Thursday, March 26, 2015
More Media Madcap Misadventures
The media is at it again...
* keeping alive the University of Virginia "rape" story as reported in Rolling Stone, which led to suspension, restriction and nationwide condemnation of college fraternity life, despite being completely debunked...
* perpetuating the "hands up, don't shoot," narrative from the Ferguson, MO, shooting, even though found entirely non-existent by the Eric Holder Justice Department...
* fully supportive of the White House condemnation of the 47 Senators who posted a letter (on a web site) to Iranian leaders all the while applauding the President's similar televised address...
* condemning those same Senators (i.e. words hurt) while simultaneously saying absolutely nothing about the Ayatollah's "Yes, Death to America," statement shortly thereafter...
* standing (and applauding) Hillary Clinton as she continues her obfuscation, obstruction and lack of transparency, which they would condemn if practiced by any other politician, Republican or (even some) Democratics (they hate it when you call them Democrats)...
* not leaving out the sports media, and their condemnation of Pete Rose betting on baseball while simultaneously promoting nationwide betting on Major League Baseball...
* hypocrisy being nothing new for baseball writers as they are the same entity who turned their collective backs on steroid use in the game when it suited their purpose, only to condemn it years later after the tides turned...
* and of course, the national media's obsession with Global Warming and calling out those who disagree (even to a degree) as being deniers...as if there can be no varying degrees of Climate Change...
* and last, but not least, since the media "cause du jour" appears to be Global Warming and how man can only contribute to destruction and not reparation (that is, unless you buy Al Gore's carbon offset scam)...here's my favorite take on the subject...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjmtSkl53h4
* keeping alive the University of Virginia "rape" story as reported in Rolling Stone, which led to suspension, restriction and nationwide condemnation of college fraternity life, despite being completely debunked...
* perpetuating the "hands up, don't shoot," narrative from the Ferguson, MO, shooting, even though found entirely non-existent by the Eric Holder Justice Department...
* fully supportive of the White House condemnation of the 47 Senators who posted a letter (on a web site) to Iranian leaders all the while applauding the President's similar televised address...
* condemning those same Senators (i.e. words hurt) while simultaneously saying absolutely nothing about the Ayatollah's "Yes, Death to America," statement shortly thereafter...
* standing (and applauding) Hillary Clinton as she continues her obfuscation, obstruction and lack of transparency, which they would condemn if practiced by any other politician, Republican or (even some) Democratics (they hate it when you call them Democrats)...
* not leaving out the sports media, and their condemnation of Pete Rose betting on baseball while simultaneously promoting nationwide betting on Major League Baseball...
* hypocrisy being nothing new for baseball writers as they are the same entity who turned their collective backs on steroid use in the game when it suited their purpose, only to condemn it years later after the tides turned...
* and of course, the national media's obsession with Global Warming and calling out those who disagree (even to a degree) as being deniers...as if there can be no varying degrees of Climate Change...
* and last, but not least, since the media "cause du jour" appears to be Global Warming and how man can only contribute to destruction and not reparation (that is, unless you buy Al Gore's carbon offset scam)...here's my favorite take on the subject...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjmtSkl53h4
Friday, March 20, 2015
Eeeeee-ventually? Sure...but first, another award...
All right, all right...I'll get to it...eventually...that is, my post defining the motives behind the Left's full-speed-ahead charge into this warped Capitalism/Socialism hybrid and MediaCopp's prescription for helping each of us survive this imminent (and what I believe to be detrimental) change...but there's too much happening right now. We have the Republican Party's disrespectful end around the President in order to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political soapbox...and NOW, President Obama's own (I'll show 'em, I show 'em all) speech to the Iranian people.
I know exactly what I would say if Bush (I didn't bring him up, the President himself has blamed Bush for the rise of ISIS)...if Bush did something like this to a Democrat-controlled Congress...I would say, "stop crying and start leading." Of course I can't say that today, lest I be labeled a racist hater. So instead, I will again, tell the GOP to take the high road. If...and that's a big IF...if your way is the correct way, it'll be known (to all) sooner rather than later if...another big IF...if you stop your obstructionist ways. GIVE THE PRESIDENT WHAT HE WANTS!!!
"What the hell are you talking about? He wants to give Iran the bomb! You know, a nuclear bomb...and the Iranians have said more than once they want to fly their flag over the White House." Buck? Is that you? Come on, Mr. Conservative, even you understand hyperbole...the Iranians would be bombed back to the Stone Age if they set off a nuke on ANYONE. We would never allow that to happen...you know it, they know it, and the world knows it...
