Who’s that booming baritone talking about the environment? Al Gore stars in a promotional video developed by Google Earth that shows environment degradation via the popular mapping program, a sort of “climate change simulator” of ice-sheet melting and rising sea levels.
As “The Daily Show” recounts, some conservatives, at least the type who attended last weekend’s Values Voter Summit, officially have an issue with homosexuality (paging former Miss California Carrie Prejean). So Jon Stewart finds former GOP ringleader Tom “The Hammer” DeLay’s sassy cha-cha number on Monday’s “Dancing With the Stars” a bit puzzling.
Those poor, beleaguered health insurance honchos would be totally out to sea without the help of Hollywood’s best and brightest—Jon Hamm, Will Ferrell and Olivia Wilde among them—to launch a dinghy of hope their way in the form of this timely PSA. Down with the public option!
President Obama held forth about the need to move quickly and “together” on the problem of global warming in a speech Tuesday at the United Nations. “Our prosperity, our health and our safety are in jeopardy and the time we have to reverse this tide is running out—and yet we can reverse it,” he said.
The president showed up on the “Late Show With David Letterman” on Monday (if you broadcast it, he will come) and responded to Jimmy Carter’s speculation that racism is to blame for some of the nasty behavior of his detractors.
Hey, you can really learn some interesting and revealing stuff at the Values Voter Summit! Take, for example, this startling declaration made Saturday by Michael Schwartz, Sen. Tom Coburn’s chief of staff, about how all pornography is gay and can make viewers gay ... or at least less attentive to their wives.
This just in from President Obama: Being rude is the easiest way to get airtime. Well, at least that’s his take on the lows to which public discourse has sunk of late, especially concerning the keenly contentious issue that is health care reform.
Truthdig editors Robert Scheer, Peter Scheer and Kasia Anderson give their takes on their picks from the week’s crop of news stories, including the rise of radical rhetoric on the right, Obama’s so-called socialism (for Wall Street) and how to shop for new planets to call our future home.
Russia might be pleased with President Obama’s decision to nix Bush’s missile shield plans, but how about Eastern Europe? Meanwhile, Sen. Max Baucus’ health care reform plan foundered, and Obama made a play to get through to the powers on Wall Street. All this—plus the Glenn Becking of American political discourse—is part of this week’s discussion on “Left, Right & Center.”
Although the Obama administration, in particular Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is maintaining a cautiously positive stance about the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there doesn’t seem to be much progress on that front—which, as Al Jazeera English points out in this report, might have to do with all involved parties driving a hard-line approach.
Although Barack Obama himself apparently disagrees with Jimmy Carter’s assessment that some of the vitriol recently directed at the president is propelled by racism, Carter reiterated and expanded upon his claim during a town hall meeting Wednesday night at Atlanta’s Emory University.
Bill O’Reilly says of the very public option that makes his Foxy friends’ heads explode: “I want that. ... [I]f the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks.” Quick, look out your window to see the flying pigs.
If these anti-Obama marchers are to be believed, fascism and socialism are the same thing, abortion caused 9/11 and “Glenn Beck is such a logical thinker.” There’s a whole pile of crazy where that came from.
After an extended vacation, Jon Stewart returned to his “Daily Show” anchor’s desk Monday—and not a moment too soon, as the national epidemic of crazitude hasn’t calmed down since he left, especially when it comes to the subject of health care reform.
You may have caught rapper and megalomaniac Kanye West hijacking the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, but did you see him shout at the president during last Wednesday’s speech to Congress?
Muntadhar al-Zaidi’s simple but powerful gesture of lobbing his shoes at then-President George W. Bush brought him international notoriety, praise, scorn and nine months in prison. Now it looks like the Iraqi journalist is nearing the end of his jail time.
It was a big week in political news, what with the kerfuffle about Obama’s education speech and then the hubbub over ... Obama’s health care speech. Anyone see a pattern? “Left, Right & Center” regulars Robert Scheer, Arianna Huffington and Tony Blankley just might.
Two can play this game, Joe Wilson. While the South Carolina congressman’s heckle heard ’round the country triggered dismay from his opponents and enthusiasm from his supporters, Rep. Wilson’s “You lie!” war cry to Obama provided humor fodder for David Letterman’s Thursday night show.
So, Congressman Joe Wilson heckled President Obama during Wednesday’s speech on health care reform. On Thursday, Obama accepted Wilson’s apology, but that same day the South Carolina lawmaker leveraged the situation by posting this video calling for voters’ support and announcing he was “under attack by liberals for standing up against a government takeover of health care.”
Listening to the president’s speech Wednesday night was at times riveting, at times like listening to an insurance salesman. He gave a strong defense of the public option, but also indicated he would settle for whatever he could get.
Rep. Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, is a real class act. To prove it, he heckled the president Wednesday, shouting “You lie!” after Obama promised that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants. Update
Some 100 passengers and several crew members made it safely off a hijacked AeroMexico 737 airliner upon landing in Mexico City on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least five handcuffed men were escorted off the plane, which they had reportedly seized after takeoff from Cancun in an attempt to speak to Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Sure, being POTUS is tough sometimes, and you’re bound to royally tick off a large percentage of your constituency no matter what you do. But in the case of health care reform, President Obama, you have one Lee Stranahan to help you break this one down.
Parents everywhere may feel as if they’re losing their kids to the Internet, or more specifically, to those mysterious “social networking” time-suck sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, take it from the chirpy hosts of “today NOW!”—The Onion’s eerily realistic spoof on morning-show blather—parents can also use these sites to their stalking advantage.
Posted on Sep 8, 2009
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When Voters Disrupt the Tea Party
