Joe Wilson's Folly

Say what you like, the First Amendment might be set aside in a situation where the President of the United States is giving a speech before a joint session of Congress. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) embarrassed himself, his district, his state and his party by shouting out "You lie!" at the president on Wednesday night.

Wilson is apparently a serial apologizer. He's made hotheaded, even stupid statements for which he has had to apologize, often only when the facts proved he was incontrovertibly wrong.

He was wrong on the facts here as well. Apparently the wording of the House bill declares that there will be no federal payment for health care for illegal aliens. But I guess ol' Joe just didn't know enough to keep from making a fool of himself on national TV.

So give ol' Joe a piece of your mind, if you're willing, and call his office in DC at 202-225-2452. Maybe you support his stupidity and maybe you don't. I don't and I plan to let him know. I also plan to give his Democratic opponent Rob Miller a donation.

Political Note

I know a few of my readers have, in the past, said they do not like the political stuff. Fair enough (and I'm not even sure if those readers are still reading).

I'll just post these two links and let you read or not.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25991.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/olbermann-slams-palin-for_n_256207.html

Movies: In the Loop

Kat and I managed to catch a film recently--the delightfully subversive "In The Loop." Based on a BBC series called "The Thick of It," this film finds a hapless minister (Simon Foster, played by Tom Hollander) making a gaffe on British radio--calling war "unforeseeable"--and landing in the middle of a power struggle on both sides of the Atlantic. Assisted by chilly pro Judy (played by Gina McKee) and an amoral newcomer named Toby (Chris Addison), Foster is the football tossed between pro-war and anti-war factions. He tries to play both sides but... well, suffice it to say he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.

On the anti-war side is Assistant Secretary of State Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy), whose assistant Liza Weld (Anna Chlumsky, best known for her role in "My Girl") wrote an obscure paper on the pitfalls of going to war. This paper, Foster's harried cluelessness, the machinations of the hilariously obscene Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi)--the Prime Minister's Director of Communications and general troubleshooter--and the ridiculous nature of factional politicking make the movie a joyful chaos of conflicting purposes, double-dealing, betrayal, deceit and the things that make Washington DC and London so much fun to watch. Not to mention Steve Coogan as a local who needs Foster to repair a wall adjoining his property, lest his mother's greenhouse be crushed by falling bricks. Or James Gandolfini as a general who may or may not have political ambitions, but knows how to survive the Washington version of Russian roulette. Or David Rasche as venal Secretary of State Linton Barwick (leader of the pro-war side), whose sleaze is buried under a layer of cold humor and patronizing propriety.

As you can see, there's a lot to like here.

It's about the most foul-mouthed movie I've seen, but it is hilarious to those of us who live in this kind of environment. If you like political satire of a really dark bent, go see it.

Voter Suppression: Don't Let It Happen to You!

Okay, I'm getting serious about this topic of voter suppression. Frankly, it's scary as hell and YOU ought to be worried.

Why?

Because across the country, dozens of political appointees have the power to purge names from the voter rolls because they feel like it. They've learned from the infamous and despicable Katherine Harris (that miserable failure of a pol in Florida) who quashed the Gore recount, after managing to get an unknown but not-insignificant number of voters disqualified from voting.

This is election rigging. This is criminal behavior, folks, a violation of our bedrock principles.

Look for "Steal Back Your Vote," a comic book about voter suppression and how you can fight it. Also, visit my friend Martin Bosworth's excellent blog post about this very issue.

We like to think it can't happen here, but it can and it has. The most ruthless people at the top of the political pyramid do NOT want to lose their gold-plated positions, and they will hold onto power at your expense. They will lie and cheat and betray you... so don't be blind, don't think it can't happen to you.

Be smart, be prepared, and be ready to fight for your rights as a voter.
And remember this number: 1-866-OUR-VOTE. That is the number to call if you see fraud at your polling place or if you are a victim of fraud yourself.

Key points:
1- Don't mail in your ballot (they can be "missed")
2- Vote early as possible, in person
3- Register, then register, then register (verify you're registered here)
4- Do not fill out a provisional ballot; they will NOT be counted, no matter what that sweet little old lady at the polling place tells you
5- Get involved and volunteer
6- Vote with friends (it's harder to turn away a group than a single isolated person)
7- It's not over till it's over; challenge fraud, abuse of process and violations wherever they occur and DO NOT GIVE UP

Don't be a victim. Don't let our political system be a victim. Fight the crime, expose the criminals.
Okay, post's over.

See also:
electoral fraud
caging
booth capturing

Politics Out Again

One of my readers has commented that the political content is not why they come by the blog.
I understand-- and I would rather have the link to people, so I'll reaffirm my previous commitment not to post my politics here.
Hope that if you were turned off by the last few days, you'll come on back.
best, Drew

Drew's Blues

I dislike the way that my blog is trending, with the political content. This should be a more upbeat space and my outrage is anything but.

So I'm creating a new blog that will be called Drew's Blues. There's where you'll find my political content. I'll move my current political posts there and vent about all sorts of political stuff, while this blog will go back to dwelling on... okay, everything else besides politics. (And I guess you can figure out my political orientation from the color choice...)


