Thursday, June 17, 2004

10 Years After the Bronco Chase It was ten years ago to the day, on June 17th, 1994, when Orenthal James Simpson went on his Bronco chase through West Los Angeles. The media has never been the same. The Bronco Chase was the event of our generation. Just as my parents remember exactly where they were when JFK was shot, my peers and I remember where we were when OJ and his buddy Al Cowlings led LAPD down the 405 and onto the Sunset Blvd. overpass, with fans lined up to watch the procession, cheering and holding signs reading "Don't squeeze the Juice!" I also remember watching the ABC news coverage live, when Peter Jennings got hoodwinked by a caller who claimed to be on the scene at OJ's house but was actually a Howard Stern prankster. (Here's a link to the Real Audio recording -- listen to how serious Jennings is as he describes the scene and interviews the "eyewitness.") I grew up in LA. The judge who presided over OJ's first trial for spousal abuse is a family friend. My sister's boss at the time was OJ's lawyer. I also knew the Menendez brothers through junior tennis, and I also knew they were guilty well before they were arrested from talking to personal friends of theirs. And none of this is that unusual. In LA, drama is everyday life. Everyone is a step or two removed from a Kevin Bacon, whether the celebrity in question is famous for movies or for crime. Every extended car chase is picked up live on local news and every Hollywood court case gets full coverage. It's that insane mixture of celebrity, sex, violence and scandal -- and its banality -- that makes LA so fascinating. Ever since that fateful day, however, the entire nation has become gripped with that insanity -- the madness that compels us, despite our better judgment, to gawk at the Bronco. It hasn't left us. I honestly believe we can divide media history into pre-OJ and post-OJ eras. From the Bronco Chase to the Verdict, there was 24 hour Simpson coverage on all the media channels -- 24 hour madness. And ever since the verdict, the media has been driven to regain that ratings high, to get that next OJ fix, anytime it can, whether it be the semen-stained dress, Laci Peterson, Gary Condit, or "The Road to War." Nowadays, there's a Bronco chase on TV every day, 24 hours a day, on multiple channels. And every news anchor or media pundit is Peter Jennings earnestly asking questions of a crank caller. And all of us are fans along the Sunset Blvd. overpass, cheering the procession. [n.b. This post has been edited.] 11:18:47 PM    comment [] WWDT? Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine cottons onto the concept of WWDT. In a column that discusses how uncertain and indeterminate the world is becoming, despite our rich resources of "information," he concludes: And as we slouch toward another such national contest this fall, surely it's meaningful that the most memorable election since Bush defeated Gore was Arnold Schwarzenegger's bizarre gubernatorial gambit in California. Not only has Gov. Schwarzenegger starred in a memorable movie (Total Recall) based on a story by the great, insane writer Philip K. Dick, but Arnold's victory reads like a story by Dick, whose work is suffused with a sense of unreality, of never knowing whether you're awake or dreaming, seeing straight or hallucinating. Halfway into the '00s -- and barely into a new century -- and nothing but big questions that require difficult answers. And more information than ever, none of which may make it any easier to draw the right conclusions. [Thanks to Pete Guither of Drug WarRant for the link.] 10:34:56 PM    comment [] Optimism Right wingers are flabbergasted by the fact that the public remains pessimistic about the economy and Bush, despite the recovery and improving job numbers. In their eyes, there's only one reasonable explanation: the partisan liberal media. But a closer look at the numbers provides an alternative explanation: the Bush economy simply hasn't improved the lives of most Americans. First, let's take a look at corporate profits and wages: According to the Economic Policy Institute, while corporate profits have risen by more than 62%, workers' take home pay has dropped by .6%. This follows an earlier report which shows that industries currently adding jobs pay 21% less than industries that are slashing jobs. Despite this wage crisis, President Bush is pushing to cut off an estimated 8 million workers from overtime pay protections, and supports efforts to outsource even more well-paid American jobs. Meanwhile, he refuses to raise the minimum wage, despite new research showing a minimum wage hike would not adversely affect businesses or consumers. The story, of course, is different for the president's wealthy campaign donors. A recent study shows CEO pay exploded by 27% in just one year, all while the President lavished more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks on the richest 1% of the population. To put the contrast into dollars, the average worker takes home $517 a week8 and will receive about $400 in tax breaks from President Bush. At the same time, the average CEO takes home $155,769 a week9 and this year alone received well over $50,000 in new tax breaks from Bush. Second, let's look more carefully at the job numbers. From the LA Times: Immigrants are filling nearly three out of every 10 new jobs in the rebounding U.S. economy, a development that may dilute the political dividend to President Bush from an election-year recovery, a study to be released today concludes. The report by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center found that workers who were not U.S. citizens claimed 378,496 jobs out of a net increase of 1.3 million from the first three months of 2003 through the first three months of this year. The share of jobs going to noncitizens -- 28.5% -- was particularly notable because workers who were not U.S. citizens accounted for fewer than 9% of all those holding jobs in the United States. "The proportion of new jobs captured by noncitizens was ... much larger than their share of overall employment," said the report, prepared by labor economist Rakesh Kochhar. "Thus, the political impact of job gains may be damped by the fact that noncitizens are benefiting disproportionately from the turnaround in the labor market." Kerry's chief task in the general election will be to explain why the economic and job numbers do not, in fact, show that Bush has improved the lot of most Americans. There's one former democratic candidate who explained this point excellently. He made it his chief platform in the primaries. He's my choice to be Kerry's running mate. He's John Edwards. Postscript: Of course, if he does become Vice President, we may have to raise the Rapture Index. [Thanks to EA for the LA Times link.] 1:34:43 AM    comment [] Penfield Mood Organs Redux I have previously mentioned the success that scientists have had in treating chronic depression by experimenting with "brain pacemakers." An FDA panel has recommended that the government approve the treatment, which employs a battery operated implant that sends electric impulses into the left vagus nerve on the side of the neck. Cyberonics, the company that produces the devices, soared in stock-trading today on the good news. [Via Drudge.] 12:08:01 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 David V. Johnson. Last update: 7/1/04; 12:05:35 AM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.