Alan Simpson just crawled up Bill Maher's Ass and Nearly Died

Last night, before slipping off to sleep, I watched Bill Maher's show, "Real Time with Bill Maher". Remote guests were Susan Sarandon and Alan Simpson. The panelists were D.L. Hughley, Andrew Sullivan, and Patricia Schroeder. If this show was any indication, I have reached the following conclusion:

We've all gone completely cuckoo for cocoa-puffs.

Well, at least some of us
Cocoa-puffs being a symbolic reference for all of the fears that both sides are succumbing to.

Bill Maher was rather angry, making remarks that the religious right has hijacked the Republican Party. Also that they now own the Republican Party.

Maybe he's right, but I'm not so sure. I think the primary power behind the Republican Party is neither religious nor right. However, I think the Republican P.T.B recognize that when you get a large branch of people who are more faithful than rational, and they have faith in you, you have fierce soldiers at your beck and call.

Then, Alan Simpson, former senator of Wyoming, chewed Maher out for deriding and therefore alienating all those Red Staters with is humorous quips. Laugh it up, chuckles, he essentially said. This is all your fault, Bill.

Oh, and Bill got a wild look in his eyes, there.
And to be honest, Alan sort of has a point, but then again, he doesn't. I don't think the folks who would be alienated by Bill Maher are watching his show. I don't think it's their cup of tea. Bill Maher "...never did have them at hello."

Maybe I'm thinking some of us have become rather creeped out by a majority of the evangelicals, and we tried to forget about them. Well, they are Americans too. And if I were a person whose entire heart and mind were devoted to her church, I would not feel safe at all that elected officials who have the ear of folks like Bill Maher are going to seek to preserve my religious rights.

At the same time, I don't think any of the "liberal" folks persecuting anyone for their religious views. But I could see how information in this world could be manipulated to appear like that.

I see a lot of folks think it's suspect that hollywood stars might have views on their government. After all, they are actors, and not political experts! And then there are others who would say that religious pastors should not be telling their parishioners, for they are in the theology field, not the government field. Again, I'm not so sure either of these points are right. After all, we all start learning about our government and how it works from a young age. We all have access to a large amount of information. And this ain't rocket science. I think we need to stop dismissing each other's qualifications to have an opinion and address the quality of the information, not the speaker.

In conclusion, if we are going to say that this election was a result of the Christian Right versus the Liberal thinking elite, we're in for a heap of trouble. I don't see a lot of progress on that front when the Christian Right thinks the liberal side is comprised of evil, loose cannon sinners, and the liberals think the Christian Right are a bunch of knuckle-dragging nit-wits.

What's the solution? I'm not sure yet. But this sure is not working for us at all.

On lighter (maybe) notes

The pie turned out great.

My cats are still cute.

I have many books to read.

I did squander this afternoon trying to get Zarathustra, my City of Heroes main character up to 26th level.

Now to fire up the gas fireplace for the first time this season, and read "The Missing Peace: Inside the Fight for Middle East Peace".

I think this might be Maximus' first time looking at the fireplace. He's enthralled by the Blue Flame of Romance. Then again, so is Sascha. I'll place the kitty rug right in front of it for them.

Sunday Night

Well, reading by the fire was splendid. It was thought provoking, as well, despite my being very early in the reading of said book. Needless to say, International Politics is much like corporate politics, but with language barriers, and increased travel costs. You have intelligent underlings, who genuinely want a peace process in place trying to get approval from their leadership to meet. Thus far, it seems like the leadership is full of ego and certain opinions that form obstacles. No doubt these opinions are shaped by fear of public opinion.

Woof.

Anyway, tonight's dinner is driven by the: "I've got random crap in the fridge, and I should use it before I waste it". So, we had:

• Potatoes
  
• cucumber
  
• mushrooms
  
• red bell pepper
  
• ground beef
  
• garlic
  
• smoked cheddar
  
• eggs
  

The end result? A smoked cheddar quiche with a potato crust with a cucumber salad.

We'll see how it works out. The quiche is finishing up its tour in the oven as we speak.

Treehouse of Horrors

Since patricks reminded me that the Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors was on, I made a point to watch it.

Oh, what good fun it is! British jokes abound, and the line "I can make opi-O's." makes me giggle.

Reason #565 to read Daily Show's "America"

Jesus Irony #639
"Jesus was a steadfast pacifist whose teachings advocated turning the other cheek for the purpose of universal brotherhood. Funnily enough, more people have died "in his name" than any other human in recorded history. (Even Hitler!)"