... or is the re-lie-ability?
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Glenn Beck Logic ... perfect
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Monday, November 16, 2009
Experts have described the situation as the worst mass poisoning of a population in history
from Discover
It was a twisted cycle: In the 1970s, Bangladeshis used surface ponds or rivers to collect rainwater for drinking. But thanks to garbage dumping and sewage, that water became a breeding ground for disease. So UNICEF sought to fix the problem—the agency helped residents drill simple wells that drew water from a shallow aquifer. But this remedy became a tragedy. Bangladesh’s groundwater was laced with arsenic. Now, in a study in Nature Geoscience, a team from MIT has answered one of the outstanding pieces of the Bangladesh puzzle: Just how all that arsenic got into the water in the first place.
Bangladesh occupies the flood-prone delta of the river Ganges [New Scientist], and that river brought the arsenic to the region’s sediments. But why doesn’t it just stay in the sediments once it’s there? Back in 2002, another MIT team began to answer the question by showing that microbes digest organic carbon in the soil in such a way that frees up the arsenic, but they couldn’t say where that carbon itself came from until Rebecca Neumann and colleagues figured it out this year: man-made ponds left behind by excavations.
Read the rest in Discover after the click ...
My comment: How can "the worst mass poisoning of a population in history" escape the notice of the world press? Probably because Bangladesh doesn't have anything that anyone anywhere else in the world covets ... like oil or other minerals. Gotta have something that someone else wants if you want someone else to be interested in your plight. Otherwise, you're on your own ...
It was a twisted cycle: In the 1970s, Bangladeshis used surface ponds or rivers to collect rainwater for drinking. But thanks to garbage dumping and sewage, that water became a breeding ground for disease. So UNICEF sought to fix the problem—the agency helped residents drill simple wells that drew water from a shallow aquifer. But this remedy became a tragedy. Bangladesh’s groundwater was laced with arsenic. Now, in a study in Nature Geoscience, a team from MIT has answered one of the outstanding pieces of the Bangladesh puzzle: Just how all that arsenic got into the water in the first place.
Bangladesh occupies the flood-prone delta of the river Ganges [New Scientist], and that river brought the arsenic to the region’s sediments. But why doesn’t it just stay in the sediments once it’s there? Back in 2002, another MIT team began to answer the question by showing that microbes digest organic carbon in the soil in such a way that frees up the arsenic, but they couldn’t say where that carbon itself came from until Rebecca Neumann and colleagues figured it out this year: man-made ponds left behind by excavations.
Read the rest in Discover after the click ...
My comment: How can "the worst mass poisoning of a population in history" escape the notice of the world press? Probably because Bangladesh doesn't have anything that anyone anywhere else in the world covets ... like oil or other minerals. Gotta have something that someone else wants if you want someone else to be interested in your plight. Otherwise, you're on your own ...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Mythbusting Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism
1. These are just "lone wolf" psychos who are acting alone. You can't hold anybody else responsible for what crazy people decide to do.
True and false. But mostly false.
2. These terrorists are really left-wingers, not right-wingers. Because everybody knows that fascism is a phenomenon that only occurs on the left.
False does not even begin to cover the absurdity of this claim.
3. Public right-wing groups like Operation Rescue or the Minutemen don't advocate violence, so these acts have absolutely nothing to do with them.
False. ... these groups may not engage in violence themselves, but they do provide the narrative and worldview that convinces people that terrorism is the only available means of getting what they want
4. This is just a minority movement that isn't really capable of changing anything. We don't really need to worry about it.
False. And evidence of tremendous denial.
5. It's not fair to hold right-wing media talking heads responsible for the things their listeners might do.
Riiight.
6. All that crazy stuff you hear on the right -- you can find the left wing saying things just as bad. They're equally culpable for how bad it all its.
False. There is no equivalency whatsoever to be drawn here.
7. "Dial it down?" Don't you mean that you want to use the power of government to forcibly shut up right-wing hate talkers?
False. There are a few folks in Congress who tried to gin up support for some kind of legislation -- but progressives should resist this impulse, and denounce it as the shameless grandstanding that it is. We believe in the First Amendment. And if we compromise it now, we're no better than the Bush-era conservatives who were so eager to shred the Constitution when they felt threatened. We are better than that -- or should be.
8. But what you're suggesting is censorship! You're trying to censor free speech!
Oh, please.
9. What about that guy who shot the recruiters in Arkansas -- isn't that proof that the left wing is just as bad as the right?
False. I mean: really, really false.
... read the full demythification after the click
True and false. But mostly false.
2. These terrorists are really left-wingers, not right-wingers. Because everybody knows that fascism is a phenomenon that only occurs on the left.
False does not even begin to cover the absurdity of this claim.
3. Public right-wing groups like Operation Rescue or the Minutemen don't advocate violence, so these acts have absolutely nothing to do with them.
False. ... these groups may not engage in violence themselves, but they do provide the narrative and worldview that convinces people that terrorism is the only available means of getting what they want
4. This is just a minority movement that isn't really capable of changing anything. We don't really need to worry about it.
False. And evidence of tremendous denial.
5. It's not fair to hold right-wing media talking heads responsible for the things their listeners might do.
Riiight.
6. All that crazy stuff you hear on the right -- you can find the left wing saying things just as bad. They're equally culpable for how bad it all its.
False. There is no equivalency whatsoever to be drawn here.
7. "Dial it down?" Don't you mean that you want to use the power of government to forcibly shut up right-wing hate talkers?
False. There are a few folks in Congress who tried to gin up support for some kind of legislation -- but progressives should resist this impulse, and denounce it as the shameless grandstanding that it is. We believe in the First Amendment. And if we compromise it now, we're no better than the Bush-era conservatives who were so eager to shred the Constitution when they felt threatened. We are better than that -- or should be.
8. But what you're suggesting is censorship! You're trying to censor free speech!
Oh, please.
9. What about that guy who shot the recruiters in Arkansas -- isn't that proof that the left wing is just as bad as the right?
False. I mean: really, really false.
... read the full demythification after the click
Since when is a 63 percent approval rating a bad thing?
from Media Matters for Amerca
It's generally accepted that the news media obsess over horse-race political coverage at the expense of serious examinations of important issues. Media critics on the left, right, and in the middle tend to agree that there is too much focus on polling and not enough on policy, while many reporters seem proud of their focus on the game rather than the stakes. (Politico is, after all, called "Politico," not "Policy-o," and features blogs "on Politics," "on Hill intrigue," "on Gossip," and "on Campaigns" -- but not "on Policy." ABC News' senior White House correspondent calls his blog "Political Punch." And so on.)
The media's obsessive focus on politics does not, however, mean their political assessments are of a high quality. Remember David Broder's prediction that Hurricane Katrina would spark a recovery in George W. Bush's political standing? Or Matt Lauer's suggestion that Bush's poor approval ratings were a political blessing for the GOP? Chuck Todd's statement that if Democrats won control of Congress in November of 2006, Bush's approval rating would be above 50 by the following July? Katie Couric's suggestion that the Bush White House was "breathing a sigh of relief" in response to a poll in which Bush had an all-time low approval rating? Howard Fineman's late-2005 argument that Democrats, not Republicans, had reason to be gloomy about their electoral prospects? Calling the media's coverage of politics and policy "horse-race journalism" is an insult to horse-race journalism -- the Daily Racing Form isn't in the habit of advising readers to bet on the filly with the broken leg.
Not only does the media's keen interest in politics frequently fail to result in politically astute observations, there is also considerable evidence that they tend to overrate the Republicans' political skills -- and the public's predisposition to prefer the GOP.
... so read the rest after the click.Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Failure
Faux News transcript:
This is Mark Helmethair here with Suzy Whiteteeth, and our top story tonight is how Barack Obama has polarized the country. A new poll shows that people who still aren't embarrassed to be called Republicans actually don't like the Democratic president, while Democrats love him. This is polarizing! Polarizing, I tells ya! How will he manage to get anything done when the voters in the opposition party don't like him? I thought he promised on the campaign trail to personally ask every Southern white male their opinion before he did anything, but apparently this quote which I cannot seem to find a transcript of was all lies just to get elected. We really expected Barack Obama to have 80 to 90 percent approval for his entire presidency, and his numbers are falling woefully short of that modest goal. In fact, the country is still polarized and does not agree on Obama's political philosophy, meaning he can only be seen at this juncture as an abject failure.
