mark hedges on america's corporate culture

I highly recommend reading the article "The Truth Alone Will Not Set You Free" by Mark Hedges, regarding the destruction and replacement of American culture with mass, corporate culture ("junk culture") and the repercussions of this shift. Below are some highlights.

The most important struggle will be to wrest the organs of communication from corporations that use mass media to demonize movements of social change and empower proto-fascist movements such as the Christian right.

American culture—or cultures, for we once had distinct regional cultures—was systematically destroyed in the 20th century by corporations. These corporations used mass communication, as well as an understanding of the human subconscious, to turn consumption into an inner compulsion. Old values of thrift, regional identity that had its own iconography, aesthetic expression and history, diverse immigrant traditions, self-sufficiency, a press that was decentralized to provide citizens with a voice in their communities were all destroyed to create mass, corporate culture. New desires and habits were implanted by corporate advertisers to replace the old. Individual frustrations and discontents could be solved, corporate culture assured us, through the wonders of consumerism and cultural homogenization. American culture, or cultures, was replaced with junk culture and junk politics. And now, standing on the ash heap, we survey the ruins. The very slogans of advertising and mass culture have become the idiom of common expression, robbing us of the language to make sense of the destruction. We confuse the manufactured commodity culture with American culture.

The emergence of corporate and government public relations, which drew on the studies of mass psychology by Sigmund Freud and others after World War I, found its bible in Walter Lippmann’s book “Public Opinion,” a manual for the power elite’s shaping of popular sentiments. Lippmann argued that the key to leadership in the modern age would depend on the ability to manipulate “symbols which assemble emotions after they have been detached from their ideas.” The public mind could be mastered, he wrote, through an “intensification of feeling and a degradation of significance.”

The modern world, as Kafka predicted, has become a world where the irrational has become rational, where lies become true. And facts alone will be powerless to thwart the mendacity spun out through billions of dollars in corporate advertising, lobbying and control of traditional sources of information. We will have to descend into the world of the forgotten, to write, photograph, paint, sing, act, blog, video and film with anger and honesty that have been blunted by the parameters of traditional journalism.

“Read ‘The Gettysburg Address,’ ” [Stuart] Ewen [author of “Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture” and “PR: A Social History of Spin”] said. “Read Frederick Douglass’ autobiography or his newspaper. Read ‘The Communist Manifesto.’ Read Darwin’s ‘Descent of Man.’ All of these things are filled with an understanding that communicating ideas and producing forms of public communication that empower people, rather than disempowering people, relies on an integrated understanding of who the public is and what it might be. We have a lot to learn from the history of rhetoric. We need to think about where we are going. We need to think about what 21st century pamphleteering might be. We need to think about the ways in which the rediscovery of rhetoric—not lying, but rhetoric in its more conventional sense—can affect what we do.

john hodgman: revenge of the nerds

Via Throwing Things: John Hodgman was the keynote speaker at the Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner, where his primary topic was that of bridging the gap between nerds and jocks. Whereas the previous presidency was made up of jocks, our new presidency is comprised of nerds. Hodgman described our president -- "with a Spock-ish calm and gangly frame" -- as the man who is bringing an emphasis on science and objective reality back into our nation. He adds, "There is even talk of some states decriminalizing evolution."

At the 8:25 mark, Hodgman questions the president's "nerd credentials" through a series of slides, and at the 9:29 mark, Obama throws up the Vulcan salute without hesitation.

sepinwall: BSG and the UN panel discussion on human rights

In lieu of writing on last Friday's BSG episode, "Daybreak," I am copying and pasting Alan Sepinwall's breakdown of the BSG/United Nations panel discussion.

Last night, I had one of the coolest/geekiest experiences of my career, as I got to attend a panel discussion on "Battlestar Galactica" at the United Nations' Economic and Social Council Chamber, featuring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and producers Ron Moore and David Eick and several UN reps, moderated by Whoopi Goldberg.

Sci Fi Channel went to the trouble of dressing up every seat in the room with placards designating the 12 Colonies. Caprica, naturally, was the primo seating area. I wound up getting a very good view but a very uninspiring colony by sitting in the Leonis section. At first, we wondered if they were maybe pre-existing props from the series (maybe from season one's "Colonial Day"), but the corners weren't cropped, and a friend who used to work on the show pointed out that for that to be true, someone would have needed to know this event would be happening before production wrapped almost a year ago so they could be saved, and that's unlikely. By the end of the evening, a lot of the placards had disappeared into people's bags.

