It's a Wonderful Life, But Bad TV

What to do? What to do?

For my viewing pleasure, I could toon in tonight and watch Christmas at the White House: an Oprah Primetime Special in which Oprah asks the First Couple such hard-hitting questions as, "Is there a greater pressure to give a good gift when you’re the president or can you get away with a lesser gift if you’re the president?” Sure, if Bush was still in office, it would be demanded of him to explain why he and Laura are celebrating while American blood is being spilt on foreign soil, but I digress. Actually, I think Oprah is incredibly brave for venturing anywhere near the Klingon War Bride without first checking Michelle's hormone levels. I have already seen a spiler where Michelle describes how Bo - the White House dog - has his own stocking, but I do note she mysteriously leaves out her own mother . . .

So, with the Obama family celebrating its first Christmas in the White House, who all has stockings?

“Everyone,” the first lady says. “The President, the first lady, Malia, Sasha and Bo.”

Koo-koo-a-joo, Mrs. Robinson. Maybe they are getting you something for Kwanzaa.

Or . . . I could watch a documentary called The People Speak on the History Channel. It seems to be a star-studded . . . well, leftist stars . . . reading of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" in which the basic premise is . . . America, bad, very bad, kill all Indians for the sake of corporate greed.

Promising the same action-packed excitement of An Inconvenient truth, this documentary will provide the actors doing "dramatic readings."

The point is not to understand the past, according to the actors who participate, but to inspire people to make their voices heard today, not to tell it “from the standpoints of generals and kings and presidents,” which “encourages passivity, a sense of hopelessness.” Change only comes to these people through dissent, struggle, strikes, boycotts and the like. Thus one of the major participants, actor Josh Brolin, says in the trailer for his video performance, that “there is a need to speak out” and the people who did in the past were not heard, and now we can hear “the gold in their words.” As for the present, Brolin adds, people have to “speak out” and that is “the only goal,” so people can be “empowered” to take action which is “fantastic.” Does Brolin, I wonder, apply his view to the tea parties, where citizens who are empowered take action? No one seems to have asked him that question.

Ah, but it must be good, because it is based on a book that inspired a 10-year-old Matt Damon!

"When I was 10, I had one of the first copies of that book, and I took it to school on Columbus Day to read about Columbus to a shocked group of kids," the star told E! News. "The book's been a part of my life since then."

I am sure they were shocked. Just as I am sure some Italian kid then pushed your face into the sandbox and told everyone that you and Ben Affleck ate each other's boogers, too.

Man, I just don't know what to watch on TV tonight. With such choices, maybe it is time to wrm up the ol' DVD player and simply sit back and watch It's a Wonderful Life . . .