Columnists

Why Is KCBS Trumpeting Trumpism?

On August 24, KCBS news radio aired a disturbing new commercial. Just before the station's "news on the half hour" the announcement rang out loud and clear: We should all tune in to Newsmax, the recorded voice urged. Why? Because "President Donald Trump says: 'They're really great!'"

While the ad avoided naming any of the network's ultra-conservative content providers, it's a matter of record that Newsmax hosts a biggly number of ex-Trump staffers. Former One America News (OAN) conspiracy-pusher Jenn Pellegrino now shares a Newsmax mic with Steve Cortes, formerly a senior advisor with Trump's failed election campaign. And, whenever Trump misses his old pal and former press-hating press secretary Sean Spicer, all he needs do is flip his dial to "Spicer & Co" on Newsmax.

Newsmax ranks to the right of its nearest competitor, Fox News, and has hired a number of on-air talents from the Fox News stable. Newsmax's Christopher Ruddy, the company's Owner and Editor, is a conservative with an estimated net worth of $100 million. Back in his days at the New York Post, Ruddy promoted the conspiracy tale that White House counsel Vincent Foster was murdered by the Clintons. A profile in the New York Times called Ruddy "the most audacious media entrepreneur of the Trump election fantasy" and characterized Newsmax as "a pure vehicle for Trumpism" and "the home of alternate reality."

Initial attempts to reach KCBS for comment were fruitless. Requests for comment were forwarded to unnamed individuals who never answered. In one case, a recorded message announced: "4113 does not subscribe to this service. Please, try again later. Goodbye." -more-

I had planned that this writing of the Activist’s Diary for August 22 would be published while I was away (you’ll see those comments in the next edition), but something happened with the email. I thought I had sent my Activist’s Diary as I rushed out the door in the middle of the night to catch a 6:30 am flight, but it didn’t arrive in the Planet email box as intended. It is floating or shall I say disappeared somewhere in the internet ether. Here it goes: -more-

In Mississippi one person was hospitalized for ingesting ivermectin — a horse dewormer — to prevent or treat the coronavirus. Reportedly, the state’s poison control center has received an increasing number of calls from individuals with potential ivermectin exposure taken to treat or prevent the virus. Mississippi State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs warned that there is no scientific evidence that ivermectin is effective at preventing or treating covid-19 and is dangerous if ingested by humans. -more-

Short-term Slang

Thanks, in part, to the vexation of trying to thumb-type on Smartphones, the English language has been evolving—with longer words mutating into shorter variations that are quicker to spell. Vacations have become "vacays." A vaccination has become a "vax." Merchandise has become "merch." Credibility is now "cred." Recreation long ago became "rec" and celebrities are now "celebs." So how about fashion becoming "fash." A purchase becoming a "purch." Collaboration becoming "collab." Testimony becoming "test." And brotherhood becoming "brohood." -more-

Congratulations! You’ve successfully treated your psychiatric problems and you have attained psychological wellness!

It is bitterly ironic that many psychiatric illnesses go into remission when we are older, and we become able to think more clearly and function better and with more ease; yet, by then, our bodies are decimated, and we don't have much time left. People who live with chronic psychiatric illness typically have substantially shortened lifespans, for numerous reasons.

(In my case, the thinking is far better, but I am not as able to drive long distance, to travel, and/or to work at a job. Things that require a high level of mental energy--and physical energy--are much harder, and I get tired more easily. Yet, I am a lot wiser and cleverer. But wise and clever don't do much for you if you can't leave the house.) -more-

National telethons used to be an annual event. (The longest running was the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon; which closed in 2012.) If telethons reappear, I'm going to host the Bob Burnett Telethon to cure short attention span. I'll highlight the protracted failure of Americans to pay attention to the tragedy of Afghanistan.

On August 16th, President Joe Biden appeared on national TV and let the Afghanistan "buck" stop with him: "I will not repeat the mistakes we’ve made in the past — the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the United States, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of U.S. forces." God bless you, Joe Biden! Thanks for being a real leader! -more-

On March 31st, President Joe Biden introduced his infrastructure plan, "The American Jobs Plan" (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/ ). After four months of negotiation, on August 10th the Senate passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan plan. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/10/senate-infrastructure-bill-what-is-in-it/) -more-

I was very surprised at the beginning of the year that our government was handing out sizable amounts of money to almost everyone. It made me wonder, could the government afford to do this all along--and was just holding out on us?

After all, the U.S. Government spends an astronomical amount of money on weapons designated for use against the human beings of other countries. The defense budget in 2019 was over 700 billion. Some of the fighter and/or bomber planes cost up to a hundred million per unit. The government spends approximately a third of a trillion on law enforcement every year. Why then, with all this spending that doesn't go to regular poor people, can't the government shell out a little more to us, people with disabilities, now and then? -more-

Recalibrating the Cal Recall

The County of Alameda's instruction guide for requesting and filing ballots for the September 19 Gubernatorial Recall Election scores some improvements over past pre-election documents but it also contains some head-scratchers.

Things get off to a good start with a fake demo ballot for the position of "Director of Entertainment" on page 2. The trick here is to find names of dead celebrities that everyone will recognize are not actually in the running. In the past, the names on these dummy-demo lists dated from the 1940s with names like Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, and Louis Armstrong.

The latest list of late entertainers is a bit more recognizable—Aretha Franklin, Bruce Lee, Bea Arthur, Sidney Poitier, Selena, and Freddie Mercury.

But then the ballot guide proclaims: "Remember, you can vote for fewer Candidates than allowed" but your ballot will be tossed if you "vote for MORE Candidates than allowed." But it's arithmetically impossible to vote for "fewer than one candidate."

It's No Longer "Right On" to "Write-in"

The ballot guide's instructions grant you the option of voting for a write-in candidate. But here's where the ballot-mongers throw a curve. Instead of being able to write-in anyone you want—be it a respected Green Party activist or the ever-popular write-in favorite, "Mickey Mouse"—in this election you can only vote for write-in candidates that are "allowed." But which write-in candidates have been pre-approved and why were some of these wannabe write-in candidates excluded?

The voters guide states a list of pre-approved write-in candidate can be found online at ACVote.org. Unfortunately, this online link leads to a list of unrelated postings from prior elections, none more recent than 2016. (The second-place document in the search sports the subject title: "1318 5 Trim Trim Perf Perf Trim Perf Perf...")

As of August 13, Alameda County's most recent related posting only addresses the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election. In that contest there were five certified-and-acceptable Democratic presidential write-ins and ten GOP hopefuls. While Ballortpedia is up to date regarding official candidates for the 2021 election, it doesn't provide a list of the "qualified write-ins." Reached by phone, a staffer at the county Registrar of Voters was unable to locate the list of "qualified" write-ins. I was given an email number to contact (candidates@acgov.org) but it turned out to be inactive.

Totaled Recall

Of the 55 gubernatorial recall attempts since 1911, the only one to succeed was in 2003, when 135 candidates vied to replace Gov. Gray Davis and the winner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won with 48.6% of the votes.

With 46 candidates on the September ballot (and none matching the star power of Schwarzenegger), it's possible that a new governor could be elected with only 10% of the total votes. Hardly a majority. Hardly a mandate.

Although it would be more costly, it would be more democratic if future recalls were conducted separately. An election to chose a replacement governor would only be held if a recall was successful. -more-