Feingolden
Corporate Democrats were scattering like rats last week when Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin proposed censuring the president because of his warrantless wiretapping program. When they're not busy appeasing Republicans or bellying up to the trough of Washington corporate contributions, these Democrats make a habit of denouncing or completely ignoring any remotely courageous statement made by one of their more principled colleagues-- falling over themselves to satisfy a right-bending electoral strategy that has cost them every branch of the government over the course of the last two decades. "(Feingold) is running for the position of the most loathsome person," said one anonymous party insider, fearing that Feingold's comments would divide the party and make it appear soft on terrorism.The president's approval ratings are currently running just north of convicted murderer Scott Peterson's, yet a bizarre article appeared on the front page of the New York Times last week parroting GOP talking points under the headline, "Call For Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base," and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, a likely candidate for president in 2008, trashed Feingold's statements. What makes little sense to me is why forcing an out-of-touch radical right wing base to rally around its unpopular president would handicap the opposition party even if it were true. Proof negative are the comments of Republican Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, in a tight re-election race in 2006, who noted that Feingold raised good points and that he hadn't ruled out even supporting the measure.
By failing to rally behind Senator Feingold, most of his Democratic colleagues have given the eternally-cowed media the opportunity to paint censure supporters as extremists, when in truth they're the majority. In a Zogby poll taken in January, a majority of Americans believed Congress should consider holding Bush accountable for his wiretapping program, not simply with the threat of censure, but with impeachment-- including 59 percent of Independents.
The real thorn in the paw of these progressive imposters is not the party's collective future, but their own personal accountability. Feingold, after all, is in the separate and enviable position of having been the only member of the Senate with the balls to vote against both the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act.
Says one blogger: "If you handed some of these guys a sword and said, 'Go out and do battle,' they'd look at it and complain that the blade is too sharp and maybe they would cut themselves, then write a mass e-mail asking for donations to buy a butter knife." When Americans look at Democrats, they don't see a party of principles, they see a party attempting to project principles. When it fails to cash in on its tremendous advantages in the midterm elections in November, hearken back to this moment in time.
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CBS got nailed with a record $3.6 million fine by the FCC babysitters on Wednesday for an episode of "Without a Trace" that aired on New Year's Eve featuring scenes of partially dressed teenagers engaged in both couples and group sex. CBS, in a statement, said the episode dealing with the disappearance and possible rape of a teenager "featured an important and socially relevant story line warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenage children." A majority among five unelected representatives at the FCC, however, believed that one specific scene was "highly sexual charged and explicit" despite the fact there was no nudity. "Without a Trace," for its part, has tumbled so far out of the American mainstream during the three succeeding months since the episode aired that it's now only among the five most-watched TV series of the year.
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If the FCC wants to hold the entertainment industry properly accountable to its consumers, it would focus its attention on the real nuisances. Luckily, on-line friends are doing just that.
One of my pet peeves is the misleading reporting of box office grosses, which is designed to make each new blockbuster film look like a record-breaker. I found this site, though, that ranks the films all-time factoring in price inflation. The top 100 becomes a very different list.
Another burgeoning pet peeve is the influx of DVD cases and menu screens that reveal major plot points about the movies and TV shows contained therein. (If I wanted my entertainment pre-digested, I'd write to the Family Research Council.) Here, Roger Ebert's webmaster has a list of DVDs you should rent and load with glaze averted, and I'd like to personally add "The Sopranos" and "Arrested Development" DVD series to the list as well.
posted by CM @ 1:54 PM
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