This One Doesn't Go To Eleven
In a season of debating firsts -- the first online video debate, the first online mash-up debate, the first instant messaging debate -- here comes yet another first.
An online silent debate. Yes, you heard that right. A debate where nothing's said.
"Kind of like all the debates we've had so far this year," said the actor/satirist Harry Shearer, better known as the versatile voice behind some of the characters on "The Simpsons" (Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Waylon Smithers), in a phone interview with The Trail. Shearer serves as the moderator of the debates on MyDamnChannel.com, an online studio that produces original content. Today's first installment features Sen. Hillary Clinton debating former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on issues such as the Iraq war, illegal immigration and the role of God in foreign policy. Clinton and Romney nod, blink and half-smile their way to the debate. A comment, posted at 6:45 a.m. by "rodgerma", on MyDamnChannel read: "Good coverage. And finally a political debate I can listen to without getting . . .eh, tired of repeated excuses and spins." The next episode will have a silent Rep. Dennis Kucinich going up against an equally silent Sen. John McCain.
Said Shearer in his introduction: "The historic CNN/YouTube debate was historic, at least according to the historic CNN/YouTube political department, but it still left some viewers feeling frustrated, complaining that the candidates said nothing."
The primary race is being fought as much online as offline. And the candidates, all of whom are campaigning online (some more effectively than others), have been quick to embrace the evolving new media landscape. But critics such as Shearer point out that the new technologies, great as they are, still don't get to the root of the problem -- "politicians totally dependent on prepackaged sound bites," Shearer said.
He continued : "So let's just size them up visually. Look them up and down. Watch them say nothing, which may be the best way to see them."
-- Jose Antonio Vargas
Posted at 2:45 PM ET on Sep 18, 2007
Share This:
Technorati
| Tag in Del.icio.us | Digg This
Posted by: meria | September 23, 2007 10:02 PM
if I were risking my life in the desert (do not get my wrong here folks, ANY veteran is welcome in MY home, ANY TIME, and I'll give ALL my time to finding catharsis daily - and through CREATIVITY - I will find myself in anyone else) but - last thing I'd want on MY mind is - gee, I'm out here for bush AND dick.
Really, remove bush, remove dick - and you've got no total sellout on 'Live in Fear of Terror ' Be AFRAID of HOMELAND SECURITY !!! ? What the god damn mf.
HomeWHAT ?
when did THIS parade of clowns roll in in black SUV's to intimidate - where did they become NON citizens ?
I was at the homeland job list earlier -80% of their jobs are $28k for 'Road Security' in the US -
IN THE US !
lol
lmao - I know, let's take Tommy Franks, have him head up a war on Terror - a Di Rita - make him spokesperson for the pentagon - then ?
BAM - like an IED - Di Rita ? Becomes Spokesperson for Bank of America in 2006, and Tommy Franks ? joins the god damn mother - BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Now, if Fox News wasn't SCARING people all day long saying things on public airways- FCC Violation in WAITING for HARRASSING PEOPLE using the 'eeeeenternet' as Bush even locked into law 2 years ago December ?
If Fox wasn't saying things like "No Matter what- Homeland is a useless piece of " oh wait
I'm sorry that was my RIGHT Brain intuiting what they MUST have meant when Fox News used FCC airwaves to announce "No matter what, a terror attack far worse than 9.11 WTC WILL happen in the US"
How far do these clowns wish to push it ?
Is Fox saying, Homeland is useless? For, where DOST thou get their intel Fox News ?
America ?
If you thought the Bush family robbed you on Savings and Loan ? REmember Rosemary woods anyone... whoops - there's that right brain again - I mean - anyone remember Neal Bush ? Savings and Loan Scandal ?
George Bush has managed to SCARE America into spending like mad - taking Alan's GOOD work lowering rates to try to HELP - and in turn ? thanks to MORE Fox News ads - Ditech, CountryWide - they were on ALL the damn time 'Hi, we'll give you a line of cash on a home equity loan if you have a fixed rate, and if you don't own a home, we'll give you a MISLEADING 2% ARM !'
And now ?
tommy Franks is on the Board of Directors of the company that is about to buyout CountryWide at ROCK BOTTOM PRICES ?
And Di Rita - previous SPOKESPERSON FOR the PENTAGON is NOW the SPOKESPERSON for Bank of America ? BOTH about to TOTALLY CASH IN FROM YOUR HOME LOSS ?
I don't think so Bush and Dick
you're going to NEED Blackwater DICK to protect you from the US soldiers who figure this out in time.
Posted by: Bushes_worst_nightmare | September 18, 2007 11:52 PM
oh, nm... I see my comment above came right after first post, so there was no repost - so ignore last post and this post -unless an admin wants to remove these two -but DO leave my orig. post. heh
so much about post it's gettin' grainy !
no one say Kellog - KBR though, Post cereal has nothing to do with $29 a serving lunches -my god - profits out the wazoo on food in the desert ! I bet the dessert in the desert from Kellog Brown and W... costs $19 for the damn tapioca pudding.
