The Blue State

Colbert: There is a war on Easter

Stephen Colbert discusses the Gospel of Cadbury.

Brilliant.

Comedy Central blog rips apart Fox's try at humor

Don't think for one second that Comedy Central will sit on the sidelines and hope that the Fox News comedy show "1/2 Hour News Hour" will be welcomed by deaf ears.  The network wants their say too.  They are not wasting the opportunity to explain to Fox that the joke is actually on them.  On Presidents Day, the Comedy Central Insider chimed in on Fox's attempt at political satire:

The 1/2 Hour News Hour, part of Fox News' attempt to lure in thatcoveted 18-34 demographic, premiered tonight, and writers from the CCInsider were among the dozens of people watching. Let's take a look atsome of the show's subject matter...

• Marion Barry
• An ACLU case from 1977
• Ed Begley, Jr.
• The Bygone Era of the Obvious Laugh Track
• "Angry Lesbians"
• Che Guevara
• Chairman Mao

In what decade did they write this show? Did they really devote theshow's running gag to Ed Begley, Jr.? Really? Ed Begley, Jr.??? (Forthose of you under the age of 30, Ed Begley, Jr. is a character actorwho used to get some press last millennium for his advocation of hybridcars, such as the Toyota Prius, which is, like, doing well orsomething.) Did cast member Susan Yeagley steal these jokes from herhusband Kevin Nealon's old Commodore 64?

I'll admit that as a curious viewer, I wasted thirty minutes of my time watching Fox's so-called comedy show.  In the end, I left feeling the same level of embarrassment-driven sympathy for Fox that I did for George W. Bush following the first presidential debate in 2004.  It was dull, dumb and lacked substance.

Also, it is much more politically motivated than the Daily Show.  At least Jon Stewart tells the news.  Usually when the Daily Show makes fun of Republicans it is because they are caught on tape saying something stupid.  Instead, this Fox show was like a lamer version of Weekend Update on SNL.  Too much clever-sounding one-liners, and not enough material that you remember the next day.

The worst analogy of the House debate on Iraq

The award goes to pro-escalation Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), who compared the war in Iraq to the battle at the Alamo:

"Picture Davy Crockett at the Alamo. He has his back to the wall. SantaAna has got thousands of troops. So he gets his BlackBerry out. Hechecks with Congress. Congress says, 'Hey, Davy, we really support youbut we're not going to send you any troops.' That doesn't make a wholelot of sense to me."

And George W. Bush is supposed to be Davy Crockett?

(Video) Jon Stewart makes fun of Fox's depiction of Obama

Last night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart made a complete fool out of the Fox News morning show "Fox & Friends" for its flawed depiction of Illinois Senator Barack Obama:

I normally don't post Daily Show clips on this site, since I assume that most of you watch it anyway.  This was just too difficult to pass up.

"And that...was the way it was."

The irony behind "augment"

At yesterday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, when responding to criticism from Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, Condoleezza Rice claimed that President Bush's new Iraq plan was not an "escalation," but rather an "augmentation."

Ironically, if you go to Google and type in "definition augment" in the search box, here is what you get:

enlarge or increase; "The recent speech of the president augmented tensions in the Near East"

Who would have known that a search engine updated by nothing else but a computer algorithm could produce such an insightful conclusion?

Funniest Political Moments of 2006

Politics is filled with ups and downs -- especially this year in particular.  During this roller coaster ride, there were some lighter moments -- the stuff that makes following politics completely worth it.  Bust out the popcorn, kick-back, relax, and enjoy.  Here are the 10 funniest political moments of 2006, starting with number 10 and counting down to number 1:

10) CNN cuts to Bush before he was ready.  It just comes down to bad communication, nonetheless funny.

9) Adam Carolla hangs up on Ann Coulter.  It happened in July on the Adam Carolla radio show.

8) Bill O'Reilly and David Letterman went at it.  The thoughtful one always wins.  This was from October.

7) President Bush fondles German Chancellor Merkel.  This was one of the many embarrassing episodes for Bush during the G8 Summit.

6) Tucker Carlson dances.  Cover your eyes everyone.  Good effort though.

5) Bush teases a reporter about his shades.  Little did Bush know that the reporter was blind.

4) Bush impressionist Frank Caliendo steals the show.  This is from the David Letterman Show back in February.

3) Bush talks to Blair at G8 Summit while the microphone was still on.  This was the second embarrassing moment for President Bush during the G8 Summit in July.  Now we can understand why Bush doesn't like diplomacy so much.

