I had quite a week last week, what with all the Sarah Palin hooplah and my “first with the story” reporting style. StatPress requested vacation time from all the visitors and pageview numbers it had to count. So what do I do with all this blogging capital? Redistribute the wealth of course.
I thought I’d take a short break from my cutting-edge stories and razor-sharp wit and clue you in to what’s happening on some of my favorite blogs. First, at Kevin and Jen’s site (go there; they pay for my meals), Eli is feverishly preparing for another successful Halloween of trick-or-treating. On Sunday, he and his mommy and gramma visited a pumpkin patch (with a petting zoo to boot!). Personally, I’m very-much looking forward to seeing him in his Thomas the Tank Engine costume that he should be donning tonight.
At Scott and Jackie’s site, they had a baby shower Saturday for Baby Bechdel, due sometime at the end of December. Jackie’s official due date is December 24. If you feel the betting itch coming on, head over there and lay one down: boy, girl? date? weight, length? It’s all up for bids!
So, Bechdel family news not your thing? Well, that’s alright. We all have our problems. That list to your right is my evidence that I have friends (I can have that notarized, if needbe), so let’s see what they’re up to. Although I would never say this to his face (name that small market mid-range paper company regional manager quote!), Eliot really seems to be “hitting his stride” in terms of his photography. And I’m not just saying this to endear myself to him so that he’ll put me on his blog, which I’ve never been in almost 3 years of roommmate-ship. I swear, those two things are not related. Seriously. This picture of Jackie has been strategically selected because I can now mention that her blog has been added to the blogroll. The majority of her posts chronicle her trips through France last spring, but it appears she’s going to keep it up now, having returned to Austin.
At Shannon’s site, there’s a hilarious anectdote about disciplining an unruly class. I don’t know how affective it was, but it sure seemed to grab the students’ attention. In the process, she also asked them to write down why students should respect teachers. The replies are both hilarious and (sometimes) sweet. Either way, it’s definitely worth a read.
Candace’s blog has taken about a half month hiatus (and yes, that is me elbowing you into action), but she had a really great re-cap of this year’s Austin City Limits festival. I attended the 2006 and 2007 ACLs, but this year’s lineup really didn’t draw me in enough to spend the $135 or so it costs for a 3-day pass. Her re-cap, of course, made me regret my decision to a degree. It’s titled “ACL 2008″ from October 5, and is a good read for any music junkies out there.
As for me, in the next few days I plan on posting my predictions for battleground states. I have hunches—just hunches!—about how some of the states may vote, and I’m not afraid to state them publicly and face the ridicule that follows if I’m wrong. And lastly, (and somewhat regrettably, I might add), The Joint may be suffering from fewer posts in the next month and a half due to (yet again) another blog in the picture. This time I’m part of a 6-person blogging team that’s detailing what we love or hate about Austin. Cleverly, it’s called Love/Hate Austin, and you can find it by clicking here. It’s tough because we have to write three times a week. My posts are on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays, so if you’re interested in reading lies that I’m making up simply to create content (not really, but maybe) then please join us. Also, we get extra credit if our blog gets more hits than the other half of the class’s blog.
Dear Governor Palin,
So. This is how it’s going to be, huh? I fly down to Texas, McCain picks you to be his runningmate, I make myself adequately “energized” by this, and you can’t even bother to come visit me? And then, to top it all off, you decide to stop by my high school? The one… the only… Beaver Area High School? Too far, Ms. Barracuda. Too far.
I’ll have you know that in my day, I owned that building. President of student council. Editor-in-chief of the yearbook (our beloved “Shingas,” named after a barbarous Native American known to whites as “Shingas the Terrible” and no, now is not the time to make cute jokes about the yearbook itself being terrible. We did what we could!). Captain of the soccer team (in title only). Let me ask you, Gov. Palin… what have you done to make BHS great?
Oh sure, you’re likely going to bring 10,000 or so people to the hallowed grounds where I spent many-an-hour kicking the ball around and witnessing Western Pa.’s version of “Friday Night Lights” (with fewer dumb people). And sure, this is likely to be the biggest event held at my high school… ever. But did you ever get two people out in Mrs. Flynn’s gym class dodgeball games with a single ball? Did you ever organize the winter dance for the entire school in the cafeteria? I think not, Ma’am.
