New Jibjab Dubya Video!

[BlueChair]

http://www.jibjab.com, the geniuses who brought us the John Kerry/George W. Bush "This Land Is Your Land" video have a new one about Bush's second term. Genius!

Check it out at at http://www.jibjab.com/lowband/default.htm

[Who Shot Sam?]

Not bad, but not quite as good as their first effort. Maybe it's just harder to find the humor in all of this now that he's been re-elected.

[RedShoes]

Yeah, there was a bit more humour to the whole thing when there was still hope.


It is good to know I can still find myself laughing out loud about the whole thing though. Just four more years, and we can move on with our lives.

...Right?

[BlueChair]

Just cause he was re-elected doesn't mean we can't laugh. Then again, I don't live in the U.S.

But I know that Red and I have taken great comfort in The Daily Show post-election. We're stuck with him for another four years, so all we can do is laugh and hope he doesn't fuck things up too much.

Although I think I said that last time

[RedShoes]

I don't know what I'd do without Jon Stewart.

[Mr. Average]

At the risk of sounding remarkably out of touch, I only recently started watching Jon Stewart. I had heard he was an ultra liberal who had a complete and total imbalance in his comedy. Sort of a more gifted Al Franken, And a much more gifted Michael Moore, who is really lost right now.

Regardless, and on the advice of my ultra-conservative son (where does he get it from...?) I started to tune in over the holidays, and I have been surprised that he is, while not equal opportunity, a brilliant satirist and comedian who seems to find great material on both sides of the aisle. I enjoy hearty laughs even if the target is the Commander in Chief, because he has character traits that are perfect set-ups for a good commedian. I have heard Leno...I have heard Letterman, and Stewart reduces them to comedic rubble.

Have you noticed that in an attempt to compete, the late night shows have become far more partisan, and far more politically-needling then I have ever seen them. I see the pacing event as ascending popularity of Jon Stewart.

WHile I don't think he will make the same conversion that Dennis Miller did, I do believe that he is an intelligent guy and will move closer to the center, especially as history begins to validate some of the decisions of the current administration. It will take half a lifetime to validate many of the decisions, but I believe that many will be validated, and when I'm 70 years old, I'll be able to look back with pride that I was able to see the global picture and understand the why's of today.

Final Word:

GWB pisses me off almost daily. But I am a supporter, and NOT as a function of some moral barometer that we share, or some deranged gene that hides on our Y chromosome that renders us incapable of making critical decisions even though they are unpopular.

Folks, I live in CA, and the borders are crumbling. For those of you who do not appreciate or understand the implications on our culture, our language, our economy, then it is difficult for you to understand. But we are confronted with it daily...it shrinks our wallets, reduces the safety of our neighborhoods, increases crime, and erodes our culture. CA schools are now rated as being approximately 1.5 years in academic arrears...a 7th grade student in CA public schools is easily matched with the IOWA test scores of a 5th or 6th grader, but falls far short in the percentile ranking of national 7th graders. I know. I study it. Thus, I spend 10K$ annually to get my 7th grade daughter a 7th grade education. Not a high academic instituation...just a good school that markets itself by indicating that "if you move outta here, your kid will have a fightin' chance academically and will fit into school systems without dropping back a grade or two.

Of course, this applies to moving to most states, except Missouri and Arkansas. The equation described above does not apply, for some reasons that are obvious, and for a reason that shouily apparent to those who frequent the postings of Rope, who has labelled me a Nazi sympathizer, white supremicist, religious automotan, and sort of implied that I was Gay.

I take exception with that "religious Automaton" label.

And I am joking , Rope, about Missouri, and about you. I love your posts, because they provide a continuum from incredibly brilliant, through critically thinking, into mindless parroting, and finally culminating into absolute tripe that is the raw essence of insanity. Thats why I love you, man. You are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you are going to get.

Stupid is as Stupid does. The California immigration fiasco is giving new meaning to this phrase.

[Who Shot Sam?]

WHile I don't think he will make the same conversion that Dennis Miller did.

Jesus, let's hope not.

[noiseradio]

The difference between John Stewart and Dennis Miller isn't the politics, it's the talent. Dennis Miller, at his best, was not anywhere near as funny. He benefitted on SNL by having some of the best comedy writers around. But his own stuff has always suffered. Stewart's stand up KILLS. And he's got some of the best writers around. It's a good time to be alive if you like great satire.

[wehitandrun]

Noise, what do you think of David Cross? Do you have any of his stand up cds, or have you ever seen him live? In my opinion, he is far-and-away the best stand up comedian in the business right now (well, George Carlin aside), especially after Chris Rock's already dated "Never Scared" let down.

