Media – Page 2 – Zombies Uncensored

Local News should have Safety Tips for Voters

BBC One show Rip Off Britain had a show about convenience stores charging more than grocery stores. It seemed odd to me to have a show on the subject, because who doesn’t know a convenience store charges more? Why waste time warning people about something they learned as kids? How do you follow up a report like that? A story about fire is hot, fire burns?

I don’t mean any offense to the UK. The show Rip Off Britain is not a reflection on the intelligence of its citizens. In the US, almost any nightly newscast will have parental reminders along the lines of reminding you to put coat on because its cold outside, or too much sunlight will burn your skin.

Still, there were probably a few people out there that benefited from the show pointing out convenience stores charge more. Its just as likely someone benefits when they are reminded to use suntan lotion or put a coat on.

The political events of the last few years have had me wondering basically the same thing about politics. Do people need to be continually reminded about how politics work? Is a story about government incompetence news? Maybe people should be reminded from time to time about the dangers of politics.

Local news programs should have safety tips for forgetful voters prior to elections?

Politicians promises are more likely to be broken than kept.

If they are the lesser of two evils, it means they still screw some things up.

They can’t be on your side and working for everyone at the same time.

Corruption follows power and money around.

Whatever they say it will cost should be doubled or tripled.

Contrary to what most politicians believe, not every problem has a solution.

Politicians have been known to lie.

Political Agreement Matrix

To break the hold of the US vs. Them mentality in politics, we’ve got to be able to spot the tactics used in political speech. Adjectives used in political speech are rarely used to offer insight into an issue, the intent usually being to promote an opinion.

It’s just simple marketing. Attach positive words with what you are promoting and repeat as often as possible. With enough positive or negative marketing , you’ll have others using similar adjectives to describe the products. The better the put-down, the more likely it will become a headline. Headlines are repeated without being read, and over time the opinion can turn into reality.

Political opinions are a mixture of marketing issues and parties at the same time.

Politicians X plan is intelligent, and its going to work. (agree with positive adjective – same team)

Politicians X plan is shockingly accurate, and its going to work. (agree with negative adjective – opposing team)

Politicians X plan is well-intentioned, and its not going to work. (disagree with positive adjective- same team)

Politicians X plan is extremist, and its not going to work. (disagree with negative adjective – opposing team)

None of the above statements are intended to sway the listener with supporting arguments or facts. The person isn’t trying to persuade with reason, but instead with simple positive and negative associations.

Another advantage to paying attention to the marketing adjectives is most people don’t come right out and announce their political affiliation, but the adjectives used offer insight into the political positions held by the speaker in relation to the subject.

Name-calling is Fun and Entertaining – and Drowning Debate: The Jon Stewart / Keith Olbermann Saga

Here is Keith Olbermann’s response to Jon Stewart over Olbermann’s namecalling towards Scott Brown. At the end, Keith Olbermann says “You’re right. I have been a little over the top lately. Point taken. Sorry.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZylQXm-vis

The ad hominem spam in political discussion is so abundant it’s become an issue unto itself. Unemployment and a shrinking economy have to take a backseat to political pundits personal views of others. To quote Stewart on this subject, “Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America.” (Jon Stewart on CNN’s Crossfire)

The irony is that at the end of the Crossfire video, Jon Stewart gets sucked into the namecalling by calling Tucker Carlson a “dick.” I’m not defending Olbermann; calling someone a “dick” is a far cry from calling someone “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees.”

The namecalling is so loud now its drowning out debate about the issues. Most political talk these days is focused on getting the best dig in and not the best point across. The king of the hill battle to arouse prejudices needs to die down. It would be an improvement for Olbermann to refer to Scott Brown as a “dick” next time.

Even when you are well aware of the damage caused by personal attacks, it’s easy to get drawn into the battle. It takes a great deal of self-discipline not to reach for the flamethrower when attacked or when there is a strong disagreement on an issue.

To teach themselves some self-discipline and so someone can benefit, the pundits should put up their own swear jar. Each time they drift away from the issue at hand and go with the personal attacks, they have to throw some money in the jar to be donated to charity.

Dreaming of a Libertarian Network News Channel

Fox News coverage is aimed towards Republicans and MSNBC is aimed at Democrats. I’d like cable news network aimed at Libertarians. If being liberty-minded catches on, there will be a market for news Libertarians find important.

There is some Libertarian coverage on the networks now–and the coverage seems to be growing. Libertarians are let into the media pool for an hour each week with John Stossel’s show on Fox Business News. CNN has been throwing in Libertarian-leaning guests on their shows. I appreciate CNN for bringing Penn Jillette and Ron Paul into their discussions.

Lip service from the major outlets doesn’t cut it, though. There is still a need for a network with a Libertarian bias. As Penn Jillette put it while discussing his show Bullshit!, “We are trying to be fair and extremely biased.”

That’s what I want: factual reporting, unashamedly biased towards liberty–a network where reporters are required to ask politicians, “Will this lead to more or less freedom?” Reporters that will challenge the “majority of people want this legislation” with questions about the tyranny of the majority.

While a politician is speaking, I want the bottom of the screen to scroll the biggest donors to their campaigns. I want a cha ching sound when tax increases or incentives are mentioned and chain rattle when victimless crimes are mentioned.

When an election is mentioned, all the candidates for office will be listed, but in freedom-minded order. If there had been a network with a Libertarian bias, Joe Kennedy would have been mentioned on-air before the Massachusetts special election was held, instead of as a footnote afterward when the results had been tallied.

Polling for the Libertarian Network would be freedom-biased:

What is the least popular government program?
Do you feel more free now than you did four years ago?
Rate how much federal servitude interferes with your life: [ none/somewhat/too much/ready for a revolution]
Why do you feel Washington hates you?

