Tech-media-tainment turns 10

Tech-media-tainment – a blog covering personal technology, media, pop culture and entertainment – marks its 10-year anniversary today.
The blog is still a catchall for my personal interests, which have evolved over the last decade. I hope readers have found the subject matter interesting over the years.
One constant has been my support for freedom of speech and specifically the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The First Amendment has come under attack by political groups who want to narrow its scope by including exceptions for so-called “hate speech” and some forms of political speech. Thankfully the courts have held firm on the broad protections for the First Amendment.
For free speech to survive, we as a people must be willing to accept speech that we disagree with or find offensive. As my favorite T-shirt reads, “Free Speech More Important Than Your Feelings.”
Other major topics of interest for Tech-media-tainment include the importance of the public domain and abuses of copyright.
I’ve also written a lot about halls of fame, Donald Trump magazine covers, revisionist Disney princess art, post-apocalyptic entertainment and the proliferation of lying clickbait.
Unfortunately I’ve cut back on my blogging activity this year as I’ve been busy with other things.
I’m on pace in 2018 to post my lowest full-year article count since I started Tech-media-tainment.
Maybe I should pick up the pace a bit.

Photo: T-shirt from Libertarian Country.

Babes for Liberty: Using sex appeal to spread the Libertarian message

In advertising, sex sells. So, it’s no surprise there are websites promoting the Libertarian Party message using sexy women.
Libertarians support smaller government, lower taxes and less government meddling in people’s lives. They are fiscally conservative and socially tolerant.
Their message is resonating more than ever with the public, given the two divisive major party presidential candidates in Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson is currently polling around 10% nationwide and could be a factor in determining who wins the White House.
Babes for Liberty was created in response to Babes for Trump on Instagram and Twitter. (See articles by the Huffington Post, Reason and Liberty Viral.) Babes for Liberty is also on Instagram and Twitter.
Here are some of the lovely Libertarian ladies from Babes for Liberty.

Election 2016: What would Dad do?

The 2016 U.S. presidential race has created a dilemma for many voters. Both major party candidates are equally repugnant (Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump). The majority of voters have negative opinions of each.
I’ve been trying to convince my friends and family to vote for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico. His running mate is William Weld, a former two-term Republican governor of Massachusetts.
Rather than vote for the lesser of two evils, I suggest voting with a clean conscience. In this crazy election maybe the Libertarian Party has a chance.
In July 2009, I asked my parents for their opinions on politics and the government.
Here are their responses:

My dad, James A. Seitz:

As a young lad, I wasn’t tuned into politics. My parents didn’t talk much about politics. Because my parents both went to college, they were judged to be smarter. My dad was asked to be on a county group to review some problem. It only lasted a few days. Generally they were Republicans.
I do not like what our governments are doing today. Too many elected officials are only interested in what is financially in it for “me” or “my” friends.
The federal government is going to destroy our current health system and it will result in higher costs and poorer quality treatment. Hospitals and doctors will receive less money.
Illinois government is a mess. Too many on the payroll and doing too little for the taxpayer. Look how the elected pay off their supporters by giving them state and federal jobs.
I believe we need two-term limits for all elected positions. I also believe there should be no retirement pay for elected persons. Two to four years in an office does not earn a retirement pay.

My mom, Alice L. Seitz:

The government today needs term limitations. The benefits for elected officials is far too generous today. The emphasis is too focused on themselves and being re-elected.
The founding fathers stated that this new form of government should be “by the people and for the people.” This is fast disappearing.

Of the top three presidential candidates, only Johnson is pushing for term limits. He also supports smaller government and lower taxes, which my father would have appreciated.
Dad would not have liked Johnson’s socially liberal stands like marijuana legalization and pro-choice on abortion. But I think he would have appreciated Johnson as an honest man fighting a corrupt two-party system.

Photo: 2016 presidential candidates (from left) Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Donald Trump. 

