Colbert v. O’Reilly

Every time I watch Bill O’Reilly I anxiously wait for him to burst into song or dance. He’s a clown, minus the face-paint and goofy nose, and I can’t believe people consider the polarizing ideologue as a legitimate news source. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

In the end, the Colbert Report and the O’Reilly Factor are outlets of entertainment, ironically with the same humorous appeal. Except, of course, O’Reilly actually takes himself seriously.

 

A Good First Step

Thanks, Congress

Sincerely,

College students of America who have been over-burdened with rising debt

 

Tag, You’re It!

It seems like a copout that Time Magazine would select everyone to be person of the year. In a year that showed the largest national political shift in a decade (thanks to the “Democratic Gang of Four”—Senators Harry Reid and Charles Schumer, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel) and the successful destruction of global nuclear segregation by a determined North Korean Dictator (Kim Jong-Il), how is TIME Magazine audacious enough to choose us? To add to the self-indulgence, the editors decided a mirror on the cover-revealing that, in fact, you are the person of the year-would be a great marketing ploy. It’s bad enough that TIME is ignoring the ostensible truths of our time in favor of a pandering sales-pitch, but encouraging narcissism is downright tasteless.

Is this really humanity’s zenith? Surely the “Greatest Generation’s” resistance against fascism in the 1940s or the modern antidisestablishmentarian struggle of the 18th and 19th century warrant consideration with the current Google era. But I do appreciate the potential of our time, as noted by the TIME headline: You, in the plural, control the information age. In the age of MySpace, individuals possess more intellectual firepower than they ever have in human history. What started with Guttenberg’s printing press is currently manifested in Wikipedia. With more effective communication comes the realization of our intellectual prowess. But the brazen assumption held by this award is one of blind optimism—that we are, in fact, capitalizing on this potential.

 

Keys to the Obama Campaign: Us

With the launching of his exploratory committee, Senator Barack Obama took the first step towards the White House. CBS News assessed his chances with some very insightful analysis:

To a much greater extent than the other announced and prospective candidates for the party’s nomination, that depends on the immediate response of grassroots Democrats to his prospective candidacy…

By establishing the exploratory committee, he will be able to raise money to hire staff and build a basic campaign infrastructure in advance of the expected formal announcement in February. He’ll need it. Clinton and another contender, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, are far ahead of Obama when it comes to putting together the multi-state campaign apparatus that is needed in a fast-paced presidential campaign.

Can Obama catch up? Yes, but only if the grassroots Democrats who have been so enthusiastic about the prospect of his candidacy now turn that enthusiasm into practical commitments in states such as Iowa, where the first caucuses will be held a year from this week, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. That transition will have something to do with Obama’s star power, of course, but it will have much more to do with how he defines himself.

Obama is undeniably the hottest political star at the moment, stealing the spotlight from a newly elected Congress and other possible horses for the 2008 race. But this article touched upon a good point: flash is, in the end, just flash. To borrow a fundamental physics lesson, Obama must turn the potential energy of his star-power into kinetic, working energy, manifested through grassroots organizing.

 

Obama’s Problems: Our Own?

Thoughts from Mark Sandalow:

Will Americans elect a black man president? It boggles the mind that Obama is only the third African American elected to the Senate since reconstruction. Polls suggest the country is ready, but this is the sort of question where people lie to pollsters.

At 45, Obama is roughly the same age as Bill Clinton when he sought the presidency. But Clinton had served four terms as governor and one as attorney general. George Bush had served just six years as governor. But that was before Sept. 11. Is America ready to entrust its national security to a candidate whose experience amounts to two years service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee?

There will be other raps. Obama’s middle name is Hussein, which will likely remind some Americans of their discomfort voting for a man whose first and last names are even more unfamiliar.

Obama’s greatest hurdles come campaign time will be race, Washington inexperience, and unfortunate (and possibly unforgiving) coincidences. The good news is that problem number 2 can be addressed by the campaign. The bad news is that problems one and three won’t go away no matter how the campaign spins them. Why? Because they’re not his problems to change; rather, they’re a fault of our collective conscience, an issue of our own perceptions.

 

Obama Takes First Steps

It’s official…almost

 

“Surge” and Destroy

Well, it’s official: President Bush announced his obviously well-thought and popular plan to “surge” an additional 20,000+ soldiers to Iraq.

An interesting excerpt from last night’s speech:

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

Oh, no he didn’t.

 

Letters from Iwo Jima

In my opinion, the best picture of the year.

