Month: January 2006

A reader points out that not everyone is comfortable with being post-PC and Dave Chapelle may even have stopped working because not everyone was in on the joke:

While I do agree that post-PC is a sign of a healthy and tolerant culture, I believe that there is a segment of the population that in fact is not in on the joke. Instead, I think that some see the over-the-top prejudice so common in post-PC humor as reinforcement of their own prejudices and in the worst cases, hatred.

In fact, Chappelle himself cited this phenomenon as one of the contributing factors to him leaving his show midway through the 3rd season. Below from Time:

The third season hit a big speed bump in November 2004. He was taping a sketch about magic pixies that embody stereotypes about the races.

The black pixie—played by Chappelle—wears blackface and tries to convince blacks to act in stereotypical ways. Chappelle thought the sketch was funny, the kind of thing his friends would laugh at. But at the taping, one spectator, a white man, laughed particularly loud and long. His laughter struck Chappelle as wrong, and he wondered if the new season of his show had gone from sending up stereotypes to merely reinforcing them. "When he laughed, it made me uncomfortable," says Chappelle. "As a matter of fact, that was the last thing I shot before I told myself I gotta take f______ time out after this. Because my head almost exploded."

It’s difficult to quantify, but the best example I can give is when I watched some Chappelle skits with some southern relatives of mine who would be charitably described as racist. I couldn’t figure out why they were laughing at what was clearly a sketch written to make fun of people with attitudes and beliefs exactly like theirs (The blind, black KKK sketch). I noticed they were laughing not only at the wrong time, but for what appeared to be for the wrong reasons. Later, when they were quoting what they considered the "funny" parts of the skit, it wasn’t what everyone "in on the joke" was quoting.

Point taken.

I guess I had this coming:

"I often find your analysis nuanced and unique, so it proves frustrating when you callously dismiss Kos as ‘the man who’s doing so much to ensure that the Republicans stay in power for ever’.

I wonder how much of his writings you actually read, in simply lumping him in with the fringe elements who participate in the flourishing online community he has created.  Would it surprise you to hear that Kos is consistently beating the refrain of sanity when it comes to the need for an acceptance of Democrats in a Conservative mold in areas such as Montana, Colorado, Arkansas, etc… much to the chagrin of his readership at times.  That he rails in favour of grassroots participation over the failed cynicism of the professional advisor cliques who have done much to destroy the Democratic party.  That he calls attention every Tuesday to another of the many heroes of the Iraqi war who have returned home and are running for Congress under the Democratic ticket.

He has done as much to demonstrate and unleash the potential of the Internet in politics as anyone. Yet you still find it so easy to dismiss him as just another hack.  In doing so, you sell him and his accomplishments short, and the one-line attacks such as today’s serve to cheapen the debate. Step back from the personal shots and confront him on specific tactics and issues. You can do better."

Ouch. Just read the profile or visit his site. And make your own mind up.

Some of you have accused me of singling out one left-wing nutter (see below) to impugn everyone at the Daily Kos. I’m well aware that it’s a very big constituency, and that a majority of Kossers who responded to this poll still believed that bin Laden was a bigger threat than George W. Bush. But Bush was still more despised than Osama by 41 percent of respondents. I think that’s an indicator of how unhinged and ineffective the far left has become.

Here’s an intriguing, constructive idea for calling the executive to account for violating the FISA law.

Our power. It frightens me.

Inevitable, I guess.

I’ve fulminated against the GOP’s embrace of massive public spending increases for years now. Jonathan Rauch does much more and explains how the DeLay Machine of big money, lobbyists and congressmen, has made reducing government impossible. Money quote:

"No one should be surprised that political entrenchment militates against governmental reform. One-party rule always turns reactionary. Still, the 2006 budget cycle is important for three reasons. First, conservatives finally realized they were captives of their own machine. Second, they rebelled, passing a package of entitlement cuts for the first time in eight years. Third, their rebellion proved not how much they could accomplish without Democratic votes, but how little. DeLay’s fortress is conservatism’s prison."

Seriously, read this column. It’s the most piercing analysis yet of how today’s Republicans have destroyed yesterday’s conservatism.

In full – thanks to Iraq The Model. The good news – and I’d say it’s very good – is that the Sunni Arab parties have made serious gains, more than I expected. Juan Cole notices some Shiite rhetorical positioning. I’d place more emphasis on the following:

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the country‚Äôs largest Shia party, told The Associated Press in an interview that Sunni Arabs must accept the ‘new reality’ in Iraq and shoulder their responsibility to rebuild the nation nearly three years after the collapse of Saddam’s Sunni-dominated regime.

‘Every day we are getting closer to accepting this reality. But there are some groups that will not accept this,’ al-Hakim said, citing religious extremists and Saddam loyalists. ‘Those people will continue confronting the government…Those people should be confronted firmly by the government.’ …

‘The important thing is that they [Sunnis] believe there is a new reality in Iraq,’ al-Hakim said. ‘The doors are open to them and no one wants to confront, harm them or deprive them of their legitimate constitutional rights. They are our brothers and they will get their rights.’

May the dirty deal-making commence. And let’s hope Zalmay can arm-twist real concessions for the winnable Sunni center. Bit by bit, there’s still a chance for success. And this, of course, is a critical lever against Iran. I don’t buy the idea that a democratic, federal state in Iraq is somehow a boon to Iran, just because the biggest Iraqi group will be Shiite. Our best hope in Iran is not what we can do; but what the Iranian people can do to topple their deeply unpopular theocracy. The example of democratic pluralism next door is a real threat to the mullahs. And would be a real shining light for the democratic resistance. Persistence, persistence …