Indulge Me

I try to steer clear of rants on here anymore, but there have been a couple things that have been bothering me. So if you could indulge me for this one post, that’d be great. If not, I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow.

• Pop Tarts– This is a term borrowed from Fox News, but I like it. Yesterday at the gym, on both CNN and Fox, for the better part of their news programs (and my 45 min cardio work out), the coverage was Lindsay Lohan and how she got arrested, again. And when they weren’t cover Lindsay they were covering Britney Spears….because she’s on the verge of another breakdown. Now I wouldn’t care if this was E! or VH1 or Mtv. Lord knows nothing important comes from Mtv. But these are two presumably legitimate news stations giving full coverage of this crap. For ratings. People people care about Britney and Lindsay. Is it the Fox or CNN’s fault that’s what people want? Maybe not. But it is their fault for pushing it, at least as long as they do.
• “Loose Change” in Theaters– I read about this in this article and am in an utter state of disbelief. The movie stating claims that the Bush Administration is behind the 9/11 attacks is being released in theaters in Britain. I thought it was bad enough that Moore’s movies were being shown on the big screen, but this was a viral video that 3 kids from SUNY Oneonta made on a hunch. The claims they make aren’t true and have been debunked. I’ve seen those kids in debates and the look like idiots, grunting and moaning and getting all worked up when they are proved wrong. It’s insane that anyone would watch this crap, let alone on the big screen.
• The YouTube Debates– Finally, The YouTube Debates. Kudos to YouTube and CNN for putting this together. All of the answers are online and this is great. However, I wish the candidates would have actually answered the questions. John Edwards barely answered anything. Lots of rhetoric and heart-warming stories though. But one question in particular bothered me; the one about reparations. First of all, it’s not a “question in the back of everyone’s head.” Sure isn’t in the back of mine. Second, “is African Americans ever gonna get reparations?” What? If I were addressing presidential candidates, I’d probably bone up on my grammar. However, My focus again is on the rhetoric. Edwards glossed over his “no” onto “how we can give reparations” and attacked corporations (PS- he was a malpractice lawyer who sued every doctor he could see. I wonder why our health care system sucks…). Obama did the same thing. “I think the reparations we need….is investment in our schools.” Now boys, you know that wasn’t the question. They just didn’t want to look bad by saying “No, reparations is a ridiculous idea.”

Well, I’m glad I got that off my chest.