Political Humorists Worry

They fear they are entering years of nothing to make fun of in the administration.  

Jon Stewart has warned that we should all be aware that if he makes jokes that refer to Barack Obama's race, they should no more be taken as jokes about all black people than the jokes he has made about George Bush should be taken as jokes about all mentally challenged people.

This morning on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, they were able to find some good humor -- talking about how "Barack Obama gets to be the guy who cleans up after eight years of a drunken frat party".  And how "Sarah Palin was defeated on Tuesday along with the old white guy who kept following her around."  And, my favorite, since she has four years now to cram, "Sarah Palin is moving her family to a new house, this one with a view of a library."

But actually, all the above jokes are still about the lame duck administration.  

Yes, it could be a dry time for the comedians, but what a great time it will be for the rest of us.

Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?

This is one of the most played songs on my iPod.  Take a listen if you don't know it already, great message, and the kind of song that you have to sing along to, loud.  

Click "Listen Now" to hear the NPR story or "Hear the Song" to just do that, and please excuse the brief NPR commercial.

And who do you think is building our wall?

For candidates, every vegetable is a landmine

Scott Simon's commentary on Weekend Edition Saturday is always smart; today's piece, on how ridiculous some of these debates have been, hits the spot.

Heading up to NYC!

We'll be off to NYC at the break of dawn tomorrow to start our celebration of Mark's 60th! We'll also be celebrating Helen's 81st! And meeting Thom's parents, seeing many good friends, hearing music (Lucy Kaplansky), political comedy (Bill Maher), going to museums, theater, and so so much more. Stay tuned here for the story later on, but for now, here's the NY Times review of the play we will be seeing Sunday afternoon -- Tom Stoppard's Rock 'N' Roll! And listen to this interview with Tom Stoppard on NPR.

Politics and Privacy/Summer Reading

There were a couple of pieces worth sharing on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday this morning. Host Scott Simon makes some excellent points about the private lives of politicians, like Larry Craig, or anyone else, in his commentary, Simon Says.
And I loved this story about a high school principal in New Jersey who made his way through the summer reading list so he could discuss the books with his students.