Right, so let’s say you’re Buffy Wicks.  You were the director of the Obama campaign in Missouri, probably doing some “organizing,” you were there during those raucous Texas caucuses, and you were Obama’s California Field Director.  You love you some Barack Obama, and you’re great at what you do, which is rabble rousing, “organizing”.  Now you call it “engaging”.  You were great at this when you went after Walmart for the UFCW Union as political director of the WakeUpWalmart campaign.  Anyway, people noticed, and now that your candidate won, there’s a spot for you in the White House!  In fact, when you visit one of your immediate bosses, whether it’s Christina Tchen or Valerie Jarrett, you probably have to pass the Vice-President and Rahm Emanuel’s office before you reach the stairs to the second floor.  Oops, careful Buffy, because if you walk much past those stairs you could walk right into the Oval Office….you are definitely in the White House!

Anyway, once you get upstairs it’s literally a few short steps to Valerie Jarret’s office.  She’s been crazy busy integrating Van Jones into the new ruling class, so you might pass her office and it’s only one more door to go.  Now you’re at the corner suite of Christina Tschen, Chicago lawyer, long-time Obama crony friend and major fundraiser for his campaign.  She must have raised a lot of dough, because her office is pretty sweet, and it’s right above Barack Obama’s Oval Office.  Cool, huh? (more…)

Now look, as one artist to another, I was determined to leave Barbara Boxer’s book signing events for Blind Trust off-limits.  Considering her intellectual gifts, many of you might still be surprised that she would stoop to the political thriller genre.  Why not a sweeping history of American achievement, say, or perhaps a scholarly rebuttal to The Myth Of Matriarchal Pre-History?

Not a Townhall meeting… (Photo: MoreMarin.com)

After co-authoring her second book in spite of very little demand, it must be difficult to shoulder the meet and greets all by her lonesome.  Yet, today’s news tells me that the word has already gotten out, so, in the interest of free public debate, consider this a humble public service announcement.  Senator Boxer will be signing and reading from her new book this weekend – enjoy: (more…)

By happenstance, I was in Hugh Hewitt’s studio yesterday when the news about the one-time Prince of Pop (that’s all I’ll give him, sorry) broke.  We spent much of the next three hours talking about his death and what it meant.  You can scan through and hear me jousting – all in good fun – with Hugh, James Lileks and others.

I focused on his creative output and what it meant to musicians and culture as best I could in our impromptu conversation.  In other words, we didn’t dwell on the fact that it SURE seemed like he was a serial molester of male children.  His music will stand alone.  HUGE talent, obsessive artist, stratospheric career from childhood into his thirties.  Iconic images and motion pictures of him, dancing and performing unforgettably at his peak, will probably always be tainted for our generation by what he became, by what many of us now know he was for a long time.  His strange celebrity outran his music, but maybe now it will stop running… all this will be said better over the next few days and probably weeks by others. (more…)

The big question is whether FOX will finally actually air a two hour show, or will they continue their habit of advertising such but then just showing one hour shows, back to back.  I know, it seems trivial, but in reality it’s more of a cliffhanger than anything left in the actual show…  WILL Jack live? mwahahahaha….

Nah, I’m just kidding. She’s a smart woman.  We just like to make fun because she’s so condescending and hateful about us when she gets going.  Whatever.  We don’t want to get Tom in any more trouble

So let’s make fun of the thing we really like to: 24!  Drinking game remains Kiefer Sutherland head-fake before line delivery.

As the forces of evil gather around the world in cabals of socialism, collectivism, and despotism, all thrilling at the enthrallment of our own President, we few gather here to watch a show that, tame as it may be, feels like the last place in America where some basic common sense is allowed to save lives. Obama may want to give cover for the next attack by discrediting the methods the Bush administration used to keep us safe, but in between lame “green” ads about global whatever-they-call-it-now, Jack Bauer just keeps laying down the law. And being absolutely ridiculous the whole time.

Tonight’s drinking game: Jack Head Twitches!

Make sure to use the new live-blog software.

Trying a new Live Blog format tonight. Tell us what you think!

To the Comments!

Or bowing to Saudi Kings, or acting all Euro-smart while referring to the “Austrian language.”  But here we are, spending a quiet hour where the Mrs. Madame President and her horrible daughter characters make us more comfortable than the actual world, with it’s despots and missiles and U.N. B.S.

Dammit.  Dammit there isn’t time!

Ok, here are the good people:  Jack, Tony, Chloe, Mr. Chloe.  Maybe the former Chief of Staff… probably Skinny Red-Headed Rogue Agent With Crush On Jack And A Taste For The Rough Stuff.

Here are the bad people:  President’s Daughter, Janice (!), Jon Voight.  Pretty much everybody else is in the way.