 

Children Safe on Capitol Hill Once Again

In the wake of Foleygate, Pelosi’s repeated references to “the children” and the invitation of her own grandchildren and other kids to the speakers podium was just what the country needed. Sure, it’s a blatant political ploy and obviously polarizing–but undeniably and regrettably heartwarming.

Grandma Pelosi 1, decadent Foley 0.

 

Diplomacy?

Wes Clark to Bush: How about diplomacy in Iraq?

 

A Muslim Committed to Serve His Nation

Thoughts from Keith Ellison, the newly elected Representative from Minnesota’s 5th District and the first Muslim member of Congress:

Recently, I have become the focus of some criticism for my use of the Qu’ran for my ceremonial swearing in. Let me be clear, I am going to be sworn into office like all members of Congress. I am going to swear to uphold the United States Constitution. We seem to have lost the political vision of our founding document — a vision of inclusion, tolerance and generosity.

He goes on:

I do not blame my critics for subscribing to a politics of scarcity and intolerance. However, I believe we all must project a new politics of generosity and inclusion This is the vision of the diverse coalition in my Congressional district. My constituents in Minnesota elected me to fight for a new politics in which a loving nation guarantees health care for all of its people; a new politics in which executive pay may not skyrocket while workers do not have enough to care for their families. I was elected to articulate a new politics in which no one is cut out of the American dream, not immigrants, not gays, not poor people, not even a Muslim committed to serve his nation.

It’s a matter of choice that Rep. Ellison swore on the Qu’ran, but it’s a matter of principle that got him elected. Hopefully pundits will realize this as Rep. Ellison transforms from the “Muslim Congressman” to just a “Congressman”.

 

Hate the Players…and the Game

With the convening of the 110th Congress, Senator Barack Obama makes a strong political message:

This past Election Day, the American people sent a clear message to Washington: Clean up your act.

It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that this message was intended for only one party or politician. The votes hadn’t even been counted in November before we heard reports that corporations were already recruiting lobbyists with Democratic connections to carry their water in the next Congress.

That’s why it’s not enough to just change the players. We have to change the game.

What timing: with a newly elected Congress that has pledged to end corruption and special interests, Obama has taken the initiative to resonate the challenge to both parties.  Democrats are not impervious to such vices, and they should not fool each other or the public that they are.  By maintaining the tough standard that Obama and Speaker Pelosi are promoting, Congress might be on its way to cleaning up its act and restoring faith in our government.

A thought: I couldn’t help but think how appropriate the timing was on this editorial piece.  Obama, a staunch supporter of ethics reform in Congress, is leading the way for bipartisan reform with his piece in today’s Washington Post. Is he trying to get his name exposed, attached to the crusade against special interest and the corruption that America found so repugnant this past November?  Absolutely, and it’s a wise step towards a possible run towards the White House.

 

Health Care=Fancy Eating?

The problem with this guy’s opinion piece on health care? His analogy.

Somehow I feel that others will agree with me when I say that most of us hold the right to be healthy as a self-evident truth, while the right to fancy pinot noir and seafood is a trifling luxury.  In other words, his argument falls apart because of the reliance of the perceived similarity between the two.

 

Clinton vs. Obama, Round 1

Two feature articles appeared today addressing the impending Clinton-Obama bout.

Here’s the New Republic’s take. And here’s thoughts from Eugene Robinson.

Both bring up an interesting point: is Barack Obama a political orgasm that simply won’t last, or is he the real deal? Many have pegged him to be so, but my faith is in Obama the sensible leader and competent politician, not the Time Magazine cover boy and supposed political newbie. He might have rock star status at the moment, but the next few months of primary campaigning will ultimately reveal his true political worth. But if he is the sure shot, then Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, and anyone else will have more than enough work ahead of them.

 

Holocaust Denial: A Crime?

By now I’m sure you have heard about David Irving, the fellow who is now serving a sentence in an Austrian jail for denying the Holocaust. As repugnant as I find the practice and promotion of Holocaust denial, I have always maintained that it should not be a crime. In the spirit of free speech, I suppose sometimes the bad has to come with the good, even in its most moronic, unsubstantiated form.

Daniel Finkelstein shares my sentiments:

It is difficult, even for me now, born in safety, free to bring up my sons as Jews, sitting at a desk typing my article in civilised Britain, it is difficult not to feel anger, rage at Irving. It is difficult not to wish him behind bars. And I do feel rage. But I do not wish him behind bars, not for giving his opinion, not for delivering a lecture, however warped and horrible his opinion is. I still believe in the power of truth. And my belief in truth is what separates me from Irving.