Conventions
 

Is it just me or is the Republican convention really boring?

No it's only you! And I don't think Republicans will care much for whether you a Democrat voter would find it exciting.

To me here are the highlights so far:

Former NYC Mayor Ed Kotch saying he was a Democrat and that he would vote for Bush.

McCain talking about the truth of war and how people like Moore made Iraq seem like a playground full of happy kids.

My favorite point is right now on TV with Rudolph Giuliani talking about how September 11 was not the beginning of terrorism. The attack on Olympic athletes and the attacks on the Achilles cruise ship where they killed an American were just some of the examples of how Europe bowed to terrorism and released the prisoners.

4 More years!!! They belittled Reagan and Churchill and they are trying to do it to Bush. 4 more years!!!

-Rudey

No violetgirl your right! it is a real snooze fest going on in NYC right now. It should pick up , I HOPE, either tomorrow or the next night

Coming from the woman who says she votes on the Democratic ballot and for Kerry, yet she's a Republican.

-Rudey
--But since she has me on ignore and still reads my posts I'm sure she'll be upset at this.

My friend who's a delegate said that they've sold out of their "KEOKI W. 2004" t-shirts. KEOKI is "George" in Hawaiian.

I haven't really been paying much attention to the Convention, but I was flipping through the channels and I saw my Lt. Gov, his wife, and one of my university's regents acting like idiots. Hi, you don't know how to dance.

Even my manly Gov. Linda Lingle (temporary convention chairwoman) was bleh.

I have a question. Maybe DeltAlum knows the answer.

Do you have to pay to have a convention covered on tv? Do they pay you? How does it work?

Also how many networks was the DNC covered on as opposed to the RNC? RNC coverage seems light but maybe it's because of my region.

-Rudey

isn't the "ignore" button a rather useful tool? it makes it peaceful to ignore fools who have to top everything you say especially when your not even talking to them directly on a thread.

99% of the time i ignore you RUDEy because well basically you are rude...but i just happen to see what you said .....

for your info.....i can be one party and vote for another if i feel i want to ...my choice, my decision! A lot of republicans are voting for Kerry ....not just me!


go back and insult me as you normally do!

No you go back to not making sense. You are not a Republican. What makes you a Republican? You say you have me on ignore and then reply to me. What a joke.

-Rudey

Oh yeah Europe bows to terrorism :rolleyes: I'm sure that they'd be happy to hear that - so the years fighting the IRA, ETA, Red Brigade, Black October, Militant Anarchists, 17 November, Red Army Faction, The Provos, Terra Lliure, ELA, and the plethora of other groups that have been commiting terrorist acts for decades now. No September 11th wasn't the beginning of terrorism, but unfortunately a continuation of global phenomenom that has been going on since before the Roman Empire.

Psst... the greatest attacks against Churchill was for his political "flip-flopping" and accusations made against his military service (that he inflated tales of heroism or danger)... funny you should hold to him as an example.

Actually first of all, you're Canadian and not American. You have absolutely no voice in our elections nor our party politics.

Second of all this was discussed in Giuliani's speech. He discussed how Europe and the world was soft on terrorism and had allowed it to grow. They only fought it when it was directed at them and only them. The two examples given by Giuliani of the olympics and the achilles ship are good examples.

And again I didn't bring up Churchill, that was brought up in a speech. And yes they talked ill of him too. I don't care about Canadian politics but I am sure you can talk with other Canadians about your own politics at this time. Thanks.

-Rudey
--Take care.

i ENJOYED the convention last night. it was the first one i actually sat through and watched from the beginning. snaps to john mccain and rudy giuliani. they had great speeches.

I really liked Giuliani and McCain's speeches. There was a picture on the front page of the "Boston Metro" this morning with Moore flashing the loser sign to McCain. Absolutely priceless, so mature of him.

Two good questions.

No, the parties don't have to pay to have the convention covered. It has always been a huge expense that the networks have handled.

(ETA, nor do the networks pay the parties. It has always been considered a "news" event)

The "three" major networks have threatened for the past several conventions to drop "gavel to gavel" coverage, because as the conventions have become little more than highly produced "program length commercials" the news value has diminished. Consider that this year, both candidates were known well before the conventions started. In the early days of convention coverage, that was generally the "big" story. In some ways, by making the conventions so "slick," both parties have killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

In terms of coverage, NBC, ABC and CBS all decided to allow one hour per night for convention coverage. Remarkably enough, each party managed to schedule a very high profile event in those hours.

I think that the cable news channels have allowed themselves more flexibility than the broadcast networks -- but they have much less to lose, viewer wise. The conventions have been huge money and ratings losers for years. I'm not totally sure, but I believe that only C-SPAN committed to true "gavel to gavel" coverage this year.

(Again ETA, that until the last set of conventions hundreds of local stations have sent reporters. That dropped off dramatically last time, and the same thing happened for this year. As a result, the affilliate news services have scaled way back.)

As a side note, I've worked conventions and my most vivid memory has nothing to do with speeches, etc. -- but the "din" (the background noise is incredible -- even when major speeches are being given) and the masses of moving color looking down at the floor. It's almost sensory overload. Kind of like a bad acid trip might have been -- in more ways than one.

Says who? According to what poll? Last time I checked the country was evenly divided. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for being a republican and voting for the most liberal of liberals, the extreme far left. I would understand if you don't like Bush and just didnt vote...but do you like Kerry just because he isnt Bush?


Answer me this, why are you voting for Kerry?

This is true, terrorism has been going on for centuries in one form or another. But, if you think Kerry will take a offensive stance against terrorism, you've got another thing coming, eh.

Bush is the man, he will do the best job, he has proven that, eh. Whats that all aboot?

Come on Cash,

You know that there is always a fair number of cross-over votes in each election. It doesn't take a survey to prove that.

Second, your comment would seem to equate Republican and Conservative. There are people in both parties who thankfully cover the spectrum -- although the GOP is certainly more Conservative as a whole than the Democrats.

I know of none who are republicans and are wanting to vote for Kerry. It'd be different if it were Dick Gephardt or Liebermann. I wasnt insinuating that I'm all for Bush. I don't agree with a lot of what he stands for, socially. Economically and National Defense wise, I couldn't find myself with a better candidate. And THAT is why I'll be voting for him. I'm more of a McCain/Guiliani/Schwarz type of republican when it comes to social issues. And in this day of age, the thing that concerns me most is our National Defense and our Economy.

Back to using "ignore" because some ppl don't exist.....


Now if John Mccain was a sitting president i would of voted for him ...hell campaigned for him....but he is not and well i have to go with who i feel good about voting for.


John Mccain to me is a true hero above all of these political windbags!

John McCain supports President Bush. I am tired of all this talk by people who don't know politics even one bit and consider Liberman to be a Republican and McCain a Democrat. They have absolutely not one clue on what makes them members of their parties - here is a suggestion you uneducated people, it's their voting records.

Anyway, I'm also tired of people saying they are Democrat/Republican but voting for this person. First of all what is it about you that makes you a member of said party?? I have a friend who is an ignorant Korean Christian (whole other story). He has never once shot a gun. Do you know what he tells me? Ignorant Christian tells me that he's a Republican because of his religion and he feels everyone should own a gun. His religion is something that would have made him a Democrat prior to Reagan. He knows not one bit about guns and hasn't even loaded a simple 9mm. He says he doesn't know about the other issues. You know who he says he will vote for? Kerry. These are the kinds of people I want Democrats to keep. They don't know anything about politics and pretend they belong to a party. They cling to a word or phrase much like saying you support the troops but not the war or make love, not war.

DeltAlum, I guess maybe coverage in Illinois is different because Obama isn't from our state but it just seemed as if Democrats just the bells and whistles when it came to media coverage over and over again. I had to watch PBS for RNC coverage and through internet streams and I doubt many Obama people did that. Maybe it's just psychological on my part though. Who knows.

-Rudey

I have to wonder...

Why do you insist on classifying people by national or ethinic origin? or religion? If you believe that that is dumb/stupid/idiotic/ignorant for others to do to other/themselves why do you yourself do the same thing? and more importantly why do you then use these "classifications" to dismiss the arguements or beliefs of these people?

I don't. Don't make stupid claims ever again about me. I mentioned his Christianity because up until 1980 that movement was a Democratic stronghold. I mentioned Korean because his Christianity is actually strongly tied to his nationality and his immigrant label is also tied to the Democratic party.

Since you don't know these things I would such sit there quietly.

-Rudey

You've probably put your finger on it right there. Often in a bigger market like Chicago it can be difficult to tell whether coverage is "local or national" because the networks sometimes use the local "owned station" talent for reports. Obama could tip the scales visually.

I think the speeches so far have been great:

McCain was great. He even pointed out evil Moore in the crowd.

Giuliani connected with the crowd.

Laura Bush and daughters are amazing and beautiful.

Arnold isn't there just to be a star, he's there to support our party - a party in which an Austrian grew to be governor and to give a speech to our country.

-Rudey
--So far I'm enjoying it very much

The speech by Dick Cheney was phenomenal. He showed the strengths of President Bush and really his words carry weight. I also enjoyed the parts where he highlighted Kerry's flip-flops and straddling the war on Iraq, No child left behind, Nafta, gay marriage, etc.

Also today some hostile protestors disrupted the protest. I guess that these people, whether voting for Kerry or not, chose that the RNC needed to be interrupted and not the DNC. Over 1,000 people have been already arrested. No decency.

