Photos
In response to Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity critique of the media last weekend, Keith Olbermann, host of The Countdown on MSNBC, announced that he was suspending his popular “Worst Persons” segment, which is exactly what it sounds like, until further notice. Olbermann explained his decision in a formal statement:
The overall message that the tone needs to change, was not lost on any of us. The anger in this news hour was not an original part of it, nor was it an artifice we added to it. It was a response to a threat to this democracy posed by Mr. Bush and now by his lineal descendants. The anger happened, it will still happen, it is not for ratings and it is not ‘get angry first and find a reason later.’
But there is an institutionalization of it that may no longer be valid. That is the ‘Worse Persons in the World’ Segment. Which started, of all things, as a way of defending Tucker Carlson. Its satire and whimsy have gradually gotten lost in some anger, so in the spirit of the thing, as of right now, I am unilaterally suspending that segment with an eye towards discontinuing it. We don’t know how that works long term. We might bring it back. We might bring back something similar to it, might kill it outright, and next week we will solicit your input.
Its just that today, given the serious stuff we have to start covering tomorrow, we think its the right thing to do short term and then we will see what happens. And we’ll also see if anyone else, on tv, or radio, will do something similar.
I think this is a really good thing, especially in light of yesterday’s election. There is a place, obviously, for anger in the political process, but I am not so sure if there is one in the journalistic, though even if there is, I think the observation that anger has become the primary filter through which everything is viewed and disseminated and therefore colored and entrenched is correct (if not a couple years late, actually). I don’t think Keith Olbermann not calling Bill O’Reilly a red-faced punk on MSNBC in the middle of the night is going to change anything about our national discussion, and Bill O’Reilly IS a red-faced punk, but I do respect the consideration that a prominent voice in the debate is at least willing to do some self-reflecting and put some work into making things potentially better rather than just louder.
Some more thoughts, for what they are worth:
Last night, longtime Videogum reader An American Patriot wrote on Twitter that he was “anticipating SOME FULL on existential/POLITICAL meltdown TOMORROW AT @videogum, and ONE comment about “carrying THE FIRE.” If that is really what he was expecting than I think that a) he is going to be disappointed, and b) we’ve made a terrible mistake. Why would anyone have an existential/political meltdown? The results of yesterday’s election had not only been predicted for months, they are completely in line with the ebb and flow of our (#1) country’s political mood swings. We are, first and foremost, an impatient people with ZERO tolerance for things not IMMEDIATELY going the way that we thought they were going to go. (So get ready, John Boehner.) This is not a defense of Barack Obama or democrats in general. Lord knows, they make their own messes. I am just pointing out that we are three years deep into one of the worst economic crises in generations at the same time that we remain embroiled in two foreign wars. So.
“It’s Complicated” — America’s Facebook Status.
There is just nothing to be mad about in all of this. There are a lot of people in America, and they have really different ideas about how things should be. So, America will get what it voted for, and if it turns out that that isn’t what they wanted, they’ll vote for something else. And if it turns out that they don’t even know what they want (DING DING DING) then they’ll just keep making blind guesses in the dark, but eventually we will all be buried in the ground and Christian Shepard will explain that it never mattered who ran the island because we were all going to end up being reuinted with Hurley and Baby Aaron’s Ghost in the end. What I’m saying is, if You Mad, don’t be. You have no reason for it. Would you get mad at the sun or moon for making poorly informed electoral decisions based on false populist rhetoric paid for by secretive billionaires? No. (Just Kidding! KIND OF!)
I’m also not suggesting that Videogum is going to follow in Keith Olbermann’s footsteps. While we completely agree that the rhetoric is overly toxic, and while our finger is always hovering over the reset button, I don’t think we have the same responsibility. We aren’t on television and we don’t wear fancy suits and there’s absolutely nothing paternal or authoritative about our voice. It’s kind of adenoidal, and disappointingly high-pitched. And to be honest, I think Videogum does a pretty decent job for the most part. It has a mean streak, NO DUH, but that mean streak is generally pointed in the right direction (although please feel free to let us/me know when it is not.) In any case, this is all beside the point now anyway, because Videogum’s political bent always flares up around an election (see: Videogum 06/08-11/08) and then fades into the background, because that’s when everyone’s political bent flares up and then fades into the background. Now we and the Basil Marceaux Dot Coms of the world go back to our normal jobs. And we leave those in Washington to do theirs. But we do share, hopefully all of us, the hope that they’ll try their best, and leave things a little better than they found them. Fingers crossed.
Although An American Patriot was right about one thing: everyone SHOULD carry “the fire.” This ash-covered grocery cart with one broken wheel and filled with oily coats isn’t going to push itself to the ocean.
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Thank you, itsahotdog! for posting a picture that proves we don’t all have to be so sad-Keanu or Mad-Mel all the time. People all over the world, join hands, start a love train. A Love Train!
Wait, there was an election yesterday?
“Truth springs from argument amongst friends.” – David Hume
“Dude was always trying to argue with me, for no reason! It was like he just wanted to argue! Eventually I had to change my phone number just to get him to stop calling!” -Anyone who tried to befriend David Hume
“If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant.” – Daniel Faraday
“No he won’t.”
-David Hume
“See you in another life, brotha.” – Desmond Hume
I see a space for sending up the Christine O’Donnells and Alvin Greenes of the world, but honestly, I am a bit relieved. I don’t like Huffingtonpost-gum as much as Fart-gum or Trampoline-gum or WMOAT-gum.
We can’t forget vHarmony.gum, for setting us up with our always wonderful boyfriends and girlfriends!
And of course Birdiegum, the best gum of them all.
Vote for Birdie!
I will truly miss Jimmy McMillan-gum though.
Birdie gum-gums
Werttrew, you want to send them to Space too?
Heh, heh, Boehner.
No one can talk his way out of something than Keith Olbermann, the man is a genius. Also, don’t call him Fox News, DON’T EVER CALL HIM FOX NEWS.
Well said, Dirty Fox News
“When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have no problem with Republicans and/or Democrats in office because I feel that both parties are really pretty close in most cases and we just differ on how to get there.
The problem is that the specific Republicans in office are beholden to a narrow-minded, loud-mouthed fringe minority and the Democrats in office are too willing to concede, even when the other side is not working in good faith. This leads to the surreal stall-fest that we have now, and it is going to get worse.
That said: I do believe that over time, things get better. Most people, no matter the party, are good people. It is a slow and disgusting process, but I do think that we will get there. Yes, there will be some rough years. Yes, we will be angry, sad, disappointed and scared at times, I am sure. But there will, someday I know, be joy. Men and women will be free to marry who they want; to have the families they want; to serve their country or teach or make trampoline accident videos. Working families will be treated by their employers with respect and not as so much cheap fuel for the machine that sucks capital upward. We will not have to choose between “economic progress” and “the environment.”
Someday puppies will ride on hover scooters and kittens will record hit pop songs (feat. Akon). It will take a while, but that is the direction we are going.
Thank heavens. I was worried about Akon.
Mans, you make me believe there is such a thing as rationality.
Mans, I agree that we don’t have to choose between economic progress and the environment.
But(!) a lot of the people who were elected last night don’t believe that there IS any environmental crisis and think that economic policy just means lower taxes and no regulations of any kind. We’ve elected a Congress that simply doesn’t believe there are any problems that are appropriate for them to get involved in except blowing up/deporting brown folks.
But we’re making progress on the puppy scooters.
I agree with you.
See, I believe the children are our are future. I say that we teach them well and let them lead the way and show them all the beauty they possess inside, give them a sense of pride to make it easier. We need to let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be. Everybody is searching for a hero because people need someone to look up to.
And then someday, this country will feel the greatest love of all.
But stupid people are out-breeding the smart people! (source: science)
hear hear! thanks for helping put this in a more positive perspective.
My good Mans, you deserve a slow clap, and gosh darnit, I am going to give it to you:
I’ve been reading this site forever, but I signed up to upvote this. Well said, and I hope you’re right.
I’m just relieved campaign season is over. I’ll admit I was disappointed last night, but not to the point of rage or total despair. At least the Crazy Parade is over for a couple of weeks. And at least Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell have been dispensed with for now. And maybe they’ll start a reality tv show together so we can make fun of them in a more appropriate setting.
Though my neighbors to the east in NC’s 2nd actually did elect that cuckoo bird Renee Ellmers into the House, where I can only assume she’ll be proven as stupid and incompetent as I can only assume she is.
I should have written this guy in for MN govenor.
Democrat or Republican, I think we all can agree: Campaign Ads deserve Keith Olbermann’s “Worst” award
Nice Batgirl avatar!
Thanks, IHaveABadFeelingAboutThis (can I call you Bad Feeling?). I quite like your Vader Monet avatar, too!
It’s weird that Sandra Lee will be serving up her Kwanzaa cake in the governor’s mansion now
Mmm apple pie filling in an angel food cake. So good.
With a little chocolate frosting straight from the plastic canister. And pine nuts.
Twilly, you are a culinary genius.
I try, everyday I try.
Also is it sad that I have the ingredients for the Kwanzaa cake memorized? I could make it from memory.
Don’t forget to mix the cinnamon into the store-bought chocolate icing! That’s the homemade part!
Sandra Lee’s Kwanzaa cake: that’s your homemade cake.
Can you imagine the Tablescape she’ll create?
or the cocktails she’ll imbibe?
Let’s toast with a Fluff’n'Nutter Gin Martini, garnished with a Bacon-Wrapped Maraschino Cherry!
I was disappointed in a lot of the results last night and wondered aloud, sincerely, if maybe now people might be ready for some bipartisanship-less discourse and a friend (my BEST ONE!) told me to ‘fuck off’ because ‘now is not the time.’ I don’t care. I still think people out there are interested in the same things I am: living in the U.S. and not being a jerk about it.
Something I think often gets lost in the shuffle is the fact that, really, all Americans want (or should want) the same thing – to make the country the best that it can be. There may be disagreement about how to do that, or about what qualifies as ‘best,’ but no one is actually running on the “Destroy America and also Eat Puppy Sandwiches” platform. Except for Facetaco, of course, but He Mad.
To be fair, have you tried puppy sandwiches? They’re tail-waggingly good!
You rang?
I think we should be scared not angry. The last time the Republicans had the house with a democratic president they shut down the government and….you know….Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans will basically have two years to try to reverse anything Obama signed into law, including the Health Care bill knowing full well that Obama will veto it, wasting everyones time.
I predict several unsuccessful attempts to impeach Obama and rollbacks of Bills that have been passed in the last four years. Gridlock.
To paraphrase, my father would call it two more years of “bear cubs playing with their dicks.”
Best band name ever.
Your father sounds like the best dude! Can we make him speaker instead?
That’s hilarious! It would be awesome if someone made a website full of funny things their father says that are a little odd and controversial, but endearing at the same time
…that’s right….i’m on to you.
I don’t know about that, but he does have a lot of bear-related humor.
For instance, he had this ornamental charm ring hanging from the rear-view mirror of his Blazer for years and I asked him what it was one time.
“It’s a ‘bear scare’.”
Living in Northeast Indiana, I said, “But there aren’t any bears around here, Dad.”
“Exactly, it’s working.”
Now I want your Dad to marry my Mom so he can be my dad too.
Lisa, I would like to buy your rock.
I’m not mad.
I’m sad and frustrated because, in my opinion, yesterday’s election had a lot more to do with the lies people choose to believe out of fear than it had to do with genuine informed disagreement. It makes me very sad that ultimately, people make very important choices based on their fears instead of using their intellects to arrive at rational conclusions about very real problems.
But we don’t come to Videogum for the politics. We come for the gifs. Take it away, good buddy!
wow that’s long…. (your move monsters)
Been saving this one for a rainy day.
Beat me to it!
Giiiiifs
You and me both, R2D2, Esq.!
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lafa6nT3Et1qzdqpyo1_500.gif
GIVE ME GIFS OR GIVE ME DEATH
Political gif!
Requiem for California’s Dream…
*sigh*
Oh great, now this is all I’m going to think about until I get home tonight. At which point I will abruptly stop thinking all of a sudden for some reason.
R2, I couldn’t agree w/ you more. I say this knowing w/ 88% certainty that we are of differing political parties. I wish schools taught Critical Thinking Skills in civics. I also wish schools taught civics.
For reals, so much political campaigning is designed to manipulate ignorance, rather than inform. That’s fine, if that’s your choice as a candidate — but how the heck does it work so well?
“Knowledge is finite. Ignorance is limitless.”
i knew this would turn into a funny gifs/cute animal pics thread. just what i needed!
2012, you guys. End of the world, but more importantly, next big election cycle. So keep on giffing(?)
