Dana Blankenhorn

Class War

What was the most amazing statement in this week's ABC debate?

For my money it was anchor Charles Gibson's assertion that $200,000 is a middle class income. It is, in fact, within the top 4%.

The Census Bureau estimates the current median family income at $62,228. It varies by state. As high as $78,000 in New Jersey, as low as $46,000 in Arkansas. A median income means half of all families make more than that, half make less. It's a true, real-world average.

But I have no doubt that, to Gibson, his statement was right-on. Half the people he knows make more than $200,000, only half less. Which is precisely the problem.

If you make your living as a talking head, on network or cable TV, it's almost certain that you are, by most common definitions, wealthy. This is true for those so-called "newspaper" people you see on TV, not to mention nearly all the pundits and "strategists" who populate the political chat shows. (For the record, our family is doing just fine -- nowhere near $200,000, though.)

This is a very important point to understand when you're looking at today's media. If there is a class war -- and I would argue that there has been for many years -- everyone on the tube is on the rich side of that divide. Everyone, whether they're claiming to argue for conservatives or liberals.

This was not always the case. When I was a kid journalists were truly middle class, their incomes close to the median. Top editors were a bit above, reporters were always below. Our job was to identify with the middle class, and with those who had middle class aspirations. We could do that because that's where we lived -- in the middle.

No more. Now those paid to supposedly advocate on behalf of the middle class are themselves far above that station.

Not Good Enough

The apology of Pope Benedict XVI for the Church's sex abuse scandal is not good enough.

Not by a long shot.

His words remind me of what a child says when he or she is caught taking the toy of another child. The personal shame and repentance may be real. But is anything really changing?

In this case it's clear nothing is changing. This is certain because we haven't heard of the Church doing anything in the other countries where it works. The Church is acting like this is some sort of American aberration, when the only aberrant thing about it is priests here were caught, and the Church as a whole was held to account.

"It wasn't just sexual abuse, it was spiritual abuse," one victim told CNN, but he wasn't the only one spiritually abused. His whole family was, and his whole congregation was.

There are few crimes in this world whose impact can compare with that of child sexual abuse. It happens every day -- in every denomination and creed -- and it destroys everyone it touches.

This isn't a gay crime. It's a crime of power.

When done against a child by a person who claims authority from God, it's even worse. The chance of the victim opening up to anyone, and seeking a cure for the hurt and anger inside them, drops to near zero. And the resulting scars last a lifetime.

Passing the Media Torch

Perhaps the most important story coming out of Pennsylvania may be this.

The media torch has been passed. Not to a new generation, but to a new medium.

Not that the incoming medium notices. To read DailyKos you would think that idiocy were triumphant. Yet despite the constant drumbeat of "Obama's going down" from TV "pundits" and newspaper wags, nothing has really happened. Polls have barely budged.

This would not have been the case 20 years ago, or even 4 years ago. Michael Dukakis was destroyed for simply looking goofy in a tank, Howard Dean by a misrepresented attempt to rev up his supporters. The power of pundits and the media to make (and break) candidates has gone unquestioned for decades now.

What happened?

Something very important.

Community Server

Think of this as Volume 11, Number 16 of A-Clue.com, the online newsletter I've written since 1997. Enjoy.

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My health is good. We're happy. But there are days when I do wish I were 30 years younger, full of piss-and-vinegar.

Days like today.

Because if I were 28 again, and just starting out, this is the kind of business plan I would dearly love to implement. It's what I dreamed of when I first put "Have Modem, Will Travel" on my business cards over 25 years ago. (The picture is from that time. That's my old Kaypro II on the right. The kitten, LoMeow, lived to the age of 18.)

I call it the Community Server, and it's designed to activate rural communities and the back-end of the Internet revolution, the people who right now are either off-line or turned off by what they see online.

Let's start with some facts. Many types of demand can be aggregated and delivered at low cost. Not just diapers and TVs, as Wal-Mart did. Not just electricity as co-ops have for years. But telecommunications as well.

I've described over the years how cheaply WiFi can be delivered, and how copper wires can be transformed by going all-digital. But now that you've got people an on-ramp, where are they going?

To a directory, first of all. City directories and phone directories. Get the data and put it online.

Build a database of it, with each listing a virtual page. The front-end can be Elgg, it can be Marc Canter's PeopleAggregator, it can be Drupal, or (here's a good idea) it can be WordPress.

Take your time selecting the platform, because it's an important choice. You want to be able to add the capabilities of sites like FaceBook, YouTube, and MySpace, as your users demand them. Few users will demand many of these new features right off -- most will be happy with a blog -- but when they're ready you need to be ready. And your platform choice will determine that readiness. You're looking for an open source platform with an active community and a real business behind it.

Your community server could be hosted in your service area, but it doesn't have to be. If you've already aggregated Internet connectivity it might be fun to host it yourself. Otherwise leave it to the pros, and get near a major Internet Exchange.  In time you'll be the cloud. For now get next to one.

So far I haven't really told you much. Anyone can do this. Many people do and wind up with empty servers. I've done it myself.

What's the secret sauce?

The Manipulators

We don't like being talked down to.

(This is actually a marketing talk, by Seth Godin, done at Google, but it's worth listening to whatever business you're in. Notice that he's not talking down to anyone.)

The reason the Obama "bitter" deal hasn't hurt him is the same reason the "Jeremiah Wright" deal didn't hurt him.

This election is not about him.

What all the manipulators who are pissing-and-moaning about it, whether on the TeeVee or online, don't realize is something just as important.

This election is not about them, either.

This election is about us. You and me.

Crisis elections are like that.

Anyone want to deny we're in a crisis (other than the manipulators)?

A World Without a Moral Center

As I may have mentioned here before I'm scheduled to visit Chengdu, China next month. Blogging will be sporadic.

Given the recent headlines over the torch run I'm certain you're wondering what I might tell my hosts.

The answer is -- not much.

For one thing I expect few there to know English. But even without the language barrier I'd mainly want to listen. Listen to my son try to puzzle out the language barrier after three years of Mandarin. Listen to people greet me, and try to explain things by speaking Szechuan ve-ry slow-ly (as though that would help).

But there's another, more important reason. I no longer have cause to condemn anyone.

Neither, frankly, do you.