... read more about Obama's failure after the click.
This is Mark Helmethair here with Suzy Whiteteeth, and our top story tonight is how Barack Obama has polarized the country. A new poll shows that people who still aren't embarrassed to be called Republicans actually don't like the Democratic president, while Democrats love him. This is polarizing! Polarizing, I tells ya! How will he manage to get anything done when the voters in the opposition party don't like him? I thought he promised on the campaign trail to personally ask every Southern white male their opinion before he did anything, but apparently this quote which I cannot seem to find a transcript of was all lies just to get elected. We really expected Barack Obama to have 80 to 90 percent approval for his entire presidency, and his numbers are falling woefully short of that modest goal. In fact, the country is still polarized and does not agree on Obama's political philosophy, meaning he can only be seen at this juncture as an abject failure.
... read more about Obama's failure after the click.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Still More "Wanna know why you think what your think?"
On the past three editions of MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski has relentlessly repeated the claim that funding for "welfare programs" and nutrition assistance included in the recovery bill is "not stimulus," even after CNBC anchor Erin Burnett cited Mark Zandi, the chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com, on the February 2 edition of the show, and said that "[f]or food stamps, that temporary increase, you put a dollar in there, you get about $1.73 out" and that for "[u]nemployment benefits, you get $1.63 per dollar. " Burnett also said: "So a lot of these measures, short-term, would increase spending. There's no question."
On the February 3 edition of Morning Joe, Brzezinski said of the recovery bill: "There's a lot of welfare in there. There's a lot of spending. It's not stimulus." Host Joe Scarborough replied: "We're the side of good Americans who are concerned about this package. We want a stimulus package." Brzezinski then added: "[President Barack Obama] may be the second coming, but the bill is not a stimulus package." When Scarborough later said, "We can do a lot of different things other than just spending money on old-style welfare programs," Brzezinski echoed, "Welfare programs," adding, "I'm all for food stamps, but why are they in this bill?"
... more on Media Matters after the click.
Hint: Mika, because it churns more money than just about any other vehicle open to stimulate the economy! Hungry people take their food stamps to the grocery store IMMEDIATELY and buy something. Giving a tax break to a wealthy person isn't going to get them to eat more. And it's really sad, because Mika is the smart one!
Republicans treat government "spending" (which should better be characterized as investment) as if the money was going to leave the planet. Infrastructural spending puts people to work. Food stamps puts people to work ... because it increased purchases at the local store allowing the store to buy more goods, which in turn means someone has to produce those goods and that means jobs. Increases in unemployment benefits creates more jobs, because people who have little money tend to spend what they have. They don't stash their money in off-shore accounts! They spend it! That spending creates demand ... demand drives production and increased production creates jobs ... a point lost on some who see "poor people" as simply a drag on the economy.
On the February 3 edition of Morning Joe, Brzezinski said of the recovery bill: "There's a lot of welfare in there. There's a lot of spending. It's not stimulus." Host Joe Scarborough replied: "We're the side of good Americans who are concerned about this package. We want a stimulus package." Brzezinski then added: "[President Barack Obama] may be the second coming, but the bill is not a stimulus package." When Scarborough later said, "We can do a lot of different things other than just spending money on old-style welfare programs," Brzezinski echoed, "Welfare programs," adding, "I'm all for food stamps, but why are they in this bill?"
... more on Media Matters after the click.
Hint: Mika, because it churns more money than just about any other vehicle open to stimulate the economy! Hungry people take their food stamps to the grocery store IMMEDIATELY and buy something. Giving a tax break to a wealthy person isn't going to get them to eat more. And it's really sad, because Mika is the smart one!
