Sunday morning mish-mash

Legal Insurrection argues compellingly that, even though Journolist was exposed and, presumably, disbanded, the MSM is stilling using the same playbook.

Well, maybe not quite.  Very peculiarly (and practically minutes before the DNC in political time), the New York Times is running an article about Valerie Jarrett, identifying her as the most powerful person in Washington, and identifying the president as an isolated, insular figure who looks to her first on all things, both practical and ideological.  The Times article never mentions Dick Cheney, but the article makes it seem as if Jarrett is what Dick Cheney never was — the Machiavellian power behind the Oval Office chair.  In other words, when Obama tweeted the post-Eastwood picture of himself in a chair, maybe it should have been the back of Valerie Jarrett’s head we saw.

Of course, I may be misreading this.  I see it as a slap to Obama that he’s portrayed as a weak puppet in the hands of a powerful Leftist puppet master.  For the disappointed masses on the Left, however, who believe Obama is a centrist, maybe this is the dog whistle they need, ensuring them that the centrist is in thrall to a true believer.  The implication would be that, in a second term, the puppet master can go full throttle.  It’s not the puppet who matters, it’s the puppet master.

In the continuing peculiar world that is Obama’s America, what was once a nasty sexual slur, one that managed to insult both blacks and whites, is now a campaign slogan.

If you’re looking for a non-typical movie to watch this Labor Day weekend, Machine Gun Preacher might be just the ticket (although I understand it’s a bit violent).

On the lighter side, is this the next Macarena?  This song, by Michel Telo, is apparently taking Latin America and Europe by storm, but it seems to me to lack the frenetic urgency that drove the Macarena to iconic status:

I happen to be incredibly fond of Brazilian music, so it works for me, but I wonder how far it will go generally in America. Speaking of Brazilian music, here’s one of my favorites:

Please consider this an Open Thread.