The final wave - The end of an error.

As I was watching the Inauguration of Barack Obama on television, it occurred to me that this occasion was cause for a double dose of celebration.  An incoming President who seems to understand moderation and an even keel was sworn in, and an outgoing President whose tenure was marked by disaster after disaster quietly departed out of DC via helicopter.  I was just as elated by the departure of Bush as I was by the inauguration of Obama.

After a stirring rendition of “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee” by Aretha Franklin, amid a crowd of an estimated 2 million people, Barack Obama took the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts during which, he [Obama] endearingly stumbled over the oath.  Obama then went on to deliver his inaugural address.  It may not have been in par with the soaring rhetoric of his past speeches, but it was sincere and earnest.  It might not have been what America wanted to hear, but it was one that America needed to hear.

Watch:

Obama reminded America that amid the pomp, these are very sobering times:

“That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”

He sent a message of conciliation punctuated with a message of strength to the Middle East:

“We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

He finished his speech with a sense of hope interspersed with reality:

“America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”

A gala luncheon was held in honor of Obama and Biden in Statuary Hall in the Capitol.  During the luncheon, Senators Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy had to be removed and taken to the hospital for medical reasons.  Kennedy’s was more severe as he collapsed and experienced convulsions before being taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital Center for observation.  Kennedy has been reported to be fine and joking around later in the afternoon.

As I watched all of this unfold, from the inaugural swearing in to the parade and Inauguration Balls, my overall feeling is that of very cautious optimism.  I believe that we can work our way out of this mess which was eight years in the making, but I believe Obama when he says that the process will be difficult.  I pray that Americans are prepared for what lies ahead.  Although the tide has shifted and we are no longer subject to the dangerous policies that have plagued us, there is no quick-fix.  I urge everyone to be patient as we embark on a new era.

Thankfully, we have new leadership with the helm steered toward good, common-sense policies.

Perhaps MSNBC can replace the peacock with the donkey?

I knew I wasn’t the only person who noticed that MSNBC had shifted across the political spectrum in the last year or two.

MSNBC has been the network of choice for me for a number of years.  It has been a pleasant respite to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Glenn Beck, and Nancy Grace, (ugh) as well as Fox’s Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Steve Doocy. (double-ugh)

When I first started watching MSNBC years ago, it seemed to be just right of center.  “Hardball with Chris Mathews” seemed moderately right, while “Scarborough Country” with Joe Scarborough seemed a bit further to the right.  While I was never big on Scarborough, Mathews seemed a bit more palatable.  Chris Mathews even scored some pretty big “cool-points” with me back in 2004 right after the Republican Convention when Georgia’s scalawag Senator Zell Miller became so flustered with the “Hardball” host, he harkened back to the days of dueling.  Mr. Miller if you’re reading this, I have a cane with a brass end on it.  I’ll let you be the Sen. Sumner to my Congressman Brooks if you get my drift.  The following is a video of the priceless exchange between Mathews and Miller in 2004.  Never mind the old man in the cowboy hat at the end.  He never was relevant:

Keith Olberman had been a good counterpart to Scarborough, offering a more liberal counterpoint.  “Countdown with Keith Olberman” had already celebrated its third year on MSNBC when in early April 1997, Don Imus of “Imus in the Morning” famously (or infamously?) referred to the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team as a bunch of “nappy-headed-hos.”  When I first heard of the big stink following Imus’s remark, my first reaction was, “People actually still listen to Imus?”  As a result, he was canned from MSNBC, and the network had to fill the early morning void where Imus’s video simulcast once aired.  No problem.  Take the conservative of MSNBC, get rid of his prime-time “Scarborough Country,” and repackage him in the early morning slot as “Morning Joe.”  MSNBC tried following “Countdown” with “Verdict with Dan Abrams” which received mediocre ratings.

At the urging from Olberman to NBC brass, Abrams lost his time slot in Sept. 2008 to regular liberal commentator on “Countdown” and “Air-America” host Rachel Maddow.  For those who may not care for Olberman’s blustery style, Maddow offers a nicer and more polite style with a smart sense of humor.  Because the two shows appear nightly during prime-time on MSNBC, the general climate of the news network looks awfully darned liberal.  After all, both Olberman and Maddow are unapologetically left on the political spectrum.