Republicans treat government "spending" (which should better be characterized as investment) as if the money was going to leave the planet. Infrastructural spending puts people to work. Food stamps puts people to work ... because it increased purchases at the local store allowing the store to buy more goods, which in turn means someone has to produce those goods and that means jobs. Increases in unemployment benefits creates more jobs, because people who have little money tend to spend what they have. They don't stash their money in off-shore accounts! They spend it! That spending creates demand ... demand drives production and increased production creates jobs ... a point lost on some who see "poor people" as simply a drag on the economy.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
More "Wanna know why you think what your think?"
from Media Matters
From the way the media have covered this week's stimulus package vote, you would think the goal of the legislation was to get Democrats and Republicans to sit together for lunch in the House cafeteria, rather than to turn around an economy in free fall.
After the House passed the stimulus package by a comfortable margin, much of the media reacted not by examining the bill's contents and the likelihood that it would provide a much-needed boost to the economy, but by focusing on the fact that it passed without a single Republican vote.
Why the GOP's unanimity in opposing the stimulus package should be surprising is anybody's guess; the last time we had a newly elected Democratic president, in 1993, congressional Republicans were unanimous in opposing his economic package, too. Then-Rep. John Kasich went so far as to promise that if Bill Clinton's plan worked, Kasich would switch parties. (It did; he didn't.) Point being: Congressional Republicans do not have a strong track record of working with Democratic presidents in recent memory. Perhaps because they were too busy trying to subpoena the White House cat.
Nonetheless, the Democrats' purported failure to get Republican support for the bill was, according to many reporters, the story.
... more of the story on Media Matters after the click.
Hint: The folks who bear the greatest responsibility for finding out what's actually going on and reporting back to us with the facts ... journalists ... when confronted by doing actual research, on one hand, and puffing up some small, sensational aspect of an issue, tend to kick back and take the easy way out. Politicians, aware of this, can spin the news, sure in the fact that no one is really paying attention to the important stuff. That's why we hear so much about the 1% chaff in the $800bn stimulus package while the other 99% goes unnoticed, unanalyzed and unreported.
From the way the media have covered this week's stimulus package vote, you would think the goal of the legislation was to get Democrats and Republicans to sit together for lunch in the House cafeteria, rather than to turn around an economy in free fall.
After the House passed the stimulus package by a comfortable margin, much of the media reacted not by examining the bill's contents and the likelihood that it would provide a much-needed boost to the economy, but by focusing on the fact that it passed without a single Republican vote.
Why the GOP's unanimity in opposing the stimulus package should be surprising is anybody's guess; the last time we had a newly elected Democratic president, in 1993, congressional Republicans were unanimous in opposing his economic package, too. Then-Rep. John Kasich went so far as to promise that if Bill Clinton's plan worked, Kasich would switch parties. (It did; he didn't.) Point being: Congressional Republicans do not have a strong track record of working with Democratic presidents in recent memory. Perhaps because they were too busy trying to subpoena the White House cat.
Nonetheless, the Democrats' purported failure to get Republican support for the bill was, according to many reporters, the story.
... more of the story on Media Matters after the click.
Hint: The folks who bear the greatest responsibility for finding out what's actually going on and reporting back to us with the facts ... journalists ... when confronted by doing actual research, on one hand, and puffing up some small, sensational aspect of an issue, tend to kick back and take the easy way out. Politicians, aware of this, can spin the news, sure in the fact that no one is really paying attention to the important stuff. That's why we hear so much about the 1% chaff in the $800bn stimulus package while the other 99% goes unnoticed, unanalyzed and unreported.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
In Recognition of Differences
The year of the ox
Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox, the second symbol in the Chinese Zodiac.
President Barack Obama released a statement to commemorate the new year:
"I send my warmest wishes to people across Asia, in America, and indeed around the world who are celebrating the Lunar New Year and welcoming the Year of the Ox. As they gather with their families and celebrate over meals, they welcome new beginnings and honor the enduring wisdom of their ancestors.
"From the lion dances in San Francisco to festivals in Atlanta and parades in New York City and Washington, D.C., Americans of Asian descent carry on the vibrant traditions of their forefathers and enrich America's cultural diversity. I wish all those celebrating the New Year to be blessed with peace, prosperity, and good health."
... from The White House Blog.
Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox, the second symbol in the Chinese Zodiac.
President Barack Obama released a statement to commemorate the new year:
"I send my warmest wishes to people across Asia, in America, and indeed around the world who are celebrating the Lunar New Year and welcoming the Year of the Ox. As they gather with their families and celebrate over meals, they welcome new beginnings and honor the enduring wisdom of their ancestors.
"From the lion dances in San Francisco to festivals in Atlanta and parades in New York City and Washington, D.C., Americans of Asian descent carry on the vibrant traditions of their forefathers and enrich America's cultural diversity. I wish all those celebrating the New Year to be blessed with peace, prosperity, and good health."
... from The White House Blog.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
The "Dog Doesn't Bite Man" Story of the Week
A plane took off from La Guardia yesterday with 155 passengers aboard. A few moments later, after passing through a flock of Canadian Geese disabling both engines, the pilot made a safe water landing (no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination) in the Hudson River ... some minor injuries among the passengers, some hypothermia ... but everyone survived. End of story!
The above paragraph describes the entire incident in as much detail as 99.9999999% of the population of the planet needs.
Since the plane went down yesterday, there has been virtually NOTHING ELSE on the news! Hasn't ANYTHING ELSE happened on the planet since yesterday afternoon?!?!?! Slow news day? Week? Month? I could almost (but not quite) understand it if there were fireballs, mayhem, blood and gore. That would be sensationalism! But this twenty four hour analysis of what didn't happen is beyond me!
I checked Google. Here are a few headlines that caught my attention - things that are happening right now that might constitute actual news:
Headline! Headline! Dog doesn't bite man! Read all about it!
Talk about empty calories!
The above paragraph describes the entire incident in as much detail as 99.9999999% of the population of the planet needs.
Since the plane went down yesterday, there has been virtually NOTHING ELSE on the news! Hasn't ANYTHING ELSE happened on the planet since yesterday afternoon?!?!?! Slow news day? Week? Month? I could almost (but not quite) understand it if there were fireballs, mayhem, blood and gore. That would be sensationalism! But this twenty four hour analysis of what didn't happen is beyond me!
I checked Google. Here are a few headlines that caught my attention - things that are happening right now that might constitute actual news:
- Merkel, Putin Seek to Resolve Gas Dispute in Talks
- Waterboarding Is Torture, Holder Tells Senators
- Saudi FM urges to effectively implement UN resolution on Gaza crisis
- Who will succeed N Korea's Kim Jong-il?
- Paper Details Sites on Mars With Plumes of Methane
- Sony Ericsson Posts Loss, Predicts Gloomy 2009
- Appeals court backs warrantless wiretaps
Headline! Headline! Dog doesn't bite man! Read all about it!
Talk about empty calories!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Student auctions off virginity for offers of more than £2.5 million
File the following under "Money's tight; times are hard:"
Telegraph / UK
Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her.
Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received bids up to £162,000 ($243,000) but since then interest in her has rocketed.
The student who has a degree in Women's Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself.
Miss Dylan, from San Diego, California, USA, said she was persuaded to offer herself to the highest bidder after her sister Avia, 23, paid for her own degree after working as a prostitute for three weeks.
... more from the Telegraph after the click.
My comment: Every once in a while I'm reminded of the many reasons I chose to name this blog what I named this blog ...
Telegraph / UK
Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her.
Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received bids up to £162,000 ($243,000) but since then interest in her has rocketed.
The student who has a degree in Women's Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself.
Miss Dylan, from San Diego, California, USA, said she was persuaded to offer herself to the highest bidder after her sister Avia, 23, paid for her own degree after working as a prostitute for three weeks.
... more from the Telegraph after the click.
My comment: Every once in a while I'm reminded of the many reasons I chose to name this blog what I named this blog ...
Friday, January 09, 2009
Why Are the Media More Interested in Blago Than in Unraveling the Bailout Mystery?
Have you heard what's going on with the government's almost trillion-dollar bailout and how your money is being spent? Do you know all you need to know about who's managing all that taxpayer money -- and how effectively it's being used?
Not if you're getting your news from cable TV. Judging by where the media are focusing their attention, you'd think the Blago/Burris/Reid and Kennedy/Paterson/Cuomo soap operas are the biggest issues facing the nation -- and that little thing about the potential collapse of the world's largest economy is just a sideshow.
Why have the media shown such relatively little interest in the utter lack of transparency about the bailout. Is it because they are still in campaign mode -- addicted to small bore, quick burn-out stories?
... more form Arianna Huffington after the click.
My comment: I swear, I'm going to throw my shoe through the TV if I'm subjected to more national news coverage of a burning house or a semi driving off the road and plowing into a tree. I don't need any more coverage of cute missing white blonds in the Caribbean or moms, who in a fit of postpartum depression, killed thier five children. I don't want "news" stories that ultimately effect MAYBE five people in a nation of three hundred million! I can think of better ways of exercising our national sense of voyeurism!
Walter Cronkite, Eric Severide, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley did more actual news in a half hour time allocation than Wolf Blitzer can manage to squeeze into a twenty four news cycle. Bill Orally asks questions and then shouts over the answers ... Chris Matthews is no better (though, at least his questions are marginally more intelligent and a little better informed).
The main stream news media has become a fiddler playing a recital of endlessly repetitive scales while the nation and the world goes up in flames.
What ever happened to "news you need to know"? Is this what these people went to J School for? Traffic reporting? "Dog bites man" stories? What a waste of their parents money! What a waste of my time! Your time!
Not if you're getting your news from cable TV. Judging by where the media are focusing their attention, you'd think the Blago/Burris/Reid and Kennedy/Paterson/Cuomo soap operas are the biggest issues facing the nation -- and that little thing about the potential collapse of the world's largest economy is just a sideshow.
Why have the media shown such relatively little interest in the utter lack of transparency about the bailout. Is it because they are still in campaign mode -- addicted to small bore, quick burn-out stories?
... more form Arianna Huffington after the click.
My comment: I swear, I'm going to throw my shoe through the TV if I'm subjected to more national news coverage of a burning house or a semi driving off the road and plowing into a tree. I don't need any more coverage of cute missing white blonds in the Caribbean or moms, who in a fit of postpartum depression, killed thier five children. I don't want "news" stories that ultimately effect MAYBE five people in a nation of three hundred million! I can think of better ways of exercising our national sense of voyeurism!
Walter Cronkite, Eric Severide, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley did more actual news in a half hour time allocation than Wolf Blitzer can manage to squeeze into a twenty four news cycle. Bill Orally asks questions and then shouts over the answers ... Chris Matthews is no better (though, at least his questions are marginally more intelligent and a little better informed).
The main stream news media has become a fiddler playing a recital of endlessly repetitive scales while the nation and the world goes up in flames.
What ever happened to "news you need to know"? Is this what these people went to J School for? Traffic reporting? "Dog bites man" stories? What a waste of their parents money! What a waste of my time! Your time!
Sunday, November 09, 2008
About time!
The Washington Post reports efforts to remove the Bush era ideological cholesterol from the circulatory system of government:
... the rest after the click.
My comment: Only 200? Well, I suppose that's a good start.
"Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team."
... the rest after the click.
My comment: Only 200? Well, I suppose that's a good start.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The State of the Nation
The results of the new Pew Survey on News Consumption (taken every two years and released this afternoon) suggest that viewers of the "fake news" programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are more knowledgeable about current events (as judged by three test questions) than watchers of "real" cable news shows hosted by Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly and Larry King, among others -- as well as average consumers of NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN, C-SPAN and daily newspapers.
The national average for answering the three questions was only 18%. But 34% of The Colbert Report fans got them right, with 30% of The Daily Show viewers doing so - even though the two Comedy Central shows draw younger audiences which generally scored less well on the "test" than older viewers/readers.
The Pew Report observed: "The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are notable for having relatively well-informed audiences that are younger than the national average."
More after the click ...
The national average for answering the three questions was only 18%. But 34% of The Colbert Report fans got them right, with 30% of The Daily Show viewers doing so - even though the two Comedy Central shows draw younger audiences which generally scored less well on the "test" than older viewers/readers.
The Pew Report observed: "The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are notable for having relatively well-informed audiences that are younger than the national average."
More after the click ...
Monday, April 07, 2008
Truckers Protest, the Resistance Begins
from Barbara Ehrenreich
Until the beginning of this month, Americans seemed to have nothing to say about their ongoing economic ruin except, "Hit me! Please, hit me again!" You can take my house, but let me mow the lawn for you one more time before you repossess. Take my job and I'll just slink off somewhere out of sight. Oh, and take my health insurance too; I can always fall back on Advil.
Then, on April 1, in a wave of defiance, truck drivers began taking the strongest form of action they can take - inaction. Faced with $4/gallon diesel fuel, they slowed down, shut down and started honking. On the New Jersey Turnpike, a convoy of trucks stretching "as far as the eye can see," according to a turnpike spokesman, drove at a glacial 20 mph. Outside of Chicago, they slowed and drove three abreast, blocking traffic and taking arrests. They jammed into Harrisburg PA; they slowed down the Port of Tampa where 50 rigs sat idle in protest. Near Buffalo, one driver told the press he was taking the week off "to pray for the economy."
The truckers who organized the protests -- by CB radio and internet -- have a specific goal: reducing the price of diesel fuel. They are owner-operators, meaning they are also businesspeople, and they can't break even with current fuel costs. They want the government to release its fuel reserves. They want an investigation into oil company profits and government subsidies of the oil companies. Of the drivers I talked to, all were acutely aware that the government had found, in the course of a weekend, $30 billion to bail out Bear Stearns, while their own businesses are in a tailspin.
The rest after the click ...
My comment:
This is it! This is the article I've been waiting for. I've expected this for close to a year now and here it is. I didn't know what form it would take or where the starting point would be ... but I know it when I see it and this is it. This is the first rent in the fabric of our society and now we are in danger of the whole thing unraveling like a cheap sweater.
Hang on to your seat, baby! Stock up on SPAM and Ramen noodles because it's going to be one hell of a ride from here on.
When the trucks stop, everything changes.
Until the beginning of this month, Americans seemed to have nothing to say about their ongoing economic ruin except, "Hit me! Please, hit me again!" You can take my house, but let me mow the lawn for you one more time before you repossess. Take my job and I'll just slink off somewhere out of sight. Oh, and take my health insurance too; I can always fall back on Advil.
Then, on April 1, in a wave of defiance, truck drivers began taking the strongest form of action they can take - inaction. Faced with $4/gallon diesel fuel, they slowed down, shut down and started honking. On the New Jersey Turnpike, a convoy of trucks stretching "as far as the eye can see," according to a turnpike spokesman, drove at a glacial 20 mph. Outside of Chicago, they slowed and drove three abreast, blocking traffic and taking arrests. They jammed into Harrisburg PA; they slowed down the Port of Tampa where 50 rigs sat idle in protest. Near Buffalo, one driver told the press he was taking the week off "to pray for the economy."
The truckers who organized the protests -- by CB radio and internet -- have a specific goal: reducing the price of diesel fuel. They are owner-operators, meaning they are also businesspeople, and they can't break even with current fuel costs. They want the government to release its fuel reserves. They want an investigation into oil company profits and government subsidies of the oil companies. Of the drivers I talked to, all were acutely aware that the government had found, in the course of a weekend, $30 billion to bail out Bear Stearns, while their own businesses are in a tailspin.
The rest after the click ...
My comment:
This is it! This is the article I've been waiting for. I've expected this for close to a year now and here it is. I didn't know what form it would take or where the starting point would be ... but I know it when I see it and this is it. This is the first rent in the fabric of our society and now we are in danger of the whole thing unraveling like a cheap sweater.
Hang on to your seat, baby! Stock up on SPAM and Ramen noodles because it's going to be one hell of a ride from here on.
When the trucks stop, everything changes.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
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