Three things to keep in mind before I get to summarizing the event:

1. The evening was as much about the UN as about "Battlestar Galactica," if not moreso. There were four segments, devoted to issues like human rights, terrorism, and children and armed conflict. After a clip reel illustrating how the series at one point or another tackled that issue, the UN rep gave a long speech discussing the current state of that problem in our world, often making a token attempt at best to connect their subject to the show. Then Whoopi tried her best to balance discussing the issue currently and discussing it in the context of "BSG." Some of the panelists admittedly had never watched the show before they were invited to do the event, and some of the subjects had only a tangential connection at best ("BSG" really only dealt with kids and human trafficking in "Black Market"), and it felt like a lot of the night was an attempt to introduce "BSG" fans to issues that the UN deals with as opposed to introducing the geo-politically-inclined to "BSG."

2. Eddie Olmos likes to talk. The guy's opinionated, and he's passionate, and he'll go on a while. (Whoopi had to cut him off a few times.) But he also has a sense of self-deprecation about it. "You should've never invited me here," he admitted, right before he went on a rant about his hatred of the concept of referring to different ethnic groups as "races." (Said rant climaxed with him leading the crowd in a call-and-response of "So say we all!")

3. Considering 1 & 2, Whoopi did a very good job. Obviously, part of her job on "The View" is to try to maintain control of a chaotic discussion among strong personalities, and she's an unabashed sci-fi fangirl, so she was well-suited to keeping the conversation moving and trying to find a balance between "BSG" talk and UN talk.

Human Rights

We started off with clips of Kara torturing Leoben in "Flesh and Bone," then The Circle conducting their executions in "Collaborators," and then Lee's speech in "Crossroads, Part 2" about how they've become a gang. Craig Mokhiber, Deputy Director of the New York office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, seemed the most plugged-in to the show of all the UN reps, making several references to the show -- "We are all Cylons," he said at one point, while discussing the idea that we dehumanize our enemies to allow ourselves to do horrible things to them, "Every one of us is a Cylon, and every one of us is a Colonial."

Moore and Eick talked a lot about Leoben getting waterboarded, and Eick noted that they went out of their way to make it ambiguous whether he actually had the nuke Kara was looking for, which made it even harder to get on her side as she tortured him.

This segment is when Eddie's rant about race happened, because Mokhiber quoted the founding documents of the human rights office in his speech, and it contained references to different races. When the mic got turned back to Mokhiber a few minutes later, he seemed mortified and went out of his way to explain that the document he was quoting was 60 years old, and featured other outmoded terminology like referring to the two "sexes." And he said he would support any effort to get that language changed.

"When a bug doesn't like you," Eddie said in response to the offer, "that's racism."

"That is so deep, I'm going to take a question (from the audience) now," Whoopie interjected.

There were a few hundred NYC high school students in the crowd, and they were occasionally allowed to ask questions, starting with one about whether our current obsession with technology could lead to the creation of actual Cylons. Moore cleverly brought this back on topic by noting that we're a few years away from actual artificial intelligence, and that there's going to come a point where we have to decide whether to extend human rights to artifical but self-aware creations.

Children and Armed Conflict

Again, this one had very little connection to the show, and the UN rep, Radhika Coomerswamy, admitted she had only watched a couple of episodes to prep for the panel, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was "a deeply moral show" and not just a showcase for special effects.

Whoopi adroitly picked up on some of Coomerswamy's stories about horrific things done to young girls in war-torn countries and used that to spin the discussion around to gender on "Galactica." Moore and Eick talked for a while about how, once they made Starbuck a woman, they decided they wanted her to not be the first female Viper jock, but one of many, in a gender-neutral society, in which all the female officers were called "sir," and in which gender-related epithets were never used. (The closest they came, they admitted, was whenever someone would dismiss Laura Roslin as "a schoolteacher.")

One of the student questions went back to the human rights discussion, asking Mary whether she thought that Roslin was committing crimes when she threw people out of airlocks. Mary said she did, and that it troubled her personally, but that in character, she was absolutely committed to the belief that it was necessary.

"Mary can say she was haunted by airlocking," said Eick, "But she was the one who made it a verb."

Eddie noted that they had deliberately made Laura "the 214th person in line to get this job," and Mary, mock indignant, interrupted to check with Moore that she was, in fact, the 43rd person in line for it.

After another monologue about whether the UN should intercede with the problems in Mexico, Eddie talked about how he as Adama never listened to Roslin on military-related decisions, "And that was a mistake." Moore said they wanted to explore how fragile the law is at times of war, and Eick noted, "You get a brief glimpse into the dynamics of the set when you hear Mary refer to the President as 'Laura,' and Eddie refers to the Admiral as 'I.'"