At least MSNBC has the guts to admit that these shows have a distinct liberal bias.  FoxNews on the other hand, are still in this delusional denial mode, asserting that their network is “fair and balanced.”  Oh Fox, when will you finally come out of the conservative closet?  No one will think any worse of you.  Come to think of it, I really don’t believe it’s possible to think any worse of FoxNews.  I say kudos to MSNBC for offering an alternative to FoxNews.  Does this mean that they’ll take up the mantle and be the mouthpiece to the new administration?

As I wrote earlier, I knew I wasn’t the only person who noticed that MSNBC had shifted across the political spectrum in the last year or two.  Since the other media outlets wouldn’t acknowledge this 800lb gorilla in the room, the comedy pundits had to take up the slack and make this observation.  The following are clips from “The Daily Show,” and “23/6″ that I personally find hilarious.  Just because I’m a Democrat doesn’t mean that I don’t have a sense of humor:

The Daily Show-MSNBC to Replace FoxNews

23/6-Fox, MSNBC Debuts New and Different Promos

Amazing.  The rundown right now of the big three cable networks is that FoxNews is very right-wing, MSNBC is very left-wing, and CNN is well . . . douchy.

al-Qaeda hypocrite Ayman al-Zawahiri

Okay Islamic extremists, let me get this straight.  It’s okay to bomb our embassies, bomb our ships, come to America and destroy our buildings while taking thousands of innocent lives, chant “Death to America” while burning the American flag, call our new President a “house-n***er,” and create destruction and havoc in India, but if someone shows a simple political cartoon of Muhammad, you get extremely offended and bent out of shape?

Are you all high from the opium you’ve been selling to fund your operations?

I knew that I had made a good decision in voting for Obama.  The sheer fact that Islamic extremists don’t like him serves to validate that decision.  Now Ayman al-Zawahiri who is the number two man in al-Qaeda calls President-Elect Obama a “house-n***er.”  I kindly ask you al-Zawahiri, to look around your own house as well as your Master Osama bin-Laden, and see what your status is in al-Qaeda.  After all Mr. number two, nobody likes a hypocrite.  Al-Zawahiri, I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions to that statement.  If the sandal fits . . .

We Americans are resolute and have a pretty thick hide.  We pretty much have to after all of the abuse heaped upon us and other members of the world by your hands.  We try to do right by this world.  We may not always get it right, but we do try.  It’s much more than I can say for you.  You are petty and cowardly.  You take a wonderful religion like Islam, and pervert it for your own purposes.  If you’re going to try to act “bad,” at least try not to have this childish thin-skin.  Most of the people of Islam are good, decent people and are tired of charlatans like you speaking for them.  al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and all of the other terror groups, I’m talking to you.

Fundamentalist Islamic extremists have been found guilty on my blog.  For that, there is but one recourse.  If this was a blog associated with a news source, I doubt that I could administer the following.  Since I am independent, I can administer this without hesitation.

Sorry Islamic extremists, but you forced me to do this:

May Allah bless the moderate followers of Islam.  I have met many of you, and am heartened by your spirituality and goodness.  I know that the extremists do not speak for you.

Writer’s note:  This is the first (and hopefully last) angry blog that I have written.  I have put up with these extremists doing and saying many horrific things.  The event in Mumbai along with the Obama remark was the last straw for me.

What? Me say that? Never happened.

What is Michele Bachman’s preferred way of weaseling out of a gaffe?  Deny that it ever happened.  Hey!  It worked for Crispin Glover after his disastrous appearance on July 28, 1987 when he was a guest on “Late Night With David Letterman.” In a subsequent interview in 2007, he denied that it happened.  Well okay, he neither confirmed nor denied that his bizarre appearance occurred.  Still, there’s the footage of him freaking out to Letterman, and Glover attempting to put into question whether it was actually him.  Typical Glover for you.

Fast forward to Michele Bachman on “Hardball with Chris Mathews” urging the media to “do a penetrating expose, and take a look at the views of the people of congress and find out if they’re pro-America or anti-America.”  After the initial shock of hearing this remark in which she channels Joe Mccarthy, I was convinced that theaters around the US would be showing productions of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” just in time for Thanksgiving.  Nothing like a good witch-hunt during the election.

