Saturday, February 15, 2014

146.3 - Unintentional Humor: Francois Hollande "powers others only dream of"

Unintentional Humor: Francois Hollande "powers others only dream of"

Ah, we have another example of our occasional feature, Unintentional Humor, where something that's not intended to be funny, just is.

This comes via a good catch by the media watchdog group FAIR.

Time magazine just published a long piece about French President Francois Hollande. The headline is "Meet Monsieur Reform," and the piece makes the predictable argument that his turn to the right is a good idea, because in the minds of the so-called mainstream media, moving to the political right is always a good idea,  no matter the circumstanes.

In this case, according to the article's subhead, "the world needs him to succeed," which of course placating and embracing the right wing will accomplish. They say.

But here's the thing; this was the first paragraph of the story:
French presidents don't so much govern as reign from the splendors of the Élysée Palace. They have powers most democratic leaders only dream of, able to deploy their military or command nuclear strikes without first consulting the national legislature.
So in France, the president can take military action without consulting the legislative branch?

Really?

What a singular place that must be.

I can't imagine a president claiming that kind of power.

Like the man said, sometimes ya just gotta laugh so you don't cry.

One other thought: Has Time magazine ever heard of drones?


Sources:
http://www.fair.org/
http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/02/07/you-wont-believe-what-they-let-the-president-do-in-france/
http://quotes.dictionary.com/I_hasten_to_laugh_at_everything_for_fear
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/02/6-unanswered-questions-obama-drones

Sources for headlines:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/clinton-tells-house-obama-would-ignore-war-resolutions.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/world/middleeast/syria.html?hp

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