George Will on the "unfettered executive" and Madisonian constitutional democracy

When George Will is not wasting his WaPo column singing praises for the latest GOP clown candidate in the national media spotlight, his clear voice can highlight the truth of a matter like few other pundits.  His latest column is a pitch perfect observation on how President Obama's State of the Union address betrays a longing for an "unfettered executive" branch by his administration and among his supporters:

"Obama, an unfettered executive wielding a swollen state, began and ended his address by celebrating the armed forces. They are not “consumed with personal ambition,” they “work together” and “focus on the mission at hand” and do not “obsess over their differences.” Americans should emulate troops “marching into battle,” who “rise or fall as one unit.

Well. The armed services’ ethos, although noble, is not a template for civilian society, unless the aspiration is to extinguish politics. People marching in serried ranks, fused into a solid mass by the heat of martial ardor, proceeding in lock step, shoulder to shoulder, obedient to orders from a commanding officer — this is a recurring dream of progressives eager to dispense with tiresome persuasion and untidy dissension in a free, tumultuous society...

State of the Union - The Musical! Les Miserables Edition

Welcome to the Dividist's annual (sort of) coverage of the Presidential Address to Congress - aka State of the Union - The Musical!

In 2007, as a blogging infant, the Dividist despaired at finding a unique approach to the SOTU when so many other bloggers would be traversing the same ground. The answer came from Bob Woodward. I asked Bob in an on-line Washington Post forum whether the SOTU had any real relevance. He responded by saying it was "mostly theater." Genius. That was the answer. What better way to frame the SOTU, media and blog reactions than within the lyrics of a Broadway show tune?

The game is to find blog posts, news stories and commentary that can be vaguely referenced in the lines of the song and link them to the lyrics.

San Francisco Values - Alleged Wife Battering County Sheriff Edition

This mug shot is our new Sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi. He was elected Sheriff in the last election and sworn in on Monday. Friday he was arrested for "domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness" over a recent incident involving his wife, the Venezuelan telenovella actress Eliana Lopez:

Taiwan Tuesday - New Hampshire Review

"I'd be reading an economics textbook."

In my last post I said I would add additional concluding thoughts about the Saturday/Sunday Republican debate. Can't do it. I've not recovered from the unmitigated horror of the Saturday night event, and just cannot spend one more minute thinking about it.

Instead, we'll let Jon Stewart do the heavy lifting on the debate itself...

Live Blogging the Live Bloggers blogging the New Hampshire GOP Debate

Welcome to the first 2012 Edition in the continuing saga of "Live Blogging the Live Bloggers blogging the Debates!" Ah, I think back to when I conceived this series while covering the first 2008 Republican debate, lo those many years ago, and first asked the question:

"There are plenty of bloggers covering the debate live tonight, but is anyone covering the live bloggers? The Dividist rushes in where other, more sensible bloggers, fear to tread. "

Friday Flotsam - Birthers, Truthers, Fraudsters, and Blogging Elephants in the Room

Time once again for the Dividist to stroll down our metaphorical beach and take note of the detritus that has washed ashore and cluttered this little island of rationality in the great big blogospheric ocean.

With the Iowa caucus this week, the New Hampshire primary next week, and a  GOP presidential primary that is much more entertaining than it deserves to be,  quite a few sparkly 2012 election items have washed ashore.  But they were not the only items that caught the Dividist's eye.

Iowa twammed* and other caucus reactions

As previously noted, Taiwanese animations are the future of all mainstream news and consequently a regular feature of this blog. I generally find these NMA Taiwanese News animations to be more succinct, incisive, informative and enlightening than anything in our own media. They also can apparently produce a quality two minute animation in less time than it takes the Dividist to write a crappy four paragraph blog post.

Their coverage of yesterday's Iowa Caucus result:

With 99% of votes counted Romney takes commanding lead in Iowa caucus

CNN Graphic 01-04-12 12:45 AM CST

At 12:45 AM CST CNN is reporting that Mitt Romney has surged into the lead with a commanding one vote margin in Iowa. Where CNN fears to tread, apparently too gutless to make the call, the Dividist rushes in. I am calling Iowa for Mitt Romney, so I can finish this post and go to bed.

Each of the top three finishers have reason to declare victory in Iowa.

Carnival of Divided Government Quînquâgintâ Special New Year Resolutions Edition

Welcome to the Carnival of Divided Government Quînquâgintâ [L] - Special 50th / Belated 5 Year Blogiversary / Independence Day / Labor Day / Halloween / Thanksgiving / Winter Solstice / 6 Months Late and newly renamed 2012 New Year Resolutions Edition.

Yeah, this post is a little late. Frankly, the whole "Blog Carnival" concept is well past its "Sell By" date, eclipsed by Facebook, Twitter, and other social network aggregation schemes.

The Dividist no longer gets much in the way of relevant content contribution for the carnival, so this feature has evolved into simply a compilation post of "Divided Government" posts and articles that attracts the Dividist's attention as he wanders about the 'sphere. Still, we'll keep the thing going for another year It's an election year, it's tradition and it's as comfortable as an old shoe. Which brings us to the Dividist New Year Resolutions for 2012: