dynamic elf

Just captured from cnn.com:



Okay, so, stop me if I misunderstand, but does this show in the BIG BOLD NUMBERS that Obama is behind Clinton, but in the little teeny numbers that they're neck and neck in the popular vote, but CNN has awarded the "superdelegates" (i.e. the Smoky Back Room vote, delegate votes belonging to important party members not beholden to any popular vote contest) mostly to Clinton? How do media outlets decide how they think these votes are going to go?

Don't look at the Wikipedia page edit history for politicians currently up for reelection, this close to election day.

From starkeymonster: G. W. Bush passing notes to Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting. The link leads to a close-up photo of the note he was writing.

If you haven't already heard, NBC and CBS are refusing to run this ad (which is an ad by the United Church of Christ openly welcoming lowlifes such as homosexuals) because it is too tolerant: here's Josh Marshall's take. The press release is here, but if you can't connect, ( here's the text )

My favorite part:

"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."

Come on, guys, This is an awfully mild ad. You can choose to not run whatever ads you wish, but choosing to not run it because there might potentially be some legislation pending in the future that would outlaw something that this ad doesn't even talk about? That's just WEAK. Two men hold hands at the beginning. Two women get close in a half-second shot at the end. Civilization is not collapsing. There is no on-screen cunnilingus. Seriously, watch the ad: this is all about nothing.


Infuriated? Well, CBS has a "Feedback" link at the very bottom of their page, which brings up a web form. UPN has a similarly awkward setup: look for "Contact Us" in the middle of the blue sidebar-box at the bottom right of the screen. For both CBS and UPN, I recommend mentioning their diversity statement, and cc:ing their diversity address at Diversity@cbs.com. You can mail NBC at nbcshows@nbc.com . If you feel like printing out your quick statement and sticking it in a mailbox, or just picking up the phone, you can contact CBS and UPN's parent company Viacom here (thanks, juliansinger):

     Viacom, Inc.
     1515 Broadway
     New York, NY 10036
     212-258-6000

I'm not going to give you a little statement to cut and paste -- just tell the networks, if it's true, that you find it appalling that a family network would willingly censor a message of tolerance and acceptance while proclaiming their commitment to "diversity". Or whatever. Tell them something, and make it be something you wrote. Even if it's three sentences, that's no big deal -- just go write them. Now.