Security is on the minds of some movie-goers in California in the wake of last night’s horrifying shootings at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Arapahoe County, Colorado, the same county in which the infamous Columbine shootings occurred. This accused shooter is a graduate of the University of California at Riverside and was enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Colorado Medical School.
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH” and THE DARK KNIGHT FALTERS AGAINST A GRITTY BOND VILLAIN (OR TWO), HIMSELF, AND US.
** JERRY-RIGGING: GOOD JOBS REPORT, BAD PARKS DEPARTMENT. Governor Jerry Brown got some mixed news today.
First, he had to get rid of the top two officials at the California Parks & Recreation Department after two things emerged: A scheme for a secret vacation buy-out program, which cost a few hundred thousand dollars, and a secret surplus of some $54 million even as parks were closing.
So state parks director Ruth Coleman, who has served since 2003 after becoming chief deputy director in 2002, has resigned, and the department’s number two official, Michael Harris, was fired.
California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird said today that the department had under-reported its funds for the past dozen years.
In better news, California economy expert Steve Levy reports that the state added over 38,000 jobs in June and about 46,000 jobs in May, for half the national job growth in the past two months.
“The state’s unemployment rate is down to a still very high 10.7%, third highest in the nation,” reports Levy. “And the number of unemployed Californians fell below 2 million for the second month in a row.
“This two month surge takes place in a national and world economy under tremendous strain from the European recessions, slowing consumer spending and the upcoming fiscal tightening (fiscal cliff) still scheduled for January 1 next year.
“On the other hand the idea that California is a lagging economy being passed by in comparison to other states can now, hopefully, be put to rest. Tech, trade, tourism, a strong agricultural sector and the stirrings of a construction recovery give hope for the near and long term future. This week’s successful IPOs provide another hopeful sign on what will still be a long recovery to regain pre-recession job and unemployment levels.”
President Barack Obama says the horrific movie theater shooting in Colorado that left 12 people dead and nearly 60 wounded is a reminder that life is fragile. He says the event “reminds us of all the ways that we are united as one American family.”
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH” and THE DARK KNIGHT FALTERS AGAINST A GRITTY BOND VILLAIN (OR TWO), HIMSELF, AND US.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Florida and Washington.
Obama canceled a second day of campaigning in Florida in the wake of the horrifying shootings at this morning’s midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The film shattered the previous box office record for opening midnight screenings, with more than $30 million across the US to The Avengers‘ $18 million.
Obama did speak at a scheduled campaign rally early this morning in Fort Myers, Florida, calling for a day of reflection and mourning.
Conservative Republican challenger Mitt Romney also pulled back from his campaign schedule today.
And both sides pulled their ads in Colorado, a key swing state where Obama currently has an edge.
It’s unclear when the ads will begin again.
With China and Russia issuing twin vetoes yesterday of the latest UN Security Council resolution on Syria, it’s unclear what if anything the US and its European and Arab allies have in store to rescue the situation from a very dark denouement.
Obama is monitoring several geopolitical crises involving the Arab Awakening, Iran and Israel, Syria, Iraq, AfPak, and the South China Sea.
Military Crisis Zone Times: The Arabian Gulf is ten hours ahead of Pacific time and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time. The time in Manila, on the South China Sea, is fifteen hours ahead of Pacific time.
** MITT WHITMAN = MEG ROMNEY. I have to confess that I find Mitt Romney pretty boring. He’s a pleasant enough fellow to meet, certainly on the surface, but he doesn’t have much of interest to say, except when he puts his foot in his mouth. But the real reason he bores me is that he is so much like his former Bain protege, Meg Whitman, whom I grew thoroughly tired of during the 2010 California gubernatorial race.
That they should be alike is hardly a surprise, since her candidacy was his idea, as they eagerly acknowledged and I reported here in “The Mitt & Meg Show: ‘Taking Care of Business’” on the Huffington Post back in March 2010, when Romney appeared with Whitman on his birthday.
Whitman, of course, ran the biggest-spending non-presidential campaign in American history, spending some $180 million, mostly hers, in a campaign that wowed most of the media with its money, endless tactical gambits and techniques, and panoply of big name, big money consultants. Only to be blown away, 54% to 41%, in a Jerry Brown landslide even as Republicans were taking the U.S. House of Representatives.
Romney and Whitman are basically two peas from the same pod: Bland, entitled, attacking, possessed of no clear beliefs other than enrichment through financialized capitalism. No wonder they have so much in common as political figures.
Let’s count the ways.
* Sheer Opaqueness
Whitman wouldn’t reveal much about her finances. Her Republican primary opponent, then California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, himself a super-rich former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, challenged her to match him releasing tax records. She wouldn’t do it, with her spinners arguing privately that she was the frontrunner and didn’t have to. She wouldn’t do it in the general election, either, where I never felt she was the favorite, though quite a few others did, and where she never had a real lead.
Romney, as is glaringly obvious every day, also won’t reveal much about his finances.
The problem for candidates like this is that this is their calling card. Without it, they aren’t contenders.
It’s not like they have compelling ideas or intriguing personalities.
