Well, That Sucked

Today's late-in-the-day column for the Daily Banter takes a look back on the week that was -- namely, the comical silliness that was the Republican National Convention.

Here's the opening shot:

"My mother has this thing where she refuses to watch violent R-rated movies. No matter how brilliant a film is — how well it was reviewed, how many awards it’s won, how seminal it may be — if there’s even a fair amount of bloodshed in it, chances are she won’t go anywhere near it. When asked why she willingly cuts herself off from dozens upon dozens of excellent films just because of a little violence, she always comes back with the same basic answer: “Why would I want to subject myself to something that will only upset and disgust me?” This is pretty much what I’ve been thinking over the past few nights, the reason I haven’t really watched any of the Republican National Convention at length: Why would I want to subject myself to something I already know will only upset and disgust me? Maybe I’m shirking my obligation to be both a responsible voter and an informed online commentator, but, well, tough — I’ve never been a big fan of migraines and if I wanted to simply piss myself off for no good reason, I’d call my ex-wife..."

Read the Rest Here

The Bob & Chez Show After Party, 8.31.12

Join the After Party

This week: We Continue Discussing the Lies of the Republican Party; Bob Rants About Republican Voter ID and Voter Registration Laws; A Prudent Republican President; Lance Armstrong and Justice; Yard Crashers; News Anchors Can’t Stop Cursing; The Worst RNC Jokes and Why Conservatives Aren’t Funny; and much more.

Quote of the Day

"Nonsense from Clint Eastwood, anti-people Hollywood actor, in defense of Mitt Romney, the Right’s candidate for the U.S. elections. For friends who know English, if you understand what this guy said, let me know too.”

-- The caption from the above picture circulating throughout Iranian media circles this morning, translated back into English

Look, I noticed quite a few people on the left, particularly in a couple of choice columns at the Huffington Post, giving Clint crap not about anything he said or the fact that he was willing to appear in front of the RNC at all, but about what it all supposedly says about him as a person. In other words, there was a lot of denigrating of a guy who's undisputedly a Hollywood legend and a cultural icon just because he happens to be Republican. It was petty, it was foolish and it was a flawless example of just how ridiculously all-or-nothing our political discourse has become. I don't particularly love Eastwood's politics across the board, but that doesn't mean I can't have a hell of a lot of respect for who he is and what he's done throughout his career -- and I'm certainly not going to try to pretend that his political affiliation somehow lessens or cheapens his accomplishments. That's fucking stupid.

That said, his speech was admittedly really bizarre -- although I do think it added some much needed life and a sense of tightrope-walking danger to the otherwise tediously boring proceedings. This was, after all, the staircase-descending coming out event for the world's most uninteresting debutante, Mitt Romney. In fact, I kind of think Clint may have purposely punked the GOP. Maybe he's been tapped to replace Dunn in the Jackass crew and this was his big introduction. Also, like all of Eastwood's work, his speech was slow, had a lot of unnecessary pauses and was about twice as long as it needed to be.

Listening Post

Yunalis Zarai is a Malaysian singer-songwriter who goes simply by the name Yuna.

Her stuff is gorgeously downbeat, in the early Esthero-Zero 7 vein.

This is Live Your Life.

Picture of the Day

President Obama tweeted this photo as a response to Clint Eastwood's utterly bizarre speech at the Republican National Convention, in which he addressed an empty chair that was supposed to represent Obama.

The caption: "This seat's taken."

Leave it to Obama to out bad-ass Clint.

The Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show, 8.30.12

The Republican Convention Lies and Lying Liars; Fact Checking Paul Ryan’s Lie-Filled Speech; America’s Post-Fact Politics; Lindsey Graham Accidentally Tells the Truth About the GOP Base; Chuck Todd’s Astonishing Quote; George W. Bush Has Romney Fever; and much more. Brought to you by Bubble Genius.

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Quote of the Week

"The Republican Party has set out at its 2012 convention in search of the Event Horizon of utter bullshit."

-- Esquire's Charles Pierce

And there you have it: my favorite thing said about this year's Republican National Convention -- and the rest of Pierce's column is equally vicious and brilliant.

Oh and sorry about all the quotes today -- they're just really good and I'm really busy.