Sunday, October 31, 2010

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear - full videos!

The full videos (with sponsor's ads, of course) are up on Comedy Central here:

And I'll link to each below. The sponsor is the Axe "wash your balls" campaign - funny and probably NSFW (but what would you be doing watching these or reading this blog at work anyway? ha). I wish at least they didn't show the SAME commercial for every video, but oh well. The videos are great!

These may not necessarily be in the correct order of events. I'm also not sure if the musical guests are on any of these videos - I haven't watched them all yet! Anyway, ENJOY!


Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
4TROOPS - National Anthem
www.comedycentral.com
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or FearThe Daily ShowThe Colbert Report



Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
Jon and Stephen - Stephen’s Fearful Entrance
www.comedycentral.com
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or FearThe Daily ShowThe Colbert Report





Here is the music - Peace Train, Crazy Train, Love Train!









Saturday, October 30, 2010

Rally to Restore Sanity!

This was awesome.

So. Awesome.

Intro:

Crazy talk - Stewart thinks we are reasonable people who can say, "I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler"! :)

Colbert Brings the Fear!

Peace Train!! (or Crazy Train! Or wait... Love Train? :)



Final Speech:

"Most Americans don't live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often something they do not want to do. But they do it. Impossible things [are accomplished] every day that are only made possible through the little reasonable compromises we all make."



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

November 2010 Election Help

A friend, voting for the first time and bewildered by the choices (and more than the choices - frustrated by all the obfuscation from the media), got me thinking about where to find good advice on how to vote. First of all - ads can't be trusted. Of course, if an ad is spreading fear and lies about the opponent, it makes me think much less of the candidate! So pay attention to ads, but look into their claims. News can't be trusted. Pick your channel to have opposing perspectives and get thoroughly confused. Of course, generally if it is being endorsed by the far right, the "tea party," wing nuts, I would seriously question it!

So, how do you get good information? Well, start with reading the ballot information, pros and cons, and then pay close attention to who is supporting or opposing various measures and candidates. And look beyond the name! Some groups have very misleading names. Follow the money - who is funding it, and what do they have to gain or lose?

A simpler solution, after you've read the basics, is to go to organizations you trust and review their recommendations. Choose several organizations, and read their reasoning behind the endorsements and opposition. Try to find opposing viewpoints among organizations whose values you also share. Weigh the ideas presented. As always, think for yourself! If you really don't know (or care) about an issue or candidate, maybe you should leave that one blank - it's legal to do that! :)

Here are some resources I've found to help with unraveling the ballot this November:
  • California Choices - this one is a new one to me - it shares a whole list of organizations' recommendations and endorsements all on one page! You can then make it easier to compare by checking only the organizations and/or the measures you want to see. Very useful.
  • Calvoter.org has information about the propositions including the top 5 donors for each. AND it has "The Proposition Song"! :)
  • Ballotopedia is another new-to-me resource, and it's especially useful to see the donors for the various propositions - follow the money! This site would also be useful if you want to study the measures and don't have your voter information booklet.
  • Smart Voter is another non-partisan resource you may find helpful.
  • I always check the California League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, NRDC, and other environmental groups' recommendations. Most all of these are represented in the California Choices page, but you can get more in depth rationale behind the recommendations at their individual websites.
  • League of Women Voters and NOW are good to check
  • Other organizations like the ACLU, Equality California, or any other groups you like and respect are also good to check.
Once you've rounded up the opinions of others, have fun making up your own mind!!

And don't forget to vote!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Immigration Problems

From The Manitoba Herald

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck.

Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, news paper writers, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.

“I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota . “The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. “Not real effective,” he said. “The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows.”

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Subarus and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves.

“A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions,” an Ontario border patrolman said. “I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.”

When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer, watch NASCAR, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.

In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half- dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the ‘50s. “If they can’t identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age,” an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Susan Sarandon movies. “I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many art-history, women's studies and, English majors does one country need?”


(I first saw a version of this in 2004 - it's still funny. We'll see how far the "Tea Party" GOP faction gets next election - please stick around at least until after you vote!)