* The Same Program
Whitman ran on Romneynomics, a program of big tax cuts for the rich and corporations. She claimed that eliminating the capital gains tax and instituting another round of tax cuts for corporations — the state just granted big corporate tax cuts last year as part of its barely cobbled together budget deal — would create millions of new jobs and actually decrease the state budget deficit. What those cuts would actually have done is cost the state billions in revenue, adding to an already yawning budget gap.
And, like Romney, she filled out her big business wish list of an agenda with attacks on regulations. In her case, she called for an end to all new regulations.
* The Problem With the Positive and the Accent on the Negative
Each has evidenced a problem with the positive in campaigning. Whitman struggled trying to launch her campaign advertising. In fact, her campaign tried 22 introductory TV spots on focus groups and none of them worked.
Little surprise then that her campaign came to rely so heavily on negative ads.
So too with Romney, who only fended off his flawed but very persistent primary rivals with tons of negative ads.
* It’s All About the Money (Campaign)
Without the money to fund all those negative ads, there would never have been either this Romney campaign, nor the campaign of protege Whitman that preceded it.
Whitman massively outspent her primary and general election opponents, even factoring in help that Jerry Brown received from organized labor.
Romney won his nomination this year on the backs of massive spending by his own formal campaign and a closely aligned super PAC run by his 2008 presidential campaign aides. Without that advantage, he would have lost to Newt Gingrich or to Rick Santorum. As it was, he suffered huge primary defeats, even though Gingrich, Santorum, and the rest were all deeply flawed political figures.
Now Romney’s allies, taking advantage of the terrible Citizens United Supreme Court decision making unlimited spending legal, are aggregating massive super PAC funds to go after Obama.
It’s like it’s 1896 all over again, with Mark Hanna organizing the robber barons for William McKinley’s campaign to stave off the populist surge of William Jennings Bryan.
But Barack Obama, who tip-toed around Wall Street reform for most of his first term, is no sane person’s idea of a wild-eyed populist. Yet the super PAC money is flowing anyway.
Why?
Because it can.
* It’s All About the Money (Life)
It’s no surprise that Mitt Whitman and Meg Romney’s campaigns would be, in the most fundamental sense, all about money. For that’s what their lives seem to be about.
Whitman mouthed a lot of platitudes about caring deeply about education, jobs, the environment, fiscal responsibility, i.e., things that poll well, but there was no depth or passion to it. And she’d never bothered to do so much as spin up an op-ed piece before running.
Her signature move as she began her campaign for governor was to pose, complete with riding gear, on the cover of Fortune magazine with a horse (which was rented for the occasion).
So too with Romney, who only ever gets passionate talking about the untrammeled freedom to make money, intones that “Corporations are people” and thinks little of betting $10,000 during a presidential debate.
These are empty, uninteresting people. At least Newt Gingrich, for all his wackiness, had some flavor.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
Brown got some good news from state Controller John Chiang indicating that state revenues are running nearly $600 million above projections.
** CRISES CHAOTIC AND BUBBLING: THE GULF AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. … From my July 17th essay.
** WHY THE CLINTONS NEED OBAMA TO WIN: UNCERTAINTY AS HILLARY PUSHES THE BIG GEOPOLITICAL PIVOT. … From my July 13th essay.
** A TICKET TO RIDE: HIGH-SPEED RAIL MOVES FORWARD ON A HISTORIC (AND BUMPY) TRACK IN CALIFORNIA. … From my July 11th feature.
** DARK KNIGHTS, AVENGERS, BONDING RETRO ACTION HEROES: HOW LONG WILL THE SUPERHERO PHENOMENON LAST? … From my July 7th essay.
** FOUNDED IN ENLIGHTENMENT, AMERICA FACES IGNORANCE AND CONFUSION AS THE CHALLENGES GROW EVER MORE COMPLEX. … From my July 2nd essay.
** THE “MOMENTARY MEDIA” STRIKES: EPIC FAILS BY CNN AND FOX NEWS HIGHLIGHT DYSFUNCTIONALITY. … From my June 28th column.
** THE “SLOW BORING OF HARD BOARDS” IN AN ERA OF LIMITS. … From my June 27th essay.
** A RUGGED TIME FOR OBAMA’S BIG GEOPOLITICAL PIVOT. … From my June 22nd essay.
** THE “FAIR SHOT” VS. THE “TO DO LIST” — A BIG REVEALING BLAH IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE. … From my June 20th column.
** FROM GOVERNATOR TO MOONBEAM. … From my January 3rd, 2011 feature.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.
The Paris premiere of the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, set for Friday night, has been cancelled after a gunman killed 12 people at a Colorado screening of the film. The Dark Knight Rises had premieres earlier this week in New York and London. It’s midnight showing across the US last night shattered the box office record just set by The Avengers. Mexico City and Tokyo premieres next week may still be on.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in major military operations in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer from the Russia Today channel. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the state-run channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $91 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $57 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down about $23 per barrel from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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| Comments (33) |
Good speech by President Obama on the Colorado tragedy.
