Can you contain your excitement now that Teabagging Day is finally here... Wait what did I say?

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If you don't understand by now why the term teabagging has most of the news commentators hard pressed (sorry) to try and keep a straight face while reporting on conservative teabaggers planning teabagging parties, then please look it up in Wikipedia or something.

I was surprised by how many newsfolk (and others) didn't know the double-entendre value early on while they blissfully encouraged teabagging across the nation in tax protest. The news suddenly became a hysterically risqué fun house to many people.

One such humorous report from MSNBC did a segment that just cracked me up. It was deliberate of course, tongue in cheek so to speak.
It was titled: GOP's taste for teabagging
While the anti-tax "tea parties" are officially toothless, conservative teabaggers are full-throated about their goals. They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending; spending they did not oppose when they were under Presidents Bush and Reagan.

If that doesn't at least make you crack a smile, listen to Rachel Maddow report after she totally gave up on trying to report for days without laughing. Most reporters as the days went on gave up trying to hide the linguistic challenge.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I found myself these last few weeks reveling in the hormone fueled sexual humor of a teenage boy, which is an amazing feat since I've never been a teenage boy. I found myself laughing out loud at accidental and deliberate statements like:
April 15: The teabaggers' seminal moment. The GOP bones up on teabagging the nation. We even have Dick Armey teabagging. Tea bag Obama and Pelosi. The conservatives are hoping the government feels the full thrust of the bottom up grass root teabagging campaign.

Ah, comeon, I know it's juvenile, I really do but...
All I can find myself saying is "Happy teabagging on tax day... but why stop there? Seems to me teabagging is a great new way to protest the government. Wait, not that new, I hear it went on during the Boston Tea Party. You are partaking in a great national tradition.

Knowing the alternative definition of teabagging turned even the more serious newscasts into political satire of sorts. It made such easy sport of Glen Beck and others. I guess teabagging was seen as an innocuous enough word that there couldn't be anything wrong with using it. There really should be a lot more vetting going on before choosing terms and people it would seem.

Yes, I'm smiling.
But now I'm leaving before I get in even deeper hot water...
Gulp.

G'night.

Laura
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A Definite Must See: The Newseum in Washington DC!

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I didn’t think I’d find the Newseum as interesting as I did. The other museums off the mall are for the most part free such as the Smithsonian museums like Air and Space, Natural History, Portrait Gallery, the Botanical Gardens and others.
The Newseum costs $20.00 which isn’t that bad a deal because you can easily spend the day there. There are many interactive news stations, Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, and movies such as the one on the 9/11 attacks that is outstanding and emotional.

The antenna from the top of one of the twin towers is on display with the front pages from all over the world from the time.

There is a portion of the Berlin Wall, a story display and a gun tower from the wall.

There are political cartoons, tributes to journalists that have lost their lives, print presses and many displays of interest pertaining to the news.

What fascinated me however were the actual newspapers housed in glass drawers with the front pages showing that chronicled major news stories over time and first editions of many major magazines. It was hard for me to photograph the oldest newspapers/pamphlets because of the camera I had and lighting on that side.


I think I opened every drawer there was. Politely asking folk that were standing around talking to move so I could pull out the bottom drawers. Such history in that room starting from the 1500’s to present day.







And if you’re tired from all the walking around and thinking about the relationship between the past, present and the future you can go up to the top floor of the Newseum and wander outside. The view is spectacular and really brings the whole experience into perspective looking out over the Capitol (at least it did for me).

I highly recommend the Newseum. It was a lot of fun and worth the admission. “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” is taped within the Newseum. I was glad I checked it out! If you go to the Newseum website: Front Pages there are 795 front pages from 68 countries every day and archives. Absolutely awesome to the news junkie! I hope newspapers never die off. I really do.

G’night,

Laura

Jon Stewart's Daily Show: The all Jim Cramer edition... not exactly a battle.

Wow, watching last night’s Daily Show was like the complete discomfort of having to sit through a six course dinner with a dysfunctional married couple who in two days are going to announce they are getting divorced or one of them is a pedophile. I never expected the whole show to be dedicated to the Cramer/Stewart dispute.
Jon truly tore into Cramer and it was more like a bizarre talk show exposé-slash-beatdown than a regular Daily Show installment. There were a few jokes made at CNBC and Cramer’s Mad Money’s expense as you would have expected. It just didn’t have any realistic aura of good natured humor or comedy.
It was fairly harsh, now maybe Cramer deserved it, but it was almost unsettling to me to watch as it unfolded.

Cramer was rather subdued, nervous, and looked almost like he wanted to cry once or twice.
He was so totally not wild or even “mad.” A decaffeinated toned down quieter version of himself.
To give him credit he sat through it all and short of the cross, he was crucified but not set on fire. Ouch.
It surely won’t help his Mad Money career at all.

Jon took Jim to task for things he said in the past and pretty much for not exposing the banks/stock market’s greed. Which isn’t completely fair (and it doesn’t have to be) but it’s based in a valid point of fact. It felt as if it went on for way too long. We got it (the point) after segment one and if not, most assuredly by segment two… but then there was segment three. So, I guess it was good um, investigative reporting by a entertainer/comedian, which is an odd forum for that sort of thing.
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Stranger than fiction.

At the site http://www.thedailyshow.com/ They’ll post the episode if you missed it, or if you want to watch it again because you still are wondering wtf exactly happened.

They shook hands and Jim was contrite but damn… he apologized numerous times over different things looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights. A tranquilized deer at that.

It will be interesting to see how NBC reports on this and I wonder what FOX will have to say (because FOX always has something to say).
I don’t know why Cramer went on the Daily Show, he really didn’t have to.
If it was to show he was a good sport or could admit a mistake, he did do that I suppose but-
it was in a far more submissive way than I really wanted to see.

Let’s go back to the regular, less bitter tasting, usually very funny Daily Show now for a bit. Please?

Jon’s clip of Cramer on the Martha Stewart Show beating up dough with a rolling pin talking about Jon Stewart was amusing since she was convicted and jailed for her false statements, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in relation to a stock sale.

Again just stranger than fiction!!!

G’night,

Laura
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Perhaps Tonya Harding is what's wrong with the economy?

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As I've said before, I relax on Sundays and catch up on the news both written and video that I've missed.

And tucked between the endless "news" tales of the "villainous" Octomom and Rush Limbore's emphatic ill-spoken rantings...
was a little jem that was like a visit from an unwelcome ghost of winter's past.



The clip most definitely inspired a SNL Seth Meyers "REALLY!?!" moment for me... but to quote her own phrase "What the hell was she thinking?"

The only person pulling a Harding there is Tonya herself.
Ain't "celebrity" amazing?

Speaking of Seth Meyers this is the SNL Michael Phelps clip: REALLY!?!



I fell behind on this week's news, so I'm spending the evening digging. Putting on my hip boots, work gloves and grabbing the shovel... or maybe the pitch fork- to get through the endless loops of same s**t different day news stories... sifting for truth.

Can't watch another economy based show or my head will explode today. I just can't. My mind is in a full blown recession that hopefully won't turn into a depression anytime in the near future. Will rejuvenate my mood tomorrow night at the Bill Maher/Ann Coulter speaker series at Radio City Music Hall in the city. Probably sold out now. Should be a real pip.

G'night all,

Laura
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