The Michael Canfield Channel

Political Correctness isn't anything

Fox pundits and conservative radio hosts like to complain about "political correctness" and the chilling effect it has on discourse contemporary society. There's no such thing, when Mel Gibson's movie can open at number one a few months after his drunken anti-semitic rave, and Gibson himself can march onto the Leno show to a rousing ovation.

Btw, I'm not buying the line that drinking is an excuse. Drinking might make you say things you wished you hadn't, sure. But drinking cannot form a thought in your head by itself. Gibson's belief that "Jews causes all the wars in the world" comes from belief system. Tequila didn't put it there.

So no more whining about the evils of political correctness please.

McCain: Pandering or bigoted?

Very few pols are brave enough to favor same-sex marriage, but this bill, which McCain is campaigning for, goes even farther. All aboard the Hate-talk express.
McCain is star of Proposition 107 TV commercials:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a likely 2008 presidential aspirant, is starring in two new television spots for Proposition 107, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ensure that same-sex marriages or civil unions are never legal in Arizona and ban governments, such as cities or towns or universities, from providing benefits to unmarried domestic partners.

Olberman on Bush's suspension of Habeas Corpus

5 seconds of truth...

A workaround

Link: Guardian Unlimited: Scientists make human stem cells without destroying the embryo.

Deputy PM criticises US handling of Middle East, condemning 'cowboy' President at private meeting

Link: Independent Online Edition > UK Politics.

"He was talking in the context of the 'road map' in the Middle East. He said he only gave support to the war on Iraq because they were promised the road map. But he said the Bush administration had been crap on that. We all laughed and he said to an official, 'Don't minute that'." Mr Cohen added: "We also had a laugh when he said old Bush is just a cowboy with his Stetson on. But then he said, 'I can hardly talk about that can I?'

How to pack w/ airport security in mind

Useful info for air travellers here:

Link: The Seattle Times: Travel Outdoors: How to pack — and cope — with new airport security.

All gels, liquids and lotions are banned from carry-on luggage under new U.S. government rules. That means no water bottles, cosmetics, shampoo, contact lens solution, toothpaste, perfume, etc. Pack such items in checked bags or you'll have to throw them out at security checkpoints. To guard against liquids spilling in checked luggage, avoid breakable bottles and pack anything liquid in a sealed plastic bag .

• Anything you buy to drink in the terminal can't be taken on the plane. Airlines are stocking up with extra drinks.

• Take as small a carry-on bag as possible; the less clutter, the easier it is for security personnel to screen bags. If in doubt about an item, put it in your checked luggage.

So where do you rank on the David Brooks credibility scale?

via OBSCURESTORE.COM:

On last weekend's Chris Matthews Show, New York Times columnist David Brooks made the following loose-lipped declaration: "One of the things I've found in life is that politicians are a lot more sincere than us journalists and we are more sincere than the people that read and watch us."

Take the poll:

Web Polls by Vizu

Chicks dig gadgets, not bling

I don't know if that's true, but I just wanted to use that line as a post header after reading that sparkly jewelry sales are down; Is Shine Losing Its Luster? - New York Times ...

and a survey says growing numbers of women would rather have a plasma TV than a diamond.

Cool!

Lieberman Begins Race as Independent

An asshole and a sore loser. Link: New York Times.

In a CNN interview (quote below), Lieberman essentially called 52% of Democrats that voted against him "out of the maintstream." Hm, where have I heard that retoric before? It's a term right out of the Karl Rove and Fox New playbook. Like I said: asshole.

"I am in this race to the end. For me, it is a cause, and it is a cause not to let this Democratic Party that I joined with the inspiration of President Kennedy in 1960 to be taken over by people who are so far from the mainstream of American life that I fear we will not elect Democrats in the numbers that we should in the future," he said in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien.