If you’re worried about immigrants taking ‘merican jobs and all that, we’d all appreciate it if you’d stay home tonight and knit.  The rest of us want a seat at the bar.

From here:

I can only guess why so few (in the front tables) at the Correspondence Dinner did not laugh. For myself, I can only offer the following of why I did not laugh at Stephen Colbert as I watched his presentation.

One does not laugh when they are stunned and their jaw is dropped.

One does not laugh when the delivery is so incisive and deliberate and unrelenting that one does not want to miss the next thrust of the stiletto, the next nuanced rip, the next revealing gesture, the next slap to the bully’s face.

One doesn’t laugh when they’re awestruck.

When I watch Lennie Bruce I do not laugh. I pay attention.

I just received a note (today, May 3) in the mail from Dr. Chucktastic.  It’s dated April 28.  It’s results for a lab on April 19.  At the bottom, beneath a bunch of unchecked tests I didn’t take, it reads, “Testicular ultrasound showed no evidence of tumor.”

So two weeks after my test, I find out via Dr. Chucktastic that I don’t have cancer. Remember, it was Dr. Chucktastic who originally saw me and who authorized the test.  But in the end it was Dr. Primary Care who let me know—two days after the lab and with some cajoling—and who then saw me later that same
Rather thoughtful of Dr. Chucktastic to let me know I don’t have cancer, once he found the time.  Maybe in a month or two he’ll want to see me for a follow up.

From Kung Fu Monkey: “One of the insanely annoying phrases lefties overuse is “Speaking truth to power.” Well, kids, you know what? Standing three feet from the most powerful man in the world and poking fun at his public foibles, telling your audience that they are cowards by doing nothing more than pointing out the truth of their actions — THAT’S speaking truth to power.” See also Philocrites and Media Nation.

Stephen Colbert was the keynote speaker for the Washington Press Corps’ annual “Aren’t We Swell?” banquet. Ouch. Stephen delivered withering satire directly aimed at the President, who was a mere ten feet away. The press didn’t escape either his scorn either, but they didn’t seem to know it. A breathtaking performance that will be replaying on C-SPAN for months. Video here. Transcript here.  Salon.com write-up here.

At a couple of key points in the past, America has seen the collapse of a major political party, and it could happen again.

Neither party has adjusted yet to post-Cold War realities, domestically or internationally. Neither party, measured by the growing number of independent voters and the lackluster number of voters overall, is very popular. Both parties are broke.

The time is ripe for a major realignment. If a new party, with new ideas and new ways of running itself, can capture the public imagination and the political center, one (or both?) parties could collapse. If a new party can pull it off, it will run the country for decades. Click to continue reading “Hoping for a New American party”