Scary Sotomayor and the World of the Tweety! ...or Media's Inability to Move Forward...

I try not to watch this crap anymore. The cable company here has done me a strangely backwards favor by taking away my ability to stream MSNBC or much of anything to my desktop besides dreaded network TV. So its odd these days that I'm catching Tweety when he's on as opposed to on YouTube or DVR when he's done something idiotic that is worth a couple of minutes of my time. This morning, in the here and now, I am reminded how much of a hack Tweety is, and I'm wondering how the panel manages to sit there, controlled by the "stories" of the week, as prescribed by the M$M talking points, and following the mundane surface doings of the new President, without screaming a la Howard Beale. Its all so predictable and boring, and maybe Tweety needs to consider that if he really wants those ratings that he needs, he might try to talk about the real stories and what they mean, if he's even capable of that.

So, if Obama is going to travel to Normandy to mark D-day, then we have to go over the foibles of other presidents who fell down stairs and offended one person or another; Bill Clinton looking through binoculars with the lens caps on, or worse, smoking a cigar in public after the Lewinsky scandal...wink, wink...And how will Obama fit into the meme that they are busily preparing for him? Its all so exciting that I can hardly wait! Of course, Obama spoils the fun time and again because he is so too slick.



Look, I know that even these political head brainy shows are a microcosm of the American psyche, and that there was never a NASCAR or Grand Prix fan who wasn't on the edge of their seat waiting for the crash. I know that we look for someone to trip and fall or, more recently, embarrass our country diplomatically, but I was sort of hoping that we were going to send President Obama out into the world to smooth over the impression of the ugly, stupid American that Bush spent eight years honing. It used to be that we waited for the hockey fight or Abbot and Costello to get lost in the haunted mansion as a way to get our ya-ya's out, but somewhere between Gerald Ford falling down the stairs of a plane, eliciting fond ribbing and Clinton's cigars, a huge helping of leader hatred was thrown in, and it has somehow become a sport to expect something any minute that is gonna stamp a presidency with a meme that will follow it into forever. So far the Obamas have avoided this, causing some strange sorta anger and shot in the dark labeling attempts; socialist, liar, not doing what he promised in the campaign...whatever...the reality is that things are so much better than they would have been with McCain, and though we should expect the best, lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater...or something like that.

The important question to ask yourself is what are these main stream talking points turning us away from; What are we missing here? I keep hearing that President Obama is not following his campaign promises exactly to the letter, but I'm not so sure that we want someone in that office who isn't able to adapt on the fly. I'm as worried as the next person, and I'm willing to fight for the more important issues, like Afghanistan and gay marriage, but I'm also acutely aware that in the big picture we need to look at who he has nominated to a lifetime appointment on the supreme court! Look at what is happening that is really going to shape trends in humanity in the next 100 or 200 years? What will our world be like with 2 or 3 new judges on our highest court that resemble the actual reality of the make up of America? This is huge! This is the kind of long term decision that along the way might grant the wishes of people who are so focused on a single issue that they are ready to jump ship immediately. Sheesh...Americans have no patience for sure, but this is ridiculous, and self destructive.



To spend so much time on one piece of a speech from eight years ago, indicates to me that they have nothing! Further, what Judge Sotomayor said is true! Is Limbaugh or Tweety or anyone else going to say with a straight face that Alito's rulings don't have something to do with his conservative, Italian, white upbringing? Isn't the point that a judges follow the rule of law, regardless of their backgrounds, but also bringing their background into their decisions that one interfere with the law? All indications are that she is a judge with a record of such decisions, and if this is all they can pull out, then we had better get ready for a different looking Supreme Court.... yay!...and in turn, we will see the kinds of changes that the people of this country want; not what special interests can conjure with swift boating and hysteria.

This is less an issue of what we Americans want, than a shaping of the story in a pathetic, grasping way by the disgruntled minority. Its unbelievable to me that the usual suspects still are giving a free platform to the usual suspects to say the same old crap. I know that the news guys miss Bush as much as the comedians do because there was so much to work with there, but maybe we'll have to get back to our favorite TV shows, America's Got Talent or whatever it is that allows us to make fun of each other, and extend again some respect where respect is due. Maybe along that way we can demand some focus on the fucking war(s) and how we are going to go forward!

