Beyond Mud Slinging?
Senator John McCain's selection of Alaskan Governor Palin as his running mate has led to a sickening array of political garbage flooding the twenty four hour news channels and set off a storm of liberal bloggers desperately seeking fault in every word uttered, any action taken, and any impure thought that has come from or near this woman. The pettiness has stooped as low as ridiculing her parenting skills to deeming her immoral because of a decades old DUI charge against her husband. Some morons have even published her social security number in hopes that their minions will audit her personal life and find any possible missteps to pounce on.Palin is not the only recipient of such political debauchery in this election cycle. McCain is an immoral womanizer who has been disrespected and mocked for his commendable contributions and service to our country and Obama has been labeled as an American flag burning Islamic extremist with a wife who inconceivably hates America more than him. This is beyond mud slinging. We are now feces-heaving primates with a myopic goal of achieving victory against our opponents in battles occurring news cycle to news cycle. If elections are supposed to represent our patriotic and civic duty to determine a desirable direction for our country, I am simply disgraced at what lies ahead.
The political landscape has turned to a baroque composition of villains all claiming to be heroes: wolves in sheep's clothing. Whoever we, the American people, deem to be our biggest nemeses loses. We cast our votes on emotional impulse, rather than a logical decision. Each party is a shady used car salesman. They will compensate the poor quality of their product by deceiving you into making an emotional purchase, a purchase that you regret making every time it breaks down and you discover the faulty parts it was compiled from. But the sad part is we only have two car lots to choose from, each pushing the same sub par automobiles. Even though one car is red and the other car is blue, they both are dysfunctional.
Our candidates no longer stand on top of platforms; they wrestle in pits while the media stands around yelling "fight, fight, fight, fight." Maybe that's really all this country wants; an expensive playground scuffle. That's a questions I won't dare to explore.
REACTIONSAscending | Descending
Thursday, 04 September 2008
The great days of the Colosseum but without the swords and tigers.
I wonder if the media chooses to cover the feces slinging because they know their target audience is mentally crippled. If tabloids make so much money reporting celebrity scandals, it says something about the people that give their money to them. Maybe that market is a strong target for public news, no matter if it is cspan, nbc or whatever. Like the two car lots selling dysfunctional cars. The people with the intelligence to wade past that tabloid crap probably do, but because they can, there's no reason not to report the garbage first and foremost for the idiots that demand something to complain about.
There is a possibility those people that feed into this kind of news are not even voting.
The hippie liberals will waste their votes on some third party, even if there isn't one. In this case, they hand the car lot a bundle of cash and ask them to call when the yellow one comes in. The yellow one that's beyond dysfunctional and never even got to the lot.
Obviously this is not accurate and in jest, but the point is that the people that are really listening will see and hear past the noise. It is just unfortunate that the rest of the full grown, vote able public can't sit the F down and watch the show instead of poking each other and complaining about what's on.
They went full retard.
I wonder if the media chooses to cover the feces slinging because they know their target audience is mentally crippled. If tabloids make so much money reporting celebrity scandals, it says something about the people that give their money to them. Maybe that market is a strong target for public news, no matter if it is cspan, nbc or whatever. Like the two car lots selling dysfunctional cars. The people with the intelligence to wade past that tabloid crap probably do, but because they can, there's no reason not to report the garbage first and foremost for the idiots that demand something to complain about.
There is a possibility those people that feed into this kind of news are not even voting.
The hippie liberals will waste their votes on some third party, even if there isn't one. In this case, they hand the car lot a bundle of cash and ask them to call when the yellow one comes in. The yellow one that's beyond dysfunctional and never even got to the lot.
Obviously this is not accurate and in jest, but the point is that the people that are really listening will see and hear past the noise. It is just unfortunate that the rest of the full grown, vote able public can't sit the F down and watch the show instead of poking each other and complaining about what's on.
They went full retard.
Thursday, 04 September 2008
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sa rah-palin-gender-card
trythe daily show for the best coverage calling the bullshit what it is....my problem is with the overall level of hypocrisy from so many people in a position to speak publicly, be it media figures or polititians...how do they sleep at night, where is the accountability, their social responsibility, lies are lies...don't do it...
trythe daily show for the best coverage calling the bullshit what it is....my problem is with the overall level of hypocrisy from so many people in a position to speak publicly, be it media figures or polititians...how do they sleep at night, where is the accountability, their social responsibility, lies are lies...don't do it...
