So, guys, what do women think?

No one on The Daily Show is as convincing in caricaturing clueless sexism as Jason Jones.

(This clip appeared on April 17, 2012. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)

The selective application of individual liberties

It seems like we are moving into an era where basic rights and freedoms are valued not as abstract principles but situationally, depending on the conditions under which the rights are threatened. Equal treatment under the law has always been an imperfectly applied ideal and in the past was violated with impunity but at least in the post-civil rights era, such selectivity was much more discreet. We are entering an era in which there is no longer even any pretense that the laws will be equally applied. [Read more…]

Romney running mate speculation begins in earnest

Now that the Republican primary race seems to be effectively over as far as the pundits are concerned, they will have to fill airtime and newsprint with other sources of endless and mindless speculation. Brace yourselves because from this point onwards, you can be sure that nothing substantive will be discussed and the media will lurch from one ginned-up ‘controversy’ to the next, often about the most trivial things, with each one being framed in terms of its impact on the election. [Read more…]

Nonhuman animal species finally win one

Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Alfred Hitchcock had tried his hand at comedy? Me neither.

But in his latest commercial, Herman Cain tries to channel the master of suspense in a remake of The Birds and ends up with an ad that I think is supposed to be scary but which made me burst out laughing. Watch out for that skeletal arm, kid! [Read more…]