Tim Russert RIP
The New York Times is reporting that Meet the Press host Tim Russert is dead of a heart attack at 58. Sunday mornings and MSNBC in the evenings will never be the same without this fearless journalist. Those of here at the Scene are walking around with blood drained from our faces, as he is all but idolized around these offices.
Humor helps us cope, so we imagine his upcoming show in heaven featuring Jesus Christ. Here's the exchange we envision from the dean of the Washington press corps:
Russert: So, Jesus, when you were 6 years old, you once tried to kick the wealthy out of the synagogues. And yet in your campaign against Pontius Pilate, you solicited donations from some of the wealthiest, sandal-wearing kings....
Jesus: Look, Tim....
11 comment(s) / Post a Comment
Wow. My Sunday mornings will never be the same. There's no show I watched more religiously than Meet the Press, and I got genuinely choked up when I heard the news. Heartbreaking. He was absolutely the best in his field...no one else came close.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 13 2008 @ 6:17PMGiven that Jesus never tried to kick the wealthy out of the synagogue, that He never waged a campaign against Pontius Pilate, and that he never solicited donations from kings or anybody else for that matter, are you subtly implying that Russert usually had his facts wrong?
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 13 2008 @ 6:27PMI doubt Russert was worthy of idolization. He had his share of good moments, and he also had his share of lesser moments. For example, the badgering of Obama about Rev. Wright on last month's MTP was fairly absurd. But regardless of that, it seems he was a genuinely good guy, and that's more important anyway. He lived quite a life.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 13 2008 @ 7:37PMTom, we're not implying anything--we just don't know our Bible. No one forced us to read it in school.
Posted On: Saturday, Jun. 14 2008 @ 12:41AMI can't say that Russert's death chokes me up. Hell, he's been nothing more than occasionally entertaining to me. But, at the same time he never really bugged me either; and I can't say that about my own children.
He has managed to accomplish something truly worthy of envy however. He managed to depart with superb aplomb: no fuss, muss, anxiety, distress or debilitation. And he did it in harness, while doing what he did.
I for one, supremely long to do the same thing. Poof, gone. Probably won't happen though. More than likely disease, disorientation, dimentia, incontinence, and warts on the end of the nose are what await.
If nothing else, Russert is a lucky sumbitch!
Posted On: Sunday, Jun. 15 2008 @ 12:46PMMattP-
Nobody forced me to read the Bible in school either, but I've managed to acquire some familiarity with it over the years. OTOH, I'm not at all familiar with the Koran or the Talmud or the Upanishads, and yet I somehow manage to keep myself from making snarky comments about Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. Perhaps the Scene could follow my good example and refrain from snarky comments about Christianity?
Posted On: Monday, Jun. 16 2008 @ 5:00PM"the Upanishads"?
Never heard of them. Enlighten me.
Posted On: Tuesday, Jun. 17 2008 @ 11:13AMHey- another Tom! I'm the one who's been posting here for a few years. I enjoy the snarky comments about Christianity, fwiw.
Posted On: Tuesday, Jun. 17 2008 @ 11:32AMHumpfree-
The Upanishads are a series of books holy to our Hindu brethren. I don't really know that much about them, other than the fact of their existence. The wikipedia.org article about the Upanishads seemed to be a decent introduction to the topic.
original Tom-
Sorry to steal your name like that. I blame my parents though.
I don't mind a little irreverence myself from time to time, but irreverence can be done with knowledge and wit, or it can be done by a knee-jerk reaction against Christianity. It seems to me that the Scene's snark inevitably falls into the latter category.
Posted On: Tuesday, Jun. 17 2008 @ 11:58AM