That remark almost cost her the election.  As a result of her advice to Chris Mathews, the RNC cut her funds, and she narrowly squeaked by to win re-election.  Apparently, she never learned to stay away from news shows lest she makes more moronic gaffes.  She was on “Hannity and Colmes” recently, where Alan Colmes asked the budding McCarthyite about those remarks.  Her answer?  It never happened.  It was an urban legend:

If there is a slim chance that either one of Bachman’s handlers or Bachman herself is reading this post, allow me to remind them that the Jedi mind trick only works in the world of George Lucas.  One can’t wave his or her hand to to media and chant, “This is not the video you’re watching.”  It might look pretty cool when Obi Wan Kenobi tricks the stormtroopers in the movie, but it doesn’t work in real life, so stop it.

Another aside to Bachman:  How is the air in that bubble of yours?

I’ve been a lifelong Democrat.  It started with rooting for Carter, and for every Democratic candidate since.  However, simply because I would disagree with a political party doen’t necessarily mean that I can’t respect it.

Admittedly, while Democratic Presidents have been historically better at domestic policy, (One only needs to look at the Clinton surplus in the year 2000) Republicans have been pretty good at foreign policy.  Iran/Contra notwithstanding, Reagan was a good foreign policy President.  He took a new approach to the Cold War, and brought respectability to the US from the rest of the world.

Now the party seems to be in this state of limbo and lost identity.  What happened?

I believe that George W. Bush was a catalyst to the implosion of the GOP.  While Reagan stated that government was the problem and not the solution, Bush expanded government in ways that the extreme liberal left couldn’t have fathomed.  This problem had been brewing for a while with extreme fringes of the right gaining a platform, and speaking for the entire party.  Bush merely brought this problem to a head.   While creating the expensive bureaucracy of Homeland Security, Bush believed that the American Government could intervene and promote democracy in other nations with cultures far different from ours.  While Gerald Ford told Wall Street in the ’70s to “drop dead” rather than bailing them out, Bush endorsed the partial socializing of our banking system by doing the very thing that the old guard Republicans vehemently opposed; throw money at the problem.  For the full scope of this Presidency, look at my blog, President Evil 2: Dark Legacy.

While the Democrats unabashedly brought forth the best and the brightest, The Republicans have had this annoying habit of bringing forth the plain-spoken and folksiest.  Bush again was a prime example, especially during the 2004 debate with John Kerry when the nation witnesses Bush slumped over his podium, and faltering over his talking points.  Bush spin doctors in spin alley hailed Bush as “plain-spoken.”  In actuality he wasn’t plain-spoken, he was being inarticulate.  There is a difference.

Now we have to deal with Sarah Palin, who played up her folksy Alaskan demeanor during the 2008 Vice-Presidential debate.  Like Bush, there’s not much substance behind the smile.  She is mostly backed by editors of “The Weekly Standard” and “The National Review” like Fred Barnes, William Kristol, and Rich Lowry.  I do wonder if these men are in denial mode, looking over her glaring inadequacies while wanting her so much to succeed.  My question to the GOP is, do you really want a pushy, overly ambitious, non-intellectual to lead your party?  Too many of the reactionary extremists have hijacked the GOP, and it needs to reclaim the party.  It needs to say that the Hannities and the Limbaughs of the right do not reflect the GOP as a whole.  For all of the faults of the Democrats, the party on the left has become remarkably moderate.  We [Democrats] take in the fringe, but we take them with a grain of salt.  The left extremists are heard, but they aren’t the voice of the Democratic Party.  The GOP needs to act similarly.

It’s like looking at an old foe with whom you’ve shared this wonderful rivalry who is now hurting, and you want to put differences aside to help that foe.  Although I seldom agreed with the Republican platform, I respected it.  I want so much for the Republican party to make a comeback and earn my respect again.  I feel real sadness for the GOP, and hope that they can repair their broken party.

This is a pretty serious time for the GOP to try to regain its identity.  They have released a new website, rebuildtheparty.com to have Republican constituents create ideas on how the GOP can be rebuilt, and others can vote on the ideas.  Sounds like a pretty good idea; get feedback from fellow Republicans on how to best repair the party.  Most of the top-ranking, and most voted on ideas sound like pretty solid conservative principles.  However, I noticed that this site isn’t moderated very well.  Looks like there will always be those who will abuse these forums:

Writer’s note:  These are actual entries from the site.  These views don’t necessarily reflect my own, although I find some to be downright hilarious and others . . . well, shocking.  Please, no flame-comments.  I’m just the messenger.

