In case you were wondering if the Daily Show would lose some of its humor and political punch, here's your answer:
(thanks to TPM)
I'm not quite sure if Stewart asked if Rush L. was "molting" or "melting," but his transformation into Jabba the Hutt is nearly complete.
Change is truly coming, not only to America, but to Fox News. Instead of being the modern equivalent to Pravda, parroting the Bush Administration's words and attacking its political opponents, Fox is now sort of the crazy, raving guy who thinks the president is an alien ... in this case almost literally (some of these guys thought Obama wasn't a US citizen, you know.)
Let 'em squawk.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Site changes
Hey, I'm fiddling with the internal workings of the site a bit. You may see some minor changes or glitches. No cause for alarm.
Oops, Bill O'Reilly just accused me of making America less safe.
Oops, Bill O'Reilly just accused me of making America less safe.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
MLK Day
"The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice."
We all know he would be smiling today. But it's too easy to say that great dream has come true. It's only the beginning. But it's a beginning we can all be proud of.
We all know he would be smiling today. But it's too easy to say that great dream has come true. It's only the beginning. But it's a beginning we can all be proud of.
The End of the Bush Presidency
What was that Nick Lowe song? “Time Wounds All Heels?”
Anyhow, I’ve been tossing around ideas for a post on the final days of George W. Bush’s presidency. And it’s hard to really know what to say.
Despite the fact that I’ve been very critical of the man, I did not hate him. I thought there were elements of his life and personality that were admirable, or at least humanizing. Bush, in my opinion, is an example of how it doesn’t take a monster to do terrible things. It only takes bad judgment, bad influences, or in this case, a rather advanced case of willful ignorance.
Bush seemed to be a man who had a core set of principles and beliefs, and he developed an uncanny skill of tuning out anything that challenged or contradicted those beliefs. I think one of the reasons he became so immensely unpopular is that people grew sick of the arrogance, the disinterest in things outside his bubble, those characteristics that are so much a part of his personal style.
Of course, he had his enablers—those bad influences I mentioned above. I suspect that when historians look back on the Bush years, they’re going to identify Dick Cheney as the real villain. Cheney had an inordinate amount of influence and control of the Bush White House, and his fingerprints are on all kinds of policies that range from merely short-sighted to starkly immoral.
One of the most striking ironies of the Bush presidency is how he delivered the opposite of what he promised. He promised to be a uniter, not a divider. Yet it’s hard to imagine a more divisive president. He promised that his economic policies would bring jobs and prosperity. That turned out not to be the case. And he promised to restore America’s prestige overseas. The scenes of jubilation at the election of Barack Obama, and the change in direction he represents, said volumes about how America’s prestige has suffered during the Bush years.
People on the right will continue to argue that Bush kept us safe after 9/11, and I expect that debate to continue. What we do know is he did not do much of anything to keep us safe prior to that day, and his response has largely been a series of catastrophes and blunders that will take years to overcome.
In the end, it’s hard to feel much besides sadness and dismay at the 8 years of poor leadership we’ve had to suffer through. Thank God that’s over.
Anyhow, I’ve been tossing around ideas for a post on the final days of George W. Bush’s presidency. And it’s hard to really know what to say.
Despite the fact that I’ve been very critical of the man, I did not hate him. I thought there were elements of his life and personality that were admirable, or at least humanizing. Bush, in my opinion, is an example of how it doesn’t take a monster to do terrible things. It only takes bad judgment, bad influences, or in this case, a rather advanced case of willful ignorance.
Bush seemed to be a man who had a core set of principles and beliefs, and he developed an uncanny skill of tuning out anything that challenged or contradicted those beliefs. I think one of the reasons he became so immensely unpopular is that people grew sick of the arrogance, the disinterest in things outside his bubble, those characteristics that are so much a part of his personal style.
Of course, he had his enablers—those bad influences I mentioned above. I suspect that when historians look back on the Bush years, they’re going to identify Dick Cheney as the real villain. Cheney had an inordinate amount of influence and control of the Bush White House, and his fingerprints are on all kinds of policies that range from merely short-sighted to starkly immoral.
One of the most striking ironies of the Bush presidency is how he delivered the opposite of what he promised. He promised to be a uniter, not a divider. Yet it’s hard to imagine a more divisive president. He promised that his economic policies would bring jobs and prosperity. That turned out not to be the case. And he promised to restore America’s prestige overseas. The scenes of jubilation at the election of Barack Obama, and the change in direction he represents, said volumes about how America’s prestige has suffered during the Bush years.
