Saturday, November 8, 2008

72 Days To Go

As part of the Bush administration's ongoing efforts to kick the poor and middle-class in the groin at every possible opportunity, they've just taken steps to reduce medical services available under Medicaid. It's never bothered them when a large corporation overcharged the government by zillions, or when vast sums simply disappeared into that end of the budget. But money spent on health care for the poor in this country? Can't have that.

This is just being mean. Obama and the Democrats are committed in the opposite direction and will presumably undo it all, and then some. But in the few months before that can happen, someone's going to suffer.

• Posted at 10:07 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Albert Brooks on our presidents having a sense of humor.

Bill Maher made a good point last night on his show. One downside to the election of Barack Obama is that for the next four years, we're going to have the Sean Hannitys of the world trying to gin up scandals and outrage over every possible bit of bad or arguable judgment. If Obama eats a piece of cheese, we're going to have Cheesegate. If he says he doesn't like The Wizard of Oz, there will be demands he apologize to Munchkins everywhere right after he resigns his office. The onslaught will probably work about as well as all those cries of "Socialist" worked to get John McCain elected...but we're still going to have to listen to it.

• Posted at 9:49 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Another clip from that Lerner and Loewe special we discussed yesterday. This is the scene at the end of Act One of Camelot, as performed by Richard Burton and, I suspect, other members of the original company. I don't know when this show was taped but it first aired on February 11, 1962. Camelot opened on Broadway on December 3, 1960 and I believe Burton did it for a year, so this was probably taped about the time he left the show...but with the original sets and supporting cast, one might assume. Here it is...

• Posted at 1:59 AM · LINK