Strollerderby : NBC

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Brett Singer — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:30:00 GMT

Remember Alec Greven? He's the kid who wrote How To Talk To Girls last year. This time when I say "kid", I don't mean someone under 25. I mean kid. Because he's 10 years old.

Now Alec has written two more books. How to Talk to Moms and How to Talk to Dads.

In this interview with The Today Show, the young Mr. Greven tells us that "Dad is more lenient." There is an "80% chance that dad will say yes to little stuff when mom might say no."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What else?

"Moms love hugs and nice notes." They especially like it when you "admit [that] you make a mistake [and] write a note that says I'm sorry." Helping out around the house is also a way to make mom happy.

His advice about dads could be taken the wrong way. Alec says that "dads have a good side and a bad side," and that "staying on dad's good side depends on your mood and attitude...If you have good behavior, you stay on dad's good side." This sounds a little bit like what an abused child might say on an episode of "Law & Order." Not saying there's anything weird going on, but it sounded funny to me. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Examples of "bad behavior" that will get you on dad's "bad side" include: "tattletaling" on dad to mom (Alec says that he caught dad drinking out of the milk carton, told mom, and dad was not pleased), and also "fighting with your brother."

For their part, "moms don't like it when you bring snakes and spiders into the house." Alec says that he doesn't do this sort of thing, but his brother (the one he fights with, I suppose) does; he says that his mother often finds "rolly pollys" in his brother's coat pocket. (I had to look up what rolly-pollys are, apparently they're pill bugs. My wife and I would be equally annoyed if either kid brought those into our house.)

Under intense questioning from Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera, Alec admits that his advice is based on personal experience, but he did do some research because "parents have their own little tricks and stuff so I had to make sure other families did it to."

On the one hand, I'm happy for the kid. He seems nice enough, and says that he has donated some of the money he's earned to a cancer charity. He also started a school writing contest, and hopes that he has inspired a lot of other kids to write. "Without writers we can't have books to read," he says. "Without books, we can't learn."

Alec isn't resting on his laurels. For the holidays, he will give us "How To Talk To Santa," and he might do "How To Talk To Teachers."

On the other hand, WHERE'S MY BOOK DEAL? Or more to the point, why aren't my children writing books, earning money so I can relax? Huh? HUH?

OK, I think I'm mostly happy for him. Although I may have a little chat with my kids tonight. Perhaps they'd like to pen "How To Talk -- All The Time." Could be a bestseller.

Source: MSNBC (click the link if the embedded video doesn't work), Amazon.com

Image: Nerve.com

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Morning News - iPhone Gets Feature Other Phones Already Have

Brett Singer — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Updating yesterday's Natasha Richardson story: an autopsy reveals that she died of bleeding in the brain and "she might have survived had she received immediate treatment." The thing is, people with this sort of injury typically feel fine at first. So sad.

NBC is launching a show to compete with "American Idol." Simon Cowell probably thinks this is a "horrible" idea. ("Horrible" is one of the words he uses a lot, right?) On "Idol", Alexis Grace went home. She was shocked. Shocked. Why are they always so surprised? I guess you have think you're a major talent to get on TV and sing like that but just once it'd be fun to hear someone say, "Yeah, I suck. It was only a matter of time before I got the boot."

Why is Steve Wozniak on "Dancing With The Stars"? Based on this quote from his website, I guess the reason is because people said he wouldn't be able to do it. I wonder if Apple fans will keep voting for him the way football fans did with Jerry Rice. Woz has definitely been keeping in touch with his audience, accusing "Dancing" producers of rigging the voting in order to goose the ratings, then apologizing, all via his Facebook page. If this keeps up, I might actually have to watch the show.

Speaking of Apple, the new iPhone software will include bleeding edge features like the copying and pasting of text. What's that, your phone has been able to do that for years? Mine too. The iPhone is nifty but certain omitted features prove that Steve Jobs could probably sell water to a drowning Apple fan if it had that logo on it. (Personally, until the iPhone has an actual keyboard, I won't even consider buying one.)

Financial news update: stocks tanked and it wasn't CNBC's fault. Are you happy, Jeff Zucker?

Austrian monster dad Josef Fritzl was sentenced to life in a psych hospital. Life in prison would be better, but even though he could be paroled in 15 years, it's not likely to happen. The speed of the trial was kind of impressive; in the U.S., these things seem to take a lot longer. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I don't know what it is.

And finally, there were a heck of a lot of babies born in 2007. Madeline points out that it wasn't Octomom's fault -- "she only gave birth to one baby that year."

That's all for now. Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.

Image: Woz.org

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Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Morning News - Natasha Richardson Dies (UPDATE - Autopsy Information)

Brett Singer — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Starting on a sad note -- Natasha Richardson has died. UPDATE: according to this AP report, an autopsy revealed that "Richardson died from bleeding in her skull caused by the fall she took on a ski slope...The medical examiner ruled her death an accident, and doctors said she might have survived had she received immediate treatment."

She's one of those actresses that everyone seemed to absolutely adore on and off stage. I saw her perform in 'Cabaret' just before the show opened to rave reviews; she was amazing to watch. An appreciation of her life is here.

Pope Benedict XVI has folks up in arms because, speaking about the AIDS epidemic in Africa, he said, "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem." Cathy Lyn Grossman at USA Today has an intriguing post in their Religion section titled, "Could choosing condoms mean choosing life?" Interesting idea.

