Cheney Redux

Why in the world are people still listening to Dick(head) Cheney? We had 8 years of his bullshit, & it just about led us to the brink of doom. Of course, it's the media that's trying to shove him down our throats again, but apparently we're letting that happen. I guess electing President Obama was such a momentous feat, the American people have become too exhausted to actually follow through & tell the right-wing nutcases & Jesus freaks that their day is over. Or is it, really? Even some progressives have bitched about the president not doing enough to advance their agenda. Are they freaking kidding? Do they honestly think that 8 years of fucking everything up can be rectified in 4 months? Not even 4 years would be enough to right all the wrongs the Republicans subjected us to. The guy's not Superman (close, but not quite). If the Republicans still want Dick Cheney (who, in a more just world, would be in prison), to be their spokesman, that is beyond sad. It's insane.

President Obama has done more good in the short time he's been in office than probably any other president in recent history. One of the reasons is that he's a grown-up, & a very pragmatic one , at that. He talks to us as if we're on his intellectual level, even though very few of us actually are. The economic mess he inherited was caused by people (both Republicans & Democrats) who had no vision, no compassion, & no regard for history. Greed was all they understood, & as long as they got theirs, they could have given a crap about the rest of us. And to make things even worse, they governed (if you want to call it that) through fear, & Cheney was the embodiment of that. Actually, he was & is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with this country. So why does the media even give him the time of day? Since they haven't been doing their jobs of exposing all the bullshit during the last 8 years, I guess they're trying to gloss that over by riling things up & creating controversy where there is none. Cheney's policies & his methods of implementing them have been rebuffed & discredited, yet here he still is. Why won't they let them die the grisly death they deserve? Maybe President Obama hasn't done everything right, but he sure as hell hasn't done everything wrong like the previous administration. Bush was just a boob, a borderline-retarded moron with a mean streak- Cheney's puppet. Do some people just never learn? We should not be implicit in this campaign to resuscitate Cheney. Maybe Bush is smarter than we thought. At least he's keeping his mouth shut.

The Terrorization of "American Idol"

I guess the American people were ready for a black president, but not for a gay "American Idol". Man, they apparently can only accept so much. All those Jesus freaks with their pudgy little fingers voting for the "not gay" guy. Sure, Kris is cute & can sing pretty well, but he's sort of like a generic brand of cheese: bland, smooth, & easy to swallow. Adam Lambert was the most original & talented contestant ever on the show. This guy has star power just radiating out of him. His vocal range, his sometimes flamboyant costumes & makeup, & his stage presence were all unprecedented on this show. He can literally sing anything & make it sound original & interesting. Oh, I just found out he's Jewish, too, so that's another strike against him when it comes to the Holy Roller crowd. Notwithstanding the presidential election, the American people can apparently still act like morons when they want to.

The most interesting thing about the vote was that Adam was clearly not surprised by it. So, on top of all his other stellar qualities, he's also pretty bright & pragmatic (not unlike our new president). He's clearly going to be a star, so all he needed was some exposure to get the ball rolling. I just wonder why he waited so long to get on the show. Maybe he had some kind of personal deadline. Whatever the reason, I'm very happy he shared his talents with the American people, ignorant though they may be. So, despite a few exceptions (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, maybe David Cook), America voted for mediocrity again. The judges are so fond of saying that it's a singing competition, but it's clearly not. It's a popularity contest for the most unthreatening person who can carry a tune, who also has the right "values", which apparently do not include tolerance or acceptance.