Discouraged

I want to return to the blissful ignorance I enjoyed while I was frolicking in Europe earlier this month -- on my feet and on the go all day long, enjoying great art, breathtaking landscapes and inspired architecture. And in the evening, kicking back with some refreshing local beers, and some lovely food and wine. No newspapers, no TV, no internet. Forgetting for a while that this world is run by greedy, idiotic bastards who are dragging all of us down with them into their pitiful, toxic stew of incompetence.

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I'm starting to think the only way to fight back is to opt out. How can I sit here and insist that there should be no more drilling when I just filled my car up with gas a few days ago? How can I bitch and moan about the toxic sludge spilled at Harriman, TN -- or the coal mined by blasting off the tops of mountains -- when I suck power off of TVA's grid? If I don't stop giving them my money, what incentive do they have to change? Clearly, they need more motivation than they've gotten over the past thirty years.

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I wish I knew how to stop it.

Science! Arrrrgh!!

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UPDATE: more here!

Dear Pat,

Linkiddy doo dah

And here is yet another hodgepodge from the past week...

• Bottled water. How do you feel about it? Ripped off? Misled? You should. We got some stainless water bottles earlier this year and they are wonderful -- the openings are big enough to add ice, there are no BPAs in the water we drink, there is no waste for the landfill, and they fit in the bike drink holders. We took them with us on our road trip last month and had no trouble refilling them with ice and cold water at gas stations along the way, and, thanks to our cozies and the added ice, it was so nice to have water that stayed cold for hours after a rest stop.

• This may come as a shock to some, but not all low-income housing has to be ugly.

• Anonymous hugging!

• This remembrance from Pam Spaulding (apparently my brother's classmate at Stuyvesant!) is the best post I've seen since Frank McCourt died last week.

• Abraham & Issac retold.

• I admit that I haven't been consuming much media lately (comcast recently cut us down to just a few worthless channels), but I'm still surprised that since the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. story broke, I haven't heard a single person mention the movie Amos and Andrew.

• On health care: we could be doing a LOT better than we are -- certainly better than BCBS is doing (which is maybe the RNC chair's insurance company -- he's not sure, but he's still trying to kill any chance at reform). Why are some of our representatives dragging their feet? Other systems work. Lewis Black shares some thoughts. And so does Bill Maher (best one ever?).

• I've said it before many, many times, but it bears repeating over and over and over again: the only thing abstinence-only education produces is really freakin' stupid teenagers.

• For the record: calorie labeling is a positive thing. As with many things (including sex -- see above), ignorance can be toxic.

• Here's a shocker: the C-Street Cult (oh, Zach!) story shows no sign of slowing down! Why is disgraced Senator Ensign giving Zach Wamp money? Apparently, it's a secret! Unfortunately, in other marriage defender/marriage non-honorer news (AKA republican sexual hypocrites), Tennessee still picks the winners.

• Jimmy Carter is challenging the Southern Baptist Convention's sexism -- but is he making any sense?

• Pat Buchanan: Why do you keep talking? You're making Lou Dobbs look good. Even Rachel, who often refers to you as "Uncle Pat," thinks you're a misinformed douche.

• Today was Sarah Palin's last day. Top Ten observes the occasion.

• Lastly, this just leaves me gasping for air. And Jimmy Carter thought the Baptists were bad! Ha!

• And finally, I posted this on facebook about a week back, but if you missed it there, you might enjoy it here. I apologize to everyone who attended my wedding, because it wasn't this cool. Neither was any wedding I've ever attended. The bar has been raised.

UPDATE:

Oh, Zach, Zach, Zach...

Why must you belong to a psooper psekret christian adultery cult?

UPDATE: more here and here.

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Teabag Day

...And Tax Day will perhaps be forever changed...

Everybody's talking about teabagging this week (much to Rachel's amusement!). Even Chattanoogans, who are notoriously non-activist, had some tea parties today. Events all over the country have been getting a lot of media coverage, but I wonder if at least part of the reason for that is the fact that protesters' choice of language is providing so much amusement for people (and giving at least one poor old woman asthma attacks!).

But besides their unfortunate use of language -- which is a place they keep going back to (more here), deliciously -- conservatives might also be hurting their reputation in another way: their choice of metaphor just doesn't ring true, and so it leaves them looking clueless and petulant. The "tea party" is, I gather, supposed to refer back to the Boston Tea Party (where they dumped chests, not bags, of tea into the harbor (not on the sidewalk) -- tea which had been siezed, not purchased at the nearest Wal-Mart Asian Import Store). The 1773 Tea Party was part of a protest of the the fact that colonists were being asked to pay levies while not being allowed representation by the taxing authority -- but sadly, the reference is willfully ignorant.

