America the Stupid: President Obama's Speech too Complicated

There were progressives who were disappointed with President Obama's speech on the BP oil disaster the other night. There were undoubtedly conservatives who didn't like it either, but there is nothing he could say or do that would make them happy. It turns out though, that there is another reason America may not have cottoned to the speech. . .they're too stupid.  Or ignorant, or uneducated, pick your favorite. The speech was written in 9th grade English (a little more, actually), and apparently there aren't enough Americans who read that well.  Or read so good, I suppose. Of course, most of us watched the speech on TV, rather than having to read it. Somehow, that isn't comforting to me.

[Excerpt]

Language mavens exchange words over Obama's Oval Office speech

Language experts weighed in Thursday after poring over the nearly 2,700 words of President Obama's Oval Office speech on the Gulf oil disaster.
"It was straightforward and easy to understand," said Ron Yaros, assistant professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, referring to the explanations of the crisis and its possible solutions. He divided the speech into 1,200 "idea units," each of which represents a point the president was trying to make. . .

Read more at: CNN

Daily Show: An Energy-Independent Future

Every President since Nixon has promised an energy-independent future, most predicting a date when such a thing would take place.  Those predictions are just about exactly as good as doomsday predictions. Energy independence a nebulous notion, at least as long as we are dependent upon fossil fuels.  Without something concrete to replace oil and coal, we're stuck with them. With oil--despite the "drill, baby, drill" cries, all oil goes on the international market. In order to still use oil, we'd have to radically alter the oil market to keep what we drill. Which renders that whole mantra even more stupid than it sounds at first blush.

All of this is better handled through a comedic framework, and no one does it better than The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
An Energy-Independent Future
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UPDATED: "President" Rachel Maddow's BP Oil Disaster Address

From the fake Oval Office comes the address President Obama should have given last night, delivered by fake President Rachel Maddow, as promised in my write-up on the piece. It's amazing. As Obama could have been last night.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

UPDATE: Upon reading reviews of Rachel's speech, I've been kind of stunned by the response. And I'm just talking about the left-wing response. There seems to be a contingent like me, who totally dug it.  We don't necessarily think it's realistic that the real President give that exact speech, only that we wish the real speech had been closer to Rachel's than to the one that was actually delivered. 

But about half of the left-wing response I've seen has been strongly negative. They paint her as an egotist, or a Monday morning quarterback.  Some even say that they won't watch Rachel again. What? I'll admit when she teased the speech earlier in her show, I thought it sounded silly, like a Glenn Beck stunt.  But what she actually delivered wowed me. I'm still sort of flabbergasted that liberal watchers--particularly if they were already Maddow fans--had such a diametrically opposite view of it than I did. If you feel strongly one way or the other, please leave me a comment.

Rachel Maddow's (Fake) Presidential Address on BP Oil Disaster

UPDATE: The official video clip has been added here.

Wow.  Okay, I'm not naive enough to think that Rachel Maddow will be our first openly gay, first female President (oh, but to dream), but I hope President Obama and/or his staff watched Wednesday night's show.  Because if Obama had given this speech last night, the left would be still standing in thunderous applause, and the right. . .well, they'd be squawking, but they do that anyway.  This is sort of what I was saying a couple of months ago when I said that Obama should fire Rahm Emanuel and hire Aaron Sorkin.  This was a Sorkinesque speech, this was words and action.

I was underwhelmed by Obama's speech--not angered, just disappointed--but I honestly didn't know what I wanted him to say.  That was my biggest problem with the outpouring of criticism from the left: what the heck did you want him to say?  After watching Rachel's fake address, now I know.  I hope they're paying attention.

Here is a link to another blog's take on Rachel's speech. I'll post a video as soon as it becomes available.

[Excerpt]

Fake President Maddow NAILS it.

I saw posts here all day asking me what I wanted to hear from the President last night.

I have an answer for you right now:

I wanted to hear exactly what Rachel Maddow said tonight.

NOT ONE WORD DIFFERENT.


She was magnificent. I cheered her the way I wanted to cheer the President last night. . .

Read more at: DailyKos

Frivolity Break: Pac-Man vs. Mario

Fun!

Proposition 8 Backers Try to Rescind 18,000 Legal Marriages

Mind your own business, Gladys!

