... but look up Diane Sawyer's interview with Al Gore on YouTube. She might as well have been up front about it "Al, you've got this great new book about the dumbing down of the national discourse--but I've got to ask you about your weight".

I think a collection of dumbest TV political interviews ever would be a fun thing for Salon to do. Maybe set it to a laugh track.

And, sorry larrfirr, but talking about the way the media covers politics is an important discussion to have. These days perhaps the most important discussion.

Blair

I can't watch living here in India. Finally, a disadvantage to living in India. Now I'm thinking about going back to Canada and the snow. Does this wide screen TV thingy work there?

..are all the better options to driving any kind of car where possible. Not only do they forgo potential emissions of the person choosing the option (pretty much, one could factor in electricity etc for telecommuting, subway as well as other factors), but help the people who (I would hope) have a good reason to drive emit less, since traffic is improved and flows better--less stop and go driving.

Regarding biking or walking, it is not possible for everyone, some people have to drive to work and I have sometimes been one of those people. But I find what discourages some people is that they generally have an inflated view of how long city bike trips take. Frequently biking is actually faster than driving in rush hour. Generally many people act shocked that I biked somewhere--and I tell them it took 20 minutes. And the same surprised people will then go and spend 3o minutes on some machine in a gym, and then take 30 minutes driving home.

With the options above you don't have to worry about finding parking. Or paying for parking. Or paying for gas. Everyone is in a different situation, but I think it is irresponsible to not fully consider the alternative transportation options available. So petition your employer for showers, bike racks, telecommuting options--you will be glad you did.

Here is my dumb question:

When I was traveling in Peru I went around the country mostly by bus. The movie showing on all the 4 buses (and different bus companies were involved) were airplane disaster movies. One was "Alive", one was some really bad movie set in Alaska with Charlton Heston, and the other one I forget. So, is there a conspiracy amongst Peruvian bus companies to show movies like these to discourage people from flying?

"But if there's going to be a conflict, science changes with every generation and with new discoveries and God doesn't. So I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict."

Maybe this is obvious to most people here, but since it isn't to him, science changing with new discoveries is a good thing, and means it is filling in more and more pieces of the puzzle. A belief that was hatched, during a time when people thought the earth was flat, to explain the sun, the moon, earthquakes, floods etc., and that doesn't change to take into account new discoveries, and it merely used to suppress people because it inherently doesn't invite debate....

Ah, what's the use, I might as well be arguing that the sky is blue.

Wow, what a wingnut spiritual philosophy espoused by Kucinich! He would have stood a better chance in Cleveland by sticking to the more sober philosophy--magic man in the sky creates planet in 7 days, creates a man and a woman, their children have lots of incestuous sex and do lots of begatting, magic man sends his walking-on-water, leper curing, turning water-into-wine son to earth by virgin birth, who then is killed and comes back to life. Now that's normal!

Kucinich's new-agey stuff only got him elected to Congress.

So now we know Bush doesn't lie "per se", he is just being dismissive.

And, oh yes, the fact that you read means you are "literate". It does not mean you are "intelligent". Intelligence could have been demonstrated by the following:

1. A great decision that the president made that has worked out really well during his seven years in office.

2. Something really intelligent and insightful that he said during the course of interviews, or during his time in office.

3. A demonstration that he has understood the history books he has read (more than a "this good" and "that other thing--bad! kind of understanding)

This wasn't offered to me so I have to conclude that Bush is merely an incredibly well connected man of moderate intelligence with fairly good people skills. Maybe I'd hire him to work at a Best Buy. However, I think the bar for president should be set just a wee bit higher than that.