Terrorism

Whoopi noted that we were running way behind at this point, so the last two segments were briefer than the first two.

The clip reel, not surprisingly, focused on the New Caprica arc and Roslin and Saul Tigh's debate about suicide bombing. Moore said he wanted Tigh to have a strategic rationale for ordering the bombings, that it would be much more frightening if he was logical than if he was crazy.

Reconciliation and Dialogue Among Civilizations and Faiths

There was a lot of talk here about the decision to make the Cylons (the ostensible villains) the monotheists and the humans the polytheists. Moore said it happened almost by accident. He was writing a Caprica Six scene in the miniseries and, on a whim, had her say, "God is love," and a Sci Fi Channel executive liked the line and told him to run with it.

"The network wanted more religious tension," said Eick. "How often do you hear that?"

"Other than on my show," said Whoopi.

They started wrapping up. Moore said that he wanted the show to entertain, but also to make people think -- that even if people came out of episodes like "Flesh and Bone" or "Occupation" with the same beliefs they had when they went in, "at least you thought about it."

Eddie talked about the incredible journey, how they made 84 hours of television. There are some shows or movies that you spend time watching, or working on, where you might regret those lost hours when you're on your deathbed, and he didn't think either those who watched or worked on this show would feel that way.

Mary said she felt "honored to have participated in such profound simplicity," and she and Eddie both expressed their gratitude for being able to participate in an event like this.

roasting of "george bush" and "that one"

review: religulous, city of ember

Let me get this out the way: Bill Maher's Religulous (a combination of "religious" and "ridiculous") preaches to the choir. The film sets out to investigate the paradoxical "absurd logic" of religious people, and Maher does this by interviewing a variety of religious authorities -- from the everyman on the street, to the actor playing Jesus at Florida's theme park Holy Land, to rabbis and that guy who thinks he's the Second Coming of Jesus. Initially, Maher asks intelligent, objective, and entirely non-offensive questions, such as "why is faith good" or "how has God spoken to you." These are good questions, but, where Religious becomes potentially off-putting, Maher tends not to accept the answers to these questions. For example, an ex-Jew for Jesus says that Jesus performed small miracles for him, and that's why he became a Christian. When asked for an example of a miracle, the man told a story about sticking his cup outside and asking for rain -- and lo and behold, it rains. Maher points out that this isn't a miracle, that sometimes it just rains -- but I can certainly understand how some religious audience members might think this is negative atheism. Is Maher trying to make these people wrong? Well, no, I don't think so. I think he's just pointing out that people believe weird things and that logic is not part of these beliefs.

Bill Maher has repeatedly expressed and emphasized that he is not anti-religion, nor is he an atheist. He is simply anti-certainty (in fact, the term he has recently used is apatheism, which I might start considering myself). The question of the existence of God (or any god) is irrelevant to morality on Earth. We can be moral without religion. Don't believe me? I don't cheat, steal, or murder. Not because it's in the bible, but because it's the law. And although Maher says outrageous things like "religion is insanity by consensus," I do agree with his other comments, such as "faith is just making a virtue out of not thinking." It would be easy to be offended by a statement like that, but that's what faith is -- it doesn't negate thinking, but it does disregard logic. Faith is not concrete; it's a belief.

But back to the movie... I think it's unfairly misrepresentative of religious people. Almost all of my friends are Christians, and they are perfectly normal (although I do have a few that try every Christmas to convert me by giving me a bible with highlighted passages). But this movie isn't about level-headed religion. It's about how religion as one's dominant ideology is often harmful to the good of humanity. For instance, Maher goes into the Creationism Museum (which is an oxy-moron, of course), where dinosaurs co-exist with humans. Is there anything wrong with Creationism? Well, not inofitself, but when it interferes with science and evidential data it becomes a problem. I really don't understand this retrogressive movement against science, how people today can deny evolution. It's mind-boggling to me.


But other than religion-as-opposition to science, Religulous explores connections between Christianity and other religions (the similarities between the Egyptian god Horus and Jesus are mind-blowing!), how this country was founded on the separation of church and state and that our founding fathers were deists (Ben Franklin once said, "Lighthouses are more helpful than religion"), and religion's part in wars. The movie ends in a montage that I think would've served better in the middle of the film, because I don't think the last thought people should leave with is that religion causes war (which may very well be the case sometimes, but it's such a nihilistic note to end on). But sometimes Religulous doesn't even need to say anything because the interviewees will do it for them. A senator from Arkansas, Mark Pryor even says, "You don't have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate."

