Hope in the 21st Century

Here in Washington, D.C., the city braces for an influx of millions for the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. Obama was swept into office by idealism and words like "hope" and "change." Those old enough to remember likened the feeling to the early 1960s.

But, alas, this ain't quite the '60s.

Sportsfans, accustomed to the "Coors Light Player of the Game," the "Levitra Halftime Show" and the "Dijiorno 7th Inning Stretch," know the age in which we live. And if Obamaphiles harbor illusions that anything is sacred or safe from branding these days, well they might want to skip next week's festivities.

Because right when they emerge from Union Station, they'll be greeted with posters proclaiming "HOPE" and "Change is Coming!" But they won't be graced with an image of their hero, rather they'll be branded with logos from Ikea and Pepsi.

Those companies have lauchned Obama- style campaigns of their own.

Tired of failed policies from your furniture? Head over to EmbraceChange09.com for a countdown to the First Family's moving date and check out the wide selection of nightstands to usher in a new era to your studio apartment!



Disappointed about the state of our country? Embrace the activism of the Obama era, and think about ways to improve your community while enjoying a nice cold refreshing Pepsi.



Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do to win a Monster Snacker from KFC, just log onto FeedtheBeast.com for details!

A Few Days Left: Quote of the Day 1/14

With a new message out from Osama bin Laden today, Dick Cheney's comment below bears mentioning. Wolf Blitzer asked the VP about his disappointment over not being able to capture the man who orchestrated the largest ever attack on America.

His response? We've still got a few days left... and some words of support for the domestic spying and torture policies that have kept us all so safe these past few years.

There's a legal principle (noted on The West Wing) that deals with this kind of reasoning: Post hoc ergo propter hoc. That B follows A does not mean that A caused B.

Watch: Barack Obama Formally Elected 44th President

From Real Clear Politics:

Yesterday in a Joint Session of Congress, the Senators and Representatives conducted the formal counting of the electoral votes cast by each state. When Vice President Cheney announced the final vote tally, members of Congress rose to their feet and applauded President-elect Obama's victory.

The announcement comes at 24:00 into the video.

Krugman Explanations, Obama Expectations

Two notes from the New York Times:

In the Op-Ed section, Nobel laurate Paul Krugman accuses Republicans of "whining that almost defies belief."

Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, “I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror”? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?

Yeesh, I hope not.

Krugman believes the Republican party's problems are far more entrenched than the missteps of a failed administration, and stretch back to their Southern strategy that developed in the wake of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, when the "G.O.P. decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash."

But what ails the party is more than a shift in demographics, argues Krugman. Instead it's their anti- government philosophy that doomed them to incompetence and lost the confidence of the American people.

Consequently, the Obama administration has an opportunity for bold action unmatched even in the Clinton years. Krugamn hopes they seize it.

What a convenient segue...

We highlighted Dick Cheney recently saying he anticipated the incoming Obama administration to embrace President Bush's expansion of executive power:

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place..."

Well Cheney's theory will be put the test real soon. The Times reports that the Obama administration must submit a brief to the Supreme Court "on one of the most aggressive legal claims made by the Bush administration — that the president may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime."

The position of the new President, a former Constitutional law professor, will go along way toward defining the kind of change so many believed in.

At the heart of the case is "Ali al-Marri, a Qatari student who was arrested in Peoria, Ill., in December 2001. The Bush administration says Mr. Marri is a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, and it is holding him without charges at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. He is the only person currently held as an enemy combatant on the mainland, but the legal principles established in his case are likely to affect the roughly 250 prisoners at Guantánamo."

Among the many cases on the docket, experts say a shift in course is most likely in Al- Marri's.

From the article:

Many legal experts say that all of the new administration’s options in Mr. Marri’s case are perilous. Intelligence officials say he is exceptionally dangerous, making deportation problematic.

Trying him on criminal charges could be difficult, too, in part because some of the evidence against him may have been obtained through torture and would not be admissible.

And staying the course in the Marri case would outrage civil libertarians.

“If they adopt the Bush administration position, or some version of it,” said Brandt Goldstein, a professor at New York Law School, “it is going to be a moment of profound disappointment for everyone in the legal community and Americans generally who believe that the Bush administration has tried to turn the presidency into a monarchy.”

The 2000s

This is what we're doing... Espn.com's Bill Simmons questions what we'll call the current decade.

With only a year remaining in this decade, we still haven't settled on a name for it. Should we call it the aughts? The zeroes? The double ohs? The Robert Parishes? You got me.

