Gabrielle Giffords - Congresswoman Shot: Sarah Palin Catching Heat

In the wake of the point blank shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (8th District - D - Arizona) Former Governor Sarah Palin is catching major heat for a tweet and map she posted and now has removed from the Internet, except the cached version.

Here's the tweet - link

Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!

Palin also had the Congresswoman's district on a map and marked with crosshairs.

As the blog Kateoplis points out, Gabrielle Giffords said "Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district and when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there are consequences to that action."

The Congresswoman, who's said to be out of surgery, was, sadly, correct.

To her credit, Palin wrote this statement on Facebook:

My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.

With this, Palin can kiss any Presidential dreams goodbye.

Gabrielle Giffords: Congresswoman Shot: Video Of Protest Marked "Private" - Why?

This is really sad news. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (8th District - Arizona) was shot "point blank" in the head during an event called "Congress on your corner." It was in Tucson, Arizona.



The reports are that a bystander just walked up and started shooting at her and 12 others. She's in the hospital now.

I found another video of a protest against her on the Heath Care issue. But for some reason it's marked "private" here. Why? Does someone not want to be identified? YouTube should release this video for public view.

UPDATE: The same person that marked the video private, now has removed the video! Something's up. The YouTube channel is AAPSOnline , the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Seriously.

Gabrielle Giffords won reelection to Congress.

49ers Meet Rooney Rule With Token Approach

The use of token minority candidates by NFL teams in working to meet The Rooney Rule must stop. While I'm happy to be wrong in this area, as it means society's advancement, it painfully seems that I'm not.

Hey, I'll take my lumps in generous quantities if it means we're moving ahead.

The San Francisco 49ers talking to Hue Jackson and ESPN Analyst Tony Sofii for Head Coach and GM positions, then picking the people they really wanted in Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke looks like tokenism. Sorry to say it, but it does.

What I'd like to see is an organization that has a giant list of people off all colors, including women, that would be great candidates, and interview them.

Someone wrote "shouldn't an organization be able to do what it wants?" No. Not when what that organization does is seen by millions in society and impacts how we think and live.

No.

Using blacks as token candidates is just plain sad. I think the Rooney Rule needs to be improved. I'm not sure it's taken seriously by some teams.

Again, I hope I'm wrong because I really want to be.

Jim Harbaugh, Hue Jackson and The Rooney Rule

In my last post, I blogged about Jim Harbaugh and The Rooney Rule. The sad fact is that the 49ers only talked to Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson, who's black and might meet the Rooney Rule, but in the case of the exact read of the rule, talking just to him doesn't.

The Rooney Rule also covers front office candidates. I've not found evidence the 49ers talked to a minority or woman for the GM position. (Wrong here I am, but again in an ESPN NFL Analyst named Tony Sofii it looks like a token interview.) It's not a matter of trying to get the Niners in trouble, but to clamp down on the abuse of the Rooney Rule by having a "token minority candidate."

It seems Hue Jackson may be that candidate. But hopefully Al Davis promotes him to head coach. Jackson, for whom I've long been a fan, deserves it.

Look. I would be very, very happy to be totally wrong about this, because it means we're moving forward. But we're not, so I'm not. If someone with the Niners can prove I am wrong, I'm ready to see that.

People simply must be conditioned to think in a way that's multi-racial. It will really solve a lot of deep-seated problems in American society. And we have to get way beyond "token interviews" because it's not helping the situation at all.

In closing, I never said Harbaugh wasn't a good choice. He is and I think he will bring a Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Niners.

Jim Harbaugh, Head Coach SF 49ers. OK. What About Rooney Rule?

UPDATE: The 49ers did talk to Hue Jackson, the offensive coordinator who turned around the Raiders season. He's black. But was Hue a token? And what about the 49ers GM position?

Former Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is now the coach of the San Francisco 49ers. It marks the second time a Stanford Head Coach was selected to be the coach of the 49ers. Of course, the last person was the Legendary Bill Walsh. In the press conference, which I watch below while here in Las Vegas for CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, Harbaugh mentioned Walsh several times.

As one who's advocated for a person who understands what I call "the system" that was born in San Francisco and created by Walsh to be in the Niners fold, Harbaugh's a step in the right direction. But as I watched the press conference, and read the full transcript from it, I found myself seething. There was no mention of the 49ers having talked to a minority head coach, and no member of the media who asked about it. Witness:



In other words, while Harbaugh's a good choice, the 49ers skirted the Rooney Rule, and I'm going to bet money the NFL will cover for them. But for the mostly white San Francisco Bay Area media to allow an entire freaking press conference introducing a white head coach and GM to go without any question about the Rooney Rule is awful. Shameful. Terrible.

