Now for Something Completely Different

I don't usually do humor (but I do like it), but as a late baby-boomer, I do appreciate this bit that came into my email box this AM

It was fun being a baby boomer...until now. Some of the artists of the '60s are
revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers.


They include:

Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help from Depends
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the GrapeNuts
Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping
The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
Abba - Denture Queen
Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling if you Hear Me Fall
Helen Reddy - I am Woman, Hear me Snore
Willie Nelson - On the Throne Again
Leslie Gore - It's My Procedure and I'll Cry if I Want To

True Patriotism.com

True Patriotism.com

Hubris and hijacking

It's been awhile since I've last posted, and I fervently hope that someone is reading these rants. (Hi, mom!) The thing is...There are so many areas in which the USA is being hijacked by the powers that be, and I'm so angry and pessimistic about it that I'm having a difficult time articulating it. So, here goes an attempt at articulating my frustration at least:

Hubris. It's connected to arrogance and a belief that "they" can do anything "they" want to do: Assume the mantle of "mandate" based on a majority of 51%...then send the attack dogs upon anyone who disagrees. Lie, confabulate, misuse facts, then hire propagandists at taxpayer expense to create a mythology of truth. I don't blame this all on the administration, the Prez or even Carl Rove (although I'd really like to). Part of the blame lies with the 24 hour newstainment networks. You know, the purveyors of short-attention-span news, otherwise known as MSNBC and CNN (I don't count FOX, because that network is simply Republican propoganda central--it might as well be an owned and operated subsidiary of GOP Inc.)

The newstainment networks have the American public figured out. We'd prefer to hear about Michael Jackson for hours on end rather than the number of Iraqi civilians killed or the number of American soldiers killed. We'd rather get our analysis from talking heads shouting talking points at each other than introspective analysis and intelligent debate about important issues. For the latter turn to PBS or CSPAN. Or Jon Stewart.

But it's not that the American public is stupid. It's that broadcast journalism is lazy. There's no depth, no analysis. No digging. Bernstein and Woodward have become quaint museum relics of a different time.

There are exceptions. Keith Olberman tries and often succeeds, where Chris Matthews only wants to hear the sound of his own voice. Aaron Brown used to try. At the beginning. I had high hopes for Aaron when he started Newsnight. Now he throws softball questions to party hacks and "experts" with their own axes to grind. But occasionally he shines.

I usually try to catch the BBC news on BBC America; or the NPR news shows throughout the day. Or Washington Journal on CSPAN in the morning. At least its news and not Newstainment.

More to come...