Oh GOP, what happened to you guys?

1. 3 votes

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   Stop pandering to idiots.

   What embarrassing anchors haven’t we hitched ourselves up to? The gun fetishists make us look like brain-dead hicks, the religious fanatics make us look like emotion-driven lunatics, and idiots like that Obama-monkey-doll guy in Pennsylvania make us look like racists. That’s not the Republican party – that’s clueless imbeciles using us for their own means at the expense of our reputation.

   We don’t even have a base to strengthen because our base is so badly choked out by these ancillary groups that only use conservatism as an easy road to more photo ops for themselves and P.R. nightmares for us. Voters would be more willing to side with us if it wasn’t so humiliating to do so.

   Stop making these idiots feel at home with us and absolute scores of new, sensible Republicans will appear.

   comment | by RandyRight | created 15 seconds ago
2. 3 votes

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   EAT A TRUCKLOAD OF GAY DICKS

   It is my sincere belief that this will help considerably with the rebuilding of the Republican party. The Republican voters need to see that the new Chairman has the dedication and desire to serve the party to the best of his ability. They need proof.

   comment | by BarackObama | created less than a minute ago
3. 3 votes

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   Elect Hank Williams Jr!

   This old union’s got problems
   That is plain to see
   The democrats bankrupted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
   Just like 1-2-3
   The bankers didn’t want to make all those bad loans
   But Bill Clinton said “you got to!”
   Now they want to bail out
   what I’m talking about
   Is a democrat liberal hoodoo!
   To me and you

   comment | by aphid | created 3 minutes ago
4. 1 votes

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   Play a fun round of “Pin the Truck Nutz on Dick Cheney.”

   Title says it all!

   comment | by nutz4truckz! | created 1 minute ago
5. 4 votes

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   Jack Twist…Jack Nasty

   Just like the self-loathing Jack and Ennis from Brokeback Mountain, the RNC needs to learn how to quit you. They want you to love them, but only in the privacy of a pup tent in the middle of nowhere. Remove the fear and self-loathing, the party might have a chance.

   comment | by jimransier | created 6 minutes ago
6. 2 votes

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   um, give it a rest.

   Blood pressure’s still hasn’t gone down from ’08. Cheese us.

   comment | by NoSheDidnt | created 6 minutes ago
7. 4 votes

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   Should be all about Truck Nutz

   Real Americans (TM) like their TRUCK NUTZ. Therefore the new party platform should be about TRUCK NUTZ!!! That is all.

   comment | by Joe Six Pack | created 6 minutes ago
8. 3 votes

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   relax and enjoy 8 years of peace and prosperity

   Republicans at the topmost levels did such a great job the last 8 years, don’t you think? How about we let the other side fuck it up for awhile. Bush should take advantage of any remaining vacation days (use em or lose em!) and leave a big steaming pile for the Dems to clean up. I hope and pray that Obama is just a lying politician like everyone else, otherwise, our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity has begun.

   comment | by punk | created 7 minutes ago
9. 3 votes

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   Become somewhat literate in the language of America’s youth.

   We need to speak the language of young people in order to engage them. I propose that we should have a subcommittee sent to monitor 4chan in order to learn the concerns of the youth of America.

   One of the reasons That One got so much of the Youth Vote is that he understands their language. He knows what those strange acronyms FTW, OMGWTFBBQ, and KTHNXBAI stand for. He knows how to move ‘ZIG’ for great justice. All our youth votes are belong to him and this is something we cannot allow to happen.

   comment | by Maggie Thatcher | created 7 minutes ago
10. 11 votes

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    work harder to disenfranchise minority voters.

    comment | by melina | created 11 minutes ago
11. 3 votes

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    give us all a really, really lot of happiness.

    Everyone likes happiness, and that’s why I think it would be a good idea. Also, more good ideas, please. That would make us happy.

    comment | by elgreenwood | created 4 minutes ago
12. 3 votes

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    Get Bovice to run a train on someone.

    UNFORGIVABLE.

    comment | by nutzonyotrux | created 1 minute ago
13. 1 votes

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    learn to play the banjo

    The Republican base is shrinking.

