Archive for the ‘media’ Category
Liars Lie: Such Is the State of American Politics
Lying politicians (I realize that’s redundant) lie, and so, it seems, do lying political operatives (no surprise there) as well as journalists (a bit of a surprise there) :
Last week, ABC News’ Jon Karl reported on emails that he said he’d obtained, that purported to show the process involved in developing the talking points on the September 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Once CNN’s Jake Tapper actually did obtain a real email, and the White House subsequently released the actual email chain, Karl’s “emails” were revealed to be summaries, provided by a source, which contained invented quotes and significant omissions. On Thursday night’s CBS Evening News, Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett reported that a Republican source was behind the invented quotes, which were also leaked to CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson, a fact that Karl did not disclose in his original report, or his followup, and which Attkisson did not disclose, either.
So Karl is a bit of a deceiver and so is Attkisson. Yellow journalism is alive and well. Liars lie. Such is the state of American politics. It has now gotten to the point that if you believe any news outlet (except NPR which, to this point anyway, has been honest and forthright along with our local ABC affiliate which does a very good job) you’re just a bit of a fool. Fox, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC… they’ve all let us down.
American media are now as corrupt as American politicians. And equally untrustworthy.
Academia: The Last Refuge of the Scoundrel
After a sex scandal forced Eliot Spitzer from the governor’s mansion in Albany, he turned up at City College, teaching a course called “Law and Public Policy.” After another sex scandal forced James E. McGreevey from the governor’s mansion in New Jersey, he turned up at Kean University, teaching in the global M.B.A. program.
More recently, Parsons the New School for Design announced thatJohn Galliano, the celebrated clothing designer who lost his job at Christian Dior after unleashing a torrent of anti-Semitic vitriol in a bar, would be leading a four-day workshop and discussion called “Show Me Emotion.”
And David H. Petraeus, the general turned intelligence chief turned ribald punch line, will have not one college paycheck, but two. Last month, the City University of New York said he would be the next visiting professor of public policy at Macaulay Honors College. On Thursday, the University of Southern California announced that Mr. Petraeus would also be teaching there; he will split his time between coasts.
The traditional path to an academic job is long and laborious: the solitude and penury of graduate study, the scramble for one of the few open positions in each field, the blood sport of competitive publishing. But while colleges have always courted accomplished public figures, a leap to the front of the class has now become a natural move for those who have suffered spectacular career flameouts. At this point, the transition from public disgrace to college lectern is so familiar that when Mr. Galliano merely stepped foot on the campus of Central Saint Martins, an art and design school in London, speculation rippled around the world — incorrectly — that he would soon be teaching there.
And that, my friends, is the state of things in American higher education. It makes you feel great, doesn’t it? All those years of study and effort ignored and the position you hunted filled by a public figure with less than no similar skills.
Schools aren’t seeking scholars. They’re seeking celebrity. That explains, doesn’t it, why Simcha Jacobovici is a ‘Professor’ at a school in Canada.
On A Personal Note…
It seems our ISP is going to be upgrading equipment this weekend, beginning at midnight Friday and running through noon Saturday. In the event that you wish to contact me during that time, it will be best to use my gmail address: drjewest@gmail.com. Thanks.
The Drunk Cop and the Lawsuit
An Oregon police officer fired for driving drunk in an unmarked police car while off-duty has filed a $6 million lawsuit against the city of Gresham, the police chief and others, alleging his rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The officer says he suffers from alcoholism, a recognized disability under the act, and shouldn’t have been fired.
Or in short, ‘it’s not my fault I drink far too much- it’s a disability. And you can’t fire me because I’m disabled….’ His name- Jason Servo.
“Just as with any type of disability or disease, they should have made some kind of effort to accommodate that, or some kind of effort to work with him, and not simply sever all ties,” said Shawn Kollie, one of Servo’s attorneys.
I guess since his ‘disability’ is alcohol they should have provided him with more. Or at least accommodated him so as to let him drive around drunk. What were they thinking firing him????
The Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy who arrested him later testified that Servo was probably one of the top 10 most intoxicated people he had arrested in almost 15 years of drunken-driving investigations.
Oh America. When did you become a place where so few are willing to take responsibility for their actions?