Those bastards.  This is not about "protecting marriage." This is about being nasty.  The people behind California's Proposition 8 managed to convince just enough voters to enshrine predjudice into their state constitution, using fear and lies (and lots of dollars from the Mormons and Catholics) to do it. But they didn't manage to invalidate the 18,000 legal same-sex marriages that had already occurred.  They got largely what they wanted, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough that they essentially codified their religious belief into law--something wholly un-American--they've got to go even further.  These "protect marriage" people want to destroy mine. 

I hope they lose.  Not only that, I hope their loss is the first domino to topple barriers to same-sex marriage nationwide.  We deserve it, but they do too.  Maybe they'd finally get their noses out of other peoples' business.

[Excerpt]

Opponents of same-sex marriage ask Prop. 8 judge to invalidate 18,000 marriages of gay couples.

As Judge Vaughn Walker prepares to hear closing arguments today in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the landmark case against California’s Proposition 8, supporters of the measure are urging him to “go a step further and revoke state recognition of the marriages of 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who wed before” voters stripped same-sex couples of their right to marry in November 2008. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Photo of the Day: "Touchdown" Jesus Does YMCA

"LOL" is overused, but I actually laughed out loud when I saw this. Apparently, before Ohio's "Touchdown Jesus" went up in flames, he liked to perform the Village People's YMCA!  Flamer. . .

Found at: Joe.My.God.

Oil, Oil Everywhere. . .Why Can't We Clean it Up?

Rachel Maddow has been hammering hard on the story of the BP Deepwater Horizon aftermath, with a target on the lack of safety planning.  Apparently research and development on safety, containment and cleanup (not to mention plugging a spewing leak) has been nonexistent in the oil industry.  Given the obscene profits made quarterly by the oil giants, it is unconscionable that they just thought this sort of planning was too expensive.

On Monday's Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel gave a little demonstration of just the most recent oil leaks  and spills in the US.  This is important, because the conservative talking point (and BP's as well) is that this sort of study wasn't needed, because there had never been a spill before.  It's such a stupid and disproveable argument, it's almost unbelievable that it is being used.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Irony Alert: Jesus Destroyed by Act of God

Image from source, MSNBC

If this story doesn't strike your funny bone, you take religion way too seriously.  First, the "Touchdown Jesus" statue was hideous, and placed right by a freeway where people could scarcely avoid it. Second, there seems to have been complete surprise that the steel beams going through Jebus' outstretched arms might act as lightning rods. Third, the thing went up in flames like a cheap house trailer, showing that it was made with the foresight of a BP oil drilling team.  And they say they're building another one. Near Xenia, Ohio. I have this vision of a tornado touching down on Touchdown Jesus, and sending Him on a rampage through rural Ohio.

[Excerpt]

6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers Tuesday. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Lawrence O'Donnell Gets Primetime Show on MSNBC

Image from source, Huffington Post

In a move that will surely make FOX "Fans" squawk, MSNBC has given Lawrence O'Donnell the late prime-time slot, after The Rachel Maddow Show.  Another liberal?  Yes, another liberal.  But a smart one.  He's also the second of Countdown with Keith Olbermann's fill-in hosts to land his own program. Does that make this a spinoff?  Out here in the west, the show will air at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm, when I'm usually watching something else. But I'll be sure to check it out.

[Excerpt]


Lawrence O'Donnell To Host MSNBC 10PM Show


Lawrence O'Donnell will host the 10PM hour on MSNBC, the network announced Tuesday.


O'Donnell will develop a show to round-out the network's primetime lineup; currently, a repeat of the 8PM show, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," airs in the 10PM timeslot, after "The Rachel Maddow Show. . ."

Read more at: Huffington Post

President Obama Addresses Nation on BP Oil Disaster

So what did you think? I thought it was okay.  To quote Dom DeLuise's Caesar from History of the World, Part I, "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling, but nice."  It's hard to say what I--or anyone else--was expecting.  He's too professorial, he's not professorial enough, he's too emotional, he's not emotional enough. Whatever. If he's able to actually start making this look like there's an end in sight, I'll be happy, not before.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sharron Angle's "Tough" Interview with Sean Hannity

If you're a far (far, far, far) right politician like Sharron Angle, suddenly thrust onto the national stage, where do you go for your big interview?  Hannity of course!  Sean Hannity is one of the few early interviews Sarah Palin gave, after all, so it does make sense. But if Sharron is preaching to anyone but the already converted, this is not going to get her message out.  I certainly wasn't convinced.