-Rudey

I missed most of the VP's speech. I'm annoyed with myself because I just forgot about it. I wonder if there will be a rerun or a transcription of the speech.

The protesters are all over the news. Some of them are quietly protesting in areas away from Madison Square Garden. Then there are the troublemakers like the man who assaulted a NY Police Officer. I really don't understand how some protesters were able to enter the Garden and stir up trouble. You would think that security would be better at the RNC.

My 2¢ as a former delegate...
 

Honestly? I think every DNC and every RNC are the two largest pep rallies ever held in the United States. Both have good speakers, good speeches, bad speakers, bad speeches, crazy delegates, gung-ho delegates, and lots of fun with music, signs, hats, buttons, balloons, etc.

I cannot watch a Convention without wishing that I was there. It is one of the most stimulating things that someone interested in politics can ever do, and something I will never, ever forget. To this day, one of the most moving moments of my life was singing We Shall Overcome with a few ladies of color from Philadelphia - we all had tears running down our faces. Hearing "The Singing Fireman" sing Amazing Grace last night would have had to be a similar moment.

Just being near the President - no matter WHO he is! - while Hail to the Chief is playing is incredible! I wish every American could do that at least once. It's rather hard to keep track of the number of political celebrities one meets and/or really gets a chance to talk to - even more so, if you get a chance to go out afterwards to party with them!

But to say that one Convention was better than the other is a matter of personal bias. Neither party has a monopoly on the truth, on justice, or the American way. I consider myself blessed that I learned that as a teenager, as opposed to much later. We will always bring our own agendas to the table - but that's what makes our country great: the ability to discuss and vote on each issue.

For anyone who's interested, here is the text of V.P. Dick Cheney's speech. Enjoy.

It's not just his words, it's also how he delivered them. See if you can find the video or audio.

-Rudey

Re: My 2¢ as a former delegate...
 

Very astute.

The Conventions today are highly produced commercials, put together by highly paid media consultants. They are theatre (of the absurd sometimes?).

What is really being decided at this one -- or the one a few weeks ago? The nominees are in place, the platform is decided. There is no news anymore -- no floor fights. That's why the "major" networks aren't doing gavel-to-gavel coverage anymore. I'm not suggesting this is true, but I wouldn't be shocked if we someday find that the "demonstrators" who got on to the floor were all part of the act. Having been to political conventions, I find it very difficult to believe that they got past all of the security.

Your comments about "Hail to the Chief" are right on! No matter who the President, or what party is in power, there is something magical about the pomp and ceremony of the fanfare, the announcement of the president and the music. Then the "march on" by the President and party -- damned impressive.

I think that since I'm not really in TV News Production anymore that my streak has ended since I've never had the opportunity to televise this President Bush -- but it's been pretty interesting having done pools with every other one since Nixon. I'm not sure I have four more years to work on "W".

But, you never know until the votes are counted.

Re: Re: My 2¢ as a former delegate...
 

LOL - The minute I heard of a protester inside Madison Square Garden, I thought the same thing! If I remember correctly, I had to show my credentials at least 5-6 times each time I was on the floor!

Outside is another story - I think that the protesters are really doing their cause more harm than good at this point!

I know. I'm looking for it. When I read the transcript, I realized that I saw most of his address, but I missed the first part.

I'm missing tonight's address as well, but I will record it and watch it tomorrow.

http://www.macminute.com/2004/09/01/rnc

It's available for free on iTunes I heard.

-Rudey

Thank you, Rudey.

helo

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA,(UBA) here in ACCRA GHANA,In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of US$30 Million dollars, in an account that belonging to one of our foreign customer.Who died along with his entire family in Monday, 31 July, 2000 in a plane crash in paris.Please visit this site that is one of the evidence the directors brought in other to swallow the money at the end of the day,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm"
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidlings and laws but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.
It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.The banking law and guidline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after seven years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occassioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a ghanian cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.
I agree that 30% of this money will be for you as a respect to the provision of a foriegn account ,10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business and 60% would be for me.Thereafter, I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentage indicated Therefore, to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to your desiggnited bank account ,you must apply first to the bank as a relation or next of kin of the deceased with a text of application that i will send to you,so i will like you to send to me your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where in the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email thetext of the application . I will not fail to bring to your notice this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer. You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter.
Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Name Dr.Patrick young,
Position Bill and exchange manager,
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA,(U.B.A.)
Email:patrickyounglove@yahoo.co.uk
Email:bankforafricans@gmail.com
Tell:+233-249852516

No one falls for those Nigerian scams anymore, they became way too popular in the last decade.

Apparently people still do... however this is the first one I've seen tied to a news story.

I want to see the director swallowing the money.

Whew... that makes me feel better. 'Cause, as we all know, if the transaction weren't hitch-free, you'd certainly be sure to tell us.