[noiseradio]

David Cross is great live. It's hard for me to say "best in the business," if only because it's such a huge business with such a large underground. There are probably guys out there killing that most of us will never hear of. But Cross is certainly no slouch. And actually, modern Carlin doesn't do much for me. In his day, though...

[A rope leash]

I must take exception with Mr. Average’s assertion that I labeled him as a Nazi sympathizer. What I did was compare him to my wannabe Nazi brother. It was an ill-advised effort to show how a man can have very complex and seemingly contradictory attitudes and ideas. It was ham-handed, perhaps, but I reject the assertion that I ever called Mr. Average a Nazi or even a Nazi sympathizer. Someone else might have, and I might have inadvertently lent him the idea. I sincerely apologize for that.

I also never called Mr. Average a Christian robot. Not in those words anyway, although he may have inferred that since he was a Christian, and I compare some Christians to robots, then I must be calling him a robot. This is similar to NoiseRadio’s occasional response to my Christian bashing. While both of these entities readily admit that there are many who call themselves Christian, but who do not really fit the profile of someone who follows Jesus, they still become personally offended when I deride Christians who are closed-minded, misguided, deluded, and exclusionary.

Okay, I get it: those Christians who operate radio stations that propagate wild Bible-based prophecy tales and homophonic or Muslim-fearing political agendas have nothing to do with other Christians like Mr. Av and Noise R. What I don’t get is this: if there is no relationship between these guys and those other Christians, then why the personal offense? Is it just to remake the point that “all Christians are not alike”? To begin with, that point is pretty obvious: there are so many religions and sects and sub-sects of religions that they are all suspect in their validity as a gateway to unalterable truth, unless a person is willing to allow themselves to be persuaded into accepting some fairly fantastic and potentially dangerous ideas.

Whatever labels we apply to ourselves and identify with, we have to take their entire weight. I take a lot of flak for being a doubter of God, and my brother took a lot of flak for being a homosexual, and I took some of that flak just for defending him. But, there’s also a plenty of derision to be spread upon God-believers, as is demonstrated by everything from Jimmy Swaggart’s sexual hypocrisy to Jerry Falwell’s “God told me” donation pleas, to the Vatican pedophilia horror. Most believers were not involved directly, but they are part of the same anachronistic structure that created these “anomalies” in behavior, so they have to take whatever punch comes their way…but individual believers do not have to take it personally, do they? Just remember, when I’m pissing and moaning about Christian homophobia, I not saying you are a homophobe.

Of course, I never point out the good religious people, the ones who tithe billions that supposedly go to help the poverty-stricken people all across the world, among other worthy causes. Well, despite all those wonderful donations, there is still famine, there is still disease, and there is still savageness and immorality. Perhaps they should have also chipped in the portion that went for the fabulous houses of worship and other campuses of holy indoctrination, not to mention the personal wealth taken by the most holy of the congregation.

I’m not saying that religion has never helped any one. I’m saying that the benefit is hyped, and that the effort has so far failed in the real world, and indeed, it has become like many other generally capitalistic ventures, dependent upon hype and unholy glorification, and upon its own continuing failures. Whatever good comes from religious organizations is negated to some degree by the flood of historical bloodshed they float upon. Combine that with the current scandals, and one wonders if there isn’t a better way. (There is: it’s called responsible moral government, the same entity that now takes your taxes and always finds plenty of money for war).

Frankly, it is testament to the teaching of Jesus that his personal good name has remained pretty much intact after all of the inadvertent evil that has transpired under the auspices of his personage. I’ve always thought of Jesus as the guy who was really cool until he started tripping too much on the God thing.



I concur with Mr. Average that a rope leash is genius bordering on insanity. I’m glad he still loves a rope leash, and I want him to know that a rope leash does not bear grudges. A rope leash only wants clarity, and will not allow history to be mal-constructed.

Atheism is not a religion. It is the absence of religion. It’s getting over it, and getting on with rest of it. There are a lot of folks who are heavily into atheism, but as far as I know, there are no rituals, commandments, or other requirements relating to having faith in something highly improbable.

I'm very happy with it, because the truth does set you free!

[miss buenos aires]

Has anyone seen the splicing together of Dick Cheney's mouth/body language with a Scarface monologue at http://www.dangeroussquid.com?

[Copenhagen Fan]

Mr. Average

I have to say that your comments on immigration in CA are veiled comments in a way. What is the problem? That test scores are going down? Well having more people that do not have English as their mother tounge in the schools will tend to do that. The debate about how immigration effects the economy are just that, a debate, with no clear cut analysis of the benefits or detractors of the situation.

