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Morning Seditionists

Finally Friday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 20, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 41 Comments

When it comes to the future of the human race, sometimes I’m hopeful. Mostly, not so much. While I, personally, have no desire to suffer and die, I’m pretty sure the universe would be better without us. If you’ve ever thought otherwise, sit down and watch Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit, and the Era of Predatory Lenders.

It’s not that I think we’re all as horrible as these people are – or even that more than a small percentage of humans are despicable. It’s that we – the vast majority – allow these scumbag bottom feeders to rule the world.

And that’s why the sooner we make room for a species that won’t poison the planet we were lucky enough to have been given, the better.

Thursday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 19, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 36 Comments

Despite the lateness of the season, yesterday was potato planting day in DC. Other than that, as far as I can tell absolutely nothing else happened in the world. Thank goodness. We all needed a day off.

Wednesday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 18, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 17 Comments

So, it’s Wednesday. Yep, sure is.

Download Day Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 17, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 23 Comments

If you want to be part of setting a Guinness World Record (turns out it had nothing to do with beer; go figure), today’s the day. The good folk over at Mozilla are trying to set a record for the most software downloads in 24 hours with the official release of FireFox 3. So get over there and start clicking (after 10 AM, PDT).

Monday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 16, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 21 Comments

I’m still pretty devastated by the loss of the 21st century’s incarnation of Edgar R. Murrow. It’ll be all I can do to drag myself to work today. I think a national day of mourning (or at least a national morning of mourning) should be declared. But I’ll try to persevere. I need to get through this day since the season premiere of Weeds is on tonight. Sadly, I don’t know any Nancy Botwins these days, so I won’t be able to appropriate the necessary substances to properly appreciate the show. But, we all do what we can.

Booblehead Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 15, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 16 Comments

Happy Father’s Day to all you guys who managed to slip one past the goalie.

As you might suspect, NBC will be devote the whole hour today to Tim Russert, as Tom Brokaw hosts a special potato salad edition of Press the Meat. In addition to Brokaw, the folks lined up to completely ignore real news today include some guy from MSNBC named Mike Barnicle, creepy couple James Carvill and Mary Matalin, MTP producer Betsy Fischer, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, PBS’s Gwen Ifill, and Maria ‘Skeletor’ Shriver.

Bush Buddy Bobby Schieffer hosts a fair and balanced look at “Campaign ’08’ on Faze the Nation, with Louisiana’s Republican Governor, Bobby Jindal, asshole Newt Gingrich, and Jim “Art” Vandehei of the ever incorrect Politico.

Speaking of Fair and Balanced, on Fux News Sunday, Weaselface Wallace has icky Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, ND Senator Byron Dorgan, Red Cavaney, president and CEO, American Petroleum Institute (on to tell us how bad he feels about all the record profits the Oil Industry is making), the usual group of Fuxheads, and, channeling the ghost of Josef Goebbels, the Pillsbury Dough Nazi, Karl Rove.

Speaking of Goebbels, on This Weak with George Snufalufagus, we get into the ‘big issues’ with John Edwards and Fred Thompson. Fred Thompson? Really? I guess maybe they need somebody to make John McCain look more lifelike or something. Plus there’s a roundtable of Robert Reich, former pentagon spokesbitch Torie Clarke, the depressingly stupid Jake Tapper, and George :jerk: Will.

On CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer it’s the always disgusting John Boehner, KP’s Gov, Janet Napolitano, Chris Van Hollen of MD, Arlen Specter, McCain’s Economic Adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin,and his counterpart from the Obama campaign, Dan Tarullo, plus Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Later, on 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl tells us we need to get some sleep, and Morley Safer tells us that Denmark is the happiest country in the world. Well good for them.

Enjoy the day. I’ll probably just sprawl across the davenport of despair.

Flag Day Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 14, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 43 Comments

Sadly, our flags are all at half-staff today as we mourn the loss of not only a great journalist and a great American, but a great Buffalonian.

