I've always felt Mo Rocca was one of the most underrated comics in the business. Perhaps that's a function of my interest in politics and the fact that Rocca is as knowledgeable as most of the news reporters we see on television. Even better, his skill at deadpan comedy in a political setting is unmatched.

Rocca has covered a lot of territory in is career; having worked as a correspondent on The Daily Show, worked on Larry King Live as a consultant/political historian, and now as a feature player on The Tonight Show. He also appears on PBS, VH1, The Food Network, and has a regular show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

His work during the 2004 Democratic and Republican conventions is some of his best. Besides being quite funny, his knowledge of U.S. presidents is extensive and the fact that he wrote a book on the pets of the presidents titled, All the Presidents' Pets: The Inside Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over, only adds to his comic depth.

The following video clip is of Mo asking people on the street if they've ever "googled" themselves. As one might expect, Mo livens up the questioning with a few strategically placed innuendo's and double entendre's.

Keith Olbermann uses the actual police report from the arrest of Senator Larry Craig to create a video reenactment of the incident. Nothing like pictures to tell a story.

Perhaps the Senator can get his hands on a video camera and produce his own reenactment. It couldn't be any more harmful than his "thanks for coming out" press conference.

On second thought, I'm not sure the Senator wants to be seen in a men's restroom with a video camera...after all, there must be a limit to the times a guy can deny that he's gay.

I've always felt Mo Rocca was one of the most underrated comics in the business. Perhaps that's a function of my interest in politics and the fact that Rocca is as knowledgeable as most of the news reporters we see on television. Even better, his skill at deadpan comedy in a political setting is unmatched.

Rocca has covered a lot of territory in is career; having worked as a correspondent on The Daily Show, worked on Larry King Live as a consultant/political historian, and now as a feature player on The Tonight Show. He also appears on PBS, VH1, The Food Network, and has a regular show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

His work during the 2004 Democratic and Republican conventions is some of his best. Besides being quite funny, his knowledge of U.S. presidents is extensive and the fact that he wrote a book on the pets of the presidents titled, All the Presidents' Pets: The Inside Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over, only adds to his comic depth.

The following video clip is of Mo asking people on the street about which drink one should order on a first date and what that drink says about one's date. He gets some interesting answers and he does his best to "stir" things up.

The following video clips are the second part of the second program of The Enemies Of Reason, a multi-part series by Richard Dawkins that recently aired in the UK. The first half of the second program can be found here (Part III).

The first program can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).

In this second program, Dawkins focuses upon alternative medicine and the many areas that have burgeoned in recent years. He seeks to understand why these type of practitioners continue to attract clients.

Dawkins posits that the appeal of those who practice alternative medicines is the attention to the individual's psychological needs...something he calls a placebo methodology...a focus on comforting the patient and spending time addressing each patient with a level of individualized depth not often found in scientific medicine.

Readers can find more detail on the issues discussed by Dawkins in the first program as well as a link to some additional information on the topics at the above link to part one of the series.

From the original posting:

Richard Dawkins, the author of the recent book, The God Delusion, has unveiled his latest endeavor in a series just recently aired in the UK. The series tackles the many threats to reason found in our daily lives.

In two programs, Dawkins looks at astrology, psychic mediums, and the many other superstition based fields which he contends promote the degradation of rationality and an avoidance of reality...all of which threatens the many advances that have resulted from the scientific method and serve to undermine civilization.

During the program, Dawkins actually uses the scientific method to demonstrate that those who present themselves as practitioners in these various fields are little more than charlatans who have made a business out of praying upon the irrational thoughts and desires of people seeking easy answers to our complex human experience.

The following video clips are the first part of the second program of The Enemies Of Reason, a multi-part series by Richard Dawkins that recently aired in the UK.

The first program can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).

In this second program, Dawkins focuses upon alternative medicine and the many areas that have burgeoned in recent years. He seeks to understand why these type of practitioners continue to attract clients.

Dawkins posits that the appeal of those who practice alternative medicines is the attention to the individual's psychological needs...something he calls a placebo methodology...a focus on comforting the patient and spending time addressing each patient with a level of individualized depth not often found in scientific medicine.

