Asian and European stock markets plunged Monday as government bank bailouts in the U.S. and Europe failed to alleviate fears that the global financial crisis would depress world economic growth. Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3hppwj

Oil falls below $90 on speculation spreading financial turmoil will undermine crude demand

By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.03 to $89.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, the price fell as low as $89.07 a barrel before recovering slightly.

On Friday, the November contract lost 9 cents to close at $93.88 a barrel. Full story: http://tinyurl.com/4h5lwa

Even troubled European institutions fetch more than U.S. ones

A world where half of Fortis is more than Wachovia

America and the New Financial World

Politicians can make the adjustment more or less painful.

Soon enough, America's financial crisis will wind down -- maybe in a month, maybe in a year. Yet regardless of when, this crisis marks the beginning of a new era for the U.S. For more than six decades, from the end of World War II in 1945 until now, the U.S. was the hub of global capital and capitalism. In the years to come, it will remain a vital center, but not the center. Full read: http://tinyurl.com/3ea4su

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This country has its own satire, 'Abangan ang susunod na Kabanata' and this lasted for many seasons as well. I just hope another political satire is in the works courtesy of our major networks.

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"You eat apples, right? I produce Entourage."

xoxo

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The latest SNL skit is double the length of the original and just as funny. All roles are played perfectly. Worth the 11 minutes.

I seriously hope Tina Fey gets an Emmy for her comedy work on SNL during the 2008 election.  Because this shit is amazing.  Queen Latifah (as the debate moderator) is such a blunt instrument of an "actress", and Jason Sedakis (as Joe Biden) was a little obvious too - but who the f@#$ cares, for real.  Tina Fey as Sarah Palin was, as usual, SPOT on.  As my new roomie Joannah said last night, "It's even funnier b/c half of it is taken verbatim!"  So true, JoJo, so true.

Some of my favorite moments:

In this crazy election year, it could happen!

Click  here to watch the video

Went to my schools production of Hamlet, Watched the Palin SNL sketch, worked 3am to 11am, listened to my NPR “It’s all Politics” podcast…

 HAMLET - The only reason I went was because my roommate from last year was in it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hamlet; that’s why I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to see Hamlet ruined by a bunch of quasi artsy twenty year olds and a self promoting director.  I really really hate it when people, namely high schools and colleges, try to “improve” Shakespeare or liven it up with some kind of twist. This production of Hamlet kept the original script but was set in modern times. Sounds god awful, I mean I’ve seen so many horrible productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and more botched  versions of “Romeo and Juliet” than I can count. I didn’t want Hamlet to become one of those casualties in my mind. All, I can say is wow. The department delivered big time. I was worried about the guy who was to play Hamlet because I’d seen him “act” before and I didn’t think he could pull it off but surprise he did. This was the best amature Shakespeare I’d ever seen. Shout out to Cody for the title role and also big shout out to Matt for the sound design, you did an awesome job brah.

 Saturday Night Live - Okay so I'm not really sure what the intended purpose of these SNL Palin skits is but probably not to endear Sarah Palinto me even further. However both the Palin/Clinton and the Palin debates sketches just leave me thinking "Aww she is so cute." Not that I'm to the point that I want her to be president of the United States, but I mean come on she is just too gosh darn cute! I really loved the first one that showed her with Hillary. It's so quotable on both sides.

NPR It's All Politics - Not really much to say here except that I wait all week for this podcast and I am never disappointed! Really, the fact that it's NPR turns people off to it, but it's just so funny. These guys (Ron Elving and Ken Rudin) really know their stuff. They can get pretty deep on electoral history but they keep it so light that you really won't feel lost even if you don't know exactly what their talking about. Wow does this sound like nothing but a plug or what? I don't care, it is that good. Download it.

Now I'm just waiting for 8pm so I can watch John King do what he does best; analyze politics and make me drool.

I also was a pretty big fan of the Killers back in the day, so it's interesting to see them try to return to form. I saw them once on an episode of SNL that I did standby for. Good times.

Also on Hulu, they have these SNL backstage things with Fred Armisen. There's a fun one with James Franco up. Watch it!

Cold Open!: Everyone's favorite part of the show, right? The Tina Fey appearance? Man, SNL is really going to go downhill after the election. But hopefully after the election we never have to hear about Sarah Palin again. Queen Latifah! How many random guests can we have in a season? Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz, Chris Parnell, William Shatner, Debbie Phelps and now the Queen. We're only on episode four here, too. It's a sad state of affairs when you know that half of it is because SNL is severely lacking in the female and race departments. "As my mother would say, God love him, but he's a raging maniac." Tina's Sarah Palin is much better than it was last week. I wish that Biden would call him "John" instead of "John McCain," because that's what he did the whole debate. And boy, do I love Sarah Palin's "No, I don't want to answer your questions, but I do want to give a shout out." Get mavericky with it. There really is a problem on the set with people wearing glasses. So many reflections! Sarah Palin loves the Jews and the Cuban food. The talent portion bit is AMAZING. And Sudeikis is being the crazypants Biden we all know and love. Mentions of debate drinking games. Yes, SNL is back. For now. We're back in the era of the 12 minute cold open, and it feels good.

Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals: Wow, Andy Samberg has something to do! "You eat apples right? I produce Entourage." This impression is pretty solid, actually. Color me surprised. I'm proud of ya, Samberg. "A lot of people want to eat you, but I just want to talk to you, okay?"

Mary Poppins: This is a pretty genius idea. Anne Hathaway kind of looks like Julie Andrews, and she has impersonating her down from all of those "act like your grandmama!" scenes in The Princess Diaries. Intriguing. Who knew that she could sing like that? I'm disappointed that Bill Hader doesn't do a better Dick Van Dyke, though. Mary Poppins is a slut!

The Killer - "Human": So I'm pretty sure Anne Hathaway loves the Killers. Or is just very, very enthusiastic. I do love their back from commercial photo. So many plants. Is Brandon Flowers really wearing a fur-trimmed blazer? I enjoy this song. Flowers looks so nervous. So nervous. I feel his voice is mildly restrained because of his nerves. However, I haven't heard the song before, so maybe his voice is always restrained in this song. Wow, here's some awkward dance moves to rival Duffy's last week. Okay, I really like this. Welcome back, Killers.

The Lawrence Welk Show: This is one of those sketches that I suppose you need to be familiar with the original show to enjoy. Kristen is perpetually playing the weird, creepy lady. I can think of about five sketches off the top of my head. It's grating sometimes. Amy Poehler cannot conceal her pregnancy at all, but that's okay. Anne Hathaway should sing in films more often.

C-Span Bailout: I forgot that Sudeikis has replaced Forte as GW Bush. Forte needs a Mark Wahlberg character before he falls off the face of the earth. Wiig is a good Pelosi. I never realized how much they looked alike. Bush's reactions to everyone's stories are phenomenal. He is hiding out in the background and still going all out. Go, Sudeikis. Baby Mama shout out!!! Man, Amy Poehler, that pregnant belly is out of control!

Extreme Challenge Digital Short: Um, this is amazing. In so many different ways. Right down to the random ass "Becoming Jane" joke. Will Forte hates himself more than any of them. Kristen Wiig looks so tough in that outfit, too. When did that happen? Chair pin! Seriously, I could watch this all day. It's a million times better than Space Olympics. Final Tallies -- Andy: 6, Kristen: 4, Will: 2. Although "Do This" had no winner. Way to go, Samberg! You win with your digital short and your Mark Wahlberg impression.

Since I did not see the rest of the episode, including I hear, a sketch with Jason Sudeikis singing (my favorite thing ever! he has a great voice..), I will leave you with a video of him playing the trombone for Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. You can watch it if you fastforward to the last segment here. Besides the fact that Ben Folds is awesome, Regina Spektor is precious and a drummer randomly walks on in the middle, do not take your eyes off of Sudeikis. It's times like these that make me wonder why he isn't a million times more famous.

We'll be back soon with Josh Brolin and Adele. Though I will be out of town, so mayhaps a delayed (instead of instant?) review is in order. Wonder if Brolin will do his W?

It makes difficult situations easier

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/

Click here to see "Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals".

The Sunday morning political shows were so similar today that they tend to run together in my mind.  The media message was clear today: IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!  It didn’t matter whether the guests were from the right or the left or squarely in the middle, agreement was almost consensus that Barack Obama is beginning to move toward a commanding lead in the election campaign.  Now, a word of caution to my fellow Obama supporters: do not cancel your election-day plans thinking this thing is in the bag, because it’s not.  Here’s why.

