The Soprano Society

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Fans of "The Sopranos" will argue the merits of the show's anti-finale, finale, but far less ambiguous was the show's not-too-veiled lofty commentary on the war in Iraq and the Bush administration. Much of it comes from the mouth of A.J. (Robert Iler), who railed against the indifference of American society to the raging war on terror, the war in Iraq and, it seems, global warming --- he even quoted Yeats. But those ways seem to come to an end when Tony and Carmela convinced him to forgo plans to join the Army and instead pursue a career in film, making the same kind of "Cleaver" pics that Christopher made before he was snuffed out. Was it all an A.J. ploy to get a new BMW? We'll never know for sure because of the non-ending, but A.J.'s last major scene came in the Soprano home, as he slouched on the couch, laughing as the TV played Karl Rove rapping at last March's Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner. It was a dig at Bush's men --- rapping when war is raging --- but also the trivialities of a consumerist society. In other words, the joke is on all of us: In other words, as the world faces momentous challenges, we're looking for distractions, like the triviality of an ending of a fictitious TV drama.

Doc Don't: Joe Queenan has had it with documentaries. He detests them, in fact, he writes in the Los Angeles Times, even as they seem to set the national agenda. "In confessing to this prejudice, I am aware that I am exactly like all the "Spider-Man 3" enthusiasts who would rather watch a cruddy, frivolous, phoned-in sequel than a majestic and important film like Michael Moore's "Sicko," especially if someone is asking me to pay for it. Does this make me a bad citizen? Well, yes. The founding fathers believed that only an informed citizenry could remain a free citizenry. At the time, this meant reading newspapers; today it means watching films starring Al Gore."

Bills for Hil: Among those at a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton Friday night in New York City: rapper DMC and Harvey Weinstein, reports the Politicker.