Tech Pirates and Lefty Bloggers Revolt Against YouTube

YouTube stirred up a hornet's nest by eliminating the ability to browse categories for most viewed and top rated movies from the site, allowing users to only see those movies selected as "editor's picks." The move caused a general freakout on the blogosphere and generated major protest video's, as techies, bloggers, and YouTube devotees derided the move as stifling the free exchange of ideas by making unselected videos harder to find. As one user put it in a comment on YouTube's blog, "First you pioneer viral media and then you do a 180 and start force feeding people what you think they should watch?"

After three days of constant grief, YouTube finally posted an ambiguously worded statement explaining that there were "technical reasons this had to happen in the short term" but that the YouTube staff was working hard on a solution. Personally, I'm skeptical. It's hard to believe that YouTue would knowingly remove one it's most popular search functions and then not breathe a word about it for three days. Categories are now back up, but the editor's picks are still highlighted. That's enough to call it a win for the people, but we still lost some ground.

YouTube and CNN have also received some heat for strictly controlling the questions it will throw at candidates during a co-hosted Presidential debate later this summer. The idea is that YouTube users can submit questions to the candidates via video, enabling the masses to really grill their potential leaders in true Democratic style. Or not so much...CNN gets final say on what questions will be asked, so we're probably not going to see the candidates asked to defend American imperialism in the Middle East or explain why capitalism isn't destroying the world.

One final note: YouTube is owned by Google, which has famously walked away from it's guiding principle "Don't Be Evil" by agreeing to help the Chinese government censor the Internet.

Hablas espanol?

Considering the recently failed immigration bill, continuous controversy about NAFTA's effect on Mexico's economy, and the growing popularity of hispanic-messaging consultants, one might think that politicians are finally coming around to courting the Hispanic vote. But considering the icy to lukewarm response to Univision, the primary Hispanic-American television station, when it invited presidential candidates to a September debate, mainstream politics have a long way to go.

Though the invitation two weeks ago is from the 5th most-watched broadcast station, beating both CNN and Fox News, few candidates have jumped at the golden opportunity to reach some 16 million registered Latino voters. Only Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson have accepted to date, and both Camp Clinton and Republican longshot Tommy Tancredo have responded with resolute "no"s. Everyone else is "checking their calendars," meaning, of course, positioning carefully with respect to the decisions of the rest of the field.

Dodd and Richardson, both fluent Spanish speakers who would rather the station allow non-English to be used during the translated debate, and Sen. John McCain, with his relatively lenient stance on immigration reform could strongly benefit from these debates, regardless of attendance by the front-runners. Hispanic voters are extremely loyal to candidates who pay them appropriate attention, as evidenced by the success of George W.'s Hispanic campaign targeting. The president ended up with a 15 point lead among hispanic voters in 2004, despite their traditional allegiance to Democrats. Tapping into this kind of loyalty is still pretty easy for smart candidates, as most mainstream politicians continue to ignore the immigrant population.



This recent move by Univision is a shift for the station, who has yet to become involved in endorsing candidates, hosting debates, or other more overt political action. It's all part of an attempt to highlight and encourage political envolvement among Hispanic-Americans- not a bad idea for the biggest and fastest growing minority group in the United States.

The Race Card

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Hawaii right now. That I'm writing a blog entry when I should be frolicking in the waves should indicate both the indelible nature of my nerdiness and the intensity of my sunburn (can you die from a sunburn??).

I'm seeing a side of Hawaii most tourists don't, because I'm staying at an actual Hawaiian's house. Strolling down countless blocks covered with high rise hotels in Waikiki is a much different experience riding the bus with locals though town.

I'm also getting interesting perspective on race. A white kid from Oklahoma, I've never really spent much time in a place where I was an ethnic minority. Here I definitely am. It seems like about 10% of the locals I've met are Caucasian. Most of the rest are a mix of Korean, Japanese, Polynesian, and native Hawaiian. While I haven't encountered any overt racism I've definitely felt different and out of place, especially while futilely slathering myself with sunscreen.

