I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Vice President Joe Biden, in front of an open mic, said to President Barack Obama that the healthcare reform bill is "a big fucking deal." This in turn has sparked minor outrage at gaffe-prone Biden and even questions of an FCC fine for his fleeting expletive.
Aside from my firm belief that "decency standards" are, for the most part, unnecessary, the fact that Biden said "fuck" really isn't anything we should care about. I wonder how many people were actually watching the signing ceremony live. My guess is that there weren't that many people who would be offended by the slip. (God knows journalists only watch their language in print.) Which means that everyone complaining about his naughty language are people who sought out this clip, knowing exactly what they were about to see.
Everyone who did that is more to blame for hearing the vice president's slip of the tongue than Biden is for saying it. In this instance, those people are no better than the Parents Television Council. They search out offensive material for whatever thrill they get from being offended and outraged. I won't blame them for that, though - I love to watch Fox News simply to be an indignant liberal once in a while (plus, it provides great fodder for this blog). But when I do, I don't scream at my cable provider for telling me that it's available to watch.
I really want to know why no one is asking why Biden said that in the first place. I'm pretty sure Obama knows that healthcare is a big fucking deal. The whole debate has been a big fucking deal for over a year now. Obama himself has been a big fucking deal since at least 2007.
So why even say it, Joe?
Because he's excited. I'm excited. Even the Tea Partiers are excited, if not for a different reason. This healthcare bill is huge, figuratively and literally (thank you, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor) speaking. I hate to parrot the politicians and the media, but in so many respects, this really is a historic moment in US history. And Biden is on the side that is worn and weary, has been abused for a year, but has finally emerged victorious.
Biden deserves to say this is a big fucking deal. Everyone for whom this is a triumph deserves to say this is a big fucking deal. And even the Republicans can call this a big fucking deal.
Even if we are hesitant to admit it, Biden just said what we all were thinking. It very well could be the most honest six words spoken in this whole debate.
That is the big fucking deal.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Fast and dirty, but I hope insightful - kind of like sex
I just finished my morning perusal of Reuters, but I don't have enough time for a full post on each story. So, rapid fire commentary, here we go:
Marriages last longer than living together? | Reuters
Length of marriage is no indicator of anything except the length of a legal contract. Don't read too much into this study, because it explains nothing. Therefore it reinforces a current worldview with nothing substantial to back it up other than quantitative analysis.
Army nixes raid after Facebook leak? | Reuters
What the hell is wrong with you, unnamed Israeli soldier? Everyone should really think about web etiquette.
Lawmakers launch bill to end military gay ban | Reuters
President Truman didn't need a study to desegregate the military after World War II. Congress shouldn't need one to make the military an equal opportunity employer. If current military members feel like they can't serve alongside people who aren't straight, let them forgo their guaranteed paychecks from the armed forces and try their luck in this job market.
I have to go to work now.
Marriages last longer than living together? | Reuters
Length of marriage is no indicator of anything except the length of a legal contract. Don't read too much into this study, because it explains nothing. Therefore it reinforces a current worldview with nothing substantial to back it up other than quantitative analysis.
Army nixes raid after Facebook leak? | Reuters
What the hell is wrong with you, unnamed Israeli soldier? Everyone should really think about web etiquette.
Lawmakers launch bill to end military gay ban | Reuters
President Truman didn't need a study to desegregate the military after World War II. Congress shouldn't need one to make the military an equal opportunity employer. If current military members feel like they can't serve alongside people who aren't straight, let them forgo their guaranteed paychecks from the armed forces and try their luck in this job market.
I have to go to work now.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Cash for Caulkers" will find at least one point of agreement
Obama to pitch cash for caulkers in Georgia | Reuters
You really have to give the President credit for a move like this. Even with skyrocketing debts, increasingly-nervous foreign investors, a declining approval rating, and a movement firmly set against him and most (if not all) government services, Obama is going to boldly announce another one of his "socialist" programs - this time $6b to provide incentives for improving energy efficiency in their homes.
