Are we clear?

Are we clear?

Crystal.

How do I love thee, David Pogue?

I'm hoping if you use the internet, which you do almost by definition if you're reading this, you've been following — even peripherally — the whole SOPA/PIPA controversy. (By the way, doesn't the British pronunciation of that word — con-TRAH-versy — sound so much more elegant than ours?)
As with most controversies, the right and wrong on this one is not clear-cut. Not exactly. The goal of finding a way to better protect copyrights and reduce online piracy is in and of itself a pretty good idea. The way Congress has chosen to approach achieving that goal, however? Not so good.
David Pogue — my all-time favorite geek-gadget-tech-cool-things columnist — took a step back for a better look at the issue in yesterday's blog post, Put Down the Pitchforks on SOPA. I highly recommend you read it — only Pogue could so clearly break down the issue and the merits and flaws of the opposing positions, while still getting in zingers like these:

"In a perverse stroke of curiosity, I thought maybe I’d actually study these bills."

"For the record, I think the movie companies have approached the digital age with almost slack-jawed idiocy."

"In this case, the solution is to work on the language of the bills to rule out the sorts of abuses that the big Web sites fear. (And to fix the other minor point, which is that the bills won’t work....) "

AmericanCensorship.org did this great infographic on SOPA/PIPA (click on it so it gets big enough to actually read — it's pretty nifty).

And for those of you keeping track — I haven't forgotten I owe you the list of the other nine EGOT champs. Patience, grasshopper.

Q: what channel is Mike Tyson's TV show on?

A: Animal Planet.

I laughed so hard when I heard that, I fell off my couch. Because, really, what other channel would his show be on?

But it got me thinking... slightly tangentially, as per usual. I'm not a reality TV show fan, at all, but perhaps, if some of them were tweaked just a bit?

Announcing this season's all new Reality TV shows!

Survivor, starring Donald Trump, hosted by Donald Trump, and guest starring Donald Trump. Guess who's not getting voted off the island?

The Amazing Race, with Sarah Palin. "It's not how far she gets... it's what happens along the way!" (With guest appearances by Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee).

The Biggest Loser, hosted by Bill Maher and featuring Glenn Beck, Mel Gibson, Dr. Laura, John Galliano, Michael Vick and several surprise guests. "After years of being themselves, eight people begin a journey together to become people worth knowing."

Desperate Housewives starring Mrs. Spitzer, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Ensign, Mrs. Letterman, Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Sanford, and Mrs. Woods, hosted by Jesse James.

Maybe reality TV isn't so bad, after all.

I bet he's good at Scrabble too

Rare is the show that can make me laugh out loud.

This is Jon Stewart on Fox & Friends' "discussion" of George Axelrod's appearance on Jon Stewart talking about MMS and the phenomenon know as "blaming it on Bush." I recommend the section between 3:08 and 4:38, if you don't want to watch an 8 minute clip. It's all funny, but that's the sweet spot.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Blame
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

YES! It's a VIDEO! Don't see it? Click here and watch it and shut up already.

No, really?

This just in: "Health care costs too expensive, Americans say."

This latest newsflash is courtesy of a poll conducted by CNN. Tune in tomorrow to see the results of their next groundbreaking survey: "are you worried about the economy?"

May I propose a new tag line?

"When it's people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible.
When it's an insurance company, they call it... not being AIG."

Hey, guess what? There's a video here. Yeah, really. Click here to see it if you can't.

Couldn't really be better timing for Liberty Mutual's ad campaign, huh?

... back to Krugman

When you quote someone's tweet on Twitter, it's called "retweeting"—I don't know the term for doing the same thing in the blogosphere. Even without a name for it, I'm doing it anyway. Here is Krugman's post from yesterday:

I’m as cynical as they come. Even so, I’m shocked by the total intellectual collapse of the Republican Party in the face of this economic crisis.

I suggested a little while ago that the GOP has become the party of Beavis and Butthead, reduced to snickering at line items in legislation that sound funny. And we’re not just talking about the usual crazies: we’re taking about Saint John McCain, cracking jokes about “Mormon crickets” and “beaver management” when a minute or two on Google reveals that these are, in fact, serious issues.