2) Ted Stevens on Net Neutrality.  This definitely tops them all.  Over the next five years, Net Neutrality will be a huge issue.  What better way to solve it than by putting a complete idiot in charge of regulating it.  Jon Stewart of the Daily Show reports (The scary part was that until the Republicans lost their majority, Ted Stevens was only three heart-beats away from the presidency).

1) Stephen Colbert makes fun of Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner.  Colbert demonstrates why he is so masterful -- because the press didn't understand his jokes.  There are three parts to this:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

If you thought that I left anything out, feel free to post anything you want.

Cartoon: Numb

Andrew Wahl, The Wenatchee World, Offthewahl.com

Here is Andrew's weekly commentary:

Afterseveral weeks of single-panel toons, I return to my multipanel,Feiffer-inspired style for “Numb” [Archive No. 0643]. I like this oneas it captures my current mood quite well. The post-election glow haslong worn off, and, combined with some workplace drama over the pastmonth, I’ve just really had enough right now. (Though, I must admit, ithasn’t been bad enough to actually make me sit through an episode of“Desperate Housewives.” Old “X-Files” reruns, sure. But not “DesperateHousewives.”)
    Back at it seven.

Till then,
Andrew
toon@offthewahl.com

Bush pardons Turkey

At least our President knows a lot about dogs and turkeys:

"We're here in the Rose Garden. This is a place where Barney likesto hang out.  Barney is my dog.  And he likes to chase a soccer ballhere.  He came out a little early, as did Flyer, and instead of chasingthe soccer ball, he chased the bird.  And it kind of madethe turkey nervous.  See, the turkey was already nervous to begin with.Nobody has told him yet about the pardon I'm about to give him.

"In fact, it gets even better.  Later today, Flyer and Fryer will beon a plane to Disneyland -- where they're going to achievefurther celebrity as the honorary grand marshal of the Thanksgiving DayParade."

Bush pardoned the turkeys "Flyer" and "Fryer".  The names of the turkeys were chosen in a White House online poll.

Darn.  I was hoping that the names "Exit" and "Strategy" would have been among the options.  Too bad.  Hopefully next year.

Cartoon: Is That Any Way to Treat Your Mother?

Referring to mother earth, of course!

Andrew Wahl, The Wenatchee World, Offthewahl.com

Here is Andrew's weekly commentary:

For mynational audiences, I finally scanned in an old favorite, “Is That AnyWay to Treat Your Mother?” [Archive No. 9322], and added it to thesite. This toon’s environmental message is as dire today as it was whenI drew it 13 years ago. (Thirteen years ago! I’m getting old.)
    Back at in seven. Until then, enjoy the turkey (or Tofurky, or whatever).

Cheers,
Andrew
toon@offthewahl.com

Conrad Burns blows up at press

Just one week after his close election loss to Democratic challenger Jon Tester, Montana Republican Senator Conrad Burns blew a fuse when asked by the media yesterday whether he expects to get one of his bills passed in the lame duck session of Congress.  CQ:

Burns, who narrowly lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jon Tester, isknown for having a short fuse. Still, the venom in Burns’ reactionTuesday to a question about the status of the Interior appropriationsbill in the lame-duck session was surprising.

“I’m not going to negotiate my problems with the goddamn press,” Burns snapped. “Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!

“You don’t run this place. You think you do. But you don’t,” added Burns, who chairs the Appropriations Interior Subcommittee.

A number of Montana news outlets reported similar incidents during thecampaign. For example, the senator was criticized at one point fortelling a group of firefighters that they had “done a poor job” incombating a 92,000-acre fire.

He later told a representative from the state’s natural resourceagency, “See that guy over there? He hasn’t done a goddamned thing.They sit around. . . . It’s wasteful.”

I almost cried from laughing so hard when I saw this quote.  Burns has got to be second to Ted Stevens as the biggest loud-mouth in the Senate.  Oh, that brings me to the latest reason why I am glad the Democrats took the Senate.  When the new Congress is sworn in this January, Ted Stevens will no longer be third in line to the presidency (behind Vice President Dick Cheney and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert).  Usually the Senate Pro Tempore is the most senior member of the majority party in the Senate.  So would that make Robert Byrd (D-WV) the newest Pro Tempore in January?

Oh, and the very second this clip comes out on Youtube, if it does, I will post it.