But there was one interview that I particularly appreciated. Bill Maher tends to rag on the idea of the Holy Trinity -- which, by the way, is not mentioned in the bible (neither is the Virgin Birth which, you know, might've been important to mention). Maher interviews an actor playing Jesus at Holy Land, where he also interviews some idiotic tourists. (I think it's rather unfortunate that Maher doesn't interview intellectual religious people. He interviews people who can't construct logical arguments.) And I thought this interview was significant because this actor analogizes the Holy Trinity to ice -- ice can be steam, a solid, or a liquid (water). One thing can be three different things while staying true to itself. Maher is actually impressed with this analogy initially, until later he reveals how silly the concept actually is. But I do think the analogy is an intelligent response.

Is this movie for everyone? Absolutely not -- especially not for people sensitive to questions about their beliefs. But I do think it's important for people to question their own beliefs; if you are right in your beliefs, you shouldn't be afraid of knowledge. Science should support your beliefs (so stop negating or disregarding science!). Taking offense to questions indicates insecurity and a lack of knowledge; taking offense to Maher's approach, however, is a bit different and I can understand how one might feel attacked. But the movie is definitely made for a specific audience... and I am a part of that target audience. I laughed. I clapped. I cried from laughing so hard. There was a comment about Native Americans being Jews, and then the film jump cuts to a scene of Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles. I don't care who you are; that is hilarious!

I don't necessarily recommend the movie to everyone, but I loved it. A lot. For what this movie is and for what is was trying to accomplish, I give it a solid A.


City of Ember is based on the 2003 apocalyptic book of the same name by Jeanne Duprau. The book, as well as the movie, is about a self-contained, self-maintained underground city called Ember, whose sole light source is a generator that was only meant to last 200 years after the destruction of the world. It's been so long, however, that people have forgotten that a world ever existed outside of Ember, and people have stopped venturing out into the dark Unknown Regions outside the city's boundaries. The movie follows Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan of Atonement) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway), two 12-year-olds bordering 16-year-old territory. (Treadaway is too old to play a character of 12, although I think the movie does not distinguish their ages for this reason.) The movie is apparently very close to the book, but, due to this close adaptation, some aspects are lost. Lina is artistic and enjoys drawing things she's never seen, like skyscrapers and blue skies, but in the movie, she is only seen once coloring the sky blue. And Doon discovers rather large animals without much of an explanation as to how they got so big.

But this movie really excels in two areas: the production design and a really well paced plot. The production design is gorgeous. It's exactly what I would imagine a 200+ year old underground city would look like. Everything -- from the tape they use to how they dress to the layout of the city -- is intricate in its detail, and the very look of the movie is infinitely fascinating. (Although I have to note that in some scenes, when the generator fails, there is still light coming from somewhere. It looks like blueish moonlight, but obviously there's no moon underground.) As for the narrative, everything is spaced out evenly. I never got bored. I never thought, "I'm sticking with this character for too long. What's next?" I never got anxious for it to end. It progressed in an ironically natural way (ironic because editing is anything but natural). The main actors were charismatic and not at all annoying -- I mean, how often are children actors annoying? More often than not. But I wanted to spend times with these characters. And it was smart that movie keeps you in the dark (pun intended!) about the myth of the city so that, as the kids discover more clues about Ember, you discover with them.

Of course -- spoiler! -- the kids find a way out of Ember. There are so many "family movies" (what an unfortunate genre) that seem to set up the idea for a theme park ride. Journey to the Center of the Earth is the most obvious example, with the mine carts on a roller coaster track. And how City of Ember ends is no exception, except this time it's a log flume rather than a roller coaster. The CGI is a bit awkward here, but it's such a short scene that that's easy to overlook. The difference is, though, I would love for this to be a ride. I can't even imagine what the production design for the waiting line would be. Wait, yes I can. It would be awesome! I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I was expecting, and although it is a family movie, it's a smart one and it's well-crafted. It's inventive and it encourages curiosity. I would love to see screen adaptations of the other books in the Ember series. I give this movie an A-.

bill maher on the tonight show

I've posted the entire episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno because Hulu doesn't have just clips yet. But note that Bill Maher comes on after the second dot and he sticks around after the commercial. I wouldn't normally post an entire episode if I only wanted you to watch one portion, but Bill Maher was on fire last night. You know what patriotism is? Patriotism is questioning and criticizing our government. You know why? Because we're one of the few countries that can do that. The 1st Amendment is patriotic. I'm going to see his film Religulous tonight, and you can look forward to that review coming up this weekend.

