MANNERS

Ever wonder where people learn bad behavior, or for that matter, good behavior? We learn from our parents, our friends, our teachers, movies, and not least of all, from commercials. The core element of all TV ads is pretty much the same: show attractive people engaging in acceptable behavior that is somehow enhanced by the product. Some advertisers like to show geeky people doing stupid things, but invariably they are selling their product by mocking the people they are showing.

Panasonic is currently running an ad on American Idol that features three teenaged girls at the beach in cut-offs and t-shirts. When one of the girls tries to take a picture of the other two with her Panasonic digital camera, she is interrupted by a shirtless fat guy wearing sunglasses and a headset who walks through the frame. She is annoyed at first, but then decides that a picture of the fat guy - who is now bee-bopping to the unheard music on his headset, completely unaware of the girls - would be even better than a picture of her friends. She switches to video mode and laughingly says to her friends, "This goes right on the web."

Panasonic, of course, is selling a light weight, ready-to-go piece of high-tech happiness that "suits your lifestyle." But in the process, they are validating a thoughtless, immoral, and possibly illegal act. The girls in the ad don't give a moment's thought to the fat guy's feelings. What if he's supposed to be at work and his boss sees the video and he gets fired, and on and on. Better yet, what if these three chippies decide to duck behind a bush to change out of their cut-offs into bikinis ... and the fat guy whips out his Panasonic so he can post pictures of their bare butts on the web. Is that okay?

Like every other corporation, Panasonic is fundamentally amoral, guided only by sales figures. In this case, I think a nice letter to corporate headquarters would be nice. Don't by shy - let them know what you think.

• Panasonic Corporation of North America
• 1 Panasonic Way
• Secaucus, NJ 07094

CRY BABIES

Unbelievably, the Huffington Post reports that certain Republicans have chosen to invoke an arcane Senate rule in order to prevent key committees, including the Armed Services Committee, from meeting. The party of "Country First" is apparently so vexed at the passage of the health care reform bill that it is willing to hold national security hostage to its temper tantrum.

This is not how elected officials behave. This is how children behave. This is how ill mannered, undisciplined children behave when they fail to manipulate their parents by any other means. The Republican Party, already in disarray, lacking effective focus or leadership, has begun to completely implode. I am not happy to see it. Good government requires strong advocates on both sides of every issue. I hope responsible Republicans will be able to take a step back, reassess the political climate, and move forward.

SERIOUS READING

David Michael Green is a political science professor at a New York university. He has written a number of articles, including this very long, unnerving piece called, How to squander a presidency in one year. My suggestion is that you grab a cup of coffee and a couple of cookies (for comfort) and read this puppy. It's difficult and it's very uncomfortable, especially if, like me, you love Obama. But I think it's important. Happy reading.

INTERNET INTRIGUE

The most unique feature of the internet - and its most dangerous - is the instant accessibility to limitless numbers of people that it affords to anyone with a computer, or for that matter, an iphone. The problem, of course, is that the reliability of the information one receives is very low and the accountability is zero.

An interesting example is a notice flying around the net at the moment, promoting a new, constitutional amendment. The 28th Amendment would, in essence, require all laws to apply equally to both citizens and legislators. Hmm. Sounds reasonable. But the motivation behind the amendment - the fact that congressmen can retire with full pay for life after a single term and don't have to pay into Social Security - is false! Check out a web site called Snopes.com for the full story.

Here's an even better one. The other day, a law professor wanted to demonstrate the necessity for verifying facts. He began his class by reading a brief notice - purportedly from a news source - that Chief Justice Roberts had decided to step down from the Supreme Court. That's all he said. He then went on to teach the rest of the class. Before a minute had passed, several students had their Blackberrys out and were texting friends about the "news." The story was picked up by Radar.com, which is I believe the digital arm of the National Inquirer, and went out over the internet. NBC news anchor Brian Williams saw it on his way to work and made frantic calls to his office to try and lock in a "look-back" at Justice Roberts's brief career on the bench. The story was cleared up within an hour, Radar.com apologized, Brian Williams blushed, and everyone went back to their lives.

The other great feature of the internet, by the way, is that a maximum of information is available with a minimum of effort. A quick trip to Google or Yahoo will tell you just about anything you want to know. The point is, the information we are given, either from the internet or on the nightly news or our mothers, should always be questioned.

THE JOKE'S ON THEM

In case you missed it, a wide variety of news outlets reported today that the RNC is using a fundraising document that portrays President Obama as The Joker (in full, white-face make-up) and groups him with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid under the heading, "The Evil Empire." Among the fundraising tactics discussed in the power point slide show are suggestions to appeal to big-time contributors on the basis of their egos and small-time contributors on the basis of fear. The idea seems to have backfired, however, as evidenced by Republican office holders distancing themselves from the document as if t'were death itself.

I'm a big believer in free speech. The open and free exchange of ideas is vital to the life of any democracy, and comedy, especially sarcasm, can be a powerful weapon in the political arena. Political cartoons have mocked politicians for generations, but I think we owe the office of the president, if not the man himself, a degree of respect that precludes the use of this kind of sardonic wit by members of the opposing. And I'm glad to see that some Republicans feel the same way.