SOTU: The Era of Wishful Thinking

President Barack Obama, struggling to remain relevant in the seventh year of his Oval Office odyssey, sounded a hopeful note in his next-to-last State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.

With an improving economy and the combat portion of the war in Afghanistan concluded, the President sought to "turn the page" on the nation being in crisis mode.  The few proposals he made were intended to better the middle class.  Among them:  Increasing capital gains for couples making more than $500 million.  Making community college free to students who have kept their grades up.  Raising the minimum wage.  Increasing workers' paid sick leave.

The President also pledged to beef up cybersecurity, help pass new immigration reforms and take steps to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.

What the President was talking about Tuesday night came across as wishful thinking to the new Republican-dominated Congress, and to the folks watching at home.  Everyone knows that years of gridlock has created a situation in which every proposal of Obama's is likely to get shot down by Congress.  And every proposal of theirs would be met by the President's veto pen.

Contrary to what the President told Congress, the world is still a dangerous place, as recent terrorist attacks have proven.  U.S. soldiers have been sent back to Iraq because the Islamic State have swallowed up nearly half the country.   Air strikes in Iraq, Syria and other places have done a good job in taking out terrorist leaders, but IS and Al Qaeda have figured out ways to get around them.  And even though combat troops have left Afghanistan, thousands of advisers remain there.

One annoying aspect of the SOTU was the constant breaks for applause by Democrats, which they kept doing even when the President was still talking.  The Republicans mostly sat on their rear ends, except for when it came time to salute the troops.

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa delivered the GOP response that immediately followed.  It was a smiley-faced attack on Obama's policies without offering any real solutions, while bragging about her Iraq war record.  Then again, what did you expect from a woman who's only been Senator for a few weeks, and was previously known for castrating hogs?

President Obama and the new Republican Congress have both said they'll make every effort to work together for the good of the country.  Maybe that's wishful thinking too.  From this moment on, little will get done as the country prepares for the 2016 presidential election.  Then we'll see who becomes relevant in 2017.

Satire: Handle With Care

By definition, satire (according to Merriam-Webster) is "biting wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose vice or folly".  It is the basis for some of our greatest literature, theater and other forms of art.  It can also result in lawsuits, hurt feelings, accusations of not being politically correct, and even murder, particularly if the subject takes offense to being ridiculed.

In the last few weeks, we've learned that satire is also capable of inciting acts of terror and other international incidents.

Was That You, Charlie?

Two men who police say were Islamic militants went into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French magazine of satire, and murdered 12 of its staffers.  Its crime?  Publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which is forbidden under Islam.

Charlie Hebdo, previously unknown beyond France, has apparently been mocking religion for years in a way American publications or satirists never will be accused of doing.  It isn't just the pictures of The Prophet that got Muslims upset.  It's also the sexually graphic images and depictions of Christianity that send the Vatican into convulsions and accusations of blasphemy.

Islamic groups have warned for years that there would be deadly consequences for anyone, whether they're of the faith or not, who dares to insult The Prophet.  And it has happened a couple of times, first to a Danish newspaper for publishing the offending cartoons, then to the U.S. embassy in Libya after an anti-Muslim video was released online.  An American diplomat was killed.

One week after the attack and the worldwide indignation that followed, Charlie Hebdo returned with an issue that had Mohammed on its cover and more risque cartoons inside.  Some people never learn.

Publicity Stunt Gone Wrong.  Or Was It?

Sony Pictures relentlessly promoted their big Christmas blockbuster wannabe "The Interview", which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as TV hosts recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  Then came reports of Sony's computers being hacked into, releasing a torrent of embarrassing e-mails and other personal information.   There was speculation that the hacks came either from North Korea to voice its displeasure about the movie, or just some disgruntled employee seeking revenge.  Sony ended up pulling "The Interview" from its holiday release after the hackers threatened to blow up any theater showing it, prompting major chains to take a pass in the interest of safety.

But once Sony was convinced by the U.S. government that it was North Korea who was behind the hacking, they went ahead and released "The Interview" to a smaller number of independent theaters and was also streamed online.  Revolutionary?  Maybe.  But most observers wondered if all this hoohah about a film that was critically panned was really worth dying for.

Weeks later, the whole "Interview" controversy was lampooned by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Margaret Cho (playing a North Korean journalist) on the NBC telecast of the Golden Globe Awards.

Satire, like freedom of speech, reminds us of a certain movie line:  "With great power comes great responsibility", or something like that.  You can't just go ridiculing a subject without first thinking about how that person or institution might react to it.  It is also never a good idea to lampoon or otherwise disrespect a religion just because you think they should be, especially if that religion is backed up by threats of violence.  So, whether you write, draw or hold a video camera, choose your targets wisely.

The New 96.3: Nowhere to Go But Up

The radio station recently known as KTWN (96.3 FM) has in the past few years gone from hip hop and rap to contemporary hits, then to a hybrid of classic hits and alternative rock.  Considering the static nature of music on Twin Cities FM radio, that's quite a progression.

Now the Pohlad family-owned station is changing its tune once again, this time as Go96.3 FM, an alternative rock station that plays the likes of Imagine Dragons, Arctic Monkeys, Tegan & Sara and other locally popular artists while ditching the classic rock of Sheryl Crow and the Doobie Brothers.  The new 96.3 will sound more like The Current (89.3) than Cities 97 (97.1), if that's possible.

This latest format change wouldn't be a big deal if it weren't for the fact that 96.3 is also the radio home of Minnesota Twins baseball, which is also part of the Pohlad portfolio.  What a missed opportunity.  When the change was announced, it was thought that 96.3 would go to a more Twins-friendly format such as sports talk or country.  But then again, there already are three or four stations here with similar programming.

The Pohlads apparently believe that they could bring a younger audience to its baseball broadcasts by putting them on a rock station, even though most Major League Baseball teams' flagship stations have news, talk or sports formats and generally attract an older audience.

So how's that been working out?  Ratings for KTWN have not been good, and part of the reason is that the Twins have lost more than 90 games in each of the last four seasons.  You might say that the Pohlads know just as much about running a radio station as they do a baseball team.

It's fair to say that both the Twins and 96.3 are seeking to improve in 2015.  The Twins have a new manager, and have added some free agents to go along with the young talent they've been promising us for years.  Go96.3 is banking on a new music lineup that they think will be a hit with their listeners.  But the station is still plagued with the problem of programming to two different audiences:  those who like to rock and those who like to listen to baseball. 

In that respect, the Twins and Go96.3 have nowhere to go but up.