Saturday, November 04, 2006
'Can’t stand these partisans ...'
A potpourri of political tidbits: Brett uncorks on partisanship in general and one-party government in particular. Throw the rascals out indeed. I'm not 100 percent sure you can count Republians out on the Congressional level. But I truly hope Dems take at least one chamber on Tuesday. ... Alas, we'll probably end up with a one-party state in Massachusetts next week. Nothing against Deval, who I've grown to admire, and nothing for Muffy, who I've grown to pity. But no one is going to convince me that a one-party state is good for Massachusetts -- or any state or nation. As Barney Frank notes in Brett's column, it's not about Republicans or Democrats. It's about absolute power. ... Oh look. Trav is limbering up for post-election antics on Beacon Hill! ...
I'm tempted to express concern about free-speech rights related to John DePetro's firing. But I can't get worked up about it. He's ultimately a talk-show host who lived by the commercial rhetorical sword and died by the commercial rhetorical sword. It's strictly business, John. ... Adam has a great comeback to those who think DePetro's remarks weren't offensive. Then again, it's curious how Grace skated by without having to defend her own offensive views, as Solomonia rightly points out. I've never liked the woman -- and not because of her figure or sexual preferences. She holds incredibly sophomoric lefty views that most of us shook off soon after college -- and yet we're all expected to treat her with pious kid gloves because she robotically spouts what pathetically passes for idealism. ...
... Fearing a repeat of the drawn-out 2004 'Who's John Kerry?' saga, I'm nevertheless returning, briefly, to the John Kerry Botched Joke saga. Joan reminds people like yours truly that President Bush and Republicans deserved more harsh criticism for their own cynical role in the affair. True. I definitely had my anti-John Kerry blinders on. But the suggestion that Dems who urged Kerry to get off the stage were wrong is simply wrong. Events prove it. Kerry was yanked off the stage -- and the controversy immediately died down. Can you imagine what would have happened if Kerry had been allowed to escalate the debate? As John noted the other day: "It was Kerry's political tin ear in choosing how to respond to the response that has caused this non-story to still resonate." ...
... And finally: Recently saw 'The Last King of Scotland.' Big thumbs up. Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin is superb. Ignore political criticism that the film downplays Amin's evil. The story is about how a naive Scottish doctor slowly realizes that Amin, despite outward appearances, was a true monster inside all along. A health-care worker ultimately rejects the doctor because he failed to heed her early warning that all dictators are dictators. Idealistic Grace Ross thug-defender types, take note. ...
A potpourri of political tidbits: Brett uncorks on partisanship in general and one-party government in particular. Throw the rascals out indeed. I'm not 100 percent sure you can count Republians out on the Congressional level. But I truly hope Dems take at least one chamber on Tuesday. ... Alas, we'll probably end up with a one-party state in Massachusetts next week. Nothing against Deval, who I've grown to admire, and nothing for Muffy, who I've grown to pity. But no one is going to convince me that a one-party state is good for Massachusetts -- or any state or nation. As Barney Frank notes in Brett's column, it's not about Republicans or Democrats. It's about absolute power. ... Oh look. Trav is limbering up for post-election antics on Beacon Hill! ...
I'm tempted to express concern about free-speech rights related to John DePetro's firing. But I can't get worked up about it. He's ultimately a talk-show host who lived by the commercial rhetorical sword and died by the commercial rhetorical sword. It's strictly business, John. ... Adam has a great comeback to those who think DePetro's remarks weren't offensive. Then again, it's curious how Grace skated by without having to defend her own offensive views, as Solomonia rightly points out. I've never liked the woman -- and not because of her figure or sexual preferences. She holds incredibly sophomoric lefty views that most of us shook off soon after college -- and yet we're all expected to treat her with pious kid gloves because she robotically spouts what pathetically passes for idealism. ...
... Fearing a repeat of the drawn-out 2004 'Who's John Kerry?' saga, I'm nevertheless returning, briefly, to the John Kerry Botched Joke saga. Joan reminds people like yours truly that President Bush and Republicans deserved more harsh criticism for their own cynical role in the affair. True. I definitely had my anti-John Kerry blinders on. But the suggestion that Dems who urged Kerry to get off the stage were wrong is simply wrong. Events prove it. Kerry was yanked off the stage -- and the controversy immediately died down. Can you imagine what would have happened if Kerry had been allowed to escalate the debate? As John noted the other day: "It was Kerry's political tin ear in choosing how to respond to the response that has caused this non-story to still resonate." ...
... And finally: Recently saw 'The Last King of Scotland.' Big thumbs up. Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin is superb. Ignore political criticism that the film downplays Amin's evil. The story is about how a naive Scottish doctor slowly realizes that Amin, despite outward appearances, was a true monster inside all along. A health-care worker ultimately rejects the doctor because he failed to heed her early warning that all dictators are dictators. Idealistic Grace Ross thug-defender types, take note. ...
