I am having a hard time describing how awesome this is.
Apparently some commentators have been discussing the politics of the Old Republic and the Jedi.
I may not have said it here, but I am a recovering Star-Wars-aholic from my childhood. Now that it has collided head-on with my current fan-dom of politics, it threatens a dangerous relapse.
Damn you, Atlantic Wire, damn you...
It really is sad that people who have this kind of voice can get away with saying stuff like this. And this . And this. (wherin Glenn Beck makes his own chief researcher out to be an idiot. Although, granted, whoever gather's Beck's facts, probably is.)
If the importance/influence of the tea party (and the leeches like Beck that have latched onto it) weren't so grossly inflated by national media, this would make the FIHB plummet. Still, it's going to drop a little bit.
Twice in one day, two seperate Atlantic writers have nailed what I've been trying to say to the tee.
This is nothing short of glorious.
I really don't have anything to say about this, other than that I agree whole-heartedly.
As the whole Shirly Sherrod thing continues to embarass cable news on an unprecedented scale, the networks are alternatively flaying themselves and pointing fingers.
Guess which one Fox News is doing? That's right, the whole debacle was was President Obama's fault.
Nevermind the fact that it was Fox News who took the story from incindeary partisan hooliganry to mainstream, million-viewer importance. Never mind that, at no point, did Fox (or any cable TV news outlet) take the time to call Sherrod, ask for the whole tape, or talk to the farmer, any one of which would have put the brakes screeching on a story that should never have been -- and any one of which an intern at a more stable medium would have tried reflexively before running with unverified, out-of-context video. Nevermind the fact that Fox News would have been screaming reverse racism if Sherrod hadn't gotten fired.
Never mind that any politician, no, any human, would probably act hastily when the entirety of cable news is telling the world one of their workers is a racist.
This story is, perhaps better than any other, a perfect example of the flaws of the 24-hour instant information media culture. In fact, it's hard to envision a scenario that could illustrate those flaws better.
This is a story made up entirely by cable news, blown out of proportion entirely by cable news, and fantastically, hilariously exploded entirely by cable news. It wasn't a story. Nothing happened. But a network with biases jumped on a similarly-aligned blog -- a damn blog -- and turned nothing into a very big something without taking the time to verify it.
In this long-ass, totally useless, kinda-sorta Mea Culpa, Roland Martin totally misses the point. He says this thing is a result of a nation still struggling with race issues.
Yeah, we're still struggling with race issues. But that's not the point. This isn't a story, isn't the great big mistake it is because we have race issues. It's the great big mistake it is because TV news media trample on those issues just like every other issue in their haste to break a big story.
Are other media outlets perfect? Of course not. Do we have weaknesses the others don't? Of course.
But newspapers didn't make this non-story happen. In fact, newspapers are barely mentioning it -- the one I work for certainly isn't. That's because we aren't so worried about the scoop or about being the first to make news that we sacrifice the steps necessary to make sure the facts are straight.
Which is exactly what happened here.
So the Tea Party Caucus is apparently a thing now.
The Republican Party is still at war with itself. And the wrong side is winning.
Even if it gains a bunch of members, the caucus has to gain power. This means one of three scenarios.
My odds:
A.) The Tea Party Caucus gains power, pushes via grass roots methods an already partisan, far-right Republican Caucus to become more partisan and more extreme. It does. A solely partisan, far-right party gets beaten soundly in elections. (5%)
B.) The Tea Party Caucus gains power, pushes via grass rootsan already fairly far-right Republican Caucus to become more partisan and more extreme. It doesn't. A disorganized, self-foot-shooting party gets beaten soundly in elections. (25%)
C.) The Tea Party Caucus is just another publicity stunt, doesn't really affect the balance of power. Nothing changes. (70%)
I have a feeling this is going to be prescient.
The money shots:
"For all it's energy, the tea party has not had the chance to demonstrate the same sustained capacity for winning methodology and follow-through."
"The Tea Party may have an admirable drive, but it is an indisputable reality that the same purity of view that has allowed the movement to dominate many primaries leaves the GOP vulnerable in November."
This is just pitiful, really.
Issues? Nah, screw it. Let's make fun of him for playing golf. That's a mature, legitimate criticism, isn't it? Not like what a, oh, say, 3rd grader would do?
The DNC should post Obama's schedules for the past three weeks. I betcha golf doesn't make up 1% of his waking hours.
This couldn't really happen, could it?
The headline "Snoop Dogg Tried to Rent Lichenstein" is simultaneously hilarious and sad.
First of all, who in the hell is this property agent who claims he could rent the whole country? And is he serious?
I mean, I know it's only ~60 square miles, but still. Aren't there, uh, sovereignty issues here?
You know that fancy new iPhone 4 everybody couldn't wait to get their hands on?
Yeah, it's broken.
Consumer reports "cannot recommend buying it."
Not even "Well, you oughtta buy a Droid, but this'll do." Nope, it's just straight up failed the test.
Now ain't that a shame?
Agree with the fundamental principles here.
I agree that Obama has been incredibly productive thus far. And I believe he's getting tarred and feathered with misinformation by Republicans willing to go on the attack 24/7 on everything. And I agree that he doesn't have Dick Cheney.
What I fail to see is how that's a bad thing.
Obama is actually sticking to the promises he made about non-partisanship for the most part. He is not constantly hammering at his opponents -- when he does, it makes front-page headlines simply because it is rare -- and he isn't sic'ing any war dogs on Republicans.
That's how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to argue why your policies make sense -- not why your opponents are idiots.
The foregone conclusion that Somaiya assumes here is that Obama can't win by playing the way he is. He thinks the Republican assaults on his programs will doom the president. But I don't know if that's true.
Remember, anyone who isn't a Republican or stupid sees that the Republican message is purely, simply, anti-Obama. It's so blindingly obvious that Republicans have no message of their own, and only construe messages in predictable gut-reactions to what Obama says.
I think, deep down, Americans know this. And they hate it.
So guess who the damn communist Muslims are after now?
Wonder Woman.
That's right. By taking the American flag off of her costume, DC Comics is killing America.
Sigh.
This is seriously a thing, isn't it? Fox News is actually arguing this, aren't they?
