Laughing Liberally

This morning, a bunch of people got punked, receiving forwarded articles pronouncing: "Ex-Secretary Apologized for WMD Scare."

Following a day in which Bush expressed regret over "Mission Accomplished" and "Dead or Alive," it seemed plausible that Condi Rice was trying to protect her legacy too.

But when, on my way into the subway, I get handed a paper copy of the New York Times declaring "Iraq War Ends," I knew it was a prank.

A prank...except that wasn't really tricking anybody (we generally knew the war wasn't over, universal healthcare hadn't yet happened and Bush wasn't standing trial for war crimes).

A satire...except it wasn't really funny. The reactions on the subway weren't laughter.

It was a parody...that elicited hope.

This project, which seemed to be dropped on the unsuspecting public by the Yes Men, got us thinking...you know, the war could be over in and troops could start coming home in 6 months...CEO wages could be capped (especially as part of the bailout)...NYC bike lanes could be widened...and The Times editorial page could properly apologize for their complicity in the great Iraq deception.

Unlike the Onion which pokes at the truth with absurd headlines, this parody wasn't so far-fetched. The articles suggest a world that hasn't come yet, and maybe isn't immediately within reach, but is a few steps away...if we keep progressive pressure on this administration.

I saw people reading this fake paper -- not because they were tricked, nor entertained...but because it invited them to dream of the world they would wanted to see.

And who doesn't like to imagine?

This momentous occasion deserves celebration, and with that is laughter. How many of us laughed out loud through the course of last night out of pure joy? Laughed as we embraced our friends?

Well, Laughing Liberally's Elon James White stayed up all night to cut a video to keep us laughing: the 12th episode of This Week in Blackness.

Jews for McCain. 'Nuf said.

Laughing Liberally To Keep From Crying
by Lee Camp

Okay team, don't forget to dispose of this memo when you're done reading it. Anyway, clearly we need a late-October surprise. Here are the possibilities I've come up with. Some may sound outlandish, but I'm willing to do anything and spend any amount to win this bullshit election.

We've gathered for the primaries. We've turned the debates into communal spectacles. Now, it's the World Series -- and you don't want to watch it alone.

We're collecting Election Night listings in one place. Stay tuned as the list grows over the next week.

Laughing Liberally To Keep From Crying
by Katie Halper

Laughing Liberally regular Lee Camp got a chance to say good morning and tell America what he thought about the candidates' political performances:

Laughing Liberally To Keep From Crying
by Katie Halper

Elon is at it again -- telling you why the debates sucked, McCain sucks more and some black dude sucks the most.

Imagine if affairs in Iraq took a negative turn, or -- the worst case scenario -- there was a threat, or even attack, here at home, and President Bush announced that since he's the best "War President" we've got, he thought we should postpone the elections until things got better.

What would we do? We'd laugh him out of office faster than New Yorkers turned on "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani, when he suggested delaying the '01 elections shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

Why then are so many New Yorkers cool with Billionaire Bloomberg's current power grab? Defying a twice-passed popular referendum establishing term limits; buying off the past chief supporter of term limits by offering him a seat on the reform committee; co-opting legislative support from a City Council that wants to keep their own jobs; and, oh yeah, claiming that it's because in these economic times, he is who we need.

If Bloomberg and his allies made an honest argument against term limits, that would be one thing; but to claim that this crisis compels them to serve is absurd. And...it required an absurd response.

That's why we're glad to see the Billionaires for Bush (and creators of Lobbyists for McCain) getting into the action: Billionaires for Bloomberg. They joined Council Speaker Christine Quinn (at a press conference her own Democratic colleagues didn't attend) to remind the world that billionaires are in favor of giving Bloomberg what he wants...and, through the laughter, challenging us to realize maybe it's not in all of our best interests.

Bloomberg is popular and many people may want him to keep serving; but City Council overturning a popular referendum, based on pretty thin, disingenuous arguments, isn't the way to do it. And sometimes it takes humor to cut through the groupthink.