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This video by Penn Jillette has got my brain working a bit. In it he tackles the demonization of the Bush and the right wing by many on the left.

Many … seem to have this feeling, if you boil it all down, that Bush and McCain and Palin agree with the Democrats 100% on everything, and are then doing the opposite. They do not agree that there is a disagreement. They do not believe that Bush is a person who is trying to do the best he can do, who is wrong. He’s wrong about God, he’s wrong about war, he’s wrong about the economy, he’s wrong about who to trust, he’s wrong about just about everything, but he is wrong, he is not evil, he is not malicious.

(emphasis mine based on tone of voice)

Penn dubs this trend “hate”. I think it is simply intellectual laziness. Partisans on both sides refuse to admit that the other side has a right to hold opposing views and refuse to consider what would lead the other to form those positions. Liberals tend to assume it is pure ignorance, conservatives tend to think it is naiveté. It’s easy to believe this, and it displays a lack of empathy, a dehumanization of the other side. The faceless spectre of the red godless communist is not much different than the stereotype of the ignorant red-state yokel, or the money-grubbing CEO, or the corrupt politician. All of these characters actually do exist but they are the vast minority. All leftists aren’t trying to overthrow the government, all politicians are not evil.

I think that Bush actually believes what he says. That doesn’t make me want him as my president, but it doesn’t make him a devious evil mastermind. I also think he should be held accountable for going to war without proper cause. But he didn’t start a war because he likes killing people, he started a war because he thought it was the right thing to do.

This:

doesn’t advance the debate, it hinders it.

I wrote an epic blog post trashing the films of Oliver Stone, categorizing the harm he’s done to the art of the biopic, and lamenting what I feel is his tendencies toward romanticizing historical events. I’ve decided not to post it – I’m trying to tone down the negativity a bit – but I’ll just say this:

Like most of Stone’s films, everybody will be talking about W for the next few weeks, but nobody will be talking about it in ten years.

A few post-debate thoughts from the readers at Foxnews.com:

(Try reading them aloud for extra fun!)

Obama looked like a smug brat when they did those split screens!!! Its Like the US wants a preacher and not a president…sure Obama is smooth but if anybody out there besides FOX NEWS wachters did there homework his 1 and 1\2 years voting record in Congress and his years In IL Politics speaks for itself!!!! Tax and spend, immoral, disgusting, LIAR and very probably ANTI-WHITE agenda is everywhere….anybody out there whose for OBqama do your homework and then you’ll know that a good speaker will make a President we should FEAR!!!!!! unless your on wellfair and wanna take the Government for all its worth….get a clue!!! I’m also dissappointed in the FOX NEWS coverage for tonight your panel has seen too many debates if Obama looked confident to them…HE LOOKED SMUG!!!!!!

What percentage of Fox followers are white racist christian terrorists?

McCain, he’s honest

Its hard to trust Obama

I am a dem. but have to vote for McCain

Thank You

To All of you who seem to think that mccain won…………….. let the freedom ring……………..this is the dream let be known all over the world…….

don’t forget the whole world is watching………………………..
no tricks,no bin laden tapes……..

Ever notice how nasty democrats are!?!

This is in response to “Dodie” who said “I used to think that I would get an unbiased report from Fox, but not anymore!I am so very dissappointed!!!” ARE YOU KIDDING, FOX NEWS IS THE MOST RIGHT WING NEWS STATION OUT THERE SO FOR THEM TO ADMIT OBAMA’S STRENGTHS JUST PROVES THAT HE ACTUALLY DID WIN!!!And it also proves that you have been so used to hearing what you want to hear- pro McCain speak- that when you actually hear the truth you an;t handle it.

mccain be the deciever

the dem on here cant talk fact they have to take hugh part of the page saying nothing because you cant defend Obama socialist view with tax the rich and give it to the poor

Fox news is like the boy who cried wolf. Now nobody believes anything the say. Fox news lies lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies,lies. Fox News has no integrity.no integrity.no integrity.no integrity.no integrity.no integrity. Fox News has no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor!no honor! Newscasters at Fox News are MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!MENTAL DEFECTS!Fox News people are intellectually challenged!intellectually challenged!intellectually challenged!intellectually challenged!

Goooooooo forward and VOTE for McCain.
Goooooooo forward and VOTE for Palin.
Goooooooo forward and vote for the Sweetness.

Do you feel it? Do you?

Science has be taken by Godless an written in the words of the devil who lived, and lives. Read the Book that matters. Read it and the answers are all there. Palin understands this. She does. She will win and it wil be by her sex to win over those who crave. They will vote for her for the wrong reasons but, it will all be to plan.

Mmmmmmmmmmmk.

This is why I’d like him as my president.

UPDATE:
Strange, this guy Joe from the above video was mentioned about 15 times by McCain in tonight’s debate. Odd, because now people will likely be googling “Joe the Plumber”, they’ll see this video, and will likely be impressed by Obama. Not too smooth there McCain.

Great point.

“Clearly, the proposal to partially nationalize some banks comes as our financial system continues to plunge off the cliff. But there’s no less a critical emergency in our healthcare system,” said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the 85,000-member National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association.

“In homes and hospitals across America, our healthcare system is dying a quiet death. The millions of Americans who endure their pain away from the spotlight of Wall Street or the glare of TV lights deserve sweeping systemic solutions as well.”

Yeah, I’ve never understood why so many Americans stand by as their health services crumble. It affects almost everyone. As someone who has dealt with a ton of medical bullshit, I can say that health care is a much more pressing issue than the banks collapsing, as well as the “War on Terror”. Fighting terrorism is sold to us as trying to stop the possibility of thousands of people dying in another attack, while thousands of people die every year due to lack of health care. I do not fucking get it. A death is a death. Whether it’s from a bomb or cancer, doesn’t really matter in the end. I’m relatively conservative when it comes to the expansion of government – I’m a fan of very limited government – and universal health care is a no-brainer to me. As long as you are going to have a government you’d might as well ensure that your citizens do not die needlessly.

For the record, Obama’s plan does not impress me very much. It seems like another patch on a broken system. Clinton’s was better.

Jolie breast-feeding photo: triumph or trouble?

Neither, it’s publicity. And it’s working.

Got it?

Cool.

Virginia Astley & David Sylvian – Some Small Hope

I am currently obsessed with this song and I don’t know why.

Nice to finally see McCain show some class in this election.

Jesus, check out this stunning video for MGMT’s The Youth. The song is ok, but the video, directed by Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job, is quite simply a work of art. Tim and Eric’s style is a blend of banal, silly, retro, creepy, and even depressing humor. There is an odd humanity present in all of it. I know that sounds cliché, but I honestly feel sad sometimes when I watch that show. This video is the purest example of that aesthetic, and it’s oddly touching. There is something intangibly both unsettling and uplifting about it. So strange. I love it.

It’s also beautiful, so this is a hi-res video. May take some time to load.

I’m in a flurry of micro-blogging this morning, so I might as well turn some of these ideas into a linkpost:

Gotta love Fox News: Viewers Perspectives Widespread on Palin Leg Photo

I don’t know Obama, this might be overkill…

I caught Life On Mars last night on ABC. It shows promise. Harvey Keitel in a TV show?? I’m all over that shit.

Drill here drill now… Really? (sorry bout the ad)

I love it. And, I didn’t know you could send specifically timed clips from Hulu!