Something Obscene

The New York Crimes - David Paterson & Charles Rangel

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Off Notice - Canadian Iceholes

Health Care Reform

Isn't hypocrisy a wonderful thing? Bash your enemies for horrible behavior but then don't hold the same measuring stick to yourself and your allies.

Senator Rangel got himself in some hot water, but Speaker Pelosi, despite her previous declaration that the democrats would "make this the most honest, ethical, and open congress in history", tried to undersell the affair.

Jon Stewart and the Daily Show caught the flip and flop on video (@ 3:20) as they usually do.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where people held themselves to the same standards to which they hold others. All I know is that I will never know.

Stephen colbert put me on notice

2010-03-04T19:00:00.001-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Skate Expectations

I don't know if I should be upset or happy, but there it is, plain as day: Stephen Colbert put me on notice while he was doing his Olympic coverage.

I guess I've been warned.

Shock: obama wants more money

2010-03-01T19:00:00.001-05:00

Once again, President Obama has a solution to some of the nation's ills: money.

President Barack Obama took aim Monday at the nation's school dropout epidemic, proposing $900 million to states and education districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools.

Obama's move comes as many schools continue to struggle to get children to graduation, a profound problem in a rich, powerful nation. Only about 70 percent of entering high school freshmen go on to graduate. The problem affects blacks and Latinos at particularly high rates.

Obama described the crisis as one that hurts individual kids and the nation as a whole, shattering dreams and undermining an already hurting economy.

"There's got to be a sense of accountability," Obama said...

I agree, but the think the accountability would be on spending. There isn't a problem at which we can't throw money.

Let's get through this financial and employment crisis. Then we can start worrying about spending money on everything else. Otherwise our debt will continue to balloon.

Obscenity italian style

2010-02-25T19:00:00.002-05:00

Have we missed parts of this story or has an Italian judge gone completely off his rocker. The AP explains:

An Italian court convicted three Google executives of privacy violations Wednesday because they did not act quickly enough to pull down an video online that showed bullies abusing an autistic boy.

The case was being closely watched around the world due to its implications for Internet freedom.

In the first such criminal trial of its kind, Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges. A fourth defendant, charged only with defamation, was acquitted.

This is no Ted Steven's stunt. Engadget had more:

Hold tight kids, internet privacy laws just got flipped upside down. An Italian judge found three Google executives guilty of violating the privacy of an Italian student who was bullied in a 2006 video posted on Google Video. The video resided on the site for two months before it was brought to Google's attention and pulled. None of the executives were involved in any way in the making of the abhorrent video. Nevertheless, Italian judge Oscar Magi sentenced the execs to a six-month prison sentence but cleared them of defamation charges. No jail time is expected, however, since any sentence of less than 3 years is typically commuted in Italy for those without a criminal record.

They then followed this up with a quote from Google's Blog:

European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them - every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video - then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear.

Wow. You'd think the judicial system over there was run by Fox News.

4 out of 5 believe the government is broken

2010-02-22T19:00:00.001-05:00

More than 4 out of every 5 people believe the government is broken. CNN had the details:

Americans overwhelmingly believe that the government is broken, according to a national poll released Sunday.

But the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.

Eighty-six percent of people questioned say that the system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no.

This doesn't shock me. What does surprise me is that 4 out of 5 people in that group think it can be fixed:

Of the 86 percent, 81 percent say that the government can be fixed, but 5 percent say it's beyond repair.

Maybe that's why people used to look at Obama as superman, ready to right all the world's wrongs. Oddly, millions of people tune into Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Maybe it's not the government that's in trouble.

Stephen colbert's olympic poster

2010-02-11T19:00:00.004-05:00

Stephen Colbert is no stranger to riding a media wave. He knows how to play to a crowd. This is no exception:

Last night, Stephen Colbert revealed The Colbert Report's official poster for the Vancouver Olympics, created by Shepard Fairey. Well, now it's time for you to take action and show your support by downloading the poster, printing it out and plastering it all over Vancouver.