"Yeah, but the president himself said there are factions in each country (US and Iran) who don't want negotiation and would rather have war." Wait a minute, Buck? Wait, Norm, is that you? Norm, you should crawl back in your UC Davis classroom...I don't know about Iran, but I don't think you'd find too many people opting for war over trying to negotiate a good deal, including sanctions, etc., should the Iranians not negotiate in good faith.
"So that's it? That's your brilliant post for the week? Support our president? What are you, some sort of commie-sympathizer?" Norm? Buck? No? Goldberg...it's my old friend Goldberg. I know you believe the President is leaving you hanging out there...but come on, you were born in Queens, not Tel Aviv...our President and newly re-elected PM Netanyahu will find a peaceful two-state solution to end all mid east problems. No, no...don't say it, Goldberg...don't say it...
All right...I will...a Nobel Peace Prize for everyone!
I know exactly what I would say if Bush (I didn't bring him up, the President himself has blamed Bush for the rise of ISIS)...if Bush did something like this to a Democrat-controlled Congress...I would say, "stop crying and start leading." Of course I can't say that today, lest I be labeled a racist hater. So instead, I will again, tell the GOP to take the high road. If...and that's a big IF...if your way is the correct way, it'll be known (to all) sooner rather than later if...another big IF...if you stop your obstructionist ways. GIVE THE PRESIDENT WHAT HE WANTS!!!
"What the hell are you talking about? He wants to give Iran the bomb! You know, a nuclear bomb...and the Iranians have said more than once they want to fly their flag over the White House." Buck? Is that you? Come on, Mr. Conservative, even you understand hyperbole...the Iranians would be bombed back to the Stone Age if they set off a nuke on ANYONE. We would never allow that to happen...you know it, they know it, and the world knows it...
"Yeah, but the president himself said there are factions in each country (US and Iran) who don't want negotiation and would rather have war." Wait a minute, Buck? Wait, Norm, is that you? Norm, you should crawl back in your UC Davis classroom...I don't know about Iran, but I don't think you'd find too many people opting for war over trying to negotiate a good deal, including sanctions, etc., should the Iranians not negotiate in good faith.
"So that's it? That's your brilliant post for the week? Support our president? What are you, some sort of commie-sympathizer?" Norm? Buck? No? Goldberg...it's my old friend Goldberg. I know you believe the President is leaving you hanging out there...but come on, you were born in Queens, not Tel Aviv...our President and newly re-elected PM Netanyahu will find a peaceful two-state solution to end all mid east problems. No, no...don't say it, Goldberg...don't say it...
All right...I will...a Nobel Peace Prize for everyone!
Friday, March 13, 2015
MediaCopp? For Net Neutrality? Nooooooo...
I really have no idea what to write this week...I am sad...very sad for this country...I believe we are more divided than ever and I don't see how we can ever come to any sort of resolution...well, actually, I do...but I wonder if we are at a stage where we'd be willing to put in the hard work. I don't see how more marches are appropriate, as our president mentioned in his Selma speech last weekend...especially not after two more police officers were shot (non-life threatening, thank God) just last night as they stood in Ferguson, MO to protect the peace during another demonstration.
I'm not even sure if it's appropriate to articulate my ideas for bringing the country together...I fear it will be ill-received by both sides. Actually, that's the main problem...both sides...there needs to be ONE SIDE...until we understand that, I fear even my musings will be as ineffectual as our president's. However, not being one to shy away from presenting my point of view, I will continue...
First of all, the media...the media needs to stop stoking the flames of hatred and division. There are ways to sell your "product." But there are also ways to present facts without "product." Maybe THAT should be the government's job...there are PIO's (public information officers)...who present facts in a non-partisan, non-opinionated way...just put it out there WITHOUT any commentary. Then, at the same time, ALL other "news" outlets become entertainment programs (they pretty much are anyway), with NO HARD NEWS OF ANY KIND.
Why should CBS, NBC, ABC, etc. be given ANY sort of credibility over or above any other entity? Same goes for CNN, PBS, Fox New, or (even) MSNBC...they aren't news sources. At least as a country, we can agree on this, can't we? Now, many would say I'm putting the cart before the horse; that the media is simply a reflection of our divisive society. Maybe 20-30, even 40 years ago, that might have been true...but in this (instant) information age, I think it's media outlets which form, even conjure, the news to fit their own agenda.