Good bad news news video of the Dark Knight Paris premier.
Horrible, just horrible, what makes people do this??
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Good speech by President Obama on the Colorado tragedy.
They sure had no choice…
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Good bad news news video of the Dark Knight Paris premier.
Barack sure did the right thing.
How bad will this hurt the movie which I can’t wait to see??
BB:Obama canceled a second day of campaigning in Florida in the wake of the horrifying shootings at this morning’s midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The film shattered the previous box office record for opening midnight screenings, with more than $30 million across the US to The Avengers‘ $18 million.
Love love love the Mitt Whitman=Meg Romney column!!!
That’s a good one, too.
Too many crazy people with too many guns. We are lucky it doesn’t happen more.
Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Horrible, just horrible, what makes people do this??
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Good speech by President Obama on the Colorado tragedy.
I doubt it hurts the movie much at all…
Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Barack sure did the right thing.
How bad will this hurt the movie which I can’t wait to see??
BB:Obama canceled a second day of campaigning in Florida in the wake of the horrifying shootings at this morning’s midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The film shattered the previous box office record for opening midnight screenings, with more than $30 million across the US to The Avengers‘ $18 million.
Gulf crisis video today, Syria crisis video today?
Tragedy in Colorado with a lone nut, yeah, but I am still seeing the movie this weekend.
Good bad news news video on movie security. No crisis video today?
I am in shock and mourning over the shootings in Colorado. There is too much anger in society. Guns are too easy to get. We never learn from these horrors, do we?
The Joker said that…
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH”
I love the great news about jobs!!
What the hey was going on in the Parks Department all these years??
** JERRY-RIGGING: GOOD JOBS REPORT, BAD PARKS DEPARTMENT.
Syria crisis video today?
Yes.
That is quite a mystery.
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 5:37 pm (Edit)
I love the great news about jobs!!
What the hey was going on in the Parks Department all these years??
** JERRY-RIGGING: GOOD JOBS REPORT, BAD PARKS DEPARTMENT.
Indeed.
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 5:36 pm (Edit)
The Joker said that…
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH”
We certainly haven’t learned in this century; if anything, we’ve regressed.
> Requiem says:
July 20, 2012 at 4:36 pm (Edit)
I am in shock and mourning over the shootings in Colorado. There is too much anger in society. Guns are too easy to get. We never learn from these horrors, do we?
How’d you like it?
> Cooper Hawks says:
July 20, 2012 at 3:41 pm (Edit)
Tragedy in Colorado with a lone nut, yeah, but I am still seeing the movie this weekend.
Oh, it’s having an impact.
> Jack Aubrey says:
July 20, 2012 at 3:07 pm (Edit)
I doubt it hurts the movie much at all…
Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Barack sure did the right thing.
How bad will this hurt the movie which I can’t wait to see??
BB:Obama canceled a second day of campaigning in Florida in the wake of the horrifying shootings at this morning’s midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The film shattered the previous box office record for opening midnight screenings, with more than $30 million across the US to The Avengers‘ $18 million.
Indeed.
> Jack Aubrey says:
July 20, 2012 at 3:05 pm (Edit)
Too many crazy people with too many guns. We are lucky it doesn’t happen more.
Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Horrible, just horrible, what makes people do this??
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Good speech by President Obama on the Colorado tragedy.
Thanks!
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:44 pm (Edit)
Love love love the Mitt Whitman=Meg Romney column!!!
He did indeed.
It looks like the movie will be 10% to 15% off as a result.
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm (Edit)
Barack sure did the right thing.
How bad will this hurt the movie which I can’t wait to see??
BB:Obama canceled a second day of campaigning in Florida in the wake of the horrifying shootings at this morning’s midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The film shattered the previous box office record for opening midnight screenings, with more than $30 million across the US to The Avengers‘ $18 million.
Indeed.
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:31 pm (Edit)
They sure had no choice…
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Good bad news news video of the Dark Knight Paris premier.
It’s complicated. I think people do pick up on cues in the culture, but why their behavior manifests itself in this extreme fashion is mysterious.
> Capitol Boy says:
July 20, 2012 at 2:24 pm (Edit)
Horrible, just horrible, what makes people do this??
Jonas says:
July 20, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Good speech by President Obama on the Colorado tragedy.
Incidentally, NWN passed 123,000 comments sometime in the past few weeks.
[...] Brown had decidedly mixed news on July 20th. On the one hand, a very promising report on the state economy. On the other, a bizarre controversy around the state parks department. [...]
[...] Brown had decidedly mixed news on July 20th. On the one hand, a very promising report on the state economy. On the other, a bizarre controversy around the state parks department. [...]
[...] Brown had decidedly mixed news on July 20th. On the one hand, a very promising report on the state economy. On the other, a bizarre controversy around the state parks department. [...]
[...] Brown had decidedly mixed news on July 20th. On the one hand, a very promising report on the state economy. On the other, a bizarre controversy around the state parks department. [...]
[...] Brown had decidedly mixed news on July 20th. On the one hand, a very promising report on the state economy. On the other, a bizarre controversy around the state parks department. [...]