Other stories about Mom and Dad:

Father’s Day without Dad (June 19, 2016)

The Gorilla and the Bear (June 11, 2016)

Lessons from my father (June 19, 2011)

Looking back on the Korean War (April 25, 2010)

Pearl Harbor was my parents’ 9-11 (Dec. 7, 2009)

Today’s 9.4% unemployment is bad, but not like the Depression’s 25% unemployment (Aug. 21, 2009)

The current Great Recession has nothing on the Great Depression (Aug. 16, 2009)

Skis, Princess Elizabeth doll were prized Depression-era gifts for my parents (June 28, 2009)

18 prominent libertarian celebrities

The mainstream media have picked up that libertarian politics are on the rise.
For instance, the New York Times magazine did a story on Aug. 7, 2014, titled “Has the ‘Libertarian Moment’ Finally Arrived?” And Time magazine published an opinion piece on Feb. 5 titled “Libertarianism Is on the Verge of a Political Breakout.”
Increasingly people are fed up with the nation’s two-party system. They realize that Republicans and Democrats are essentially the same, distinguished only by the special interests they’re each beholden to.
Getting elected to national office is all about campaign fundraising. Corporations and industry groups lead the way and expect something in return for their money. So, politicians in Congress and the White House answer more to them than to their official constituents.
Libertarians believe in less government and more personal freedoms. Candidates describe themselves as fiscally conservative, but socially liberal.
One of my favorite publications, Reason magazine, and its website, Reason.com, carries the torch for libertarian thinking. It’s a great resource.
Reason occasionally spotlights celebrities with libertarian beliefs. Since I run a pop culture and entertainment blog, I thought I’d list some here.

18 prominent libertarian celebrities

1. Vince Vaughn, actor
2. Drew Carey, actor, comedian and TV show host
3. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of “South Park” and “The Book of Mormon”
4. John Stossel, crusading TV journalist and author
5. Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia
6. Penn Jillette, magician, actor, author
7. Clint Eastwood, actor and director
8. Tom Selleck, actor
9. Kurt Russell, actor
10. Kelly Clarkson, singer
11. Gary Oldman, actor
12. Jeremy Irons, actor
13. Howard Stern, radio and TV show host
14. Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for rock band Rush
15. Adam Carolla, radio and TV show host
16. Big Boi, musician, producer and member of Outkast
17. James Deen, porn actor
18. Belle Knox, porn actress

References:

Libertarian Celebrities & VIPs (Advocates for Self-Government)

9 Extremely Successful People You Never Knew Were Libertarian (Mic; March 7, 2014)

Ten Celebrities You Probably Knew Were Libertarians (Reason; March 9, 2014)

List of libertarians in the United States (Wikipedia)

Porn Star Belle Knox Is Remaking Herself As A Libertarian Activist (Jan. 29, 2015)

Porn Star James Deen Is a Raging Libertarian, Hates Affirmative Consent (Reason; Nov. 12, 2014)

Legendary Actor Gary Oldman Outs Himself as a ‘Libertarian’ (Reason; June 24, 2014)

Hollywood Actor Goes Full Libertarian On Mayor Bloomberg, Slams ‘Terrible’ Nanny Statism (The Blaze; April 4, 2013)

Big Boi, Of Outkast, Explains Voting For Gary Johnson Over Obama (Huffington Post; Jan. 11, 2013)

A Refresher on Clint Eastwood’s Libertarian Politics (Reason; Aug. 31, 2012)

Photo: TV journalist John Stossel.

Investing in marijuana industry still extremely speculative

With four states having legalized marijuana and more considering it, investors might be thinking pot is the next big thing. But marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, so Wall Street and big business are taking a hands off approach to the potential cash crop.
The website MarijuanaStocks.com lists 38 cannabis-related stocks. Nearly all of them are penny stocks, which are prone to market manipulation and bankruptcy. Three tickers on its list of Marijuana Stock Quotes are trading at less than a penny a share.
Marijuana Business Daily offers a list of 11 marijuana stocks. Same story: a bunch of crappy penny stocks that no one should touch with a 10-foot pole.
These sorry lists of public companies with ties to the cannabis trade don’t inspire much confidence in the industry.
Mark A.R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Los Angeles, told Bloomberg that he’s skeptical about prospects for the recreational marijuana industry.
“I just don’t see how there’s money to be made producing an agricultural commodity,” he said. “Once this is a competitive market, prices will be driven down to the level of costs. Costs for cannabis are very small, if it’s produced legally.”
One “real” company connected with the marijuana business is GW Pharmaceuticals. It develops cannaboids for the treatment of cancer pain, multiple sclerosis spasticity and epilepsy. (See article at Investors.com.) It has a real business with a differentiated product offering.
You can’t say the same for the other guys.

Humorous marijuana legalization artwork

The marijuana legalization movement has been aided by social media. People have used Facebook, Twitter and other online services to spread messages about the benefits of legalized pot. Often those messages come with humorous artwork.
What follows are some examples of those pieces of art.
CollegeHumor introduced Bubbles the Sloth as a marijuana mascot in its feature “If Drugs Had Mascots.”

DeviantArt user Ryan, aka Stareatthesun2, showed what a pack of Marlboro brand marijuana cigarettes would look like.

He also posted an ad for pot in the vein of Absolut vodka.

One Photoshop artist showed what a commercial marijuana business could look like by altering a McDonald’s restaurant sign.

One organization posted an informational poster showing that top-flight athletes Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are marijuana users.

Earlier this week, I wrote that President Barack Obama should take the lead to legalize marijuana on the federal level. One artist altered an Obama Hope campaign poster to say “Yes We Can(nabis).”

A series of old-fashion style marijuana promotion posters have funny phrases like “Marijuana: Proud supporters of the snack food industry!”

And finally here’s how one anti-drug campaign was an epic fail.

President Obama should push for legalizing marijuana

With successful ballot measures in last week’s midterm elections, the number of states that have legalized marijuana doubled to four.
Alaska and Oregon joined Colorado and Washington state, which legalized pot in 2012. Voters in the District of Columbia also legalized marijuana last week, but only for possession, home cultivation and sharing, not commercial production or distribution.
In 2016, marijuana legalization is expected to be on the ballot in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada.
The legalization of marijuana is an admission that the decades-long War on Drugs was a costly mistake, much like the prohibition of alcoholic beverages.
But the federal government still considers marijuana a controlled substance. That fact is preventing banks, Wall Street and big businesses like tobacco companies from getting involved in the potentially lucrative market.
President Barack Obama, a lame-duck politician who has admitted to smoking pot in his youth, should use what little political capital he has left to push for legalizing marijuana at the federal level.
Obama is a hypocrite for using marijuana when he was young but standing by as law enforcement continues to crack down on the drug. His administration has bullied legal medical marijuana businesses and strong-armed banks into rejecting legal marijuana money.
The tide is turning though. The general public is recognizing that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and is at least as safe as alcohol. They also see the harmful impact that criminalizing the weed has had on society.
After all, it’s doubtful Obama would ever have become president if he had been caught in possession of marijuana as a youth. Many thousands of men and women have had their records stained by criminal prosecution for the drug.

Photo: Stylized depictions of famous marijuana users including Barack Obama. The artwork, called “Celebrity Weedists,” was created by Michael Weinfeld for the Weedist.

Prostitution cases frequently a waste of law enforcement resources

Last week, Alexis Wright, a Zumba instructor and part-time hooker who plied both trades out of her Kennebunk, Maine, dance studio, was sentenced to 10 months in jail on charges related to prostitution and state tax evasion.
The media covered the heck out of the story because it involves sex and Wright, 30, is an attractive woman.
Prostitution, when between consenting adults, should not be something cops and courts are concerned with. Sexual slavery, human trafficking and child prostitution should be targets for law enforcement.
As with marijuana dealing, prostitution needs to be taken out of the shadows, legalized, regulated and taxed. U.S. state and federal governments don’t need to play morality police.
Having Wright, a single mother, sit in jail isn’t going to improve the world. The streets aren’t any safer with her behind bars. As for the charges that Wright evaded taxes and defrauded the state to receive welfare, she absolutely needs to make good and settle up. She was ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution. (See articles by U.S. News and World Report and the Daily Mail.)
Or, consider the media coverage of three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton, who admitted in December to working as a high-priced escort for the prior year.
Once again, attractive woman plus sex equals popular news story. The fact that she was a public figure with lots of available photos helped the story even more. (See articles by the Daily Mail, the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and Radar Online, which even had a photo slideshow.)
Then, there’s the case of hockey mom madam Anna Gristina, who ran a call girl service in New York that was broken up last year. Her partner in crime was gorgeous glamour girl Jaynie Mae Baker. (See articles by the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the Christian Post and the Daily Caller.)
Last year, porn actress Nichole Heiress was arrested in northeast Ohio for soliciting sex on the classified website BackPage.com. (See articles by NewsNet 5 in Cleveland and Xbiz.)
Personally I don’t see much of a difference between getting paid to perform sex on camera or off camera. It’s the same thing, although the former is considered protected speech under the First Amendment.
Somehow this reminds me of a joke Johnny Carson used to tell about an indecent proposal.
On “The Tonight Show,” Carson told the story of a wealthy man who was entranced by a beautiful woman at a social function. He introduced himself, made her aware of his wealth, and asked her if she would have sex with him for one million dollars.
“Yes, I suppose so,” said the lady.
“Well, would you do it for one dollar?” replied the man.
The woman was shocked and offended. “What kind of woman do you think I am?” she responded.
“We’ve established that,” the man said. “Now we’re just haggling over the price.”
(Note: Quote Investigator has traced the humorous story back to 1937.)
A website called WhatsYourPrice.com blurs the line between online dating and prostitution.
Members of the service are divided into two groups: “the generous” (men) and “the attractive” (women), the Huffington Post reported.

