Great Moments in Political History

No comment is necessary:

At a hearing Thursday of the House Committee on Human Services, [Texas state Rep. Gary] Elkins and other members of the panel considered more than two dozen bills related to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Three hours into the hearing, Elkins asked: "What's Medicaid?"

The Houston Republican continued: "I know I hear it -- I really don't know what it is. I know that's a big shock to everybody here in the audience, OK."

Comments

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, what is Medicaid?

[Reinmoose]

Oh HE knew what it was. He was just trying to make sure that everyone ELSE did.

[Warty]

Is it like Bactine?

[Blue]

Can I hate them more.

I do believe I can.

[Episiarch]

Why is this guy not in prison for fraud? If you pretended to be a financial wizard and then blew all your client's money because you're a fucking retard, wouldn't you be criminally liable?

It's one thing when they're sleazy, mendacious liars. It's another when they're not even concerned about revealing profound ignorance.

[Jaybird]

"It's another when they're not even concerned about revealing profound ignorance."

I kinda prefer it all hanging out, myself.

[Balloon Maker]

I probably would have wikipedia'd that shit before I said something out loud.

[Pro Libertate]

We're in dire need of an organization called Dumbass. Dumbass will certify local, state, and federal politicians who are too dumb to have power over anyone, anyone at all. Even pets.

Dumbass will also mock voters that insist on giving power to such idiots. And I mean personally, not just as a group. "Mr. John Coctosen of Houston is a fool!"

[Gary Elkins]

What's Wikipedia?

[SugarFree]

IQ test to run, IQ test to vote, IQ test to breed.

Seriously, IQ test.

[TofuSushi]

Jesse said No comment is necessary: and you guys are stomping all over his edict!

Ouch! So am I!

[smartass sob]

At least he was honest about it. I'd be willing to bet there are plenty of others in government and the population in general who don't what it is - or who don't know the difference between Medicaid and Medicare, or how state medicaid relates to Federal Medicaid.

[Pro Libertate]

Okay, so we should talk about something else. Hmmm. How about this: What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?

[Barack Obama]

Ha, imagine not knowing what Medicaid is?

ON an unrelated note, what the hell is a stock market?

[Bumpers]

"What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?"

The Herculoids. In their final Herculoid Tteam-up, they blew up EVERYTHING!

[Xeones]

I know longer believe in Texas.

[TofuSushi]

Okay, so we should talk about something else. Hmmm. How about this: What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?

Last episode of Far Out Space Nuts.

[Xeones]

Ha! I mean NO longer.

Yo, fuck Monday. And Gary Elkins.

[Mister Tax Slave]

"ON an unrelated note, what the hell is a stock market?"

It's really just a tracking poll.

[Pro Libertate]

I was thinking the final episode of The Superfriends when Superman and Wonder Woman finally consummate their love.

[Mister Tax Slave]

"I was thinking the final episode of The Superfriends when Superman and Wonder Woman finally consummate their love."

And in Kryptonian intercourse, "consummate" means -- le buttsex.

[SugarFree]

That's fairly difficult, because almost all SF series have either died before their time or stayed long past their welcome. Very few were brought to a conclusion.

I thought the endings to Buffy and Angel were fairly satisfying, but I don't think I'd call either of them great. (And, yes, technically they are SF, in that demons are aliens and magic is just reality hacking.)

[Episiarch]

What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?

Here's my answer, ProL:

NOT BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

[Pro Libertate]

It means death for the non-Kryptonian, as Larry Niven pointed out.

[Pro Libertate]

Episiarch,

Naturally not. As all BSG fans know, the series actually ends with humans turning out to be earlier artificial constructs that turned on the real humans on Kobol. Earth humans were left ambiguously undefined to mess with our heads.

The last episode you saw was just a dream sequence.

[SugarFree]

Wonder Woman has a super-cervix. It says so right here in my Who's Who in the DC Universe. I imagine her Greek causeway is similarly reinforced.

[Pro Libertate]

Superman isn't Greek, he's Kryptonian-American.

[Warty]

What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?