If every public servant can be swift boated in this way (did I mention that this is extrapolated from one passage in a speech from eight years ago?) and if the story can be twisted and fed back to us as something that we somehow want to obsess about, then the inmates still have control of the asylum and maybe its time for a change of management at these networks, or at least some reregulation of media content in general.

Lets discuss Afghanistan and the torture issue. Lets discuss indictment of the criminals and what that would mean to us going forward. It occurs to me that the fear of Judge Sotomayor is more about the fact that she does have respect for the rule of law (for the people as opposed to bending and changing it in favor of large corporations.) The grasping by the right, and the insane racial comments tell me that they protesteth too much and that this may be someone who will fairly represent us regardless of who they're duck hunting with on the weekends.

If you want to contact the folks at NBC about their inane programming choices click here.

c/pBrilliant at Breakfast

On Blogger Burnout...Put Down that Gun, We're All Friends Here!

I woke this morning to NPR on the clock radio, not because I especially like it but because its a station that I can get in the bedroom, and ready to wake the boy for the bus I lay still for a few and listened to the reader tell me that President Obama "imposed a $500,000 cap on bonuses" for top executives in any institution that receives bailout money from the government....and I smiled; Kick fucking ass!! I sometimes look at the muted TV and see him mouthing words, as he does daily, and I think how lucky we are to have a good president, or at least one that's trying to do some sort of right thing in this country. I never thought we would get this kind of action this fast with the way government works.

So, on this day after B.A.D. Id like to mention some higher up blogger burnout that struck me hard as I scanned the reader today. I don't read Hullabaloo every day, and as much as I could see the charm back in the thick of things, sometimes we all need a little break from the grind; heaven knows I do and am taking it. But this is the thing; I'm getting plain old fucking tired of the critics jumping all over nothing, instead of just writing a letter to the offending news outlet and calling it a day. It's not like Morning Joe doesn't spew bullshit regularly, so put down the gun, Digby, and apply yourself to more than whining about politicians waxing poetic about how long the other very important things might take.

Nothing is more important to me than health care right now; children's health care in particular, because Ive got 2 boys with special issues and a health care program that only coulda come from Chris Shays and Joe Lieberman, (they happily claim it, even though its broken, anyway,) but calm the fuck down and encourage your zillion readers to let the president know that they want it on the table this year.

Another thing; we are dealing with a president who doesn't stand on ceremony or go through the channels; he is not fucking around. How fast did he put a regulation on the bailout upper management? What I'm saying is that if Obama wants it done, no amount of hemming and hawing of the old guard about their precious schedules is gonna stop him. If other things take precedence, at least we know that when we protest and write our letters, out voices are heard! I am the worst of doubters, and even I believe that health care is important to this administration as a tip top priority.

I wouldn't go wringing your hands so fast, and anyway, whats the alternative? Would Nader have rode into town and done somehow a better job? Its time to get behind our president because the reality is that we are here with him now...as in, Be Here Now. I'm not so good at that stuff myself, but the knee jerk doubt from our side is deafening and it appears to me that if Morning Joe makes you want to blow your head off, you need a vacation. He is a moron and Mika is a sellout. One visit from Rachel Maddow would set them straight because she actually knows her stuff. So use that writing talent and write to the network.

Given that our side has most of the prime time nights, I'm not too concerned with Joe, though I did recently see Willie Geist walk past the front door of my grandfather's building pushing a stroller, surprisingly tall and apparently an upper west side family man. I turned to the doorman, who I was hanging out with on a rare mild evening and said "that guy is an idiot," a little too loud, which made Willie look at me, and made me cringe because if the kid had been older it might've made a difference....Of course I glared back in defiance, and if not for the kid I might've spit on the street and thrown a shoe...But cooler heads prevailed, because he is only a stooge trying to make a living. He cant help it that hes got no soul and is all empty frat boy shell and neocon talking points. All we can do is our part to make that type evaporate.

