I've enjoyed reading Susan Faludi over the years - Stiffed was excellent and, while I found Backlash a bit less convincing, it was still pretty stimulating and well argued. To me, she is one of the best "post-feminist" writers going (and a helluva lot more credible - and readable - than a shrill, if articulate, harpy like Camille Paglia). So it was with keen interest that I read her op-ed piece on Hillary Clinton in the New York Times yesterday.

Again, I don't agree with her thesis entirely, but her argument that Clinton has gained ground among working class white males because she has overcome a number of gender stereotypes (notably through her recent pugnacity) seems to have some merit. It could be that what the powdered faces of MSNBC's talking heads find so distasteful in Clinton is exactly what many American men find appealing about the candidate. The piece is well worth a read.

Tags: media, politburo
humour: thoughtful

Yes! It appears that the rumors I mentioned a few months ago are joyously true! The man Skippy accurately describes as "the unholy spawn of George Will and Pee Wee Herman" has lost his regular slot! Tucker - the show, if not its eponymous host - has been euthanized by MSNBC!


And there the exclamation points must end. Sadly, they're still keeping him on as a "Senior Campaign Correspondent" and he'll apparently be a commentator on all their "news" programs (by which, I presume they mean Badminton with Chris Matthews, Countdown to Obama's Victory with Keith Olberman, and Hey, We Still Have One Program That Isn't Ridiculously Biased with Dan Abrams). I guess they need to offset the ubiquitous Pat Buchanan's relatively rational and astronomically better-informed conservative opinion with a flapping dunce like Carlson.

And, contrary to the initial rumors, he'll not be replaced by Rachel Maddow, but by the innocuous David Gregory (or at least he's innocuous when he isn't doing his impersonation of a total dork at a high school dance). This might be just as well - Maddow seems to have taken leave of her senses over the past few months. Really, Joan Walsh would have been a much better choice (though maybe she spends too much time looking concerned), but I suppose Gregory was considered "safe". We'll see. If they really wanted a bit of sorely needed balance, though, they should just have given Buchanan a slot. God knows he's in their studios every day, anyway - and putting him on salary would probably be cheaper.

Anyway, I don't really care what they do with Carlson's timeslot, so long as he's not filling it. To me, this is better news than Benedict XVI's update of Gregory the Great's Deadly Sins, the long-awaited success of the Justice Department's targeting of Eliot Spitzer, Obama's unsurprising victory in yet another red state, or Admiral Fallon paving the way for a strike on Iran.

So... one more exclamation point: Hurrah!

Tags: media, tee-vee

I just noticed in the current Cialis campaign that one of the listed interruptions that could ruin the possible moment for, say, mere Viagra users is "an unexpected visit home from college".

Rather than selling me on Cialis, this just leads me to think, "Thank God the kid didn't arrive home half an hour later to find Mom bent over the butcher block, with Daddy - trousers around his ankles - banging away at her hindquarters." To me, this is more an ad for years of therapy and anti-psychotics than for an erectile dysfunction tablet.

Tags: business as usual, media
humour: entertained

Damn - this primary process is one phantom firestorm after another. Now it's Michelle Obama as Target of the Day - and, seriously, she hasn't been getting much press since her "Nevada! Nevada Nevada Nevada - Nevada! Nevada Nevada Nevada!" moment a few weeks ago. This time it's for a statement she made in Milwaukee yesterday: "People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics and ... for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback."

She amended the speech slightly for for the Madison audience: "Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change." A difference without much distinction, especially as it was that "for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country" line that's been getting all the heat.

It's been getting a ridiculous amount of criticism ranging from "stupid" to "despicable" and, of course, endless lists in the blogosphere and among the punditocracy of things that uppity chick damned well should be proud of.

Come on, folks - I'm still waiting for some sense of unqualified pride in this godforsaken country in my adult life - and I'm older than Mrs. Messiah by a good ten years. I take a certain pride in about 15% of my country's history - and about 3% of that is a source of remarkable pride - but most of our advances as a country over the past hundred and fifty years or so - especially our humanitarian advances - have been a generation or more too late, often well after the rest of the developed world has made similar or greater advances. In many areas, we're still waiting. When we lead the world in human rights, equal justice, open government, individual liberty, fair elections, and access to basic services, I'll join Michelle Obama.

Meanwhile, it's worth remembering that Pride is a Deadly Fucking Sin - especially, I would think, when it's unsubstantiated pride based on an accident of birth.


I hope Pat Buchanan doesn't read this - or I'll never get rid of him.

Tags: media, political rant
humour: incredulous

During this evening's Democratic debate, Barack "it's not a swipe" Obama took a swipe at Hillary Clinton when asked about his health care plans. Referring to Clinton having formulated her health care plan in secret back in 1993, Obama said he would provide insurance for people who did not have it by "bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are."

Clinton fielded the question reasonably well when Lamb Blitzer lobbed it back to her and also mentioned that "we'll have to persuade Congress to put all of those deliberations on C-SPAN."