The events across the country were not being put together by people who suffer from a lack of representation by the taxing authority. Today's demonstrators had the opportunity to vote for their representatives in government just last fall. I can only assume that these activists took advantage of that civic opportunity, so at this point, they're really just being sore losers. These people put politicians in power who demonstrated an incredible incompetence at running a government over a number of recent years, and then they suffered terrific losses at the polls as a result. That is what makes today's protests not so much like an iconic event that might change the course of history and more like a toddler's tantrum -- complete with the red face, teary eyes, and bulging diaper -- after just 86 days in the minority. As Joe says:

I'm all for fighting against big government. My only question is: why just now? With a few exceptions, where have you guys been?

And, I might add, where are your suggestions as to an alternative course? (Come on, be serious -- if all you're going to say is "shut down the government," then, really, how is that helping?) Given where we are, how should we proceed?

Nom, Nom, Nom-nom!

First the original ad, created by the forces of wing-nuttia, or the National Organization for Marriage (Oh, the gays! If they can get married, then my life will be ruined!!!! And the sky is falling!!!):

And then came the truth...

First Aussie on Rachel Maddow!

The news is the news

Rachel Maddow changes the media (here are a few excerpts, but do read the whole thing!):

She is liberal without apology or embarrassment, bases her authority on a deep comprehension of policy rather than the culture warrior's claim to authenticity, and does it all with a light, even slightly mocking, touch. [...]

Maddow's immersion in facts rather than in opinions has helped shape her on-air persona. When Pat Buchanan, who joined Maddow on MSNBC's election-night panel throughout the presidential primary, claimed that the expansion of the health-care program S-CHIP would give money to already well-off families, Maddow quickly pointed out that 8 million children in the very income group he claimed could afford insurance don't have it. And in another segment, when conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said John McCain had not backtracked on previous support for immigration reform, Maddow was ready with examples of how McCain had reversed himself on the issue during the primary campaign. [...]

Maddow's wonkery, however, is leavened by a light, sardonic touch that keeps her commentary from veering into the pedantic. Unlike so many televised liberals, who seem almost physically pained by the combative cable-news format, she obviously enjoys herself. A good example came during an election-night panel discussion of Obama's victory in the Nebraska and Idaho primaries, which Buchanan tried to delegitimize by saying that Obama could only appeal to liberals. Without missing a beat, Maddow responded, "In what kind of a world do Idaho and Nebraska represent the left lane?" She had the entire panel laughing outright. A chastened Buchanan could only manage a wan joke about Marxists.

She's been on less than a month, but already she has created a large audience for her show, which airs weeknights at 9pm, opposite Larry King's juggernaut.

An animated dissection of political events and offbeat news, punctuated by the host's sardonic humor, "The Rachel Maddow Show" has debuted with a strength that surprised even MSNBC executives. An average of 1.64 million viewers tuned in since the show launched on Sept. 8, more than double the number who watched the same hour in the first eight months of the year.

In her second week on the air, Maddow beat CNN's "Larry King Live," a cable news institution -- quite a feat for a self-described television novice and former AIDS activist who doesn't even own a TV.

If you haven't checked her out yet, here's a sample from a recent show:

Video Roundup

The campaigns, 527s, news channels, volunteers and comedians have been spewing video like an open hydrant lately and I'm going to try to round up the last week's worth here (wish me luck!).

Obama: McCain's Lobbyist Campaign, Community Organizing, Education, On Letterman, 1982, What is Change?, On Tax Plans, What Economy Are You Talking About?, McCain's Fundamentals, Another four?, Equal Pay, Old Boys Network, Hope

Biden: America Needs More

McCain: Bloodthirsty Warmonger, On GOP Diversity, Bush-McCain Republicans, Hot Blooded!, The First Family of War, Going for the Pedophile Vote, Squirming, Protecting Sex Offenders, John McCain's Lies, Recycled Bush, Lies exposed, Women's Issues, Out of Touch, McCain's Honor, On Palin's Experience, Subtle Racism, Rove: McCain has gone too far, Rape Kits, Medical Records, Romney on McCain, Who's better off?, Fall From Grace, McCain is a Republican, Carly Fiorina, Buh-Bye, Carly!, Stay the Course!, Invented the Blackberry, Lying Their Way to the White House, ABC: McCain Flip-Flops, WHAT? Spain is in Europe?!?

Palin: Forced Gestation, Pentacostal, Wolf Hunting, Sound Familiar?, Bridge to Nowhere, Palin is a Liar, Book Banning, Charging Rape Victims, Hardball: Who is She?, The Bush Doctrine, Drags Out an Old Canard, Pork is Yummy!, On Special Needs, Pray For Us, Sarah!, The Todd, Her First Ad

Rachel: Lipstick, The Fundamentals Are Strong, Commissions

Palin spoofs: Palin in Four Minutes, Vlog, Palin is a Liar, Gina Gershon, The famous SNL skit

Stewart: McCain 2008 = Bush 2000, John McCain, Reformed Maverick, McCain's Acceptance Speech, Palin is the Bush Doctrine, McCain's Change?, Generic Off

Colbert: Repo Man, How Dare You?, McCain Attacks Obama

Bill Maher: New Rules (Republican Convention), New Rules (Cities vs. Small Towns), With Paul Begala

Craig Ferguson: Cut to the Chase

The Young Turk: It's Not Just George Bush

(Michael) Palin for President!

