EverythingSteve.com

Want to Know What's Funny? #5

I've been streaming radio stations through my car's audio system, thanks to my new iPhone and Wunderradio. This morning, while listening to the "Hill Man" Morning Show on WAAF in Worcester, Massachusetts, I unwittingly heard most of the following before realizing it was a spoof...and a good one! This one is in honor of the infamous Beer Summit.

UPDATE: The Onion gets in on the fun.

Is California 'Ungovernable?'

It certainly appears to be. The state is fighting for the victory prize of worst run in the country. Many would claim it has already won this award. As we go further and further into financial ruin and are asked every six to 12 months by legislators at the state and municipal levels to cough up more tax dollars to receive fewer and poorer quality services, one has to conclude that many things are very wrong. But all hope is not lost, as this excellent article from The Economist points out. I'd strongly suggest that if you live in California, you give this a read and consider supporting the cause of a brand new constitution. Thanks to Steve W. for pointing it out to me.

The Wall Street Journal is Now Truly Over the Top

Look at these sound bites from an editorial today:

"...the $789 billion stimulus and recovery package that Congress approved this week could have accomplished more than it did..."

"...President Obama’s futile pursuit of bipartisanship, rendered it smaller and less focused than it needed to be..."

"...the stale politics of Washington ended up including $70 billion for relief from the alternative minimum tax. The relief is necessary, but it has nothing to do with stimulus or recovery..."

"...The real question is what the Obama administration does for a follow-up..."

"...after a botched rollout this week of their bank bailout plans, administration officials will likely need another few weeks to develop a coherent proposal..."

"...it’s not clear whether Mr. Obama’s team understands the scale of the effort required.."

"The administration also appears to be waffling in its support for passing new legislation that would allow bankrupt homeowners to have their mortgages modified under court protection."

Here is the full editorial. And yes, that's right. This is from the New York Times, not the Journal. Congratulations to the Times for taking a fair and even-handed approach in its assessment. Where is Bill O'Reilly right about now?

Great News! The Government Does Function Effectively at Some Level

Blagojevich OUT!
Associated Press Photo

Do Gay People Deserve the Same Shot at Happiness as Heterosexuals Get?

Apparently, a slight majority of voting Californians think not. I heartily disagree with that majority. So does Vishal M., a former work and current Facebook friend who says he is disappointed to see that we have chosen "to legislate bigotry and selfishness in California."

Bram T., a friend from high school radio station days writes on Facebook, "This vote sounded a distressingly familiar note in an election season which seemed to signal we were commencing a new anthem of unity - we can only hope CA changes its tune in the future - we shouldn't be afraid of gays - we need to be scared of laws like Prop 8."

Thanks to Vishal for flagging this video. And thanks to Bram for an eloquent articulation with which I heartily concur.

The Perfect Summation

Kudos to Roger Cohen, who wrote an op-ed in yesterday's New York Times that pretty much nails it. He profiled a few different first generation Americans -- mainly an affluent "Nixon Republican" named Fazal Fazlin, who swung to the left for this election. Is it that they abandoned the Republican party? Nope. The Republican party has abandoned them -- their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations of what a conservative political party should, and used to stand for, and in the most lunatic fringe of cases (note some of the comments and shout-outs at McCain rallies a few weeks ago) their ethnicity.

For those few of us in the States who proudly proclaim ourselves moderates, McCain's VP selection was the final nail in the coffin, that along with exceedingly negative (i.e., "Rovian") and fear-mongering campaign tactics, made a previously difficult choice quite easy. Yep...McCain 1.0 would have been a difficult choice, but for me, voting for Obama and against McCain 2.0 was easy peasy.

And doggie demerits to the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page has lost substantial amounts of credibility -- while the formerly Pravda-like New York Times has hired an introspective ombudsman and a conservative op-ed contributor or two. Perhaps that should be the topic for a different post because I'm out of time. Short story: I had been optimistic there wouldn't be too much meddling with the WSJ by Rupert. I began to question my optimism last Fall when I saw a front page story in a Saturday edition about the TV show "24" (Murdoch owns Fox).  I shook my head in wonderment at the sheer number of op-ed pieces in the last few months submitted by Karl Rove. I trembled in disgust a couple of weeks ago when I saw a WSJ editorial state that a prevailing reason for the stock crash was uneasiness about what the economic policies of Barack Obama may bring forth. And I sighed in resignation when I saw yesterday's editorial that basically cast a huge question mark on Obama's experience and credentials. Of course, said editorial didn't mention the prospects of Sarah Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency...certainly not! Alas, even though I'm now only an online subscriber and have cancelled my print subscription three times over the phone (not in protest, but because I typically leave my house too early to get the print edition), I'm still getting it. So thanks for the free paper, Rupert! But I digress...

I am hoping (not assuming!) we as a country will make the best choice today.

Is There A Way to 'Ban' Ugliness?

Clearly, there isn't...and perhaps we're better off seeing that ugliness in broad daylight. Incidentally, I'm not talking about the skin-deep form of ugliness. Nope, I'm talking about the personality traits of 'guilt by association,' of racism, of hatred, and of irrational, illogical and unfounded anger. You should be concerned about these traits, as they're in proud evidence on the trails of the McCain campaign....that is if we are to believe the reporting of the LIBERAL NEWS MEDIA.

Frank Rich shines a light on this 800 pound elephant in the room in today's New York Times. I strongly recommend reading his op-ed, "The Terrorist Barack Hussein Obama." Honestly, the character in this charade who scares me the most is Sarah Palin. She is either too stupid to know what she is potentially inciting in saying things like Obama "launched his poltiical career in the living room of a domestic terrorist" and is "palling around with terrorists," or she knows EXACTLY what she is doing. Either way, it's deplorable.

I applaud any McCain/Palin supporter who stands behind her/his candidate based on issues. But if the support is simply based on irrational and illogical anger, or fear, or hatred, or highly distorted "facts," or racism because that person is allegedly not like you and me...then what? How far could this go? Just how UGLY could things get right here in the United States, depending on the will of the people combined with some devious leadership? Do you think I'm nuts? Perhaps a bit so, but let me tell you what I really am....concerned. And that's because I do believe that history is capable of repeating itself if people allow it. Why do you think the motto in the aftermath of Nazi Germany was "Never forget!"

So let's not allow it. Call out ugly behavior. Don't snicker along with it as Brian Sussman does during his amazingly ignorant rants on KSFO Radio in San Francisco. (What a shame...he had actually been a really good TV metereologist back in the day.)

People screaming out "Terrorist" upon hearing Obama's name is a wake up call. As mentioned, The New York Times has noted this. The Atlantic has noted this. The Wall Street Journal has noted this. Other publications have noted this. I'd like to see The National Review note this -- so far...nothing.

The economy could really be headed into the toilet...a perfect time for ugliness to really manifest itself and take control. Let's not allow that to happen. Got it? Get it? Good!

We're Mad As Hell And We're Not Going To Take It Anymore!

I can't believe I missed this one. In particular I love the confusion between Marin and San Mateo County. Reminds me of a Chaka Khan concert I went to while a student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Amherst is about 90 miles west of Boston. During one segue, an apparently intoxicated Ms. Khan, who had occasional lapses of memory in remembering her song lyrics (I have to admit I have trouble remembering all the lyrics of "Ain't Nobody" as well), murmured "Hey it's great to be back in Boston."

Anyone who is familiar with the tendency of folks from Massachusetts to be ummmm....direct....won't be surprised to hear that dozens of UMass concertgoers yelled out with glee, "Hey Chaka, you're in fucking Amherst!" Oh, but if the reception to Ms. Palin's geographical faux pas had only been the same...hee hee hee.

Thank You, Jon Stewart

Respect the Office

Don't get me wrong. If you read this blog, you know I consider George W. Bush to be one of the worst presidents of the last 100 years, standing proudly alongside Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover. But too many U.S. citizens confuse freedom of speech with freedom to be disrespectful and show no signs of civility. A lot of people think liberals are particularly guilty as charged. But I'd put folks like Rush Limbaugh squarely in the disrespectful camp as well.

What's my point? I was on vacation last week but still saw the story about how some group in San Francisco is trying to get a measure on the ballot in November to approve changing the name of a municipal sewage treatment center to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. While not a Bush fan, I don't think it's funny or cute. It doesn't reflect well on San Francisco, or for that matter on the U.S. that we would hold the office of the President in such low regard. And so before I blow off my few remaining fingers tonight with some illegal fireworks to commemorate the pending 232nd birthday of the USA, can I simply ask that we respect the office, and show some modicum of civility toward our President? You can loathe him, but don't be a jerk.