This is a ten-minute, work-safe political ad from 1987 done by John Cleese for the SDP/Liberal Alliance (later the Liberal Democrats). Imagine if any party in the US tried to run an ad like this today...

BTW, the Liberal Democrats are exactly the kind of third party, in terms of size and influence (not necessarily ideology although I'd probably ( Read more... )

For me, it came very early, but so far, I haven't seen any mention made of it in the press or on the blogs. Recall the first question, from an older white man in the audience named Alan[1]:

With the economy on the downturn and retired and older citizens and workers losing their incomes, what's the fastest, most positive solution to bail these ( Read more... )

One thing I've not heard proposed in all this talk about the mortgage crisis and what to do about it the notion of a "plain-language" mortgage. Most states require plain-language leases for rental properties, and they're very easy to understand. OTOH, I know three things about my mortgage ( Read more... )

Answer the questions. Unless you don't like them, in which case say whatever you want ( Read more... )

"But I reserve the right, as president of the United States to meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing if I think it's going to keep America safe."

[Edit: As quoted in the NY Times]

Poll Insulted?

Watching the crowd shots during Palin's speech last night brought to mind a line from Dennis Miller from four years ago (or was it eight?) that's even more appropriate for this year:

The Iditarod's been canceled for less of a whiteout than that.

Bill Cosby ( Read more... )

My emotional reaction to the shooting at the UU church in Knoxville is no different from any other decent-minded person's. But it does give me a chance to explain why I'm against the death penalty under any circumstances. After all, this guy walked into a church where 200 people were watching a children's play, and opened fire with a shotgun, ( Read more... )

So, for my US friends, what are you spending your election-year gimmick stimulus check on ( Read more... )