The Republican side these days is such a villain-rich environment, you just want to vote for all of them, Unfortunately, you must choose.
Democratic heroes are tougher. There’s aren’t nearly enough high-profile Democratic heroes, which may describe the Party’s biggest problem in a nutshell.
It would also be nice to be able to vote for heroes and villains across party lines. (Mary Landrieu? Ben Nelson?) Maybe next time.
Vote!
For the record, I never said that. (The Twitter handles of those who sent it will go unmentioned in order to protect the guilty.) That’s a Tweet I saw, and to which I responded this way: “Obama wasn’t referring to greed. He was referencing FDR’s 4 Freedoms Speech. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms”
What upset me more than the sarcasm was the ignorance it showed. I couldn’t decide what surprised me most; that “freedom from want” could be so easily misinterpreted as ‘freedom from desire’, or that the phrase “freedom from want” didn’t immediately spark recognition of an allusion to one of Franklin Roosevelt’s most famous speeches?
The banner on my website, which I seem to quote with annoying frequency, is, “An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.” This is a prime example of why that’s so.
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by Michael R. Honig (Originally written as a show commentary, August 9, 2010)
I’m actually surprised that I’ve never posted this on my blog before. It’s over a year old, but I still believe it’s true.
(Update, 4/4/2012): Some links added to article.)
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I’ve never been an extremist. I’ve never been a conspiracy nut. I’ve never been one who has particularly believed in the “evil corporate executive” stereotype that is at the center of so many plots on TV and in film.
I do think that more often than not, anyone who rises to a position of great power or authority must have a certain element of narcissism and ruthlessness in their nature in order to get there. And yet, I’ve still believed that generally speaking, corporate executives have some degree of moral compass to guide them in what they do.
But the last few years have really strained my basically trusting nature.
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Every evening, the border is closed between India and Pakistan. I found this video through an email forward, and it’s really great stuff. You can see, hear and feel the hostility throughout the ceremony… but note the handshake at the end!
This video and the description below were originally uploaded to YouTube by utubekhiladion Feb 28, 2010
At the time, it seemed like hyperbole, and Alan Grayson was widely criticized for his interpretation of Republican ideas.
Funny how, with 20/20 hindsight, Grayson’s assessment looks less like hyperbole and more like prescience.
Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson made the mistake of having had Jon Stewart on as a guest on their show “Crossfire”. Apparently, Stewart had been satirizing their show, and they wanted a chance at the lion in their own den.
It may not have gone as planned. Watch here:
Vesta is almost large enough to fall into what’s called “a relaxed state”; the term for a body with enough mass to pull itself into a sphere, like Earth.
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From the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: The View From Vesta
Video Advisory: 2011-293
Sept. 16, 2011
NASA’s Dawn Collects a Bounty of Beauty from Vesta Continue reading
As is probably true of any thinking person, I’ve thought a lot about the death penalty. Is it fair? Is it state-sanctioned murder? Is there any crime or criminal that justifies it or deserves it?
The answer I’ve arrived at over the years is, Yes and no. And I don’t mean that in a wishy-washy, ‘I’m-not-sure’ sort of way. Continue reading
For most of us, this video speaks for itself.
Libertarian Vs. Tea Party
RD40 – Libertarian vs. Republican
Libertarian vs NeoConservative at a Tea Party Rally
Okay, granted the neo-conservative character is unfairly represented by a zombie avatar, but the arguments are interesting.
The Diffrence. Democrat vs. Republican [sic]
Forgive the typo in the title, and consider the context of the video itself. I think it accurately frames the difference between rightwing expression of views and leftwing expression of views, in spirit at least. Also, the stats in the map at the end, if accurate, are intriguing. (I have not done the research, but let me know if you do.)
Last night (September 1, 2011), Lawrence O’Donnell’s The Last Word ran part of a speech given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just before the 1936 election. The most striking thing about his speech was the political fearlessness of it. One line in particular could be lifted by President Obama and cited in his speech to Congress: “Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.”
If only he would…
Below is the link to the page with the transcript, and the introduction written there.
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Wow! So many memories! So many choices (35)! How do you decide??
The possibilities range from campy fun some by great composers (“Lost In Space” by ‘Johnny’ Williams, and “Tales From The Crypt” by Danny Elfman), to the self-consciously dramatic (“Space: 1999”). There’s also the oddly included. (“Get Smart” as science fiction? Why not just include “The Simpsons”?)
Some omissions were a disappointment. The “Twilight Theme” you can vote for is the Marius Constant version (arguably the best known), rather than the Bernard Herrmann version used for the first two seasons. The latter, imho, is musically much superior and rather creepier, but alas, not a voting option.
Based on the voting results (which you see after you cast your own), the voters were mostly youthful; more recent themes did better, suggesting that living memory and sentimental attachment made a difference in the outcome.
There were several to which I found myself strongly drawn , but with the vote limited to only four, I had to make some hard choices.
Ultimately, I found a simple guide: I voted my goosebumps. For those who are curious, but don’t want to be influenced by my choices, I’ll post them as a SPOILER ALERT here in white font. You can see them by highlighting the gap just below.
Battlestar Galactica (old), Battlestar Galactica (new), Dr. Who (Tom Baker era), Stargate: Atlantis (a surprise to me, since I never loved the show).
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Welcome to the first io9 music smackdown! We’re putting together the ultimate science fiction (and fantasy) playlist — all the music that everyone should have on his or her iPod.
Today, help us decide which theme tunes absolutely must be in the mix. Which would you rather have in your ultimate science fiction playlist: the theme from Firefly or BSG?
Here are the rules for this particular playlist. Only original TV theme songs are eligible (so Chuck’s Cake tune and True Blood’s “Bad Things” are out, but just for this round). There are no cartoons for this round as well, you’ll get your TMNT cartoon theme song smack down soon enough. You can vote for 4 total. The winners will be added to io9’s ultimate play list. The poll is at the bottom of the posts, and we’ve included every single song on the list so you can decide first-hand.
Remember: you can vote for up to four items.
Click here to hear the candidates and vote ==> Vote for the greatest science fiction theme song of all time
Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig 