Playing the Middle Against Both Sides - #politics

No one is giving Barack Obama much credit for continuing to try to be President of the United States at a time when the nation, politically and ideologically, is split in half.

Despite repeated setbacks and rebuffs, he is still trying to do what he was elected to do: Be President to the people on both sides of the big divide.

So he is not likely to veer sharply left and become President of the Progressives. And those on the right long ago decided to treat him like the Antichrist or, on a day when they are feeling magnanimous, merely as Public Enemy #1.

Personally, I wish the President now would side strongly, firmly and loudly with the Progressives, the liberals and moderates who still believe it is possible to take care of the least among us while also creating jobs, restoring education, encouraging science and fighting our way out of the Great George W. Bush Recession.

But then, President Obama would not be doing the job he was elected to do, which is to serve all of the people, even the ones who have tried long and hard to wreck his Administration at every turn and thus prolong the nation's economic woes for their own political gain.

In any case, a presidential move to the left would only raise the outrage and partisan resistance of the right, widening the great gap even more and further deepening it.

If Barack Obama is not re-elected, the next President -- Perry, Romney, Bachmann or ? -- likely will not try to represent anyone to the left of deep right field, except with sneering lip service.

In that case, the political gridlock will worsen and the right-left divide simply will expand as battered Democrats pull out their now-long list of grievances and seek revenge and full payback for all that the Republicans have done to them during the Obama Administration.

Electing a President in 2012 who is to the right of center will just give us four more years of stalemate and empty, futile political posturing.

Like it or not, America's economic recovery and psychic recovery will have to happen somewhere in the murky center.

It will never happen in the now sharply defined right or left.

-- Si Dunn

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Should Texans Bill Gov. Rick Perry for Running for President?

According to the Associated Press, Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently billed the federal goverment nearly $350 million "to cover the costs he says Texas has incurred incarcerating illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails."

His invoicing letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano "was dated Aug. 10, three days before the Republican governor formally announced he is running for president," the AP noted.

Meanwhile, Texas is in the midst of an economic and public school crisis, unemployment is up and the state is being hammered by extreme drought and growing water shortages.

Instead of staying in the state and providing serious, hands-on leadership in these matters, Gov. Perry recently announced that he is running for President of the United States. Now he is traveling to other states, at some expense to Texas, so he can extol his "Texas miracle" (which lately has taken on many aspects of "mirage," some critics say). He has moved coast to coast raising campaign funds, shaking hands and making shoot-from-the-hip statements and charges that quickly have had to be "walked back" by his handlers.

So, the question now is, should Texans bill their governor for the state money he is spending outside the state and insist that he come back home, deal with the current emergencies and prove he can resurrect his alleged "miracle" right here where he was elected to serve?

For now, Gov. Rick Perry is the GOP front runner du jour. However, many Texans expect his campaign to implode quickly once the novelty of his running wears off and the realities of his state political record are seen in the glare of the national spotlights.

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C-130 Pilot vs. Commander in Chief

I'm not buying Texas Gov. Rick Perry's contention that he is more "military" than President Obama. Yes, Mr. Obama was a community organizer, and he did not serve a tour of duty in any of the U.S. armed forces. And yes, Capt. Perry flew Air Force C-130 transport planes. By the way, thank you for your service, Governor.

Still, there's nothing more "military" than being the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marines, and the U.S. Coast Guard. You head all five branches at once, and you deal daily with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon and assorted military advisors.

You make decisions that send thousands of men and women into harm's way. You also make other life-and-death decisions that far exceed a pilot's responsibilities to a C-130 flight crew or squadron. For example, you give the final go/no-go decision on whether or not to invade a supposed ally's airspace and territory to kill or capture a major leader of international terrorism. You try to convince allies to stay the course as you wind down two unpopular wars you inherited mid-battle. You make repeated trips to Dover Air Force Base  to witness and salute the flag-covered coffins coming home from combat operations and overseas accidents. You try to comfort the families of those who lost sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers or sisters in operations that you okayed. And you try to decide which defense programs or military operations should continue and which can be curtained to meet both dwindling economic resources and dwindling political and popular support. Oh, and you stay prepared to launch nuclear-tippped missiles in response to an attack on the United States or key allies.

In my view, President Barack Obama has now garnered one hell of a lot more overall military experience than any ex-C-130 pilot currently seeking the Republican nomination.

-- Si Dunn

'Machete' Incentives Whacked by Texas Film Commission

This was bound to happen under Texas' flawed production measures that offer state incentives to producers of movies, television shows and game programs.

As reported by Charles Ealy in the Austin 360.com movie blog, Robert Rodriguez's controversial 2010 movie "Machete" -- which took a fictional whack at some of Texas' and Austin's images -- has had its state grant application rejected by the troubled Texas Film Commission.

The film commission's head recently announced his resignation, and Texas' production incentives will be easy political targets early in 2011. That's when the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature returns to session and faces a massive $24 billion, two-year state budget shortfall.

Specifically, "Machete" was hit by the "negative fashion" clause in the incentives statutes. A Republican-ramrodded clause enacted into law in 2007 forbids Texas state incentives to any kind of film, TV or game project that contains "inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the [Texas Film Commission] office, in a moving image project."


Apparently, Utah is the only other state that takes a similar, thin-skinned approach to try to "protect" its image and how its people and places are portrayed in movies, TV shows and electronic games.
 
Charles Ealy reported that Rodriguez's Austin, Texas-based Troublemaker Studios could have reaped a refund of about $1.75 million on the estimated $10 million spent in Texas to make "Machete."  

For more background on the "negative fashion" (also known as "negative light") controversy, here are links to my previous blog posts about the flawed and troubled state production incentives in Texas:

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2010/04/texas-production-incentives-will-they.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/07/texas-needs-to-rework-its-movie-tv-game.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/06/fiction-is-as-fiction-does-waco.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/06/censorship-issue-remains-alive-in-texas.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/waco-movie-controversy-takes-new-texas.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/texas-movie-incentives-censorship.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/texas-movie-incentives-texas-movie.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/waco-production-company-on-texas-we.html


-- Si Dunn

Hanging out with Robert Rodriguez and Gov. Rick Perry

Well, actually, I was just one of several hundred people standing in a big room at Troublemakers Studios in Austin, April 23. We were watching filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and Texas Governor Rick Perry enjoy a well-earned Big Moment in the media spotlight as the Governor signed legislation that will boost moving image production in the Lone Star State.

Gov. Perry came to Troublemakers Studios in a Texas-sized white limousine that had a movie camera as its hood ornament. He's also one of the few U.S. governors who belongs to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)--which is a bit funny, since Texas is a right-to-work state and Gov. Perry, a social conservative, is no big fan of unions and guilds.

He got ringing applause, however, from the gathered crowd of Central Texans who work in the movie, TV, game and related entertainment businesses, because the newly enacted incentives promise to bring more projects -- and jobs -- to Texas.

The legislation was spearheaded by State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin). She said the new law, which went into effect immediately, will give the Texas Film Commission more flexibility when deciding on the size of grants that it can award to movie, TV or game production companies. Approximately $20 million is now in place, and another $40 million in funding is now being debated as separate legislation in the Texas House and Senate. "We don't believe in outsourcing (entertainment industry jobs), especially to Louisiana and New Mexico," she said.

"Oh, we're gonna be busy!" Gov. Perry commented before he sat down to sign the legislation. " He noted that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal recently came to Austin for a visit, and Perry told Jindal: "All those movies you've been having in Louisiana? They're gonna be coming to Texas!"

Gov. Perry added that "the moving image industry has brought in more than $1.2 billion to Texas over the past 10 years. I promise you, this legislation is gonna blow that figure away."

One bystander, San Antonio lawyer David Yanez, remarked before the event that he is changing his focus from state politics to becoming an entertainment attorney. "People want to film in Texas," he said. But he cautioned that states cannot keep trying to outdo each other with production incentives. Before long, the incentives playing field will be more or less level. When that happens, state film commissions may have to create "alliances of states" in their area. In other words, rather than compete with each other, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and possibly other states may have to team up to compete with California and other areas of the U.S. for movie, TV and game projects.

