Obama has done a superb job of making all of us Americans cynical, and hence, tres fashionable.

I applaud Issa and admire his tenacity and courage. As a former Californian, I can testify that his life in that state has been extremely difficult for many years. He's paying dearly for his integrity. That's heroic.

As a Protestant myself I can say with conviction that there's a deadly streak of banality and fatuousness in Christianity today.

I found the talented Sorkin monotonous over the years because of his slick style and tone.  The West Wing could be enjoyable until one began to see how counterfeit it was.  Like gold that's too shiny or a diamond that's too brilliant. 

So true. No matter the crime, a Liberal is exonerated because their intentions are always good.   If George W. Bush found the universal cure for cancer he would still be evil.

Good point. Then we get Biden!

LOL!! Devastating. Well done. Playwrights beware this brave new world...

Well said.

Yes, for many months, until early this year, Rachel was seen in a promo for her show waxing poetic at Hoover Dam, talking about the glories of Great Depression Era infrastructure. It was all geared, of course, to aid the Occupier-in-Chief increase his "shovel ready" union project slush fund by comparing him to FDR.

Rachel is a first-rate nitwit. Did you see her MSLSD promo calling for more Hoover Dams? Those were our glory days, she said. Left unsaid were all the stratagems employed by the 'progressives' to block all dams and construction projects.

Conservatives tend to live and let live, believing - for good or ill -  in Providence and the self-correcting balance of nature. If someone has a wacky idea, and gets too far out on a limb, it's better to let them learn from failure than to prevent them from harm.  This is fatherhood.

The other side prefers to protect everyone from injury, and try to make the world harmless and foolproof. This is motherhood.

We need balance in this world, which can only come from free discussion.

Wow. Thank you,  Owl, for writing this.  I live in Charlottesville, and have tried to follow the whole fiasco, but didn't know 20% 0f what you lay out here. It's a veritable Gordion Knot!

He's a machine. The formula is simple so that even the totally ignorant can hear the cues.  His cadence changes and the mention of Republicans (selfish, small-minded, ignorant, greedy, hateful.... in short, projections from the 'progressive' subconscious) is like a flashing sign, "Joke coming! Knowing smiles, we're soooo much better than they are!"

Scapegoating always gains license and approval from the mob. Sadly, an awful lot of our fellow citizens have become a mob.

It's the Chicago Way. You know the big boss, he takes care of you. When he asks a favor from you, it's not healthy to refuse.

I this were a Republican administration and a similar thing happened, the Lamestream Media would be running with for hours every day. George Stephanopoulos would be ON IT!

Scary. Dangerous.  Shocking. What about their oath to the Constitution? This speaks volumes about the content of their character.

This is very sad, and emblematic of intellectual life in our time. I've read Fallows since the early '80's, when he was witty, funny, and full of insight. He went to live in Japan with his family at one point, when Japan looked as unstoppable and dangerous as China does now. He was the kind of pundit/reporter you could count on.

But now he's succumbed to delusion, self-righteousness, and false conscience, i.e., there's only one right 'collective' path for the health of the planet, its people, and the generations to come. America as we've known her does not fit into that future.

He will make desperate bid to be head of the U.N., or some other figurehead (but dangerous) global post for which he's entirely unqualified. Except to wreak massive destruction on prosperity, individual freedom, and liberty.

You're so right, he's a 'selfless' extreme narcissist; that is, he believes he wants "fairness" and "equality", for the good of all people and the planet. But that's how the worst tyrants get a foothold. Next thing you know, he's Big Brother to the globe.