Obama has been compared to Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and John F. Kennedy at different times, but none of these are very accurate comparisons. F.D.R. couldn't make a jump shot; Lyndon Johnson may have had a crushing handshake, but at least he could decide between a handshake and a bow; and though Chicago is the common denominator between Kennedy and Obama, our current president hasn't fucked Marilyn Monroe...yet.
No, the current level of swagger Obama is exhbiting in the face of such criticism can only be compared to George W. Bush. Despite all the uproar about almost everything Obama has said or done, he has once again donned the presidential blinders. Before the years 2001-2009, those blinders had remained on their hook in the Oval Office since the 1920s, when it was the popular style for everyone in Washington to wear the blinders and completely ignore anything happening anywhere, unless alcohol was involved.
I'm not saying what Obama is doing is a bad thing. It may sound hypocritical to say Bush was an overconfident idiot when he rode roughshod over political sensibility while at the same time saying Obama is doing what is necessary to help the country, but let's look at my three-pronged test for political stubbornness:
Bush failed all three of those tests. All economic predictors are dubious, so that doesn't apply to a bill like this. I would hope most of the industrialized world would congratulate us for joining them in the modern era, of equal rights and attempts to pay people living wages. Finally, there is very little chance anyone will die as a direct result of enacting Obama's social and economic legislature, except maybe Glenn Beck, but let's be honest: if he cries so much that he dies of dehydration, he brought it upon himself.
This bill is what Obama promised so many hopeful people on the campaign trail. Right now, Obama needs successful legislation. If he has to do it without Republican support, that's too bad for them, because as programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid have shown, opponents of positive social programs have landed on the wrong side of history.
Washington may not be able to agree on much, but at least the pet name of the bill ("Cash for Caulkers") is something no one can complain about. I have a feeling that if the bill had been dubbed "Cash for Caulk," no matter what the legislation did, too many people would find that aurally unsavory.
You really have to give the President credit for a move like this. Even with skyrocketing debts, increasingly-nervous foreign investors, a declining approval rating, and a movement firmly set against him and most (if not all) government services, Obama is going to boldly announce another one of his "socialist" programs - this time $6b to provide incentives for improving energy efficiency in their homes.
Obama has been compared to Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and John F. Kennedy at different times, but none of these are very accurate comparisons. F.D.R. couldn't make a jump shot; Lyndon Johnson may have had a crushing handshake, but at least he could decide between a handshake and a bow; and though Chicago is the common denominator between Kennedy and Obama, our current president hasn't fucked Marilyn Monroe...yet.
No, the current level of swagger Obama is exhbiting in the face of such criticism can only be compared to George W. Bush. Despite all the uproar about almost everything Obama has said or done, he has once again donned the presidential blinders. Before the years 2001-2009, those blinders had remained on their hook in the Oval Office since the 1920s, when it was the popular style for everyone in Washington to wear the blinders and completely ignore anything happening anywhere, unless alcohol was involved.
I'm not saying what Obama is doing is a bad thing. It may sound hypocritical to say Bush was an overconfident idiot when he rode roughshod over political sensibility while at the same time saying Obama is doing what is necessary to help the country, but let's look at my three-pronged test for political stubbornness:
Am I using questionable information or lying?
Is the world going to hate us?
Is there a good chance thousands of people could die?
Is the world going to hate us?
Is there a good chance thousands of people could die?
Bush failed all three of those tests. All economic predictors are dubious, so that doesn't apply to a bill like this. I would hope most of the industrialized world would congratulate us for joining them in the modern era, of equal rights and attempts to pay people living wages. Finally, there is very little chance anyone will die as a direct result of enacting Obama's social and economic legislature, except maybe Glenn Beck, but let's be honest: if he cries so much that he dies of dehydration, he brought it upon himself.
This bill is what Obama promised so many hopeful people on the campaign trail. Right now, Obama needs successful legislation. If he has to do it without Republican support, that's too bad for them, because as programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid have shown, opponents of positive social programs have landed on the wrong side of history.
Washington may not be able to agree on much, but at least the pet name of the bill ("Cash for Caulkers") is something no one can complain about. I have a feeling that if the bill had been dubbed "Cash for Caulk," no matter what the legislation did, too many people would find that aurally unsavory.
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