But for now, here are some highlights from the video above:

(about McCain's campaign) "I think McCain is getting desperate. Am I wrong? His new campaign slogan is 'McCain: The White Obama.' [...] I think he's desperate to get to the White House because the White House is an excellent manage-care facility. You move in there and they have your whole day planned out, plenty of activities to keep the older mind sharp. You can even have your own pet."

"You can type anything on the internet and as long as you don't type LOL after it, it's true. I could type 'John McCain is a cyborg made out of spare parts of Freddie Mercury and aborted stem cells fetuses.' [...] So I think I should go in tonight and type 'Barack Obama is white. In fact, he's Irish. It's O'bama'"

(on Sarah Palin) "Competency is like pornography -- you know it when you see it. And that governor Avon lady just doesn't pass the smell test. Sorry, but she couldn't name a newspaper. Katie Couric asked her -- three times, 'What do you read?' and she said, 'I read them all.' Bush said he didn't read the papers, but he could name what they were. She could not name a newspaper. She could not name a Supreme Court decision. Katie Couric, again, said can you name a Supreme Court decision, and she finally said, 'Alien vs. Predator.'" (Jay's response: "Yeah, I remember that. As I recall, we both lose.")

(still on Palin) "I guarantee you, if you put a gun to her head and asked her, 'What is the FCC?', she could not tell you. Although she could tell you what kind of gun it was."

(on McCain) "He's a very brave man. It's a great quality. But this isn't the Middle Ages. We're not actually going into battle behind him with a spear. We need a smart guy, smart people to get us out of this mess." (Good for Maher correcting "guy" with "people.")

(when asked if he feared for his safety in a Muslim country while filming Religulous) "We were in Jerusalem. That's not exactly a Muslim country. There's a large Muslim presence." (Oh, snap!)

And if you're a fan of James Taylor -- and really, who isn't? -- stick around to watch his cover of "Suzanne" at the end.

bill maher on the daily show

Now, let me be clear. I respect religion as much as I oppose it. Is there value in religion? Of course there is, and if it brings comfort to people, so be it. My problem with religion is passive ignorance and when religion becomes someone's ruling ideology. For example, to say that all homosexuals are immoral and hell-bound because it's written in a book is incredibly restrictive and denies homosexuals an existence. But I digress. Religion has value. I'm an agnostic, not an atheist, and I have the exact same thoughts that Bill Maher does, shown here promoting his movie Religulous on The Daily Show. It's almost as though he read my thoughts (although I'm certainly not okay with fake piety)... and I put this later clip first as not to turn anyone off. Maher's not criticizing so much as questioning, and why is questioning ever a bad thing?


Some highlights:

"In your introduction, I heard you say that Bill Maher will say there is no god. I don't say there is no god; I'm not an atheist because I find atheism to be a mirror of the certainty of religion, and I don't like certainty about the next world because we can't know."

"I'm just asking questions. And it's amazing that these are questions that people are never confronted with because "faith" is such a magic word in this country. When you say "that's my faith," then all bets are off. You can't go there. Well, I went there. But I'm just asking questions, like why is faith good, why doesn't God just defeat the devil, [...] what's the difference between the devil and the Anti-Christ. [...] What we found out is that religious people know so little about religion."

"Our boy needs to be a little more forceful, don't you think? Don't you think he needs to jab a little more? He seems a little too professorial. I'd like him to be a little, you know, 'Honky, please.' Some catchphrase." Also -- "There you go again, grandpa!"

And Maher's whole "Jesus-is-God" thing is hilarious, not so much in what he says but how he says it.

sarah palin vs. katie couric

I bring you a SNL sketch in which Sarah Palin (Tina Fey) goes up against Katie Couric (Amy Poehler). It's scary how, when watching this, I forgot which parts were made up. Compare it to the actual (transcripted) exchange between Palin and Couric:

COURIC: Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

I'm sorry, Palin, but not only did that NOT make sense, but it was just a bunch of talking points that avoided the question. If Palin were a student answering one of my questions, I would absolutely, hands-down fail her. The SNL sketch is scarier than it is funny because... Palin's ignorant in politics.

When asked how living in the state closest to Russia gave her foreign-policy experience, Palin responded:

"It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America. Where—where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to—to our state."

