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Archive for 2010|Yearly archive page

What The Duck?

In Politics on December 22, 2010 at 9:44 pm

What’s going on in Washington? Out of nowhere, our representatives became smooth-operating legislators.

It’s like somebody called in The Wolf from Pulp Fiction to clean up every mess that wasn’t handled in the last two years, and he came through in miraculous time, as always. Obama must have called Congress and said, “You ain’t got no problem. I’m on the motherf#¢%er. Go back in there, chill them senators out and wait for the cavalry which should be coming directly.”

I mean, there’s a reason they don’t call it the cool-duck session. We’re down to the shortest couple days of the year and these guys are suddenly overachievers.

We’ve just seen quite possibly the most substantively productive lame-duck session in over 50 years. Isn’t this supposed to be the most blah two months of the political year? I mean, in 1948 Congress shut that maimed mallard’s quacking down in less than two hours.

Instead, what the president has shown, by persuading his party to rally and negotiating with the opposition, is that politics is indeed the art of the possible.

Today, Obama kicked off the day by signing the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT), after it passed both houses of Congress in the last week. I’m not gonna lie, I was skeptical that Obama, et al. were taking the wrong tactic in not issuing an executive order or touting the October ruling by a US District judge to overturn DADT, but in the end, they stayed the course and earned the W the right way in Congress. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s All The Hub(bub)?

In Television on December 12, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Oh my God, I love The Hub. It’s only two months old, but it’s already a fixture of my TV diet.

What is The Hub?  It’s a new cable channel that plays all these shows from back in the day.

If you’re like me, you probably didn’t even realize you were longing for Doogie Howser and Wonder Years reruns, but you were. Or Fraggle Rock! Man, that Muppet-derived funfest takes me back. Seriously, has Fraggle Rock even been on American TV since it aired on HBO in the 80s? And, in the premiere of Doogie, Neil Patrick Harris throws his driving test to speed to the scene of an accident, push a cop away, and fix some dude’s leg. You can’t make this stuff up, though I guess Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley did in 1989.

What else? Family Ties, which New York magazine also noticed. (Seriously, the writers of their Approval Matrix and I have algorithmically similar tastes in cultural consumption.) There are also a few shows from before my time like Laverne & Shirley, the original 60s “Pow! Kaboom!” Batman, and Happy Days. Then again, who doesn’t know the Fonz?

Sure, some of this stuff may be on Hulu or iTunes, but you are less likely to know it’s there and seek it out than stumble on it on TV. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s It?

In Media, Politics on December 2, 2010 at 9:50 pm

Today, the House of Representatives censured Charlie Rangel. Blink and you missed it.

After two years of investigation and conviction on 11 counts of Congressional ethics violations, the official “tsk-tsk” was read aloud by Nancy Pelosi to Rangel, made to stand in the well below her, as others watched on. I happened to catch it live on CNN and couldn’t believe it: that’s it?

It was not merely over as fast as a prick at the doctor’s office, it probably hurt less.

Is this supposed to be severe?  People who don’t pay their taxes don’t usually get off with a reluctant tongue-lashing.

It felt like as soon as Pelosi began introducing the statement, it was over. I was waiting for the real meat of the statement, after the statement, but it never came.

All told, it was less than 45 seconds. Watch for yourself:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Read the rest of this entry »

Not Favre From The Truth?

In Media, Sports on November 18, 2010 at 4:04 pm

It’s time for a break from politics to discuss the sports media entrée of the past month: that Brett Favre is a Dirty Old Grandfather.

Unless you’ve had your head under a misguided Rand Paul supporter’s foot for the last 40 days, you’ve likely heard the story that Deadspin broke about the NFL’s Brett Favre allegedly sending suggestive voicemails and cell phone pictures of his manparts to a girl named Jenn Sterger in 2008. At the time, Favre was quarterbacking for the New York Jets and Sterger was working for the team as a sort of in-house sideline reporter/hostess. Due to that, the accusations bring issues of workplace sexual harassment to the fore.

There’s been a lack of major public developments since this whole ugly business was exposed. Favre has been terse or evasive with the press, the NFL has conducted its own investigation, and Sterger, with her manager and lawyer, has considered her legal options.

Of course, that hasn’t prevented a media melee, where outlets sliced and diced each party to the scandal. First Favre was slammed, and Sterger was given the benefit of the doubt. Now some are even sympathizing with Favre, while others hurl accusations that Sterger is just another attention-grabbing opportunist.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Case Of Elephantiasis.

In Media, Politics on November 3, 2010 at 2:37 pm

The American people have spoken: They do not care to see former NBA player Rick Fox dance on television any longer. With a resounding voice and top ratings, they kicked him off Dancing with the Stars. Turns out they are also none too fond of Democrats.

Tango not being my forté, there are a string of observations to note from last night’s elections, wherein Democrats called in sick to the midterm with a case of Elephantiasis:

(Climate) change… or more of the same: The lede is of course that Republicans stormed back from two successive losing elections to take back the House with a formidable majority and make inroads in the Senate. Although he’s chastened and pensive, the president won’t be sticking around to sulk; he’s skedaddling to India (among other stops) for a twice-postponed trip on diplomacy and trade.

