I'm watching Larry King Live (not actually live, as it's almost midnight and from my understanding Larry King is currently vacuum sealed in nefarious lair beneath the CNN broadcast tower) and Dean Kane, who for a while used to be Superman and as such I feel I need to listen to what he says, is telling me it's imperative that we focus on national security and decreasing the size of government. I've heard some rumors in the past that Superman would in fact be a republican, being from Kansas and having been raised on a farm (also some stuff about him serving as a Christ figure... which is stupid when you consider both his creators were heavily Jewish) but I find it unsettling to imagine Superman cowering in fear of a terrorist attack while someone else runs challenging us all to have a little hope. Frankly, I think Superman would be a liberal, but that might just be me remembering that he's the second best reporter for what is essentially a fictitious version of The New York Times (plus he's always flying onto the scene of some accident and catching people rather than demanding they pull themselves up by their bootstraps and overcome gravity by their own means).
I think if I were Superman I'd demand the government set free all drug offenders. This might be an intense overreaching of my Superherodom, but the implied threat of being able to fly around the nation at super speed and just release all the potheads myself might be enough motivation to get things moving in some interesting direction. I'd also use my x-ray vision to see what's inside my refigerator, so as to save energy, because every little bit helps and if I were Superman I'd have to take on a little more responsibility, I get that.
But, what I'm enjoying is, again, the farce that is the Republican ticket.
The possible (though increasingly unlikely) next vice president, Sarah Palin, has recently been caught reprimanding her own supporters, confusing them with protesters as they shout for her to speak louder (I assume they wanted to hear what everyone would be laughing about this week as it happened). Her response to these protesters, as is the general response to those crazy leftists with their bitching about whales and genocide (no, not tear gas and rubber truncheons), was to remind them they had ought to thank a soldier for their right to protest.
I recognize that this is the perfect conservative (seemingly pro-military but actually pro-obedience) response to dissent and fittingly it makes absolutely no sense. I assume anyone capable of reading probably has this worked out on their own, but ultimately what she's saying is 'shut up and I unlike you douchebags support the troops' and in doing so, following her statement's inherent logic is actually saying, 'thank the troops for the rights they gave you while I strip them from you and negate their sacrifice.' I enjoy this. I suppose I'd enjoy it more so if the nation, or even a significant portion of the military itself would recognize how unintentionally moronic, though quite intentionally smug and almost-clever this soundbite actually is.
Iowa came up on MSNBC today. This is interesting. Also, I've been watching MSNBC. I like it. Iowa, as I know it, is a wonderful place full of incredibly nice people who have never given me reason to fear for the human race. Today, I may have to ammend that statemtent. Much like Samson, or maybe the Philistines because I don't suppose I can refer to a conservative Iowan pastor as a powerful force for goodness in this world (or a sociopathic murder machine... maybe) this man is publically praying for his god to let McCain win, because, and this is the part I like, if Obama wins, all of the muslims and hindus and buddhists who want him elected will think their gods are bigger than the christian Iowan god and probably, because I assume godly rank is based on popular opinion, Jesus, if Obama wins, will be demoted from god to assistant to the unknowable force of life and knowledge that the buddhists generally seem to dig on (when they're not being arrogant pricks).
I'd like to point out that I've intentionally capitalized Superman's name.
I also want to point out that this pastor is upset because god might have people think other gods are "bigger than" him. He actually said bigger. Just wanted to make sure it was clear that this is a quote and not me being sarcastic and belittling.
Here's something the television just told me. Apparently the term "McCarthyism" was coined by a political cartoonist who is now dead. I'd like to say, and I know it's tacky to keep mentioning things that happened in college and even more tacky to use people's names, but uh... "Suck it Lou Stark!" I think he was the guy who kept trying to get me kicked off the newspaper.
I was thinking about that today. I've been considering journalism. Most likely I'm just in love with the romance of news standing for something, I would like truth to make some difference in the world, I've been reading Bob Woodward's new book about the Bush Administration (buy it), and for some reason I irrationally believe if I get a job at or near a newspaper I'll meet Lois Lane and convince her that I really like freedom of the press too and we should probably hang out.
In making that joke about Lois Lane I think I may have tipped my hand somewhat unintentionally. As much as I feel the public deserves the news they can trust, as much as I'd like to believe truth means something, and that I'd be satisfied 'making a differnce' by working as a press type journalist, I think I might care less about the public being served than I do about our ability to speak what is true because it is true. I think I ought to develop some condensed version of 'I despise censorship' as I write it so often, and my hatred of being limited by small minded people is strong, but I notice I'm not satisfied writing a story that isn't read, or that doesn't accomplish something in being read. I don't know if great journalists feel telling the story is its own reward, but I think they probably have to. I can't imagine writing article after article as the world ignores the news, or lets it be drowned out by sensationalized nonstories and the general propaganda that is most everything we hear on a daily basis (in this I include religion, commercials, fast food menus, and of course cable, network, and printed news).
Also, just as a general thought I've had that hasn't gone anywhere, I'm thinking there might be a bright side to our nation becoming less powerful in the global sense. It strikes me, it's entirely possible in our life-time the nation might respect some higher authority than "whatever the president says" and maybe, just maybe, it won't matter that the president has signed legislation pardoning him from future charges of war crimes. It's a thought I had.