Saw some US soldiers commenting on the trays of food they eat, and who provides it - KBR - and the price at $29 a tray - also encouraged to EAT up before going to get your head blown off for DICK.
Posted by: Bushes_worst_nightmare | September 18, 2007 11:41 PM
sorry on repost folks, didn't see first post made it - I think I have a second copy comin' of the first post - whoops - maybe an admin here can remove the copy if it shows up.
Posted by: Bushes_worst_nightmare | September 18, 2007 11:38 PM
Heh,
This is great stuff here.
I liked spinal tap's take on the year 2000 .com 'well, we had a product, then we were told by the venture capitalists that if we didn't actually HAVE a product, we'd get more money'
hmm - actually, has the .com sellout hype moved over to politics ?
heh
This is cathartic though.
Thanks Harry
This was a fun piece. I might offer you up a few questions you could pass on that won't fetch an answer either.
I turned on c-span last eve, and there was Hillary goin' "and I'll make it so the big pharmaceutical companies who have lobbied SO hard to get where they are to never charge you those high high prices, and I'll make it so the insurance company will just take a few anti-psychotics and drewl while they say 'sure, we'll pay for it all, and... we won't ever reject ya again '
Either she WANTED to make sure the pharm and insurance sector lobbyists won't be in support of her, or, whaaayat ? I mean, if you're gonna play the lobby game, play it better for god sakes.
You know Joe Biden will never be on the take, I'd place my life on it, and it looks like I will be doing just that. Only sanity I see from any of these candidates, and ya know what ? Biden is the only one who is running because he NEEDS to, not that he may want to, but I think he just said - that's it, the adults have to show up - the kids have been left alone too long, that is, the adults who actually CARE for the kids, as in the RESPONSIBLE adults.
Anyway, I don't need to go pro biden, anyone who hears him speak, is pro biden, in fact ? This is virtually unheard of, but every Joe Biden video I've seen on youtube ? not one single negative, not one. Just amazing, I think people are starting to go PAST 11 on frustration and hitting 12, or maybe even considering a new base system of TWELVE just so ELEVEN can be just one less that too far off the dial.
Harry, I WILL take a short moment to share with you a personal story, had this INSANE brain inflammation couple years back, ended up in 9 spinal taps - and my god- that the final diagnosis WAS low cerebral spinal fluid pressure as cause of the inflammation to begin with ? Each spinal tap just made matters WORSE heh - but in between memories of trying to figure what came after the letter C in the alphabet, I recovered enough to find TRUE understanding and TRUE humor in 'This one goes to eleven' from 'This is Spinal Tap' and the causal 'The Tap' references in the movie heh, my god, JUST the spinal tap PROCEDURE is something most people probably prefer to repress quickly (as they will this 8 year run of the bushes looting the american people of their homes, forget S&L - George is after your home - Why else would we see the pressman for the pentagon Di Rita as the NOW hired pressman for Bank of America, or Tommy Franks who started the whole 'Terror' ride, joining on the board of directors at BOM) AYYYYYYNWAY - Harry, I do say - the joke I got on 'eleven' was - I'd be in the hospital again and again, and every so many hours you get 'And on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain' heh, this was ON OXy, Hydro - you name it - I finally started to laugh at 10, and go '11'.
Really, I 'get' your 'this is spinal tap' and the 'eleven' joke beyond what I ever thought I had capacity to get about it. !heh
Thanks for that stuff too, real fun stuff - and someone who DOES go to Eleven heh- I get it now, IF that is, the joke was about 'pain 1 to 10' regarding spinal taps OR low CSF.
"I think I'd like to sell shoes" lol Harry- fact - I need to go watch that flick sometime soon again.
What you did with Candidates saying nothing - REAL NICE heh-
Biden DOES have something to say though, and I find he's worth listening to, and no doubt - make up your own mind, I can't promote you to vote this way or that, but he offers for the FIRST TIME I can think of - HOPE - for a nationstate.
I liked Bullworth too as fictional catharsis, but iirc, the insurance sector had him assassinated in the end. Wow, never noticed the word ASS in in there twice in a row 0 I never did get that - it's wrong to assassinate someone, but - ok to carpet bomb the city - call it Shock and Awe - and hope you hit em ?
Whatever happened to that Fox News Pilot Shock and Awe - that was a KILLER show!
Posted by: Bushes_worst_nightmare | September 18, 2007 11:35 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.

They might as well ALL say nothing because every word and every promise out of their mouths are LIES. Name one politician that EVER changed your life for the better?
It doesn't matter who we vote for, the government still gets in.
Taxation without representation is what we get from Millionaire's row.
We need a NEW govt as per the Declaration of Independence.