I honestly don't understand why more Republicans aren't up in arms over Palin's nomination. When it was first announced, my family and I joked that McCain was practically handing the election over to Obama, but then no one criticized her. They embraced her. Questioning her on foreign policy and experience somehow became sexist (no doubt -- a false sexism). Why aren't Republicans more upset and outspoken about the horrible choice? The phrase "Palin is a heartbeat away from the Oval Office" is the most frightening phrase I've ever heard. She's literally a heartbeat away -- which, I think, is a mean-spirited thing to say about McCain's age and health (and I don't think him being old is a qualified criticism for him as president). But Palin shouldn't be anywhere NEAR the White House. She shouldn't even be on the lawn!


But now I bring you a more level-headed analysis from Fareed Zakaria, who, you should note, does not bring up religion, abortion, gun rights, or gay marriage. He's talking about the national crisis -- something much bigger than any one of us or our beliefs. The fact that she is a staunch Republican has nothing to do with the crisis facing America. McCain's camp should have picked someone else. Anyone else.

Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start. The next administration is going to face a set of challenges unlike any in recent memory. There is an ongoing military operation in Iraq that still costs $10 billion a month, a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan that is not going well and is not easily fixed. Iran, Russia and Venezuela present tough strategic challenges.

Domestically, the bailout and reform of the financial industry will take years and hundreds of billions of dollars. Health-care costs, unless curtailed, will bankrupt the federal government. Social Security, immigration, collapsing infrastructure and education are all going to get much worse if they are not handled soon.

And the American government is stretched to the limit. Between the Bush tax cuts, homeland-security needs, Iraq, Afghanistan and the bailout, the budget is looking bleak. Plus, within a few years, the retirement of the baby boomers begins with its massive and rising costs (in the trillions).

By the way, if you're interested in -- you know -- the facts, check out FactCheck.org to distinguish fact from political jargon from the first presidential debate.

aaron sorkin should moderate the debates

Aaron Sorkin wrote the following piece for an Op-ed for The New York Times, and all I have to say is, by God, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore! There is a CLEAR winner in this election, and I'm insulted that the media contends that so many women vote for the gender. Because we don't. Here is Sorkin's delicious imaginary meeting between Barack Obama and the POTUS of The West Wing.


BARACK OBAMA knocks on the front door of a 300-year-old New Hampshire farmhouse while his Secret Service detail waits in the driveway. The door opens and OBAMA is standing face to face with former President JED BARTLET.

BARTLET Senator.

OBAMA Mr. President.

BARTLET You seem startled.

OBAMA I didn’t expect you to answer the door yourself.

BARTLET I didn’t expect you to be getting beat by John McCain and a Lancôme rep who thinks “The Flintstones” was based on a true story, so let’s call it even.

OBAMA Yes, sir.

BARTLET Come on in.

BARTLET leads OBAMA into his study.

BARTLET That was a hell of a convention.

OBAMA Thank you, I was proud of it.

BARTLET I meant the Republicans. The Us versus Them-a-thon. As a Democrat I was surprised to learn that I don’t like small towns, God, people with jobs or America. I’ve been a little out of touch but is there a mandate that the vice president be skilled at field dressing a moose —

OBAMA Look —

BARTLET — and selling Air Force Two on eBay?

OBAMA Joke all you want, Mr. President, but it worked.

BARTLET Imagine my surprise. What can I do for you, kid?

OBAMA I’m interested in your advice.

BARTLET I can’t give it to you.

OBAMA Why not?

BARTLET I’m supporting McCain.

OBAMA Why?

BARTLET He’s promised to eradicate evil and that was always on my “to do” list.

OBAMA O.K. —

BARTLET And he’s surrounded himself, I think, with the best possible team to get us out of an economic crisis. Why, Sarah Palin just said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.” Can you spot the error in that statement?

OBAMA Yes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren’t funded by taxpayers.

BARTLET Well, at least they are now. Kind of reminds you of the time Bush said that Social Security wasn’t a government program. He was only off by a little — Social Security is the largest government program.

OBAMA I appreciate your sense of humor, sir, but I really could use your advice.

BARTLET Well, it seems to me your problem is a lot like the problem I had twice.

OBAMA Which was?

BARTLET A huge number of Americans thought I thought I was superior to them.

OBAMA And?

BARTLET I was.

OBAMA I mean, how did you overcome that?

BARTLET I won’t lie to you, being fictional was a big advantage.

OBAMA What do you mean?

BARTLET I’m a fictional president. You’re dreaming right now, Senator.

OBAMA I’m asleep?

BARTLET Yes, and you’re losing a ton of white women.

OBAMA Yes, sir.

BARTLET I mean tons.

OBAMA I understand.

BARTLET I didn’t even think there were that many white women.

OBAMA I see the numbers, sir. What do they want from me?

BARTLET I’ve been married to a white woman for 40 years and I still don’t know what she wants from me.

