Matt Taibbi: Loose Cannon

Matt Taibbi: Loose Cannon

“The 52 Funniest Things About the Upcoming Death of the Pope.” Yes, that’s the work of Matt Taibbi. As a writer for Rolling Stone magazine and a political correspondent for Real Time with Bill Maher, Taibbi’s style can be described as comical, witty, and often controversial. He’s the “Eminem” of journalism who isn’t afraid to say anything he feels like even if it will tick off half of America.

#52 on the pope list reads: “Pope pisses himself just before the end; gets all over nurse.” Taibbi loves pushing his limits, but he went too far by making fun of one of the world’s favorite old men. The pope is well-respected by many and as expected, he received a lot of criticism for publishing the list. Making fun of the condition of an old man is mean and cruel, but that didn’t stop Taibbi’s attempt at humor.

He describes himself as a “dissolute, drug-abusing anarchist” and his writing resists mainstream journalism as he is not afraid to cover controversial and touchy subjects such as race and religion. His writing is uncensored and raw as he sensationalizes his views to get attention.

Another notable work of Taibbi’s was when he entered a church as an undercover atheist. Taibbi mocks the churchgoing culture by buying the “very gayest blue-and-white-striped Gap polo shirt I'd been able to find that afternoon” to help him fit in with the stiffnecks.

Taibbi flirted with the race card by noting “a few scattered weather-beaten black folk in secondhand clothing whom I immediately pegged as in-recovery addicts.” After the complaints came in, Taibbi apologized and explained that his aim wasn’t racist and that he in fact is an in-recovery addict himself. Taibbi says that since he also is one, that he should know one when he sees one. Brutal honesty is what Taibbi is famous for and he’s not afraid to expose his own shortcomings.

Later in Taibbi’s experience of faux spirituality, the pastor wanted the crowd to cast out demons "in the name of Jesus." As churchgoers next to him began to cough and commence in spiritual barfing, Taibbi asked for a bag in an attempt to mask his inability for spiritual cleansing. A man yelled, "in the name of Jesus, I cast out the demon of handwriting analysis!" as Taibbi held the bag to his mouth and Taibbi found laughter easier to achieve than filling the bag.

His latest blog or should I say rant is about Sarah Palin where he described her as the “most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV.” Taibbi proves to be a maverick himself and attacks the infamous soccer mom.

Attacking Palin for her lack of qualifications has been the dead horse of the media and Taibbi’s blog was his attempt to resuscitate the dead horse to only beat it again. Of course, Taibbi brought it up a notch by hurling harder stones at the VP. However in this case, the Palin punches are commonplace as of lately and Taibbi’s are the closest he has come to mainstream journalism in awhile.

Check out his latest tirades in his blog “The Smirking Chimp” at:

www.smirkingchimp.com


THE ARTICLES MENTIONED:

THE 52 FUNNIEST THINGS ABOUT THE UPCOMING DEATH OF THE POPE
http://www.nypress.com/18/9/news&columns/taibbi.cfm

The full “Jesus Made Me Puke” story can be read here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/20278737/jesus_made_me_puke/print

The scariest thing about Sarah Palin isn't how unqualified she is - it's what her candidacy says about America
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/17504

Placing the Blame: The McCain/Obama Debate

It’s easy to point the finger regarding the current nadir of the nation. Obama and McCain faced off Tuesday night covering tax reform, new energy, oil dependence, and foreign affairs.

McCain is aware that many blame the Republicans for America’s recent problems and stated numerous times that he differed from many of the decisions that led to the recent problems. Obama on the other hand blamed Washington for the “worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,” which he feels, McCain supported along with Bush.

So to be brief, McCain says don't blame me while Obama says blame the Republicans. This is politics and neither will accept the blame no matter how wrong their senator stances were in the past.

However, both also agree that reducing “energy dependence” will help reduce the effects of the recession, but the two seem to differ on most of the remaining issues at hand.

McCain feels drilling offshore and nuclear power are the solutions to the oil crisis while Obama stated that clean coal production and increased production of fuel-efficient cars within the U.S. are the solution. Both didn’t give many details on exactly how this was going to work, but the implied stimulus is MONEY.

All the problems mentioned eventually boil down to money. McCain wants to eliminate the “greed and excess” in the economy’s top-tier businesses by deregulating the system. Obama feels that deregulation is the cause of the problem and that we must have “strong oversight” and “crack down on CEOs” in order to revive the economy.

In order to put money in the hands of the consumers, McCain wants the treasury to buy up unaffordable mortgages and renegotiate them with the people. According to McCain, the “most innovative workers in the world” can benefit from an increase in tax exemption from $3,000 to $7,000 per child a year.