People on the right will continue to argue that Bush kept us safe after 9/11, and I expect that debate to continue. What we do know is he did not do much of anything to keep us safe prior to that day, and his response has largely been a series of catastrophes and blunders that will take years to overcome.
In the end, it’s hard to feel much besides sadness and dismay at the 8 years of poor leadership we’ve had to suffer through. Thank God that’s over.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Politics in Minnesota
Today we get the news that former Sen. Mark Dayton is going to run for governor in 2010. Well, that should strike terror into the hearts of Republicans.
Dayton is a nice, smart guy, but he is not a great politician. Just doesn't have the charisma and people skills that a successful politician needs, in my opinion. The candidacy of state Rep. Paul Thissen is one I'm watching.
I was dissapointed with Gov. Tim Pawlenty's State of the State speech last week. This speech was not expected to be heavy on details about his plans to deal with the nearly $5 billion state budget deficit, but what he did say left me troubled. For one thing, it's clear that he's likely to make massive cuts in state health programs, yet he barely gave health care issues a mention in the speech, aside from noting that costs are going up at an unsustainable rate. Well, he's been saying that for years. What's he going to do about it?
We don't know for sure, but based on his speech's suggestions for dealing with the deficit--tax cuts, tax breaks, tax credits--we can expect thousands and thousands of Minnesotans to be thrown out of their state health insurance plans.
I believe Pawlenty is sincere in his anti-tax philosophy. But we have had six years of his leadership, and we are deeper in the hole than ever. Maybe this tax cut, tax break, tax credit approach to governing isn't the answer. In a time of change, Pawlenty needs to remember his tradition of being a saavy, adaptable politician and shed some of these ideas that clearly aren't working.
On a related note, I heard a radio interview recently about the meltdown on Wall Street and the banking industry, and a Republican spokesman voiced concerns about calls to increase regulation, despite the evidence that the anti-regulation approach of the last eight years is a major part of what got us into this mess. But he was sticking to his guns.
"You don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg," he said.
That's the problem with Republicans. They can't tell gold from goose shit.
Dayton is a nice, smart guy, but he is not a great politician. Just doesn't have the charisma and people skills that a successful politician needs, in my opinion. The candidacy of state Rep. Paul Thissen is one I'm watching.
I was dissapointed with Gov. Tim Pawlenty's State of the State speech last week. This speech was not expected to be heavy on details about his plans to deal with the nearly $5 billion state budget deficit, but what he did say left me troubled. For one thing, it's clear that he's likely to make massive cuts in state health programs, yet he barely gave health care issues a mention in the speech, aside from noting that costs are going up at an unsustainable rate. Well, he's been saying that for years. What's he going to do about it?
We don't know for sure, but based on his speech's suggestions for dealing with the deficit--tax cuts, tax breaks, tax credits--we can expect thousands and thousands of Minnesotans to be thrown out of their state health insurance plans.
I believe Pawlenty is sincere in his anti-tax philosophy. But we have had six years of his leadership, and we are deeper in the hole than ever. Maybe this tax cut, tax break, tax credit approach to governing isn't the answer. In a time of change, Pawlenty needs to remember his tradition of being a saavy, adaptable politician and shed some of these ideas that clearly aren't working.
On a related note, I heard a radio interview recently about the meltdown on Wall Street and the banking industry, and a Republican spokesman voiced concerns about calls to increase regulation, despite the evidence that the anti-regulation approach of the last eight years is a major part of what got us into this mess. But he was sticking to his guns.
"You don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg," he said.
That's the problem with Republicans. They can't tell gold from goose shit.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Franken Further Along on his Road to the US Senate
Hee. I also considered: "Franken's Time Has Finally Come"
I have been on the record as mostly just wanting this over, and being OK with it if Coleman wins. I'm pleased that Franken looks like the winner,* but displeased that it probably still won't be over for a while.
Norm, take a page from Al ... Al Gore, that is. Concede with grace.
(*officially is the winner according to state officials. Pending lawsuits.)
I have been on the record as mostly just wanting this over, and being OK with it if Coleman wins. I'm pleased that Franken looks like the winner,* but displeased that it probably still won't be over for a while.
Norm, take a page from Al ... Al Gore, that is. Concede with grace.
(*officially is the winner according to state officials. Pending lawsuits.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)