Chris Rock on David Letterman

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Henry Kissinger

I was more than a little surprised to hear Henry Kissinger's name praised so often at the debate and during the past few days. Have we forgotten his role in Watergate? In supporting nearly every fascist and communist dictator of the last century? In his disastrous involvement in the Vietnam War? It's amazing to me how everything in America can eventually be forgotten, even if our leaders continue the same path. It's like giving Elliot Spitzer his old job back as the Harvey Dent of New York corruption.

Here is an article that gives some perspective on this issue, concluding that Kissinger is neither hawk nor dove, but vulture, which I would agree with if of weren't such an insult to the vulture.

And here are a couple more editorials that do a pretty good job of summing up my feelings about the debate. Watching the backflips, cartwheels and handsprings that McCain has been doing over the past couple of weeks is entertaining, and would just be funny if it didn't remind me so much of Karl Rove.

Sound but No Fury

McCain's Suspension Bridge to Nowhere

The West Wing

A terrific article that is a collaboration between Maureen Dowd of the NY Times and Aaron Sorkin, who created and wrote The West Wing. The article imagines a meeting between Barack Obama and The West Wing's president, Jed Bartlett.

Front Fell Off

Church of England Apologizes to Darwin

Here's a great article in which the Church of England apologizes to Darwin, having written an essay called "Good Religion Needs Good Science." Amen to that. Of course, good science may need good religion too (in my opinion), but I doubt if that realization will come any time soon.

How we got in this mess.

If you are wondering why the US is in such a huge financial mess right now, what happened with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and what will be happening with other banks and companies that are going to be closing soon, and why America, which has traditionally been seen as a beacon of stability in the financial markets now no longer holds that reputation, then you might want to listen to this radio show, which examines the origins of this financial whirlpool we seem to be caught in. It's an entertaining and often shocking story of greed gone wild.

Here's the original version from This American Life, and here's a shorter version that aired on All Things Considered.

McCain’s Health Plan

This article examines some elements of McCain's health plan that have gone unnoticed by most people because of all the attention being paid to Sarah Palin. The health plan treats employer paid health plans as income that employees would pay taxes on. In addition, 20 million Americans would no longer have employer paid health insurance. McCain would also offer a tax credit to help pay for health insurance, but it doesn't look like enough to me considering how much insurance is now. Regardless of how you feel about the proposals, I think this deserves more attention and debate since it is such a sea change in terms of how we handle this important issue.