I think the best coverage of the monarchy was done by Stephen Colbert...
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-10...

I don't see what the fuss is about - spend the money and we'll be 'Good to Go'

Gregoire has the best of company, if we've got a sense of humor -
http://www.businessinsider.com/shep-smith-japan-r...

Good to Go is good except when it isn't, which is of course only in the location where it is intended to be good.

And Sheen, uh, yeah...

Doesn't Shep Smith work for Fox?
http://www.businessinsider.com/shep-smith-japan-r...

Actually, this is the kind that we're "supposed" to support. End of Monarchy, represent the people, and all that...

It's sobering to think of all the things we take for granted, for instance, the sea not coming for you while camping.

Glad these two are safe despite being caught unaware, as are many others due to deliberate systems in place.

Condolences to the families of those who were not, nor will be, as fortunate.

The GOP, as most of us apparently see it, isn't actually the issue that should be considered and addressed. The 'right' as it's day to day defined is actually our neighbors, or here, our fellow posters. The same goes for the 'left' - but neither are really the issue.

If we want to take the popular language of the resurgent 'right,' the issue is that we've progressively moved to a complete dissolution of functional discourse and fracture of unity by liberal use of subterfuge. The broad-base assault isn't foremost on unions, muslims, homosexuals, self made patriots, military veterans, or business people, but on all of us by way of devaluing rational interaction, respectful disagreement and manner of discourse, and most importantly, education.

The fun part is that those that gain from this on either side of the aisle are (generally) very well educated, conversant and leveraging the school of concepts that we are enticed to deride amongst ourselves, and (again generally) insulated from the issues that actually come to, perhaps irrationally, impact large parts of our country.

We're caught up in the wrong fight...

But we're pretty good at it.

Heh - I suggested the very same distance from blatant cable bias that is expressed here the other day, and it went over kinda like a fart in church.

This, I'm sure, will do one better.

Again, NPR's reporting of the news, as compared to anything found on Fox or MSNBC, is thankfully largely free of blatantly misleading and opined narratives by hosts or outright disdain for facts for 'political' gain.

There are arguments on both sides of the defunding debate, even, of course, within those that clearly support NPR. I, for one, think that the continuance of public funding will ensure that this very manner of discourse is something that NPR will always have to embrace, and is in fact a good thing. While there are those that say that things like worrying about 'facts' in a narrative is indicative bias, I wouldn't go so far as to say that those that work at NPR are free of bias of their own, and the 'check' of threats of defunding for blatant expression of that bias is, perhaps, necessary for people.

It's an alternative to 'corporate ratings' speak, which, I mean, really, who is that good for other than shareholders - if even them?

What's interesting is that a populace that at once derides the 'pc-ification' of "debates" on whether or not Muslims et all are a threat to this country, or how dems vacating Wisconsin makes them wusses, are such in arms about something as mildly 'left' yet informative as NPR.

I mean really, they record themselves walking in the forrest and have beggathons...

Yeah, but they were all 'godless...'

There's also been a plane flown into an IRS building, but, that guy apparently hated the Catholic Church, so, he doesn't work on that list either. But, there is a large population of people disgruntled with the Catholic Church, so, perhaps there's something to look into there...

But, none of this is the point really.

The bigger issue, it would seem to me, is that the event of Juan Williams mentioning that people in Muslim garb on planes makes him nervous is on the path to where we are today...

Let's look at that list again.

Planes Hijacked and flown into buildings:
Radical Muslims in Traditional Garb = 0

It's a complex world, a 'smaller' world, and a shared world. We've got to do things that make a little bit of sense. Responding to fear, sure, it makes sense, but not ensuring that that response is calibrated and rational; that can lead to another list.

Number of Sikh's shot while not being Muslim (which is of course all the time) - 2

That's low hanging, I know, but, I could spend time and get out of the cheap seats and come up with more.

Snark's aside, I'm not suggesting that there's not things to be considered, because there are. Just that, theatre, which is what is dominating things nowadays, isn't really it.

I don't know about that - "Good Morning, this is Completely Dysfunctional with your 6 AM wake up call; discourse and process is broke, and Public Theater is expected for another two weeks" isn't all too, you know, great.

I also don't know if the 'message' is going to get through. There's a game afoot, and most everyone is losing, for, well, 'winning' in the rubric that we cater to nowadays. There's a mention lower down in this thread about the provision for no bid contracts - that's kinda a big deal, and yeah, it's buried among all the vitriol about public this or that.

As we vilify one another, and focus not on the method and what it portends but the theater and soundbite, well, you know, it's priceless; the play is on both the literal and tragically subjective.