Readers can find more detail on the issues discussed by Dawkins as well as a link to some additional information on the topics at the above link to part one of the series.

The second half of the second program (Part IV) will be posted in the next couple of days here at Thought Theater.

From the original posting:

Richard Dawkins, the author of the recent book, The God Delusion, has unveiled his latest endeavor in a series just recently aired in the UK. The series tackles the many threats to reason found in our daily lives.

In two programs, Dawkins looks at astrology, psychic mediums, and the many other superstition based fields which he contends promote the degradation of rationality and an avoidance of reality...all of which threatens the many advances that have resulted from the scientific method and serve to undermine civilization.

During the program, Dawkins actually uses the scientific method to demonstrate that those who present themselves as practitioners in these various fields are little more than charlatans who have made a business out of praying upon the irrational thoughts and desires of people seeking easy answers to our complex human experience.

In the following video clip, Bill Moyers provides a fitting footnote to the Rove legacy...an honest assessment of the man behind the manipulations. Moyers outlines the basis of the Rove strategy and he also explains the carnage left in his wake.

Moyers closes by pointing out that Karl Rove, a man who routinely utilized the religious beliefs of others for political gain, actually didn't hold those same beliefs. Regardless, in a defiant demonstration that old tricks die hard...Rove still chose to invoke god as he spoke on the White House lawn with the President.

That, my friends, is a testament to the insincerity that will likely anchor the historical account of the Karl Rove legacy. It will also cast an indelible shadow over the Bush presidency and its propensity to place politics ahead of policy.

The following video clips are the second part of a multi-part series here at Thought Theater. The series will provide Richard Dawkins' two part program titled The Enemies Of Reason. The first posting can be found here...and it includes more detail on the issues being discussed as well as a link to some additional information on the topic.

From the original posting:

Richard Dawkins, the author of the recent book, The God Delusion, has unveiled his latest endeavor in a series just recently aired in the UK. The series tackles the many threats to reason found in our daily lives.

In two programs, Dawkins looks at astrology, psychic mediums, and the many other superstition based fields which he contends promote the degradation of rationality and an avoidance of reality...all of which threatens the many advances that have resulted from the scientific method and serve to undermine civilization.

During the program, Dawkins actually uses the scientific method to demonstrate that those who present themselves as practitioners in these various fields are little more than charlatans who have made a business out of praying upon the irrational thoughts and desires of people seeking easy answers to our complex human experience.

Richard Dawkins, the author of the recent book, The God Delusion, has unveiled his latest endeavor in a series just recently aired in the UK. The series tackles the many threats to reason found in our daily lives.

In two programs, Dawkins looks at astrology, psychic mediums, and the many other superstition based fields which he contends promote the degradation of rationality and an avoidance of reality...all of which threatens the many advances that have resulted from the scientific method and serve to undermine civilization.

During the program, Dawkins actually uses the scientific method to demonstrate that those who present themselves as practitioners in these various fields are little more than charlatans who have made a business out of praying upon the irrational thoughts and desires of people seeking easy answers to our complex human experience.

The topic is beginning to garner attention and those interested in knowing more about this growing trend may want to read an article found at Guardian Unlimited titled The Age Of Endarkenment. The piece is written by David Colquhoun.

From The Guardian:

The enlightenment was a beautiful thing. People cast aside dogma and authority. They started to think for themselves. Natural science flourished. Understanding of the real world increased. The hegemony of religion slowly declined. Real universities were created and eventually democracy took hold. The modern world was born. Until recently we were making good progress. So what went wrong?

The past 30 years or so have been an age of endarkenment. It has been a period in which truth ceased to matter very much, and dogma and irrationality became once more respectable. This matters when people delude themselves into believing that we could be endangered at 45 minutes' notice by non-existent weapons of mass destruction.

It matters when reputable accountants delude themselves into thinking that Enron-style accounting is acceptable. It matters when people are deluded into thinking that they will be rewarded in paradise for killing themselves and others. It matters when bishops attribute floods to a deity whose evident vengefulness and malevolence leave one reeling. And it matters when science teachers start to believe that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago.

