Quote of the Day

"There's more in the message here with the presence of the camera, the obvious come hither posture and the aroused breasts and all the sexual components. The statue is sending a message to children."

-- Phillip Cosby, head of the American Family Association chapter covering Overland Park, Kansas, which is attempting to have that city's top officials indicted over their decision to allow an art exhibit by Chinese sculptors which features a statue of a nude woman to be displayed publicly

The statue in question is pictured at left. And yes, you read that right: The AFA wants to have city officials indicted on criminal charges, saying that by authorizing the exhibit, they're encouraging sexting among kids.

I've gone back and read the above quote several times now and I honestly chuckle a little out loud each time, particularly when I get to the words "aroused breasts." First of all, I get the feeling that this statue is pretty much the only place a guy like Phillip Cosby has seen aroused breasts in years, and second -- how utterly fucking terrified of sex are conservatives?

Hope Springs Eternal

My column at the Daily Banter today takes a look at last night's kick-off of the Democratic National Convention and how it showed America something I'm not sure anyone's seen in recent memory: a Democratic party with fire, ferocity and backbone, and one that for the first time in a very long time is able to make its vision for America look like destiny.

Here's an excerpt:

"I’d like to be insouciant and claim that last night’s kick-off of the Democratic National Convention — which I expected to be another exercise in stiff and scripted political Kabuki and potential Democratic flailing, the kind of thing not likely to penetrate the barbed-wire defenses made of pure hostility and cynicism wrapped tightly around my cold heart — wasn’t really anything all that special. I’d like to — but I can’t. The reality is that the Democrats, love their politics or hate them, hit it pretty well out of the park over and over again, culminating in what honestly had to be the very best speech I’ve heard at either convention so far: Michelle Obama’s stunning, eloquent, passionate and personal keynote address. The evening was so impressive, particularly the First Lady’s part in it, that I admit to being somewhat taken aback at what I was witnessing..."

Read the Rest Here

Listening Post

I haven't really been into Muse since 2006's Black Holes and Revelations. It was a decent album -- nowhere near as brilliant as Absolution but a hell of a lot less insufferable than pretty much everything that's come after it. I blame the succubine influence of Kate Hudson, who, according to Almost Famous, was supposed to improve a band's music, not make it worse.

Anyway, I have to admit that the new Muse single, if nothing else, breaks their recent trend of releasing thoroughly irritating -- or, in the case of their song for the London Olympics, unimaginably awful -- music.

Here's the brand new video for Madness.

Quote of the Day

"I was openly mocked by the patrons, and my wife was begging to leave as she heard the wait staff and management gasp in horror that they actually had to serve me."

-- Glenn Beck, complaining about the treatment he received from average New Yorkers during a trip to New York City over the holiday weekend

Beck goes on to say that New York has become a "vile and hateful" place, which is supposedly what led him to move out of the city.

I'm beaming like a proud papa right now. As usual, New York City proves itself to be not only a bastion of intellectualism and enlightenment but one with exceptional taste and zero tolerance for stupidity.

By the way, when Beck left New York last year he moved to Dallas.

I'm just gonna leave that right there.

Q & A

Just a heads-up: Beginning this week, I'll be curating the Daily Banter mailbag. What this means is that if you've got a question that involves politics, the media, pop culture, music, or if you're just looking for advice on the best way to stave off an orgasm during sex -- two words: Nancy Grace -- send it my way. Nothing is off limits -- well, almost nothing. My hope as the new editor is to take the mailbag segment of the Banter and make it both informative and, occasionally, somewhat distasteful, with my ultimate goal being to make Cesca really, really uncomfortable. So have at it, folks. Do your worst.

You can e-mail me at chez@dxmmedia.com, contact me through Facebook or Twitter DM, or just leave a comment here at the site that specifies that it's for the mailbag.

Thanks in advance for playing.

Campaign and Suffering

Today's column for the Daily Banter lends a sympathetic ear to the plight of the nation's political press corps, a group of people who, dog-gonnit, just aren't having any fun these days.

Here's the opening shot:

"Several years ago, Rolling Stone politics-and-finances writer and national treasure Matt Taibbi, who at the time was a columnist for the New York Press, put together a list of the men and women he dubbed the biggest hacks in the world of political journalism. He then bracketed them, tallied up their various sins, and pitted them against each other until only one winner — one talentless creature above all others — remained. He called the competition 'Wimbelhack,' and it’s a tradition that’s been carried on, in a slightly more direct “countdown” fashion, by Salon‘s Alex Pareene. While it’s true that a quality hack’s worthlessness is self-evident and his or her work will be all the proof anybody needs that there’s no reason to give an ounce of credibility to the person’s thoughts or supposed insights, it’s always nice to see an outsider taking on the yeoman’s task of exposing in detail the intellectual bankruptcy of the worst offenders in the national press corps. This morning, Politico.com, without even meaning to, has kind of done just that..."

Read the Rest Here

Listening Post

Kitten are a band out of L.A. -- for those of you in town, they've got a residency all month at the Bootleg in Echo Park -- and they're pretty damn cool.

From their new record, this is Cut It Out.