Out of Office

Hi. My wife and I are taking a quick vacation getaway, so no new footnotes for a few days. I should be back with footnotes Monday morning for Sunday's election episode of The West Wing, and I'll try to catch up on the shows I missed over the next week or so.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/30/2006 01:19:00 AM   

3/28 - Daily Show, Colbert Report, Boston Legal

The Daily Show had Fareed Zakaria and the Colbert Report had former FEMA Director Michael Brown as guests last night. Also, I have footnotes for last night's Boston Legal, which featured a storyline about a bigamy case.

Guest: Fareed Zakaria

Guest: Former FEMA Director Michael Brown

Boston Legal: Bigamy case

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/29/2006 09:14:00 AM   

3/27 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had Michael Gordon and the Colbert Report had former Sen. Gary Hart as guests last night.

Guest: Michael Gordon

Guest: Former Sen. Gary Hart

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/29/2006 09:12:00 AM   

3/26 - The West Wing - Welcome to Wherever You Are

New footnotes for the "Welcome to Wherever You Are" episode of The West Wing. With just days left in the presidential campaign, a new issue arises regarding the disqualification of ex-convicts from voting. Florida is one of 11 states that generally do not allow former convicts to vote, although state laws vary and most states have procedures for restoring the right to vote. The map below shows those states that disenfranchise some former convicts in red and is based on a February 2006 survey by the Sentencing Project (on-line here).

Meanwhile, Toby faces pressure to reveal the source of the information that he leaked to the New York Times regarding a military space shuttle. This incident is reminiscent of the election-eve indictment of former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, which some believe may have influenced the 1992 election in favor of Bill Clinton and against George H.W. Bush.

More footnotes on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/27/2006 09:57:00 AM   

3/22 - Law & Order (America, Inc.)

The "America, Inc." episode of Law & Order seems to be inspired by a March 2004 incident that involved the deaths of four contractors in Iraq. It focuses attention on one particular aspect of the Iraq war, the use of private military firms to handle some military support functions.

More than 60 firms employed more than 20,000 private personnel in Iraq and had suffered an estimated 175 deaths as of early 2005, according to Brookings Institution scholar Peter Singer in a March 1, 2005 article (on-line here). These personnel provide a variety of roles, including logistical support and security, and help supplement the roughly 180,000 to 200,000 military personnel in Iraq (December 2005 statistics on-line here).

The role of contractors in Iraq came to the forefront with the March 31, 2004 incident in which four contractors (Scott Helvenston, Wesley Batalona, Jerry Zovko and Michael Teague) working for Blackwater USA, a private military firm, were ambushed by insurgents in Fallujah and killed, and in which their bodies were mutilated and displayed on a bridge. The Blackwater contractors were providing security for trucks belonging to a food caterer.

As in the episode, families of the contractors filed wrongful death lawsuits against Blackwater in North Carolina civil court in January 2005. According to the complaint (on-line here), Blackwater intentionally failed to provide the contractors with the promised levels of protection and information needed, such as armored vehicles, sufficient advance notice of the mission, and sufficient personnel to have a rear-gunner to discourage attacks.

More footnotes on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/26/2006 01:24:00 PM   

3/23 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had Michael Mandelbaum and the Colbert Report had John Kasich as guests last night.

Guest: Michael Mandelbaum

Guest: John Kasich

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/24/2006 09:21:00 AM   

3/22 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), who recently introduced a resolution to censure President George W. Bush, and the Colbert Report had former Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor as guests last night.

Guest: Senator Russell Feingold

Guest: Dan Senor

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/23/2006 08:39:00 AM   

3/21 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had former Iraqi general Georges Sada and the Colbert Report had Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes as guests last night.

Guest: Georges Sada

Guest: Steve Kroft

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/22/2006 08:27:00 AM   

3/20 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had Clive Owen and the Colbert Report had Connie Chung as guests last night.

Guest: Clive Owen

Guest: Connie Chung

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/21/2006 09:41:00 AM   

3/19 - The West Wing - Two Weeks Out

There are just two weeks and a handful of episodes left in the West Wing election, and Rep. Matt Santos has finally taken a lead in terms of likely electoral votes.

As of this episode, Santos has the lead in 18 states for a total of 190 electoral votes, Senator Arnold Vinick has the lead in 14 states for a total of 104 electoral votes, and 19 states with 244 electoral votes are up for grabs. Whoever gets California and its 55 electoral votes would be a lot closer to winning. The map below shows Santos states in blue, Vinick states in red, and undecided states in white, and is based on the map shown behind Josh as he plans Santos' trip to California.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/20/2006 08:54:00 AM   

3/16 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

Mob-themed guests at the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, with Vin Diesel on the Daily Show and Frank Vincent on the Colbert Report.

Guest: Vin Diesel

Guest: Frank Vincent

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/17/2006 08:05:00 AM   

3/15 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had Natalie Portman as its guest, and the Colbert Report had Al Franken on.

Guest: Natalie Portman

Guest: Al Franken

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/16/2006 09:12:00 AM   

3/14 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

The Daily Show had "Misquoting Jesus" author Bart Ehrman as a guest, and the Colbert Report had Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. I wasn't able to get to Boston Legal in time.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/15/2006 07:34:00 AM   

3/13 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

New footnotes for the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are on-line.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/14/2006 12:55:00 PM   

3/12 - West Wing - The Cold

The West Wing finally returns with the first of its final episodes. In The Cold, the campaign gets more complicated as it interconnects with the developments in Kazakhstan, and Josh and Donna finally kiss.

