Colbert: (Powerful) Truth to Power

I knew he would be good at the WH Correspondents' Dinner, but I had no idea. He is as brilliant as his cojones are grandes.

(Update 5/10/2006: The proper link to C-SPAN's video is through Google Video.)

There was no gentle ribbing here because, let's face it, being gentle is being dishonest. And don't forget that Bush used this event to mock the missing WMDs -- as if the thousands of dead in Iraq could laugh with him.

Colbert eviscerated Bush and the press corps lackeys in the tradition of the great court jesters, saying what we wish we could say, only funnier.

I think this will go down as a "Have you no decency, Sir?" moment in history. I have the utmost respect for Stephen Colbert.

That First Amendment is a beautiful thing... when it works. Please watch it work.

Hope you saw Colbert last night.

Stephen raked William Kristol over the coals last night. Colbert is usually quite relaxed; last night he was relentlessly aggressive--especially on the subject of the Project for the New American Century, the architects of the Iraq war. I can't remember the last time I so enjoyed televised squirming and sweating.

Crooks and Liars has the video.

Greg Mitchell | A Crisis Almost Without Equal

A Crisis Almost Without Equal

Greg Mitchell consistently writes lucid, thought-provoking essays on the press and politics, and this is one of his best.

The country escaped further damage from Nixon by his resignation; the disapproving public only had months to wait before the unpopular Jimmy Carter ended his term. What to do about the most unpopular president since, who has nearly three years left in his term and who won't resign?

Mitchell faults Democrats for not pushing for impeachment because Bush's unpopularity will bring them victories in November. I don't see this as a problem but as a strategy to bring about impeachment. Subpoena power is the basis of any correction in the White House, and it doesn't come without victories in November.

That's the only point on which I differ. I especially like his conclusion, where he asks the press to investigate. If only they had been doing so in 1999....

Take two job apps and call me in the morning.

As an insecure employee of the University of Michigan, I want to know why I wasn't asked to participate in the study and how much it paid the participants.

That's a joke, son. But I do have several boxes, packed like that one, sitting in my office. My meds I keep at home.

Epidemic of job insecurity takes a major toll on worker health

Upbeat Ending for YHS Winter Drumline Season

Despite earning the highest score of their season at the WGI World Tournament today, the Ypsilanti High School Winter Drumline was eliminated after the first round. It was a bittersweet end to a season rife with program changes and personnel shifts.

I've wrestled with this table long enough. I have lots more to say but I have a project due and a final on Monday.

Scholastic "A" Prelims, Round 4:

Place	School	Score (%)
1	Mariner HS	89.00
2	Fort Mill HS	88.63
3	Howell North HS (MO)	88.10
4	Olentangy Liberty HS (OH)	87.35
5	Arvada HS (CO)	84.75
6	Totino Grace HS	83.75
7	Waterford Mott HS (MI)	81.80
8	Ypsilanti HS (MI)	79.60
9	Powhaten HS	78.35
10	Northpoint Christian HS (MI)	78.20
11	Davis HS	75.25
12	Miliani HS (HI)	72.95
13	West Johnston HS	noshow

Twenty Years.

The Transformation Is Complete.

McCain has sold what remains of his soul to the religious right.

Think Progress » VIDEO: McCain Says Jerry Falwell is No Longer an ‘Agent of Intolerance’

Arctic Monkeys

A reader asks if Arctic Monkeys is "too Bowie for me." I admit I took that as a challenge. Anonymous may as well have asked if my hot sauce was too habañero for me, in which case I would choke down capsiacin until my nose bled and say that it was almost right--bring on the dancing jalapeños and call me Scoville. Because that's the mature kind of guy I am.

Not surprisingly, I really like Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The lead vocalist, Alex Turner, sounds like Bowie. But for me, this band lights up the same synapses as the White Stripes with their theatricality and their strutting, rock-out-with-your-c@*k-out guitar assault.

Bowie and Jack White -- is that possible? Hmm. Bowie comes from Iggy Pop who comes from Detroit. So the Arctic Monkeys and the White Stripes are cousins, grandchildren of Iggy, right? I mean, no one rocks out with his c@*k out like Iggy.

With this fantasy geneaology in mind, I checked out Allmusic. I was disappointed -- no mention of Bowie or Iggy among their influences. But wait! Turner and Jamie Cook memorized songs by the White Stripes before they formed the band.

So, are they "too Bowie"? Nope. They're Bowie enough for me, and more. Three thumbs up.