“Attractive users are invited to create profiles on the site, featuring all the basic information you’d find on most dating networks, as well as the amount of money they’d accept for someone to go on a date with them. The generous, meanwhile, can browse through these profiles, and make offers to any attractive users that catch their eye. Once an offer is made, the attractive member can choose to accept it, reject it, or come up with a different price.”

The service is not prostitution because the men are bidding on first dates, not sex, the company told Gawker.
That may be true. But even massage parlors only advertise giving massages.

Photos: Jennifer Love Hewitt, star of “The Client List,” a show about a single mother who becomes a prostitute to make ends meet.

2012 election featured big Libertarian victories on issues

The major party candidates for U.S. president this year, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, offered no attractive option for Libertarian-minded voters. The race was a better-of-two-evils choice, at best.
If you are liberal on social issues, but conservative on fiscal and government scope issues, a vote for either Obama or Romney represented a painful compromise of principles.
That is likely why Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson attracted nearly 1.2 million votes nationwide, the most ever for the party. Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, got 1% of the votes in the presidential race. He ran on a traditional Libertarian platform of dramatically smaller federal government. (See UPI article and Libertarian Party press release.)
On the state front, several measures supported by Libertarians won voter approval on Tuesday.
Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state became the first in the country to approve same-sex marriage, ending a 32-state losing streak. The vote was closest in Washington, NBC News said. Legislatures in six other states – Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa, Vermont, New York and Connecticut – and the District of Columbia have approved gay marriage laws, Yahoo News reported.
Voters in Washington state and Colorado voted “yes” on measures that would legalize the sale of pot to adults, without the need for a doctor’s prescription, USA Today and Huffington Post reported. And voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow the use of medical marijuana.
Libertarians believe in minimal government involvement in people’s personal lives.

Photos: Graphic from Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, posted to his Twitter account on Thursday; and marijuana plants. 

