“I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here four thousand years ago. I want to know that. I really do, because she’s going to have the nuclear codes.” [AP Video]
Category Archives: Politics & Government
Terry Heaton: Media Elitism
Terry Heaton takes a thoughtful look at the charge the media has a liberal bias. I’ve pulled two paragraphs from his thoughtful essay:
“I believe the press is inherently biased towards a liberal perspective, because educated people, among other things, are generally more exposed to the value of tolerance than those who are not. Chesterton wrote that “Tolerance is the virtue of people who don’t believe anything,” and that is a core component of conservative thinking. It’s not that conservatives aren’t tolerant; it’s just that it isn’t elevated to the status of core value as it is with liberals.”
“One issue I do see is that because conservatives are predisposed to law-abiding and put faith in hierarchy, they are more open to direction from the top. In that sense, the qualities and character of the person at the top are critical.”
“Conservatives ride the wind of the esoteric when it comes to certain issues, but liberals have their feet firmly planted on the ground and in the middle of those issues. In this sense, the two never talk with each other, because they’re not even in the same space.”
Which reminds me why I decided to stop discussing politics. A vow I quickly broke but now renew. It’s like getting off crack.
“The Vagina Factor”
Today I heard –for the first time– the phrase: “The Vagina Factor.” I’m sure there are more thoughtful explanations but this is the one that googled up for me:
“Its essentially saying that women really don’t follow nor care about
the issues as much as they’re just dying to vote VAGINA!!!!!!”
I mentioned this to Barb –who is very intelligent and very pro-choice (much loved by NARAL)– who replied: “I understand that.” So we now have “Yellow Dog Democrats” and “Vagina Republicans?”
Twittering politics
Good piece at washingtonpost.com on how folks are using Twitter to cover politics. A couple of nuggets from Slate’s John Dickerson:
“If I have a thought that occurs to me, I’ll fire it off,” Dickerson says. “Sometimes it ends up being the lead of a piece, or the notion a piece gets framed around.” At the same time, he says, “there’s an element of narcissism and class clownery. A wisecrack comes into your head and you want to share it.”
Huffington Post’s Rachel Sklar:
“posting my real-time thoughts, impressions and wisecracks without having to worry about fleshing them out for a proper blog post. Working within that 140-character limit — and still managing to get out your observation, your comment, your setup and punch line or what have you — is great training for a writer.”
After a slow start, I’ve come to rely on –and enjoy– Twitter almost as much as blogging. You can follow my Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/smaysdotcom. You’ll need to set up an account but it’s free and takes about 2 min.
Rednecks for Obama
Everything WILL be different
You know that scene in the old horror movies where one of the female characters is hysterical and the female lead slaps her to snap her out of it? That’s what came to mind reading this post by Dave Winer, explaining why Barack Obama does, in fact, represent change. The entire post is must-read for Obama supporters, but here’s my favorite idea:
“Think of it like this. One day you’re using Windows and wake up the next day and all your computers are running Mac OS X. It’s still a computer. It’s still fundamentally the same experience. But it works a bit more logically, and you don’t get in trouble as often. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a bit better.”
I’ve been put off by some of Obama’s recent moves, and people are lining up to tell me, “See!? See!? He’s no different! He’s just another politician! Don’t you feel like a chump now?”
Actually, I feel more like the father who’s son keeps getting the shit kicked out of him on the playground and finally gets up and kicks the bigger kid in the balls. Playing nice only works when everyone is doing it.
If the only change we get from Obama is he’s not Bush… that will be enough.
“Candidates for Sale”
I’ve said on more than one occasion that Matt Taibbi is my favorite political reporter. I tend to believe the things he writes. And his latest piece in Rolling Stone makes my stomach hurt. Here’s the short version:
“For all the excitement that Barack Obama has garnered, and all the talk about a new day in Washington, it would be tragic if the real legacy of his election victory was to finally expose the essentially unchanging, oligarchic nature of our political system. It’s the same old story: Money talks, and bullshit walks. And don’t be surprised if we’re the ones still walking after November.”
I’m not ready to flush my hope for Obama yet, but I promised I’d own my support for the guy. And do it here.
Jarvis: “Covering conventions a waste”
“Forbes.com reports that the number of journalists covering the conventions this fall will remain at the same level as 2004 and 2000: 15,000 of them. What a waste. The outcome of the conventions is known. There will be no news. Why are these news organizations sending so many staffers there?
Ego. That’s it, pure ad simple: Our man in Denver. Instead of your woman. It’s for bylines, bylines the public couldn’t care less about. The coverage will be no different outlet to outlet. We can watch it all ourselves on C-SPAN.
The conventions aren’t news. Anymore they are only staged events to get media coverage. And it works. But it’s not for the public good that they’re covered.
Don’t try to feed me that line about how they’ll be covering their local delegations. Their local delegations never make news — not since 1968 anyway — and their actions couldn’t be more predictable, less newsworthy. If you want to cover the locals, cover them at home — before the event. But you still won’t get any news from them.” — BuzzMachine
Ouch. That’s a little close to home. Each of our networks send reporters to the Big Show. I’ll leave it to the real journalists to argue Jarvis’ point.
I will offer one other rational for sending a reporter to the convention. It’s kind of cool. I know, I know… it’s a hell of a lot of work… certainly no vacation. But for reporters below the national level, getting to go to a Big Event like this is something of a spiff. There I said it. Now where did I put my Shit Storm helmet?
Bush declines to slap Misty May-Treanor’s bikinied butt
“Defending gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh gave (President Bush) some (volleyball) pointers. Then after a good play, in the tradition of female volleyballers, Misty May-Treanor turned, bent over slightly and offered her bikinied rear-end for the 43rd president to slap. “Mr. President,” she said, “want to?” — From LA Times Top of the Ticket blog
Can Congress tweet?
“A political spat erupted in Washington, D.C., earlier this month over rules governing how members of Congress may use the Internet. House Republicans argued that proposed changes to the rules amounted to “new government censorship of the Internet,” while Democrats said the charges were exaggerated. Whichever side is right or wrong, the fact remains that current rules governing official communications prohibit members of Congress from using video-sharing or social networking sites like YouTube, Flickr, or Facebook. As a result, many House members, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), are currently in violation of the rules.
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), a pioneer in using new media to communicate with constituents, sounded the alarm over the new rules via Twitter. Culberson has made a name for himself twittering from the House floor, broadcasting live video from the White House using Qik, and hosting regular “town hall” meetings using live video-streaming and chat on Ustream.
In a later statement, Culberson argued that new media should not be treated any differently than old. “When I am interviewed for a newspaper article or a television story, or have a conversation on a radio show, my interview/conversation is going to appear in the same publication/broadcast as a campaign or commercial ad,” he said. — Ars Technica