Try to follow in comments…

Of course we’re only churning around in the Gulf Stream wake of Dave Barry’s “24″ blog here, but those people are so…I don’t know…so Dave Barry. They have all the Dave Barry books, and know all the inside Dave Barry “24″ jokes. Plus, they get the benefit of an actual, professional humorist updating the live blog, and some genius guy who updates them inside the comments. Basically, they’re spoiled, and we’re just not going to hang around a bunch of spoiled, self-satisfied people on the East Coast gathered around the hems of Dave Barry’s tropical shirts. That makes no sense. Hmm, what is there to not like about Dave Barry. Oh, he has one of those never aging Ken-Burns-type boyish faces that people out here pay a lot of money for, and that’s just not fair.

****SPOILER*** When last we left the cast of comedians known as The Former CTU Players, they were acting as though life in America could actually go on after the President had been b****-slapped in the White House and then essentially surrendered on live TV. Old Man Buchanan, who spent this season with a semi-fashionable mullet grown out after he lost his wife to hiatus, threw himself after the kind of medal you get when you jump on a grenade, and Jack still seems angry about that, because it was his jump to make, dammit. Everybody’s dying, it sucks. Bill, First Son, Crazy Hot First Fiancee’, Little Tom Cruise, Psycho African Terrorists and the Women Who Love Them, Senator Head and so. many. more. All we have left is Aaron and Tony to come back and kick some ass. Oh and now the Chloe Family is on a mission to help Jack more than ever. The FBI/Jack love triangle has grown dull. Thankfully, Michelle has appeared on LOST this season to drive other people crazy with her acting, so there’s no way she can be written back in to save Tony’s soul or something before the end.

Jump in the comments and have more fun than Disney World.

Tonight, HBO’s “Big Love,” which has become tremendous television, runs its season finale.   In spite of the fact that the first large media portrayal of Mormons living and working in America (in my memory) is based around a rogue polygamist family, a truly cultish “compound” of polygamists worshiping a nefarious self-proclaimed prophet (Harry Dean Stanton!), and some corrupt elements of the actual Church of LDS, I gather that at least some Mormons watch each new episode eagerly.  I understand, because however you want to describe the structure of the show or how it portrays the Mormon Church, it has produced one memorable character after another and as many compounding plot twists as the genre can handle so well.  And then there’s the acting – it’s wonderful.

Watch it now or later, but if the premise of one man with three attractive wives somehow turned you off from the series…or let’s say, turned someone in your house off from the series…the show’s exploration of love and family will surprise you with its heart and concern for tradition.  Jeanne Tripplehorn’s performance as “Barb” (the first wife) could carry you through this season alone.  Hey, the main title song is literally “God Only Knows,” with Carl Wilson singing forever through the opening credits.

More about the show after the jump, but here’s my question: how has the show changed or informed your impression of Mormons?  If you’re LDS, what do you think of the show?  (more…)

See you in the comments.

Tonight, you run the show.  We’ll kick in comments where necessary, but you get to drive the conversation.  Now get in there and do us proud!

Here we go.  Got my wine, got my pasta, need some cheese…oh wait, here it is!

See you below for the double hour:

FROM THE EDITORS — As featured in today’s marquee: “24″ becoming the first “carbon neutral” television series.

or want to take a shower.  Keep it going if you like.  We’re back for more head-twisting thespian action from Kiefer and the gang…..

Thanks Tom, Melanie, Stage Right, um, Andrew, Andy, Ace, uh, Ben….Doug, gosh, there are so many people to thank, and if I forget you, you KNOW I love you… um, John, Alex, so many people who worked behind the scenes to make tonight happen…um, the tech guy whose name I forget, but who was an absolute hero when the site went down for a while…

You know, just a few years ago, when I was pretending to say thank you to all my fellow bloggers in the view cam of my old Powerbook, I only dreamed of a moment like this, when…ahh, forget it.  Iowahawk, will you please make this funny?

Actually, it was nice not having a lot of schtick from a host every 15 minutes.

nice track at the end here!   The previews are better than the whole night, but isn’t that always the way?

but there it is.  yuch.  most popular boy in school wins for message film over a once-in-a-decade performance.

And here he goes.  F*** you, Sean Penn, for talking to people like that.  Shame like yours for not applauding Elia Kazan?   Shame like being a patsy for Hugo chavez?   The. Worst.

Andrew, you can’t pay me enough to do this again next year.  At my house, we’re taking another ten years off from this garbage unless we’re up there sitting next to Whittle.  Ouch.  It’s going to take me weeks to shake this off.   He thinks he makes it hard?  he makes it easy – imperative – to vote for him.