And you know what? I’m going to pretend like I didn’t buy moose meat and put it in my freezer “just in case.” In fact, I think I’m planning on using moose meat for a lovely dinner party in a few weeks, so look for your invitation in the mail (cough::fat chance!::cough).
And you know what else? I didn’t even go to LensCrafters last weekend to see how much rimless glasses cost, no matter how awesome certain public figures make them look. No, I’m my own man, with my own style and stuff going on. I don’t have time to worry about constantly looking awesome.
If it’s an apology you want, then fine: I’m sorry your husband’s name is Todd. But don’t blame me for that. That fault lies squarely on the shoulders of his parents, and perhaps any family history that may have influenced such a horrific decision. I refuse to sacrifice my beliefs (that being that Todd is the worst name invented by man) for the sake of your happiness. Call it selfish, but I stand by what I believe.
Tonight, when you’re being interviewed by Sean Hannity in the room where I took 11th grade English and learned about Poe and Melville and where a semi-colon goes, pay no heed to the “bite me” written under the 3rd desk in the front row. That was intended for someone in 5th period–not you (although it could have been!). And when you’re introduced tonight by Jeff Beltz, the Bobcat’s football coach and administrator extrordinaire (see here), don’t feel bad if he mispronounces your name. We just started letting him speak a few years ago.
And finally, when you’re taking in the beautiful sights of the hollow in which my school is nestled and the vibrant colors of the changing leaves, remember this: you bet’cha this visit would’a been better with Jeets as your guide.
With love,
The Jeety’s Joint Editorial Board
EDIT: More information, this time provided by The Beaver County Times, shows that Gov. Palin will speak at Gypsy Glen Stadium, and plans to take the stage between 7 and 8 p.m. (Bring a jacket.) Contradicting the Post-Gazette’s report, the Times says gates open at 5:30 p.m.
For tickets, contact the Beaver County Republican Committee at 682 Third Street, Beaver.
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News broke at a McCain rally at Robert Morris University in Moon Twp., Pa. that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be appearing at Beaver Area High School Thursday evening. Doors for the event will open at 4:15 p.m.
This information was provided by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
This semester I’ve been working on increasing my marketability to future employers. For instance, I’m taking an economics course to learn what bankruptcy in post-collegiate life is like. I’m taking a statistics course to learn how to “fudge the numbers.” And I’m also in a podcasting class, where we learn how to record, mix and produce audio news stories for the Web.
I’ve decided, in spite of a sheer hatred of my voice that I’m learning to overcome, to post my second podcast here on the Joint. Last Wednesday, shortly before the third and final presidential debate, I had the opportunity to meet with and interview members of “Students for McCain,” a student organization that enjoys all things McCain, knitting and shuffleboard. Below, you can find the podcast–just right click on the text and select “save target as”:
In somewhat-related news, I want to make a recommendation for everyone. PBS does a special for their show “Frontline” every four years titled “The Choice.” It documents the lives and lessons learned by the two major party candidates running for president. I have not watched all of it, but intend to. The point is, what I’ve seen thus far is really quite amazing. For someone who has made up his mind for president (Nader, and don’t even try to talk me out of it), I was shocked at how much I learned about each of them, and even came to admire their very, very different paths to the same destination.
So, how do you watch this? It’s easy (because they’ve put it literally everywhere online). Your first choice is to go to their actual PBS Web site, and watch the program there. It’s split into easily-digestible 11-16 minute segments. I’ll be honest when I say I learned the most in segment #3 about Obama in Chicago, at Harvard and then finally in the Senate.
You can also watch the program in its full capacity at YouTube. I’ll be hoenst—I choked on my Wheat Thins when I saw that it’s an hour and 56 minutes long. But c’mon… Put it on as background noise while you’re making dinner, playing cards or experimenting with new technology that would make napkins obsolete. Actually, I won’t ask of you, my beloved readers, what I have yet to do myself. But when I do finally watch it all, I’m obviously going to hold it over you, so… this is your chance at a head start.
Finally, the program can be downloaded for free at iTunes, so you can watch it on the go on your iPod! If I were to recommend one way, I might say the PBS Web site’s quality seems to be the best, although I’ve not tried the iTunes version yet. Reviews for the program can be found here, and the reporter and producer of the piece, Jim Gilmore, responded to viewer questions here.