Well, Bill, I'm here to help.

We are calling this decade the Two thousands.

Accordingly, once we reach 2010, we'll refer to the year as twenty- ten, and not two thousand ten. That will carry through for the rest of the century. In 1985, we didn't call it ninteen hundred eighty-five, and 2085 will be "twenty eight-five."

So this is the final year that will start with "two thousand..."

(And, while we're here, the Eli Manning to David Tyree play of Superbowl XLII will be known as "The Flee to Tyree.")

Quote of the Day 12/31: New Year's Eve

It's New Years Eve, and I'm a little tired of people trashing the holiday as disappointing. Here's a quote from Deadspin.com's Will Leitch that sums up my feelings on the subject:

"I hear people complain about New Year’s Eve, that it’s always made into a big event that ultimately disappoints, that they feel pressured to have some kind of momentously fun time. These people are sad, really, incredible dullards and whiners. Pressured to have fun? Hey, I’ll take that kind of pressure every time, no problem. I wish I was pressured to have fun every day, rather than pressured to pay the bills, pressured to hold onto my job, pressured to keep my head above water. If you can’t relax and have fun on New Year’s Eve, well, you’ve got more problems than this column can solve, so there is no hope for you here."

So enjoy tonight (safely, of course)... and happy 2009.

Still Gettin' Kicked Around

Just walked out of Frost/ Nixon, another political movie with strong award buzz. I had high hopes for it, but like Milk before, it ultimately disappointed. These movies just seem like Oscar- bait and fail to prove an ultimate point.

The film is a study of its protagonist, British TV personality David Frost, how he funded his interview project with Nixon, how he cajoled admission from the disgraced president, and the role television, as a medium, played in it all.

But Frost, as a character, is uninteresting. The drama of Nixon's remorse is fabricated. And the surface of the most compelling storyline, Nixon's psyche and personal tragedy, is barely scratched.

Frost/ Nixon does make a deft point on the oversimplification and superficiality of the television age. Just not in the way that it hoped.

A Great Way to Say "Thanks"

Will Ferrell is getting set to debut his new Broadway show, You're Welcome, America: A Final Evening with George W. Bush. I'm booking my tickets right now. Here's a preview:

A Message from George W Bush by Will Ferrell

The President & The Pastor

President- Elect Obama is catching some flack from liberal groups for picking Saddleback Ranch pastor Rick Warren to lead the invocation at his inauguration. Warren is pro-life and anti-gay (he uses the same faulty arguments against gay marriage as Mike Huckabee).

Liberals waited to get one of their own in the White House for a long time, and giving such a high- profile honor to a social conservative has many groups uneasy.

Their disappointment is unfounded. Obama is committed to the power of what unites us. When you try to change the status quo in a profound way, you have to be. While there are fundamental differences between the incoming Obama administration and Warren and his flock, there are also important ties.

There are those who will say that it's easy for a straight person to think this way, and that a poor record on gay rights (human rights) should be a deal breaker. There are those who would accept a dialogue between Warren and Obama, but who will say that such a prominent role goes too far, that it's a slap in the face to those who fought to put Obama where he'll be on January 20.

To them, I submit that Barack Obama needs Rick Warren more than vice versa. Rick Warren is one of the most popular people in America, his readers and followers number in the millions.

He isn't going anywhere.

So, Obama can either bring him into the fold, enlist his help in the areas on which they can agree, or, he can marginalize Warren, brush off his congregation. Tell 'em to stick it, and wish 'em better luck in 2012. Then, Warren can spend his Sundays railing against the "liberals" in government and inflame his followers with exaggerations about their social agenda.

Having Warren lead the Inauguration's prayer is an attempt at unity. It's a new day for all Americans, not just the ones who voted Obama/ Biden. Just because there are fundamental disagreements doesn't mean that conservatives don't get a seat at the table. If they're shut out then real change either won't come or won't last.

And Warren, while socially conservative, is not over- the- top in his rhetoric or beliefs. This isn't Pat Robertson or Jerry Fallwell. So while the disagreements are vehement, Warren holds an ethos that's very much in the mainstream.

I'm old enough to remember the schisms that surrounded the last two presidents. One invoked conspiracy theories against his enemies, the other described the slimmest of victories as significant political capital, and governed from the extreme.

Change was temporary, achievements fleeting. President Bush in particular taught us the emptiness of the politics of division.

On Election Day, Americans chose a different path, and Obama is now leading the way. Liberals and conservatives alike should neither expect nor wish for anything different.

