Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hey, look! A squirrel!

Given the speed with which Operation Odyssey Dawn drove Fukushima I off the front page (which had itself displaced the actual quake and tsunami that killed ~18,000 people) I find myself wondering, is CBS really going to re-hire Charlie Sheen?

Seriously, the news media has always had the attention span of a hyperactive Pekingese in desperate need of a Ritalin MilkBone, but it's more noticeable at some times than others, and lately it's been very... hey! Let's go ride our bikes!

28 comments:

  1. I think you hit the nail on the head.

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  2. "Which way did he go, George, which way did he go?"

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  3. Silly wabbit. The only things that last more than half a day in the modern media news cycle are gaffes made by or accusations leveled against Republicans or Conservatives.

    Joe Biden can (and often does) sax six stupid things before breakfast and the media won't report it, but let Sarah Palin or one of Sarah Palin's children say or do something untoward and we'll be beat over the head with it for a week.

    And this media still thinks that America is going to continue to trust them, even after Obama, their hero, is gone.

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  4. If I ever get a band together, it'll be named Ritalin MilkBone.

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  5. MiniTru thinks that the rest of us also have short attention spans: "We've got to get all the IMPORTANT stuff covered in five minutes or less because nobody will watch / listen for longer than that." Strange that even the 24hr news channels have the same attitude.

    Throw in the fact that most reporters WALLOW in ignorance (how many of them really have a clue about how a nuclear reactor actually works or what the politico-social history of Libya is?), and you've got a recipe for "coverage" that makes Pravda look worthy of a Pulitzer.

    Murphy's Law hit on an exception: get a nice, juicy scandal going (GOP gaffes are good, but any Hollywood / tabloid nonsense is equally desirable), and MiniTru will stay on that like a dog on a bone. It's cheap, easy news that doesn't require that reporters to actually understand anything but their own biases. They can handle that.

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  6. I have found it humourous to see the twenty something news anchors pontificating on the design of this or that reactor like they really understand all the underlying disciplines.

    We are so far down the path I'm not sure we remember where the fork was.

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  7. Ritalin MilkBone.

    Now, that's a band name.

    What were we talking about again?

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  8. Quakes, waves, splendid little wars...even Crazy Charlie...

    all diversionary tactics by teh shadowgov; it's a pre-planned oneworld conspiracy, I tell ya.

    AT

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  9. I wish.

    Conspiracies imply that there's someone in control, even if it's an Evil Overlord...

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  10. Save us, Lord Vader! You're our only hope.

    Wasn't that how it went?

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  11. Ritalin MilkBone. Hee, hee.

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  12. "Conspiracies imply that there's someone in control"

    This all stems from the degradation of our society/culture/values/intellect.

    In one of my blog entries I hit on (using a Heinlein quote) our loss of manners as a society. But this is all part of the same thing. Individually I will stand for what I believe. Individually I will accept judgment.

    But collectively there is no responsibility, no high morals, no drive to improve. The MSM reflects only the base aspect of being observers, not participants.

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  13. All I have to say to that is--did you see? Breaking News!!!Elizabeth Taylor died!!!!11!! Nuclear Kadaffi Sheen what?

    That other stuff was sooooo five minutes ago.




    WV: Squinge--if it's not a word, it ought to be.
    def: A cross between a squirm and a cringe.

    Usage: I squinge when I realize that Joe "big F'n deal" Biden is only one heartbeat away from being the president.

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  14. NPR, as loathsome as they can be, is changing their version of the narrative. I am shocked, shocked I say, to learn that the Japan nukle-ear situation is not going to end the world:

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/03/22/134746912/radioactive-milk-only-a-danger-after-58-000-glasses

    Side note: CAPTCHA - yellsese - n. The language spoken by network journalists.

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  15. The only thing anyone needs to know about any Infomercial that the LameStream Media puts out is this: It's ALL Bush's Fault!

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  16. Heck, even Russia today is less obviously biased toward TPTB than 'mainstream' media.

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  17. Seem that that short attention span is a very selective thing...

    I'm quick to say let's take care of our own first, but is anyone else struck by the difference in the coverage between this natural disaster and the resultant wall of water, and the one from '05 as to depth, breadth, longevity, and innuendo?

    Not to mention the difference in the afflicted people themselves as to acceptance, self-reliance, and character...right about now I find it easier to say "I AM JAPAN" than it would have been for me to say "I AM N'AWLINS".

    But that's just me.

    AT

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  18. Anon 1:55 The difference is that the '05 event can be used to push an anti-Bush political agenda and this one cannot.

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  19. Y'mean those evil, stupid, inept, warmongering RACIST BUSHIES? ;)

    Yeah, kind of my point...I'm gonna have to borrow Tam's sarc tags, I reckon...

    AT

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  20. Shrimp - I second that motion. Similarly, I squinge at the screaming hysterics coming from the talking heads on the supposed-news.

    Jim

    (...And we wonder why English is so hard to learn; It's a moving target!)

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  21. I prefer ADHD Squirrels on crack...smaller messes to clean up.

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  22. Ritalin MilkBone

    Gotta get some for the puppy!

    Ulises from CA

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  23. Living overseas, I get a lot of flak over the crap coming from US media.
    Most foreigners truly believe we live in constant fear of shoot em ups, car chases and have the vocabulary of 8 year olds.
    So.....who's more embarrassing to, among others, expat Americans - The Daly Show or Fox News? One's written as a joke and the other is a joke. FYI, most here consider NPR News hour to be slightly right wing.

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  24. loren,

    "FYI, most here consider NPR News hour to be slightly right wing."

    That says more about your neighbors than it does about National People's Radio...

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  25. loren,

    Just for a moment stop to consider Left wing ..... X ..... Right wing.

    That X in the middle is the body of the Fascist Vulture that is the real problem.


    IMHO ... it is not about Left or Right it is about Liberty and the things that further it versus Tyranny and the things that further it.

    May I suggest that the goal is to Live Free not to attempt to "FIX" anything or everything. Personal Opinion mind you.

    http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/

    Stay Safe, [but keep your powder dry]
    gooch

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  26. Lead by example.
    Where's the examples to go by...

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  27. Yep, hit the nail on the head...

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