You know, when I did two years lived in Buffalo, one of the teevee stations had a “what does Buffalo mean to you” commercial running constantly. They’d say “the Bills” or “the Sabres” or whatever. And then they’d end with “it’s the weather. That crazy weather. Now that’s Buffalo.”

That commercial used to piss my friend Pat (a native) off to no end, since it was, well, pretty stupid. If they’d have asked me, I’d have said “the bars close at 4 am, now that’s Buffalo.”

Anyway, Timmy, in a lot of ways, was “Buffalo.” The epitome (superficially, at least) of that big-hearted, big-headed, affable, working class Western New Yorker. Of course, he wasn’t actually working class, and he was a poor excuse for a journalist (or maybe just the perfect example of how far teevee journalism has fallen), but I bet he really was a likable fellow, and I bet his colleagues really do feel bad about his death. Hell, I feel bad, and I never even knew him.

It’s always sad when somebody young (and, at my age, 58 definitely qualifies as young) passes away, and it’s sad for Tim’s dad and his wife and kid. But that sad story is repeated hundreds – thousands, no doubt – of times a day, every day. And nobody really seems to notice, let alone care.

To what extent do we hold ‘journalists’ like Russert responsible for the death and destruction in Iraq (among other places) that they’ve enabled by their tacit (if not overt) support of crazy King George and his Prince of Darkness regent Darth Cheney? And for the incredibly sorry state of our political system, really. Instead of getting the answers to the important questions, the media is now tasked with providing ratings-ready kabuki theater that ultimately means nothing and is useless.

Look at this past primary season, for instance. Regardless of who you may have supported or how you feel about the outcome, we just spent six or so months on the Seinfeld election; a campaign about nothing. No issues were raised or discussed. It was all about lapel pins and “3 AM” and whether landing in Bosnia was really as scary as you remember, and a whole lot of absolute bullshit. All driven by the inability of the media to believe that “we the people” care (or deserve to know) about anything substantive.

Not to lay this all at Tim Russert’s feet, of course. He was just one of many all-too-willing (and easily replaceable) cogs in a profit-driven machine. Not designed to make a profit off ‘news’ coverage, necessarily, but designed to make it possible for the corporations that own the media and our government to earn record profits. If they need to throw a few hundred million dollars at flashy graphics and propaganda designed to drag us into a war that will net billions in profits for the oil industry, no problem.

Russert was happy to do his part, and had he felt a twinge of conscience, there’d have been plenty of people ready to take his place (no doubt plenty of young eager vultures are already scrambling to take his place).

So, no, I don’t demonize Timmy. But I can’t bring myself to sing his praises – or pretend that the noble profession of journalism has lost a hero. I feel sad in the same way that I mourn the loss of any human being with friends and family that cared for them. I just wish that our ‘media’ could muster up a fraction of the compassion they feel for the passing of Tim Russert for the damage they’ve enabled over the past eight years.

But, as my dad used to say, wish in one hand and shit in the other, and see which fills up faster.

Friday The Thirteenth Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 13, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 30 Comments

Ooh. Scary day. Thursday the twelfth wasn’t a picnic either.

But, it’s Balloon Fest weekend.

Balloon Fest

Thursday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 12, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 47 Comments

Another nice (cool) day today before things turn to shit and go back to the 90’s tomorrow. To make matters worse, it’s Balloon Festival weekend, so no park for the pooches this weekend. Oh well, time to make the donuts.

Wednesday Open Thread

Posted by pjsauter on June 11, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized  | 66 Comments

I’m gonna cop out, and just copy this, from Free Press:

Rupert Murdoch and his on-air bully Bill O’Reilly launched a laughable attack against Free Press, the media reform movement, and quality journalism everywhere.

Murdoch uses his media empire to attack his political foes and — not to inform citizens or tell the truth. The fight for media reform is about regular people like you and me fighting undue corporate control of the media. This kind of abuse of media power aggravates progressives and conservatives alike.

Visit the link below to sign the letter and thank Bill O’Reilly for proving once again that Fox News Channel has nothing to do with real journalism in America.

Take action at: https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?id=269

Speaking of O’Reilly, have a good hump day. Oh, and John McCain, John McCain, John McCain.