Please be sure to observe all local laws and ordinances regarding the posting of bills. I repeat, do not murder anyone with this poster!

Can't make it to Vancouver? Well, you can still show your support for Stephen by changing your Facebook and Twitter icons to this scaled-down version of the poster and Tweeting the hashtag #SkateExpectations.

Of course there are others who know how to play to their crowd, but unlike Glenn Beck, Stephen doesn't have to resort to crying.

He's made it a long way since the Daily Show. If he keeps playing his cards like this he will make it even farther.

Top uniformed officer: gay ban should be lifted

2010-02-08T19:00:00.003-05:00

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

A Few Gay Men & Women

Be Almost All That You Can Be

Wow! This is a big one, and of course Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had to get in on this. The top uniformed officer says that the gay ban should be lifted.

The military's top uniformed officer declared Tuesday that gays should be allowed to serve openly in uniform, arguing that it is "the right thing to do."

Adm. Mike Mullen's statement was the strongest yet from the uniformed military on this volatile issue, although he stressed that he was "speaking for myself and myself only." He told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday he is deeply troubled by a policy that forces people to "lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

Mullen said he knows many will disagree about abandoning the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and said there are practical obstacles to lifting the 1993 ban. But he said he thinks the military can handle it. Mullen is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and chief military adviser to President Barack Obama.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the panel he is tapping his chief legal adviser and a four-star Army general to lead a landmark study on how the military would lift its ban on openly gay service members.

What can I add that the AP, Jon, and Stephen haven't covered?

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Economy

Jon stewart on the o'rielly factor

2010-02-04T19:00:00.001-05:00

The news is abuzz with Jon Stewart's appearance on Fox's O'Rielly Factor:

Comic Jon Stewart told Bill O'Reilly that the "no spin zone" ringleader had become the voice of sanity on Fox News Channel, although "that's like being the thinnest kid at fat camp."

The host of "The Daily Show" and Fox's kingpin exchanged some good-natured shots Wednesday during Stewart's appearance on a network he relishes mocking. Stewart tossed off jokes but also criticized Fox for being a "cyclonic perpetual motion machine" opposing President Barack Obama.

"They have taken reasonable concerns about this president and this economy and turned it into a full-fledged panic attack about the next coming of Chairman Mao," Stewart said.

E Online had more:

And since real politicians tend to avoid face-to-face exchanges whenever possible, we're pleased that Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart, two of most trusted men in political entertainment, were unafraid to sit down for a little one-on-one on The O'Reilly Factor.

In the first of a two-part interview, the Fox host and Comedy Central funnyman jabbed and parried, both keenly aware of falling into each other's rhetorical traps. Stewart mocked Glenn Beck and what he calls "the Fox narrative," while O'Reilly alternately praised and belittled Stewart and his audience of stoned, Obama-loving slackers. Plus, there was even a shout-out to the Shadow Government!

Good stuff. Fox, you never fail to entertain. Now where's the news.

Yes, corporations are people; cold, heartless people.

2010-02-01T19:00:00.002-05:00

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Supreme Corp

The Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations can not be limited on contributions to campaigns because (in a nutshell):

Corporations are legally "persons" and

Limiting money in this regard is akin to limiting free speech

Wow. Of course. Corporations are people and money is speech. It's all so clear once John Oliver and Jon Stewart provide some hilarious views on this topic.

Actually, I've understood the law sees corporations equal to persons since I created my own corporation a few years ago (Full disclosure: this blog is owned by that corporation). I can see the legal necessities of that, but I have to wonder why the law doesn't see people and corporations similarly, and not as 1 to 1 exact mirror copies of each other. Sotomayor herself has voiced her concern about this view.

But then this decision goes further and also, like decisions before it, equates money spent with free speech.

I'm not thrilled with the outcome of the decision, but that's not the issue. The issue I have is the journey that brought us there. If legally a company equals a person, and money equals speech, isn't there something obscene about our laws? Isn't it a bit disconcerting that those logical/legal jumps are nothing but a glossed over point on a legal decision?