That’s Jeety’s Joint for you… offering you countless ways to stay informed about this year’s election. Forget Frontline, I should be getting awards.
Since Time Warner Cable is doing everything in its power to ruin my life, I feel compelled to share this video with you, my loyal readers, in case there’s an NBC affiliate/cable provider issue in your viewing area as well.
Below is the opening skit from last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live, with a special guest appearance by Sarah Palin:
Today is a good day. I just got back from a delicious morning of breakfast tacos, finished up some homework, and the game of the week is tonight’s battle between the Longhorns and Missouri. And most importantly, I just got some data that backs up an opnion I’ve been developing for the past year or so.
In many of my journalism classes, it seems like professors and especially students are falling all over themselves to compliment and praise the “journalistic integrity” of “The Daily Show.” Now, I will watch this show on occassion (although I prefer the “Colbert Report”). Basically, it’s a current events type show, hosted by comedian Jon Stewart, that lampoons just about everything that happens in government and politics. In its own right, it’s an entertaining view of the world.
But what I don’t understand is when people talk about what a public service “The Daily Show” is. Seriously? One of the biggest differences I’ve learned over the past two years is between skepticism and cynicism. A cynic asks questions, but already knows the answers. A cynic doesn’t believe his or her vote matters, for example, because the system is what it is and can’t be changed. A skeptic, on the other hand, asks thoughtful questions and waits for the reply for a better understanding of the topic at hand.
What admirers of “The Daily Show” seem to overlook is what kind of viewers tune in, and what kind of citizens they’re churning out. It’s a fine line between cynicism and skepticism, and I’ll be honest—it makes me nervous to see so many young viewers of this show, teetering on the edge. An entire generation could become adults who are completely ambivalent about their own government. The effects of this would be catastrophic.
But, the naysayers argue that younger viewers wouldn’t know anything about these topics at all, if it weren’t for “The Daily Show.” Basically, this is the argument that news has to be comical and ironic for much of my generation to stomach. This makes my skin crawl, but is it true?
Well, let’s see. A report about a political-news survey has surprising results regarding which TV audiences know what about political events. In short, the survey asked three questions. But don’t feel bad if you don’t know these… we’ve been discussing in my political communication class that knowing about practical matters could be more beneficial to society than patriotic trivia. With that caveat in place, here are the questions:
1. Which political party controls the House of Representatives currently?
2. Who is our nation’s current Secretary of State?
3. Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain?
From the entire data sample, only 18 percent answered all three questions correctly. The breakdown by question went as follows: More than 50 percent knew question 1, 42 percent knew question 2, and less than 30 percent knew question 3. Curious for the answers?
1. The Democratic Party
2. Condoleezza Rice
3. Gordon Brown
And yes, her name has two Z’s. But the truly interesting part of the survey results come from asking survey respondants which shows or publications that they watch or read regularly. Not surprisingly for listeners of NPR, 71 percent knew both questions 1 and 2, while 57 percent knew question 3. Similar results were also true of regular readers of The New Yorker and The Atlantic.
On the conservative side of things, viewers of Hannity and Colmes and listeners of Rush Limbaugh knew by the highest percentage (84 and 83 percent, respectively) that the Democrats controlled the House. CNN, on the other hand, faired only slightly better than viewers of the Late Show with David Letterman on the first two questions, and actually lost by 3 points to him on question 3.
So how did “The Daily Show,” this treasure trove of government and political knowledge for young people, stack up to the competition? Sixty-five percent knew the answer to the first question, 48 percent to the second, and 36 to the third. (And somewhat most shocking of all, viewers of “The Colbert Report” scored an average of 12.67 percentage points higher than “The Daily Show”.)
You can find the results to all the groups polled in the survey here.
In my statistics class, now would be the time when we would ask, “But are these numbers significant?” And to be honest, I think I should probably be able to determine that at this point in the semester. Maybe I’ll do that and report back to you later. But in the meantime, here’s a list of news programs and publications that provide their news consumers with a little more political knowledge than “The Daily Show”:
The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, Hannity & Colmes, Rush Limbaugh, The Colbert Report, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, The O’Reilly Factor, C-SPAN. Those who faired worse: Letterman/Leno, CNN and The National Enquirer. Go figure.
The lead singer of the Motown group “The Four Tops,” Levi Stubbs, died today in Detroit. He was 72 years old. You can read the CNN story about him here.
