Month: November 2006

The Onion is on the case.

One last reprise from the podium:

A reader writes:

I turned on the O’Reilly Factor last night just to see how Bill would spin things now that it seemed clear that the Dems would control all of congress. The election, sadly, has not thrown enough cold water in his face. O’Reilly is still serving his radical Republican masters. I watched as he shouted down a representative from the Heritage Foundation (maybe it was Cato?) as she began to describe why the Republicans lost. She echoed you, Andrew, when she said that the Republicans lost because they had abandoned their conservative values.

O’Reilly would hear NONE of this. He cut her off, and then admonished her for this "rhetoric" (his exact word), and he then went on to explain that the war in Iraq was the sole reason for the loss and that Americans were overly emotional about the war. When the guest speaker once again tried to explain that it was about a loss in conservative principles, O’Reilly dismissed her entirely. Just another example of why he won’t debate you on conservatism. Simply, O’Reilly is not a conservative, he is a Republican. A 21st century, strictly ideological, strictly partisan, it’s-all-good-so-long-as-it’s-my-guy-in-power Republican.

And a scaredy cat.

We all know about North Korea. But the military junta that rules Burma is one of the vilest on the planet, suppressing minority groups, crushing dissent, wrecking the economy, engaging in Stalinesque social engineering projects. I’m one of few Westerners to spend any time in actual Burma – and it was as a back-packing twentysomething with my old friend, Max Kennedy (Bobby’s son). It’s a hauntingly beautiful place, and the country gave me profound respect for Buddhism, and immense affection for the gentle, open-hearted people traumatized by their disgusting rulers. One thing the junta has achieved: a decimation of what was once an excellent education system. The Books For Burma project is a volunteer group aiming to rectify that and provide books for refugees and dissidents. They tell me:

About a million people have fled Burma in the last ten years alone and we are reaching out to them. We are accepting book donations as well as small cash donations to help cover the cost of shipping.  Books will be going to Chin Students’ Organization, Kachin Development Organization, and All Kachin Students and Youth Union just to name a few, more org.’s are asking us for books everyday.

You can find out how to help here.

A reader writes:

I just visited NRO The Corner for the first time … and you are like the devil over there!  Every third post refers to Sullivan this or Sullivan that, Sullivan the apostate, Sullivan the shameless book self-promoter (they’ve got you there), Sullivan the homo in Provincetown. My God, you get under their skin!

Keep it up.

No worries. I will. Oh, and read my book. It will tick them off some more.

I wonder how important Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher were in this past election. I have a feeling they were critical to alerting the younger generation to the dysfunction in Republican governance. So this press release from Circle is no big surprise to me:

Average young voter turnout among college students in precincts targeted by the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project doubled over the 2002 election, more than six times the national average for young adults, with turnout in some precincts increasing up to five times over 2002, according to an Election Night analysis by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

While mobilization efforts proved to dramatically increase young voter participation, the national youth vote saw a significant increase as well ‚Äî especially when compared to the overall population. CIRCLE’s analysis of the National Election Poll’s exit poll for 18-29 year olds found that turnout among 18-29 year olds increased at least 4 percentage points over 2002 figures, to 24 percent. According to an Associated Press vote count and an analysis by American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate, the overall population saw an increase of less than 1 percentage point.

Now, if every college student makes a decision today to get one other friend registered …

I have no idea what my friend Bill Maher is going to say tomorrow night, and I don’t believe in "outing" people. But I do think that closeted gay people who attack other gay people should take Jon Stewart’s advice:

A must-read and uncannily timely profile in the Texas Monthly. Money quote:

"I am an agent of change," Gates told the [Texas] A&M Board of Regents when he was interviewed for the job of president (for which his competition was none other than former U.S. senator Phil Gramm). "If you don‚Äôt want change, you don’t want me."

Know hope.

(Hat tip: Virginia.)

(Photo: Brooks Kraft/Corbis for Time.)

Apart from the football toss (groan), George Allen’s concession speech was classy, smart and also gave the appearance of being sincere. His focus on candor, the future, and public service was welcome. If more Republicans adopt that tone – rather than the one they used in the campaign – their future will be brighter than the recent past. Good for Allen. And good for the GOP.

This column is the intellectual equivalent of "I’m melting! I’m melting!" The Schadenfreude is, I’m afraid, overwhelming my better judgment right now. My apologies. More statesmanlike blogging will resume shortly.