Democrats - Lame Ducks?

Greetings bearcats!

As I’m sure a few of you know, the president gave his annual address to the nation last Tuesday. The primary topic was the Iraq war, and a few domestic issues. As has been the case for the last 6 years, the popular “buzzwords” such as “terrorism” and “security” were dropped. This I expect from President Bush. What I don’t expect is a Democrat controlled house and senate to take it lying down. I’ll keep my political affiliation to myself for now, but one thing I learned from the time I was an intern at our nations capitol is that divided government works best when the gloves are off.

Congratulations to Democrats for winning over the legislature, however Bush bashing only works for so long. Republicans have perfected the art of spin and a semblance of unification. Democrats need to work on consistency if the group doesn’t want to be the party of “least evil.”
As a side note, didn’t anyone else notice how ticked off Condi Rice looked at the address? That is one smart lady, and it certainly seemed like something was bothering her. Dick Cheney also lost interest in the speech at one point…or at least he stopped standing and clapping to give his ticker a rest. For awhile you could almost see his mouth move as Bush was speaking.
I’ve included a link to an impressionist named Frank Caliendo who does an insane impersonation of Bush and Cheney.



http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/2/2/231307.shtml

myNorthwest Demonstration

The new Northwest Web Portal, myNorthwest, will be demoed January 30, at 3 in the Student Union Ballroom.

The new portal will provide a customizable homepage you build and a personal notification system built around your major and school activities.

SAC Entertainers End Up On National TV

Last semester I had the pleasure of seeing two amazing stand-up comedian do their thing at Mary Linn, thanks to the advantageous SAC. Now, both of these fine comedians have had a special on Comedy Special.

Andrew Kennedy brings his comedy home, focusing on his life as the child of a Dominican mother and a British father. With citizenship in three countries and after living in many more, Kennedy really brings home the idea of ethnicity and culture. Funny from beginning to end, Kennedy is an up-and coming to keep an eye on.

Jeff Dunham is a man of many personalities. An award winning ventriloquist and funny man, Jeff brings a show with heaping portions of fun, and even a bit of insanity. From Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalepeno (on a stick), and the newly introduced Dead Terrorist, Jeff brings characters to life in ways that would impress Pinocchio. A riot (literally, there's enough characters on stage) beginning to end, I highly recommend attending his show, or taking a look at his DVD.

Under Review: Strangers With Candy

Starring: Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Dan Hedaya and Ian Holm

The Set-Up:

This is a movie based on a Comedy Central show of the same name. It also starred Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello. Amy Sedaris stars as Jerri Blank. Jerri is returning to her childhood home after 32 years of living on the streets and in prison. When returning home, she discovers that her father, Dan Hedaya, has been in a coma for 32 years and is now remarried with a teenage son (Yes, I realize that the father could not have a son if he was in a coma… or could he?). Jerri decides to pick up her life right where she left off. At the age of 47, she’s returning to high school.

The Review:

This movie assaults you with hilarity from the very beginning. The movie opens with Jerri leaving prison and reflecting on the lessons she learned in prison. A monologue asking “Can I change?” is going in the background as images of Jerri surviving prison by brawling and stabbing fellow inmates plays on the screen. Amy Sedaris knows this character and knows all of the humor behind the character. The delivery of the monologue mixed with the physical humor on screen shows us this from the very beginning.

That is what this movie does. The comedy in this movie works because of the blend of over-the-top performances with the soft-spoken acting of the rest of the cast. This movie would not work as well as it does without each aspect. Certain characters present the crazy situations, and the comedy comes with the flat responses to these situations. It also works the opposite way. Characters overreact to situations.

So how well does the movie work? It works pretty well. The script gives us many memorable lines and the cast gives us great performances. The pacing is pretty good, but starts to lose it’s footing about three quarters of the way through. The film does pick up and gives us a good ending, though.

Favorite Quote: “I think I deserve better, don't you? Hey, I know this is hard on you. It would be hard on me, too, if I broke up with me. I know what you're losing.”

Rating: 8/10

Playing “God”

From our new columnist Jonathan Lowrey:

Yesterday on the cover of the St. Joe News Press, the paper covered the story of a severely brain damaged young girl who is to be kept in a child-like state by using hormone therapy and surgery to prevent her from aging. At my place of employment, I heard the gasps of many people as they appear to be horrified at the disfiguration of a helpless girl. The motives behind the parent’s decision for this radical treatment have been attacked as being selfish and dangerous. Specifically, I’m referring to persons claiming that to mess with the maturing of a person is to essentially play God. The act of keeping Ashley a little girl couldn’t have anything to do with the level of care that the parents could provide for her, right? The challenge I offer to God’s hall monitors is to stay consistent. What has not been discussed in the mainstream is the fact that Ashley is currently being kept alive through being fed by a tube, but maybe we can excuse that, right?

The church has not advocated for ceasing surgical removals of cancer, or treatment of allergies or even vitamin supplements for nutritional deficiencies. On the back of every good [insert protestant religion of choice]’s drivers license should be a “Do Not Resuscitate” clause. My point is that society plays God every day, and we welcome it with open arms. The unique cases such as Ashley are suddenly viewed differently because most church-goers don’t have to think about it.

There certainly are those in the world who stick by their good book at the destruction of those around them. Take for example the case of a preacher who refused to allow surgery to remove bone cancer from his daughter. She, as being a 12 year old girl, could not possibly understand the repercussions of “trusting God” to take care of her. Society has stepped in, and a Judge ordered treatment in spite of her father’s wishes. Why? Because life could be better if science stepped in. Keeping Ashley as a child will improve her life in the future. Playing “God” isn’t just okay when the ailment is common.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2124295.ece
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9804E1DC1138F93BA2575AC0A965948260