bill maher clip . . . [ranting . . . frustration . . . ]

i appreciate these final thoughts* on the September 12th show, especially after listening to the panel's "debate" in which we heard a lot of lies and just plain childish and unsophisticated argument from the Republican pundit (John Fund) on the panel. at one point, Mahrer told him (loudly) to "SHUT UP." seriously.

and please, national media. stop making Sarah Palin an issue. i'm talking to you, Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood (without actually admitting to being a regular viewer, of course, because i'm an elitist fan of the liberal media. ha) . . . sorry you, with your sad and embarrassing "How YOU Can Get Sarah Palin's Style" (style?!). seriously, show's producers . . . how much fiery hell can you ask your mouthpieces to withstand in the name of job security? oh wait. the economy's so bad, i guess you can just go there and compel them to fabricate a version of liberal sexism (snort) against Palin and fall in line with the Republicans' newly hatched scheme to force upon us this concept of a "backlash," suggesting that the phantom "liberal media" hate on her and to keep and eye on that because, they say, this increases the likelihood that American voters will further (?) embrace her.

it's so desperate and sad and embarrassing and insulting, these arguments.

point to the war. point to the depression (i'm moving past "recession" 'cause, come on . . .). point to civil liberties. point to Palin's absolute ignorance (she has never heard of the Bush Doctrine??? oboy). and don't get me started on what that embarrassing Republican pundit kept insisting about election year debates, that the moderator always *explains* (?!) what the concepts at the heart of the questions are before inviting repsonses, as though the candidates require an explanation; this, by way of suggesting that Charlie Gibson simply "attacked" Palin by asking her to comment on the Bush Doctrine. at this point in the act of spectation, i was writhing about in frustration and ready to go (back) into my default mode, which is to simply watch the E! channel because. well. seriously. i wanted to STRANGLE the panel for failing to point out that the moderator does this (explains the concepts) NOT for the candidate but for the AUDIENCE watching at home!! argh.

(note: you now have my apologies for all the childish caps. see, no one is immune from the childishness that this kind of "discussion" surfaces, which is not to say that i am rarely childish. but. oboy).

and it's all just a mess because this kind of adversarial rhetoric doesn't go anywhere except (in terms of victory) to the status quo.

but so today, i go to campus to watch my colleague, who 3 years ago lost her only son to a cave-diving accident. she will present on the experience of her recent year-long stay in Amman. she went to talk with women living in refugee camps, women who have lost children, fathers, husbands . . . this woman who took her grief and transformed it into a project of bravery and compassion. so really, none of this other stuff matters (except that it still does). i do wish we could see the Obama campaign stay on track with what matters, humanizing the platform by discussing the effects of the past 8 years, the current situation, and the feigned naivete we get from McCain (the economy's "fundamentals" are strong? really?) and avoiding the invitation to stumble over fabricated conceptualizations of elitism (ha!) and sexism (ha!) and racism (seriously?).

okay. breathhhhhe.

* wait for the page to fully load. sorry, i could not find a way to embed the video.