The way everyone is carrying about the Jon Stewart / Jim Cramer kerfuffle (and really, what is it if not a kerfuffle?) you would think that their "feud" actually had some effect on the world at large. Or that more than 2.3 million people actually watched it. I'm not saying that's not a good number, but it's not exactly Earth shaking. Anyway, Jeff Zucker, the head honcho of NBC Universal, is all up in Jon Stewart's grill, saying that Jon is like, being unfair and stuff when he blames the financial crisis on CNBC's reporting. (That's not an exact quote; you can read Zucker's full quote here.) The thing is, that's not really what Stewart was saying. To me, the most important line from the interview he did with Cramer was, "It's not a f**king game, man." Cramer seemed to be telling Stewart that it was perfectly OK to say something under the guise of financial advice that wasn't entirely accurate as long as it was entertaining. Frankly, that pisses me of as well. For Stewart to question the worth of a network's reporting is a good thing, or it should be. Disagreeing with him is fine as well. Sing it with me now -- ain't that America, you and me… Also, if Jeff Zucker wants to yell at someone, it should probably be Cramer. He's the one who turned a bit on The Daily Show into something that has dominated news cycles for several days now.

Continuing with financial news, the Fed is doing more things that I don't entirely understand. This time they're buying "long-term U.S. government debt." (Someday someone will explain to me why anyone would want to buy debt.) This causes many things to happen, including wailing and gnashing of teeth. One possible good outcome of whatever-this-is is that mortgage rates will be vewy, vewy low for now, so if you need one, this is a good time to get it. Also on the good news front: fears of economic deflation have decreased! Why? Because the Consumer Price Index rose by .04%! Whoo-hoo! (Disclaimer: If you are getting your financial news from me, stop. Right. Now.)

Last but not least (if you're into college basketball), the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness, starts today at noon. You can watch every game online at CBSSports.com, which is good for fans who will be stuck in an office all day. Of course, these people should probably be, you know, working. But who are we to judge?

That's all for today, back on Friday. Quick, fill out your bracket!

Image: Famecrawler

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Natasha Richardson Dead

Octo-Mom Erupts! Video Showdown with Octo-Mom and Her Mother Over Babies

Cole Gamble — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Radaronline.com has this exclusive video of Nadya Suleman and her mom Angela verbally duking it out over Nadya’s multiple baby choice. Angela seems to be thinking pretty much what everyone else is, asking questions such as:

“How are you going to afford this?”

“Why more babies if you already have six beautiful children?”

“Why did you put all the embryos in?”

The fireworks build to a crescendo when Octo-Grandma confesses she feels “sorry” for the eight kids--

Nadya Suleman: Because they are healthy and thriving and crying?

Angela Suleman: No, because there's so many, and how are you going to be able to provide for them?

Nadya Suleman: I have to let go of my need to control everything and I need to accept the help that has been offered.

Angela Suleman: I hope you get help, I really hope so.

Check out the video Here.

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Sarah Palin Speaks To Esquire About Kids And Things

Brett Singer — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:15:00 GMT

Sarah Palin is back. In truth, the Hockey Mom/Lipsticked Pitbull/former Vice-Presidential candidate never left. So before anyone hits me with a "Why don't you leave that nice woman alone!", remember that all of these quotes are from Palin herself, via an interview in Esquire Magazine. It's not like people put a camera in her house. We'll stick with the quotes that are about her kids. Here we go:

On Trig:
I'll tell you, yesterday the Anchorage Daily News, they called again to ask — double-, triple-, quadruple-check — who is Trig's real mom. And I said, Come on, are you kidding me? We're gonna answer this? Do you not believe me or my doctor? And they said, No, it's been quite cryptic the way that my son's birth has been discussed. And I thought, Okay, more indication of continued problems in the world of journalism.

Now, I don't want to feed the beast here. And there are certainly problems in the world of journalism. But in that paragraph, she doesn't say that she's Trig's mom. I understand what she means. But she doesn't actually say that she is Trig's biological mother. Just sayin'. (UPDATE: per the comments below, this was meant as a joke, not serious journalism.)

On Bristol's pending nuptials:
This is what I've been telling Bristol, before she gets married, is, Bristol, there are definitely gonna be tough parts in marriage. You have to look at those tough times and remember that you have essentially a business contract with this person. You've signed an agreement: You're going to be together. And you look at it that way as you work through the tough times, because I guarantee the better time is there on the other side. That's how we've looked at it.

To quote another song by Heart (who sang her theme tune, Barracuda), what about love? I kind of hope that there was more to this one because if that's how she feels about marriage, that's kind of a bummer. Not that I'm all flowers and puppy dog tails when it comes to marriage. But it's more than just a "contract." Isn't it?

On Bristol's name:
Two meanings in Bristol's name: I worked at the Bristol Inn, and Todd grew up in Bristol Bay. But also, Bristol, Connecticut, is the home of ESPN. And when I was in high school, my desire was to be a sportscaster. ESPN was just kicking off, just getting off the ground, and I thought that's what I was going to do in life, is be one of the first woman sportscasters. Until I learned that you'd have to move to Bristol, Connecticut. It was far away. So instead, I had a daughter and named her Bristol.

OK. Hang on. First, she says "two meanings" and then provides three. Second – ESPN? Does that mean that she considered naming the girl Boomer, after Chris Berman? This might seem like another opinion from a "pathetic blogger" (another quote of hers), but that's a strange choice. I mean, I like the Cartoon Network but I'm not naming my son Mojo Jojo. (I did suggest that the name Luke, so I could say, "Luke! I am your father!" But then my wife hit me really hard and I gave up.)

Lastly, a general comment on parenting and kids:
A courageous person is anyone who loses a child and can still get out of bed in the morning.

No disagreement there. I do wonder what prompted her to say that, but that's one thing she and I can agree on. (She was really worried about finding common ground with me, y'know.)

One thing that can't be said enough – when Palin says that she wants us to leave her kids alone, she has to realize that she puts them in the spotlight every time she does press like this. She doesn't have to do the interview. And if she does the interview, she doesn't have to mention her family all the time. I said it before and I'll say it again – if you don't want people to write about your kids, you should stop talking about them in the media.