Either Quantum Leap or Pigs in Space from the Muppets.

Next question: what's the best prog album of this decade?

[SugarFree]

Oh, shit! I just realized that LoneWacko is the Lex Luthor of Mexicans.

I mean, what is Lex Luthor if not a crusader against the KryptonianImmigration threat?

[Pro Libertate]

I'm starting to think that it's better for science fiction series to get canceled, because they rarely end well. Lots of quasi-mystical nonsense seems to pop out at the end of these shows.

Of course, I exempt Firefly from that belief, because it needed at least five seasons to develop. Damn you Fox, damn you to hell!

[Warty]

I watched the Firefly pilot. It sucked.

[SugarFree]

quasi-mystical nonsense

The Quotable Wife: "Ah, shit. Here they go with the mystical hoo-ha again."

[Episiarch]

What about Doctor Who, which will never end unless Britain succumbs to the Rage virus and the BBC can't hold out in their fortified building?

[Pro Libertate]

Dr. Who will never end.

Warty,

Heretic!

[SugarFree]

Dr. Who sucks. I wish they offered a Who-less I09 RSS feed.

[Pro Libertate]

Blasphemer!

[Pro Libertate]

Not you, SugarFree.

[Pro Libertate]

Abomination!

[SugarFree]

While Warty remains a blasphemer, I wonder if he only saw the Fox pilot, which was really the 2nd episode shown out of sequence. I was massively underwhelmed by that as well.

[Episiarch]

Doctor Who was great when I was 10 and Tom Baker was the Doctor. Now...not so much.

[SugarFree]

Abomination!

Was that for me?

[Pro Libertate]

SugarFree,

No. But this is: Abomination enabler!

Episiarch,

My feeling as well. I think it's the hair.

[brotherben]

"Next question: what's the best prog album of this decade?"

Radiohead "OK Computer"

this is prog huh?

[SugarFree]

Doctor Who was great when I was 10 and Tom Baker was the Doctor.

The first part made the point perfectly. It's a kid's show.

Seriously though, the BBC makes what, like 10 of them every 16 months or so? They can't make better shows than that? Also, never give actors an excuse to play dress-up.

[Episiarch]

No, ProL. It was the scarf.

[BakedPenguin]

Lots of quasi-mystical nonsense seems to pop out at the end of these shows.

Babylon 5 pissed me off. They get to season three, and suddenly it's like going to space church. BSG also really pumped up the mystical bullshit right at the end of their season three. They should just make Touched By a Space Angel and be done with it. Then maybe someone could make a actual science fiction show.

Futurama adding two annoying brats was only mildly annoying in comparison, although their writing started to go downhill anyway in season 4. I think it was Al Gore's daughter, myself.

[brotherben]

I know I know, but here in Alabama a decade is 15 years.

[brotherben]

If I am gonna get touched by a space angel, I want the bald chick in that old star trek movie.

[Pro Libertate]

Dude, the scarf doesn't work without the hair.

[Warty]

There was a train robbery, SugarFree. I was not impressed.

[Warty]

A train robbery in space. Fuck you, Fox, for not canceling that shit before you ever made it.

[Pro Libertate]

Warty,

You need to watch more. Trust me.

[Pro Libertate]

Or, in the alternative, you need to be burned at the stake.

[Pro Libertate]

brotherben,

There's always that new HBO show, Lifeforce: The Series.

[Warty]

I'll never trust anyone again, not after they had Anders PILOT THE FLEET INTO THE SUN. ARRRRRRRGH HULK SMASH ARRRRRRRGH

[SugarFree]

Warty,

That was the weakest show of the series. It was a huge mis-step on Fox's part. It really was much better than that. And the kindest treatment of libertarianish leave-me-alone on TV ever.

[brotherben]

pro lib, tanks for the tip.

[Pro Libertate]

brotherben,

I'm sorry, but I made that up. Of course, there should be such a series on HBO, starring whoever the functional equivalent to Mathilda May is these days, because that's what HBO does best.