The majority of America is made of the middle class and both candidates made them a priority. McCain stated that walk-in clinics and a $5,000 refundable tax credit would help make health care more affordable.

Obama countered McCain’s solution and said he preferred to use a “scalpel” opposed to a “hatchet” to cut taxes to only those who really need it. Obama said that McCain’s proposed $300 billion tax cut would benefit the big companies the most and not trickle down to those who actually need help. Obama was more direct on the tax cut concentration stating that Americans making less than $200,000 will receive the most tax refunds in his plan.

Both acknowledged the failure in Iraq and McCain wanted to return troops in “victory, not defeat” while Obama wanted to shift the military’s concentration to Pakistan where terrorism is now a more major issue. Both stressed that establishing strong allies is essential for the foreign problems.

Stylewise, McCain was more aggressive against Obama than Obama was against McCain and his McCain's replies were more of attacks than disagreements at times. McCain referred to Obama as "that one" and would slip in little remarks to undermine Obama’s debate. Obama appeared more mature and defensive instead of offensive.

Obama's stance was more professional since it mainly focused on the changes to be made instead of defeating the opponent. The election isn't about a title bout, but instead of choosing the right leader for the country.

McCain stressed that his "record" would make him a better president while Obama would be in “on-the-job training” if elected. McCain may have had more involvement with government, but that can also be a negative thing especially with the recent mess the government is in.

The main premise I found is that McCain attempted to escape the blame placed on Bush’s unpopular tenure while Obama stressed that change is what will bring America back to a better position in many aspects as it was when Bill left.

Show Review: 90210 - Teens can't help it

What do bright-colored, sugary, fruity cereal and the new 90210 have in common? They’re both for kids!

The original 90210 which was immensely popular through the 90s was not only before my time, but not the type of show I liked to watch when I was growing up. I caught a few glimpses of the adult equivalent, “Melrose Place” as my mom got her weekly fix, but the program sparked zero interest as I started up the tube in the other room watch South Park or an NBA game instead. Even without knowing much about the first show, it’s safe to say that the second 90210 is keeping the tradition of catering to hormonal teens.

I definitely wouldn’t be watching the show if my girlfriend didn’t insist on doing so, but it’s actually a show I can stomach. I like it better than “The Hills” which is similar to 90210 since it mainly focuses on relationships and drama. I sometimes can get into MTV’s “The Real World”, but “The Hills” is just too boring. At least in Real World they have assignments which sensationalize the show a bit, but “The Hills” on the other hand is just a bunch of spoiled kids making drama out of the smallest things.

The new 90210 is centered on a Kansas family who just moved to Beverly Hills as they attempt to adjust to the culture shock of the new materialistic world. After only a handful of episodes, the drama and love triangles seem more like love carousels as the relationships get changed more than a baby’s diapers.

The main girl, Annie, is the main character and even though she’s hot, she seems to have the most problems with guys. She’s definitely the “it” girl and can’t choose who would make the best boyfriend between Ethan the lacrosse player who can’t stop coming back to his ex and Ty who is extremely rich and hard for her to fit in with.

Of course there is always a villain and in 90210, Adrianna is the scandalous young actress who envies Annie and has already used lies to ruin Annie’s night with Ty after Annie’s standout performance in the school play. Adrianna’s foil in “The Hills” is Heidi who also had much tension with the main character, Lauren. Adrianna is the drama queen and is definitely the character you love to hate.

Most of the mingling is between high school teens, but Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty return from the original cast mainly to serve as role models to the experimenting high schoolers. Even though parents and teachers have some screen-time, the show is clearly about teens and for teens. However, high school was the glory days for many and that is why the older audience still might enjoy the show.

It’s the kind of show that sucks you in and gets you hooked especially if you think one of the characters are cute/fine/sexy whatever you want to call it. The girls in the show have been getting criticized for being too skinny, but I don’t see them as any skinnier than most teen shows out there. They are thin, but at least they aren’t Nicole Ritchie status which is definitely a major turn off in my book.

After seeing Tori Spelling’s show, it’s clear that attractiveness of the characters is key for the show’s survival as it was for the old show and boy bands like New Kids on the Block.

The debut did well and fans are ready for a full season of 90210. Would a brand new show without any ties to the former success of “Beverly Hills: 90210” have been such a success? I doubt it. Fans of the past and even people like me who never liked the original show are just too curious to see the return of one of the most popular shows ever.

p.s. It's kind of funny that my girlfriend's name is Annie and my stage name is Ty just like the main couple in the show. I guess I have to watch it now.....