The news from the McCain campaign was sinister.  Karl Rove is alive and well, at least his scorched-earth political style.  The McCain campaign, most likely reading their own internal polls, realizes that it’s getting away from them on the issues.  So in the proud tradition of two straight successful George W. Bush campaigns, they have made the decision that going negative is their only chance.  Let’s call it McCain’s nuclear option.  If you can’t persuade the American people that you are capable of addressing their deepest pocketbook concerns, trash the other guy and scare them to death.

The real surprise of the day was the calm resignation displayed by strong conservative voices on Meet the Press, Face the Nation and This Week with George Stephanopoulos.  Every conservative pundit I saw today echoed the same defeatism about where things were heading.  On Meet the Press this morning Mike Murphy, who ran John McCain’s unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign, expressed a glum view of McCain’s chances, but warned against going negative.  It seems that he and others know that McCain has his own “pals”, as silly Sarah Palin put it, out on the trail yesterday.  Murphy realizes it is a mine field out there for McCain and his campaign should tread lightly.

David Broder appeared on Face the Nation, and commented that he felt the Republicans were not displaying the adaptability it takes to win over the hearts and minds of a wary American electorate.  I couldn’t agree more.  John McCain and Sarah Palin just keep hammering away at the same old “cut-taxes for the wealthy” message that mirrors the plan followed by President Bush.

The acerbic Peggy Noonan appeared on This Week, and after getting her plug in for Sarah Palin’s performance in Thursday’s debate, she added her doubts that Governor Palin really doesn’t show the stuff from which vice-presidents who would be presidents are made.  She also echoed the warning to the McCain campaign that going negative was a mistake.  Uncharacteristically, she expressed the view that Barack Obama’s calmness in the face of the Wall Street meltdown played extremely well to the American public.  I was stunned by her comment.  This confirms what I always sort of suspected.  Peggy Noonan would not invite the likes of Sarah Palin to high tea.

Then there was the always cool, above-us-all George Will.  While he railed against the possibility of a socialistic turn in our government, he also warned the McCain campaign that going negative was a dangerous option.  His advice was to pull out the “divided government is best” card from his vest and scare the people with that.

Fortunately for us on the blue side of things, McCain and his handlers continue to be tone deaf to what the people are feeling and experiencing out here.  It’s not hard to understand why.  His are the same handlers who brought us George W. Bush, the most tone-deaf president in my lifetime.  The Bush Administration has made me wax poetically about the good times under Richard Nixon.  How sad!

Thank God for Saturday Night Live.  It’s fortunate that they are back with their new season just in time to bring some levity to an otherwise scary campaign.  Their equal slaps at both Biden and Palin in the debate were hilarious.  But most of all, Tina Fey’s portrayal of Sarah Palin so captures the image I have of her, which is that of a high-school junior running for Student Council President next year.  Her gossipy tone and folksy jabs take me back to my own high school days as I sat in an auditorium in Oklahoma City listening to debates from my classmates.

Let’s face it, the issues before student councils were hardly ground shaking, since they had no power at all.  So there was no harm done by the popular girl that would win such an election.  But let’s not deceive ourselves; a great deal of harm can be and will be done by a President Palin if such a thing should come to pass.  I’m startled by the number of people — pundits, partisans or everyday Republican voters – who would put the security and safety of our nation into such unprepared hands.  But many would.  I guess they represent the same crowd who has given us George W. Bush.

There was much concealed about President Bush’s governorship here in Texas when he was running for President.  The most glaring thing was the fact that the Texas Governorship is mostly ceremonial.  The founders of the Republic of Texas not only distrusted kings, but they had just gained their freedom from the president/dictator of Mexico.  So they wrote their constitution to reflect their fear of presidents who become dictators.  The other, and the one that most chafes the liberals and progressives in Texas is the fact that Bush ran for Governor of Texas as a moderate.  He cited how many gay friends he and Laura had and how he would NEVER do anything unfriendly toward gay Texans.  He also stressed his compassion for the poor and downtrodden.  But all of that was swept away during his presidency as he became a gay-bashing, anti-poor, right-wing social conservative Republican in order to win the White House.  What came next, you know. [Click here for more detail on Bush's shenanigans in Texas]

So it is hard to take Governor Palin at her word when she spouts the same drivel in her bid for national office.  Presidential politics have a way of changing the way Republicans think about things.  After all, winning is everything, isn’t it?  Where is the “straight-talk express,” anyway?