    Those who are abandoning the party: middle-class, urban, college-educated, professionals, suburban, soccer Moms, NASCAR dads, Hispanics, Blacks, young people.

    What is left: dittoheads, liars, thieves, scoundrels, bathroom predators, mercenaries. And some residents of Appalachia.

    The Party already owns the scoundrels and dittoheads, but could still reach out to the honorable population of Appalachia, who for whatever reason support the party.

    Learning how to play the banjo will allow the Party to make good progress in reaching this last segment of the population.

    Go GOP!

    comment | by RevCharlie | created about 1 hour ago
14. 9 votes

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    Ousier Boudreaux 2012

    Yes she may have been in a bad mood for the last 40 years, but she is a tried and true Southerner Republican.

    And Clairee can run as Veep. I mean she DOES have more money than God.

    comment | by Clairee | created 5 minutes ago
15. 3 votes

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    Build a Giant Robot Ronald Reagan

    It’s become clear that the current strategy in the War on Terror has failed! We must build a giant robot, manned by a crack team of conservative heroes (Ann Colter, Mike Huckabee, and Hank Williams Jr), which can fly to the Middle East and kill all the Muslin Terrorists. Then it can fly back to America, scale the Washington Monument like King Kong, and swat the Ron Paul Blimp out of the sky while holding a bikini-clad Michelle Malkin hostage. America will surely rally around this virile cybernetic symbol of the GOP’s glory days!

    comment | by GWBushLeague | created 16 minutes ago
16. 3 votes

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    Support Palestine

    Christians in Jesus’ homeland are dying. If we are going to be the party with morals, this would be a nice start!

    comment | by rhtwngchick | created 7 minutes ago
17. 11 votes

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    Terri Schiavo 2012

    comment | by NoSheDidnt | created 44 minutes ago
18. 1 votes

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    not be over 60

    or likely to die while in office, leaving some uneducated hick cunt as next in line

    comment | by asdfawe | created 8 minutes ago
19. 1 votes

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    stop going to bed before 9pm

    things happen at night.

    comment | by asdfawe | created less than a minute ago
20. 3 votes

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    develop an understanding of how web 2.0 actually works

    See, the thing is, most of the people on the internet are dicks, and will do dick-ish things when left uncensored and anonymous. See Digg, any forum ever, and 4chan.

    1 comment | by AssHat | created 2 minutes ago
21. 3 votes

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    move border patrol to our northern border

    we must not scare away possible value minded Mexican immigrants who can fortify the Republican party with their pro-life, marriage protective ideals. If they are allowed to come and settle in the US and become productive citizens they will surely be social conservative boons to our nation.

    What we must do is fortiffy our northern border. Canada is a liberal country which encourages gay marriage, abortions, high taxes, and universal health care. Allowing Canadians to enter the country freely without the same scrutiny Mexicans have will allow their faulty ideologies to leak into our nations. We must accept Mexicans into our nation so that they can become future republicans.

    2 comments | by Chingon | created 12 minutes ago
22. 9 votes

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    Crush the enemies

    See them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their women.

    comment | by McDoucheNuggets | created 6 minutes ago
23. 6 votes

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    make Nailin’ Paylin a documentary, not a fantasy

    Lots and lots of titties. Like, LOTS

    comment | by asdfawe | created 39 minutes ago
24. 3 votes

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    Be a Democrat

    I mean, what the hell, they won, right? Why don’t we give it a try?

    comment | by harry carey | created 1 minute ago
25. 3 votes

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    Finance the death star

    Cause we all have planets that need to be blowed the fuck up

    comment | by asdfedd | created 21 minutes ago
26. 1 votes

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    Make Rick Astley Secretary of Awesome

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0

    comment | by Karl Hungus | created 24 minutes ago

Still-President Bush waves while Barney stares menacingly at the photographer. Not exactly a media darling.

With the exception of Obama holding a news conference to explain the importance of a new stimulus package, and telling a reporter what kind of dog they want for the White House, as well as that mean old Russian leader Medvedev placing short range missiles on the border of Poland, it’s been kind of a slow news cycle after the election.

Sure, I could have written about how the Romney supporters have been talking smack about Sarah Palin, but the real story has to do with just how much Bush hates the media.

Um, Barney Bush that is.

