Tonight on the Daily Show

Tuesday, May 27 -- Matt Taibbi -- Author, "The Great Derangement"

Wednesday, May 28 -- Fred Burton -- Author, "Ghost"

Thursday, May 29 -- Richard Clarke -- Author, "Your Government Has Failed You"

Monday, June 2 -- Scott McClellan -- Author, "What Happened"

This is L-O-N-G past noting:

This blog is 3 or more years old. Over a good portion of that time, myself and others have lamented how slow Americans have been to conclude that the President was doing an awful job. Well, they've come 'round. At this writing, roughly 2 of 3 Americans think Bush is off track, and heading in the wrong direction. On some specific issues, his numbers are far worse.

This isn't about wetting your finger, sticking it up and seeing which way the wind blows. This isn't about moral relativism. This isn't about making decisions per the polls.

This is about the fact that Bush isn't representing America's views anymore. This is about the fact that the Republican party is out of touch with the vast majority of Americans. This is about the fact that their run at the top is near its end.

Well...almost. There's one major hurdle to clear, and it's no small one: getting a Democrat elected this fall. Do your part. Get it done. This is too important.

This Week on the Daily Show

Monday, May 12 -- TBA

Tuesday, May 13 -- Bill Moyers, Journalist, "Moyers on Democracy"

Wednesday, May 14 -- John Harwood, Author, "Pennsylvania Avenue"

Thursday, May 15 -- Denis Leary, Actor, "Recount"

Sorry, Snopes Says No

I thought I'd better check the Reagan diary post (below) on Snopes.com and found that it's untrue. I usually check emails like this one, but I goofed. I guess I wanted it to be true.
Sorry!

From Ronald Reagan's Diary

This was in my husband's email this morning:

"Even Reagan's remarks were very prophetic and pathetic - this should have been headlines before the general election . . .


From the recently released Reagan diaries:

Quote:
'A moment I've been dreading. George [Bush] brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing edit or or something. That looks like easy work.'-- Ronald Reagan in his recently published diaries, May 17, 1986."

This Week on the Daily Show

Monday, May 5 -- Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader

Tuesday, May 6 -- Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek International Editor

Wednesday, May 7 -- John McCain, Presidential Candidate (I saw a great McCain bumper sticker somewhere, "The Luck Stops Here")

Thursday, May 8 -- TBD

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

My wife and I recently vacationed in the great Northwest. We flew to and out of Seattle, but took Amtrak to and from our Oregon destination. The whole vacation was fantastic, but its subtlest highpoints were provided by the train time we spent.

The seating was spacious. The windows were huge, providing unimpeded views of mountains and water. And when I wanted to get up and walk, I got up and walked. The $10 sandwich/chips/drink from the dining car was even quite a tasty meal.

That 6 hour trip to and from Eugene allowed for plenty of time to watch the free(!) movie, have liesurely conversations, or just look out the window and think. One of the things I ended up thinking about was--no surprise--planes, tranes and automobiles. Here in Texas, I bought the car/truck that I could afford, I like using it whenever I want to, drive wherever I want, and if I can afford a gas hog damnit, I'll buy a gashog. In short, I realized that as an owner of two cars, my view is exceptionally self-centered.

Riding the train was that view's polar opposite. I adhered to Amtrak's schedule. I rode it with people I didn't know. And I made allowances for their comfort (not torturing them with my music). Our journey revealed 6 or 8 stops along the way, including Portland, where hundreds of people used the train with regularity. What's commonplace in their world is nearly unheard of here in South Texas.

Mass transit necessarily says we're in this all together. It's the great equalizer. And it's only there because our government doesn't let corporate America run it into the ground. If mass transit were left to private business, they'd charge every last penny they could, and poor people would lose their way to work.

Of course, I'm not advocating that private cars be banished. I'm just pointing out that there are places where the wise minds who have come before understand the value of mass transit. And this traveler is glad they did.

Pictured at top is Mt. Hood as seen from over the Willamette River at Portland. I encourage you to consider the train as an option on your next vacation. I can't say enough good about our time on Amtrak.