Dick Behaviour

Sanjay Gupta's interview with Dick Cheney aired last night on "60 Minutes".  What could have been an unendurable puff piece by a timid interviewer, turned out to be an intensly challenging give and take between two forceful personalities.  

 

I have no love for Dick Cheney.  He embodies the worst characteristics in Washington politics:  the entitled attitude of those who see themselves as omniscient and omnipotent.  Were he omnipresent, well, we'd have a god.   This is a war profiteer, a sneering know-it-all, an ambitious Iago who, were it not for his extreme health problems, more likely than not, might have run for President. 

That's one scary possibility. Even more scary was the state of his health throughout his Vice Presidency.

Cheney was one over-sized, weakened, barely pumping heartbeat away from the Presidency.   Dr. Gupta (or "Goop-Ta" as Cheney referred to him at one point) recounts the damage inflicted and attempts to keep this man alive:

1. 5 heart attacks
2. Open heart surgery & quadruple bypass
3. Stents and defibrillators inserted (more surgery)
4. Multiple angioplasties and catheterizations
5. Heart pump
6. Heart transplant two years ago

As Dr. Gupta repeatedly points out, these kinds of medical problems result in limited blood flow to the brain with potential side effects in cognition, memory, decline in decision-making, etc.  Cheney refused to acknowledge he had been counseled about these side effects nor was he worried about his decision-making at the time. 

In the "60 Minutes" interview, Reiner says he worried that Cheney couldn't stand the pressure that came on Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists attacked the U.S. Medical tests seen that morning showed Cheney had elevated levels of potassium in his blood, a condition called hyperkalemia, which could lead to abnormal heart rhythms and cardiac arrest.

Reiner says he watched news coverage of the day's events on television and thought, "Oh, great, the vice president is going to die tonight from hyperkalemia."  huffingtonpost.com

Cheney proudly recounts the critical decisions he had to make.  What a tough guy.  John Wayne on a defibrillator!  Yet, interestingly enough, in 2007 he had his defibrillator "modified" to prevent terrorists from hacking in and giving him a heart attack.



I do not share his enthusiasm.  It was not that long ago women were considered too "emotional" to serve as leaders of the land due to everything from monthly hormonal changes to crying  to menopause.  Most of you reading this blog will remember when a serious discussion involving a woman running for president included the oft repeated phrase

"I wouldn't trust  a woman with her finger on the button."

Gupta's interview will get scathing reviews from the Right and kudos from the Left.  He did his job.  He did not back down from one of the (formerly) most powerful men on the planet.  He approached this from a medical point of view and showed the emperor-in-waiting without his clothes.



Can't wait to see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert riff on this.

 

Oh How The Mighty Are Falling

    

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. empire continues to crumble in response to the phone hacking scandal in U.K., one powerful U.S. Senator is calling for a probe into the conglomerate to see if misconduct occurred on this side of the Atlantic.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the commerce committee, urged government agencies late Tuesday to investigate News Corp's practices in the U.S., including reported targeting of Americans. The push comes as British Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans for an inquiry into the phone hacking scandal that's rocked the UK and as News Corp. announced it would withdraw its $12 billion bid to gain full control over British Sky Broadcasting because of the scandal.  The Huffington Post  7/13/11

From Jay Rockefeller's mouth to the FCC's ear. Problem is, the FCC hasn't any teeth.

The monopolies now enjoyed by the fortunate few broadcaste­rs in cable tv, tv and radio have been developing exponentially since 1996 when the FCC increased the legal market share each broadcaste­r could have in any particular market. It's been on a downward spiral ever since and the public is paying for it. This is why cable tv &/or satellite is so expensive. Rabbit ears? Free TV? All gone since the completion of the government mandated changeover from analog to digital.

AFter 28 years in radio broadcasti­ng, I left for a niche tv broadcaster on a low power signal in a resort area.  I had worked for some of the best broadcast companies, Westinghouse, Capital Broadcasting then some of the worst, SFX, Citadel.  I watched independent as well as larger broadcast entities like CBS change from a vibrant, market-oriented focus to become part of what now constitute­s only five major communicat­ions companies throughout the U.S.   There are over 8,000 radio stations folks.  Companies such as Citadel, Cumulus (just bought Citadel btw), Clear Channel and the conglomerate that is now CBS  have eliminated local news, local personalit­ies, format choices in favor of one size fits all broadcasti­ng. It's similar to the big box store rationale; you can be in any town anywhere, they are always the same.  It's called "economies of scale" and it's killing the medium.   They are run, for the most part, by financiers on Wall Street with little or no experience in broadcasti­ng. The result? Tens of thousands of jobs eliminated­, local focus gone.

How does this tie in to the Murdoch investigation?   My belief is the British investigat­ion into the phone hacking scandal will lead  to a U.S. investigat­ion of practices here.   He's already withdrawn his bid to buy 100% of British Sky Broadcasting which would have given him even greater control of British media.  Can you say Berlusconi?

The break down of companies of this magnitude is necessary for the greater good.  Information and entertainment have been funneled down to a very few sources.  We need to see more focus on companies who no longer follow the original dictate of serving the public interest via the public airwaves.