She seems only half a notch below Orly Taitz on the "ready to say something crazy" side of politics, and while she's trying to polish her image, she wasn't entirely successful. She's trying to walk back her position on ending Social Security and Medicare for instance, but those things are on the record.  She says Harry Reid doesn't care about America or Nevada? That's a pretty serious charge and she doesn't back it up here.  Also, she's claiming Al Gore's "lock box" verbiage? Really, Sharron?  That phraseology--though a great idea--was widely derided by the right in 2000.  And Harry Reid raided the Social Security money? Really? 

Harry Reid has disappointed this liberal several times.  He also can have a Bidenesque ability to stick his tasseled loafer in his mouth. But I'll vote for him enthusiastically over this looney toon. 

China to Hong Kong Bridge Crosses from Left to Right!

Image from source, Design Boom

This is pretty nifty.  It reminds me of an old Benny Hill skit, where (as a news announcer) he says, Britain will change from driving on the left side of the road to the right. The change will be phased in gradually. . .

[Excerpt]

NL architects: Hong Kong boundaries crossing facilities

Dutch NL architects have sent in images of their 'Pearl River Necklace', a proposal for the Hong Kong boundary crossing facilities international ideas competition. The aim for entrants was to create a new landmark to reflect Hong Kong as a vibrant global and metropolitan city. . .

Read more at: Design Boom

Found at: Joe.My.God

Conservative CATO Institute On Board for Marriage Equality?

I've heard it argued--by no less than arch conservative Ted Olson--that marriage equality is actually a conservative issue. I sort of agree with Olson's reasoning, but not many conservatives do.  But this wouldn't be the first issue that conservatives are not conservative about. They long ago bowed to their wingnut fringe, and are now being overcome with them.  So I guess it isn't really surprising that an authentically conservative group would agree with Olsen, nor that the far-right Free Republic folks would freak out about it.  First, the story about CATO:

[Excerpt]

Marriage Equality for All Couples

Nearly a century after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that "marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man.' " That 1967 case, Loving v. Virginia, ended bans on interracial marriage in the 16 states that still had such laws. . .

Read more at: CATO Institute

And now, because I haven't done it in a while, some schooling for the FReepers, and those who think like them. Since I wouldn't last 10 minutes in their forum (they rabidly screen out dissent, particularly on this issue), I will give you some quotes from FreeRepublic.com on this article. Then a response from me. I apologize in advance for their use of language. I do not apologize for mine.

"Everyone has the same rights. The definition of marriage is one man and one woman. Everyone is equal under that definition. I can't marry someone of the same sex as myself, nor can I marry multiple people, nor can I marry an animal or whatever else someone might want to desire to change the definition to."

Though I'm legally married to a man in California (in a rather odd loophole), I do not hold that title in my residence in Nevada. The argument here is ridiculous. If I did mary a woman, it would be deeply unfair to her and unpleasant for me. These same FReepers would lambaste me for putting her--and any potential children--through that ordeal.

"Homosexuality is a behavior, not an identity. By allowing this purposeful distortion of meaning we already partially lose the argument as we have allowed dishonest people to frame the debate."

This is an old argument, and it ticks me off. Homosexuality is not a behavior, it is a sexual orientation. I was gay before I ever had sex. I'm gay right now and--at the moment--am not having sex.  I had a best friend who is gay who was married to a woman for a while. He wasn't straight when he was doing that.  Homosexuality can dictate behavior (or as in that last example, maybe not), but it is not a behavior. Dumb ass.

"Why not 2 siblings, multiple partners, a man and a goat? Once we remove the definition of marriage everythings fair game and only a judge’s opinion determines what’s legit."

Incestuous marriage is already illegal for everyone, gay or straight. Same for polygamy.  And while it should be deeply offensive to have my relationship compared to bestiality (it's actually just deeply stupid), goats cannot consent, and therefore inelligible to enter into any sort of contract.  And is there a huge contingent of people fighting for these other things?  If so, let them fight their own fight and win or lose on their arguments' merits.  These are separate issues.

"Two people of the same sex cannot join together as husband and wife - that requires one person to be a man and the other to be a woman. It has nothing to do with “hate” or “discrimination” - it is just the reality."