There's a lot more, including the statement "Everything I've ever needed to know I learned through sports," a bit of "y'all" and "ya", and that she doesn't think of herself as "hot." Oh, and to make a good chili, you need mooseburger. The full interview is online at Esquire.com. G'wan. Read it. You know you want to. Y'all. Ya.

Source/Image: Esquire

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Sarah Palin Says Leave My Kids Alone

Brett Singer — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Remember Sarah Palin? Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, kind of overshadowed John McCain for a while, said the word "maverick" a lot? Tina Fey did an impression of her on Saturday Night Live? Ring any bells?

She's back. Well, to be fair, she never went away. But the Associated Press has published a story talking about how Palin "is going on the offensive against news organizations as well as bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children." They say she has, "personally reached out to media outlets such as People magazine and The Associated Press to complain about information she claimed is wrong."

What information? Well, that her daughter Bristol Palin and her fiancee, Levi Johnson, have dropped out of high school. She says that isn't true since they are taking correspondence courses. That sort of thing. Palin says that she is doing this to "set the record straight" and not because of political ambitions.

American University professor Leonard Steinhorn, described as "an expert on the presidency," isn't buying it. He says that Palin is positioning herself to run for Prez in 2012, and is "attacking the media as a way to generate support among a base she hopes will support her." (He's an expert, so he must be right.)

Here's the thing. I don't think it's fair to go after her kids. But someone needs to explain to the Governor of Alaska that if you don't want "the media" to talk about your family, you probably shouldn't invite them into your home, which she did with the Today Show in November after losing the election. No one forced her to do that. And if she wanted to do the interview, she could have done it alone. But she chose to do it in her kitchen while she cooked dinner. She clearly wants to have her family be part of her image, but she also wants to pick and choose what people write about them.

The problem is, it doesn't work that way. You can't have your cake and bake it on national television too. There are plenty of ways to keep your family out of the spotlight. One of them is very simple: keep them out of the spotlight.

Source: AP via HuffPo

Image

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Miss Piggy Wants a Bailout For Christmas

Brett Singer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:30:00 GMT

I'm going to backtrack now on something I said earlier. I was bemoaning (OK, fine, I was whining) that Disney, who now own the Muppets, were going to ruin what I feel are great characters, thereby destroying the possibility that future generations will derive pleasure from Kermit and Company.

Are you sitting down?

I may have been wrong.

Various Muppets appeared on The Today Show this morning to promote their new holiday special, 'A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa' (airing on NBC tonight at 8pm EST; Newsday gives it an A). (No, I don't mean to imply that Tom Cruise, who also was on this morning, is a Muppet. Although that would explain a lot.) The best part, in my opinion, was Miss Piggy, who as far as I know is still being played by the great Frank Oz.

It's not even that what she said was so hysterically funny. But the way that the hosts just sit and chat with her as if she were something other than felt never gets old to me.

Anyway, here are two clips from Miss Piggy's recent appearance, plus one from earlier this year where the Muppets took over the show and Miss Piggy tied up 'Law & Order' star Christopher Meloni with crime scene tape. Good times, good times.

Miss Piggy Wants a Bailout

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Miss Piggy on Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Older: Muppets Take Over Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Muppets Take Over the Today Show and Miss Piggy Ties Up Christopher Meloni

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Hopefully these frequent Muppet appearances will get my kids interested in the characters once they outgrow Sesame Street. I grew up loving The Muppet Show, and enjoyed the same shows on DVD with my first son. (The second one doesn't seem interested yet.) With such a multitude of viewing choices out there, reminding us about the Muppets can't be a bad thing.

So there you go! I may have been wrong about Disney and their treatment of the Muppet property. Happy holidays, everyone.

(NOTE: Thank you to the commenter below who points out that the embeds of these videos aren't working. Go to MSNBC.com to find them.)

Source: MSNBC

Image: NYTimes

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Babble Podcast for November 17, 2008

Brett Singer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Here is the fourth Babble Podcast.

You can either listen right here

or download the MP3 file by clicking here.

On today's episode:

1.    Quick news update
2.    The Week in Blog
3.    Comment of the Week
4.    The Last Word

Notes on this podcast:

Songs parodied:

- Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Ohio
(This is a weird one, I admit it. The show I'm talking about is Diff'rent Strokes.)

Posts mentioned:

Matt Lauer Talks To Sarah Palin In The Kitchen

10 Things You May Not Know About Pregnancy (and might shock you)

UPDATE AGAIN: Palin Prepper Defends The Gov

Arkansas Adoption Ban Passes, Fails to Eliminate Queers and their Spawn from the Earth

What Did Sasha Obama Wear on Election Night?

Big Deal: 70% Off Pottery Barn Kids Clothes!

Behold the Dream Coat

Who Is Barack Obama? 50 Things You Didn't Know

Rihanna Pregnant With Chris Brown's Baby?

Angelina Jolie Pregnant Again (Ya, And Pigs Fly)

Last-Minute Baby Namers

Alex Rodriguez Writing Love Poems To Madonna

Teacher Has Affair With Student, Parents Say Keep The Door Open

Disney Pulls Hannah Montana Diabetes Episode

Past Podcasts:

Babble Podcast for November 10, 2008

Babble Podcast for November 3, 2008

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

John McCain on The Tonight Show

Brett Singer — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:30:00 GMT

UPDATE: To watch the full interview, click here. At the bottom of the video player, click "chapters" and then select Chapter 3, where the McCain interview starts. Original post is below.

*-*-*

The interview is being billed as "in honor of Veteran's Day," although its also Senator McCain's first sit down interview since the election last week. (Was it only last week?) So far NBC has only posted a small portion of the interview online. Here's a clip:

(Click here if it doesn't play.)

Some highlights:
When asked, "how are you doing?" Senator McCain says that he was, "Sleeping like a baby. Sleep 2 hours, wake up and cry, sleep 2 hours, wake up and cry..." When Leno asked the Senator if he felt that the press favored his opponent, he replied, "Yeah, its all the press' fault," with a healthy dose of sarcasm. He said that Senator Obama "inspired" a lot of "young people", and that he thinks his campaign inspired people as well. He has kind words for Sarah Palin. Bottom line? "The one thing America doesn't want is a sore loser."

I'll post the rest of the interview when NBC makes it available, but even just this little clip makes one wonder – was John McCain hamstrung by advisers? We talk about over-parenting. Was this a case of over-managing a candidate? Over-advising? Either way, it's over.

Another thing: what did NBC do to get both of these interviews? I'm surprised that McCain would go on Leno instead of on Letterman. Leno's show does get higher ratings, but its not like the Senator is promoting a new movie or something. Also, wasn't NBC the target of much Republican ire at the GOP convention?

Last general comment: why did Sarah Palin go on a news program (The Today Show) while John McCain went on an entertainment program (The Tonight Show)? There's probably nothing to that, but it's kind of interesting. OK, one more dopey comment: I wish McCain had made Jay Leno some Halibut casserole. That would have been funny.

Source: NBC.com

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Matt Lauer Talks To Sarah Palin In The Kitchen

Brett Singer — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:35:00 GMT

Sarah Palin is off the campaign trail but not out of the spotlight. Now that she isn't running for anything, she's doing interviews left and right (that's not a political reference, by the way). This morning, NBC aired the first part of Matt Lauer's interview with the Alaska Governor; part two airs tomorrow, and there's even more coming on NBC Nightly News.

Sarah sat down with Matt in Alaska for a traditional interview (as morning news gigs go, I think Matt Lauer has it the worst – dude has to travel a LOT). He also spent some time at the Palin home, sharing a salmon and halibut casserole, which he said was quite tasty.

Some of the video is below (click here if the embed doesn't work).

Here are some highlights:

Matt says that the Palin family was, “down to Earth.” Palin herself is, “a working mom...making dinner for her family.”

As for Governor Palin, she was thrilled to be, “representing middle-class, hardworking American families” as part of the McCampaign. (I'm waiting for a candidate to say that they represent lazy people who don't care about money.) She “did not know” that the media scrutiny would be as intense as it turned out to be, and she was upset about the rumors that Trig was not her son. Still, it was all worth it because, “I knew we were on the right path...offering me and my family in service of my country.”

Todd weighs in, kind of. Asked about how the Palin family dealt with the crazy campaign schedule, the First Dude said, “our family is very adaptable.” As for the criticisms? It's just “part of the business.” It sounds like Sarah was more interested than Todd in tearing some of her critics a new one. Still, the Governor says that it's all, “part of this beast called politics in America.”

So what about all of the post-election mud that's been flying around our heads? And did the McCampaign keep her from doing interviews? Palin doesn't want to get into “inside baseball” with regard to “who was calling the shots in the campaign.” She makes it pretty clear that she, “loves doing interviews” because she wants to tell the American people what she plans to do to/for them. “You have to be able to speak through the media.” Lauer points out that she answered his question, “without answering it.”

Then we hear from Piper. She awkwardly answers Matt's questions about the campaign, saying that the hardest part was going to the rallies. She missed “a lot” of school, and its been hard to catch up now that she's home again. How would she feel about another campaign, like, say, in four years? “I don't know,” is the 7 year old's answer. Then mom jumps in and asks her daughter, “Would you want to do it again, sister?” Piper, without missing a beat, says, “Yes.” (UPDATE: apparently Piper was wearing high heels.)

I have several thoughts about this of course, but one thing comes to mind immediately. Governor Palin expressed frustration with what she calls a “double standard” regarding how the media covers her. “I don’t know if anybody’s asking Barack Obama, for intance, ‘Who did your makeup before you went on stage?’ But they’ve been asking me.” True. But when John McCain goes on Jay Leno tonight, I don't think he's going to be doing a cooking segment. Live by the mixing bowl, die by the mixing bowl, y'know?

Source/Image: NBC/MSNBC

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They say: Obama Wins

Brett Singer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:11:00 GMT

CNN, The New York Times, and even Fox News have called the Presidential race for Barack Obama. (UPDATE: so has everyone else.)

Amazing to think that it's almost all over after so much campaigning.

Not much to say. I'm still going to watch the news for awhile; I'm like Yogi Berra – it ain't over 'til it's over, y'know? Then again, McCain just conceded. Wow. (Classy speech too, for what it's worth.)

UPDATE: I'm watching Barack's speech now. I can't imagine what must be going through his mind. Think about where he was in 2004. Wow. I know I should have something more articulate to say but "wow" is going to have to do. (It's late.)

My kids don't seem to care that much, which was actually sort of nice in a way. No matter who wins, they get up, go to school, eat lunch, run around, jump on my ribs – a typical day. Eventually I'll talk to them about this election, but not right now.

What about you – how do you feel?

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Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:15:00 GMT

So the United States is picking a President today. But there are other candidates, and also many ballot measures in play today.

A quick round-up:

ARIZONA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Require that any initiative involving spending or tax hikes be approved by majority of all registered voters, not just those casting ballots.

ARKANSAS:
- Create state lottery.
- Ban unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents.

CALIFORNIA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Authorize high-speed rail project.
- Require parental notification for a minor's abortion.
- Create 14-member commission to draw state legislative districts.
- Require all utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010.
- Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens.

I think I'm noticing a trend here.

Several states are voting on ballot measures to "ban same-sex marriage." Personally, I find this bizarre. Isn't it already banned? Are people that freaked out at the possibility of two men or two women marrying each other that they need to put it on double secret probation? (For the record, I think if gay people are crazy enough to want to be married, it's fine. Go for it.)

