A couple things I've stumbled upon tonight.
President George W. Bush apparently had his feelings hurt in 2005 when rapper Kanye West famously said he didn't care about black people -- so much so, he calls it the low point of his presidency in his just-released memoir, Decision Points. Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor at Princeton, frequent MSNBC guest and columnist for The Nation magazine, offers this deep, thought-provoking take.
Highly recommended reading.
Also, a pair of nuggets from The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. O'Donnell, a former Senate staffer and executive producer and writer for the old NBC drama The West Wing, is quickly finding his own as host of his own primetime commentary program on MSNBC. O'Donnell (not related to thrice-failed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell) is intelligent, insightful and able to give an insider's view of how Congress works (or doesn't) that people like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow cannot.
Two video clips I wanted to share from Tuesday night's show -- starting with a defense of the word "liberal." Oddly enough, the poignant message came not from O'Donnell's lips on the set of his show; they came from his pen and through the lips of actor Jimmy Smits, during a debate taking place in The West Wing.
The setting might be fiction, but the words defending liberalism -- as a word and an idea -- are no less powerful.
And last, but not least ... in response to the predictable conservative frothing at O'Donnell's notion on Friday that he is a socialist, O'Donnell doubles down, and offers a stirring defense of socialism that everyone, regardless of political stripe, should watch.
Trust me, you might learn something. I know I did.
President George W. Bush apparently had his feelings hurt in 2005 when rapper Kanye West famously said he didn't care about black people -- so much so, he calls it the low point of his presidency in his just-released memoir, Decision Points. Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor at Princeton, frequent MSNBC guest and columnist for The Nation magazine, offers this deep, thought-provoking take.
Highly recommended reading.
Also, a pair of nuggets from The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. O'Donnell, a former Senate staffer and executive producer and writer for the old NBC drama The West Wing, is quickly finding his own as host of his own primetime commentary program on MSNBC. O'Donnell (not related to thrice-failed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell) is intelligent, insightful and able to give an insider's view of how Congress works (or doesn't) that people like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow cannot.
Two video clips I wanted to share from Tuesday night's show -- starting with a defense of the word "liberal." Oddly enough, the poignant message came not from O'Donnell's lips on the set of his show; they came from his pen and through the lips of actor Jimmy Smits, during a debate taking place in The West Wing.
The setting might be fiction, but the words defending liberalism -- as a word and an idea -- are no less powerful.
And last, but not least ... in response to the predictable conservative frothing at O'Donnell's notion on Friday that he is a socialist, O'Donnell doubles down, and offers a stirring defense of socialism that everyone, regardless of political stripe, should watch.
Trust me, you might learn something. I know I did.
Lawrence O'Donnell hits it outta the park! His defense of small-s socialism is every bit as powerful as Keith Olbermann's "It's About Love" comment in support of gay marriage. Thanks so much for posting it in downloadable form. It's a keeper.
ReplyDeleteI think I posted Keith's Special Comment about gay marriage in my blog, too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, here it is:
http://pulledleftandright.blogspot.com/2010/08/prop-8-overturned.html