But it’s getting truly serious when the House minority leader — essentially, the nation’s second-ranking Republican (after Rush Limbaugh) — declares that the answer to the economy’s downward spiral is a spending freeze. That’s not a retrogression to Herbert Hoover; even Hoover knew better than that.

I’d really like to see some genuine bipartisanship in America. But that can’t happen until we start having at least somewhat sane partisans.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Actually, I couldn't have said it at all, but I found it, I read it, and I posted it. That's gotta count for something.

Nobel Laureate gets real

What would we do without our Nobel Laureate, Mr. Paul Krugman?

Who, evidently, had to set Joe Scarborough right. Wow, Scarborough was off-track? Again? Shocking.

Evidently, the other morning Scarborough was ticking off the similarities of the current economic downturn with the one in the early 1980s, and wondering why we don't just do what we did that time? Well, says Krugman, "it's the zero lower bound, stupid." No, seriously, that's exactly what he said. Check it out on his blog.

He also said, a bit more clearly, "Right now, the interest rate is zero. The [Federal Reserve] can't rescue us this time, and that's why we can't do the things we did in the '80s."

I just love it when the people who really do know call out the people who really don't. Score one for the brainiacs. So what if we can't get a date?

McCain the tweet. I repeat.

Okay, so first off, "to tweet" is the verb form of the micro-blogging site Twitter. Secondly, McCain, who during his campaign appeared not to know what a Blackberry (the phone, not the fruit) was, has been tweeting since January. This time, I'm not actually calling our esteemed Senator a twit. This time.

On February 27th, the Senator tweeted his "TOP TEN PORKIEST PROJECTS in the Omnibus Spending bill the Congress is about to pass," (this according to his own tweet). Funny. Smart. Sad. The list was such a hit, he did it again. And again. Here is yesterday's top 10 list:

#10. $285,000 for the Discovery Center of Idaho in Boise, ID 8:06 AM Mar 3rd from web

#9. $209,000 to improve blueberry production and efficiency in GA 8:20 AM Mar 3rd from web

#8. $47,500 to remodel and expand a playground in Ottawa, IL 8:29 AM Mar 3rd from we

#7. $400,000 for copper wire theft prevention efforts 8:50 AM Mar 3rd from web

#6. $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY 9:23 AM Mar 3rd from web

#5. $819, 000 for catfish genetics research in Alabama 9:34 AM Mar 3rd from web

taking a break for policy lunch about 24 hours ago from web

#4. $380,000 for lighthouses in Maine about 22 hours ago from web

#3. $380,000 to revitalize downtown Aliceville, AL about 22 hours ago from web

#2. $900,000 for fish management - how does one manage a fish... about 21 hours ago from web

and the #1 project about 20 hours ago from web

#1. $951,500 for the Oregon Solar Highway about 20 hours ago from web

This last prompted a tweet-war(!) with Rep. Blumenauer, who tweeted late last night: "McCain wasnt familiar with a blackberry right? Hows he supposed to understand a solar highway utilizing right-of-way to generate solar power."

Please note that tweets are limited to 140 characters so grammar and punctuation are, ahem, not a consideration.

He's just funny... that's all there is to it

When he's good, he's very, very good (see what he has to say about the game of golf):

And yes, it's another video. Can't see it? Click here.

Chinese movie torture

I swear, I went in to this movie (W) on October 23rd, and I felt that by the time I was let out, it was November. The only good part about that is that it would have meant it was that much closer to the time our president is no longer our president. Alas...

How this movie got a 56 on RT I don't know—but I do know that score seriously shakes my faith in that vaunted site, not to mention the critics it relies upon. Because, and I'm not alone on this, I have seldom seen a worse movie. I think The Hottie and the Nottie might be better. Honestly.

Okay, Josh Brolin gives a tour de force performance—something I find hard to imagine ever saying about Paris Hilton. But I bet Hottie had a plot. Maybe a thin plot. Maybe absurd. But a plot nonetheless. That would give it one up on Dub. This was allegory to a whole new level.

But, and here's the thing that got me the most—because I was prepared to be sickened by this film, by the depiction of the man who led the ruination of this country over the last eight years, and the cabal behind him (and, to be fair, in a few scenes, I was)—for the most part, I was just nauseated by how lousy the movie was... and that really ticked me off.

