herbgart’s incite site

When a Republican tells a whopper (big lie, a la Goebbels) he is
qouted and made to sound like his bullshit is equal to the truth, even
though the news people know it’s a lie most of the time. Hey, it makes
news. It’s a good story. It builds the size of the audience and makes
money. The concept that every side of an issue is equal - as opposed
to equal exposure - which is what is missing from the Democratic side
of the equation - is incredibly stupid. It shows that the editors and
producers of most news shows (I use the word “shows” advisably) are
actually uneducated in very important ways. It’s not just a “story”,
it’s reporting what is actually happening to the extent possible.
Mistakes are not a problem; what is a problem is the profound
ignorance of much of the media. I really wonder if any of the
Journalism schools has any idea of the responsibilities that news
gatherers should have. Have the schools ever heard of ethics other
than as a shrug and a wink? Who do they think their students are?
Lawyers?

The media has been of enormous help to the tea party bowel movements.
The small, intense crowd at the beginning of the summer was covered so
extensively and in an hyper way - as opposed to a calm rational way -
that it helped spread the word and create the impression that it is a
solid movement of maybe millions of people. Every comment made by
anyone connected to the movement was quoted at great length no matter
how stupid the quote. Nothing like encouraging the bastards.

On CNN today, when talking about Michael Steele, the motormouthed RNC
chairman, and his latest fuckup, the news dude asked “Ïs this going to
hurt the Republicans just when they are doing well?” Let’s see. Obama
signed the health care bill, signed the student loan bill, signed the
health care reconciliation bill and reached agreement with Russia on
downsizing nukes. He also met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu,
French President Sarkozy, flew to Afghanistan to meet with Karzai.
Yep, that sounds like a good week for the Republicans. CNN? Sure it
wasn’t FOX?

Weapons Get Weirder and Weirder
By FREAKONOMICS
India just announced the addition of chili grenades to its weapons
arsenal. The grenades are made from “bhut jolokia — the spiciest
chili pepper in the world, according to the 2007 Guinness Book of
World Records.”