- I have no high-powered job and don't spend my day speaking to reporters and officials while juggling 25 major national policy issues, yet I couldn't answer with accuracy any questions about conversations I had last week. The VP's Chief of Staff misremembers which reporter he spoke to about something every journalist in Washington had known for years (as the trial testimony makes abundantly clear) and therefore was utterly unimportant. Case dismissed? No, he faces perjury charges and a potential 30 years in prison. Yet a former NSA removes and deliberately destroys all extant copies of at least one highly confidential document and deliberately misleads the 9/11 Commission --and the Archives admits it doesn't know what else he may have done-- and no one is the slightest bit interested. In other words, one guy's getting slammed for a mistake anyone could make and another guy may --may-- have engaged in a deliberate act of sabotage against the United States and that merits no further investigation. I don't get it.
- The popularity of "24" among Conservatives. Every so often I tune in and try to like it (one feels left out, you know), but all I see is PC treatment of Muslims and a paeon to relativism. It's the most perniciously anti-American show on television --confirming the radicals' judgment that our government and institutions are hopelessly corrupt, you can't trust anyone, and one's justified doing anything that comes to mind. (ninme has a unique point about 24 PC here.)
UPDATE: A good friend who is no relativist sends me this, which makes a persuasive case for "24." The piece describes the show I hope for every time I tune in. But so far I've only managed to tune in for episodes showing good Muslims agonizing over terrorism, pious bureaucrats lecturing us about how good Muslims agonize over terrorism (this season), or revelations that the real terrorist is the President of the United States in the control of the hero's brother (last season).
UPDATE 2: Rallying to my side, one of ninme's commenters writes:
Watch President Logan and consider that 24 is being sold all over the world. Implausible and silly as it is, these things have an effect. A conservative show would not make America look like this.
I didn't say that but I agree I question the wisdom of putting on "24" in time of war. Or making Flags of Our Fathers. Not if I loved my country and wanted to win the war.