If I were either of these candidates, I'd avoid all mention of the public service broadcast from Capital Hill. Frankly, I'd rather see more of them on C-SPAN - and less of them on CNN. I mean, are these guys still collecting their senatorial paychecks? If so, might I ask

WHY?

Tags: media, political rant
humour: annoyed

After years - decades - of being ridiculed and dissed for practically every opinion he has voiced as a US Senator by every talking head and op ed columnist in the mainstream media, the eminence gross of the Kennedy clan is now being treated, by the same people, as the elder statesman of the global community. Why? Because, in endorsing Barack Kumbayama, he tacitly criticized the Clintons. Carve that man's words in stone!

And of what did Teddy's Terrible Tirade consist? Well, he only mentioned Clinton in one paragraph:

But first, let me say how much I respect the strength, the work and dedication of two other Democrats still in the race, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. They are my friends; they have been my colleagues in the Senate. John Edwards has been a powerful advocate for economic and social justice. And Hillary Clinton has been in the forefront on issues ranging from health care to the rights of women around the world. Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support.

Damning stuff. But I guess the fact that Kennedy later singles Obama out as the with the best campaign slogan, it means that Hillary Clinton has the worst:

I am convinced we can reach our goals only if we are "not petty when our cause is so great" - only if we find a way past the stale ideas and stalemate of our times – only if we replace the politics of fear with the politics of hope – and only if we have the courage to choose change.

Barack Obama is the one person running for President who can bring us that change.

Barack Obama is the one person running for President who can be that change.

But, gee - what's someone supposed to say when they endorse a candidate? "Barack Obama is one of several people running for President who can bring us that change," I suppose. I remember when endorsements used to mean endorsing one candidate, not attacking another candidate of the media's choosing. I mean, isn't Kennedy's endorsement equally a denunciation of John Edwards? And Mike Gravel?

Yeah, well, I suppose it's nice to see good ol' Teddy in the spotlight again. Maybe, in another twenty years or so, someone will cover something of substance about the Massachusetts senator...

Tags: media, political rant
humour: irritated

When I'm sitting at my computer in the front room and Sean is in the bedroom sixty feet and five walls away, I can tell when he's watching Fox News because I can hear him screaming. At such times, I've found, I can stroll back to the bedroom, open the door and roar, "Oh, you lying piece of shit!" at the television and Sean will simply reply, "Thank you."

Tags: media
humour: mischievous

Yes, it's that time of decade again, when another cyclic division of linear time passes "Go" - and probably forgets to ask for that $200. And time to look back, as fondly as possible, on the twelve months gone. Or not. I'd planned to post this on New Year's Eve, but 2007 was one of those why-be-bothered years in general.

Plus, I'm in New York for the next week or so and have 1) more free time than usual, 2) decent internet access compared to central Pennsylvania, thanks to ubiquitous wi-fi connections, and 3) little else to do while spending time at Sean's parents' house in Brooklyn. I'm at the keyboard. Let's go.

Politically, it looks as though 2007 was primarily looking forward to 2008 - and the national election which is still 300 odd days away. But who can blame anyone for wanting the Bush administration out of the way as soon as humanly possible? And if that means that we have an earlier primary season than ever before in human history, so be it. Just don't expect me to be very interested. The Bush admin is still doing enough damage that it needs to be monitored as closely as possible - the potential replacements can wait.

So, yeah - the past year saw far too many potentially important people devoting more time to campaigning than actually doing their jobs. And those that weren't preoccupied with their career paths - like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid - were such useless excuses for politicians that they might as well not exist. Indeed, the country would be far better off if neither did exist - their places might be filled by people who could do slightly more than occupy space and waste limited natural resources by sustaining their miserable excuses for human life.

Then again, if they were replaced, it'd probably be by more Democrats - and "Democrat" should soon be appearing in thesauruses around the globe as a synonym for abortive, bootless, counterproductive, expendable, feckless, futile, incompetent, ineffectual, inept, pointless, unproductive, valueless, weak, and/or worthless - and translations thereof in every language that has produced a thesaurus.

The GOP, meanwhile, has spent the year attempting to give new meaning to the words "reckless", "regressive", and "venal" - they can't really further refine the definitions of "avaricious" or "short-sighed", can they? With the likes of Huckabee on the national stage, it remains to be seen whether the definition of "witless" needs to be re-examined.

Enough commentary, on with the lists!

Over-hyped news stories of the year:

1. The "success" of the "surge". Actually, this shouldn't really be considered "over-hyped" so much as wholly invented.
2. The inevitability of Hillary Clinton. Not only do I think she's far from inevitable, this has been going on ever since the Clinton's left the White House. Give it a rest and see what happens.
3. The visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A non-event surrounding a nonentity, surrounded by a lot of nonsense.
4. The unveiling of Windows Vista. *yawn*
5. The arrest of dissidents in Burma. This was