Stubbs was the voice in front of such hits as “Reach Out, (I’ll Be There),” “Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” and my personal favorite, “Bernadette.”
Below is a 45-second clip of “Reach Out, (I’ll Be There).”
The Congressional approval rating is 15 percent. That is, fifteen out of every 100 people asked, think Congress is doing a good job. That is the backdrop for this story.
John Murtha has represented the 12th district of Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives since 1974. This includes Johnstown and areas south and east of Pittsburgh. He is 76 years old. My messaage: let’s pull the plug.
Yesterday, Murtha told the editorial board at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area. The older population is more hesitent.
Those of you following Pennsylvania politics (which I realize is likely no one) will remember Gov. Ed Rendell making a somewhat similar statement to the very same editorial board during the primary election.
You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate.
Not surprisingly, Rendell’s comments were not well-received. PAWatercooler.com actually compiled the various reactions from Pennsylvania bloggers in their February 13, 2008 post. My favorite belongs to James Beale at CityPaper, who writes: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Rendell, an open Hillary backer, and one of the coveted superdelegates, just base an argument about his perferred candidate’s electability on the white supremacy of the state he’s supposed to represent?”
So, what’s the point of all of this? Is Western Pa. in fact “racist,” as Murtha believes? There’s a fairly lengthy discussion hosted by the Post-Gazette here, if you’re interested in reading local readers’ feedback.
In that discussion, the astute question was asked: what constitutes a racist area? Is it a population number? A percentage? If one rotten apple spoils the bunch, then isn’t nearly every zip code in America a racist area?
These questions are hard to answer, but they miss the larger point. What man in his right mind, who has served 17 consecutive terms as Representative of an area, believes in his heart that he represents a racist people… and can sleep at night? My question to Congressman Murtha is, if you truly believe you’re correct, what have you been doing for 34 years?
I’m not naive enough to think there isn’t racism in the area. But how irresponsible is it, after serving for 34 years and having done nothing (NOTHING) to counteract it, to paint an entire region with the broad brush of racism?
In retrospect, the Rendell comments were stupid. He quite obviously was trying to scare his fellow Democrats into thinking Obama couldn’t carry the state. (Hey Eddie, check the polls). Murtha’s comments, however, ring of irresponsibility and laissez-faire governance.
In politics, the story’s been the same for years. Only 15 percent of the population believe Congress is doing a good job representing them. But the guy who brings home the goodies, (i.e. MY congressman, MY senator… and goodies being pork) well, he’s okay. That’s how the bad ones stick around.
First and foremost, we have a few exciting announcements. Jen’s sister Shawn got engaged to her boyfriend Steve (or as Eli refers to him, Stebe) on Sunday! Congratulations to you both! The next exciting announcement is that Jackie’s aunt Patty and her husband Ray had their second child—a baby boy named Sammy—yesterday, as well. Congrats to the happy parents and big sister Maggie! Pictures of the happy couple and the beautiful baby can be found here and here, respectively.
Something else I need to announce, and forgive the laundry-list post today, is that there have been a few modest updates to the Joint that you should know about. The first is that on the left side of the site, I’ve added a widget that shows what I was writing about a year ago on today’s date. I know this feature has been around a long time, but well, you’re just getting it now. The second update is with images. Instead of popping up in a new window, they will now appear centered on the same page with a darkened background. Click on a picture and find out what I’m talking about for yourself.
And lastly, what a weekend I just had! Five of us packed into Eliot’s new, baby blue 1990 Toyota Camry and trudged our way up to Dallas to see the annual Red River Rivalry: The Texas-Oklahoma football game, held at the Cotton Bowl. And what a game it was.
If I’m going to be honest, I would say that I was just hoping for the game to stay close. The idea of actually winning sounded nice, but felt like a pipedream. The host the game right in the middle of the Texas State Fair, which I discovered is a very, very serious event. True to Texas tradition, the fair had just about every state fair attraction you could think of—amusement park rides, fried food, petting zoos, and of course, pig races. My pigs—Elvis Pigsley, Rush Limbaugh and Forest Runt—all came in last place in each of their races. Unbelievable. Even the pigs can smell a Northerner.
But back to the game: it was the most amazing sporting event I’ve ever attended. Half the stadium is packed with Sooners, clad in their Crimson and Cream, and the other (better-looking) half was full of Burnt Orange and White Longhorns. The newly-rennovated Cotton Bowl held about 90,000 people, and every single one of them was cheering their hearts out.
