It'll Never Happen! (Only It Did)

Yesterday, I played video games and watched C-SPAN. If that doesn't make me a red-blooded American than nothing will. It was a historic night and all the news stories today are praising Obama's strategy and Pelosi's fierce determination. Of course, if the vote had failed then we'd all be reading about Obama's ineptitude and Pelosi's spinelessness. So, it turns out doing something IS better than doing nothing. And when the outsized fears of a totalitarian regime inflicting socialism onto the country don't come to pass, we'll see if this bill remains controversial. But for now, it's fun to see all the doubters proved wrong.

This clip from Chris Matthews is especially hilarious. I really hope they play it the next time Rep. Grayson appears on the show.

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The Senator from Colorado

Michael Bennet just became my new favorite senator.



Read his interview with Ezra Klein here.

Let's Ram It

A little late for the Super Bowl, but it's just too good not to propagate.



"Let's Ram It" Video Awards:

Best Production Company: Red Entertainment, without whom none of this would have been possible

Most Enthusiastic: Limosine Willie. Man, that cat can bounce. And you wanna talk about sassy hip bumps?

Mountain Man Award: Hurk, er Herc, uh, however you spell it, I really dig that triuphant finger point to sky at the end.

Best Improvised Dance: "Big Daddy" Hill. Just keep vamping, Saxophone dude, cause Big Daddy will boxstep for as long as it takes.

Best Phoenetic Reader: Babyface. Watching this guy read from a slightly offscreen cue card about 2 feet in front of his face is goddamn adorable.

Best Overcompensation: Carl Lee. What's that you say? He has zero musical ability and refuses to dance? That's okay. We'll pose him on a motorcycle and have him mildly swear.

Best Unsolicited Dating Preference: "Top Gun" Dickerson. Apparently, when it comes to ladies he wants a "brainy one." ... Okay, thanks. I'll make note of that.

(saw the video first at AV Club Chicago, a damn good site in it's own right)

The Man With No Shame

Anyone who wants to experience first-hand the intellectual poverty needed to defend "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" need only to read this article by the master of cynical justifications, Bill Kristol.

Here's where he really hits his hypocritical stride:

"Here is contemporary liberalism in a nutshell: No need to consider costs as well as benefits. No acknowledgment of competing goods or coexisting rights. No appreciation of the constraints of public sentiment or the challenges of organizational complexity. No sense that not every part of society can be treated dogmatically according to certain simple propositions. Just the assertion that something must be done because it is in some abstract way “the right thing."

After reading this, I'd love to hear Kristol's justification for the ongoing war in Iraq again...

Like this article from 2007 in which he touts an opinion poll showing that a slightly larger minority of Americans think the Iraq in invasion was the "right thing to do."

Or this 2003 interview in which he says "...they really found there was an opportunity to do the right thing in Iraq" and "The danger is not that we're going to do too much. The danger is that we're going to do too little."

It's astonishing that this is his description of "contemporary liberalism in a nutshell." Really? I mean, REALLY?! He's accusing liberals of not taking into account "organizational complexity" after saying of the Iraq war, "Very few wars in American history were prepared better or more thoroughly than this one by this president."

Hmm, will a cursory look around the internet find any other instances of Kristol ignoring the "contraints of public sentiment" or not considering "costs as well as benefits?"



Oh yea, that's right. This is the man who stood up and cheered every time Bush did something on conservative principle against public approval. He argued that doing so made Bush look strong and would rally the base.

How long have these amazing selective amnesia pills been available? (and where can I get some to forget 2009?)

Question Time

Speaking of pilots, I hope this gets picked up for a series.



We need more of this kind of direct and lengthy debate in our politics. Cable news shows are incapable of delivering it. And now that this material can be made easily available online, there's really no reason to settle for people spewing talking points past each other until George Stephanopoulos says "we'll have to leave it there."

Western Front

It's already been posted around the internet in various places, so I might as well put it up here too. We recently added the intro, which gives a little more context for the show.

Western Front Pilot from Western Front on Vimeo.

The line that still gets me everytime: "Let's see what you got, little man. You little bearded man."

A Bit Of Bass On That Then

Macca in his element.



It's got kind of a Come And Get It mixed with Sgt. Pepper's Reprise type vibe with a similar lyrical sentiment to the latter.