So sad, so true

From the geniuses at this is inedexed

- Willa

The last of politics

At least for a bit.  First, my heartfelt apologies to our dear readers, not least for lying through our teeth.  Because while Kaks and I may be under-employed, we are not, technically (or even untechnically) speaking un-employed.  So I have been on a two week hiatus.  The first week was spent at the DNC, the second sleeping off the DNC – interrupted only on a nightly basis to wake up at prime time and shake my fist at the television.  

But now I’m off politics.  Actually, I’m lying again.  I’m totally on politics.  But this blog ain’t the place for them, so I will sign off politicking here because all is just a-okay, since there’s obviously nothing about this that makes me nervous.  

 

In case we needed any more evidence

…of FOX News’ conservative bent, check out this video from Slate’s Trailhead blog. How could you not love Michelle Obama’s speech from the other night? In any case, more importantly, it’s an interesting study of American news television.

The West Wing: The Santos Administration

Everyone loves the Onion, right?  But, sometimes they outdo even themselves – like with this lovely article.  Mostly I think I love it so much because I would attend an Aaron Sorkin Con if there were one.  In a powersuit.  And re-enact my favorite scenes – many of which involve long walk-and-talks between Donna and Josh.  Mmmmm….

Last time I checked…

Okay, I know this is a bit of jumping on the bandwagon, but it has to be said. Anyone who hasn’t already seen this really should check it out. It’s just plain funny. I mean, all political games aside, how on earth do you forget how many houses you own? And, if you don’t know, but you see the opposing party trying to paint you as insanely wealthy and out of touch, wouldn’t you think it would be smart to go find out so that you can answer the question when it comes?

Sometimes, American politics disgusts me. Other times, it just makes me laugh.

Things we would go to this week if we lived in…

Yes, we’ve been a bit lax in this feature the past few weeks.  Between the two of us, we’ve been devoting most of our energies into real life things and haven’t spent so much time fantasizing about where we could be.  So, this week I just want to say how jealous I am that Willa is currently living in Denver.

Denver

The DNC, obviously.  Because in addition to being a bleeding hearted liberal, I have been in love with Joe Biden for years now and am so excited that’s he’s the VP candidate.  Also, this is just the schedule for today.  It’s enough to reduce any Democratic junkie to a pile of happy mush.  And my senator is speaking, so go McCaskill.  Plus, the last day will be at Mile High.  That would be where the Broncos play.  A FOOTBALL STADIUM.  My political party is now so insane as to hold the last day of the convention at a football stadium.  I love being a registered Democrat.

At times like this I’m a little sad I got burnt out of politics so quickly.  But then I remember that I just get to enjoy the convention by watching instead of having to work at it.  So best of luck to Willa and everyone who has worked their butts off to pull off this week.

Iran-Contra all over again?

I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist. While conspiracies make for great literature and movies, and, occasionally, great news, most of the time I find them over-the-top and improbable. Like the theory that there wasn’t actually a plane that hit the Pentagon on 9/11, just because there are no photos of the plane actually hitting it; seriously, guys? Some of the stuff about the mob being behind the JFK assassination seems slightly more probable, but still. For the most part, pretty ridiculous.

Iran-Contra, however? That’s no theory. The Republicans have shown a proclivity for doing whatever it takes to make their candidate/president look good, particularly when it involves making him look particularly good when facing an “evil” foreign enemy. Iraq? (I mean, surely there’s enough evidence at this point so that most logical people recognize this was all orchestrated ahead of time.)

All of this leads me say that much as I don’t care for conspiracy theory, this SF Chronicle Op-Ed may have a point.

Tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me

According to Maureen Dowd, the presidential race is like Pride & Prejudice: America is Elizabeth, Obama is Darcy, and McCain is Wickham. Um, yeah…sure, Maureen. You were watching the mini-series when your editor called and told you that you needed to fill in for Frank Rich’s column, weren’t you? Don’t get me wrong, I like Obama well enough, but he’s not exactly my idea of Darcy. And is McCain going to tempt America’s younger sister into running off and living in sin with him? Well, we can only hope.

Counterterrorism: Duh!

I have a very nerdy family.  Yesterday my brother sent me an email with a link to Wired’s defense blog (what?  I said we were nerdy.).  And he had the courtesy to basically write this entry for me:

“Seriously?!  Somebody finally figured out how to properly “win” in a counterterrorism scenario.  What’s scary is that they actually had to research and study this data – it’s common knowledge for anyone who looks at political/military history that military might cannot, and has not, been an effective tool in destroying terrorist organizations!”

Um, yeah.  The RAND Corporation is generally acknowledged to be the very first ‘think tank’.  As such, I would expect more from them.  Having read the research brief for this study, I can say that I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know just by being a history nerd.  I mean, I did go to the “Future Dictators of the World School” as Willa likes to call it, but I knew this crap going into college. My favorite line is the opening one:

Never say politics isn’t shallow

I don’t know what it is about Capitol Hill.  Maybe it’s that a bunch of broke people working bizarre hours and living in close proximity is just too close to a frat house.  Maybe it’s that once all the political geeks get together, they explode into joy at suddenly not being the biggest nerd in the room.  Maybe it’s just the rush of power.  But whatever it is, childish behavior is central to the place.  As testament, I give you your government’s version of superlatives – except on capitol hill “most likely to succeed” is probably a touch more competitive than in high school.