So many things about which to blog, such little time in which your attention spans exist. First off, it's been a hectic month. No doubt some of you have heard that my fellow Prime Time Newspaper editorialists and I have been forced to move from our confines in northeast San Antonio to downtown. To the Express-News building. Yes. There. I had long tried my best not to work there. For the Express, anyways.
It's not my choice. Rather, it was the choice of the E-N/Hearst, which refused to pony up $75,000 to install a new advertising/data entry/pagination system at our (now former) office. So off to downtown we went, where we now hassle with paid parking, longer commutes and the unsavory idea that downtown of a city where I've lived all my life suddenly no longer appeals to me.
And my colleagues and I are forced to deal -- under holiday deadlines -- with said new computer system (whose supposed benefits over previous eras of digital writing/editing/page design so far escape me), a WAY smaller breakroom and the fear that -- at many moment -- the adjacent sports copy editors will suddenly unleash some horrible hazing ritual on the rest of us.
In any event, there are a few upsides. There's a chance to delve into an array of happy-hour spots in the downtown area. We'll have a little Thanksgiving potluck deal Wednesday that hopefully won't draw attention from the sports copy editors. We do occasionally bump into cool friends already working for the Express-News. Then there are those E-Ners we'd rather never see or hear from again. Regardless, I strive to persevere.
Onward to - THE TRANSITION. Team Obama and Biden are changing things for sure! When you consider Clinton retreads as change! Okay, so far there no sexy, daring, outside-the-box picks have been made thus far when it comes to the cabinet and other key positions. As for my pick'em forecast, it's a mixed bag at this point. The speculation about Hillary being secretary of state is throwing many for a loop, but it's definitely the Clintonistas pushing for her to get some top spot, and not some paean position.
Eric Holder is one of my picks for attorney general. Yeah, he'll get some grief from Senate Repubs during the confirmation process. Well, heck, which nominee won't? Another two throwing me for a loop -- Janet Napolitano for homeland security and Tom Daschle for health and human services. No doubt, both individuals would serve good roles in Obama's administration. But I'm definitely not envisioning either person for the cabinet positions for which they seem to be nominees.
Penny Pritzker is taking herself out of consideration for a job, particularly secretary of commerce (there goes my pick). Alas, this may prove beneficial to Obama as Pritzker has business links to the most dastardly of industries -- subprime mortgage lending. And there's stronger speculation that Robert Gates may remain at The Pentagon for a while. If Obama wants to prove himself an agent of change, a direction from appointing Washington insiders, including Clintonites and Bushites, would be wise. If only someone can tell him and his advisers this through his www.change.gov website. Speaking of which, I need to submit a resume through there. I wouldn't mind battling 200,000 other applicants for a gig in Obama's D.C.
Onward to -- the attempted auto industry bailout. Perhaps the funniest thing I heard all week were executives from the big three U.S. automakers, rationalizing to Congress as to why they deserve a bailout: Their current financial crisis is NOT their fault. The execs say the crisis isn't due to their lacking a quality product or slow progress toward fuel-efficient vehicles or the current business model.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Oh the crisis is most definitely the fault of the automakers. It's not the fault of union workers and all their supposed benefits and salary gains over the decades. It's because they refused to acknowledge foreign automakers manufacturing (for the most part!) better quality (and smaller) vehicles. It's because they have been so reluctant to gradually move away from hydrocarbons at the end of fossil fuel era and towards fuel-efficient vehicles, which more and more people want in an uncertain economy where oil and gasoline prices could skyrocket once more at any moment. And it's because automakers -- led by executives touting bloated salary and perk packages and a serious disconnect from middle-class reality -- adamantly oppose public-sector solutions for employee health care and pension plans.
So, should we bail out our car industry? To a certain extent. A short-term bail out may be required, much smaller than the one dedicated toward the corrupted finance industry. But in return (and right now), the automakers should design a long-term plan meant to accomplish a strong American auto manufacturing industry that features a strong unionized force, a public-private solution for worker health care and pensions, and a MAPPED OUT TIMEFRAME AND COMMITMENT toward a product line that emphasizes fuel-efficient vehicles of better quality. Not too much to ask, is it?
Onward -- to other things:
* 24 and Jack Bauer are back in a two-hour movie that sets up the new season. Yay!
* Have you seen the full trailer for J.J. Abram's new "Star Trek" flick? Whoa! Good lord, everyone's nuts in there!
* The thought of canceling Pushing Daisies is absurd but not unexpected. Even in an age where more people have more entertainment options than ever -- options other than watching TV -- networks remain finicky about what low ratings constitute cancelation. And meanwhile we get stuck with crap like "reality" TV and atrociously written, uninspired programs.
* Farewell, Moral Orel. We hardly knew ye. When it came to an animated, subversive satire about modern Christian prostelitizing, Moral Orel nailed it. And using the Davey and Goliath look was genius.
* I cannot wait for the return of Lost, Galactica, Boondocks, Doctor Who, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Torchwood. I...just...cannot...wait.
* Superjail is astonishingly surreal and insane. (Sorry, my Adult Swim geekdom runneth over.)
* And Sarah Palin...umm, go the fuck away.
OK, you may resume your regularly scheduled lives.
