Arizona's controversial immigration law and the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns donning their "Los Suns" uniform variant

Arizona's recent immigration law change has been the source of national debate. The bill signed into law last month by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer makes it a misdemeanor for immigrants to be in Arizona without proper documentation and allows police officers to request proof of status if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that persons are in the country illegally.

NBA team The Phoenix Suns, who are currently locked in a heated Playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs have made a statement by donning their 'Los Suns' variant uniforms as a gesture of support to their diverse community. This show of support by the Suns organization has drawn enough attention that Rush Limbaugh has weighed in on it and President Obama used the Phoenix Suns for an applause line.

Professional Sports Should Man Up
RUSH LIMBAUGH: This is no different than the Republicans supporting amnesty back in 2007 because they don't want to offend anybody, and they hope to get these votes. So you have the ownership of the Phoenix Suns, the "Los Suns," and whoever, "We don't want to offend a portion of our fan base. We don't want to appear to be politically correct. We want to appear to be all inclusive and so forth." Well, fine and dandy but what happens when that contributes to the overall deterioration of the culture of the society? I just think it's cowardice. I'm sorry. I think it's cowardice, pure and simple.

Robin Williams chats with Marc Maron - WTF Podcast Episode 67

WTF with Marc Maron | Ep 67: Robin Williams

Marc Maron takes his brand of incisive conversation to arguably the most recognisable comedian of this generation - Robin Williams. Its an enlightening sit-down, with Robin Williams using his indoor voice for the whole hour talking candidly about celebrity, bitterness, vices and joke stealing

Episode 67 - Robin Williams
Yeah, Marc's sitting down with Robin Williams for an hour. No big deal. So what do you talk about with an international comedy superstar? How about alcoholism, cocaine, divorce, joke stealing, heart surgery, fame, Richard Pryor, jealousy, and Twitter? Yeah. That should do it.

Maron tells Punchline Magazine about his trepidation before the interview considering Williams' public persona as a Tangent-Tasmanian devil.

Marc Maron delves into the real Robin Williams
Maron continues: “No matter what your opinions may be of him he was, and might still be, one of the biggest comedy stars in the world. I was nervous because I didn’t want to get caught up in the Williams riff cyclone and be blown out without getting a real interview– a genuine conversation with him. We sat down for about an hour and he stayed still and focused and open. This is a rare chat with a huge star.

Michelle Malkin feature profile in latest TownHall Magazine

I spoke previously about the underrated landscape changing news that was the acquisition of Conservative blog HotAir by Salem Communications. One of the byproducts of that is this new profile interview of Michelle Malkin in TownHall Magazine, this interview was conducted by Ed Morrissey who acknowledges his favorable relationship with Malkin.

Townhall Magazine features Michelle Malkin

Townhall Magazine featured profile: Michelle Malkin
The next Townhall Magazine has quite a treat for readers, and quite a treat for me. Last month, the magazine asked me to write a profile of Michelle Malkin, the Boss Emeritus and my good friend, as their featured article of the month. After the sale of Hot Air (which celebrates its fourth birthday today!) to Salem Communications, I wanted to highlight an oft-overlooked aspect of Michelle’s success, that of a New Media entrepreneur, as well as a lightning rod for hate-filled attacks from the Left:

Andrew Wilkow VS Senator Daylin Leach

Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) and RadioTalker Andrew Wilkow have begun a feud with Daylin using his 'DaylinSights blog' as the platform and Wilkow utilising his radio show. The feud could potentially lead to a tantalising face to face interview on Wilkow's Radio Show, we'll keep you posted if that eventuates

Read senator Daylin's original post on Andrew Wilkow and other Right Wing talkers

Right Wing Talk Radio
One thing Mr. Wilkow is not is open to different perspectives. The slogan of his show, screamed at every commercial break is "We're right, they're wrong. End of Story!!, which I must say is more punchy and effective than the liberal equivalent often whispered on NPR, "We're intrepid, they're Jejune, lets start a dialogue!".

More from Senator Daylin Leach on Wilkow

Right-Wing Radio Hate Part Deux.
I did, and the first thing I heard was someone screaming "What do you think of that Senator Daylin Leach" out of my speakers. And I thought, hey, wait a minute! How many Daylin Leaches could there be? And how many of them are Senators?? Four, five at the most? I began to think this might be about me.