Also, please check out the new West Wing topic index, which provides a guide to the topics and references over the West Wing's seven-year run. I think this could be fun to look over, and it might spark some curiosity about old episodes you may have missed or just not remember so well anymore.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/13/2006 10:45:00 AM   

3/11 - SNL - Matt Dillon

New footnotes for the March 11 episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Matt Dillon.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/12/2006 11:17:00 AM   

3/9 - Daily Show, Colbert Report

New footnotes for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report are up.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/10/2006 09:21:00 AM   

3/8 - Daily Show, Colbert Report, Law & Order

New footnotes for the Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Law & Order.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/09/2006 09:16:00 AM   

3/7 - Daily Show, Colbert Report, Boston Legal

Jon Stewart is back from the Oscars. New footnotes for his first Daily Show episode back, as well as for the Colbert Report and Boston Legal.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/08/2006 09:15:00 AM   

3/6 - The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert referred in Monday's episde (on-line here) to a study by the World Health Organization which found that natural blonds would likely be extinct within 200 years. This reference came from a March 5, 2006 New York Times article which primarily was about a study about how blond hair evolved (article on-line here) but also mentioned this WHO study.

However, no such WHO study actually exists - the New York Times, and then Stephen, appear to have fallen victim to an old hoax in this particular instance. Media reports appeared around 2002 about such a WHO study, and WHO responded by announcing (on-line here) that it had never conducted any research on the extinction of the naturally blonde hair gene and had never issued a report predicting the extinction of natural blondes within the next 200 years. "WHO has no knowledge of how these news reports originated but would like to stress that we have no opinion on the future existence of blondes," it said.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/07/2006 08:31:00 AM   

3/5 - Academy Awards 2006

Jon Stewart hosted the Oscars last night, and brought a little bit of the Daily Show style to the proceedings with fake lead actress and makeup campaign ads along the lines of the 2004 presidential campaign. Still, the most direct (and obscure) political reference probably came from the producers of the documentary "March of the Penguins," Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau, one of whom referred to a treaty that he hoped would get renewed.

"I would like to dedicate this statuette to all the children in the world who saw that movie. In 2041, they will decide to renew or not the treaty that protects Antarctica. Maybe the March of the Penguins will inspire them," Darondeau said.

Darondeau was referring to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (on-line here), which designates Antarctica as a "natural reserve, devoted to peace and science" and which requires certain environmental protections. The countries that signed and ratified this protocol have agreed to plan and conduct their activities in Antarctica to limit adverse impact on the Antarctic environment, and they have agreed to prohibit any activity relating to mineral resources other than scientific research.

The environmental protocol was not part of the original Antarctic Treaty (on-line here), which entered into force in 1961 and which maintains Antarctica as a zone of peace over which signatory countries will not seek to claim sovereignty. The environmental protocol resulted from subsequent negotiations that concluded in 1991 and entered into force in 1998.

The environmental protocol cannot be modified by signatory countries for 50 years after the protocol came into force, except by unilateral agreement (see Article 25 of the protocol here). After that period ends, the protocol can be modified without unilateral agreement. Thus, the protocol theoretically could be modified or even revoked at any time, but it would be difficult for this to happen until 2048 (not 2041, as Darondeau said) at the earliest.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/06/2006 08:31:00 AM   

3/4/06 - SNL - Natalie Portman

Saturday Night Live resumes with host Natalie Portman from the Star Wars movies and the upcoming V for Vendetta. Footnotes for this episode are on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/05/2006 12:00:00 PM   

3/2 - ER / Colbert Report

It's been a while since I footnoted an episode of ER, but the new episode featuring John Carter in Darfur and dealing with the Jingaweit militia seemed to call for some further elaboration. Also, new footnotes for The Colbert Report.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/03/2006 09:15:00 AM   

3/1 - Colbert Report, Law & Order

New footnotes for The Colbert Report, which featured a correction to a recent New York Times article about the "Better Know a District" series (on-line here) and the start of a new "Better Know a Founder" series, and Law & Order.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/02/2006 09:04:00 AM   

2/28 - Boston Legal, Colbert Report

New footnotes for Boston Legal (firing someone for smoking off the job) and the Colbert Report.

Alan's case here seems to be based on a Michigan health-care company that reportedly fired four employees in early 2005 after they refused to take tests to determine if they had stopped smoking. The company, Weyco, Inc., defended the policy as a way of managing health care costs.

Private employers generally can hire and fire for whatever reason, so long as they do not engage in illegal discriminatory behavior. And, in fact, many states have passed "lifestyle discrimination" statutes that prevent employers from firing people because they smoke while off the job. According to the ACLU, 21 states had passed lifestyle discrimination statutes as of 2005 (on-line here).

However, Massachusetts has not enacted such a law. Without such a law making it illegal for employers to consider off-duty smoking in employment decisions, Alan's friend has no legal basis for bringing a lawsuit against her former employer, and her lawsuit thus was properly dismissed before getting to a jury.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 3/01/2006 08:44:00 AM