As in “Grand Old Pity Party.”
During this week’s edition of “The Word”, Steven Colbert could not even pretend to like Sarah Palin.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – Grand Old Pity Party | ||||
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Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue, was released this week. Why “rogue?” Well Merriam Webster defines “rogue (adj.)” as: “resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable.” Perfect!
The day before her book was released, she was featured on the cover of Newsweek Magazine, but Sarah didn’t like the photo they used. It was from a photo shoot she did for Runner’s World magazine.
Sarah blasted Newsweek on her Facebook page.
“The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this ‘news’ magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now.”
Funny… I read a review of the book on NPR today. Here’s what Rod Dreher wrote:
Going Rogue is a book designed to re-introduce Palin as a national political force, and — though she’s coy about this — to lay the groundwork for a 2012 presidential run.
The rap on Palin is that she’s too shallow and inexperienced for the presidency — a conclusion that early Palin supporters like me came to during the 2008 campaign. Alas, for conservatives in search of a champion, there’s nothing in Going Rogue to challenge that conclusion. It’s like this: Palin spends seven pages dishing about her appearance on Saturday Night Live, but just over one page discussing her national security views.
When you consider what weight she gave to National Security versus SNL, the Newsweek cover seems very relevant to the degree of her intellect.
But she doesn’t think so: she told Barbara Walters that she found the photo “a wee bit degrading.” So it’s degrading now but it wasn’t when she posed for Runner’s World just three months ago? Well that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s the response that is “oh-so-expected” from her, and she didn’t let us down.
Oxford University announced the Oxford Word of the Year 2009:
unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.
Whatever…. Doesn’t everyone know that it’s ‘defriend’ not ‘unfriend’?
Here is a partial list of some other notable words in 2009:
Technology
hashtag – a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets (postings on the Twitter site) that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets
intexticated – distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle
netbook – a small, very portable laptop computer with limited memory
paywall – a way of blocking access to a part of a website which is only available to paying subscribers
sexting – the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphoneEconomy
freemium – a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, with the aim of enticing users to pay for additional, premium features or content
funemployed – taking advantage of one’s newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests
zombie bank – a financial institution whose liabilities are greater than its assets, but which continues to operate because of government supportPolitics and Current Affairs
Ardi – (Ardipithecus ramidus) oldest known hominid, discovered in Ethiopia during the 1990s and announced to the public in 2009
birther – a conspiracy theorist who challenges President Obama’s birth certificate
choice mom – a person who chooses to be a single mother
death panel – a theoretical body that determines which patients deserve to live, when care is rationed
teabagger -a person, who protests President Obama’s tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as “Tea Party” protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773)Environment
brown state – a US state that does not have strict environmental regulations
green state – a US state that has strict environmental regulations
ecotown – a town built and run on eco-friendly principlesNovelty Words
deleb – a dead celebrity
tramp stamp – a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman
Geffen Records released a DVD/CD of Nirvana live at Reading Festival from 1992. Here’s a bootleg video of “In Bloom” from that concert. Sub Pop also released a 20th Anniversary, remastered edition of Bleach.
One Fast Move or I’m Gone- A Movie about how Jack Kerouac came to write Big Sur. Highly Recommended! It’s available in a DVD/CD package. The music is by Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard. Great stuff.
A video about the recording of Chuck Prophet’s new album, ¡Let Freedom Ring!, that he recorded in Mexico. My copy came with a souvenir swine flu surgical mask that might come in handy some day soon.
I read Nicholas Kristof’s column in The New York Times today, and he called out one Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who last June said that the United States has “the best health care system in the world.” But who else in the party has made that claim? Turns out a lot of them have. Here are a few quotes:
Representative Mike Pence (R-IA), ”And ‘we the people’ have the ability to protect the finest health care system this world has ever known and demand real health care reform that will reduce the cost of health care without growing government.”
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), ”America’s health care system has a lot of problems, there is no question, and we ought to be addressing those problems. But, don’t forget it’s the best health care system in the World.“
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), “There’s a better way to reform the best health care system in the world.“
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), “Democrats and Republicans understand that we do have the best health care system in the world.“
Rudy Giuliani (R-former NYC Mayor), ”The reality is that, with all of its infirmities and difficulties, we have the best health care system in the world. And it may be because we have a system that still is, if not wholly, at least in large part still private.”
Rush Limbaugh (R – Disinfotainer), “Well, you don’t have to convince me. I think it’s the best health care system in the world. We never hear anything good about it from the leaders of the Democrat Party.”
They all said it and they are all wrong. Why do they keep saying it? Because for them - wealthy people – there’s no problem. They get all the health care they need from the best doctors. They are privileged and they’re covered, and the current system works great for them, so there’s no problem. They want to believe we have the best system because they can’t believe that they would participate in anything but the best system.
Kristof throws out a few inconvenient truths about our health care system that say otherwise:
The United States ranks 31st in life expectancy (tied with Kuwait and Chile)
We rank 37th in infant mortality (partly because of many premature births) and 34th in maternal mortality.
Canadians live longer than Americans do after kidney transplants and after dialysis, and that may be typical of cross-border differences. One review examined 10 studies of how the American and Canadian systems dealt with various medical issues. The United States did better in two, Canada did better in five and in three they were similar or it was difficult to determine.
[In a study of how] well 19 developed countries succeeded in avoiding “preventable deaths,” such as those where a disease could be cured or forestalled. What Senator Shelby called “the best health care system” ranked in last place.