It turns out that Mr. Wilkow had somehow gotten hold of my blog and was commenting on it. He then spent the next hour or so either replying to or referring to me. I must say that it made for most excellent listening for my long ride to Dauphin County.

Read the followup here

Wilkow's false literalism
So the argument here is that Mr. Wilkow is literally correct and therefore not being offensive at all. This is of course nonsense. But lets deconstruct it a bit.

First, before we even get into parsing the phrase, one wonders why Mr. Hilton's sexuality is even relevant....

But whatever it is he did to piss off Mr. Wilkow (and based on Wilkow's reaction to me, it was probably saying something less than worshipful about Mr. Wilkow), it probably had nothing to do with who Mr. Hilton sleeps with. So Wilkow's choice to use any term for "gay" in connection to Hilton would be a homophobic statement. Why mention it if it isn't relevant unless you think it will cast Hilton in a negative light.

Read American Pundit Fighting's interview with Andrew Wilkow

Allahpundit of HotAir deconstructs Bill Maher's role in the lefty landscape

A nice little dissertation by AllahPundit on where Bill Maher fits in the "lefty landscape". It turns into a nice wrestling style promo by the end with AllahPundit undervaluing Maher's accomplishments.

Video: And now, an important message from Bill Maher about tea partiers
...As lame as it is, I find the clip interesting as a window onto Maher’s place in the lefty media landscape. He’s not quite a comedian — the jokes here, such as they are, are simply terrible — and he’s not quite a serious pundit either, yet not only does he have his own show on premium cable, he’s in demand by cable news nets as a commentator on current affairs. Does anyone else get quite that much notoriety for filling this niche? Coulter and Dennis Miller are obvious comparisons, the former because she’s a provocateur, the latter because he’s a comedian turned pundit, but neither one has their own television show. It’s not like the left is starved for comic opinion, either. Stewart and Colbert run rings around this tool every weeknight and people like Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, and David Cross are both sharply left and (at times) sharply funny. How does “Real Time with Bill Maher” exist but not, say, “Real Time with Zach Galifianakis”? Maybe that’s Maher’s secret — that, unknown to the public at large, behind the scenes he’s simply a genius of self-promotion. That would explain a lot; rarely has someone blessed with so little achieved so much.

VIDEO: Bill Maher On Tea Party: “Why Let The Truth Spoil A Perfectly Good Klan Rally”

Pete Dominick on 'Pete on the Street' segments on CNN's John King

For those who haven't seen Pete Dominick's segments on CNN's 'John King, USA', I highly encourage you too. Pete has been doing lighter comedic segments for CNN as John King's "offbeat reporter".

Read my PunditFight interview with Pete Dominick

VIDEO: Pete on the Street - Attending a Tea Party on April 15 in DC

Find all of Pete's video segments on CNN's 'John King, USA' via Pete Dominick's YouTube Channel
Go to Pete Dominick's official website - Stand Up with Pete Dominick

Rachel Maddow calls Bullpucky on GOP fakery: Says ACORN pimp outrage and Climategate are all fake

As a blog dedicated to the analogy that American Politics is not unlike professional wrestling, one of the more favored threads is fakery in politics. More to the point how the fake can swallow reality and create a new a one. The fakery can at times be innocuous, nefarious or absurd. Consider the impact Tina Fey's Sarah Palin parody had on the real image of the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. Consider the credibility and gravitas of "Fake" news show 'The Daily Show' and "fake" pundit Stephen Colbert. Consider how pundits from Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter have detractors questioning if they authentically believe what they are saying, or if its just a lucrative act for attention.

Rachel Maddow expands on Fakery in Politics in this segment challenging the GOP's outrage.

VIDEO: MSNBC'S Rachel Maddow says GOP's outrage is Bullpucky

The Rachel Maddow Blog - Let them eat fake
RACHEL MADDOW: What we’re dealing with here is the unmooring of politics from facts. The activists pushing the ACORN scandal knew it was fake. After all, they faked it. But it made a political impact anyway, so they win, right?

The climate-gate scandal, not an actual challenge to the homogenous consensus of decades of climate science but it could have a political impact, so go for it. It might work.

If the triumph of fake politics or advantage gleaned from stuff that’s not real - and who cares if it’s not real or if it has a political impact?...

It’s made up. It’s bull. It’s bull. It’s not real politics. Let them eat fake.

These are not real problems to worry about and work on as a country, right? But there’s more bang for the political buck to make stuff up like this than to try to debate real problems in the real world. So just go with the bull.