Visit Drew's Blues and we'll talk!

Funniest Thing I've Seen Today

Y'know, I'm convinced Paris Hilton is much smarter than anyone thinks. Her persona is a front--a way for her to make money and be famous without having too great a burden placed on her.

After all, if everyone "knows" she's a ditz, then she doesn't have to bother with the responsibility of using that fame to do anything hard or not-fun.

But look at this-

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

Oddly enough, her energy plan makes sense.
Enjoy!

Why America is Great

I have a theory about why the United States may be the greatest nation in the history of the world.

We have, more often than not, chosen optimism and hope over fear and despair.

Historically, most of our choices have endorsed the idea that tomorrow will be better, no matter how bad today might be. We choose greatness, we choose ambition, we choose the positive. In that ideal we have of ourselves, our national character is upbeat, our mood one of self-confidence.

We need to choose greatness again.

It is time to turn the page.

Our next President has enormous challenges ahead. Do we want someone who will bring us more of the same, more of what we've had for the past eight years? Or do we want something new?

Will we choose optimism and hope, or fear and despair?

I choose optimism. I choose to believe in the things that have made the United States great-- things that we have forsaken in a dark era of fear, but that we can rediscover, reaffirm, and restore. It will take a lot of work, and it will not be easy, but after all... we believe in overcoming great challenges, and will overcome these.

That's what I believe.

Tim Russert, 1950-2008

When Katherine and I went to see Bruce Springsteen last year, we didn't know that we'd have a really nice encounter on the way out of the Verizon Center. Heading for the exit, the guy next to us said, "There's Tim Russert." And sure enough, it was.

I knew his face well, having become a politics junkie since moving to DC in 2002, but Kat had to be reminded, "Meet the Press."

"Oh yeah! Wow, he looks younger in person!"

We stepped up and said hello, then I said that this was Kat's first Bruce concert. He lit up with a huge grin and said, "My first was 30 years ago," or something to that effect. (I read later that he'd booked Bruce for a college concert for $2500 back in the day.) He asked if she enjoyed the show and Kat had a minute to talk with one of the most famous faces in TV news. She couldn't have been happier--being asked a question by Tim Russert? Out of this world.

We were at the Newseum yesterday evening and saw a page taped to one of the panels out in front. It was a picture of Mr. Russert with a note from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law alumni (his alma mater)... and it mentioned "the sad news." Naturally we assumed the worst and confirmed it by cellphone-delivered news a few minutes later.

It's a shock to lose someone who's so much a part of one's informational universe, especially so young. We met him for all of three minutes--and his gracious wife Maureen was there with him, together seeming so happy at seeing a terrific show--but he impressed us both deeply with his generosity, his friendliness, and his enthusiasm at sharing something (Bruce's music) which he clearly loved so much. We could not have had a better, finer moment with this icon of TV news and political coverage.

We've lost more than an exemplary television commentator and interviewer; we've lost a fine American.

Rest in peace, Mr. Russert, and our deepest condolences to your family, friends, associates and all those who looked to you as an authoritative, tough but fair-minded gentleman. You will be greatly missed.

Photo Alex Wong/Getty Images

Been Awhile!

Hey folks, been awhile since I last posted, but I've been busy.
First up, I'm working on a ton of reviews (already) for March's SFRevu. We had an editorial conference on Sunday and figured out a bunch of upcoming stuff, much of which involves yours truly. Got a lot of legwork to do this next week.
Not only that but:
1- the kittens are getting spayed tomorrow;
2- our condo is getting sprayed tomorrow (taking advantage of the kittens' absence to do a thorough bug-bombing);
3- we have our Virginia primary tomorrow;
4- I'm going to coordinate a big interview in BPD and SFRevu to support the new Wild Cards website from Tor and comic from Dabel Bros.;
5- probably have "shockwave" therapy for a kidney stone (one that is doing some internal harm) on Wednesday;
6- gotta try to set up an interview with Ray Bradbury this month;
7- I get to sleep sometime around Thursday.

As you can see, a lot going on.
Hope you're all doing great and that you'll comment soon.

Oddest Stream of Consciousness Moment Last Night

One of my friends at the comics store said "For a moment there-- when I didn't know who the guy was-- I thought RuPaul was running for President."

Wow. Mental image: towering transvestite entertainer making stump speeches. "My message to America: Be Fabulous!" And the ads... can you imagine the ads? YouTube would never recover.

All this to say: we come up with some pretty crazy stuff on Wednesday night in the ol' comics store.

Hatemongering

I'm tired of it.
Honest.
I'm tired of the many who feel the need to fuel fires of hatred between groups, races, religions, ideologies...
Heck, I'm partisan about my politics, but it's gotten to the breaking point. America needs to come together, to be UNITED, in ways that it hasn't been in a generation. It's easy to point fingers and accuse figures of years past-- but that will not get us anywhere.
The hard part is figuring out what to do.
How to heal the gaping wounds inflicted on our sense of commonality, on our sense of being Americans and knowing what that means-- beyond the flag-waving and rhetoric of patriotism.
How to make this country great again.
I'm tired now... I think a lot of us are tired.
But we can recover.
Where do we go from here?
It's time we asked ourselves that question.