In the Alternative

Hulu is suffering from its own sucess. This comes into sharp focus with Viacom's recent decision to take The Daily Show and The Colbert Report off Hulu. (See Hulu's blog post about it here). These two shows have been huge hits for Hulu, but Viacom wants to keep all the ad dollars for itself and not share with the content provider-owned Hulu.

When former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson lectures conservatives about going too far right, I wonder if I've stepped into an alternate reality. In his column, Gerson points up the utter ridciulousness of Glenn Beck and other CPAC conservatives who have taken the ultimate laissez-faire route and decided that President Theodore Roosevelt's reforms are too liberal for the modern conservative. These self-described conservatives are moving beyond parody.

Thursday means that the weekend is nearer. It also means that you're supposed to honor the Norse god of thunder, though I have no idea how one shoudl do this. In any case, here is all the news you need to read this morning.

I am perfectly aware that I'm giving Verizon free advertising here, but I can't help liking this commercial.

Good morning! Tuesday isn't the best day of the week, but it means you're a little bit through. It's the last week in February so you can take some comfort in that. Although being the last week in February only means that if you have a project due at the end of the month, you'd better get to work on it instead of reading a blog. Until you do, here's all the news you need to read this morning:

Good morning! Monday morning and you're just recovering from the weekend. Sorry, you can't wait until Tuesday. Up and at 'em! And to get you started on the week, here's all you need to read this morning.

Do you miss the "real filibuster" every time a Senate minority screams "filibuster?" I know I do. Just once, I want to see Republicans forced to the Senate floor to read from phone books, recite poetry and generally make asses of themselves while trying to shoot down the legislation du jour. It's a nice idea, but Congress Matters' David Waldman delves into Senate rules to explain why it wouldn't necessarily happen that way.

Tiger Woods' apology reminds me of Mr. Spock reading rap lyrics. He delivered all the right words. He paused at all the right moments. His voice varied minutely over the words. But ultimately his delivery was chiefly expository and virtually emotionless.

I also question whether this apology is effective from a PR and/or marketing standpoint. Woods did well to stay out of the media immediately after the scandal broke. No words could have dampened the public perception of him as mistress after mistress after mistress after mistress spoke up about Her Night With Tiger. And yesterday's expression of sorrow was, as sex therapist Mary Jo Rapini said, "rote." Did it really move the story forward? I would argue it did not.

In my own opinion, Woods would have done well not to make any public statement at all. Instead, he should have saved his press availabilities and such for when he is ready to return to golf. At that point, the narrative would be "Tiger had affairs," but rather "a great golfer returns to the game he loves." His return and rise to the golf course would quickly overshadow that far older story. Why? As much as America loves fallen idols, it loves stories of redemption even more.

TGIF. Right? Right? If you're at your office by now, rejoice that you have a job. Also, rejoice that the weekend his here. Additionally, rejoice that there's news at all. Also, you may want to rejoice in general. You can never have too much rejoicing. Here for your pleasure is all the news you will need to read this morning.

Older women, younger men. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, long-running star Betty White said that the 360,000 people who want her to host Saturday Night Live "just dig old ladies." So is this a cougar thing? Cougars are all the rage these days. Celebrity Cafe report Sheryl Crow will appear on Cougar Town. The Fairfield Advance reports on a cougar wedding in which the happy couple met on World of Warcraft. And the Web site Cougar Play Pen has launched, touting itself as a place where older women can find younger guys. Not to mention a "cougar and cub convention" profiled in the San Mateo County Times earlier this month.

The cougar thing has gone mainstream and is the fad of the moment, but not everybody's happy about the label. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Katie Couric resists the cougar label, though she dates a man 17 years her junior. Meanwhile, a twenty-something contacted the Sacramento Bee's "Ask Mr. Dad" column to express discomfort with their mother dating a much younger man. Mr. Dad's not sympathetic with the discomfort.

Sometimes, I don't know what to make of the right-o-sphere. Some of its more ... ahem ... strident members have a way of walking right up to the line of bigotry, but not quite stepping over it. However, they'll leave just enough leeway for an agreeable reader to reach a bigoted conclusion. Take, for example, one Mr. BH. Citing CBN and conservative blog Jawa Report, Mr. BH recounts the arrest of five Muslim soldiers who are accused of trying to poison their fellow service members.