Real Death on Reality TV

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > NBC Reality Show Contestant Kills Himself

This isn't the first time that a reality show contestant has killed himself, but it will be interesting to see how publicity about this guy's death will affect ratings. Now we can all sit on the couch and watch a man's final days, analyzing his behaviour to see if there was any sign, any indication of his fragile state. We can share in his soul-crushing pain, wishing someone did something to save his life, or cynically scorn him for his weakness and cowardice. Oh how exhilirating! Real Death on TV, finally!

Bush says, "bring 'em on" ??!

Stan Goff: "Bring 'Em On?"

It's becoming clear to me that Bush's "bring 'em on" may be the soundbite that sticks the most to him. His presidency has been an utter disaster, it appears as though his handlers have decided to drive it into the ground by going for the "third rail"-- after all, what do they have to lose? The "rapture right" are all riled up and running amok, torturing us all with their lunacy every night on TV, as well as those poor souls who are unfortunate enough to become pawns for this so-called "culture war". Yes, the "culture of life" has truly reversed completely with the left's supposed "culture of death". Such strong words made empty...

Bush will go down as the cowboy president that told the world to go fuck themselves. And they did.

Countries that were once centre-stage, getting attention and care and the support of an optimistic world, are now completely ignored in their most horrendous moments of their history. Corruption is rampant the world round since 9-11. And the US sets the standard.

Bush has had some of the worst soundbites on record. "Bring 'em on" is pretty ugly given the damage the Iraq war has done to the American reputation, not to mention the lives of so many victims on both sides. Easy for you to say, Junior.

Calling the war on terror a "crusade" was also just about the worst thing you could possibly say. Showcases both unforgiveable ignorance and political incompetence at the same time. The news cycle has been too fast to keep that one in the minds of the American public, but really, given our current situation, the president should probably be the last person to suggest that American military efforts are part of a plan to invade countries and convert them to Christianity. It's like Ann Coulter has a line straight to the Oval Office. And how scary is that??

What the left should be doing right now is going for Bush's throat. Bush is an absolute disaster, and the "homeland" has been safe for long enough that people are able to focus on domestic issues. So while the prez is harping about social security, the democrats really need to illustrate how completely ludicrous the republican "plan" truly is. It's obvious that the idea is to reduce the size of government. That's the only goal. But people are too sucked into the debate and all the details, with so many blowhards on both side constantly muddying the waters.

All anyone really needs to know is that Bush's team is trying to turn America into a free-market free-for-all. Bush's presidency has been totally consistent in one way: he's not afraid to do anything. He's not afraid to do things that would be political suicide for anyone else at any other time. He really is a spoiled boy-King. Doesn't want to hear bad news, and doesn't care if his people hate him.

The democrats need to point out how the "grand plan", the neo-con vision, is not in the best interests of the US or the rest of the world. It is about time that people become to know what it means to be a neo-con. The Project for a New American Century has been out long enough, that people should understand the vision of those that are running things. The neo-cons think that the US should be running the world in basically every possible way. Is that what you believe too?

political comedy continued

I have to add something to my previous post about not finding Janeane Garofalo funny.

I found her a bit funny today, and I think it's because I'm as outraged as she is about the events of late. This Terry Shiavo case is an absolute shame and a sin and places lefty comics and pundits in pretty solid position to knock it out of the park. I can find the comedy in it because to me this is a case where I agree wholeheartedly with Garofalo's position. It's a given. So given that given, I can laugh about the ridiculous position the radical right is taking. Torturing the incapacitated for political gain-- what could be more disgusting?

political tides continued

If you can tell anything about the political climate from left-wing talk radio it's that there really insn't any difference between them and their right-wing predecessors. All the distortions and dirty tricks that once came from Limbaugh and Hannity will undoubtedly show up in the liberal media over the next while. And by "liberal media" I mean the liberal media, not the so-called-liberal-media. The media is not liberal, but it may very well get a bit more liberal in the near future-- after all, until recently there was no such thing as Air America, and all the lefty pundits were in the comedy clubs.