Looking at the article on MiamiHerald.com, it looks like the to-do of an insane person. Authorize slot machine gambling, check. Allow state's first casino, check. Ban abortion and dog racing, check. Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens, check. (Those are all from different states, not the same one.) That's not to say that all of the measures are insane, it's just funny to think about them out of context. "Let's see, today...Prohibit mandatory union membership and mandatory union dues, authorize slot-machine gambling, and make English the official language of government proceedings. Got it." Busy day.

Sources: Miami Herald, MTV

Read more:

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They say: John McCain is not a maverick

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Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

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Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Joe the racist plumber?

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

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109 Year Old Daughter Of Slave Votes For Obama

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:45:00 GMT

The line to vote for President and other stuff today might be kind of long. If you get cranky, here's an inspiring story to keep you a little bit sane.

From the Austin American Statesman:

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.
…
Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Joyce Jones said. The family owned more than 100 acres of land in Cedar Creek at one point, she said.
Amanda Jones' father urged her to exercise her right to vote, despite discriminatory practices at the polls and poll taxes meant to keep black and poor people from voting. Those practices were outlawed for federal elections with the 24th Amendment in 1964, but not for state and local races in Texas until 1966.

First of all, the fact that anyone lived to be 109 is cool. More importantly, though, is her story. I can't imagine what it must have felt like for Amanda to cast her vote in this Presidential election.

Source/Image: Statesman.com

Read more:

Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

Obama doesn't say I love you anymore

They say: John McCain is not a maverick

Babble Podcast for November 3, 2008

Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Joe the racist plumber?

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

Why Monday Night Football Is Important To This Election

Brett Singer — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

You probably think that a football game has no bearing on tomorrow's election.

Silly voter!

First: both Barack Obama and John McCain will appear tonight on Monday Night Football. They will be interviewed by Chris Berman, a man whose idea of humor is referring to quarterback Jack Delhomme as "Daylight Come And You've Gotta Delhomme." (Get it? "Go home?" "Delhomme?" It's even funnier when he says it every single week.) According to media reports, "The interviews will give both candidates a last major chance to appeal to Americans during a coveted spot on prime-time television. Monday Night Football has averaged 12.2 million viewers this season." That's better than the typical halftime show, although I doubt Janet Jackson will show up and offer a wardrobe malfunction. And while I would personally love it if Obama quoted Chris Rock and said, "Redskins? That's racist! That's like having a team called the New York Ni**ers," I'm guessing he won't say that. But maybe McCain will? Nah. Wouldn't be prudent, you know?

Second: if the Redskins win the game, the incumbent party – the Republicans, in case you've forgotten – wins the election. This has been true since 1948, except for once. In 2004, the 'Skins lost and George W. Bush won. Obviously this isn't a lock. Still, this is one of those weird little things that make you believe in a higher power that has a sense of humor.

The predictions I've seen generally favor the Steelers tonight, but it should be close. So if you want to start obsessing a day early, you can stay up late tonight and watch the game.

Also of interest: Obama was on Monday Night Football back in 2006 to announce… that he was a Chicago Bears fan. Here's the video.

Sources: WSJ, CBC (also image), Sporting News

Obama doesn't say I love you anymore

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

How much is Sarah Palin worth?

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Will Ferrell Returns to SNL

UPDATE: Jon Stewart says "F*** All Y'All"

Fey and McCain Raise Campaign Funds on QVC

Madeline Holler — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:42:00 GMT

John McCain and Sarah Palin went Live on QVC Saturday Night to sell pork cutting knives and a series of town hall commemorative plates in an effort to raise last-minute funds for McCain's campaign.

Check out the model showing the Fein-Gold Jewelry. Who knew she had a sense of humor?

Here's McCain talking campaign "strategy" and rebranding himself on Weekend Update.

Video: NBC [via HuffPo]

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Brett Singer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:07:00 GMT

When you were a kid, did you ever make prank calls? Call a bar and ask to speak to Dick Hertz? Dial 867 5309 and ask for Jenny? Or "is your refrigerator running? Well, you'd better go and catch it!" (That last one is way old school, dude.)

Some lucky grown-ups actually make a living doing that sort of thing. And Sarah Palin is their latest victim.

Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, two Canadian radio performers who go by the name The Masked Avengers, have made calls to numerous celebrities and government officials, including Britney Spears (she's a celebrity, not a government official – just wanted to clarify that.) Now Alaska's governor can add her name to the ranks of the pranked. The Canuck comedians got through to Sarah Palin herself on Saturday and convinced her – for five minutes – that she was speaking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The remarkable thing is how easily they get through. Sure, one would think that Palin would have figured out this wasn't actually the French Prez when he says that he loved the "documentary" that Hustler made about her, "Nailin' Palin." But the really sad part is the staffer who puts her right on the phone. No, "Are we expecting a call from the President of France?" Nothing.

Another good line: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

The campaign released the following statement: "Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie."

So I guess if you catch your children on the phone asking some stranger if they have Prince Albert in a Can (let him out! Ha ha!), maybe you should encourage them? OK, not really.

Here's the entire Sarah Palin prank call for your listening pleasure.

Source: miamiherald.com, huffingtonpost.com

Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Will Ferrell Returns to SNL

Why the Sarah Palin Shopping Spree Included a Ramones T-Shirt

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

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Alec Baldwin Discusses Palin with Letterman

Palin Busted! New Ethics Complaint Filed

Babble Talk: The Babies Tell Us Who Will Be Their Next President

Palin Mocks Autism Research

Joe the racist plumber?

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:00:00 GMT

By now you probably now that Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of lying about campaign gifts. But what WERE those gifts? Must have been some spectacular stuff to be worth risking his political career and legacy for. Right?

Eh, no.

Howard Stern has been talking about this for awhile now – basically, Stevens sold his soul for, like, a barbecue grill. (But a really NICE one.) Jon Stewart weighed in last night (if the video doesn't work, try clicking here):

Personally, I prefer my corruption big. If you're going to go to jail for something, shouldn't it be something really huge? And if you're going to completely sell out to special interests, shouldn't you get better stuff than that crappy fish sculpture?