A nightly lineup of opinion shows would include people like Penn Jillette, Drew Carey, John Stossel and Larry Elder. Have the people over at Free Talk Live do specials on police abuses.

And…last but not least, the hosts and guests could drink and smoke on the air if they choose.

Alex Jones calls Glenn Beck a Slimeball Traitor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAYXOpZFXQw

Most of the name calling between the pundits isn’t very news worthy, but Alex Jones sounds so much like Sam Kinison its difficult not to laugh even when he is being serious.

Jones compares Beck to Grima Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings. Its a bit dated, but I think of most TV pundits as Larry ‘Lonesome’ Rhodes from A Face in the Crowd.

Poll: Who or what is really to blame for the disaster in Haiti?

There has been a lot of political discussion about the tragedy in Haiti. Below is a list of several possible explanations, gathered from the internet and TV. Please vote for what you believe is the most likely cause of the disaster.

[poll id=”3″]

Zombies Fed up with Discrimination

The latest round of race relations being discussed in the news has created a flurry of emails from zombies reminding me of how poorly they are treated in society. Zombies face an abundance of ignorance, intolerance, and hate on a daily basis. This is a summary of the most common racial intolerance zombies face.

Zombies are upset about the insensitive comments made towards how they stink, talk funny, are stupid, and are slow.

Zombies are tired of hearing , “All you zombies talk funny; it’s brains, not ‘braaaaaaaaaaains.’ Get a job, deadbeat zombie. Go back to Hell, where you came from. Kill a zombie for your mommie.” Humans can’t seem to say zombie without saying “stupid zombie.”

Backhanded compliments from humans: “You have nice skin, for a zombie. You are smart, for a braindead zombie. At least you aren’t French.”

There are no laws to protect zombies from discrimination. Zombies are barred from voting, jobs, homes, marrying, education, and police protection. Zombies are only protected while in a grave, and even there they have to defend themselves from necrophiliacs.

There is no double standard in the news where Zombies are concerned because there is only one standard. There aren’t any networks or news shows with a zombie bias. News programs don’t have hours of debate when a human makes a racially charged anti-zombie comment. No one has ever been asked to resign because of an off-color remark about zombies.

Hollywood clearly has an anti-zombie bias. Other undead creatures like ghosts and spirits are treated as heroes. How many love scenes have you seen between a zombie and a human? There are zero romances with zombies, but Vampires get laid all the time.

Zombies are racially profiled without fail. Humans don’t stop and ask themselves before chopping one in half, “Maybe this one isn’t a bad zombie?” If a human dare speak out in defense of zombies, they are quickly labeled a zombie-lover.

Just because they are Life-force challenged is no reason for the unequal treatment zombies receive in society.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Witch?

In the anti-fandom of politics, there is a Wicked Witch of the left (Nancy Pelosi) and a Wicked Witch of the Right (Sarah Palin). Somehow Pelosi usurped the wicked witch of the left position formerly held by Hillary Clinton. Palin might also be replaced for Wicked Witch of the Right by Michele Bachmann.

Something about these individuals seems to bring out pure hatred from people with opposing political views. Almost anything they say is like pouring gasoline on the anti-fans’ fire. I don’t understand the vitriol response, because there isn’t anything I’ve heard them say that I haven’t heard from someone else before.

I don’t believe it’s a male vs. female issue because Obama and Cheney have comparable anti-fan bases. Pundits Olbermann and Beck have their anti-fan audience. I only used female figures because the wicked witch analogy is funny, and the male analogies are usually Hitler and Stalin.

I’ve heard others describe every word spoken by the people mentioned as “like hearing nails on a chalkboard.” The hated people didn’t create liberal and conservative values, so why the complete disdain for their every spoken word?

The reason for the hatred is these people are viewed as the embodiment of polarized viewpoints. Each of them represents a complete persona of what is wrong in this country to their political polar opposites. For the anti-fan, the view is, “If only we didn’t have people like [Pelosi | Palin | Clinton | Backmann], we wouldn’t have to worry about the country going into the toilet.”

To all the anti-fans out there, I am your anti-fan, because your hand is on the plunger. The biggest fear I have is that only what anti-fans have to say will be considered newsworthy. The underlying issues are getting buried under the belching bile of whom or what people are against and not about what values they support.

Anti-fans – next time you hear the “nails on a chalkboard” sound, use that energy generated to speak out for the value you wish to protect and avoid the personification of opposing views. I’d rather hear stories of heroes and heroines than the tales of big bad witches.

Mass Media Should Convert to Journalism

I watch political talk shows to hear about politics. I don’t tune in to find out a pundit’s personal likes or dislikes or religious beliefs or views of other pundits or anything outside of politics. It makes sense for sport shows, celebrity shows and general news shows to follow The Tiger Woods drama. Tiger Woods rarely talks about politics, so how is this a political story?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2iCG4BqnYA

It is bizarre how all the political talk shows spend so much time covering Tiger Woods affairs when the story has nothing to do with politics. Now it has become more bizarre after Brit Hume’s call for Tiger Woods to convert to Christianity. In this video are political pundits weighing on Hume’s religious views about Woods. What does Brit Hume’s religious advice have to do with politics? This guilty pleasure story–a story pundits should not have been covering in the first place–has turned into a new story about political pundits views and how pundits view other pundits.

Message to all political pundits – when it its a slow news day in politics, just go for the old tried and true political issues. Talk about abortion, tax rates, health care, the war of 1812: something at least in the realm of politics.

It’s just sad the pundits can’t resist stories about infidelity, money or other political pundits. There will no doubt be hours of debate about Brit Hume’s statement, inevitably leading to another pundit outdoing Hume’s controversial statement creating another “news” story.

Thank you fourth branch, for keeping an eye on all the important issues.