MSNBC is forever doing surveys to their newspanel watchers, of which I happen to be one. It is all about insane statements about Joe and Willie and Mika and how they make you feel. Do you trust them? Is he handsome? Its all very silly but they obviously are there to sell soap and at some point the numbers don't lie. It took some time for Tucker to slither away, and if the fairness doctrine is put back into some effect we may just need these assholes, (better the devil you know...right?)

So, Id like to say, stop complaining and threatening to shoot yourself in the head/pop your eyes out. Its not like any of this was gonna be easy, and if that's your reaction to what is actually the usual shit, even in light of the fact that Obama just made a move that is my idea of heaven by cutting off the cash flow to those bastards, then maybe you've got to rethink this politics thing and move on to a niche (heaven knows that's what I'm trying to do!). I think we need to know what is going on and where to write, to not only complain but to request that they have Rachel Maddow on to talk about this with Joe and Mika...if they have the guts. The Whitehouse is very easy to reach and apparently someone is reading the mail nowadays.

c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

I Wouldn't Worry About Popularity ...

Hey, you could try to be popular for solving problems or making the world better, but when you've got a rapture to prepare for, well, just hang in the bubble for a little while longer and maybe you can ignite Armageddon in your few remaining days....



In a mind boggling last presser today, soon-to-be-ex President Bush contradicted himself more times and faster than you can say pundits and opinionators, leaving those of us who were unlucky enough to be home, stuck in a cycle of rewinding and winding to try to figure out if he really said that...or that...or that...
Just click in at any point and prepare to be disgusted and relieved that he's leaving. I still can't even wrap my mind around whats happened in the past 8 years, but I know that it has hurt this country and the world, and the specifics of it will be winding and rewinding like these last words to the press.
For specific deconstruction of the final presser tune in to Maron v Seder's Break Room
where you can catch the replay of the opinionating all day, and then browse the archives for the rest!...Jetpack Engage!




I mean, you wouldn't want to be "hauled up in front of Congress" or anything...
My God, we can only hope and pray.

I think I'll have to wait for Jill to get home from her day-job to sort this out for me...maybe Drifty (go vote for him!) can illustrate it in pictures; I was gonna use all my photoshop pictures of Bush as a clown, but then I know some real clowns and I don't want to sully their name(s) by superimposing the evil clown thing onto the psychopath in chief....




c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

The Very Public Wake of Tim Russert Reveals Press Cronyism...Among Other Things....

Death.
Americans seem to be almost psychotically transfixed with the pomp and circumstance surrounding it as we also seemingly have a real need to connect with those who have died, whether we knew them or not. We have to know exactly what happened, lest it happen to us...and worrying that we might have a sudden heart attack while on the way to work, we're probably a million times more likely to get hit by a truck!

Yeah, in the wake of all this, its imperative that Americans lose weight and eat better. Its imperative that people know that the American diet is so fatty that even slim people have fat around their organs inside; its not about how you look on the outside as much as its the fat in and around your actual organs. They say that Tim Russert's huge fight was with pizza and beer and all that ballgame stuff...well, clearly he enjoyed those things and denied that the trade-off for that moment of sheer enjoyment was less time alive. He did seem to be incredibly happy all the time and it may have been a good trade-off for him; only he knows that now, but I doubt his kid would think so. I just wonder about those of us who are making bad choices because we are miserably overworked or lonely at home and using food as something that its not. So regarding this crazy "can this happen to me?" instinct that we have; well, yes, anything can happen, and Tim had been on his exercise bike that morning...in fact this was such a hidden problem that if he had had a stress test that morning it wouldn't have shown anything. But, should we all be aware of eating healthy to live, unless the food thing is giving us a real life experience that is worth any loss of time? Yes! It needs to be a priority, and we need to realize that we deserve the extra time that it takes to take care of ourselves, regardless of what Tim's problems were.

This well rounded guy, who was likely a very competitive workaholic, (you may not get that from the other workaholics at MSNBC,) was well loved, and from what they say, he was willing to debate anything and everything including his deep, "unquestioning," Catholic faith. He loved politics like a kid in a candy store and he had deep abiding relationships with friends and adored his family. To me, the tragedy of such an early death is blunted by a life well lived. So, off you go Timmy...its sad that it has to happen, but if there is a heaven, then it all makes sense now.

