Father in Chief

For all those "family values" voters out there who oppose Obama, his role-modeling of fatherhood deserves at least a grudging respect, if there is such a thing anymore. A Father's Day slide show from The Huffington Post.

Prop 8 Trial as Made for TV Movie

Maureen Dowd in the NY Times today on the Prop 8 trial closing arguments:

The Federal District Court trial that seems tailored for a made-for-TV movie features the remarkable odd-couple pairing of two lawyers who have already been depicted in a made-for-TV movie, “Recount,” about their rivalry in another historic trial, Bush v. Gore. The conservative Ted Olson now prides himself on being “an honorary lesbian,” and the liberal David Boies now prides himself on upbraiding Barack Obama for not pushing to give gays the same shot at marital bliss — and misery — that people like the president’s parents got when interracial marriage was legalized.

With all due respect to Ms. Dowd, it's an historical moment much too big for the small screen. It needs the theater.

Naomi Klein Lays Bare the Hubris

Naomi Klein in The Guardian on BP in the Gulf:

"Everything is dying," a woman said as the town hall meeting was finally coming to a close. "How can you honestly tell us that our Gulf is resilient and will bounce back? Because not one of you up here has a hint as to what is going to happen to our Gulf. You sit up here with a straight face and act like you know when you don't know."

Nasty Blast from the Past

It's hard not to flinch while reading this 1956 Time magazine article on homosexuality:

The full-grown homosexual, as Bergler sees him, wallows in self-pity and continually provokes hostility to ensure himself more opportunities for self pity he "collects" injustices—sometimes real, often fancied; he is full of defensive malice and flippancy, covering his depression and guilt with extreme narcissism and superciliousness. He refuses to acknowledge accepted standards even in nonsexual matters, assuming that homosexuals have a right to cut moral corners as compensation for their "suffering." He is generally unreliable, in an essentially psychopathic way.

A companion 1950s video on preventing homosexuality:

Kushner's Gift Keep on Giving

Charles McNulty in the LA Times on the enduring impact of Tony Kushner's Angels in America:

If any more proof of the relevance of Kushner's masterwork is needed, look what's become one of the hottest tickets in New York next fall: the Signature Theater Company's production of "Angels," as part of its season devoted to the playwright. The chance to revisit history is certainly one of the attractions, but searing drama is what gets a box office buzzing.

Reptiles in Many Respects

The first line from this long article in Playboy written anonymously by a Tea Party consultant caught my attention:

Everything I know about being a good consultant comes from Fight Club.

Also this:

I get out of Washington whenever possible, especially during tourist season. In late spring I visited a Tea Party rally in suburban St. Louis. It was what you would imagine: angst-ridden Caucasians sitting in lawn chairs with signs such as My daughter is nine and already $41,000 in debt. It was not an angry crowd, and in all candor I never heard a racist word uttered.The speeches went on for hours. The sun was shining. It was the kind of day when you could take a nap under a tree. The organizer had personally delivered about a thousand activists. It was her big day. Two hours into the speeches she sat down on the warm grass next to me at the back of the rally and said, "This is the perfect day. Now all I need is a joint." That tells you everything you need to know about my friends.

And this:

Of course, the Tea Party is not as cohesive as anyone thinks. It’s not a party or even an organization. You have to understand the state of the Republican Party to understand how there can still be oxygen in the room for the Tea Party. Bush mangled the GOP brand into a grotesque form that conservatives haven’t recognized in five years.

But the real "pull quote" and takeaway for me was this:

We’re playing to the reptilian brain rather than the logic centers, so we look for key words and images to leverage the intense rage and anxiety of white working-class conservatives. In other words, I talk to the same part of your brain that causes road rage.

Well worth the read.

You Should Totally Apologize to BP

Boy, it didn't take long for this site to spring up.

You should submit your apology to BP. You can submit videos, photos, quotes, whatever you want, as long as you apologize for the thing you did to BP. Did you eat all BP's cheetos? Did you forget to fill up their tank the last time you borrowed their car? Let it all out. Make amends. Say you are sorry.

There's also a Twitter hashtag #imsorrybp