Hmm. So my legal marriage in California doesn't exist? Can I get my money back?  It's all an illllluuuusion!  Wishing something away doesn't make it so.

"The purpose of marriage is to encourage and promote safe home lives for kids. Nothing more. Since when to gay adults need that?"

Many people have kids outside of marrige. Many people are married and don't, can't or won't have kids. Many people marry after their child-bearing years. Unless marriage carries a requirement for having children, and childless marriages are annulled, this argument is moot.

"Looks like the gay mafia has taken over the CATO Institute."

Yeah, and you better watch out, because our leader--Sir Elton John--has infiltrated the marriage of your leader, Rush Limbaugh!!!  The takeover has begun. . .

Quotes from: FreeRepublic

What to Make of Alvin Greene?

In Nevada, we've got deeply strange--and entertaining--politics. No more so than now with Sharron Angle, a wingnut of the first order, who is busily having her wings pulled and her nuts clipped by the frightened GOP. Ahem. But South Carolina may have us beat.  In addition to the sordid things going on (in the past and alleged present) around the Governorship of the state, they've got a newly minted Democratic contender for Jim DeMint's Senate seat.

Who is Alvin Greene, and where did he come from?  Dunno. At first, I thought they said "Calvin Green," a classmate of mine who has aged surprisingly well. They'd probably not raised an eyebrow with Calvin. But Alvin is another story altogether.  Alvin is an unemployed guy who came from nowhere to nab the Democratic slot with virtually no campaigning, no name recognition, no anything.  He's got a possibly shady past, and another problem that isn't so hard to nail down.  People have said he's mentally deficient, confused, out of his depth, possibly a Republican plant.  Nobody seems to know. But he's providing some of the strangest interviews in all of cable news.  I say they double the strangeness, and put him on Glenn Beck's show.

[Excerpt]

Democrats want investigation into surprise Senate primary winner



As political newcomer Alvin Greene calls on South Carolina's Democratic establishment to get behind him, party leaders are calling for an investigation into his surprise win in the state's Democratic Senate primary. . .



Read more at: CNN

Aaron Schock Responds to "Way Gay" Outfit

Image from source, Mediaite

I didn't post this when it happened, because it seemed so silly. Can someone "dress too gay?"  Well, obviously yeah, but does a checkered shirt, white pants and a looped teal belt count as too gay?  It's a tricky question, chiefly because I'm gay, and dress pretty much conservatively.  But when you put fancy, form-fitting clothes on a politician--Aaron Schock--who is very fit and attractve, is single, and has had gay rumors swirling around him for a while. . .I guess it's still not newsworthy. Then again, if that same politician has regularly voted against gay rights issues?  Okay, yes that's newsworthy. Or at least entertaining.  And dammit, kinda cute.

[Excerpt]

Rep. Aaron Schock Fesses Up to Fey Fashion Faux-Pas That Went Viral

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) has acknowledged that his turquoise–or was it teal–web belt may have been too much after a picture of him attending a summer party went viral.



The Republican Congressman tweeted “Never thought a pic of me w/ my shirt on would go viral. Learned my lesson and burned the belt” after a weekend of tittering tweets about the sexy Congressman who looked like he was headed to Fire Island instead of his hometown, Peoria, Ill. . .

Read more at: Mediaite

Unaired Pilot Episode of The Big Bang Theory

I was going to post these videos on my Facebook page, but Facebook seems to have gone kerflugy tonight, so here it is on the blog. I wouldn't be surprised to see these clips pulled, so enjoy them while you can. . .

Most shows change a bit after their pilot episodes, and when they change a lot, they never make air. It's easy now to say that the unaired pilot of The Big Bang Theory is not as good as what they later came up with.  But then, I wasn't wowed by what eventually did air until it grew on me.  And honestly, the show has still changed a bit from the pilot that did eventually air.  But the unaired version shows a little too much cross-pollination with Two and a Half Men, with the "dumb girl" character being a lot like Charlie Harper.  Penny is an improvement.

Still it can be interesting to see these alternate versions of characters we've grown to love. But Sheldon having sex? And talking about it somewhat cavalierly?  I don't think so!