Watching the parade of luminaries taking part in the on air Irish wake for Tim Russert on MSNBC, (and all the other stations,) has been sad, gratifying, horrible, and maddening in that there is just so much of it, and you would think that this was the death of someone who actually DID something for the world, rather than added to the news blackout and cronyism of the past 7+ years and beyond! My first horrible thought after the sheer shock of how young he was, was a very unsavory feeling that this may be the only way to dislodge those crony's from their places as "the most important political pundits in the world."

That said, this same luminary parade is worth looking at because it points to what the problem is and has been with the M$M. As difficult as it is to come to terms with in the moment of their grief, and as much as Russert supposedly did for political reporting and NBC, its just sorta rich to watch everyone from the neutered Howard Dean to his closest friends, Al Hunt and Mike Barnacle, talk about the funny and happy moments fishing in Nantucket, and the way that he took over the Washington bureau and Meet the Press, and saved the NBC political news machine, without having the creepy feeling that somehow the old guard is commenting on themselves and how great they are, and that the bottom line in saving that news machine was and is profit rather than truth.

As a very religious man who personally made it a priority to perform charity work and focused on "truth," its hard for me to come to terms with this array of the older set who managed to sit by as the last 7+ years of neocons lied us into a war with no end, and stole this country blind. As the lie has unraveled, most of these pundits have stated that they believed the lies initially, and tried their best to bring out the truth as they came to their senses along with the rest of the country. To me, these sorts of supposedly hard hitting reporters hiding behind such a weak excuse when even I was shouting harder hitting questions at the screens of this administration, is unforgivable. How does a strong religious faith and belief in the truth fit into the amount of time given to neocons and softball questions? How can the buddy, buddy style of super socializing and cronyism that is infused in the structure of things these days, uncover any hard truths at all?
The Sunday shows and how the usual suspect pundits are trotted out to comment on any little political issue, is almmost like performance art when viewed from above...right Tim?

So, today the pile-on continues. If there is a God, she has dislodged a pretty important cog in the wheel of disinformation, but unfortunately, as is evident from the parade of usual suspects, its just gonna fill in, like so may footprints in the tide line of Nantucket, where these guys seem to spend an inordinate amount quality time together reinforcing their shared reality and access.

Y'know, Ive got a 98 year old grandfather who is very sharp mentally and wakes every morning with a certain fix on reality; you cant fight the numbers, as he says. There is something to be said for all the different ways that people go, and maybe its presumptive to critique one or another, but there is something to be said for the quick and clean end. Most of what goes on around death in this country is for the comfort of the living, and we seem to be largely unable to deal with the realities of aging, putting those who flame out young on a pedestal even if they were dysfunctional drug addicts. We respect our old guard as long as they look like themselves when they toddle out to read from a teleprompter, but we don't want to see the messy part; not at all.

I suppose that Tim could have ended up as a veritable McLaughlin in retirement, bungling through a half hour round table like a crazy old uncle, (and I say that fondly because I like the wacky McLaughlin show as the sun room in the old age home,) but then he wouldn't be able to go out at the top of his game, with a dry erase board in his hand and all the crony's parading past.
The only thing that makes me crazy, as someone who is usually acutely aware that anything could happen at any time, is that he shoulda been able to make it through the election...and if there IS a god, then the fact that he was taken out now could be a statement on the state of things.

And if there is nothing out there but ashes for guys like Timmy, then he didn't get to live to see the final ouster of the worst president ever...one who's disinformation campaign he gave a platform to more times than he might have if we weren't living in the atmosphere of spin and fear that was fostered largely thanks to him and these very luminaries... some of whom used to rail against this machine and who are now looking back through Vaseline on the lens . Imagine what things might be like if this one very influential guy had had more courage and less fear himself...imagine it....
RIP Timmeuh....you'll have to sort it out for yourself, wherever you are!

h/t to Trip aka. Vern for this:



c/p Brilliant at Breakfast