Bill Maher, ‘SNL’ unfairly slam undecided voters

Last week, “Saturday Night Live” and comedian Bill Maher each branded undecided voters in the 2012 presidential election as idiots.
Their comedy bits took cheap shots at the percentage of Americans who claim they are undecided in the race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. (A recent Associated Press-GfK poll says 7% of voters are undecided. Maher put the figure at 5% and “SNL” at less than 4%.)
From their clearly partisan perspectives, Maher and the writers of “SNL” think the election is a pretty easy decision: Vote for Barack Obama. Maher and “SNL” just can’t fathom why 5% of voters haven’t come to that obvious conclusion yet.
Maher makes a good point about the media’s fixation with undecideds. I, too, hate those broadcast news panels of undecided voters called together to measure their reactions to the race.
I agree with Maher that the media is wrong to present them as “more noble and discerning than the rest of us.” But I wouldn’t call them “dipshits” either, as Maher does.
I could say the same thing about large numbers of uninformed voters who vote Democratic or Republican no matter who is running. Maher makes the same point when he points to a Pew Research study that says 40% of Democrats do not know that the Republicans are the conservative party.
Undecided voters used to be called independent or swing voters. That’s because they’re not locked into an ideology that makes them a lock for either party to count on year after year.
Romney was trying to make that point in that controversial video, surreptitiously shot in May but leaked last week. In presidential elections, Republicans can’t sway those 47% of people who are guaranteed to vote for the Democratic candidate. It’s foolish to campaign to them. You have to appeal to those swing voters who can go either way. Those are the idiots that Maher and SNL are talking about, the ones that can’t see the clear good-and-evil line separating Obama and Romney.
“If, at this point, you still can’t figure out who you like more Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, stay home,” Maher said. “Because you probably couldn’t find your polling place anyway,” Maher said. “I mean, what more information does someone need to make this choice?”
True, the public knows what they’re getting with Barack Obama. He’s been in office for four years and they can judge his record.
But even people who think Obama has done a poor job, especially with the economy, aren’t sure they want to back Romney. Obama is immensely likable, while Romney comes off as cold and arrogant.
The question isn’t “who you like more,” it’s who would do a better job as president?
Maher would prefer if we could skip the upcoming debates between Romney and Obama and head straight to the polls. No need to see the candidates side-by-side, answering (hopefully) tough questions to gauge their responses.
I can think of a lot of reasons why people are undecided.
For starters, there are those of us who are fiscally conservative and believe in smaller government, but are liberal about social issues. A choice for either candidate this year is a compromise of those principles. It’s the age-old better-of-two-evils quandary.
Some poll respondents probably aren’t comfortable voicing their support for a candidate and prefer to say they’re undecided. Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko famously used to encourage readers to lie to pollsters.
Many undecided voters are probably leaning one way or the other and are waiting to see if either candidate slips up at the debates or in the final weeks of campaigning to change their minds. But officially they’re undecided.
Still other undecided voters who dislike both candidates will cast protest votes either for trailing candidate (to rob the winner of a clear mandate) or a third-party candidate like Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. 

Photo: 7-Eleven convenience stores are holding a promotion called “7-Election 2012,” where shoppers show their support for presidential candidates through their choice of coffee cup.

Weblinks:

America’s Undecided Voters Need Answers On ‘Saturday Night Live’ (Huffington Post)

Saturday Night Live: Undecided Voter (Hulu)

Bill Maher Slams Undecided Swing State Voters And The Media For Celebrating Them (Huffington Post)

America’s disgust with the TSA could be an issue in the 2012 presidential race

The United States has always prided itself on its principles of personal freedom. But reactionary politics after 9/11 have created a police state at our nation’s airports. And that mindset is spreading into other sectors of American life.
Under the guise of greater security, American citizens have seen their constitutional rights eroded. If you want to fly a commercial airline today, you lose your Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. That amendment states that people have a right to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” unless there is probable cause of criminal activity.
But today blue-gloved agents of the U.S. government, working for the Transportation Security Administration, can grope you in full-body pat-downs, take X-ray images to see what you look like under your clothes, and dig through your personal belongings at will at the nation’s airports.
A famous quote from Founding Father Benjamin Franklin is appropriate here: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
The TSA is an example of the expanding scope of the government into the lives of its citizens. The mandate under President Obama’s sweeping health-care law that citizens must buy health insurance or face penalties is another.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul has been gaining supporters in his Republican presidential bid with calls for smaller government. Paul says he would abolish the TSA and privatize airline security. He believes the agency has infringed on the privacy rights of passengers while doing little to keep the country safe, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Paul is “proving to be a force in the 2012 contest.” While few believe he will capture the GOP nomination, he could play spoiler to early front-runners Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the AP says.
Republican candidates should pay more attention to libertarian voters and less courting of the religious right, if they want to win next year.
A citizens’ petition on the White House website to abolish the TSA has garnered nearly 25,000 digital signatures. It only needed to get 5,000 signatures to be submitted for review and get an official response, according to Forbes. The White House says it will respond to the petition to abolish the TSA in a “few weeks,” Forbes says.
Meanwhile the TSA’s Gestapo tactics have caught on with metropolitan police departments who harass and arrest journalists and citizens who try to videotape their officers in public. (See articles on Gizmodo and Techdirt.)
And the National Football League this year is instituting TSA-style pat-downs at stadiums before games.
This has got to stop.

Art: Terrific political cartoon by Ben Garrison of Grrrgraphics.com.