TeresaCentric

I've been reluctant to write much about the predicament of the Seattle PI. My good friend Mónica Guzmán is a full-time online reporter at the venerable Seattle institution, and it's felt too personal. I've known too much and cared too much to talk objectively. I know that sounds like a cop out. After all, reporters at the PI were doing their jobs by covering the demise of their own company and their own job losses. But what can I say? I'm not a professional journalist, I just can't parse out my personal feelings that way. But though I'm not a reporter, thanks to the PI I am a lifelong newshound.

I believe this to be the best interview I've seen in the past few years. I applaud Jim Cramer for having the courage to go on Jon Stewart's show to take the reaming that his entire network deserves. He genuinely seemed to take Stewart's suggestions to heart; however, I doubt he'll change the name of his show from "Mad Money" to "Sober and Intelligent Savings and Investments." While I loved this interview, it saddens me that a supporting actor from "Big Daddy" is the only syndicated journalist on television who is actually willing to hold people responsible. But I guess that's what happens when financial journalists spend their time asking people who run Ponzi schemes how awesome it is to be a billionaire, or think that Bear Stearns can leverage themselves 30 to 1 because they had a few cocktails with the company's CEO. Stewart's recent interview with Jim Cramer (below) was the culmination of weeks of Stewart calling CNBC out for treating financial reporting like a game. Futhermore, back when Bush was in office shredding the Constitution, I always felt as though Stewart was the only** journalist on TV who wasn't swallowing his bullshit. So CNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS, can you please, please, PLEASE do some ACTUAL reporting again. I really don't think its fair to make a two-bit actor from "Half-Baked" and "Death To Smoochy" who comes on after Futurama responsible for journalist integrity on TV***. * For college students and hippie liberals. ** Except for Stephen Colbert near the end of Bush's second term *** My rant against TV Journalism does not apply to the journalism in other mediums such as newspaper, magazines, radio, and the internet, where there is a much higher range in quality of reporting, as opposed to on major TV networks where everyone outside of Comedy Central sucks.

Hosts Ted Johnson and Teresa Valdez-Klein weigh in on the week's biggest issues in politics, new media, and entertainment. Does Timothy Geithner has any cred left, now he's been lampooned by SNL? We'll assume yes for now. Is all this talk about socialism merited when both parties are pretty guilty of cheap populism? With Octo-Mom at the center of a media hurricane, should we even be bothering her at all? Plus, talk of Prop 8 arguments and Celebrity Activism.

The gay rights movement continues to move forward. As opposition groups run out of excuses, a new one has come forward that has gained a lot of momentum among "moderates" on this issue: "we're too busy." This is the current line Vermont Governor Jim Douglas has been given when asked about a current Vermont law that attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in the state of Vermont. The rebuttal coming from Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, is that while their focus this year is the economic downturn, the Legislature can handle more than one issue at a time. The law is likely to pass, and put pressure on Douglas to take a stand. What is embarrassing is that he hasn't taken a stand already. I know the economy is keeping him busy, but how much time does it take to sign a piece of paper? I should cut him some slack though, doing two things at the same time is way too hard. Especially when one of them as complex as trying to figure out whether or not treating gay people like human beings will destroy society. I know previous generations have been able to do things at the same time before, but seriously, a recession and gay rights is WAY harder than what they had to do (keep the Union together and end slavery, defeat Germany and the Ottoman Empire, defeat Germany and Japan, go the moon and grant civil rights to African-Americans, win the Cold War and deal with a recession which was technically worse than the current one).

The economy claims another victim. My roommate, who is SUPER awesome, will be moving out in 30 days, along with his awesome 6-year-old lab/coonhound, and back to his home state, as a result of the economic downturn. If you or anyone you know is looking for a place in Seattle, please leave a comment or email me. P.S. If you see John Thain, Kerry Killinger, or Alan Greenspan...well, at this point, I don't think they are going out in public anymore.

Is not a politician, but rather a talk radio host. And his solution to righting the party is to stop trying to come up with better ideas than the opposition. I'm not making this up, I swear. Here's some excerpts from the keynote speaker at the Conservation Politician Action Committee meeting this year. The Republican Party has structured itself in a way that gives more power and influence to ideologues whose job is entertainment, not leadership. I have nothing against Rush Limbaugh. As a talk show host, he can be quite entertaining. But making him the de facto head of the a political movement is political suicide. I predict the Republican Party to hold less than a quarter of the Congressional Seats in Washington by 2017.

Listen in as Equality California executive director Geoff Kors joins Ted, Maegan and I to discuss the future of Propisition 8. Also, we review the president's address to Congress last night and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's response.

Almost, being 2022. That's the year in which Nate Silver, my favorite statistician, predicts that support for marijuana legalization will reach critical mass necessary (60% popular support). Currently, support for marijuana legalization is at 40%, with 46% opposed. While I find it harder to understand that the number is 46% opposed (I find it really hard to understand why anyone would oppose legalizing marijuana), the good news is that the number in support has been growing steadily since the early 1990's. So we only have to deal with 14 more years of wasteful government spending and intrusive lawmaking, right? Maybe not! Marijuana could be come legal to sell and taxed openly as soon as next week in the state of California. The current budget crisis in California (it's broker than MC Hammer) has forced the state legislature to look for other sources of revenue. One possible source being marijuana, which, if taxed as a legal substance, could bring in millions of dollars in revenue. Assembly Bill 390 would charge cannabis wholesalers $5,000 initially and $2,500 annually for the right to distribute weed. Retail outlets would pay fees of $50 per ounce of cannabis to generate revenue for drug education programs statewide. The bill would prohibit cannabis near schools. It also would ban smoking it in public places or growing it in public view. It is not entirely clear how this would work with existing federal laws against marijuana. But if it passes, it would at least force politicians to openly debate this issue.

I heard a story on NPR this evening about a program to crowdsource border surveillance via the Internet. Those crafty folks down in Texas have come up with a way to have regular people conduct border surveillance online. Here's how it works:

On Blueservo's Web site, each camera focuses on an area that's known for illegal crossing. Next to a real-time view of a grassy meadow is the message: "Look for individuals on foot carrying backpacks." A shot of a border highway says, "If you see movement from the right to the left, please report this activity." When a citizen spots suspicious activity, they click a button on the Web site and write a report. That message goes to the corresponding sheriff's office. The sheriff may handle the problem or call the U.S. Border Patrol... Since the program started in November, virtual deputies have yielded four marijuana busts, totaling more than 1,500 pounds, and 30 incidents when illegal crossers were repelled.

And I'm sure they'll never try to cross again... I have to ask -- is this really the best use of taxpayer money and people's precious time? Couldn't they be crowdsourcing something more useful, like an encyclopedia, or a better algorithm for predicting what movies people will like, or even clean, affordable transportation technology? We have a lot more important things to worry about than marijuana and Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande. Let's put our collective brainpower to work there first.

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (86% chance of victory) Best Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (51% chance of victory) Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (71% chance of victory) Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader (68% chance of victory) Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire (99.7% chance of victory) Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire (99.0% chance of victory) From Nate Silver, the world's best baseball/politics/oscars statistician. Now you don't have to sit through three hours of boring speeches and obscure awards. I recommend using the time to catch up on Battlestar Galactica instead.