…in the United States, 90 percent of hernia surgery is performed on an outpatient basis. In Britain, only 40 percent is, according to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute.
Americans take 10 percent fewer drugs than citizens in other countries — but pay 118 percent more per pill that they do take, McKinsey said.
Kristof closed with this point that blows apart the Republican argument that a government healthcare plan will destroy the best health care system in the world.
…there is one American health statistic that is strikingly above average: life expectancy for Americans who have already reached the age of 65. At that point, they can expect to live longer than the average in industrialized countries. That’s because Americans above age 65 actually have universal health care coverage: Medicare. Suddenly, a diverse population with pockets of poverty is no longer such a drawback.
Here is the World Health Organization’s 2000 ranking of of health care systems in all countries around the world:
Rank Country
1 France (and they make great wine too)
2 Italy (they also make great wine)
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain (some good wines from here)
8 Oman
9 Austria (really good reislings)
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal (port!)
13 Monaco
14 Greece (wine is not so good)
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany (fine white wines)
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada (beer)
31 Finland
32 Australia (shiraz)
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica (damn good coffee)
37 United States of America (But they make really great wine)
38 Slovenia
39 Cuba
40 Brunei
41 New Zealand (but they make really greate wine)
42 Bahrain
43 Croatia
44 Qatar
45 Kuwait
46 Barbados
47 Thailand
48 Czech Republic
49 Malaysia
50 Poland
51 Dominican Republic
52 Tunisia
53 Jamaica (damn good weed)
54 Venezuela
55 Albania
56 Seychelles
57 Paraguay
58 South Korea
59 Senegal
60 Philippines
61 Mexico
62 Slovakia
63 Egypt
64 Kazakhstan
65 Uruguay
66 Hungary
67 Trinidad and Tobago
68 Saint Lucia
69 Belize
70 Turkey
71 Nicaragua
72 Belarus
73 Lithuania
74 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
75 Argentina
76 Sri Lanka
77 Estonia
78 Guatemala
79 Ukraine
80 Solomon Islands
81 Algeria
82 Palau
83 Jordan
84 Mauritius
85 Grenada
86 Antigua and Barbuda
87 Libya
88 Bangladesh
89 Macedonia
90 Bosnia-Herzegovina
91 Lebanon
92 Indonesia (they grow some awesome coffee)
93 Iran
94 Bahamas
95 Panama
96 Fiji
97 Benin
98 Nauru
99 Romania
100 Saint Kitts and Nevis
101 Moldova
102 Bulgaria
103 Iraq (boom)
104 Armenia
105 Latvia
106 Yugoslavia
107 Cook Islands
108 Syria
109 Azerbaijan
110 Suriname
111 Ecuador
112 India
113 Cape Verde
114 Georgia
115 El Salvador
116 Tonga
117 Uzbekistan
118 Comoros
119 Samoa
120 Yemen
121 Niue
122 Pakistan
123 Micronesia
124 Bhutan
125 Brazil
126 Bolivia
127 Vanuatu
128 Guyana
129 Peru
130 Russia
131 Honduras
132 Burkina Faso
133 Sao Tome and Principe
134 Sudan
135 Ghana
136 Tuvalu
137 Ivory Coast
138 Haiti
139 Gabon
140 Kenya
141 Marshall Islands
142 Kiribati
143 Burundi
144 China
145 Mongolia
146 Gambia
147 Maldives
148 Papua New Guinea
149 Uganda
150 Nepal
151 Kyrgystan
152 Togo
153 Turkmenistan
154 Tajikistan
155 Zimbabwe
156 Tanzania
157 Djibouti
158 Eritrea
159 Madagascar
160 Vietnam
161 Guinea
162 Mauritania
163 Mali
164 Cameroon
165 Laos
166 Congo
167 North Korea
168 Namibia
169 Botswana
170 Niger
171 Equatorial Guinea
172 Rwanda
173 Afghanistan (boom boom)
174 Cambodia
175 South Africa
176 Guinea-Bissau
177 Swaziland
178 Chad
179 Somalia
180 Ethiopia
181 Angola
182 Zambia
183 Lesotho
184 Mozambique
185 Malawi
186 Liberia
187 Nigeria
188 Democratic Republic of the Congo
189 Central African Republic
190 Myanmar
NPR has an online poll to choose the 50 greatest voices of all time. There are 126 candidates from which to choose the top 50. Those who made the cut were chosen based on reader comments submitted over the past month or so.
The web page they created is pretty cool. The nominees are displayed in a photo grid that you can sort by name, year of birth, or randomly. When you hover your cursor over a photo you get the singer’s name, and when you click you get to hear a song clip, some bio information, and a pop-up that allows you to vote and enter a comment.
I hovered over all the nominees, and was a little disappointmed to not find Nick Cave, Nick Urata, P.J. Harvey, Mark Lanegan, or Patti Smith in the grid. You fans of more classically trained voices will probably be just as disappointed to not find Luciano Pavarotti.
I voted anyway and these are my five picks: Johnny Cash, Neko Case, Jeff Buckley, Bob Marley, and Tom Waits.
Take five to visit the site and cast your vote.
Today I spent some time between the Vikings vs. Packers game and game 4 of the World Series filling out my mail-in ballot for the Washington State, King County, Seattle elections. (Damn I miss going to my neighborhood polling place to vote.) Anyway, when I got to the Referendum 71 box, I recalled a great segment from The Colbert Report last week.
If you are not sure why you should approve Referendum 71, watch and learn.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – Don’t Ask Don’t Tell | ||||
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