Scary warmonger gets ripped off

The stupidest "manufactured outrage" so far

I can't believe we just spent a full 24-hours talking about this, but there it is, so I will ::sigh:: comment on the stupidity.

[And I will also offer a warning to the media: if you people can't get your heads out of your asses, why would I possibly continue to pay attention? Credibility is something you earn, and lately, you're not putting in any time. If the people are becoming more stupid -- and they are -- you are at least partly to blame. You could raise the tenor of the debate but instead, you chase ratings and wallow in the freaks and idiots and missing white women. But back to the clowns...]

Tonight!

9:00pm -- It's the first night of the new Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC!*

*And don't let them de-dyke you, Rachel! We love you just the way you are -- always the smartest one in the room and dancing circles around Pat Buchanan! :-D

Quote of the Day

"That's post-rational!"
-- Rachel Maddow, at the Democratic Convention on 8/25/2008, talking about how Hillary supporters don't support Obama because they're Hillary supporters, even though Hillary wants them to support Obama.

Link and video as soon as they're available...

Go, Rachel!

No sooner did I go offline on Tuesday to deal with server issues, and there was big, long-awaited, breaking news: Rachel Maddow is getting her own show on MSNBC! She'll follow Keith Olbermann, who's on at 8pm -- instead of Dan Abrams, we'll get an hour of Rachel at 9pm every weeknight -- starting on September 8th! Yippie!

Trees, trees, and other stuff

Here are a various few links for a Friday afternoon...

• 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World
• 30 Creepiest Trees on Earth
• A brilliant and hilarious parody from Jimmy Kimmel.
• If you've been reading here for long, you know I loves me some Rachel Maddow -- she's smart, very quick, witty, and I love the way she can make Pat Buchanan turn a helpless shade of purple when they appear together as talking heads. I'd love to see her get a show on the teevee. Maybe the time is near? She is at the top of the list.

There's More! McCain flummoxed by his own voting record!

Let's not even get started on the misogyny of McCain's position -- that insurance companies might be happy to pick up the tab for an old man's attempt to get an erection, but if that same old man manages to find a receptive fertile woman, she's on her own when it comes to fending off his sperm -- but instead let's watch while he tries to respond to criticism from his his own campaign surrogate and possible running mate, Carly Fiorina and, as Rachel Maddow puts it, tries to "will himself out of his own body":

I wonder how often McCain votes in the Senate without thinking much about the issue he voted on? And does Fiorina think that she's going to impress voters, or McCain, by misrepresenting his positions? Is he really interested in putting a liar (or idiot?) on the ticket? And does McCain really disagree with Gramm? Not likely.

Catching Up...

I've got some links lying around in my rss reader. Some of them are a little dated (going back a week or so), but they're all worth sharing.

• Looking for a way to beat higher grocery prices? Ever considered Community-Supported Agriculture? There are quite a few CSA Farms in Tennessee. Surely, we've all had enough of the failed global food system.
• Here's a great interview with Rachel Maddow, #50 on the Telegraph's 50 most influential US political pundits list (and, of course, my favorite pundit).
• And once again -- and I can't believe there is anyone left who is still willing to peddle this crap (but unfortunately, the group includes the idiots and misogynists currently running the show in DC) -- the evidence continues to show that abstinence-only education DOESN'T WORK:

  Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins. [...] Vast sums of federal monies continue to be directed toward these programs. And, in fact, there is evidence to suggest that some of these programs are even harmful and have negative consequences by not providing adequate information for those teens who do become sexually active.

Maddowized

I've gushed before about Rachel Maddow's coolness, so it comes as no surprise to see her fan club numbers exploding after her brilliantly smooth smack down of Joe Scarborough this past week. You can watch the video or read the transcript over on Crooks and Liars, or just watch below:

Rachel Maddow tried to point out the fallacies in Joe Scarborough's glowing, fact-free praise of John McCain on MSNBC's Race For The White House.

The Scar continues to spew this ridiculous media narrative that John McCain is a "maverick," completely disregarding the myriad of flip flops the aging Arizona senator has made over the past year. Rachel tries to put him in his place, reminding him that McCain has been pandering to the right on all the major issues including permanent tax cuts, immigration and torture, but all Scarborough does is tell her that she doesn't understand the Republican party. True dat, since she is the lone voice of reason and we all know that facts have a liberal bias. Scarborough loves to steamroll Mika Brzezkinski on his morning show, but as you'll see from this video, his bullying style gets him nowhere with Maddow.

312 Days...

Why we haven't impeached these jackasses is completely beyond me, but failing that, perhaps it's time to let this administration, and their lackeys in the press, know that we are not amused by their incompetence and corruption. Or, to put it another way:

In this clip, Keith plays us George W. Bush's latest massive self-embarrassment, singing a fucked up song about all the crap he's done wrong as President. He basically laughs about the destruction of a major city and the shredding of the constitution. It's not a howl.

Tucker's replacement...

I was hoping for Rachel, but it's going to be David Gregory. We'll see how it goes...