Like the Onion's finest moments -- the Sept. 11 response issue, the 2000 election follow-up and the entire OUR DUMB CENTURY (one of my favorite books of all time)-- this edition is both very, very funny and very, very smart. An entire terrifying portrait of the future is painted, one where the U.S. is a rogue nation, where Britney gets a holostamp (the "fat" Britney, that is) and where the Vatican condemns the "radical" teaching of a newly resurrected Christ.
But the stories are only half the fun. The entire interface is changed, complete with a high-tech look and a soothing female computer voice announcing the headlines. There's also a pulldown menu of alternate languages, including "Revised Standard Klingon," "Psychlo" (for all you "Battlefield Earth Fans") and "Texan." Texas is apparently doing pretty well for itself, by the way. It's now the Empire of Texas, and it destroyed most of the Midwest battling the Great Lakes Alliance. (Which I assume I'll one day be a part of, until, that is, it's reduced to a smoking crater.) At least the TV -- excuse me, Holovid -- is still good. I hope I live long enough to see shows like "Hobo Killing with Babe Winkleman III" and "Cooking What's Left."
And, in case you were wondering, the usual Onion features are still there, 50 years later. Jim Anchower is still writing "The Cruise," complaining "My Hover-car is shot." Even better, the "What do you think?" folks are still there, commenting on current events. Except now one (or is it two) is a clone and one is apparently a knight fighting post-apocalyptic battles. And then there's this guy:
P. Wiggles! I love him! He's so damn patriotic! I think the future's gonna be A-OK after all! USA! USA!
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