So fasten your seatbelts, folks, it’s going to be a bumpy ride to November 4th.  There will be much turbulence as we fly through the bombing barrage promised this weekend by the McCain campaign. Do not be deterred by them or lulled by the media who are now predicting Obama’s eventual victory.  We still have to keep swinging until the end.

An early version of the type of humour now found on Saturday Night Live.

It’s as predictable as mushrooms spouting up after rain: all you need is a global financial crisis and, presto, anti-Semitic tropes and ideas start springing up all over the place. The New Zealand blogger Maps pointed out  one example of this phenomenon. On a local Kiwi radio show a caller named Dean “argued that the 'greed' of a group of 'Jewish bankers' had caused the insolvency of American banks and the collapse of Wall St Shares. Dean claimed that Jewish bankers had also caused the Great Depression and World War Two, and that the Holocaust had been a 'backlash' against them.” Apparently other callers to the same show echoed Dean’s idea.

A much more significant example of this percolating anti-Semitism occurred on the most recent episode Saturday Night Live. A skit dealing with the Wall Street bailout ended with a revelation as to the true villains who masterminded the crisis and benefited from it are all wealthy real-world Jews, specifically Herb and Marion Sandler (identified by a caption as “people who should be shot”) and  George Soros, portrayed as a cold, arrogant manipulator. Described in the skit as “owner" of the Democratic Party Soros chortles over the fact that all the $700 billion of the bailout will end up in his pocket. He also plans to profit from the coming devaluation of the US dollar. As a parting shot, he uses his money to get a pretty young gentile woman to leave her husband and come to the aging financier. In sum, every stereotype of the evil Jewish banker is used in this skit. (The skit can be seen here.)

Of course, anti-Semitic attacks on Soros are familiar enough in the rightwing media. In 2004 radio show host Michael Savage  referring to Soros said: “Not only are you a money changer in the temple of truth, but you are a deceitful, backstabbing, unpatriotic traitorous bastard in my opinion.”  On Fox News Tony Blankley  described Soros as “a self-admitted atheist … a Jew who figured out a way to survive the Holocaust. …He's buying influence all over the world. He's a robber baron, he's a pirate capitalist and he's a reckless man.”

What is surprising is this anti-Semitic narrative of a traitorous, amoral Jew who profits from destroying America found its way onto Saturday Night Live, a fixture of mainstream television for more than three decades. But a point is worth making on that front: the fact is Lorne Michaels, the producer of Saturday Night Live, has become increasingly right-wing over the years. In the current American presidential campaign, Michaels has given money to John McCain. Aside from the occasional sketch by Tina Fey (i.e. her excellent parodies of Sarah Palin) a lot of Saturday Night Live humour has a decidedly conservative slant. The entire thrust of the Soros skit is to blame the financial crisis on the allegedly hidden and Jewish controllers of the Democratic Party. (That Michaels himself is Jewish makes his use of this anti-Semitic canard all the more odious). 

A final factual point is worth addressing. Those who think Soros might be behind the financial crisis might want to consider the fact that he’s actually been warning for years, with great prescience, about the dangers a credit crisis. Far from causing the current calamity, Soros was one of those who tried to avert it. This sharp New York Review of Books essay addresses this issue.

(Thanks to Paul Starr for calling attention to the Saturday Night Live skit).

Tina Fey and the Saturday Night Live crew continue their coverage of the 2008 Presidential Election. This time they remake the Vice President Debate that went down this past week. Hilarious stuff. Also, hit the jump for their take on Washington approving the financial bailout. I wish they could've brought Will Ferrell back for George Dubya...

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Thank goodness for Tina Fey--what a hilarious opening to last night's Saturday Night Live! She's really captured Sarah Palin.  Jason Sudeikis was great as Joe Biden and Queen Latifah was perfect as PBS's Gwen Ifill.  If you haven't seen the segment, here it is:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10052008/tv/_snl_sends_up_vp_debate_with_fey__queen__132263.htm

Thank you, SNL, for making us laugh!

Bobbi

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In a "Meet the Press" interview, Ifill describes being blown off.  Interestingly, the mainstream media is now paying attention to Saturday Night Live skits as political commentary.  SNL has done such a great job capturing Palin's pathetic vacancy.