Another Oil Spill, This Time Chevron in Utah

Image from source, Salt Lake Tribune

Are they getting any actual oil to the refineries any more?  Oil companies should be required to put a percentage of their profits into cleanup research, development and of course deployment.  Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

[Excerpt]

Residents to Chevron: Clean up the mess

A leak from Chevron's underground oil pipeline may have gone undetected for hours as it spilled 50 gallons of crude a minute Saturday into Salt Lake City's Red Butte Creek.



The oil blackened the east-side creek, stained scores of birds, prompted the closure of Liberty Park and sent oil as far west as the Jordan River.


"This is extremely harmful," said disgusted resident Peter G. Hayes, a biology teacher who showed oily rocks from his creek-side home to Chevron officials at Liberty Park. "I want to know when are you going to send someone to my backyard and clean up my mess because I can't even live in my house because of the smell."


Chevron pledged to clean up the 6-mile mess, but the company could not quantify the damage. . .

Rread more at: Salt Lake Tribune

Repost: Saturday Night Live's "Great Day" (Digital Short)

Reposting since this episode re-aired tonight. Hi, Nick!  FYI: Nick's been in something like 35 episodes of SNL over the years. Am I--as a pop culture junkie--jealous? You betcha. . .

Original post:

Last night's season-ending Saturday Night Live was a weak episode, even in this sub-par season. Of course, every season in the last 30 years has been called "bad" by somebody. But as a charter fan (since the first episode), even I lamented the quality of the show this year. The problem isn't the performers, it's the writing. I know, I know, some of the performers are writers.


The show is treating Kristin Wiig like the movies treat Leslie Nielsen: just put them in something, it will automatically be funny!  In the never-ending quest for more catchphrases and repeating characters, they put the talented Ms. Wiig out there in a goofy outfit, and just expect magic. It ain't happening.  "Starfish" last night, for instance, had no point and no laughs.

SNL desperately needs to stop trying to create characters, and let them be born out of good sketches. Weekend Update, the nearly 100%-reliable funny spot on the show, is now always used to wheel out character after character, with all the subtlety of an anvil. It works in segments that have at least something tangentially related to the news. More often, Seth Myers might as well say, "Ladies and gentlemen, our latest try at a word-of-mouth sensation, 'Nervous Girl.'" 

I often wonder how a comedy program can create an entire episode that contains only mild chuckles at best. Do these professional comedic writers and performers not see that it isn't working? How is that possible?  For me, SNL has had more episodes like this (and like last night) this season than in any recent one. They've got some great talent there, but they desperately need to do something with it.  Yes, they brought the funny with Betty White's outing last week, but even there, the laughs had more to do with White and all of the returning funny women from previous seasons than it had to do with their material.  I hope next year is funnier.

And now after all that, I really have to post the clip from Andy Samberg's most recent SNL Digital Short. These clips are as likely to be odd as they are to be funny. Last night's Great Day was more odd, but it featured The Other Half's cousin, Nick Kenkel, as one of the dancers (and possibly choreographer?).  He's the one in the yellow hard hat. And he's good!

Calvin and Hobbes Stamp to be Issued!

Yayyy, Calvin! It's about time something respectable came out of Calvin and Hobbes after 15 years of those ridiculous, pirated "Calvin peeing on things" vehicle graphics. Note: if you have Calvin peeing on something on the back of your car, you are a moron.

Image from source, Comics Alliance

Calvin and Hobbes was in rare company in the comics pages, being both intelligent and funny, something most comics aren't.  Like Berkeley Breathed's creations (Bloom County, Outland and Opus) and Gary Larson's The Far Side, Bill Watterson's Calvin was a breath of fresh air that transcended the banality of Beetle Bailey and the once (long ago) great Garfield.  And like Breathed and Larson, Watterson freakin' retired.  All of these artists seemed to be worried that their comics would descend into the blandness of Hi & Lois, The Family Circus or Snuffy Smith.  I really, really doubt that they would have.  They are all missed greatly. 

[Excerpt]


Sunday Funnies Postage Stamps Coming in 2010 for Calvin & Hobbes et al.


The United States Postal Service recently announced its stamps of 2010, including one particular set that I think will be of interest to you all: The Sunday Funnies Collection! Based on popular newspaper comic strips, the series will include stamps involving Archie, Garfield, Dennis the Menace, the cast of "Beetle Bailey," and my personal favorites, Calvin and Hobbes! . . .

Read more at: Comics Alliance