Drew Carey FAIL

No one had guessed the exact price of a Price Is Right showcase in almost 30 years, until this week. If a contestant guesses the price within $100 without going over, he gets both showcases. So my man Terry walked away with over $56k in prizes.

Too bad for the other contestant who was within $500.

Also too bad for Drew Carey who gets about as excited as I do when someone hands me a 30% off coupon outside a New York City subway station.



Bring back Bob Barker!

The Best Christmas Song

In the spirit of the holidays, here's my favorite holiday song... It's not Christmas without "Christmas (Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love. The studio version is here, but this Letterman performance from '05 is pretty amazing.

On the Interweb

Here's a list of the top websites in December '08 with their respective market shares, and where they ranked 2 years ago (courtesy of the Drudge Report):

Unfortunately, it only gives the top 10, but I'm pretty sure SAM Online is #11.
1. Yahoo! News news.yahoo.com 6.82% 1
2. The Weather Channel - US www.weather.com 3.70% 3
3. CNN.com www.cnn.com 3.42% 2
4. MSNBC www.msnbc.msn.com 3.23% 4
5. Google News news.google.com 2.43% 5
6. Drudge Report www.drudgereport.com 2.10% 6
7. Yahoo! Weather weather.yahoo.com 1.77% 10
8. Fox News www.foxnews.com 1.77% 8
9. The New York Times www.nytimes.com 1.75% 7
10. People Magazine www.people.com 1.69% 9

Here's Rankings for Most Popular Search Term Clicks
1. cnn 0.69%
2. weather 0.68%
3. fox news 0.31%
4. drudge 0.28%
5. drudge report 0.27%
6. weather.com 0.20%
7. msnbc 0.18%
8. weather channel 0.18%
9. cnn.com 0.17%
10. news 0.17%
11. caylee anthony 0.15%
12. huffington post 0.14%
13. tv guide 0.13%
14. noaa 0.12%
15. people 0.11%
16. accuweather 0.11%
17. national weather service 0.10%
18. yahoo 0.10%
19. jennifer aniston 0.10%
20. new york times 0.10%

Time's '08 POY- Pic of the Day 12/17

In an announcement sure to shock absolutely no one, Time revealed its "Person of the Year" for 2008.

"Cheney Out"- Quotes of the Day 12/16

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place... We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested. The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster.

"Guantanamo has been very, very valuable. And I think they'll discover that trying to close it is a very hard proposition. They're unlawful combatants. And you if you're not going to have a place to locate them like Guantanamo, then you either have to bring them here to the continental United States and I don't know any member of Congress who's volunteering to have al Qaeda terrorists deposited in his district."

"We're on the downside of a recession that may be the worst since World War II. And if the automobile industry goes belly up now, there's a deep concern that that would be a major shock to the system."

- Vice President Dick Cheney on the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show. Cheney's support for an auto bailout has some produced some unlikely liberal allies.

His comments on Guantanamo and expansive view of executive power are decidedly less surprising.

Obama's Race

The Associated Press is reporting a dispute over whether President- Elect Barack Obama is, in fact, our first Black president. Because the Senator is mixed race, many insist that classifying him as Black is incorrect.

For his part, President- elect Obama has said, "I identify as African-American- that's how I'm treated and that's how I'm viewed. I'm proud of it."

My take on this issue is straight forward, but nuanced, and it comes from a lesson I learned freshman year of college.

One of my best female friends that year was a Black girl named Chiazor. One afternoon, Chiaz and I were hanging out in the room of mutual friends. I brought up race, and asked what I look back on now as a very ignorant question. "Why is it that Black people refer to themselves as African- American, rather than referring to a specific country?"

Chiaz looked at me strangley, unsure if I was serious, "Um... Chris... because African Americans don't know where their ancestors came from," she said slowly before laughing.

I felt like an idiot.

The story illustrates an important point on this issue: Being Black is not the same thing as being African- American.

In my opinion, the term "Black" is superficial when applied to race. Racism is based on how a person looks, so much of it is about how the world treats an individual based on his appearance. Obama seems to acknowledge this reality in his above quote. The President- elect may be biracial, but he looks far more like a Black man than he does like a caucasian.

But there is a cultural element as well, and Obama embraced Black culture by joining a prominent Black church, moving to a Black community, and marrying an African- American woman, amid other conscious decisions to embrace the culture into which society placed him.

Barack Obama is black.