In the end, the Supreme Court has just made a legal declaration that corporations will be the biggest, loudest, people there are. What's to stop them? They have billions of dollars in "free speech" and we the people need a megaphone just to compete with the volume they will bring to the table.

Obama needs to be more centrist?

2010-01-28T19:00:00.004-05:00

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Blues Clueless

What has Obama done? I don't mean what has he done that was so liberal, I mean what has he done? Fox News seems to think "a lot", along with key Republicans.

I don't get it. They want him to move more to the center but, as Jon Stewart points out, he hasn't really don't anything - like closing Guantanamo or dealing with gay rights.

They should love this guy. I guess they will complain about anything. Of course, if the shoe were on the other foot the dems would do the same.

Yay for the government.

Biden being biden

2010-01-25T19:00:00.003-05:00

Who's the greatest asset the Republicans have? Joe Biden.

Okay, not really, but the guy is just a small gesture away from a wink and a gun here. He's a gaffe machine. Don't get me wrong: to quote fake Joe Biden - I love the guy, but he's mentally unstable.

And here's more gaffe-tastic excitement courtesy of the Daily Show. Enjoy.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Gaffe-In

Sesame street's extreme left-wing agenda

2010-01-21T19:00:00.002-05:00

If there's one thing I've learned about Sesame Street it's that it's a street that you can only get to by taking a hard left:

You'd expect jabs at Fox News from the politically minded comedic shows, but not the kid's program celebrating its 40th anniversary tomorrow.

The show recently reaired an episode from two years ago in which Oscar the Grouch launches his own television channel called "GNN," for Grouchy News Network. Grundgetta, a female Muppet viewer, calls into Oscar's show and threatens to turn the dial. "From now on, I'm watching Pox News. Now there's a trashy news show," she exclaims.

Now, conservative bloggers are getting their panties in a bunch over this.

"The message is clear: I can't even sit my kids in front of Sesame Street without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority," writes Big Hollywood's anonymous Stage Right.

Okay, E-Online is right. I honestly don't think the Sesame Workshop is part of some mass left-wing puppet conspiracy.

The real question is why do these conservative wackos think so? It's a kid's show.

Stop whining about every little thing and making up BS and a get a platform people actually want to get behind. Take a page from the greats and become a real Republican.

"Grover made me feel bad." Ugh. Dems soft on terror? You're soft on puppets. Grow up!

John oliver uncovers the america we grew up in

2010-01-18T19:00:00.002-05:00

Even Better Than the Real Thing

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

It never ceases to amaze me how many people talk about how great things used to be, not realizing how bad they used to be too. It's a common psychological phenomenon actually.

However, some people like Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck and the cast of Fox News seem to forget this. Because they remember things as being greater way back when, they think that life was better 20, 30, 40 years ago. Forget women's rights, civil rights, tight economic times (okay... I guess we remember this one).

The fact is the selective memory says times were better way back when, but were they really? John Oliver does a small bit on the Daily Show to take this on. Enjoy.

Under bush there was no terrorist attack?

2010-01-14T19:00:00.003-05:00

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Fright Club

The Word - Spyvate Sector

The wonderful thing about pundits is they speak with such conviction. Of course they do this because of a lack of long term memory and the inability to accurately look at a situation from all sides, especially the sides with which they disagree.

Enter Jon Stewart and the Daily Show to add a little perspective to some fairly unbalanced claims.

Of course, Jon couldn't miss a good shot on Blagojevich so he had to start there, but that doesn't stop Jon and team from heading into this subject full steam ahead.

Mr. 911 forgets 911. O'Reilly's guests parse the fact in Bush's favor and skip over other incidents entirely. Stewart and Oliver set the record straight.

More fun than being lied to by a politician.

Update: SuperNews! has their own take. It was quite a bit harsher, but still had it's points:

Yeah, but who's more blago than blagojevich?

