You have to get up pretty early in the morning to slip anything past Cong. Steve King

Cong. Steve King (R-IA) claims Colbert right-wing persona actually just a put-on.

Actually, that's the last thing I'm worried about

The CS Monitor has an article on Bill Clinton's advice for Obama. Though I think some or even much of it is good advice, I also think it's all stuff Obama must already know in his bones.

It's just a matter of whether or not he can find enough Democrats with the spines to do what needs to be done (and good luck with that).

So I don't want to talk about the advice. No, what jumped out at me was this assertion by the writer, Brad Knickerbocker (excellent name BTW):

Clinton speaks from experience. Two years into his first term, he got whacked by Newt Gingrich and the GOP’s “Contract with America.” Obama now faces a GOP whose base is more energized than Democrats are (although both parties have the "tea party" movement to worry about), and which has just unveiled its “Pledge to America.”

Honestly, I am not worried about the tea party movement. They (and their effect on the GOP) are handing Obama and the Democratic party everything they should need to hold onto or even increase their majorities in the senate and house.

What I'm worried about is that they won't grab onto those teacup-nuts and use 'em to knock down some bodies. What I am worried about is that Obama will react to a mid-term "whacking" as Clinton did.

No, not by having an affair--by all accounts President Obama is deeply and passionately in love with his wife, and devoted to his family. But by resorting to the straddle-every-issue, don't-offend-anyone strategy that Clinton embraced from (at least) 1994-1996.

Though at least I almost certainly don't need to worry that he'll start listening to the likes of Dick Morris (aka the gnome who lives under your bed and nibbles at your toes), as Clinton did...

"The bottom line is that, issue by issue, we're liberal."

...We're just afraid to admit it.

Bob Cesca reminds us of a few things.

The "both sides" meme [is] a very popular and very serious false equivalency based upon the notion that somehow both sides are equally to blame for this or that. Hell, even Jon Stewart's forthcoming rally is founded upon the false "both sides" meme -- organized around the misguided observation that there's equal levels of insanity on both sides -- as if the unmitigated blather and glaring contradictions from the tea party people, talk radio hosts, Fox News Channel and the Republicans who pander to all three is somehow equivalent to, say, a comparatively minor group like Code Pink. It's a cop-out argument meant to sound fair-minded, but bears no resemblance to the reality of a lopsidedly insane far-right.

The first new music review I've written in almost three years has been posted

It's at my old stomping ground of Ink 19, and it's of the revived Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark's collection of new songs, History of Modern.

Of which you can get a taste from the ad below.

Aaron, suck it up: Studio 60 failed because it wasn't your best work.

October is going to begin and end well for me, moviegoing-wise.

It’s opening with The Social Network, directed by David Fincher but most importantly to me written by Aaron Sorkin, whose work I tend to love.

I love his work but I don't always think he's right. Case in point:

As ]Sorkin] revs up, we coast over the statistic that one in four Americans still believes Barack Obama was not born in the United States (“There’s just too much bad information getting out there, and I have to believe that’s mostly the fault of the Internet, which isn’t held to any standards of accuracy”).

Oh god, he's back on this again.

Stop being pissed at the bloggers about S60, Sorkin.

Maybe you've been writing nonfiction too long. Maybe you've forgotten that your ficticious characters are 99 and 44/100% pure wish-fuffilment. It's the politicians and the journalists, Aaron.

There's bad information out there because few or no real politicians these days have the morals of your West Wing, and at least as few journalists these days have the talent of your Danny Concannon.

Not the people on the Internet, 95% of who are just trying to get through their lives after those people who actually have power and influence get through with them.

But anyway, that's how the month of October is starting in movies for me.

It's going to end with...oh shoot, what was that again...it's a heartwarming musical romantic comedy...I just can't think of the title...oh yes, that's right, I remember now, it’s...

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile
Originally uploaded by geoftheref

its the one the only croco! strongest reptile on earth! stay away or else.

Tristan Deyoung-Dreykuss

(da nephew)