OK Colleges Looking for Change in the Sofa

The Oklahoma State Legislature has refused to supplement state colleges and universities with a sorely need $6 million this week, leaving schools scrambling to cover basic operating costs.

The State Regents for Higher Education approved the cut after lottery revenues failed to meet expectations. The Board hoped the state legislature would chip in the extra cash, but the Republican-dominated House refused. It seems they had other priorities for the money, like a $74 million tax cut passed last May. Ironically, that bill included a special "back to school sales tax holiday." Tuition is rising and financial aid is disappearing for most Oklahomans, but at least we can save seven cents on pencils this August.

Send this Man to Jail FAST

Richard Jefferson's enormous cajones are tripping up the Democratic Party. Even after investigators found $90 grand stashed in his freezer, Jefferson is pleading not guilty to all 16 counts of racketeering, soliciting bribes, money laundering, etc...

This is an absolute disaster for a Democratic congress who won election in 2006 largely on their vow to end the Republican "culture of corruption." Speaker Nancy Pelosi has handled the situation well, booting Jefferson from the Ways and Means committee early in the investigation. The Dems have immunized themselves from cover-up allegations like those that dogged Dennis Hastert in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, but Jefferson has refused to resign even as evidence against him mounts and some high ranking Dems are coming to his defense. The result: incessant media coverage of the obviously corrupt Democrat dragging on and on into fall 2008.

The Jefferson trial is scheduled to begin in mid-January, placing it squarely in the middle of the most critical phase of the Presidential primaries. The trial of a sitting Congressman, which could drag on for weeks, will almost certainly generate constant media attention. Then there will be a deliberation period, probably a long one since evidence of financial crimes can be difficult to sort through, followed by MORE media coverage. Then there will be sentencing, followed by even MORE media coverage. By this time we're about to start the Democratic convention, and the biggest story in the media is how this corrupt Democrat is going to prison.

And that's the best case scenario. It's conceivable this thing could drag on all the way through the Presidential election, serving as a constant reminder that Republicans aren't the only fat cats on the take.

Of course, there's a really simple way to avoid all this drama. Jefferson could resign. If he did, the story would immediately evaporate. Unfortunately that's not going to happen.

New Poll: Obama Up, Clinton Steady

According to a USA Today/Gallup poll on pollingreport.com, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a statistical tie for the Democratic nomination. This is pretty exciting news, but before you jump out of your chair and start calling all your friends, a few caveats: 1) the poll was completed June 3, before the New Hampshire debate on CNN, 2) It's a national poll, which is a lousy predictor of primary results, 3) the first primary is still a good six months away (depending on New Hampshire), and 4) this is a single sample.

Nevertheless, this is the first time Obama has pulled this close to Hillary. He'd been polling at around 25% most of May but this survey has him at 30%, the highest he's scored all year. Additionally, Hillary is clocking in at 29% which is the lowest she's scored all year (down from a high of 40% in February). It certainly looks like Obama is closing the gap. If trends continue we could have a new front-runner by the end of the month.

The second tasty morsel from this poll is that the numbers I just listed come from a generic "who would you vote for if the primary were held tomorrow?" question including Al Gore in the selections. Gore is hitting 17%, but when he's eliminated from the field Hillary jumps to 37% and Obama to 36%. That suggests would-be Gore supporters are going to break for the front-runners, which is bad news for John Edwards and the third tear. Not only that, but Edwards himself is down to 11% with Gore in the sample and 13% without. If the downward spiral continues, this could become a two way race by January.

Apparently the pollsters agree with my analysis, because they routine ask voters who they'd support in a two way race; Hillary or Obama. This week 49% said Clinton while 46% said Obama--a statistical tie--while 5% remained unsure. Hillary has got to be worried, because just a month ago she was crushing Obama 61%-33% on this question.