W’s beloved Scottish terrier got into a scuffle with a reporter recently.  And now it’s official:  Every single member of the Bush family down to Barney hates the media.

Bad Barney!

Thanks to April Winchell for sharing these fantastic photos with us, and contacting the photographer.  17 year old Nida Vidutis took these photos and offered this insight:

“And there was this kid at the rally, I think he was about six years old. He was black, and sitting up on his dad’s shoulders. He had an Obama-Biden sign, and for what I swear was about 3 hours straight, he held the sign straight up, with the most determined look I had ever seen on a six-year-old’s face. And then this other kid appeared, a white kid, on his dad’s shoulders. And all of a sudden they were sharing the sign back and forth. And then, then they held it together. And…it was so simple, SO simple. Yet, at the same time, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, and the great part was that they had no idea what they were doing.” Everyone looked at them, people took pictures, but they were just holding a sign. “Little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls…” It was so simple.”

So true.  We as a nation still have a long journey toward racial equality and brotherhood.  From what I can see since the civil rights era of the 60s, we are progressing.  It’s just that it’s like the hour hand of a clock;  We can’t see it moving, but it is getting there. It’s moments like these that help me to realize why we fight on despite all odds.  I don’t expect a racial utopia in my lifetime, but I hope that we can get darned close.

Dr. King also remarked in his famous 1963 speech:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

And that they could also aspire to be President of the United States.  Amen Dr. King.

One only needs to read this morning’s headlines.  As Americans were waking up from last night’s historic election, newspapers around the world splashed the triumphant photos of Obama with hopeful headlines for our new President.

These headlines of goodwill make me cautiously optimistic that we as a nation will once again gain the respect that we need on the world stage.

The fact that the world was so interested in our election underscores the significance and importance of this moment in history.  Let us all hope that better times are ahead.

From the US:

Canada:

Great Britain:

and a second edition of The Times from 6am.

From Spain:

Ireland:

Germany:

The Czech Republic:

Belgium:

South Africa:

And from Obama’s adopted country of Kenya:

“Alright, uh, there she is, Jessica Yellin, I know you’re in Chicago but we’ve uhhh done something, a hologram. We beamed you in. We beamed you in, here, uhh into the CNN Election Center. I want to talk to you as I would normally be talking to you if you were really face-to-face with me. I know you’re uhh at least a thousand miles away, but it looks like you’re right here.

I mean, Wolf just wouldn’t shut up about the stupid hologram.  I knew that there was a good reason I switched years ago to MSNBC.  No offense to Blitzer, but we true geeks have seen this as early as 1977 in “Star Wars,” and watch it regularly every time the doctor makes an appearance in “Star Trek Voyager.”  Sorry Wolf, but this isn’t new to us:

Thank you God for having me stick to MSNBC tonight.

The wonderful band of smartasses at Wonkette mentioned this while liveblogging the election returns:

7:15 PM — OH JESUS CHRIST TURN ON CNN, THEY HAVE HOLOGRAPHIC HUMAN TECHNOLOGY AND HAVE EMPEROR PALPATINE “ON THE SET”!
7:17 PM — Wolf Blitzer: “You know what I like about this hologram … you’re a hologram now, Jessica.”
7:17 PM — This is terrifying pornography.

Jim N.
HAHAH WATCH CNN
Sara S.
Jesus Christ it is like shitty Star Trek
Jim N.
there is a princess leia “help me obi wan kenobi” image talking to wolf blitzer
Sara S.
That is so retarded
Jim N.
this is so horrifying!
Sara S.
Just awful
Ken L.
CNNN WHT THT HTHE FUCK
Ken L.
“Yes, My Master, what is Thy Bidding” …
Ken L.
She’s even flickering like the Emperoro
Ken L.
oh my god
Ken L.
this is awful
Jim N.
god, if they’re going to do this, they could at least make it look somewhat professional
Jim N.
i think i am too scared to watch CNN
Ken L.
“you’re a hologram now jessica”
Jim N.
it’s also like an 80s music video.
Jim N.
HAHAHA
Juli W.
oh she looks like that movie waking life

7:21 PM — Indiana, too close to call.
7:24 PM — We have switched to MSNBC, because dear god, the Flickering Witch Monster on CNN is the scariest motherfucking thing we’ve ever seen.
7:25 PM — But then we have to go back, to see John King and his wizard’s map.