Seems like the older I get the more dire and important politics seem. Then I realize that I just understand and pay attention more every year because I’m getting old and withered and interested in the futur and they have always been important and scary and huge. Getting old is the worst you guys!
When the #1 issue most American’s had with candidates was whether or not they appeared elitist, which I choose to take as reading “really smart and lording that over me”, I can’t help but expect we’d vote for the Michelle Bachmans and Christine O’Donnells of the country. As long as we continue to allow this lie that being the best and brightest should keep you out of politics we’ll keep getting snake oil salesman.
LIke in Wisconsin: RON JOHNSON He’s a millionaire plastic manufacturer from Oshkosh. OSHKOSH! I know all politicians are terrible and that of course includes Russ Feingold, but at least he knew what he was doing and he didn’t vote for the War on Iraq! This idiot Johnson would barely say what his political plans were and that we’d see after he was elected. How is that better!!!!!
Don’t blame me guys, I voted for Kodos.
Every day that I wake up and I’m not following Ashton Kutcher on Twitter is a good day.
Guess what?
Every twitter account you follow is secretly written by Ashton Kutcher. Consider yourself PUNK’d. (It’s a really elaborate PUNK.)
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
All I did was campaign for people to vote. I didn’t say vote for this candidate or that party. I just said, “Please exercise your right to vote.”
I’m a history grad student. I have read a lot about how people in power constantly fight to disenfranchise those who don’t understand what their rights mean to them. I know people who, every time voter rights come up, argue that there should be tests to limit who can vote. These are smart people, who are and hang out with your future leaders, politicians, presidents.
Exercising your right to vote is a fundamental duty in our country and is one of the very few ways we can express our will clearly and plainly. Giving up that voice and refusing that duty means that you are giving up one of the natural rights you have as a citizen of this country. If you do not vote, if you do not have a voice, if you do not do your duty, then what does citizenship even mean?
At the very least, please reevaluate what voting really means.
A’ight, if that’s how you want to play it. It’s also everybody’s right to be an asshole. I am all about the rights today.
Seriously, Justice, do you know how many people I have heard say that Obama “only won because people who never voted before showed up”? And they don’t mean this as kudos on his ability to inspire; basically they would prefer some kind of restriction on who can vote.
(I have heard 3 people say this. Which is a lot, when you realize it means there are 3 living Americans who are angry at equality and want it lessened.)
Oh yes, I have heard that a lot before. If people continue to exercise their right though, the more resistance to it being taken away. So everybody should vote and strip these people of even the faintest idea that they will somehow be able to get enough power to disenfranchise the citizen.
Also, brush your teeth, call your mother, and for God’s sake, tuck your shirt in.
I have angrily canceled my celebratory weed-vacation to California. Your loss, Hollywood.
It’s called “weed-cation”, newbie.
You’re better off. The Hollywood Terrorists would probably try to kill you anyway.
Fair enough, PattyO, but AT LEAST MR. FREEZE IS NO LONGER GOING TO BE OUR GOVERNOR
I GUESS we could just start our own Worst Persons in the World segment. Oh, wait…
Thinking more on it, Olbermann is a terrible person to have be the face of this post. He may be suspending “The Worst Persons in the World” but do you see the way he gets sometimes when someone even drops the name Sarah Palin? Dude goes nuts! Even after the Rally, he tweeted something to the effect that Stewart was wrong and that the left needed to be just as vocal, if not more, because if “we tone it down, they will just GET LOUDER.”
I think the election put the Rally in perspective, and everyone is finally getting it. Even Olbermann. I do agree with him however, that the right may only get louder. Yikes.
#politicsisdepressinggum
Keith Olbermann = the potential Bill O’ Reilly of the left
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Democratic Pundit Master Yoda
“battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster.”
oh no! is this why we are all monsters?
[cue lawblog's song being stuck in my head all day]
I love America. I want my gay friends to get married and the wars to end and blah blah blah, and my personal politics are formed because of that. But I really like the sentiment that Gabe is going for, which is “relax if you were thinking about not relaxing.” I just love it here. I’m sure I would also love being a citizen of New Zealand, but the U.S. is where I live now, and I think it works.
That said, I will be pretty bummed if Michael Bennet doesn’t pull it out “Franken style.”