OBAMA How did you do it?

BARTLET Well, I say I’m sorry a lot.

OBAMA I don’t mean your marriage, sir. I mean how did you get America on your side?

BARTLET There again, I didn’t have to be president of America, I just had to be president of the people who watched The West Wing.

OBAMA That would make it easier.

BARTLET You’d do very well on NBC. Thursday nights in the old ER time slot with 30 Rock as your lead-in, you’d get seven, seven-five in the demo with a 20, 22 share — you’d be selling $450,000 minutes.

OBAMA What the hell does that mean?

BARTLET TV talk. I thought you’d be interested.

OBAMA I’m not. They pivoted off the argument that I was inexperienced to the criticism that I’m — wait for it — the Messiah, who, by the way, was a community organizer. When I speak I try to lead with inspiration and aptitude. How is that a liability?

BARTLET Because the idea of American exceptionalism doesn’t extend to Americans being exceptional. If you excelled academically and are able to casually use 690 SAT words then you might as well have the press shoot video of you giving the finger to the Statue of Liberty while the Dixie Chicks sing the University of the Taliban fight song. The people who want English to be the official language of the United States are uncomfortable with their leaders being fluent in it.

OBAMA You’re saying race doesn’t have anything to do with it?

BARTLET I wouldn’t go that far. Brains made me look arrogant but they make you look uppity. Plus, if you had a black daughter —

OBAMA I have two.

BARTLET — who was 17 and pregnant and unmarried and the father was a teenager hoping to launch a rap career with “Thug Life” inked across his chest, you’d come in fifth behind Bob Barr, Ralph Nader and a ficus.

OBAMA You’re not cheering me up.

BARTLET Is that what you came here for?

OBAMA No, but it wouldn’t kill you.

BARTLET Have you tried doing a two-hour special or a really good Christmas show?

OBAMA Sir —

BARTLET Hang on. Home run. Right here. Is there any chance you could get Michelle pregnant before the fall sweeps?

OBAMA The problem is we can’t appear angry. Bush called us the angry left. Did you see anyone in Denver who was angry?

BARTLET Well ... let me think. ...We went to war against the wrong country, Osama bin Laden just celebrated his seventh anniversary of not being caught either dead or alive, my family’s less safe than it was eight years ago, we’ve lost trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, thousands of lives and we lost an entire city due to bad weather. So, you know ... I’m a little angry.

OBAMA What would you do?

BARTLET GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

OBAMA Good to get that off your chest?

BARTLET Am I keeping you from something?

OBAMA Well, it’s not as if I didn’t know all of that and it took you like 20 minutes to say.

BARTLET I know, I have a problem, but admitting it is the first step.

OBAMA What’s the second step?

BARTLET I don’t care.

OBAMA So what about hope? Chuck it for outrage and put-downs?

BARTLET No. You’re elite, you can do both. Four weeks ago you had the best week of your campaign, followed — granted, inexplicably — by the worst week of your campaign. And you’re still in a statistical dead heat. You’re a 47-year-old black man with a foreign-sounding name who went to Harvard and thinks devotion to your country and lapel pins aren’t the same thing and you’re in a statistical tie with a war hero and a Cinemax heroine. To these aged eyes, Senator, that’s what progress looks like. You guys got four debates. Get out of my house and go back to work.

OBAMA Wait, what is it you always used to say? When you hit a bump on the show and your people were down and frustrated? You’d give them a pep talk and then you’d always end it with something. What was it ...?

BARTLET “Break’s over.”

obama and mccain tax proposals

From the Washington Post, here's a bit of visual education (click to enlarge):


Under McCain's tax proposal: The bottom three groups, which amounts to 60% of taxpayers, will have their taxes cut by .2-.7%, or roughly $19-$319. People who make above $2.7 million, however, will have their taxes cut by a whopping 4.4%, or roughly $269,364.

Under Obama's tax proposal: The bottom three groups will have their taxes cut by 2.4-5.5%, or roughly $1,042-$567. For those making above $2.7 million, their taxes will increase by 11.5%.

Under McCain, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Still confused? Read this CNN article that takes a closer look at the proposals.

And no matter your party, please look through FactCheck.org. It's an unbiased site that investigates the truth and lies behind advertisements, speeches, and quotes/interviews. Know the facts before you vote. Knowledge is power, guys.

the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed. seriously.