However, to say he's African- American waters down the term. African- American means descended from slaves, it's a nod to the ugliest chapter of our national history. We cannot afford to lose the meaning. The President- elect knows where his Black ancestors came from. His father was a visiting student from Kenya.

Barack Obama is Kenyan- American. He is not African- American.

Quote of the Day 12/14

"Barack Obama says we only have one president at a time. The problem with that is it overstates the number of presidents we have at this time."

- Rep. Barney Frank calling for more leadership from the president- elect on 60 Minutes tonight.

Saturday Night Clips

Check out this hilarious impression Fred Armisan unveiled of NY Gov. David Paterson on Saturday Night Live.


Seth Myers and Amy Poehler ask Rod Blagojevich REALLY?!?



And this is an old clip, but it's of SNL alum Tracy Morgan on Letterman. It has probably the best line in the history of American television or f interviews in general. The entire thing is great, but go to the 3:18 mark for the best part...



Morgan currently stars on the best show on TV, 30 Rock.

The best line from this week's episode was:

Liz Lemon: Do you know the post master general?

Jack Donaghy: I do but we had a falling out over the Jerry Garcia stamp. If I want to lick a hippie, I'll return one of Joan Baez's phone calls.

Nice Try, Mike Huckabee

Last night on the Daily Show, former Republican presidential candidate and current Fox News talk show host, Mike Huckabee, was on to promote his new book Do the Right Thing. He and host Jon Stewart engaged in a wide ranging debate for almost half the show touching on issues like the mortgage crisis, lobbyists and gay marriage. It was their debate on gay marriage that gave me fits, for two primary reasons.

First, Huckabee defended his "traditional" view of marriage by saying, "Even anatomically, let's face it, the only way we can create the next generation is through a male/ female relationship..." and, later, "The basic purpose of a marriage is not just to create the next generation but to train our replacements."

For how assbackwards this argument is, it's very popular. The modern understanding of marriage is not a relationship in which to have children. We don't force a 60 year old woman who wants to get married to settle for a civil union. Nor do we a sterile man. Marriage is about a level of love and commitment. To couch it in strict terms of child rearing does more to redefine it than anything else.

While a straight older or sterile couple can adopt a child and raise her in a traditional setting, single people, unmarried heterosexual couples and gays can also adopt.

Later, when Stewart talked about society's evolving definition of marriage, polygamy came up, and Huckabee stated, "If we change the definition then we have to change it to accommodate all lifestyles."

This argument makes even less sense.

A ban on gay marriage is a law that restricts gay people. A ban on polygamous marriage is a law that restricts everyone. In defining marriage, the government withholds a civil liberty from a segment of the people. This isn't to say that's illegal (not to go all Con Law but almost all laws that classify based on sexual orientation will be upheld by the Supreme Court). It is to say that banning gay marriage is state sanctioned discrimination in a way banning polygamy is not.

Once one accepts that homosexuality is innate the distinction is plain. A straight man or woman who wants to have multiple partners can still get married. If not, the government would never allow this. A gay person cannot.

Huckabee is one of the more eloquent social conservatives in the country. But not even his charm can make up for his argument's shortcomings.

(The gay marriage stuff starts w/ part II)

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 1

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Milquetoast

Oscar season is here, and a political film leads the way. Gus Van Sant's Milk is the story of Harvey Milk, the San Francisco activist who was the first openly gay person elected to American political office.

Milk is a critical darling, with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a four- star write- up in Rolling Stone. Much of the love is directed at star Sean Penn, who delivers a layered and commanding performance in the title role. Penn is excellent, but Josh Brolin earns the highest praise for his turn as Milk's tightly wound and conflicted foil.

Despite these actors, however, the movie falls flat. Although it boasts a powerful and enlightening story, and a script that can be sharply funny, Milk devolves into standard biopic territory-- its arc is interchangeable with a movie like Ray-- even if you've never heard of Harvey Milk, you'll feel like you've seen the movie before. You have.

What the film offers in the freshness of its plot, it utterly lacks in originality and complexity. Ultimately, Milk is forgettable, and reaches the not-so lofty perch of "good" but certainly not "great."

Milk will probably clean up at award shows this year, its progressive message, star and subject have standing O potential, but it won't go down as the classic some are trying to make it. The movie is good, though, certainly better than the gratuitous, flat out boring movie that people fell for last year.

(Milk may be too conventional to be truly effective, but hopes are still high for another political entrant this season: Ron Howard's Frost/ Nixon debuts on Christmas)

He Keeps It Cool, She Likes It Hot