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Minneapolis, Minnesota
NBC's delayed broadcast in the United States of Friday's opening ceremonies from the 2012 Olympic Games omitted an elegiac tribute to the victims of a terrorist bombing in London, July 7, 2005, the day after the city was designated the site for the 2012 Games.
Time constraints were not at issue. The network consciously deleted "Abide With Me," featuring a vocalized hymn and interpretive dance, and substituted an inane interview with Michael Phelps, a U.S. swimming athlete.
"Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience," said NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes.
One can only speculate, then, about what aspect(s) of the six minute segment NBC thought viewers would not like or appreciate:
1. The performance of modern dance that was not part of an insipid, televised contest?
2. A choreographer bearing a name like Akram Khan?
3. A woman of color with blonde hair, Scotland's Emeli Sandé, singing the hymn "Abide With Me"?
4. Memorialized victims numbering only 52 and most, if not all, not being U.S. citizens?
Yet, many observers continue to opine about why record numbers of consumers no longer trust the biases and decision-making of media that insist on telling them what is important, what is news, and what to think.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Drenching sun blessed the city of Duluth, Minnesota, and Lake Superior today. Driving there before dawn this morning, amid frantic radio reports about Aurora, Colorado, and the "Dark Knight," I was reminded of a lesson learned when my niece was killed: When the worst happens and there might be news you never want to hear, you don't have to be in a rush to hear it. It will be bad enough, soon enough. Still, was relieved to learn later today that relatives and friends in the area are OK.
Returning south to Minneapolis at 3:30 this afternoon, northbound traffic on I-35W was bumper-to-bumper for at least 25 miles, from Forest Lake south to Highway 36 in St. Paul. Oye!
Walking Maggie in Stevens Square neighborhood just now before midnight, an older man approached all of us on the sidewalks with a cell phone photo of a young woman who has been missing since yesterday from the Teen Challenge residence on 18th Street.
Does the Second Amendment really require that 6,000 rounds of ammo be available on the internet?
Not sure what my point is.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mitt, Mitt, Mitt.
Running for office can be hard. I know – did it once.
Anyone who believes there is not a free market at work has never thrown his or her hat in the ring to stand for election. Messy and tough as it can be, that's democracy.
The world is run by those who stand up and show up. Yet, while I believe every citizen should stand and file for some office at least once in a lifetime, no one has to do so.
No one held a gun to the roof of your car and said "Make a run for the White House or the dog gets it!"
People who seek responsibility and accountability in public life don't get to make the rules. Hell, there are no rules.
I ran only for the Minneapolis city council. There were no requirements or expectations that I publish my tax returns. I would have if necessary.
You want us to trust you with our lives as our commander in chief, but you won't trust us and follow the time-honored conventions pioneered by your own father.
Don't release your returns for me. I'm going to vote for the guy your campaign surrogate said needs to 'learn how to be an American.'
It's time for you to learn how to be that. In this democratic republic, the people get to decide based on the merits of the case. If you want to win, you have to ante up the returns and answer Forbe's 35 Questions Mitt Romney Must Answer About Bain Capital Before The Issue Can Go Away.
If you don't, that sucking sound you hear isn't from all the jobs you allegedly allowed to be outsourced overseas. It's from your candidacy circling the drain.
John McCain said today that the multiple years of tax returns you released to him in 2008 had no bearing on his selection of Palin as his running mate. In so many words, he said she simply was a better candidate than you, Pawlenty, and all the other possibilities.
You want to be the better candidate? You want to be the most powerful human on the planet? Start acting like it. Power knows how to be humble and vulnerable. Prove it.
Release your tax returns already.
