Glenn Beck Wins vs. Barbara Walters/Whoopie Goldberg

It's not very often that I watch an entire minutes-long news segment on the Internet. But this one totally intrigued me: The real story behind the ambush of Glenn Beck on The View. Enjoy.

Election Day Ignorance

Incredible.

Umm, the people I hang with are certainly more informed than the people in this video are. But if Zogby is to be believed, my peers are the exception, not the rule. From Zogby:

The 12-question, multiple-choice survey found questions regarding statements linked to Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice-presidential running-mate Sarah Palin were far more likely to be answered correctly by Obama voters than questions about statements associated with Obama and Vice-President–Elect Joe Biden. The telephone survey of 512 Obama voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 13-15, 2008, and carries a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points. The survey was commissioned by John Ziegler, author of The Death of Free Speech, producer of the recently released film "Blocking the Path to 9/11" and producer of the upcoming documentary film, Media Malpractice...How Obama Got Elected.

As Gilbert Gottfried once said, "I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from not-surprise." It's telling and ominous that modern elections are so much more about manipulating the public with style rather than making a case with substance.

Oh well. Time to go watch Dancing with the Stars.

Orson Scott Card on Journalistic Failure

If you want an excellent article on the real culprits behind the financial meltdown, look no further than Orson Scott Card. He has written some of my favorite books (Ender's Game, Lost Boys, among others). In this piece he also holds the media accountable for abandoning journalistic standards of truth for ideological pursuit. From the article:

If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.

But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie — that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad — even bad weather — on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.

If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth — even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.

Give it a read. You'll be glad you did.

Want To Grow Up? All You Need is Sex

That's the message we're hearing from the intellectuals and experts these days, as evidenced by this Reuters story about the relaxation of social standards as it relates to nudity.

"I do think that general attitudes about nudity are becoming more relaxed, but these changes take time, which is why there's still mixed responses," said Paul Levinson, communication and media professor at Fordham University.

"We as a society are finally growing up and it's a healthy thing," he said.

Oh, thank you, Professor Levinson! What a relief to know that I'm expressing my maturity by clicking on pictures of nude celebrities! And it's such a good thing when porn stars are regularly dignified as true entertainment professionals on nearly every talk show and reality show. It shows how there's still hope for our generation. If we can just continue to lower our standards over time, there's no limit to how healthy we can be.

I actually agree with Levinson on one point, though:

"There's no doubt about it. The Web for the last 10 years, has made more nudity available," Levinson said. "I predict in the next few years, the FCC will be put in its proper place and nudity will be the norm," he said.

Nudity will be the norm. And families wishing to avoid the filth will have to actively opt out of it. Isn't technology great? Hmm, maybe the Amish have a point.

Global Warming? This Takes the Cake

Okay, as far as global warming stories go, they're nearly all completely inane. But none quite so moronic as this one. I found it linked from Drudge:

"Global warming concerns are keeping children awake at night."

That headline alone should be enough to make any sensible thinker vomit a little. The story says that "half of young children are anxious about the effects of global warming, often losing sleep because of their concern, according to a new report today."

What's even stupider? The explanation given by the head of the study:

"While many adults may look the other way, this study should show that global warming is not only hurting the children of the future, it's affecting the welfare of kids now."

Um, do you think it would be affecting them if you weren't RAMMING IT DOWN EVERYONE'S THROATS? I think the problem isn't so much in global warming as it is in the media that forces this junk science into the collective conscience. And the self-serving politicians who use global warming fear-mongering to keep themselves in power.

Excuse me while I clean the bile from my mouth.