The Daily Show on the same-sex marriage hearings

Jon Stewart had a lot of fun pointing out the absurdity of the hypotheticals that some justices raised as possible objections to allowing marriage to include same-sex couples. As Jon Stewart pointed out, these objections reeked of desperation since they could be easily countered. He seemed to think that this signified that June would bring in a verdict in favor of same-sex marriage. I hope he is right though I am not as hopeful that it will be a clear-cut one.
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Geraldo Rivera and Fox News get an earful

An articulate young man tells Geraldo Rivera and the Fox News crew to get the hell out of Baltimore because they are never there to report on the awful conditions in that area or when there are peaceful protests and demonstrations to try and get things improved. They only come when there is upheaval and then just to deplore the violence and paint the residents when they are in a bad light.
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Run, Bernie, run!

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders will announce today he will enter the race for the Democratic nomination for president. This is very welcome news. He would be a far better president than Hillary Clinton. He is someone who is not afraid to refer to himself as a ‘democratic socialist’ (although his socialism is of a very mild sort) and the things he stands for will now be part of the political discussions.
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Reflections on the oral arguments in the same-sex marriage case

I listened to the full 140-minute audio of the oral arguments in Tuesday’s hearings on same-sex marriage before the US Supreme Court. While listening, my reaction was somewhat different from the commentators I had linked to earlier so I thought I would put forward my own impressions of the exchanges and the tactics employed by the lawyers for the various sides. I will give my predictions for the outcome in a later post, maybe later today but more likely tomorrow.
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A once taboo word goes mainstream

I have long used the word oligarchy to describe America because I think it accurately captures the reality of the current state of politics where a small coterie of wealthy individuals and families control the country and make all the major decisions on economic and military issues. The so-called people’s elected representatives are merely the people in front of the curtain, there to entertain us and distract us from the fact that we really have no say except on a limited set of social issues that the oligarchy does not really care that much about as long as the stability they need to maintain their own lifestyles is maintained.
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Who cares about news when you’re with Jane Fonda?

If one wanted to see evidence of the shallowness of the US news media and its incestuous relationship with politicians and the way reporters (I use the term loosely) get gooey-eyed when they meet film and TV stars, you need look no further than the annual White House Correspondents Dinner that took place last Saturday. I am amazed that the event didn’t shrivel up and die after the brutal roasting it got in 2006 from Stephen Colbert when the organizers made the mistake of inviting him to give the keynote speech and instead of the usual pandering they expected to get, he took the opportunity to tell them to their faces that they were nothing better than star-struck stenographers who suck up to the powerful and famous. Incidentally, there is a new documentary titled Nerd Prom that gives an inside look at this event, if you have the stomach for it.
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