Posts Tagged ‘media’

Paul Walderman misses the point on Coulter

Posted: June 19, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Paul Walderman in his quest to find something positive for the left to write about; discovers what he thinks is a gem on Ann Coulter:

Remember Ann Coulter? Seems like just yesterday she was Queen of the Right, the whole political world hanging on her every bile-laced tirade. Yet she’s all but disappeared.

Not that she isn’t trying. She’s still got her weekly column over at Human Events (latest entry: “Alvin Greene: The Most Qualified Democrat I Have Ever Seen” – Har har!). She still makes regular appearances on Fox, showing up to gab with Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity. But she seems to have completely lost her ability to move from the right-wing outlets into the mainstream discussion.

This is an excellent example of what is called “projection”. For the left it is always about personal relevance. Am I on the front pages, do I get enough attention, can I get instalanched?

As Walderman notes, but dismisses, Ann is a regular columnist, and has regular TV appearances. He doesn’t mention that she also regularly makes the NYT best seller list whenever she writes a book and still packs anyplace where she speaks.

In other words she is doing just fine and doesn’t need the validation of a dying Mainstream Media to make herself important. She has a comfortable life and will continue to have one.

More importantly to her, her philosophy is winning in the arena of ideas these days. I suspect she will trade that for an extra appearance on the View or one more time a month on Joy Behar’s show any day.

Perhaps she is confusing Miss Coulter with another blondish lady who although holding titular power is striving to be relevant:

When you can’t find good news about your own side, I guess you have to take your crumbs where you can.

That streaming oil video is turning out to be very expensive…

Posted: June 8, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news
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…for the administration.

Every single day you have pictures of that oil spill, the media thought it was a great tool to hit the right with. The right which is so much in favor of drilling for oil. It was a great way to show up that Sarah Palin know it all.

Hasn’t really turned out that way, instead it has been a daily reminder of failure for this administration. And now the people who couldn’t wait to blame George Bush for everything and anything to do with Katrina make excuses daily for this administration for what it has done and what is hasn’t. The media can’t help but play the live feed even if it gives no actual new news, and every drip wears down the administration’s ratings.

Fairly or unfairly the administration wanted ownership of this situation, they’ve got it.

Update: Hot air expands on the subject.

Old Habits die hard

Posted: June 8, 2010 by datechguy in oddities
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Last night was kinda busy for me as I had a Knights of Columbus and a Madonna Della Cava meeting scheduled at the same time. (The feast is on the August 15th). We finished at the Knights just in time for me to catch the tail end of the meeting concerning the festival.

After the meeting one of the members that I was close to expressed utter shock that #1 I liked Sarah Palin and #2 I was a republican. It is something I’ve run into on occasion although less these days as more and more people are on the net and are exposed to different points of view.

This is what happens when you try to paint people who don’t have the “approved” set of beliefs a particular way. It leads to such an insulated situation that when you see the reality, it comes as a shock and a half.

It also illustrates to me how history bends over time. She remembers the democratic party of her youth, she remembers the days when democratic were not ashamed of believing Catholics, when Unions actually made a difference in the lives of workers. Those days in my opinion, are gone.

It took me 12 years for my presidential vote to go from Democratic (Mondale) to republican (Dole) and a further 6 years before I changed my registration. It took more than half a century for my mother to be weaned from a party that thinks she is a racist/bigot/homophobe hick and has taken her for granted for years. It may take my friend another 20 years to see what I’m seeing or maybe she will never agree with me on politics at all.

Either way that’s ok, but I doubt she will ever be able to keep that same world view of republicans again.

My last thought on Helen Thomas

Posted: June 8, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/news
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As I woke up this morning I was channel surfing and I stopped on CNN for a moment and they were discussing Helen Thomas and there was something that struck me, beyond the point that if she is function in a job at her age she needs to be held to the standards of the job.

The thought was they couldn’t believe that Helen Thomas really meant what she said about the Jews. They all knew her, she couldn’t actually mean it. She is old etc…etc…etc…

I leave you all this thought:

How many died in the last century because they wouldn’t let themselves believe people actually meant what they said? How many will die this century for the same reason?

If you want to know why people like Pam Geller gets so excited over radical Islam. It’s because she understands this basic truth.

Update: And apparently (via Glenn) some services don’t want any more last thoughts on the matter:

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