Schoolhouse Rock - "I'm Just A Bill"
When my eldest was four, we were given tickets for a stage version of "Schoolhouse Rock" by her preschool. Fearing she'd be bored in a theater with unfamiliar music, I went out and bought the Schoolhouse Rock DVD and let her watch it a couple of times beforehand. It would be an understatement to say she loved it. She actually made the actors break character because she ran up to stage and sang "Conjunction Junction" along with them.
That DVD has had a fairly regular rotation in the intervening years. My youngest watched it the last time we drove to Los Angeles to see family, singing along the entire time. Those songs just embedded themselves in my kids' brains, and occasionally, that lightbulb of recognition goes off when something they are learning at school corresponds to the songs they know by heart.
Perhaps it's time we consider sending Schoolhouse Rock to our representatives...at least the government version. It's embarrassing that my second grader has a better grasp of the Constitution than our elected officials. I'm not sure what to make of the utter indifference of the House to the way laws are made. Have the Republicans just reached such a state of hubris that they just don't care who knows it? Sadly, these kind of unconstitutional claims and action don't really rate on the importance scale for the DC media. Only two congressmen have been booked this week: Mike Rogers on Meet the Press and Paul Ryan on Fox News Sunday, Republicans both, naturally. No chance of getting questioned on those shows though. What could be more important than ascertaining whether our elected officials actually understand the Constitution they swore to uphold? Instead, we get a bunch of senators and Gen. James Jones (ret.), Obama's former National Security Advisor to discuss Libya, no doubt. Don't get me wrong, there's lots to discuss about Libya, but I think we need to pay attention to the crises we have in this country too.
ABC's "This Week" - Retired Gen. James Jones, President Barack Obama's former national security adviser; Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Katty Kay, Andrew Sullivan, Michael Duffy, Norah O'Donnell. Topics: Is President Obama Failing To Lead? Could Republican Red Hots Spoil The Party?
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Jones; Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Zbigniew Brzezinski on the turmoil in the Middle East; discussing Libya with Bernard-Henri Lévy, Richard Haass, Robert Baer, and Robert Worth.
"Fox News Sunday" - Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
So what catching your eye this morning?