The details are just too wacky to be true, except that they are. From the Miami Herald:

Stevens maintained throughout his own testimony that he didn't want the things he was given — a grill, a fish sculpture, a generator, furniture, a high-tech massage chair, free labor — and that he never received bills for some of the work done on his home, even though he asked for invoices. He also continued to place much of the blame on his wife, Catherine, saying repeatedly that she was responsible for overseeing the renovations that led, in part, to his federal indictment. He simply was unaware of all renovation-related expenses, Stevens testified.

Let's review. He didn't want the stuff. He asked for bills and never got them. (Funny how that NEVER happens to me. Or anyone else on the planet.) He's blaming his wife. (Nice.) And it gets better:

But jurors are unlikely to regard some of his assertions as credible, including Stevens' claim that a $2,695 massage chair was a loan, not a gift, from his friend Robert Persons in 2001.
The lead Justice Department prosecutor, Brenda Morris, read from an e-mail in which Stevens told Persons "the chair arrived and it's great," but added that he couldn't accept it as a gift, just as a loan. If it's a loan, Morris asked Stevens, why then is the chair still in his Washington, D.C., home more than seven years later?
"I told him I would not accept is as a gift," Stevens said. "We have lots of things in our house that do not belong with us."

If you could hear me, you would know that I am laughing. Out loud. "We have lots of things in our house that do not belong with us." What can one say about that? Imagine you are in your child's room and you notice a toy that looks unfamiliar. You ask them where they got it. "It's not mine. I have lots of things that aren't mine." Oh! OK.

And one more thing: Madeline points out in Morning News that Sarah Palin has asked Stevens to resign his Senate seat. Some have the audacity to suggest that Palin might be eyeing his job. Or as Madeline puts it: "Is Palin looking out for Alaska's best interest? If by Alaska, you mean Sarah Palin, then some say the answer is 'yes!'"

Oy.

Source: Miami Herald, hulu

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The Obamas wear cheap clothes

Obama doesn't say I love you anymore

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

This is really ugly.

I hope that whomever you happen to be voting for, this isn't something you can condone.

As the blog We Are Respectable Negroes (the name comes from the Forty Acres and a Mule document) puts it: "It seems that Barack Obama was finally called a 'nigger' at a recent Republican presidential rally."

Palin will get a lot of flack for not responding, and while I can't argue otherwise, I don't know what she should have said. (In a Palin voice: "Oh, come on now! That's a bad thing to say!") Then again, how do you stand in front of a crowd that screams out something like that?

Michelle Malkin is claiming that the person was actually shouting, "Redistributor!"

Yes, of course. I make that mistake all the time.

(Aside: in case anyone is planning to leave a comment along the lines of, "What about that Sarah Palin hanging effigy? Why aren't you railing against that?" It's terrible and should be taken down immediately.)

I'll ask you -- what do you think you heard? I actually closed my eyes so I couldn't see the captioning on the video. Send the kids out of the room and tell us what you think was said.

Source: We Are Respectable Negroes, MichelleMalkin.com

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Palin's Ohio Rallies Reveal Frightening Misconceptions about Barack Obama are Alive and Thriving

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Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Joe the racist plumber?

Morning News: Malia Obama Tells Dad 'Don't Mess With My TV'

Madeline Holler — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Michelle Obama was on the Tonight Show last night and she told Jay Leno how Malia, Barack Obama's 10-year-old daughter, isn't the least bit interested in Dad's campaign. Except when it interrupts her own life.

Michelle explains in the clip how their girl reacted when she heard her father would be airing a 30-minute broadcast on all the major networks.

BTW: Michelle is wearing J. Crew, an outfit she bought online with her own money. We can't tell whether she accessorizes to Elisabeth Hasselbeck's liking. Read more for a behind-the-scenes anniversary celebration and an update on Obama's ailing grandmother "Toot."

We're not sure where Cindy McCain got her above-the-knee bathrobe or who paid for it, but we're feeling naked for her. Why? (1) She's wearing it in several pictures on her daughter's fun but cautious blog and (2) Senator Lindsey Graham is also in the room. Then again, we're kind of a prude, so nevermind.

We have a short, and, truthfully, icky Daily Palin: The West Hollywood residents who hung an effigy of Sarah Palin by a noose won't be charged with a hate crime, though they have created quite an uproar with their violent Halloween decorations. We were looking forward to all the Palin family costumes this year (raise your hand if you're pregnant and going as Bristol!), but this seems like too much. Especially in light of neo-Nazi's getting busted for plotting to assassinate Barack Obama. And for someone shouting the racial epithet during a Sarah Palin rally. And all the Muslim bashing. And the pre-hysteria that seems to be simmering just under the surface of this long and weird election. Palin on a noose feels beneath humanity. What do you think?

Happy thoughts: call center workers in Indiana walked off the job, collectively refusing to read an "incendiary" McCain campaign script that said, among other things, Obama coddles criminals and is against protecting children.

A jury found Alaska Senator Ted Stevens guilty of all seven charges of lying on disclosure statements. It's a rare conviction of a sitting U.S. Senator (especially such a popular one). Stevens says he'll continue the battle to hold on to his Senate seat. Interestingly, as a felon he won't be able to vote for himself.

Take a look at these numbers and you have to wonder why Stevens just didn't buy his own massage chair. The collective wealth of Congress grew 13 percent last year. In fact, two of every three senators is a millionaire (including both presidential candidates).

Two of every three Americans are not millionaires. Or even comfortable financially right now. Apparently 92 percent of those surveyed are even losing sleep over this global financial crisis. What about you?

This is gross and alarming: Kids in the U.S. are being treated for kidney stones. It's no longer unusual to see a 5- or 6-year-old with them, doctors say. Why the increase? Salt, people, salt!

Breaking News -- Obama Assassination Plot Thwarted

Palin's Had Enough of the Clothes (and John McCain!)

Video: NBC.com

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Brett Singer — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Kim Mance breaks down some of the key points in the Obama and McCain health care plans. I have a few thoughts to add.

I didn't realize this, but the debate about a national health care system goes back much further than when Bill Clinton attempted to implement one when he was first elected way back in 1992. "Both Roosevelt and Truman called for health care to be an 'economic right.' Truman then proposed a single-payer health program to cover all Americans. But it was called a 'Communist plot' by a House subcommittee after the American Medical Association denounced it." Funny (not ha-ha funny) how one of the current digs at Obama is that he's a "socialist". I guess socialist is the new communist.

A key difference between their proposals is, "how to ensure that all Americans have access to health insurance. Both want there to be no 'state lines' as there are now, so families can shop around for the best plan. However, Obama will regulate and require insurance companies to cover patients regardless of pre-existing conditions, and McCain will not. McCain will instead work with Governors on (fifty separate) plans to optimize access to health care within each individual state."

One thing that I find very interesting, and encouraging, is that at least both sides are talking about getting more people covered. Back in the 1990's, it was much more of an "us against them" situation, with the Democrats wanting a national health care system and the Republicans wanting everything to stay the same.

To me, a sign that the McCampaign is out of touch on this particular issue is the notion that a family can purchase health coverage for $5,000, or even that they can purchase it at all. First, as Mance points out in her Babble article, $5,000 covers less than half of the typical family's yearly health insurance bill. Obama says that the cost is $12,000, Mance cites a study that puts the number at $12,680. Second, as someone who has run a small business and offered health insurance to employees, I can tell you that it is not that simple to just go buy a plan the way McCain says it is. For an individual, it is significantly more difficult. Health insurers simply don't want to talk to individuals about coverage, they prefer to deal with "groups", meaning employers. So while it sounds nice to say, "hey, here's five grand, you can buy whatever health plan works best for you", it's just not that simple.

There are more details discussed in Mance's article, which is very much worth a read. The bottom line? It's hard to tell what will happen no matter who gets elected, but they agree that the current system isn't good enough. "Neither presidential candidate's health care plan brings us anywhere near a true socialized medicine or single-payer system. But they do both point out the many ways our own health care structure can be improved." That's at least something.

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They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

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Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Brett Singer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave a speech in Pittsburgh on Friday where she discussed the challenges facing children with special needs.

Here is a video clip with a few choice digs at the Obama-Biden tax plan:

If the clip does not appear, try clicking here to see it.

And a couple of pertinent lines from the speech:

As families across America know, the care of special-needs children requires long-term planning, and especially financial planning. A common practice among these families is to establish financial trusts. These are known as special needs trusts, covering years of medical and other costs, and for parents they bring invaluable comfort.
Understandably, then, many families with special-needs children or dependent adults are concerned that our opponent in this election plans to raise taxes on precisely those kinds of financial arrangements. They fear that Senator Obama's tax increase will have serious and harmful consequences -- and they are right. The burden that his plan would impose upon these families is just one more example of how many plans can be disrupted, how many futures can be placed at risk, and how many people can suffer when the power to tax is misused.

I’m unfamiliar with special needs trusts, but it sounds to me like something only someone with money can do. That is, if a family lives paycheck to paycheck, how much financial planning can they really do? Like most political rhetoric, what Palin says is short on specifics and long on fear mongering. (That's true of both sides; lack of details is non-partisan.) Also, "the power to tax"? Oy vey. You would think no Republican administration had ever raised taxes, or that the tax cuts in recent years actually worked. (That's another conversation, but really. Oy vey.)

She also makes this claim:

In a McCain-Palin administration, we will put the educational choices for special needs children in the right hands their parents'. Under reforms that I will lead as vice president, the parents and caretakers of children with physical or mental disabilities will be able to send that boy or girl to the school of their choice -- public or private.

Just like that? Come on. We're not electing a Supreme Ruler; we're electing a President. And anyone who thinks that a school voucher law like the one that Sarah Palin describes (I know that may be an oversimplification, but hey, I can do it too!) will get passed quickly and easily is at best naïve.

A commenter on the nationaljournal.com article says it pretty well:

I find all these promises far too vague and general to mean much of anything. … What about health insurance? … Sorry, I don't need a 'friend' -- I need someone with a plan that does more than 'hope' that 'market forces' will allow me to afford insurance for my child.

I will say that I think it's interesting to hear this much talk about autism/special needs children during an election year. It's possible that this issue was front and center in the past, but if so, I didn't notice.

Text of the full speech is here if you want to read it.

If anyone has more direct experience with special needs trusts, or any of the other issues Palin raised in her speech, I'd be curious to hear your take on what she had to say.

sources: MSNBC, National Journal

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Piper Palin Carries a Louis Vuitton Bag - Is it Hers? Does it Matter?

Morning News: Pregnant With Palin

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

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Is Sarah Palin the next Oprah?

They Say: More Children Have Allergies

Dr. Greene's Vitamins one way to get extra D

Woman leaves toddler in car while she goes to a bar

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Brett Singer — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

I was all set to write something about how I didn't really care if Sarah Palin put her children in the public eye. It's part of running for office, especially national office, and hey, this is her job. People rarely complain about men doing it with their kids. Why should it be different for a woman?

But then this story about Piper and her (fake) Louis Vuitton bag popped up, and I had a change of heart.

Is it really fair to put your kids through that sort of scrutiny? Let's review: We had Piper Palin, on video, spitting on Trig's hair.

Then Palin the Candidate brought Piper and Willow (Piper seems to be getting the most screen time, no?) out to a Philadelphia Flyers game. She thought that Philly fans would NEVER stoop so low as to boo her little girl. (Um, Philly fans would probably boo the second coming of Elvis if he was there to give them each a million dollars, but that's another story.)