Thursday, 04 September 2008
The problem boils down to the monetizing of news. A few decades ago television news was an Island of respectability and balance. Think Edward R Murrow and Walter Cronkite. Newspapers were actually profitable and reporters were paid to report news, not candidates affairs (which they politely stayed away from). Over time the news shows have been forced to compete for ratings with the rest of the network drivel and the papers have had to cut back to the point where journalism now means only the stories that sell papers.
Enter the Internet. Can journalism be saved?
Enter the Internet. Can journalism be saved?
Thursday, 04 September 2008
the truly disheartening thing is that these things have always been commercial enterprises, so when did the dollars rob the individuals of their integrity, their moral imperative to be journalists? where did those folks go? were they all replaced with automatons that will say whatever the teleprompter says without thinking?
on the political front, seeing all these experienced, public servants and otherwise sucessful captains of industry march in front of the reporters supporting Palin and/or any party talking points to the absolute extreme as experienced enough to handle the potential jobs she is being put up for when, you know in their minds they must be saying " what the fuck" ....it destroys their own credibility....when did realistic judgement, honest opinion, shades of gray get completely chased out of the public discussion?
can the internet save anything? it's advantage and it's curse is that it is so fractured....so many voices...it becomes a din....so easy to diseminate good and bad truth and lies....do we pay attention or is it all going to become TMZ?
on the political front, seeing all these experienced, public servants and otherwise sucessful captains of industry march in front of the reporters supporting Palin and/or any party talking points to the absolute extreme as experienced enough to handle the potential jobs she is being put up for when, you know in their minds they must be saying " what the fuck" ....it destroys their own credibility....when did realistic judgement, honest opinion, shades of gray get completely chased out of the public discussion?
can the internet save anything? it's advantage and it's curse is that it is so fractured....so many voices...it becomes a din....so easy to diseminate good and bad truth and lies....do we pay attention or is it all going to become TMZ?
Thursday, 04 September 2008
Can journalism be saved? From what? And, more puzzling, does journalism want to be saved? Most of the 'old school' class of 'gentleman' reporters are either dead or retired, and the current elders have been in the new game so long that they are more likely unable to change their spots. The rest of the pack seemingly do not know of a different way, and since the rules have been rewritten to make news secondary to ratings/money, what incentive does the media have to go back to respectability and balance? Even if a reporter wants to maintain a higher standard, the surrounding high tide of low cravings is e'er unchanging. Furthermore, the empowerment of the common man as a new face of news reporting has been a damned blessing. We get to hear about an awful lot of news that probably would go unnoticed, but we get to hear a lot more news that probably should go unnoticed. Non-political case in point: Britney Spears. Her celebrity status went up and down with her perceived usefulness as a pop star and pinup girl, but she rapidly devolved into the white trash neighbor everybody talks about at the backyard barbecue, or the car wreck on the highway at which everyone wants to slow down and gander, staring just long enough to get a good peek and see if any parts are torn out of order. Today's news, more than ever before, serves our hankering for Bad News and Worse News, especially where it applies to someone else, and as such it performs a valuable, oft-despicable, service. Until the demand changes, the supply is going to increase. I think the internet just lessens the market value of real news, giving the people all they can eat from a McDonald's buffet trough.
Friday, 05 September 2008
In some capacities, the internet has made it worst.
Sure it has opened to door for information to be readily accessible. Just think, if it wasn't for McCain and Obama having websites, we would never really know what their plans were. And of course we have the citizen journalism like on Brink that allows people with viewpoints that don't fit into the MSM agenda to reach at least some sort of audience. But at the same time the internet has convoluted fact from fiction and has many times been primarily responsible for the spreading of ridiculous rumors.
In the end I say it is up to us. The truth is out there, we just need to find it. We have to carry ourselves with the honor our reporters are supposed to and look at everything objectively and unbiased and make an educated decision based on all sides of the story.
I am thrilled to live in the internet age because I have that power, but it still doesn't stop me from being agitated with the way the political process (or quite simply the news process) has evolved.
Sure it has opened to door for information to be readily accessible. Just think, if it wasn't for McCain and Obama having websites, we would never really know what their plans were. And of course we have the citizen journalism like on Brink that allows people with viewpoints that don't fit into the MSM agenda to reach at least some sort of audience. But at the same time the internet has convoluted fact from fiction and has many times been primarily responsible for the spreading of ridiculous rumors.
In the end I say it is up to us. The truth is out there, we just need to find it. We have to carry ourselves with the honor our reporters are supposed to and look at everything objectively and unbiased and make an educated decision based on all sides of the story.
I am thrilled to live in the internet age because I have that power, but it still doesn't stop me from being agitated with the way the political process (or quite simply the news process) has evolved.
