The Nominee

Last night, an African-American man became the presumptive nominee for a major American political party, for the first time in our history. It was a mesmerizing moment, watching Obama speak in front of tens of thousands of people in the Twin Cities. It didn't really hit me, that is, the gravity of his nomination didn't hit me, until that speech. This nation has an absolutely miserable history in regards to race. Unfortunately, even if Obama is elected, this country will still ache from the wounds of racism, from past and present. However, as Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann said, it's a uniquely American situation that Barack Obama now finds himself in. Despite Hillary Clinton and John McCain's best efforts to portray him differently, Barack Obama always was, and in many ways always will be, the underdog. Just four years ago this man was an Illinois State Senator that few people outside of Chicago had ever even heard of. In that period of time he has assembled an electoral coalition of millions of new voters that has the Democratic party in great position for the general election. Very few accomplishments in American political history can match this. We live in a fascinating modern age, and we are privileged to say that we were alive when all this went down.

More Adventures in Catholicism

E.J. Dionne has a good column out today in the Washington Post detailing yet another case of a prominent public figure being denied communion. The only difference is that this time it's a Republican! A Republican by the name of Douglas Kmiec. Kmiec, a pious Catholic and staunch Republican, made the grave error of endorsing Barack Obama for president. Therefore, in the eyes of at least one priest, he is not fit to receive communion. This yet another example of how the Catholic Church is running itself into the ground. Here's the main thrust:

Kmiec, who was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the late 1980s, is supporting Obama despite the candidate's position on abortion, not because of it, partly in the hope that Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility in sexual matters might change the nature of the nation's argument on life issues.

Basically, what we have here is a devoted Catholic favoring a more pragmatic approach to dealing with sexual issues. Well, for the priest involved (whom Dionne does not name at Kmiec's request) and other know-nothings like douchebag-in-chief Benedict the XVI, pragmatism is a disease. Anyone Catholic that dares speak out in support of alternatives to gridlock on the abortion issue, is immediately chastised by ultra-conservative zealots within and without the Catholic Church, as "unChristian" or "sinful."

The only sins being commited in this case are intolerance, and, frankly, gross stupidity on the part of the Catholic Church.

Coldplay - Violet Hill

I like this video...A LOT. It reminds me of the old videos from the Police like "Don't Stand so Close to Me" and "Message in a Bottle." I suppose it's sorta Beatlesish as well. Anyways, enjoy!

The White House, the Press, and Iraq

The headlines have been dominated recently by Scott McClellan's revelations about the Bush administration's and the media's behavior in the run up to the Iraq war. McClellan states in his book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception that Bush had essentially decided to invade Iraq in November of 2001. McClellan also charges the Washington Press Corp with "dropping the ball" during the months preceeding the invasion and being "far too deferential" to the White House. Now, as is evident in the Times article I linked to above, the White House is "oh snap!" about McClellan's book and coward-in-chief Karl Rove, ditz queen Dana Perino, and Dan Bartlett are out in force defending themselves and attacking McClellan. Not surprisingly, they seem to be using the same talking points as the words "puzzled" and "sad" seemed to come up a lot. Also, we hear a lot about how "this doesn't sound like Scott!" The standard response on the left has been "why did he wait so long to provide us with this information?" That's a good question, indeed. Certianly, while it's nice that McClellan is telling us all this now, and saying nice things about Barack Obama, he was complicit in helping to deceive the American public during his time as the White House Press Secretary. However, we should be grateful that this information is even coming out at all. This administration is unprecedented in its secrecy and loyalty, so McClellan should be commended for having the courage to essentially squander many a friendship, and destroy any future he might have had in the Republican Party.

That being said, Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, two journalists that did not "drop the ball" in the run up to the Iraq War, have an absolutely superb post up at their blog with the lovely and talented Nancy Youseff: Nukes & Spooks. Strobel and Landay lay out what really happened in the weeks and months preceeding the invasion. This is one of the best blog posts I've read in sometime and it should really be read by any patriotic American seeking to understand what exactly happened during the march to war.

Also, for a superb interview of Scott McClellan by Keith Olbermann go here, here, here, and here.

P.S. Please read Nukes & Spooks. Warren Strobel, Jonathan Landay, and Nancy Youssef are three of the most gifted journalists still writing today. These three actually deserve the moniker of "journalist." All those that seek honest, critical reporting, should make their blog and McClatchy a go to source for coverage that doesn't toe the Republican Party line.

Idlewild - American English

Spin Magazine once called this song "a prom anthem, only for those kids that didn't go to prom."

Amen to that.

Is MSNBC Pro-Obama?

I usually don't like to put too much stock in any story by Howard Kurtz, but his article in today's Washington Post definately peaked my interest. Kurtz's subject matter is that of MSNBC and it's supposedly "left-leaning" election coverage and "pro-Obama" bend. There's no question that MSNBC is anti-Clinton, and I say that as an Obama supporter. MSNBC's coverage of Hillary Clinton has been absolutely deplorable. Chris Matthews routinely descends into sexist rants against Clinton that would offend the sensibilities of even the most ardently conservative frat boy. That being said, with the exception of Olbermann, the network certainly isn't "pro-Obama." They covered the Reverand Wright scandal and lapel pin controversy just as much as any other media outlet. That being said I can understand why many Clinton supporters label MSNBC "pro-Obama" considering Olbermann's "special comments" against Hillary and Matthew's strangely homoerotic murmurs about Obama. Really though, MSNBC is pro-Obama only to the extent that they

I think that conservatives that complain that MSNBC is "left-leaning" are either way too thin skinned (which of course they are) or incredibly stupid (ok, again). Chris Matthews says nice stuff about Obama, but there is no doubt he is absolutely maddly in love with John McCain. As is Norah O'Donnell, David Shuster, David Gregory, etc., etc., etc. It really irks me when McCain campaign figures complain about MSNBC's coverage, because McCain gets a free ride from everybody, and MSNBC is one of his most frequent drivers (with the notable exception of Keith Olbermann). I certainly have spent many a frustrated night watching many an MSNBC pundit trash the Democratic Party and kick it while it's down over and over and over again. Matthews does this like none other. The man, despite working as a speech writer for Jimmy Carter and an advisor for the great Tip O'Neil, seems to loathe Democrats with every fiber of his being. This is because Matthews treasure character above all other qualities, and that character is that of the alpha-male. Constantly, Matthews rails on Democrats for not being manly enough. The man refuses to stop calling Obama an elitist and even criticized Obama for playing the rich man's game of pool. Matthews along with Russert, constantly tout their blue collar upbringing, but apparently neither of them have ever been to a dive bar in their life. Pool, a rich man's game!?! It costs like 75 cents to play pool! That's a hell of a lot cheaper than bowling! Bowling, in Matthews mind, is the sport of the working people. That's probably true, but if he would take the time to actually, you know, GO TO A BOWLING ALLEY, he would more than likely find that there are almost as many pool tables as there are alleys!

Wow, that was a long tangent into Chris Matthews (I know, tell us how you really feel Scott!). Anyways, my worry here is that MSNBC will listen to this conservative criticism and move to the right. We can't afford to have this happen. I certainly have many issues with MSNBC, but they are my go-to channel for political news. I find that the analysts they have including Racheal Maddow, Jonathan Alter, David Gregory, Pat Buchanan, and numerous others; are the best on TV! MSNBC is growing, and looking more and more like a viable alternative to FOX. Let's hope that they stick what's working and ignore the likes of Terry McAuliffe (candidate for Tool of the Year) and Steve Schmidt.

Huh?

This is weird but oddly cool. It was made using sounds and video from the Disney movie.



Via Buzzfeed.