These are two of many examples where Palin uses the kids as a bit of a shield. Or if "shield" is too strong a word, I think we can all agree that she's "putting them out there," which means what they do will be scrutinized. Unlike her youngest children (Trig for example), the older kids know enough to realize what's going on and hear the insults being hurled their way. Would I want to subject my child to that sort of thing?

The Presidential couple that did the best job of keeping their kids – actually, kid – out of the news was Bill and Hillary Clinton. For all of his obvious failings, Bill (with Hillary's help, of course) told the press every chance he had that Chelsea was off limits. For the most part the media respected that. Now, that was a different time. Clinton left the White House in 2000, which was before the rise of TMZ, Gawker and the constant barrage of celebrity news programs and web sites that track every move the famous make. Still, I doubt that most mainstream media outlets would have "gone after" Palin's children if they were home in Alaska going to school rather than out dropping pucks on the campaign trail.

Of course, if they were in Alaska, Palin would be separated from her kids for quite a long period of time. But how many hours could she possibly be spending with them anyway? Wouldn't they be better off away from all of this nonsense?

Then again (Live! Flip-flopping in action!) what business is it of ours? Since we don't want Sarah Palin to tell us what to do with our kids, how can we tell her what to do with hers? BUT (flip) doesn't it say something about her judgment that she has no problem pulling her kids out of school whenever it suits the campaign, taking them away from their friends? HOWEVER (flop) don't they benefit from her high profile? Am I judging her differently because she's woman?

And so on. You know what the bottom line is, I think? It's not important. What happens to Sarah Palin and her family is important to Sarah Palin and her family. I disagree with her on virtually every issue she has an opinion on, and I think her behavior at campaign rallies has been reprehensible. (Colin Powell said it much better than I ever could.) That's what matters. Her kids? While I can't say I agree with the decisions she appears to be making, they're her decisions. She'll have to live with them. Right?

What do you think?

Photo: MSNBC.com, via Morning News

Campaign Dream Team: Sarah and Liz!

The Obamas wear cheap clothes

Piper Palin Carries a Louis Vuitton Bag - Is it Hers? Does it Matter?

Morning News: Pregnant With Palin

$150,000 Spent on Sarah Palin's Clothing

Breaking News: Powell Endorses Obama

Do Sarah Palin and Family Listen to the Ramones?

Why Won't Sarah Palin Release Her Medical Records?

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

UPDATE: Jon Stewart says "F*** All Y'All"

30 Rock Premiere Online A Week Early

Brett Singer — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT

If you can't wait to see the season premiere of '30 Rock' -- well, you don't have to.

NBC has posted the entire episode online at Hulu.com. Actually, it's embedded in this web page. Right here. Who needs a TV?

Liz is trying to adopt, so the episode actually has a lot to do with parenting and stuff. Megan Mullally plays Bev, the woman from the adoption agency, and all sorts of weird crap happens when she comes to the office to see if Liz would make a good parent. (Will Arnett also guest stars. Every time he opens his mouth, it's funny.)

How is it? It's good. A few good lines:

"She touched me in my swimsuit area."
"Is it so wrong that I just want to have one of these to grow up and resent me?"
"I'm Fred, Rick is the other black guy."

For me, the weird thing about '30 Rock' is that I don't mind watching it on the computer. Obviously I watch all sorts of short clips on YouTube and everywhere else, but there's something about this show that lends itself to Internet viewing. Also, while every time I've watched '30 Rock' I enjoy it, I somehow don't feel compelled to ever watch it again. Then at some point, like now, I see another episode, and I like it. And, then it's forgotten again. I don't know why. I'm not the only one; despite the tremendous amount of media attention the show and Tina Fey have gotten, '30 Rock' is described as 'ratings challenged' even by Ms. Fey. Maybe this adoption storyline is going to heat up, and that'll draw people in. There's also that whole Sarah Palin impression that has helped Saturday Night Live get its highest ratings in a decade. Might be some spillover from that as well.

Anyway, Tina Fey is the new Empress of Show Business. You heard it here first.

Source: Hulu

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Breaking News: Maya Rudolph to Play Michelle Obama on SNL

Brett Singer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:30:00 GMT

TMZ is reporting that Saturday Night Live will bring back cast member Maya Rudolph – or as they put it, "Maya Rudolph Goes Barack to SNL." She'll play Michelle Obama and also "will once again co-star with Amy Poehler in their 'Bronx Beat' skit. Oh my gawd!"

What's interesting about this is that SNL has no African-American women in the cast, and it probably wouldn't look too good to put Kenan Thompson in a dress to play the possible First Lady To Be. (Although it could be pretty funny – remember Tracy Morgan playing Star Jones?)

I've always been intrigued by SNL casting when it comes to persons of color. For example, the show initially took some heat for casting Fred Armisen as Michelle Obama's husband. While Lorne Michaels said that, "Fred just had best take on Obama," and that's why he was cast, I wonder if the fact that he is "of white and Asian heritage" (according to the Washington Post) had anything to do with it. That is, maybe Michaels was concerned that if he cast Whitey McWhitebread in the role of the first African-American Presidential candidate, people would get up in arms. (Or up in ARMISEN - get it? Oh, that was bad.)

Of course, as the same Washington Post article points out, Billy Crystal played Sammy Davis Jr. (and Muhammad Ali in the highly underrated "Kate and Ali" sketch) and no one complained. Nor do they mind when Darrell Hammond does his Rev. Jesse Jackson impression. (Which, for what it's worth, is brilliant.)

Casting Rudolph says, to me, that the powers that be at SNL do feel some pressure to have not-100%-white actors play prominent Black characters. Not all the time, but in this case, it's appropriate. I think I agree, but it's interesting that there seems to be some need to deny that.

Source: TMZ and Washington Post

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UPDATE: Jon Stewart says "F*** All Y'All"

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