The impact that the sluggish recovery of the economy had on this outcome cannot be underestimated. Even with this result, we already heard that the Tea Party may have cost Republicans gains. Did it? I leave that to others to dig deep on, but the short answer is yes. Whatever you think of the Tea Party, its energized components did drive activity, fundraising, and turnout. Now we’ll see how easily Republicans are able to settle internal ideological problems with these new members. Will it be like liberal Democrats trying to win over Blue Dogs, but this time on the right? TBD. One thing is for sure: a father-son swearing-in mash-up is in order for Ron Paul and Rand Paul. Talk about a conference committee!

Read the rest of this entry »

Foregone Confusion.

In Media, Politics on October 28, 2010 at 5:48 pm

Did you know that the 2010 midterm elections have already been decided? Yup, it’s true. And I’m not talking about early voting. I’m not even talking about voting, actually. I’m talking about perception, which has a resilient habit of becoming reality.

We’re less than a week until the election, but as far as the media big dogs are concerned, it’s already over: “The Republicans won… just bear with us a few days, we’re still working on the final tally.”

This narrative can be tracked all the way back to the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ races going to the GOP a year ago. Ever since, it’s been a snowballing pile of tea bags careening toward the House floor.

Yes, the anticipation is that a Republican will pummel a Democrat with greater ease than the Giants taking down an opposing quarterback.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Cast Of Characters: Live-Blogging The New York Gubernatorial Debate.

In Government, Politics on October 18, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Against my better judgment, I’ve decided to live-blog the New York Gubernatorial Debate happening right now. You can follow along on News 12 or NY1. Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino are being joined by five relatively unknown candidates, which is sure to make for a colorful conversation. For a quick primer on those Unknowns, click here.

And They’re Off | 7:06 p.m. The first question, posed to all candidates, asks what three or four programs you would cut. Paladino was first and gave an incoherent, gruff reply. Cuomo spoke and it was evident he has had some debate prep. The Unknowns may be unpolished, but they each spoke much more clearly than Paladino.

Zing! | 7:15 p.m. Kristin Davis caps her 30-second follow-up on program cuts by saying that additional taxes will make “businesses leave the state quicker than Carl Paladino at a gay bar.” I’ll guarantee it was written ahead of time, but that won’t stop it from making the highlight reel.

What’s That Accent? | 7:23 p.m. Howie Hawkins is the Green Party man, but he sounds like Boss Hog. Where in New York do you get that accent? I’ve been around most of the state and it’s new to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Warren Piece.

In Politics on October 15, 2010 at 10:30 am

This may be the best email I’ve ever received:

From: Warren Redlich <wredlich@gmail.com>
To: briefwit@gmail.com
Subject: Interview?

Hi. I just read your interview with Roger Stone. I’m not nearly as
interesting, but I am running for Governor of NY and Roger hates me.
Would you like to interview me?

Warren

Wow. What would you do? A boring and potentially unlikeable interview subject? Sounds like a losing combination. Naturally, I had to speak with him.

First things first though, I circled the Internet wagons for information on him.

Read the rest of this entry »

Train In Vain.

In Economy, Travel on October 9, 2010 at 6:10 pm

The third post I ever wrote for Brief Wit was about the Obama Administration’s overarching vision for high-speed rail in America and funding for it included in the Stimulus. The map and the routes were very inspiring, and while the $8 billion allocated is a big number, it’s a small fraction of what is needed to do the job.

Fast forward to a week ago, when Amtrak unveiled details for building a high-speed rail (HSR) network for the Northeast Corridor, spanning Boston to Washington D.C. “The high-speed line would have four ‘hub’ stops: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. ‘Super Express’ trains would stop only in those cities and make the 426-mile trip between Boston and Washington in 3 hours and 23 minutes (compared to the current 8 hours on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional trains or 6 hours and 37 minutes on Acela Express).” Second-tier stops would include Baltimore, Wilmington, Newark, and Hartford.

The proposal will enable Red Sox fans and Yankees fans to argue in person in a mere 86 minutes! The facilitation of ballpark brawls will be something to marvel at. From there, they can make up and head down to D.C. together and rag on Nationals players in a little over an hour and a half, thanks to a 220 mph bullet train. The completed infrastructure would create thousands of jobs, reduce pollution, alleviate air and auto congestion (since the largest percentage of delays are in the Northeast), and generate an estimated $900 million a year.

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Carson Daly: Not A Douchebag?

In Television on October 1, 2010 at 9:21 am

I have an admission to make. I do this at great personal risk and I fully expect friends to disown me. Okay, here goes.

I’ve written before about how I’ve been up late some nights. In that vein, I’ve recently caught pieces of Last Call, Carson Daly’s half-hour show, on after Jimmy Fallon’s incarnation of Late Night. And I have to say, it’s not bad. In fact, it’s pretty good. There’s more, and please don’t banish me from the Internet after I say it: underneath it all, I’ve actually always thought that Daly was a cool guy.

There, I said it. Before you renounce me, give me a chance to make my case.

Read the rest of this entry »