What the hell is the Bay Area sports beat media afraid of?  Do they think 49ers Team President Jed York's going to break out a machine gun? What's going on? Lots of cowardice on display at that press conference.

Makes me puke.

They're lucky I wasn't there.

It's not a question of "Do we need the Rooney Rule," we do. It's totally stupid to have a society that reflect the Roman Empire, with (mostly) well-moneyed whites cheering blacks beating on each other. And if you're black and think it's OK, you're just as much a part of the problem too.

Keep supporting it; I hope you enjoy your second class status. It's not for me.

The Rooney Rule was installed in 2003, and "requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities." Let's see, both Jim Harbaugh and new 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke are white and male. And, particularly in a day and age when there are GMs and Assistant GMs in baseball who are female, why just go out and talk to just male candidates for NFL front office positions? Did the 49ers York talk to any black or Latino or woman candidate?   Who?  When?

It seems no one.  The 49ers reportedly only talked to NFL Network Analyst Mike Lombardi, and he's a white guy.  Geez.

Oh, and someone will say "You're getting racial?" To anyone who does, my retort is get out of The Matrix and think.  We've been presented with images of "white male knows best" so much that it impacts a person's ability to clearly go and evaluate who the best person really is for any position in any walk of life.  That's the problem.  And it's so much a problem that when it's questioned, some say "oh, you're getting racial," but if the person was black, then race would be an issue for some.  Not good.

The NFL overwhelmingly presents this problem and that's why Steelers Owner Dan Rooney, a forward thinking person who sees beyond The Matrix, called for The Rooney Rule. (He didn't name it that, however.)

If Rooney, a white male, can see beyond his own skin and place to understand we must eliminate institutional racism, why can't the Bay Area media see that?

(And don't give me this "we had a black coach" garbage. This isn't a points game. It's about giving those people who may be the best qualified a chance, and who happen to be of color. Moreover, it's not a point of saying "We talked to one person." You're to survey the landscape of candidates.)

Race is always an issue.   You have three choices: embrace it positively, or negatively, or ignore it.   Chose the first one.  Please.


Something's really wrong.  And it's not with this blog.  It's with our society.

Paladinette Introduces “Jobless Talk Rant” to 99er Nation

Yesterday, Paladinette Introduced “Jobless Talk Rant” to the 99er Nation. Jobless Talk Rant is a YouTube version of the opening remarks of her BlogTalk Radio Show, which airs Fridays at noon Pacific called Jobless Talk.

Jobless Talk was the first BlogTalk Show dedicated exclusively to “the stories of the unemployed, benefit extensions, Washington inaction to help the jobless millions, the out of control US unemployment rate and what Congress is not doing to help the 99er Nation.”

The 99er’s Rant can be found on ThePaladinette’s YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePaladinette?feature=mhum and her show is even available free on I-Tunes. As She put it in yesterday’s show “I am even on Itunes Isn’t that a HOOT! Itunes.apple.com/bw/podcast/paladinette-blog-talk.../id373134073 free Podcast downloads you can schedule to automatically go into your I-TUNES PodCast Library!”

Yesterday’s Jobless Talk Show was the first of the New Year and came after a two week Holiday hiatus, since December 17, 2010.

This first installment of the Jobless Talk Rant comes in 2 parts (seen below) and is focused upon stirring the 99er Nation out of their apathetic and often self-deprecation lethargy after the long, unfruitful Tier 5 fight in 2010.

“Actually I am trying to stir up 99ers from their sadness and Depression. What is happening to the 99er Nation is SHAMEFUL - but the shame is on Washington NOT the 99ers. Whether or not you agree with everything I write or opine that makes no difference to me - what matters is that I/We can agree to disagree and still stand in brother/sisterhood rising up to take our rightful place and demand what we have a right for - SURVIVAL! VIVA la 99er Nation, Arise and stand proud of what you have come through with NO HELP from Washington - only us helping each other!”

Yesterday’s episode of Jobless Talk was the first of the new 2 hour format and was full of inspiring ideas, personal stories and poignant - In Your Face Style Paladinette is well known for employing.