"Agenda? What the hell kind of agenda would a bunch of cub reporters have?" Buck, this isn't the Daily Planet and these "reporters" aren't Clark Kent and Lois Lane. These are multi-national, multi-faceted mega-corporations who answer solely to their investors and stockholders, with little if any regard for truth, let alone public information. They will not be dissuaded from continuing their agenda driven, hyperbolic-laden content until we ALL...COLLECTIVELY...decide they are no longer news, but simply entertainment...
There's that word again...collectively...I know I've railed against our loss of individual freedom and autonomy in deference to the collective...but here's your chance to show me how wrong I am...and how collectivism is the way to go...even Net Neutrality...if it's truly a means of removing ideology from information, who could be against that? Unfortunately, when government gets involved in picking winners and losers in the name of fairness (and in this case neutrality), they usually end up making things far worse.
Even I, me, myself, have several friends with whom I regularly exchange ideas, discuss topics, etc. through Facebook, Twitter, even this blog. For the most part, these discussions are lively, oft-times heated, but generally respectful. I believe THIS passes for news better and more efficiently than what is called "news" today. At the very least, they (we) should be on the same plane, with no more legitimacy and certainly no less legitimacy than the networks...oops, there I go again, talking about the individual...sorry...
I'm not even sure if it's appropriate to articulate my ideas for bringing the country together...I fear it will be ill-received by both sides. Actually, that's the main problem...both sides...there needs to be ONE SIDE...until we understand that, I fear even my musings will be as ineffectual as our president's. However, not being one to shy away from presenting my point of view, I will continue...
First of all, the media...the media needs to stop stoking the flames of hatred and division. There are ways to sell your "product." But there are also ways to present facts without "product." Maybe THAT should be the government's job...there are PIO's (public information officers)...who present facts in a non-partisan, non-opinionated way...just put it out there WITHOUT any commentary. Then, at the same time, ALL other "news" outlets become entertainment programs (they pretty much are anyway), with NO HARD NEWS OF ANY KIND.
Why should CBS, NBC, ABC, etc. be given ANY sort of credibility over or above any other entity? Same goes for CNN, PBS, Fox New, or (even) MSNBC...they aren't news sources. At least as a country, we can agree on this, can't we? Now, many would say I'm putting the cart before the horse; that the media is simply a reflection of our divisive society. Maybe 20-30, even 40 years ago, that might have been true...but in this (instant) information age, I think it's media outlets which form, even conjure, the news to fit their own agenda.
"Agenda? What the hell kind of agenda would a bunch of cub reporters have?" Buck, this isn't the Daily Planet and these "reporters" aren't Clark Kent and Lois Lane. These are multi-national, multi-faceted mega-corporations who answer solely to their investors and stockholders, with little if any regard for truth, let alone public information. They will not be dissuaded from continuing their agenda driven, hyperbolic-laden content until we ALL...COLLECTIVELY...decide they are no longer news, but simply entertainment...
There's that word again...collectively...I know I've railed against our loss of individual freedom and autonomy in deference to the collective...but here's your chance to show me how wrong I am...and how collectivism is the way to go...even Net Neutrality...if it's truly a means of removing ideology from information, who could be against that? Unfortunately, when government gets involved in picking winners and losers in the name of fairness (and in this case neutrality), they usually end up making things far worse.
Even I, me, myself, have several friends with whom I regularly exchange ideas, discuss topics, etc. through Facebook, Twitter, even this blog. For the most part, these discussions are lively, oft-times heated, but generally respectful. I believe THIS passes for news better and more efficiently than what is called "news" today. At the very least, they (we) should be on the same plane, with no more legitimacy and certainly no less legitimacy than the networks...oops, there I go again, talking about the individual...sorry...
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Jon, you'll never have to say you're sorry ever again...
It seems as though I've tried to write about the word, "eventually" for several months now...I've given my word to try and help my readers navigate our "new" economy; however, each week, something seems to get in the way. Some of it is self inflicted (my vacation in Mexico), others because of my variety of interests (I just can't write about what bores me), and still other times it's because something happens in the news which I simply can't ignore...this week, that's certainly the case...
