Jonathan Taplin
- : Los Angeles
- : 60
- : Liberal
- : Democratic
- : http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/
- : Jonathan Taplin is a Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Taplin's areas of specialization are in international communication management and the field of digital media entertainment. Taplin began his entertainment career in 1969 as Tour Manager for Bob Dylan and The Band. In 1973 he produced Martin Scorsese's first feature film, Mean Streets which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1974 and 1996, Taplin produced 26 hours of television documentaries (including The Prize and Cadillac Desert for PBS) and 12 feature films including The Last Waltz, Until The End of the World, Under Fire and To Die For. Mr. Taplin graduated from Princeton University. He is a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the advisory board of the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland and Public Knowledge. Mr. Taplin was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Broadband Task Force in January of 2007.
- : Washington Monthly Juan Cole Talking Points Memo
- : The Rise of American Democracy by Sean Wilentz Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee The Path to Power by Robert Caro
- : Modern institutions “create needs faster than they can create satisfaction, and in the process of trying to meet the needs they generate, they consume the earth.”-Ivan Illich
Harvey Weinstein to the Rescue
I've tangled with some bullies in my life, but Harvey Weinstein is surely at the top of my list. When I sold the film Shine to one of his rivals, he hunted me down at dinner in Sundance and put...more »
Posted on May 9, 2008 10:29 AM
Intimidation Politics
David Brooks writes this morning about the combative nature of the Clinton campaign. In watching Hillary try to intimidate her former employee Geoge Stephanopoulos, he marveled at her ability to spin her "sham gas-tax holiday." This wasn't just shameless spin,...more »
Posted on May 6, 2008 4:50 AM
Hillary's Hypocrisy
Hillary Clinton is out in Indiana telling workers how hard she will fight to keep their jobs from being outsourced. Yesterday in the Huffington Post, David Sirotta revealed the hypocrisy of Clinton railing against a plant closing that her husband...more »
Posted on May 1, 2008 12:55 PM
Guilt By Association
Stanley Fish wrote a piece for The Times a couple of days ago. In 1952, when McCarthyism was at its height, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas labeled the investigative techniques of the junior senator from Wisconsin "guilt by association"...more »
Posted on April 29, 2008 10:45 PM
Lincoln-Douglas Redux
Hillary Clinton wants a Lincoln-Douglas Style Debate without a moderator so the two can ask eachother questions. Obama should accept the offer. Its time to decide whether this election is about reform or restoration....more »
Posted on April 26, 2008 4:04 PM
Paul Krugman is Confused
Hillary Clinton's most eloquent partisan, Paul Krugman says he's "confused by the Obama campaign. With Senator Clinton as the nominee, the coming election campaign is simple--"return with me now to the great days of the first Clinton Administration." Democrats can...more »
Posted on April 25, 2008 11:09 AM
The Speech Obama Can't Give
Last week in The New Yorker, Rick Hertzberg wrote about Hillary's aggressive style and Barack's response. She has been relatively unrestrained in her battle with Obama, but he has had one hand tied behind him in his battle with her....more »
Posted on April 23, 2008 11:18 AM
Bob Gates At The Precipice
Defense Secretary Bob Gates is frustrated. He sees trouble in the military everywhere he turns and yet he is relatively powerless to overcome the inertia. Problem 1--the Generals want to fight the last war--the one against the Soviet Union. In...more »
Posted on April 22, 2008 11:29 AM
Grasping At Straws
You gotta love The Corner, National Review's semi-blog (you can't post comments). They are worried about the John McCain age issue in the fall. I hate to bring politics into the inspirational, spiritual visit of Benedict XVI, but could it...more »
Posted on April 20, 2008 10:01 PM
Kiss Of Death
Even though almost all major Pennsylvania newspapers have endorsed Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton finally won an endorsement--from Richard Mellon Scaife's Pittsburgh Tribune Review. This is the man that spent millions trying to destroy her husband. Machievelli said, "Politics have...more »
Posted on April 20, 2008 3:23 PM
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Otto- I'm happy to take the abuse on this comment board. I'm just tired of having my inbox filled with vituperative crap.
Posted at May 6, 2008 8:27 PM in response to Intimidation Politics
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I'll let Politco reply for me
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10010.htmlPosted at May 1, 2008 7:47 PM in response to Hillary's Hypocrisy
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OK Leah- I accept the Press Club's explanation. I'm letting Clinton off the hook here, but let's not have any illusions that the Rove style Republican attack machine has been feeding the Wright story for weeks.
Posted at April 30, 2008 12:04 PM in response to Guilt By Association
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Tony-I've tried to dissect the Pentagon's Psy-ops on the American public on my regular blog.
http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/military-sock-puppets/Posted at April 20, 2008 5:02 PM in response to Kiss Of Death
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CarolBG- You asked the right question. Of course the DLC wing of the Democratic party, funded by the corporations that got Bill Clinton to deregulate telecom, prescription drug advertising and and banking (killing Glass-Steagal)would be freaked out at the prospect of Obama in the White House.
Posted at April 19, 2008 1:07 PM in response to Hillary Gets It Backwards
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Redstateleroy-Given Josh Marshall's new stated hope that the dialogue on TPM Cafe could be more civil, I'm also encouraged by the civility of these postings.
Having spent a little time with Barack, I don't think he can be painted as an elitist. His early years as a community organizer gave him a real grounding in the problems of lower income folks.
As to your final comment. If you don't think drugs, crime and divorce are more of a problem for lower income people than the rich, then I've got a packet of statistics for you to pour over that might change your mind.
Posted at April 13, 2008 10:59 AM in response to Politics of Demagoguery
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Louisville-You are right that the incidence of drug taking in my home town of LA is epidemic, but there are a lot of resentful and depressed kids out here in the rat race whose "expectations have outstripped real outcomes". I was just remarking that our research says that lower income self medication is climbing.
My point about the gay marriage debate is simply that in poor communities, the evidence of families falling apart is everywhere, and so it doesn't take any convincing when some eloquent demagogue says the American family is under attack. The fact that he chooses to blame "the other" (gays, immigrants, liberals)is immaterial.
You are right that Barack's choice of words was stupid. He knows that. But that doesn't change the fact that there was truth in his words, however inartful.
Posted at April 13, 2008 12:11 AM in response to Politics of Demagoguery
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The clear implication of Boehner's comments were, "better we control the Iraqi oil than the Iranians"
Posted at April 9, 2008 9:02 PM in response to Earth to John Boehner
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Ellen-Your notion of federally financed infrastructure repair is the first variation from your standard Milton Friedman rhetoric in three weeks. What happened? I support that idea and maybe more Republicans will as the recession deepens.
As to the "horror" of Americans returning to a postive savings rate (after three years of negative numbers), I really think the economy can survive with a few less Gaps or Starbucks on every other corner.
Posted at April 6, 2008 4:28 PM in response to Debt Service or Food?
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Abdul-The Merrill Lynch report I cited used interest payments=debt service
Posted at April 6, 2008 11:06 AM in response to Debt Service or Food?
