Is anyone else irked by some television news accounts that try to find parallels to popular uprisings in the Middle East? If so, you'll enjoy Jon Stewart's opening monologue from Monday nights “The Daily Show” which takes up that issue at about 5:30 in. (The rest of it is worth watching, though.)

It's possible that folks at The Spokesman-Review are a bit sensitive about such lame comparisons because photographer Holly Pickett, a former colleague, has been on the scene in Tunisia, Egypt and now Morocco, and we wouldn't worry quite so much if she were shooting photos in Madison, Wisc.

It is debatable whether white guys can’t jump. But this NPR music video probably proves that they can’t — or more precisely shouldn’t — rap.

It is kind of fun, in a geeky, nerdy way.

For those not sick to death of the television commercials for races in Washington state and Idaho, we offer Slate e-magazine’s compilation of the best/worst ads from around the state.

Barack Obama got a few quick laughs at Bill Clinton’s expense recently by noting that both of them more or less “married up.”

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was on CNN’s Sunday morning talk show, explaining/defending the “Pledge to America” to Candy Crowley with Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Meanwhile, FactCheck.org was dissecting the pledge, and found it some facts don’t check out in a report that can be found here.

While some big political races — for president, for governor, for Congress — often bring out strong emotions in candidates, it’s a fact that there are plenty of offices on every ballot that cause voters, and even candidates to yawn. After all, does the average voter know what the county assessor or the state lands commissioner does, let alone feel passionate about who holds the job.

But Phil Davison apparently really, really wanted to run for county treasurer in Stark County, Ohio. How much did he want the chance? Here’s his speech asking for the county Republican Party to nominate him.

Unfortunately for him (and possibly bloggers everywhere) they did not.

Jon Stewart opened last night’s Daily Show with a new feature called “I Give Up” — a sentiment we’ve all  held from time to time.

While it seems like he’s pounding mainly on Republicans at the beginning, stick with it to the end to see that he’s pretty bipartisan in his contempt.

Politico’s 3 minute take on what to look for in the 2010 mid-term elections is a bit long, but overall a good summary.

It may sound like an oxymoron, an uplifting vacation video shot at concentration camps. But this “vacation video” of a Holocaust survivor visiting concentration camps and other sites in Europe with his granchildren and essentially dancing on grave of Hitler’s final solution is pretty inspiring. 

As noted below, the Murray campaign was forced to pull its video jabbing Dino Rossi for his sinners and saints comment because it was using a copyright song without permission.

It all stemmed from a comment Rossi made to the National Journal about attracting undecided voters:”In the old adage, there are saints and sinners and those who can be saved. The saints are with us, the sinners are not. And the ones that can be saved are the ones we will be talking to.”

What seemed strange about that comment was not its content, but the fact that Rossi considers it an old adage. It doesn’t sound like any old adage I’d ever heard, despite a Catholic upbringing and 12 years in parochial school. A search in Bartlett and Google didn’t turn up anything, either.

Has anyone else ever heard that saying, or anything remotely resembling it. And no, the Billy Joel song that the Murray campaign used in the video it had to pull does not count.

Former Arkansas governor turned presidential candidate turned Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee talks about former Alaska governor turned vice presidential nominee turned Fox News contributor Sarah Palin and pot.

He makes a joke, it falls flat. Huchabee should definitely not quit his day job to do stand-up.

But he does make one very good prediction at the end.

America’s Voice, a group that wants immigration law reform, but not the kind in Arizona, is making fun of Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, for suggesting it’s easy for cops to use their “sixth sense” to spot illegal immigrants.

Naturally, they mix it with clues from the movie “Sixth Sense” (but you knew that was going to happen, right? The only real question was what would “I see dead people” be changed to.)

It should also be noted that the things King is suggesting should tip off cops are all part of the five regular senses.

Even if you support health care reform, this opposition video from Dem Strait  has fun visuals, a good reworking of the lyrics, and as they used to say on Bandstand, it’s got a good beat, you can dance to it.

How would you give it if Dick Clark asked  you for a rating?

Capitol Steps do a great take-off on the the Don McLean classic.

(sorry the embed code was messed up earlier)

Never let it be said that The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart only picks on Republicans. Last night he proved he’s an equal opportunity annoyer in this discussion of the Massachusetts Senate race.

A reference in last night’s post on the Republicans throwing around nautical metaphors may have had many readers going “Huh? Sinking of the What?”

The song is actually “The Legend of the USS Titanic”, and while it was a staple of late night pirate radio in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, it’s probably not well known or long-remembered.

So here, for the curious or the nostalgic, is a YouTube video version. It’s long, and takes two videos…

In a new video from BarelyPolitical.com, Obama Girl, aka Amber Ettinger, makes a pitch for someone to be appointed to the Social Security Board.

The plea is set to “Man of Constant Sorrow,” and proves that blue-grass legend Ralph Stanley can still pick and sing, Obama Girl can dance even though she can’t lip-synch too well, and the guy they’re hyping, Eric C. Conn, should never ever quit his day job to become a dancer. But it’s a fun watch.

First in the opener

And later in Weekend Update:

This is from a Web site that offers up a video of a new song every day. This one is interesting for two reasons:

1. It has an excellent message about the Internet.

2. It flashes on a Spokane “celebrity” about a 1 minute into the video.

Thanks to alert reader, former correspondent and longtime friend Reiko Tateya for bringing this to our attention.

Not that this is necessarily the best way to get national recognition for a local news story, but Jay Leno included a mention of one of our hottest topics in his Monday night monologue.

With a “How bizarre is this?” lead-in, he mentioned the escape of Phillip Paul at the county fair last week. “Apparently he blended in with the carnival ride operators.”

If you missed it and are dying to see the whole 1-minute bit, it’s at about 6 minutes into this clip. Sorry it’s the whole show from hulu.com, but it didn’t make the monologue highlights on the NBC site.