“Honestly I am not here to molly coddle anyone. I cannot and likely will NEVER understand anyone in our situation NOT being thrilled over the good fortune bestowed upon another down and out American. Some folks were actually pissed off at me at the end of last year because I found a benefactor to keep this show on the air. Now I will never understand not being absolutely THRILLED over the blessings God bestows on a fellow human being struggling to survive. Do not allow anyone to make you feel less than INCLUDING yourself.”

One of the most important suggestions she makes during this diatribe of a 99er Wake Up Call is to STOP fighting amongst themselves and remember everyone is human, makes mistakes and does their utmost best to lead the 99er Nation to what they need from Washington, in the form of more UI benefits NOW and a robust Jobs bill very soon.

One of the “Key STRATEGIES” she lays out in both her show and yesterday’s rant is:

All of you need to:

GET over to U-Cubed [http://www.unionofunemployed.com] and sign up it is free and Rick Sloan who runs it is so smart about Washington and how it works. He has a long history and background in advocating for working class America with his involvement in IAM union. This man is so smart and U-Cubed will be a mover and shaker this year in the 99ers fight. How many people are represented in the 99ers union group what 20,000 or more?

I say stay with the 99ers union thing but also Get on U-Cubed now, today. When you get there, send me a friend request Paladinette. We need an army of folks fed up enough to take this fight to victory. I assure you that 20K people - ready to fight for survival of the 99ers under the leadership of Rick Sloan will make a HUGE difference and expedite the reward of our efforts.

So - spread the word. Get the word out to all the groups, blogs social networks, FB pages, radio shows, unemployed friends, pass out flyers if that is they only way you can help. Tell your friends and family to join you in this fight. It will help educate them, inspire you and positive energy attracts like energy. The power of like-minded people coming together for a good cause simply has to spawn something good.

The time to hide in your homes behind your computers is transcending into a call for more visible involvement. Hold your elected officials accountable. They put us in this mess and I for one intend to be politely in their face until we get what the 99er Nation needs to survive and eventually thrive. We will not be ignored any longer.

So I ask you How bad do you want to survive? Do you want it bad enough to pitch in and leave comfortable and apathy AND your ego at the door? Well now is the time and today is the day!

I will NOT GIVE UP OR GIVE IN! Nor will I stop trying new things that have the potential to effect the CHANGE necessary to help the 99ers - What you think of me personally is really none of my business. RATHER It is what we can accomplish together that is important the rest is distractions and immaterial crap!

SO I ASK You all out there in Unemployed America once AGAIN

Who is with me?

PLEASE SPREAD THES LINKS AROUND the Blogosphere wherever Jobless Americans may roam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKaCkUJCbLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFegx5f_KOk

[The donation button below is for me, Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

CES 2011 First Impressions - iPads, Tablets, Digital Natives

Greetings from CES 2011 and after this blogger had a late night out with a college friend after a surprise meeting at The Cosmopolitan Hotel, then a walk to Bellagio, where we visited The Bank Nightclub. After getting in at 4 AM, some breakfast, and some rest, I'm ready to tell you about my first impressions of CES Las Vegas 2011 in brief.

First, this is just overwhelming.  You need two weeks to see all that's here.  Plus, as you can see from the video below, the place is teaming with people from all countries.  You commonly hear three or four languages spoken around you.



Second, even though Apple's not here, Apple is here. There are iPads all over the place, and consumer electronics makers like BlackBerry, Samsung, and Motorola are rolling out their versions here at CES. I'm not sure all of these tablet, some with operating systems that are a cross between the maker's smartphones, and computer operating systems, will succeed. They may do just enough to blunt the iPad's sales, but I can't see them overtaking the iPad.



It's the size thing. The tablets are smaller than the movie-viewing-ready iPad. I can't see kids wanting a tablet smaller than the iPad. Time will tell, but I'm willing to bet the iPad remains the leader here by a wide margin.

Tablets aside, there's 3D all over the place, in televisions, movies, tv shows, and even for your smartphone:



But is the public really ready for all of this 3D, or is it being pushed on us. There are three views: one is that the tech push gets the next generation ready for 3D. The other is there's too much and some companies involved are going to take a bath. The last is that this is the next wave, and the data shows there're money to be made. My view is a mix of the three.

Finally Walking Dead and Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd says CES 2011 is a split between "digital natives" and "digital immigrants," which folks like her as the immigrants, and people like, say, Robert Scoble or Caly Lewis, as digital natives.  The natives know this digital stuff; the immigrants feel like they have to know this digital stuff.