After the event, I tried to meet Robert Rodriguez, but his line of admirers was too long, and he appeared anxious to move on and get back to work. The Governor also was busy shaking many hands. Anyway, I'm not one of Gov. Perry's political fans; I think he has been wrongheaded on many issues, including trying to refuse federal money to help the unemployed in Texas.

But this event was good news for Texas' beleaguered entertainment industry. I give full points to all who helped push the legislation through--and to the governor who encouraged it and signed it.

Maybe he'll get a few plum movie parts after Kay Bailey Hutchison defeats him in the governor's race in 2010.

-- Si Dunn

Bail Out the Hurricane Ike Victims--NOW!

By Si Dunn

Two months after Hurricane Ike slammed into Texas' Galveston Bay area, many people are still waiting for help from the Federal Emergency ("You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie!") Management Agency (FEMA).

Coastal residents who live and work in fishing communities especially have been hit hard and remain caught up in a vortex of federal buracracy and red tape that has delayed the arrival of the infamous FEMA trailers. According to the Dallas Morning News, at least 2,000 families are still without FEMA trailers in areas devastated by Ike.

"People's lives are literally stacked up on the side of the road," Anahuac, Texas' mayor, Guy Jackson, told the Morning News.

Still Stuck in the Mud

On tiny Oak Island, for example, what once was a bustling fishing community "is now a giant mud flat, dotted with cheap tents and interrupted by heaping mountains of debris," according to Morning News reporter Emily Ramshaw.

In a few cases, FEMA trailers have been delivered but must remain padlocked until inspectors show up and okay them for occupancy. So some families are having to keep living in tents right next to trailers that are supposed to be helping them.

Meanwhile, their houses, jobs and belongings have been swept away, and they are trying to restart their lives literally from nothing.

Many Americans generously have donated food, clothing and other items to Hurricane Ike's victims, and this assistance has reached even remote locations such as the Oak Island community, which is settled by Vietnamese and Anglo commercial fishing families.

But, too often, the federal government still can't seem to organize a one-car parade when it comes to delivering disaster relief. We are supposed to be the world's greatest and most capable nation. Yet what kind of great and capable nation forces its disaster victims to camp in the mud for two months until somebody "official" shows up with a clipboard?

Can't Others Help?

And why wait for FEMA? Surely there are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard personnel in need of training in debris removal, reconstruction and taking care of refugees--just as our military units are doing overseas. Why can't more of our stateside military help here now and get that training?

The State of Texas has provided some relief, but more aid must be forthcoming from the federal government. According to the Morning News, Gov. Rick Perry has asked for additional federal aid to fund costly removal of Hurricane Ike debris. But a month after making the request, Gov. Perry--a Republican--still has received no response from fellow Texan George Bush's FEMA.

Many private relief agencies have been doing what they can to provide assistance, but their resources are limited and their roles often are constrained by the very federal government that is still printing out and stacking up forms to deal with Hurricane Ike, which blew ashore in September.

Show Them the Money

The private relief agencies need more cash donations as soon as possible to help the victims of Hurricane Ike, the recent wildfires in California, and many other calamities, past, present and future. These private agencies, such as the American Red Cross, often have online sites where donations can be made.

Contributions frequently can be targeted to one specific need or disaster area. But you may have to follow a procedure that is less convenient than simply entering some credit-card digits online. For example:

"If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster," the Red Cross website points out, "please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-REDCROSS or mailing your donation, with the designation, to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013."

A dollar, five dollars, ten, twenty. Anything you can afford to give in these economically troubled times can help private agencies provide a measure of comfort and relief to those facing the holidays and winter with much bigger worries.

As for FEMA, the Obama-Biden Administration hopefully will figure out how to kick it into gear again, so its good people can start reclaiming--and redeeming--their battered and troubled agency.

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