A minor aspect of the endarkenment has been a resurgence in magical and superstitious ideas about medicine. The existence of homeopaths on the high street won't usually do too much harm. Their sugar pills contain nothing and they won't poison your body. The greater danger is that they poison your mind.

_________________________________________________

I highly recommend the article as well as the Dawkins series. Over the next few days, I will post the remaining video clips of the Dawkins program. The first video clip below is an interview with Dawkins which will provide the viewer with a basic understanding of Dawkins' views as well as primer on the content of the program. It is followed by the initial two clips from the first program.

Sam Harris, the author of The End Of Faith and Letters To A Christian Nation, recently appeared at the Aspen Ideas Festival, a forum for dialogue on numerous topics sponsored by the Aspen Institute.

The following video clips are the second part of a two part posting here at Thought Theater. The first posting can be found here. In his presentation, Harris touches upon a number of issues with regards to religion...offering both a primer on the historical basis of religion and the doctrines it embraces as well as the impact religion has in society.

Harris, not unlike Christopher Hitchens, points out that the absolute nature of most religions serves as a dangerous and divisive force in society. Harris also argues that acts of altruism and goodness are not dependent upon a belief in god or an affiliation with religion.

Stephen Colbert explains to viewers that the Democrats lack the clarity which Rudy Giuliani offers when he speaks about America's battle with radical Islamic terrorists.

Colbert thinks the Democrats spend far too much time on details when attempting to define who our enemies are in the war on terror...often failing to realize that the broad brush strokes being used by Rudy Giuliani are far more effective.

As usual, Colbert carefully dissects and dismantles the fallacies found in Giuliani's argument with his sarcastic brand of satire.

Sam Harris, the author of The End Of Faith and Letters To A Christian Nation, recently appeared at the Aspen Ideas Festival, a forum for dialogue on numerous topics sponsored by the Aspen Institute.

The following video clips are the first part of a two part posting here at Thought Theater. In his presentation, Harris touches upon a number of issues with regards to religion...offering both a primer on the historical basis of religion and the doctrines it embraces as well as the impact religion has in society.

Harris, not unlike Christopher Hitchens, points out that the absolute nature of most religions serves as a dangerous and divisive force in society. Harris also argues that acts of altruism and goodness are not dependent upon a belief in god or an affiliation with religion.

The second half of this posting will appear in the next few days.

The following video clips are from an appearance by Christopher Hitchens at the University of Toronto's Hart House Debating Club. The topic for the evening was, "Be It Resolved: Freedom of Speech Includes the Freedom to Hate."

As always, Hitchens offers an eRudyte and impassioned defense of the freedom of speech...often defending the right of those who seem indefensible to speak their minds...but at the same time demonstrating that the fundamental value of supporting freedom of speech warrants such a defense.

While many may find Hitchens views on religion offensive, there is no doubt that his intellect is a valuable contribution to an important dialogue...and one would be hard pressed to refute his ability to craft a logically sound argument.

More importantly, Mr. Hitchens willingness to hear the arguments of others and to engage in dialogue and debate is evidence of his commitment to the principles he espouses.

Jon Stewart offers his take on the recent effort of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney to explain that while none of his five sons were serving in the military, they are serving their country by helping the former Governor win the presidency. Jon worries about the boys and how they will handle the trauma of paper cuts and the like.

Mo Rocca takes a few minutes and goes out on the streets to see what the public thinks about Hillary Clinton. In the first video clip, given the recent impression that Mrs. Clinton has begun to dress more feminine, Mo asks ordinary people if Senator Clinton should show more or less cleavage.

In the second clip, Mo is concerned that the Senator's laugh is a problem. He mentions the laughs of different individuals and asks people to pick the one they think Hillary should adopt. Rocca offers some unique laughs and he gets some interesting responses.

You've seen Obama Girl and Hillary Girl...but the best is yet to come...meet Brownback Girl.

The video is the work of The Wichita Eagle's Opinion page staff and it does a good job of spoofing the Kansas senator and his presidential candidacy. Kudos to the Eagle's staff in Kansas!