Back in her collegiate days Twilly was mighty political. I volunteered for campaigns and got angry. But now that I’m older, I’ve decided that I like to know what’s going on but I’m not nearly as emotionally invested as I was. Do I think folk like Aaron Schock are jackasses? Yes. But it’s not something I’m going to stew on for days and write angry internet comments about.
With that said, I am glad the election is over and I won’t be hearing about it all the time. Besides, we Chicagoans have a Mayoral race to look forward to. It’s gonna be CRAZY!
Seriously though, Chicago mayoral race is gonna be the best.
I shook Rahmbo’s hand outside the Sheridan redline station once. I stared at his four fingers before I shook his hand, and we shared a misunderstanding in our common language.
And yeah, this mayoral race is gonna be bananas.
“If
don’t be.” – Gabe
Best advice ever.
All this sound a little too reasonable coming from a former Fox News Contributor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VpEoFqNMxk
“Gabe is nice? Is he taking breaks from being nice when he blogs about people’s faces melting off, or which people are garbage monsters, and deciding who should be sent to jail or the bottom of Whoops Ocean? Let’s be honest, he’s really funny but he’s a dick.”
our boyfriend XX999xXXx
I am terrible at understanding the nuances of politics and I don’t pay as much attention as I should to the United States and its government officials. My parents are conservative, so I know I hold some of those values, but I’m also a 20-something artist who loves stand-up comedy, so that’s pretty anti-establishment. I don’t affiliate myself with a specific party or a side, and I couldn’t if you asked me to. I’m not educated enough with any certainty to say “this party shares my core beliefs.”
A friend of mine on facebook posted a link to a website where you can type in where you live and then do this thing where you click on hot button issues (immigration, abortion, gun laws, capital punishment, etc etc), click ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether you’re for or against the issue, then rate your concern on a scale of 1 to 5. As you do this the flash program sifts through all the candidates in your district on a graph chart and sorts them from left to right. On the left are candidates you are not compatible with, and on the right are the most compatible. They even include the percentage. After you finish all the questions you can check out the candidates stats and general info etc. It was really a very fun program to interact with.
After I did all this I found that the candidates I had the most in common with were Libertarians. I thought to myself, “Oh, this is just fucking great. Now what do I do?”
Vote Libertarian?
Ron Paul 2012? That truly would be a sign of the apocalypse.
You mean Bob Barr. Ron Paul is republican.
Dude, the summation of a Libertarian is Fiscal conservatism accompanied with social liberalism. A lot of artist types and younger people (like us) would actually find that they agree with a lot of what they believe in. Its just so many of the libertarian politicians either don’t get fair coverage by the media (because the media is incapable of understanding complexities in any issue and can only menatlly handle D or R) or they are completely fucking crazy and give the values a bad name.
also, that is so awesome, that out of all words, i misspell ‘mentally’
I hear you, sadmalander. My “What now?” question was along the lines of “my party will lose always.”
Not that I’m saying the Libertarian Party is my party. The highest percentage in common I had was a candidate with 73%. I won’t go steady with a party until we’re in A- or higher territory.
i used to lean libertarian! it was really useful for getting republican friends to listen to you and for others to laugh at you.
then i went to grad school and learned more about social justice and realized that for ME, things like trying to equally distribute wealth, right historical wrongs targeted at ethnic and socioeconomic groups, etc. were A-OK. i have a lot of privileges and i’m willing to give some of them up. others aren’t.
A few good things for the downtrodden to keep in mind:
1. A lot of liberals who were voted out where voted out because they were doing a good job. While they may have been replaced by a lot of people who have questionable aims, elected officials should earn reelection. Rotating out the bad is good for democracy.
2. While Republicans made huge gains, they were able to stop the Horsemen of the Apocalypse a.k.a. the Tea Party from a number more meaningful than a handful.
3. The Democrats have had to cater to Blue Dogs and have had problems with party discipline in Congress. Now Republicans have their own version – the Tea Party – to deal with. Opposition to Democrats did not make Republicans safe even in victory.
4. Obama is still president, and even if Congress manages to do something batshit crazy like repeal health reform or abolish the Civil Rights act or whatever, the president can still veto. At the very least, the most heinous legislation will not pass.
5. The absolute imperative of bipartisanship to get anything passed will insure that all sides have to compromise, and that progressive legislators will still have a voice in legislation as part of their party.