Today, I want to give highly regarded kudos to the abrupt retirement of the Daily Show's Jon Stewart. He will be missed and, even though his comedy was very politically partisan, he was usually able to keep comedy ahead of politics. As you know, Stewart is stepping down after 16 years at the helm of the four-times-a-week, half hour comedy (fake news) show on Comedy Central cable/satellite television network.
Many have said I'm envious of Stewart (and to a lesser extent Stephen Colbert, the former Comedy Central host soon to take over the Letterman gig), because people care what they think. No, that's not why...yes, I am envious...you bet... they get to do what I and almost every blogger would love to be able to do...give your opinion and, if everyone agrees, it's all good. If they don't, just give a quick wink and a nod and say, "hey, I'm just a comedian." But, even though it would be nice; that is, to get away with what they do, well, it's just too easy...and I get bored easily...
Could I do what Stewart does? Probably not...number one, I don't have that elitist mind set...and...I don't attempt to sway any person or group to my way of thinking...or to join my elite group. Many would say it's unfair to categorize Stewart as intentionally setting out to convert others, however I never claimed it was intentional. On the contrary, when Stewart took over the Daily Show , I'm sure he had no idea the show would become such a Cult of Personality.
Stewart is no Jim Jones...although quite frankly, a huge part of his audience DOES drink the Kool-Aid...and while Stewart is funny and thought provoking, he all too often goes for the easy laugh... I always imagined being a writer on the show must be, well, a lot of fun for sure, but also one of the easiest gigs imaginable. I'm sure the formula goes something like this...#1a, go for the "wink and a nod," for anything liberal and; #1b, go for the jugular if it pertains to conservatism...if the requisite laughter is not elicited, then #2a, re-emphasize your faux-outrage (and disappointment) or; #2b, blame the Republican Party...then if the response is still not up to standards; #3a, blame Fox News and; 3b, blame Fox News...
On more than a few occasions, Stewart has had to apologize for allowing his ideology to overtake his comedic purpose. He has even appeared on Fox News, and insisted "it's just a little comedy show," all the while ignoring that Fox News is just cable news and nothing compared to the major networks. Most of all though, if Stewart's show is just a little cable comedy gig...and his purpose IS only comedy, why would he have to apologize? After all, the magic of liberalism IS never having to say you're sorry...
Today, I want to give highly regarded kudos to the abrupt retirement of the Daily Show's Jon Stewart. He will be missed and, even though his comedy was very politically partisan, he was usually able to keep comedy ahead of politics. As you know, Stewart is stepping down after 16 years at the helm of the four-times-a-week, half hour comedy (fake news) show on Comedy Central cable/satellite television network.
Many have said I'm envious of Stewart (and to a lesser extent Stephen Colbert, the former Comedy Central host soon to take over the Letterman gig), because people care what they think. No, that's not why...yes, I am envious...you bet... they get to do what I and almost every blogger would love to be able to do...give your opinion and, if everyone agrees, it's all good. If they don't, just give a quick wink and a nod and say, "hey, I'm just a comedian." But, even though it would be nice; that is, to get away with what they do, well, it's just too easy...and I get bored easily...
Could I do what Stewart does? Probably not...number one, I don't have that elitist mind set...and...I don't attempt to sway any person or group to my way of thinking...or to join my elite group. Many would say it's unfair to categorize Stewart as intentionally setting out to convert others, however I never claimed it was intentional. On the contrary, when Stewart took over the Daily Show , I'm sure he had no idea the show would become such a Cult of Personality.
Stewart is no Jim Jones...although quite frankly, a huge part of his audience DOES drink the Kool-Aid...and while Stewart is funny and thought provoking, he all too often goes for the easy laugh... I always imagined being a writer on the show must be, well, a lot of fun for sure, but also one of the easiest gigs imaginable. I'm sure the formula goes something like this...#1a, go for the "wink and a nod," for anything liberal and; #1b, go for the jugular if it pertains to conservatism...if the requisite laughter is not elicited, then #2a, re-emphasize your faux-outrage (and disappointment) or; #2b, blame the Republican Party...then if the response is still not up to standards; #3a, blame Fox News and; 3b, blame Fox News...
On more than a few occasions, Stewart has had to apologize for allowing his ideology to overtake his comedic purpose. He has even appeared on Fox News, and insisted "it's just a little comedy show," all the while ignoring that Fox News is just cable news and nothing compared to the major networks. Most of all though, if Stewart's show is just a little cable comedy gig...and his purpose IS only comedy, why would he have to apologize? After all, the magic of liberalism IS never having to say you're sorry...
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