How long until the FBI decides to 'Spitzer' Eric Schneiderman?
August 2011
9 posts
The (Opposite of) Amazing Race
The 2012 presidential election is 15 months away. The first primary vote will not be cast until almost six months from now. Despite that, the political media are obsessed — to the exclusion of most other issues — with the cast of characters vying for the presidency and, most of all, with the soap opera dynamic among them. It is not a new observation that the American media covers presidential elections exactly like a reality TV show pageant: deeply Serious political commentators spent the last week mulling whether Tim P. would be voted off the island, bathing in the excitement of Rick P. joining the cast, and dramatically contemplating what would happen if Sarah P. enters the house. But there are some serious implications from this prolonged fixation that are worth noting.”
— Glenn Greenwald [via azspot]
Yeah. Spock is not impressed with incessant pre-campaign coverage.
Some Children [ft. Michael McDonald]
Holy Ghost!
Yacht-rock O.G. Michael McDonald guests on this Friday-worthy funk jam from DFA duo Holy Ghost!
Oh man, Holy Ghost! wins the internet today. That voice. Michael McDonald should sing on ALL OF THE SONGS. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver (ft. Michael McDonald). Adele - 21 (ft. Michael McDonald). Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne (ft. Michael McDonald). Need I go on?
Listen
These are the kinds of voicemails I get in the middle of the night thanks to you-know-who.
Spiersblr: I know you don't want to hear this. →
spiers.tumblr.com
This is one of those times when I wish Tumblr had a “do not like” button, or a “the opposite of this” button.
Usually I just pass by things I don’t endorse because we all know that sometimes someone is wrong on the internet and given the sheer tonnage of internet wrong, ignoring it is usually a better strategy than confronting it and lending it credence by entering into debate. But Heidi Moore of the WSJ, NYT, WaPo, FT, Slate, Flortune and now NPR’s Marketplace, which I listen to, cringing, every morning, is inspiring me. She’s part of the problem. Marketplace is part of the problem.
I mean, I understand, because I understand who Marketplace’s audience is. And Marketplace does an excellent job of servicing its elite audience. But, “They” won’t take this situation seriously until we start cutting entitlements? WE can’t take any of this seriously while top tax rates languish at the lowest levels ever and powerful entities continue to avoid paying any taxes at all. WE are not apathetic, we are virtually helpless, suspended in propagandic goo, while the decider-class enacts policies that ensure their continued fortune. WE could really use some allies in the media, instead we get insults hurled at us for not being thankful enough for the A+ job that Marketplace has done at “telling both sides”.
Media that aligns itself with robber barrons, trumpets “austerity”, and cheerleads for cuts, cuts, cuts does not get to complain when the victims wag fingers at them for not doing their job. The business press has presented both sides of… what, exactly? When is the last time Marketplace had Paul Krugman or Dean Baker on to debunk the myth that austerity measures are the right prescription in a down economy? And your response is to blame “apathetic voters” for daring to impune the collusion between government, business and elite media?
Get over yourself. Stop blaming the segment of your audience that is absorbing ALL of the losses while incomes at the top continue to rise. Climb down from your ivory tower and look in the mirror. That shill gulping down kool-aid staring back at you? She’s supposed to be a reporter. Not a Wall St./Washington stenographer. And she has work to do. Put the kool-aid down and get on it.