[Bronwyn]

I tried to watch a few of the last BSG episodes and was completely lost.

Is it worth my time to go back to the beginning?

As for best final episodes... I can't say, but I CAN say that the final episode of Enterprise was a complete ripoff. I'm one of, what? Five people who liked Enterprise, then they cancel it and end it with Riker and Troi on a fucking holodeck?!? *spit*

[robc]

The end of Buffy, the high school years was much better than the series finale.

The final season annoyed me because they didnt kill off Faith. I wanted to see an episode where Slayer powers jumped from random teenie to random teenie as they got slaughtered.

[Pro Libertate]

Bronwyn,

I thought Enterprise actually got okayish its final season. Then they aired that last episode--yuck.

[P Brooks]

What's the greatest final episode of a science fiction TV series?

Does The Prisoner qualify as science fiction?

[Bronwyn]

For some reason, I liked it. I enjoy TNG, but it's more of the hokey, self-conscious series, like TOS. Enterprise was somehow less hokey and I related better to the characters, although I always thought (and was very sad to think it) that it was too easy to catch Scott Bakula acting.

I really liked Connor Trinneer and Linda Park.

Oh, well. I just deleted the final episode and pretend it doesn't exist.

[P Brooks]

On topic:

It's a crying shame a nation as great and wealthy as this one cannot see fit to provide its elected Legislators with funding for some sort of staff, with various assistants, and researchers who could explain this stuff to them.
Those poor, poor Congressmen; they must be so busy researching the intent, content, and effect of the legislation they vote on, it's a wonder they ever have time to campaign for re-election.

[Pain]

Although I wasn't really a big fan I thought Star Treak:TNG had a good ending episode. It seemed to wrap up the series pretty well.

And the first Firefly was uneven but it did have one of the best lines ever.

Doc: "What are we doing today?"

Kaylie: "Crime."

Actually now that I think about it all of Joss Whedon's shows start out uneven. It seems to take a while for him to get in to the groove.

[robc]

Pain,

Dollhouse has been pretty even so far.

Maybe it wont look so looking back on it from season 2 or something though.

But, Buffy Season 1 looks really shaky, especially the first 3-4 episodes. They started to get in the groove when Quark took over as Principal.

[robc]

I think Whedon took some time to get the story arc for Dollhouse well defined in advance, hence the lack of shakiness. It was pretty clear to me that Buffy was done on a season by season basis, based on video game levels. Kill a bunch of small monsters, have some interactions with the big bad interspersed, then kill him at the end of the season. Save game, advance to next level, start over.

[SugarFree]

robc,

Have you ever seen the half-hour Buffy sitcom pilot? Wow, that is bad. And Willow was recast.

[P Brooks]

My Favorite Martian leaves BSG in the dirt.

There- I said it.

[Tony]

Bronwyn,

I'd say yes. I don't see how anyone can watch the Miniseries and not get immediately hooked.

I also liked the end, but I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to series I love.

[Chris Matthews]

"And Willow was recast."

NO! She was the hottest thing I've ever seen on TV. I taught her how to let go in order to better enjoy the little man in the boat and she taught me to TWITTER!

[JB]

It's a shitty government program a lot like other shitty government programs.

[ChrisO]

Next question: what's the best prog album of this decade?

The Flower Kings - "Unfold the Future"

[MJ]

Rep. Elkins, I hope that comment was meant, in context, to be ironic. If not, that's something you ask your staff to research for you, off mike.

[MJ]

"I don't see how anyone can watch the Miniseries and not get immediately hooked."

Wrong, the BSG miniseries was passable. Anyone who watched "33" ( 1st ep, 1st season) and was not hooked had no soul.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Does The Prisoner qualify as science fiction?

I say so. And The Prisoner and Twin Peaks had probably my two favorite series finales ever, even though most of Twin Peaks' second season wasn't good IMHO.

I probably would have wikipedia'd that shit before I said something out loud.

So, so true. Or at least called my life line.

[Mike E.]

Medicaid? Isn't that the zit creme that Keith Moon uses on the cover of The Who Sell Out?