Well, I've got to jam.  I've uploaded a ton of videos at YouTube.com/zennie62.  I'm headed down to the floor, and then, eventually, to something called the CES Tweetup, where I'm going to drink nothing but cranberry juice.  

Also, live feeds are at Qik.com/zennie62.

CES 2011: Sony 3D Bloggie Preview

CES 2011 has a surprise that was briefly mentioned yesterday: the Sony 3D Bloggie. That's right, 3D. That means you can make a true 3D video. The product is so new, it's not out yet. But the Sony representative says it will be available for purchase in April.

I've been a critic of the old Sony Bloggie design, the one with the swivel head. The reason for my dislike of that feature was it prevents what I call "eye-level vlogging" where you hold the camcorder at eye level, thus causing the production of a steadier video image.

With the old Sony Bloggie design, a one millimeter offset of the head throws off the ability to directly aim at an image and keep the video steady. I know this because I purchased a Sony Bloggie from Sears in Oakland, then took it back the next day. The new Sony Bloggie, and the 3D version, has a fixed lens. No swivel.

Also, the 3D Sony Bloggie is both PC and Mac compatible. Can you adjust the interocular levels of the 3D Bloggie? No. In other words, you can't adjust the, to put it simply, "intensity" of the 3D experience. Moreover, it's not a good idea to try if you don't know what you're doing and most consumers don't.

But I digress.

I fell in love with the Sony 3D Bloggie. It's the perfect camcorder for YouTubers who want to get into making 3D video blogs.

Stay tuned.

Teen Mom Sex Addict

InTouch Weekly's cover story about Teen Mom Amber being a sex addict had no interview with Amber - the only celebrity interview included was one with Angelina Jolie. The interviews of this magazine include "inside sources" and "close friends." Lack of credibility. The big deal cover story should definitely include an interview with the person, and feel sympathy for any guy who ever dates her from here on out: they are going to be in the public eye.

Jersey Shore Season 3 Premiere

Last night, Thursday, January 6, 2010 at 10 p.m. EST the season three of Jersey Shore kicked off in a crazy way. Watching this guilty pleasure show pays off in the end, but there are times during the show where it feels as though brain cells have just died - and moments of life have been wasted.

Snooki comes on the screen looking orange as ever. She brings a surprise new member to the house, her friend Deena. Deena is a skinnier version of Snooki, and is three times as annoying. Most would expect Snooki to bring her best friend Ryder, but as Snooki explains later Ryder and Vinny had sex two weeks ago and she walked in on it.

Sammi and Ronnie are the first to get there, and they decide to take the upstairs bedroom with three beds. JWOWW arrives next and makes sure to take the other three bedroom to share with Deena and Snooki. Vinny and Pauly room together - which leaves The Situation to room with Sammi and Ronnie. Vinny brings a shower caddy - which brings lots of laughs.

Deena tries to get to know Sammi, but for some reason Sammi is rude for no reason and doesn't even want to tell her what part of Jersey she is from.

The housemates enjoy their first night getting drunk, playing flip cup and chilling in the hot tub - all except for Ronnie and Sammi who decide to just stay in their bedroom. Ronnie tells Sammi that he's madly in love with her.

Image courtesy of MTV.com

Snooki and Deena are in the hot tub with Vinny, and Deena decides to be all over Vinny. Snooki gets extremely jealous and says, "I swear to God if Vinny hooks up with [Deena] I am done ties with Vinny." She then continues to say, "Vinny f***ed [Ryder] right in front of me."

Vinny and Snooki have a lover's quarrel in the hot tub, and then in my notes I wrote the following:

"Aww Vinny cares about Snooki too much to hook up with her. aww, that's so sweet. Snooki is all heartbroken and everything. Snooki wants to be with Vinny - he won't hook up with her because he cares about her too much and knows that if he hooks up with her and then hooks up with another girl the next day she'll be sad. hooking up with her is more than just hooking up. but snooki says she's over it and it's over."

Deena is flirting with The Situation and has him follow her into her bedroom so she can find her hat. As she looks for her hat she gets butt naked and The Situation turns her down, because that is not something to do the first night. The Situation tells this story to JWOWW who says, "If I see your penis rise I'm going to sleep."

Image courtesy of MTV.com

Later, Situation tells the story to Sammi and Ronnie, and then Deena comes upstairs trying to cuddle. Sammi laughs at Deena so Deena calls her the c-word.