So if left-wing media take off as I expect they should, eventually we'll again reach a saturation point where it might actually be reasonable to complain about "liberal media" in some situations. Wouldn't that be nice? Unfortunately, the right has been complaining about that for so long that people actually believe it is true right now.

Another observation which falls under this same pattern: Some right-winger called in and called Randy Rhodes "hateful". Ah, I remember the days when we used to call the pundits hateful...

The world is truly upside down.

the turning of the political tide and political comedy

Today, listening to Randy Rhodes on Air America, interesting media effect is revealed to me. Her monologue is really good today; it's loaded with information and she's effectively linking together tons of the horror stories of the right-wing over the last little while. No pauses, no repetition, just Limbaugh-esque railroading, lefty-style.

It's interesting that Rhodes is supposedly a "comedian", or at least that her show is for "entertainment". I never found her all that funny before, but it seems like today she's not too worried about being funny, she's just ranting like Limbaugh.

It strikes me that all of the so-called satirists out there right now, are totally subject to the political tides. Now that Bush has been returned to the White House, all the droves of lefty comics will likely continue to slide away from satire and towards punditry. Remember when Janeane Garofalo was funny? I do like her, but I don't remember the last time she made me laugh. And it's not her fault either, it's just that the stuff she cares about just isn't funny anymore.

I noticed before that the political environment has turned comics into pundits, but it is striking how much further into punditry these comics continue to drift. It seems like the pattern is following very closely behind the growth of right-wing punditry during the Clinton years. People like to hear that kind of extreme opinion, because it makes them feel more normal. Extreme opinions make slightly less extreme opinions acceptable.

So as the political tide turns back to democratic values (which I think is inevitable, given our current trajectory) I expect to see a continuation of this pattern. We'll know when we're getting back on track when people crack jokes they heard on the radio about conflict of interest, government waste and corruption, corporate criminals and presidential nepotism. Checks and balances. Freedom of speech and social justice.

I don't know what would have to happen for us to be able to talk about that stuff honestly again.

categories

I swiped this from Ted to test out whether I could get some version of categories working on my blog.

We'll see if it works. Here goes:

Categories: categories, tags, blogging

The Obsolescence of Truth

Does the internet make truth obsolete?

In the information age, where facts are endlessly available-- just awaiting someone's effort to find them and form an opinion-- does it matter more what is true, or what is thought to be true?

Considering that a majority of Americans believe in UFOs, isn't that more significant in the long run than whether or not UFOs exist? I mean, rationally speaking, if UFOs have never visited the earth, by definition, their existence (or non-existence) has had less impact on our lives than the belief of their existence. The fact that their existence cannot be proven false is more important than the fact that it also cannot be proven true.

The fact that God cannot be proven to exist is also the reason why so many people worship God. It is something inalienable by nature-- a belief that cannot be proven false. If one believes strongly enough, it provides the foundation for oneself, knowing one thing to be absolutely true, in a world where nothing is really true.

Because in life, truth ultimately does not matter.

It used to matter more, however. When great truths were found, they spread like wildfair across the earth. Everyone knew them to be true, and great battles were fought where the truth was in dispute. It was so obvious to each side that they were the holder of truth, and not the heathens to the north/south/east/west.

Today the truth sits splayed out for all to see but refuse to acknowledge. Truth has become the elephant in the room for the entire globe.

With no excuse to be ignorant, how much devotion to truth-seeking should we expect from each other? It's hard work finding the truth, when it's available at the touch of a button. It truly is easier to be ignorant.

View from Above - Why the Canadian Perspective Matters

Former Foreign Affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy writes an open letter to Condi Rice and tells her what's what.

It is very striking to hear prominent Canadians giving voice to what so many up here see as being self-evident. Contrast this with mainstream American news and it is clear that the divide between our perspectives is widening. Unburdened by the nasty political climate in the States, Canadians offer a clear view of the U.S. from just outside her borders. And because we speak the same language and share the same values, our voice could carry great weight in the international arena. Americans would do well to listen to their neighbour to the north.