By halftime, it started to feel like a bowl game. We were staying competetive—only one point down. Once the fourth quarter came around, it became clear that we had a legitimate shot at winning. I, of course, started to become ill. Not since the national championship Rose Bowl game had I felt this nervous. One amazing drive and brilliant defensive stand later, we were winners. By 2 p.m. the next afternoon, we were ranked the best football team in the nation.
It was quite a whirlwind, and a great experience. Afterwards, I had the best corndog of my life, although I think just about anything would have tasted amazing after 5 hours in the sun. And these people will fry anything. Anything. Oreos, cheesecake, bacon, lattes… I don’t even know how that last one works. Personally, I had a fried Snickers bar, and before you search for a bucket, it was actually quite good. They know what they’re doing when it comes to food down here.
These are just a few pictures from the weekend.
The second presidential [[[yawn]]] debate was last night, and wowee-zowee, was it a zinger. For those of you who missed it, basically it was the same as the last one, but this time, we get to see what the candidates look like from the waist down (…head out of the gutter). Also, there was walking, which was decidedly missing from the first debate.
Another cute feature of the townhall format is that “regular folks” like you (not me) get to speak. When they do, the candidates pretend like they care about this person for the 30 seconds it takes to ask the question, and the subsequent 2 minutes it takes to answer it. I’m apparently feeling unusually cynical tonight, but I’m not going to fight it. It’s my right as an American.
Anyway, at the end, George Snuffleupagus sat up tall on his stack of phonebooks and told America who “won” the debate, sooo… basically you don’t need to vote. We’re cool. The only reason I had to listen to that lollipop (have you seen how big his head is in proportion to the rest of his body??) was because Time Warner Cable, in their infinite wisdom, decided to yank our local NBC affiliate here in Austin. But take heed—they console you in commercials by telling viewers that they can watch “most” of their favorite shows on nbc.com. I’m thinking of making a little video of my own for Time Warner to watch… it involves me, a spicy Tex-Mex meal, and a Najeh Davenport-type prank.
I’m so off topic, it’s embarrassing. So, during the debate, McCain said something that’s been getting a lot of attention in the press. The question was about who knows what (probably ANYTHING but what the response was about… they’re both guilty of that), and this was McCain’s response, regarding Obama’s vote on an energy bill:
[it was] loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one.”
And suddenly we have a racist. Or, at least, that’s what some are trying to imply, usually without actually saying it. The whole thing is ridiculous. I had this discussion with two of my roommates (who shall remain nameless), and we eventually had to agree to disagree. Is McCain trying to brand Obama as someone who is inexperienced for the job? Yes. Is he trying to associate him with whackos from his past? Yes. Does calling him “that one” in a debate combine all of those messages with a sprinkle of cracker? Absolutely not.
The first and most obvious defense is that when you’re on the rotunda, wheelin’ and dealin’ with Brokaw and these slack-jawed yokels from Tennessee, you’re bound to get caught up in the moment and say something inarticulately (which McCain has made a campaign promise of, apparently). But that defense sucks, because it implies he could have meant something by it, which I think is false.
I’ve been informed it’s not the “that” that is offensive, as I originally thought. After all, there’s a separate, fully-declinable form of “that” in Latin that is meant as “that bastard,” as described by one of my professors. (It’s “iste” if you’re wondering.) It’s the “one” part that is getting people upset (and we’ll get to which people in a minute). Replace “one” with guy, person, fella, bloke (in Australian debates), etc. and you’re in the clear. But “one” means you’re a racist.
The argument is that “that one” paints Obama as “other worldly” or not like the rest of us. Yet, in his own words and as recently as August, Obama played up this fact himself. In a “pre-emptive strike” of sorts, Obama was predicting what McCain would say about him when he [Obama] told crowds:
‘You know, “he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,” ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”‘
And it’s interesting to note that the people who are getting upset by this “that one” comment are almost always trying to inject conflict, disagreement and, let’s be honest, hate, where there is none. Does McCain dislike Obama? I’d bet my house, if I had one. But is he a cranky old white man who spews racial epithets or at the least “let one slip” on Tuesday night? Come on.
For the good of the country, let’s move beyond this crap and get back to snoring through these debates like good Americans.