Friday, 05 September 2008
When you don't agree with it, it's mud. When you agree with it, it's justified criticism.
But let's look at it another way -- a bipartisan way, I hope. The President of the United States of America is subject to more scrutiny and criticism than any other government official in the world. I think it's a test of a good president to see how they react to the mud and poop flinging. Can they rise above it? Can they defend themselves without appearing defensive? Can they put their critics in their place without seeming mean and vindictive?
Now let's get partisan. The Republicans have had the most vicious political attack machine in the world -- courtesy of Karl Rove and his pals -- for the past eight years. They were effective in making a war hero (Kerry) appear to be a fraud (utter bullshit, btw) and a visionary progressive thinker (Gore, now a Nobel Prize winner) to be some kind of moonstruck daydreamer. These guys have been ruthless -- and wrong! Now the poor Republicans are whining that the Democrats are playing dirty by pointing out the hypocrisy of McCain's choice for VP. An she's such an easy target! She combines backward religious intolerance with pandering to the rich and powerful in her state -- all the while unable to to look after her own brood of the Alaskan equivalent of hillbillies and rednecks.
If I am wrong, then the McCain-Palin campaign should be able to defend itself calmly and rationally against such horrible insinuations -- without whining and crying foul, without the absurd claim that any criticism of Palin is sexist, and any criticism of N=McCain is unpatriotic because he was a prisoner-of-war.
But if I am right, then McCain -- demonstrating such bad judgment in choosing a running mate -- should NEVER become President. And Palin -- being such a ultra-right-wing reactionary -- should NEVER be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
I'm Jim Parks and I approve this message. :)
But let's look at it another way -- a bipartisan way, I hope. The President of the United States of America is subject to more scrutiny and criticism than any other government official in the world. I think it's a test of a good president to see how they react to the mud and poop flinging. Can they rise above it? Can they defend themselves without appearing defensive? Can they put their critics in their place without seeming mean and vindictive?
Now let's get partisan. The Republicans have had the most vicious political attack machine in the world -- courtesy of Karl Rove and his pals -- for the past eight years. They were effective in making a war hero (Kerry) appear to be a fraud (utter bullshit, btw) and a visionary progressive thinker (Gore, now a Nobel Prize winner) to be some kind of moonstruck daydreamer. These guys have been ruthless -- and wrong! Now the poor Republicans are whining that the Democrats are playing dirty by pointing out the hypocrisy of McCain's choice for VP. An she's such an easy target! She combines backward religious intolerance with pandering to the rich and powerful in her state -- all the while unable to to look after her own brood of the Alaskan equivalent of hillbillies and rednecks.
If I am wrong, then the McCain-Palin campaign should be able to defend itself calmly and rationally against such horrible insinuations -- without whining and crying foul, without the absurd claim that any criticism of Palin is sexist, and any criticism of N=McCain is unpatriotic because he was a prisoner-of-war.
But if I am right, then McCain -- demonstrating such bad judgment in choosing a running mate -- should NEVER become President. And Palin -- being such a ultra-right-wing reactionary -- should NEVER be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
I'm Jim Parks and I approve this message. :)
Friday, 05 September 2008
I have gotten to a point where I can't stand anybody who whole-heatedly believes in one of the two parties. Quit being politically "color-blind" and recognize the shambles our government has turned into because of both parties. The Republicans are no longer true conservatives and just pander to the rich while the Democratic party is now primarily controlled by San Francisco style ultra-liberals who desire a socialist society, far removed from what our forefathers established.
I am glad to see a libertarian uprising, but there will never be enough wind in those sails. In the end, I must decide who I will vote for based on fear of who will sink the country more.
I am glad to see a libertarian uprising, but there will never be enough wind in those sails. In the end, I must decide who I will vote for based on fear of who will sink the country more.
Friday, 05 September 2008
i tend to agree with your first sentance, but do question the perceptions that follow. when were republicans "true conservatives" and where have you heard of this socialist society....please don't believe the hype....fire departments are a good idea, police departments are a good idea, there certainly is a socialist aspect to those public services-wouldn't there be other such services that can benifit the public good? i don't think i have ever heard a mainstream american polititian speak of eliminating private property or the ability to pursue a profit in a free market....i think the nuance beyond the titles is important and what the ideas put forth really mean and their potential impact on society is where the rubber meets the road. good ideas can come from any sector and should be embraced and batted around in the context of the idea and not which party platform claims ownership....the polorization of both major parties certainly is disconcerting and i do hope we can get past that, unfortunately, i do not think that is possible with the republican's in control (and it may not happen with democrats in control-but at this point i am certainly willing to give then a chance)
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