Related Articles
- Oregon cop fired for DUII sues for $6M (kgw.com)
- Man questioned about drunk driving, tells cops ‘my dog was driving’; gets 10 months in jail (deathandtaxesmag.com)
- Cops Allowed to Work “Half Drunk” (thefix.com)
- Drunk driving: first-timers too to lose licences (thehindu.com)
Pervy McPerverson
A teenage boy in La Mesa, Calif., could be facing child porn charges after allegedly posing as a girl on Facebook in order to get other boys to send him nude photos. Some of the teens took the bait and sent photos, at least one of which was posted on the social network, La Mesa Police say.
It is unknown how long the student had the fake account, but Lt. Matt Nicholas told The Huffington Post that the scheme was exposed after the suspect’s school, La Mesa Middle School, held an assembly on Internet safety. ”After it was over, some of the students came forward and said they’d been victimized,” Nicholas said. “The school administrators reported it to us.” Investigators initially thought the perp was a sexually predatory adult, but after tracing the Facebook messages, say they discovered a teenage student at the school was behind the scheme, KGTV-TV reported.
Kids- if I may offer a bit of advice (which evidently your parents haven’t given you)
1- Don’t take nude pictures of yourself, ever. For anyone.
2- If you’re silly enough to take them, don’t send them to anyone. Ever.
3- Perversity starts young. Your facebook contacts may be creepy pervs who are lying to you.
Heed these rules and maybe you won’t see yourself exposed.
Happy, Happy Happy!
The Duck Dynasty season finale last night was watched by more people than American Idol! That’s fantastic because it’s a fantastic show.
A&E’s docu-soap phenomenon shattered previous ratings records for its Wednesday night finale. The episode following the Robertson clan to Hawaii delivered 9.6 million viewers and a 4.3 adults 18-49 rating.
That rating makes Duck Dynasty the highest-rated show last night — and not just on cable. The number is bigger then CBS’ Survivor (2.9) and bigger than Fox’s American Idol (3.3). As you can see, the fight wasn’t even close.
Duck Dynasty, along with AMC’s The Walking Dead, represent small-yet-growing number of cable shows that can overthrow the heavy hitters on broadcast. Season three of Duck Dynastyaveraged 8.4 million total viewers (up 95% versus season 2) and 4.8 million adults 18-49 (up 92%), making it cable’s top-rated reality series this year, and the No. 2 original series overall behind only The Walking Dead.
I love Duck Dynasty. Si is a hoot and Jase is a scream and Phil is the best of them all. It’s just a witty show and I am happy, happy, happy that it did so well.
Related Articles
- ‘Duck Dynasty’ finale ratings beat ‘American Idol’ (insidetv.ew.com)
- ‘Duck Dynasty:’ Record Broke for A&E Channel (+Video) (theepochtimes.com)
- 9.6 Million Viewers Watch A&E’s ‘Duck Dynasty’ Season Finale (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- ‘Duck Dynasty’ Finale Shatters Ratings Records For A&E (variety.com)
Facebook is Weird, It Thinks I’m Dangerous
does this guy look dangerous?
It appears that when I post links to the blog on the Facebook and you click them, Facebook warns you that I could be dangerous. I take that as a compliment. I can assure you, though, that I know nothing about coding or hacking or anything of the sort so that you can be certain, the blog is virus free (though apparently still quite dangerous).
Click away bold soul, click away!
Wikipedia Isn’t Just Wrong and Worthless, It’s Also Sexist
From the New York Times
I JUST noticed something strange on Wikipedia. It appears that gradually, over time, editors have begun the process of moving women, one by one, alphabetically, from the “American Novelists” category to the “American Women Novelists” subcategory. So far, female authors whose last names begin with A or B have been most affected, although many others have, too.
The intention appears to be to create a list of “American Novelists” on Wikipedia that is made up almost entirely of men. The category lists 3,837 authors, and the first few hundred of them are mainly men. The explanation at the top of the page is that the list of “American Novelists” is too long, and therefore the novelists have to be put in subcategories whenever possible.
Too bad there isn’t a subcategory for “American Men Novelists.”
People who go to Wikipedia to get ideas for whom to hire, or honor, or read, and look at that list of “American Novelists” for inspiration, might not even notice that the first page of it includes far more men than women. They might simply use that list without thinking twice about it. It’s probably small, easily fixable things like this that make it harder and slower for women to gain equality in the literary world.
People who go to Wikipedia should be told that they are just as likely (and more than likely) to be misled than informed. And now, it seems, alos the victims of Wikipedian prejudice and sexism.
Related Articles
Go See ‘Oblivion’
It’s a fine film. Lots of twists and turns, plenty of action, good acting (but of course that’s what one would expect given the folk in it). I enjoyed it a lot. And if you don’t, Joel Watts will refund your money.
