Smear

This just in: Beyonce would like to be known as "Sasha Fierce". (Per Yahoo! Music)

But, at this point, I think I'll just think of her as someone married to a severe misogynist. Is this really someone Senator Obama wants associated with his campaign?

(Note: "Misogynist" was by far the nicest term I could come up with to describe him.)

Vote Smart!

Haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, so as a true public service, let me remind everyone that the League of Women Voters Austin Area website has lots of good information for the would-be informed voter, including a voter's guide and sample ballots (with all races listed by precinct). Please check it out, and do your homework before you vote.

What Would an Obama Presidency Really Mean for America?

Set aside some time in the next few days and look through a couple of items that show just how important your vote for President will be.

First, Fred Thompson describes what a President Obama and a heavily Democratic Congress would do:



Then, check out The comprehensive argument against Barack Obama.

Look into what these people are saying. They're not smearing anyone; they're laying out facts. Check the facts and decide for yourself.

Don't just vote, vote smart!

Another Day, Another Palin Hit Piece

The good folks at ABC's Nightline seem to be continuing the newfound tradition of throwing everything they can at Sarah Palin. Take, for example, the report they produced for the October 22, 2008 episode. Titled "The Palin Problem", it is currently at the top of the Nightline page. But, in an attempt to be helpful, I'll do my best to reproduce what I heard last night using my admittedly faulty memory. That way, you don't have to bother to watch.

MARTIN BASHIR: And now, here's Terry Moran to smear Sarah Palin some more.

TERRY MORAN: Sarah Palin can sure excite a crowd. But actually, she's a real drag on the ticket. I mean, really, she spent just barely more on clothes that she's going to donate to charity after the election is over than Barack Obama spent on styrofoam faux-Greek columns that were tossed in the trash (along with the American flags) after the Democratic National Convention.

Look, Joy Behar has another obnoxious comment about Ms. Palin. And everyone agrees with Joy, right? Right?

Look, a lot of people view her negatively now. I wonder if it's because of non-stop slanted media coverage?

Look, a retired general and former Secretary of State has slammed her when it was politically expedient to do so, so obviously his opinion is more important than those tens of thousands of people who go to her rallies.

Now, to present a semblance of balance, I'll interview a local yokel who thinks she's a good choice, but I'll question his judgment to his face. Are you sure she's a good choice? Really? No, come on.

Of course, Sarah Palin ignores her critics, such as, for example, certain people at ABC News, but we hope you don't. You don't really think this election's a toss-up, do you? Really?

Well, it looks as if Caribou Barbie is gonna be around for a while, much to my chagrin. Excuse me while I purge.

MARTIN BASHIR: Thanks, Terry. Coming up on Nightline, we'll have an actual balanced story about airlines, and then we'll go after McCain.

BARACK OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama, and I approved this message.

(endless commercials for people not in my district)

I didn't stick around to see what they said about McCain.

Like I said, this may not be an exact reproduction of yesterday's Nightline, but it pretty well sums it up for me.

HD-47: Commercials in Review

Valinda Bolton and Donna Keel have released their first television ads of the season, and as a public service, both are presented right here for your convenience.

Valinda Bolton (D, incumbent):



Donna Keel (R):



A constant among Rep. Bolton's ads appears to be the placing of blame for everything on Republicans. This time, she blames the Republicans for cutting CHIP. Let's see...CHIP's funding wasn't cut in the last legislature, it was increased to allow 127,000 more children to be enrolled. Would someone please remind me which party was in control of both the Legislature and the Governor's Office? Ah, yes, the evil Republicans. How dare they do this to...oh, wait, this was good for CHIP. Never mind...

Both candidates mention education. Good so far. Telling, though, is the manner in which they mention it. Ms. Keel wants more education funding to go directly to the classrooms, whereas Ms. Bolton just wants more education funding, period. Given that there are some districts in Central Texas which spend less than 45% of their revenue in the classroom, I would venture that something more than the amount of funding for education needs to change to improve schools.

One more thing: Ms. Bolton discussed acting like a grown-up. Unfortunately, she wasn't thinking that way when she assisted in delaying the consideration of all bills during the last legislative session (out of an apparent desire to embarrass Tom Craddick), thus destroying any semblance of efficiency and causing a time crunch at the end of the session. (To be sure, Mr. Craddick didn't help things either, but a vote seemingly designed entirely to embarrass someone is rather childish.)

My call on the two commercials: Both mention general policy desires. But Valinda Bolton's continued playing of the blame game makes for an inferior ad, in my opinion. Winner: Donna Keel.

Morons on Both Sides

Apparently the modern way to handle political disagreements in Austin is to damage the other party's vehicle. And it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican. And no, no one gets to claim the moral high ground on this one. Both sides have their share of idiots who need to grow up (yes, and be prosecuted). And kudos to them for taking the level of discourse right down the tubes.

KLRU2/Time Warner Update

Well, as was obvious to anyone with basic cable who checked, October 15 came and went without Time Warner's following through on their threat to remove KLRU2 from channel 20, leaving it only on channel 255. However, I have been told now that this will still happen, probably sometime around November 14.

Time Warner's given rationale for this decision is that they need more bandwidth for their HD channels. But I'm sure it has nothing to do with the hope that their basic cable is becoming so lame, for so high a cost per month, that people are sure to upgrade to standard or, more likely, digital, probably out of frustration if nothing else.

Keep up the good work, Time Warner. You'll have a dish on my house by Christmas at the rate you're going.