6. As has been seen in the last two years, a party with a minority in either house can wield its power almost more effectively than the majority.
7. Videogum will be here to help you keep your sanity.
Bonus: Boehner’s last name looks like Boner.
Dammit. #1 is supposed to say “weren’t” doing a good job. My kingdom for a five minute edit option!
Because of your avatar, I would appreciate it if after you listed all those talking points you said something like-
“Now all we need is a little Energon, and a lot of luck.”
or
“Do not grieve. Soon we shall be one with the Matrix.”
or
“We must have courage. We can’t ignore the danger. We must conquer it.”
or
“VGum Monsters, log in and roll out (the jokes)!”
or
“Dinobots! Destroy Devastator!!!”
(and for the record, I had to google those quotes. I watched the show when I was a child and don’t remember much of it now)
your new avatar is probably the greatest thing ever
I’m glad you think so!
Since you bring up his avatar, i think its appropriate to remind everyone that Go-bots came first and are infinitely better and cooler than Transformers. There. I said it.
Cy-Kill approves of this message:
Missed opportunities…! I mourn them.
Blue Dogs got what they deserved, by not supporting real progressive change. Getting rid of them makes room for real Progressives to rise up! Starting now.
Seriously. That’s the best piece of news to come out of yesterday is that the House Progressive Caucus now makes up a plurality of House Democrats.
By “Today We Are All Keith Olbermann” I think Gabe was trying to say “Today We Are All Yogurt Cup”….right?
“Hope on top, fruit on the bottom. An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait.”
Oh how I miss, Mitch Hedberg…
Upvote for Teddy Fuckin’ Roosevelt a.k.a. the Real Motherfucking Batman.
Upvote for Mitch references.
Gabe summed things up much better than I could ever hope to, so I’ll just throw one observation out on the table. One of the things that made me almost equally parts happy and melancholy was that Meg Whitman lost her bid for CA governor. For a person to spend over $140 MILLION DOLLARS of their own money in the hopes of being elected just seems downright sad, and I’m glad all you Californians weren’t overly influenced by her money and “if I can run a business I can run a government” rhetoric.
Of course the flip/melancholy side to this is that $140 million was literally wasted…. just completely flushed down the drain. With all her influence, Whitman might have done exponentially better in the polls had she capped her expenses at say, $50 million, then spent the rest establishing a school to help underprivileged learn computers or something.
Not wasted! All of the ads made and ad time bought and signs made and transportation costs and stuff were spent in ways that keep people employed! If she hadn’t run, it would have been money she just sat on and passed down to her terrible, terrible children.
(Really, look her kids up. “Entitled” doesn’t begin to describe them.)
that money wasn’t wasted at all- it went straight into the economy- local radio and TV stations, newspapers, magazines, campaign workers- i loved watching meg whitman and linda mcmahon and sharron angle lose, because the economy benefited wonderfully from their campaigns, and yet we don’t have to live with their horribly misguided choices- everybody wins!
except kentucky- you guys have rand paul to deal with now- yikes
“At least we still have bourbon.” -Kentucky
Hey hey hey, let’s be accurate here, fellow citizen: she spent at least 165 MILLION DOLLARS. And she promised to deport her housekeeper of 10 years, because Mexican.
Yarr, her housekeeper who she was was “like family.” Family you’d deport if it would help you get a promotion, apparently!
*who she said was “like family.” Oy.
If you just shut out the racket (racket being talking heads, over zealous opionated “journalists”) then you discover your life really isn’t that affected by the day to day running of government – or at least the minutiae they “report” on.
Read videogum, watch hulu, don’t watch the news and your life will be much less rackety. It’s lovely.
Like, how many times are you going to want to get married? Most people only have weddings a few (dozen) times in their whole life. So if the government won’t let you marry the person of your choice I guess it might “ruin” that one day when you would have gotten married, but it’s still just one day so don’t get worked up about it, you guys!
most salient point.
this is why people MAD.
That’s why I said minutiae. Of course it affects people in those massive ways, but watching news programs about it day in and day out only muddles the point.
To sum up Gabe’s post: “You can come back now Godsauce.”
I’m sad because I have to put up with Rick Perry for 4 more years. Boourns.
For Reals. Bill White was great Mayor, I was hoping that he would be a great governor.
me too. #texasgum
Emperor Perry. Gawd. There is no end in sight.
I hate him so much. Have you ever seen him in person? Dude needs to invest in some sunblock and laser peel treatments ASAP.
At this point I’m just depressed at how uninformed people can be and how obvious it is that our officials aren’t even trying at this point. The Tea Party candidates throw out the biggest cliches without even trying to attach any meaning or context to them (see: Rand Paul’s entire acceptance speech), and demand on “fiscal responsibility” without giving any indication of how they plan to enforce it. I’m all for cutting spending and balancing the budget, but you can’t just say, “we’re going to cut discretionary spending!” and leave it at that. Are we going to cut defense spending? No. Medicare? No. Social Security? No. Are we going to raise taxes? NEVAR! Where the hell is this money going to come from, then? It’s like someone who is completely broke saying they want to keep all of their main expenses and work fewer hours. The saddest part of this is that this election has made me root for a bunch of incompetent democratic incumbents who DESERVE TO LOSE THEIR SEATS.
The one thing that legitimately pissed me off was Russ Feingold losing his seat. There were plenty of spineless Democrats that I won’t miss, but Feingold actually had integrity. He didn’t vote for the Patriot Act, he voted against the Iraq War, and he was the Senate (and probably the entire legislature’s) most active proponent of campaign finance reform. So what does this get him? He gets beaten by a HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT. But Ron Johnson totally deserved to win. He doesn’t need to outline any of his plans because, you know, business sense, or something. Fuck Wisconsin. If this was South Carolina I’d be happy Feingold had lasted as long as he did, but Wisconsin should know better.
I know! I vote in Wisconsin and seeing Feingold lose just broke my heart. I’m a Kentucky native, and so I’m used to seeing my preferred candidate lose elections–and when it comes to Kentucky, while I’m thoroughly ashamed of Rand Paul, at least it’s not a surprise. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is supposed to have this great progressive tradition and Feingold was so upstanding, and I was thrilled to vote here, and now I just feel betrayed…
It was so nice to have this be the first thing I read this morning considering I went to sleep enraged and pretty (read: very) drunk. This is just what I needed to help with the anger/hangover. Thanks Gabe.
I like how KO ignores how WPITW consisted of celebrity gossip as often as political commentary, usually him upset because some pop starlet or other did something too slutty and/or druggy for his taste.
And the whole idea of his having focused (non-celeb-related) anger on “Bush and…his…descendants” is a red flag, since neither Bush nor his descendants have been running anything other than SCOTUS for a time now, and during which unemployment has reached a very anger-justifying 10+% while home foreclosures have continued, which facts pretty much nobody in office seems much bothered by.
It actually was (and remains) a good opportunity for the rare media figure with a record for criticizing the GOP to be like “hey Democrats, wake the fuck up, people are pissed and with good reason.” Though ultimately I think KO and Rachel Maddow slept on this the same reason the administration has, which is that their friends are all zillionaires who if they do lose their job are mainly concerned that they have to draw on their zillions in retirement savings before they’d planned on it and hence the real priority is to get “the” market back in shape.
Yes and no; Bush may not be president now, but the suggestion that the policies put into effect during his time in office have long term affects that we are feeling now isn’t an absurd one. Add into the fact that the problems we’re facing now aren’t just eight years of GWB, but years of a Republican controlled Congress under Clinton, four years of GHWB, and eight years of Reagan and the argument really becomes about Bush and his predecessors. This kind of systemic crap takes a long time to clean out; and that the electorate apparently expects Obama to clap his hands and instantly make it better kind of isn’t helping.
Or I could fuck up replying! That’s what I get for posting during class.
right after Obama won his bid for the Presidency, I said that he should go after all the criminals of the previous administration. My argument was that if those miscreants were not punished for what they did, they would have gotten away with it and would be emboldening the next batch.
Well, Obama tried to strike a conciliatory tone. Pelosi said investigating the previous administration was off the table. And Obama tried for two years to win bipartisan support. and look where it got him.
The only gains Obama made were when he ditched bipartisanship and forced things through. Now we’ve got the same cockroaches scurrying back into power. Obama should have put some Bush cronies in prison, even at the cost of his presidency, because the republic demands it, and what good are any of these “gains” if the next President can simple undo it all?
I’m not Keith Olbermann, I still have a job.