It looks like Obama is picking up steam, which should allay fears that he's peaking too early. John Edwards needs to make a move fast or his cash flow may dry up, and the third tear is all but finished even this far out. If Richardson or Biden will make a splash it will have to come this summer. We should know by next Monday if this is a blip on the radar or a developing trend.

Thompson Soft on Crime in Real Life

Scooter Libby is heading for the slammer and Fred Thompson wants to spring him. Libby got 30 months, and he'll have to serve nearly all of it (no parole from federal prison) barring some kind of miraculous appeal OR the election of yet another right-wing actor.

The all-but-announced Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been enjoying enough support in the polls to make Mitt Romney jealous, in large part because voters don't know where he stands on just about anything. But they do know that that on TV he plays a smart, tough-on-crime, problem solving prosecutor leading a team of attractive attornies. In a primary where 57% of the electorate wants "more choices," that's pretty a pretty appealing resume.

Americans, however, are slowly discovering the fantasy/reality dichotomy. Thompson isn't smart, he's lazy. And he's not tough-on-crime, he wants to pardon the most infamous criminal of the last year (excepting Paris Hilton of course).

It's possible that Thompson's unwavering support for Libby could help him in the primary, where most voters either won't care what happens to Libby or will want to spring the poor, innocent target of a seedy Democratic prosecutor. Even in the primary, though, Thompson can't expect much positive support. Libby has favorables under 10% and those are only going down after this sentence.

If he makes it to the general election Thompson's support for Libby will become a real liabilityto the campaign. The "culture of corruption" helped Democrats swing typically conservative districts there way last fall, especially in the West. If Thompson wins the nomination, Democrats should try to make the pardon an issue. If they can chip away at Thompson's glossy TV armor, they might flip states like Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and even Montana.

Ron Paul on the Daily Show

Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul was actually somewhat impressive on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart this evening. The libertarian in elephant's clothing doesn't have a snowball's chance of winning the nomination, but he's a lot more effective a candidate than most of the other no-names.

For one thing, Paul is a lot more willing to dance than his third tear counterparts. When Stewart pressed Paul on his small government, Paul conceded that suddenly pulling the plug on programs like Medicare would be a big problem. Instead, he called for a "transition period" towards small government. That's much more moderated than the other outsiders. Sunday night when Dennis Kucinich said flat out that he wouldn't kill bin Laden if he had the chance, for example.

The Paul campaign isn't going to end up anywhere near the top of the polls, but if Paul can stay on message and adapt to his audience he might be able to make a splash. He doesn't need to peel many votes off the Guiliani, McCain, or Romney to force the front-runners to adapt. Watch out for this guy to siphon off more libertarian voters, especially from John McCain ( as if he doesn't have enough bad news already).

You can see video of Ron Paul on The Daily Show here.

The New Creationist Disneyland

The Creationist Museum, a facility dedicated to answering science's stubborn adherence to evolution with down home biblical truth, opened in Kentucky this week. The opening hasn't gotten a lot of press in the US, but media in the UK, New Zealand and Australia are having a hearty chuckle while American secularist steam.

The museum depicts naturally history according to a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. Basically every exhibit in the 50 acre facility attempts to top the next in degree of absurdity. In the museum's Garden of Eden, vegetarian T-Rex's "frolick alongside human beings", because according to scripture all animals were herbivors before the fall.

Okay, so T-Rex eats leaves with those pointy teeth. That's fine, but why are creatures extinct for millions of years hanging around with comparatively infantile human beings? That question is answered by a giant wrecking ball labeled "millions of years" smashing down a church. The message, I presume, is that asking questions like that is just hating on God. As Regan would say, "there we go again."

It's easy to laugh off this kind of religious fervor--especially if you live across an ocean from it--but this project took a lot of money ($27 million) and reflects tremendous popular support for creationistic ideals. More than 50% of Americans beleive the Book of Genesis is literally true, a stat which secularists (and Democratic candidates for office) would do well to keep in mind. The Creationist Museum should be a excellent reminder.