All of a sudden all hell breaks loose and Snooki is telling Sammi how much of a bitch she is and saying that she's a slut and just all sorts of crazy stuff. All because Deena was laughed at by Sammi. Ronnie gets involved and it's just a mess. Sammi confesses that she is staying in the house and that Snooki is a fake bitch.

There is a preview of Sammi and JWOWW getting into a fist fight. All of this is happening the first night at the Jersey Shore. The end of the episode there are previews for the rest of the season which include an image that suggests that Sammi will be going home and Ronnie will become friends with JWOWW. Deena is definitely crazy and extremely annoying.

Tune in next week for episode two re-cap of season three - which will pick up from the first night and show the fight of fists between Sammi and JWOWW.

Paladinette’s Jobless Talk to Returns with a Vengeance in 2011

Paladinette’s Jobless Talk will return with a vengeance Friday January 7, 2011. The weekly shows have now been expanded up to 2 hours in length. Jobless Talk is a BlogTalk Radio show which airs via live stream by computer every Friday at Noon Pacific time or by podcast.

Tomorrow’s show is subtitled “GET OUT THERE” and was inspired by recent events surrounding Ted Williams, a homeless man from Ohio. I will let the video speak for itself, but this man got out there and made things happen (with the help of Almighty God - in his words). It did not hurt his meteoric overnight change in circumstances to have been blessed with a GOLDEN voice - but the 99er Nation is full of equally talented individuals as well.

Ted may not be a 99er (and is now fully employed) but he overcame the ravages of self induced life circumstances related to addictions to drugs and alcohol and now his life is turning around. Kudos to the reporter who gave him a TracPhone (for job offers and media requests to be fielded by Mr. Williams) and put his story and GOLDEN VOICE on YouTube. (now with over 11 million hits)

From Homeless:

To Salvation:



[The donation button below is for me, Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

CES 2011: Qik, Sony 3D Bloggie, Gale Anne Hurd, Dancing With The Stars

Gale Anne Hurd, originally uploaded by zennie62.

CES 2011 is overwhelming. As I write this, I'm in the giant press / blogger "lounge" in the small city that is the Las Vegas Convention Center. A friend of mine here observed that there seemed to be more media people than attendees!

But this blog is a bit late coming as the day started with a quick cab ride from my hotel to the Las Vegas Convention Center. The massive Exhibit Hall had not opened until 10 AM and I planned to attend the Variety-sponsored session called "Media Money Makers" and featuring Walking Dead and Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd (in photo), Heroes creator Tim Kring, Jeff Ross Executive Producer of Conan, Conrad Green, Dancing With The Stars Producer Conrad Green, and Bonnie Arnold, Producer of How To Train Your Dragon.

Afterward, I asked Hurd if she planned to produce Terminator Five. She remarked that, while she's been quoted as feeling the movie series that gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger as android had lost it's way, there was nothing she could do to reboot it. "I don't own the rights," she said.

Meanwhile, Conan's Jeff Ross explained the show's wildly high popularity has generated 60,000 views online per day (yes, I know it's an offline TV show, but the online data was interesting to me). He explained he didn't know if that was "good or bad," and I explained that really considering his TV views, the rate should be about double that.

Thanks to Qik.com, I was able to stream the entire 53 minutes of the meeting, and you can see it here:






More on this later.

After the session, I interviewed Conrad Green of Dancing With The Stars, who explained that they were very pleased with the overwhelming response they got by having Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol Palin on the show:



The day before, I was a press guest of the Sony people (along with oh, about 300 others) to see their new products. Frankly, Sony's presentation was breathtaking. Overall, it must have cost something like $15 million, when you consider the sets, videos, and the various models of the Black Beauty from The Green Hornet that were on display.

But, for me, the real star was Sony's 3D version of the Bloggie camcorder series.  For a Flip Video lover, like me, it takes a lot to make me convert to a Sony Bloggie.   Sony would have to do something really incredible.

Well, they did.

The Sony 3D Bloggie, which goes on sale this April, will allow you to make 3D videos of the kind that YouTube engineers have been working to reconfigure the YouTube site for over the last three years.  Moreover Sony had tech reps on hand to ask any and all questions about the product.



Lots more to report here. I'm going to get up off this great couch and go out. Remember to follow me at Zennie62 at Twitter and also on YouTube and Qik.com and CNN iReport.

And thanks again to the Qik.com people.

Stay tuned for more.