Tina Fey is dead on, and her funniest moment comes during an impromptu gun cocking. This skit hits all of the major issues -- the fact that they are ideological opposites so Palin should stop riding the coattails of Hilary's feminist breakthrough (because Palin is so far from being a feminist it's frightening); the fact that Palin doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is (and most people don't, but she should); the oversimplified Palin comment that anyone can be president if they just want it enough; that crying "sexism" is irrelevant if the media is asking questions about her credentials and experience; that Palin was the mayor of Alaska's meth capitol; and the ridiculous notion that seeing Russia from her background makes Palin an expert in international diplomacy.

But let's not forget Amy Poehler's amazing portrayal of the "boner-shrinking" Hilary. "I invite the media to grow a pair, and if you can't, I will lend you mine." SNL has really gotten off track these past few years -- I didn't laugh at any of the other sketches during the night -- but this one is beyond brilliant.

But really, guys. Let's stop glorifying the Republican's celebrity (a completely hypocritical turn of events considering the Republicans were slandering Obama for being a celebrity). Let's start talking about the issues. Let's try and teach people not to be one-topic voters (abortion is the number one reason why people choose one party over the other, regardless of social security, international affairs, war, education, and a hundred other things more important). Let's make it less about what they wear or how they speak. Let's make this election about what they say and what they plan to do. Elections should not be entertainment. They should not be "easy to understand." I want the leader of my nation to be smarter than me. (The president should be in the top 2% in the nation, not in the top 70%.) I want the next president to bring change (and not fake keep-everything-the-same change). I want the leader of the free world to believe in true freedom, not selective freedom. So stop with the "lipstick on a pig" commentary. Stop with photoshopping Palin in a bikini and the VPILF website. Make it about the issues.

daily show: RNC coverage

This is by no means a political blog, but man, The Daily Show was on point last night. There were the occasional crass jokes (to remind you that the show is a satire, and to remind you how ridiculous the conventions are), but Stewart did interject good points that are worth noting. I need to replace my Jon Stewart for President bumper sticker with a newer, shinier one.


Some highlights:
-- 9/11 is the Republican version of "Freebird" "Every time 9/11 is mentioned, [Guiliani] gets a royalty check."
-- "The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull... one is unfairly maligned despite evidence showing they're no worse than any other dog, whereas the other is an artificial demographic that is no better or worse than any other mom..." No, Jon, it's lipstick.
-- Hey college students, Palin uses Wikipedia too!
-- Apparently Republicans want change too... "[we have] mistakenly put the blame on the 'government in charge.' You won't believe whose fault it's actually been." Liberal Washington. The do-nothing Senate. The elite media. The Times and The Post. Reporters and commentators. The Eastern elites. Hollywood celebrities. European ideas. And San Francisco. Wait, what?
-- The difference between a community organizer and small-time mayor is that mayors have actual responsibilities. "Yeah, so to everyone out there trying to making a difference in your communities, fuck you." (I had this exact thought during her speech. What a horrible thing to say!)


Samantha Bee talks to people at the RNC about Bristol's choice. This clip is irrelevant to where you stand on this issue... the responses are hysterical. Samantha Bee always knows how to make people say the darndest things.


An interview with Mike Huckabee. Why can't all interviews be like this? Huckabee is a very charismatic guy (he's quite funny), and these two men actually listen to each other in their conversation. Wisely, Huckabee notes that money wins elections ("it's a sad fact about politics"), but he understands that the internet can change all of that. Compare this forward-thinking to "the other guy" who has never sent an email in his life. The best part of the interview comes at the end, when Stewart says, "So you feel like your party is the only party that can fix the damage your party has done."

Side Note: Yet another musical-misstep for the Republican party! The sister-duo band Heart has asked Palin's camp to stop using their song "Barracuda," which was used at the RNC without their permission. Heart follows John Cougar Mellancamp, Tom Scholz, ABBA, Bryan Adams, and Jackson Browne as musicians whose works were used by the GOP without their consent. How hard is it to ask their permission? Politicians should know, better than anyone, that songs are not just products; they're forms of identification. So why keep stealing songs from liberal artists who don't want to be affiliated with the opposing party?

obama-gea and the bsg-gop

Finally, the Daily Show gets back to being funny and clever. Obama as Pangea? Brilliant.

Update: Have you noticed how Tigh/McCain and Roslin/Palin share some physical characteristics? Well, it turns out the similarities don't stop there:

The parallels continue! McCain is a military man who spent time in a Vietnam prison camp, the character of Col. Tigh is a military man who spent time in a Cylon prison camp. Sarah Palin comes from a family of school teachers, the character of Laura Roslin was school teacher before becoming Secretary of Education (and then later President). -- Boston Craiglist poster

Being a dork is no easy feat. I know -- I make it look easy.