I spent most of my life living in California and can only say that the emergence of Latin Americans in that state have a lot of positive effects. Cheaper food prices, a good cheap competitive labor force doing jobs nobody else wants to do. Remember, as a white boy, you're in the minority in California. Get used to it. My belief is that if a person comes to the States and has a job and pays taxes, all is well, regardless if they came illegally or not. That's our legacy, unless your ancestors came on the Mayflower, your existance in the USA probably started in a similar fashion as the new immigrants.

You can always resort to White Flight if you are concerned about the infusion of immigrants.

How does the emergance of Mexicans and other Latin Americans erode "our" culture???? They were there first! And the culture in California is a mixed culture drawing on all sorts of different ethnic groups. Unless you live in Orange County of course, which you most likely do. Learn Spanish and enrich yourself, the American idiom is only enriched with Spanish phrases and words not destroyed.

You should move to Denmark, because you use the same arguments as the Danish People's Party....the extreme right wing cousins of Hader in Austria.

We need more Mexicans in Denmark!!!

[Mr. Average]

You missed my point, Cope fan.

Immigration is a wonderful thing. It benefits the nation, the neighboring country, In this discussion, Mexico, and everyone benefits in accordance with your comments.

The issue of illegal immigration is another thing. Cope, illegal immigrants are not trickling over the boarder,they are surging. Pay taxes? Are you kidding me? Such a miniscule percentage of these illegals pay taxes, yet they risk life, limb, and often fetus to cross the border, deliver in the desert, and the offspring is immediately covered by California subsidies.

I am approached at my residence by talented, gentle, and hard-working immigrants who will perform tasks for a fraction of the price of an American Laborer. A pittence. I always ask how to pay, and it is always...ALWAYS cash only...no paper trail..."To tixis". The monies are typically repatriated (a stretch of the term) to Mexico, where they subsidize growth and infrastructure there. That is why, beginning Friday evening and progressing through Saturday evening, if you head to the border to party you will be in a line of vehicles for miles that have NO US identification, only Mexican plates. They are stacked to the brim with cheap goods, and the pockets of the laborers are filled with the monies that remain untaxed.

I am all for immigration. We have a legal framework for it to take place. The Mexican government, with the full blessing of Vincente Fox, the President, has just published a 32 page booklet on helpful hints and safety tips to illegally immigrate into the United States. Key word: "Illegal". Stop there. Are there no restrictions for entry into Denmark? If I make a run at sneaking into Denmark without papers/credentials/authorization, will I be detained. Extradited? Charged with a violation of the law? I think so, but you would know better than I.

To argue that we have no right to claim a unique culture or a unique heritage is ridiculous. We do. So does Denmark, in spite of the fact that it has been influenced heavily by sorrounding countries, the culture is a critical identifier of Denmark. The same can and should hold true for the USA. It does not mean that our culture is omniscient, always right, and all powerful. It does, however, mean that our heritage is worth protecting, worth fighting for.

And the underlying subtext that gently implies that my position has a racist edge is, at its base, absolutely ridiculous. I work for a company that has hired 60 non-english speaking Mexican Immigrants. We start our pay at minimum wage and move up from there. These employee's are treated well as a direct function of their loyalty to the BUSINESS, their accountability, and their work ethic. They are never, ever rated as a function of their heritage. Truth is, in Santa Ana, whites won't take the work that the Mexicans will take and perform extremely well with. It is beneath them, so they will forego minimum wage plus to take unemployment.

Our business is successful as a direct consequence of these hard workers. I work side by side with them at least weekly to validate thier importance and to blur the white/blue collar distinction that had prevailed in this office prior to my hire.

Illegal, Cope. If the laws are wrong, then we can change them through the Democratic process. But to say "Hell with the laws, screw the Law of the Land...we're going, thats all they is too it, we're fuckin' goin'" is, in my opinion, the wrong way.

It is widely held that the port of entry for the next large scale terrorist attack on this country will be via the largely unprotected American/Mexican Border (approx 2000K miles?). That concerns me. I understand that, living in Denmark has many perks, but I would suggest that one of them is that Denmark does not present a clear and present danger to most.

I love the way so many simplify the immigration issue to the incription on the Statue of Liberty. That inscription, and the immigrants that legally held to it, has made this country a great country. The unbridled flow of illegals is , indeed, damaging the country...not because, Cope, there are too many Mexicans. Because the CA mentality of Tax and Spend has left an incredible, and I mean incredible, imbalance in monies available for social programs.

Last point. A mexican immigrant that entered the country illegally can gain acceptance into any of the state sponsored universities and colleges for free. American citizens, born and raised in California, then relocated in their senior year of high school to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon will pay a premium...full out of state tuition, in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I think that this is wrong.

[wehitandrun]

Someone just got served...