When I’m at work, I’m forced to watch (on weekdays) the Weather Channel or CNN.  Most the time, I try to watch the Internets instead.  Wherever I look, I learn new things… not all of them intended.

5) “How to look for news”

CNN this morning was looking for ways to exploit and sensationalize the death of four young teenage boy scouts in Iowa.  As they found ways to go between panicky “how could this happen” and “tales of heroism” they found time to teach me “How to look for news.”  This consisted of a guy standing in front of a TV that showed an internet browser.  The guy then proceeded to tell me, the viewer, where there were internet sites that I could read that might tell me more about the news... the news I assume THEY were supposed be reporting.  “The Boy Scouts Website just has a little bit of information on it; look at this they don’t want you calling if you don’t have family there…”   COME ON!

4) YouTube is not an acceptable form of research. 

This one really grinds my damn gears.  Years ago, when someone of merit to society passed, somebody went to the vault and dug up old footage.  Impressive artifacts of someone… a true remembrance of them in their prime, and what their legacy meant.  Now what do we (the news) do?  Show streaming video.  Pixilated, craptastic streaming video.  And they don’t just do this for the dead.  They do it for stuff from other stations.  They do it when they’re too lazy to get rights.  “Courtesy of YouTube” my ass.  I go to YouTube because I don’t have access to the backlog of information you, the news media does, you lazy sluts.  And that’s what they are.  Lazy folks who are not sexually discerning.  Slutty, no?

3) Polls.

Today I saw a poll on who people thought was better on the economy: McCain or Obama.  While this is an interesting question, if we have to have this sort of polling for the next FIVE MONTHS, it’s gonna get old.  Fast.

2) Fox News DESTROYS MY SOUL.

Baby-Mama. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/11/fox-news-calls-michelle-o_n_106655.html

Ain’t nothin’ racist here.

Terrorist Fist-Jab:  http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060007

HOLY SMOKES!  I mean… REALLY!?  A damn fist-pound is a terrorist fist jab to be examined?!  I’ve been pounding fists since junior high!  If this display makes me a terrorist, watch out world.

1) MSNBC soothes me.

The other day as I watched Keith Olbermann’s latest “special comment” (see: “Edward R. Murrow wanna-be rant”… not that there’s anything wrong with that, and if you don’t know about that period in history see “Good Night and Good Luck” for an awesome take on it all) I asked myself, “How am I any better than a Faux News fascist who yanks it to Bill O’Riley?”  There I was, on my socially liberal channel, enjoying a good smack-down.  And then it dawned on me… I wasn’t afraid.  Keith Olbermann doesn’t want me to run someone out of the country.  He didn’t want me to be afraid of people who thought differently than me.  He didn’t want me to persecute.  Yes, he points a finger at who he thinks are the bad guys.  But he doesn’t tell them they hate America for disagreeing with him.  

I’ve recently had a lot of people in my circle enjoying MSNBC election night coverage and debates.  And I hear I’m not the only one: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987208.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Tom Brokaw drops by, Brian Williams, Tim Russert… heck, Chris Matthews is less of the “problem” he used to be back when Jon Stewart levied that oh-so-right criticism of the way he divided people previously.  I’m not gonna say MSNBC is perfect, but in a world where any news I have to watch has to be re-filtered through 10 other sources before I feel like I’ve made it close to anything resembling the truth… I feel like I can shave off a few filters at MSNBC.  I like this.  It feels more like the news.

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