2010-01-11T19:00:00.001-05:00

Blagojevich wants everyone to know he's "blacker than Barack Obama". Why? Because he was poor and shined shoes. At least that's how it reads:

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he's "blacker than Barack Obama" and tells Esquire magazine that he was a real person in a political arena dominated by phonies.

Blagojevich, referring to the president as "this guy," says Obama was elected based simply on hope.

"What the (expletive)? Everything he's saying's on the teleprompter," Blagojevich told the magazine for a story in its February issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 19.

"I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived," Blagojevich said. "I saw it all growing up."

I'm not saying he's a racist, but I wonder if Rush is more blago than Blagojevich.

Unhealthy habits are what's killing us?

2010-01-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

David Frum seems to think eating better and exercising would be the best move for better health care:

For all the money Americans spend on health care (60 percent more per person than any other advanced country), Americans are not an especially healthy people.

Life expectancy at 50 in the U.S. ranks 29th in the world, three years behind world leader Japan, one and a half years behind Canada. Other indicators -- infant mortality, life expectancy at birth -- look even worse.

This poor performance is often blamed on the fact that millions of Americans lack health insurance. But as a recent paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research found, the U.S. -- despite its kludgy health insurance system -- does a remarkably good job of extending disease-fighting treatment to all.

...

So if the U.S. health system does such a good job saving its middle-aged and elderly sick, why do Americans die comparatively young?

Answer: because Americans are much more likely to get sick in the first place.

Who knew that lifestyle could affect finances so much?

It all makes sense, actually, which is why Washington will have nothing to do with it.

2009's political losers

2010-01-04T19:00:00.001-05:00

A recent Gallup poll shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Republicans to be big losers for 2009. CNN embelished:

According to the new poll, 50 percent of those surveyed thought Pelosi is among the "losers" of the year while 52 percent said the same for Republicans in Congress. Conversely, only 39 percent think Pelosi is a "winner" while 38 percent gave positive marks to GOP members of congress.

As for other political losers of the year, 61 percent identified South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson - who earned fame after his "You Lie!" outburst at President Obama - and 63 percent named South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose exploits with an Argentinean woman were well documented last summer.

I'm honestly shocked to know there were winners. There was health care reform and high unemployment but the only things that got done were the bailouts.

I guess that makes us all the losers.

More skewers of glenn beck

2009-12-31T19:00:00.001-05:00

It never hurts my feelings when someone has something funny to say about Glenn Beck, whether it's Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, The Onion or even SuperNews! or South Park.

It scares me that he is the most watched Cable News program. Of course, unlike his listeners, it's not due to overwhelming paranoia.

Finally - wait, wait gets some press

2009-12-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

I have long been a fan of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! through their podcast on iTunes (Link requires iTunes). Their take on current events and political foibles has kept me laughing for some time. Now it appears that CNN has taken a liking to them too.

What's not to like. It's hilarious, spontaneous, disrespectful, and it deals with what I deal with here: political "obscenity".

"Wait Wait," which is now concluding its 12th year, has gained a sizable following by channeling the news through its thoughtful comedic sensibilities.

In front of a live audience, host Peter Sagal quizzes phone contestants on newsmakers and news topics, presented in often offbeat ways. Winners get the priceless honor of NPR newsman Carl Kasell's voice on their home answering machines. Three panelists, from a revolving list of about a dozen, also try to answer news questions, and each week the show welcomes a celebrity to play on a phone contestant's behalf.

On a recent trip to Atlanta -- the show travels from its Chicago home base about a dozen times a year -- all the principals were in place. Sagal, Kasell and the show's staff lingered on stage at the city's Cobb Energy Centre on a Thursday afternoon and ran through the script for the week's program, which would start at 7:30 p.m. In a small dining room nearby, "Wait Wait" panelists Amy Dickinson, Roy Blount Jr. and Charles P. Pierce prepared their stories for the episode's "Bluff the Listener" game.

If you haven't checked out Wait, Wait, give it a chance, because when you deal with the obscenity of Washington, sometimes laughter is the only way to stay sane.

Colbert uncovers lack of privacy from government

2009-12-17T19:00:00.002-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes