The following is an open letter to the media at large from independent presidential nominee Ralph Nader.

Sorry, I haven’t actually had a chance to read it, I’ve been too busy ignoring Ralph Nader.

October 30, 2008
www.votenader.org
www.officialnaderstore.com

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RALPH NADER QUESTIONS MEDIA COVERAGE

Below is an open letter to the national media from Ralph Nader….

Open Letter to Members of the National Media:
Dear Members of the 4th Estate:
Having spoken to numerous reporters and some editors with the national media (as distinguished from the local media) about the blackout or near blackout of the Nader/Gonzalez presidential campaign, striving to challenge the two party, exclusionary duopoly, (debates, ballot obstacles, etc.) I must ask a general question:

What journalistic criteria have you been employing in this presidential year that guides your pronounced non-coverage of the number three campaign that advances majoritarian agendas based on long experience, involvement, and accomplishment. These agendas are either opposed or ignored by McCain and Obama (see www.votenader.org) and are often rooted in the very investigative reports by your reporters?

It is puzzling how editors and publishers who oversee these prize winning stories seem to lose interest in covering Americans who are trying to do something with that information for a better country.

We asked one top editor of a major daily why his paper was not covering us at all and he said, “Because you can’t win.” Besides being a catch-22 that he quickly acknowledged, that is not a supportable newsworthy judgment. News Media have covered many stories outside the electoral arena of people “who can’t win” and such coverage extends to both the import of the struggles and the reasons why “winning is not possible” given the stacked deck against them.

There has been a witting or unwitting political bigotry against third parties and independent candidates, as there was years ago against minority voters. Against the status of such candidates obstructed through ballot access laws by the two parties that dislike competition they present other rigged ways to secure their domination over the electoral landscape, including gerrymandering each other in the majority of Congressional Districts, for example.

This is meant to be a short letter. Journalism scholars, reporters, and other post-election writers of books and articles will be chronicle, no doubt, the quantity and quality of media coverage (see the previous analysis by such scholars as Stephen Farnsworth and S. Robert Lichter).

For now, please verify for yourselves your own non-coverage or coverage and inform us what your journalistic criteria standards or policies led you to this definition of your readers, listeners, and viewers rights to know.

Thank you for responding, even though there is obviously no obligation to do so.

Sincerely,

Ralph Nader

-End-

So anyway… Anyone else catch Barack Obama on the Daily Show?

My first post-barista job was as a telemarketer raising funds for Bill Clinton, the California Democratic Party, United Farm Workers and the like during the 1996 Presidential Campaign. Yeah, sounds like a good cause, but I later found out the people I was working for were not on the up and up. Ever since then I’ve been reluctant to give political organizations any of my damn money.

Still, presidencies are on not won on the strength of the figureheads, but by money and PR. I want Nader to fuck right off and the McCain/What’sHerName ballot to sink like cement shoes because Obama still hasn’t sold off ALL his ideals and might make a better president than the others. With that in mind, I’m far more likely to write a song and donate it to BarackRock.org.

From the Web site:

BarackRock.org started with one song and a desire for change.
It has grown into a movement of musicians and artists creating an ever-expanding catalogue of free, exclusive songs, each with its own individual art, meant to inspire participation and donations for the Obama Campaign. These are unreleased tracks and demos, only available here and now, so plug in your headphones and make a difference!

Listen to songs, donate money, etc. etc. Change, etc. etc.

Man, he really could’ve been the next Bill Clinton:

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

A former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has said he was the father of the child.

I’d still vote for him before I’d vote for John McCain, but that’s just because I ain’t a player hater.

I think Gawker hit the nail on the head with their recent article concerning John Edwards, his tryst with Rielle Hunter and their subsequent love child.

Gawker:

Prediction: Edwards admits to having made a terrible mistake in a moment of weakness last year, but assures everyone he was only visiting Hunter again because of the child, and out of a sense of duty and obligation. His name isn’t mentioned in a political context for another eight years, when he launches a third-party presidential campaign with running mate Gary Hart, on the strength of their joint reality show.

Joint reality show? Nice work. My question: How come Democratic Presidential hopefuls are so terrible at keeping their affairs secret?

On July 4th, if you are in the movie theaters and you neglect to see the Hunter Thompson documentary, you are definitely BLOWING IT. The following trailer gives the impression that Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson is right on. The closest I’ve seen to a biopic on Gonzo is Where the Buffalo Roam, starring Bill Murray as Hunter. Nice performance, but I’m ready for the real McCoy. Anyone else?

From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson’s life—his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell’s Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp.