Just Because

As long-time readers know, I don't often get political here, but - and this isn't really inspired by anything in particular - I just felt that I needed to share this:


Oh, wait, he only hates about ten of them. I guess that's okay, then. Now, if he hated eleven of them...
For more on Beck, if you're so inclined, check out this awesome as always post on Slacktivist.
Okay, that's it. When next I post I'll get back to the usual airy nothings and random nonsense.

Because He's Good Enough, Smart Enough, And Doggone It, People Like Him

Minn. board expected to announce Al Franken winner

When you see cases like this in which a recount finds that the person originally named as the winner was not, in fact, the actual winner, it kind of makes you wonder about the outcome of races that are not contested.
In any case, despite his eccentricities, I think Franken will do a decent job as Senator, and it's not like he's the most flamboyant person elected in Minnesota..

I See A Reason Why Gunpowder Treason Should Ever Be Forgot

First of all, Happy Guy Fawkes Night, though I think that gunpowder, treason, and plot have largely been forgot.
Certainly I hope, given our current circumstances, they are things that won’t be remembered positively or fondly.
I know, I know; you’re all wondering what the hell I’m babbling about. Don’t worry: it really doesn’t matter. So don’t sweat it. Ignore me. Nothing to see here. Move along…
Scott had some family stuff to deal with, so Riff Trax night has been postponed until tomorrow, and as Pushing Daisies isn’t on, that gives me time to post an entry.
There’s one very obvious topic I could write about, but, as you should know by now, I don’t often write much about politics for, as I often say, many reasons.
One of those reasons is that they make me sad. There is an extent to which our politics and the process surrounding them are revelatory of our nature as human beings, and what is revealed is often depressing. We get to see how small, petty, spiteful, and, quite frankly, stupid we really are.
Actually, it often feels as though rather than being a simple revelation of these truths, they are actually a tribute, or a monument to the worse angels of our nature. We glorify in the spectacle of our own ignorance and stupidity. We positively wallow in it.
So, yeah. I don’t write much about politics.
I will say this much, though: Jon Stewart was right.
That’s often true, but in this instance I’m thinking of something in particular that he said last night, which is, to paraphrase, that the election of Barack Obama is a demonstration of us as Americans living up to our creed.
Regardless of what you think of him, whether you have concerns about his lack of experience, or you’ve chosen to believe the whispers and innuendo and outright lies, this historic election proves that we really are what we say we are, and that we have finally moved past giving simple lip-service to the idea that anyone can grow up to be the President, and that we really do live in a land of opportunity.
After all, if a racist secret Muslim radical terrorist Marxist Anti-Christ, or rather someone whom a depressingly vast number of people can willfully and stupidly choose to believe is all of these things, can do it, well, there’s hope for pretty much anyone, isn’t there?
There is a lot more I could say, but I won’t, for, again, many reasons.
Okay, back to the regular topics, such as…umm…and…uhh….well, you know. The usual crap.
Traffic sucked, something or other about comic books, my love life would need to buy a ladder to reach the level of pathetic joke, I’m tired, etc.
You know the drill.

Pure Awesome

No matter what your political beliefs are, there's no getting around the fact that the following video, featuring Ron Howard, Andy Griffith, and Henry Winkler is awesome.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

(Found via Peter David's blog)

Nixon/FDR '08: Change You Won't F***ing Believe!

As I’d forgotten to burn the DVDs the night before, Scott and I didn’t actually watch any Riff Trax movies yesterday.
Instead I picked up Iron Man on Blu-Ray and we watched that.
(Specifically, I got the two disc Ultimate Blu-Ray edition, in the Target exclusive Iron Man helmet disc case.)
We also watched the season premiere of Pushing Daisies, which, as always, was wonderful.
To mark the occasion, I bought a cherry pie.
In case you haven’t watched the show – And why haven’t you? It’s wonderful! Why do you hate joy? – the pie was appropriate, as the main character is a pie maker, and as such pies often figure prominently into the plot.
While I was at Target I also picked up the super mega happy fun fun (or whatever it’s actually called) Blu-Ray edition of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I haven’t seen it, but it looked funny, and Apatow and company haven’t let me down so far, so, since it was right next to Iron Man, I figured I might as well grab it and add to my Blu-Ray collection.
At one point I got a phone call, and as my living room phone had lost sync with the base station, it didn’t ring, so I had to answer the phone in the kitchen, since I didn’t want to go upstairs to one of the phones that has a caller ID display, and it was at least theoretically possible that it was something important.
Turned out to be the survey people who keep calling me and whom I keep hanging up on (last night was no exception). I believe it’s the same people who have been calling people and asking who they’re going to vote for, then, if the person being surveyed is voting for Obama, asking a bunch of loaded hypothetical questions like “Would you still vote for Obama if I told you that he eats babies?”
I said like that, but not actually that. Mostly they’ve been talking to Jews and asking them if they’d still vote for Obama if they knew that he supported a bunch of anti-Israel policies.
It’s all very similar to what the Bush campaign did back in 2000, calling people in the South and telling them that McCain had an illegitimate black child, which should come as no surprise, as McCain has hired all of the people who ruined his campaign to ruin his opponent’s campaign.
One of these times I might actually talk to them if they call and when they ask who I’m going to vote for, I’ll either tell them that I’m voting for Bill and Opus, or the Nixon/FDR ticket. If they point out that Nixon and FDR are both dead, and even if they were alive they 1. Would be ineligible to run and 2. They would be extremely unlikely to run on the same ticket, I’ll start to sob uncontrollably and scream, “Dead? When did that happen?” If they figure out that Bill and Opus aren’t real candidates (and don’t actually exist) I’ll accuse them of being lying dupes of the Lex Luthor/Pete Ross campaign and demand to speak to their Reptoid supervisor.
However, it’s more likely that I’ll just keep hanging up on them.
Speaking of McCain, though, apparently he’s decided to Say No! To Michigan (I don’t know, or care, if it still is, but the tourism slogan for Michigan used to be Say Yes! To Michigan), according to this article I read today (and am too lazy to find again in order to provide a link), and has decided that it’s a lost cause*. His campaign will stop running ads and will drop its direct mailings to Michigan residents and focus its energies on key battleground states.
In any case, I’m finding myself diving deeper into politics than I really care to, so I guess I’ll bring this entry to a close.

*Updated to add: Huh. John McCain and I actually have something in common.