I don't think that word is pronounced the way you think it's pronounced...

Yep, it's a video. Can't see it? Click here.

Fill in the blanks

I sorta wish Obama and the Queen of England weren't in the same bracket...

Quote of the day

“George H. W. Bush was born on third and thought he hit a triple. George W. Bush was born on third and then stole second …”

--- Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland, at the 2008 Democratic Convention

(thanks, Dad!)

Had to share

This is a post from 23/6:

McCampaign do-overs: Did we say $500 FOR every rape victim? We meant FROM

Let's just pretend the last three months didn't happen, cool?

Looks like there was a little typo in McCain's new mortgage plan when he put it online Tuesday night. At the end of the first paragraph, the document included the line: "Lenders in these cases must recognize the loss that they've already suffered." Which means the lenders would have to suffer and the government would purchase the mortgages at discounted prices.

Yeah, that was a misprint. Turns out, McCain wants to buy the mortgages at face value, protecting lenders from losing a dime and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. A McCain campaign official explained:

"That language was mistakenly included in the initial draft and it's been corrected...a simple mistake."

Of course. Considering that sentence completely redefines the entire plan and its effect on the economic crisis, we can understand how that's where you might get a little sloppy. It wouldn't have had to do with the fact that every conservative pundit in the nation pissed their blogs the minute you made your little announcement would it?

Looks like we're at the point where McCain just starts responding to criticism by asking for a do-over. The only question is, what will he try to weasel out of next?

The Mavericks are NOT his friends

Thanks to my brother for sending me this tidbit published in the NYT today:

There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick.” But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive... [the Maverick] family has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s...

Well, my friends, it appears McCain and his Pal have co-opted a word with no regard for its history, meaning or accuracy. Quel surprise.

Can't say you didn't see that one coming

So, the hot story on the campaign trail - at least the only campaign trail I'm watching - is the slimming of the Hillster's chances to grab that second seat. Okay, maybe slimming is not quite the right word choice - fizzling? Vanishing? Going down the drain? Going up in smoke?

Jason Horowitz, of The New York Observer, wrote this yesterday:

A former bundler to Hillary Clinton just called in to tell me that Barack Obama's selection of Patti Solis Doyle as chief of staff to the campaign's eventual vice presidential nominee is the "biggest fuck you I have ever seen in politics."

It's not like politics is known for keeping the gloves on as it is. So that's saying something.

Can't say I'm surprised. A team player she has not shown herself to be this year - smart, yes. Determined, sure. Indefatigable, tenacious, stubborn and mule-headed, no doubt. But realistic, supportive, cooperative, self-effacing? Um, no. Not so much. Guess where that lands you, Hill?

(Remember the "if Hillary were a movie character" game? How about this one: the Wicked Witch of the East, crushed under a house (a white house, in fact, if I remember correctly). Ding, dong... well, you know the rest.)

Sit back, relax...

...and let them do all the heavy lifting. I just love it when all I have to do is press play.

It's a video. Yep, one of those. Click here if, you know, you can't see it.

Can I add anything to that? Nah.

You heard it here first

Not until Thursday, 15-May did Jon Stewart break the story on "The Daily Show:"



And yes, there's a video here.

Three days earlier you read it here on GR2BR (I read it on Huffington Post, who found it on Bluestem). And you thought I was such a slacker.

When it's so wrong, it's right

This is the kind of thing you can't make up.

The House Republicans' new slogan to promote their party agenda is "the change you deserve."

Sound familiar? Maybe you've seen it in a magazine or heard it on TV? Because it's trademarked. By a pharmaceutical company. For an antidepressant.

Don't believe me? Read all about it on the Wyeth sponsored website about depression and their patented anti-depressant, Effexor (by the way - I read about this on HuffPost, who found it on Bluestem - gotta love the net!):

The Change You Deserve™

Are these symptoms of depression interfering with your life?

• Not involved with family and friends the way you used to be?
• Low energy, fatigue?
• Not motivated to do the things you once looked forward to doing?
• Not feeling as good as you used to?

There you have it, straight from the pharma's mouth.

So, if eight years of the Bush administration has left you feeling... Oh, I can't, it's just too easy.