The News Is Funny

Quick And Silly

Repubs O Eight

So like a true political nerd I sat down and watched the whole republican presidential debate last night on MSNBC. I have to say that they one thing that really stood out in my mind was the amount of candidates that had their eyes on Iran. First of all Iran is probably a country to be worried about. However, they are a much more formidable foe than Iraq could ever be. Also I cannot understand how these candidates think that they will be elected when they are pushing for war in Iran and we are still fumbling in Iraq. Not to mention that the majority of the American people think that we are failing in Iraq.

Overall, I think that Romney, Giuliani, and McCain (all of whom already have the public's attention) did the best job at getting their positions accross and not stumbling when answering questions. Duncan Hunter scares me. During one of his responses, he completely avoided the question and went into a tirade about the Iran threat and how we must deal with them immediately. Jim Gilmore just comes off as a douche bag and Mike Huckabee seems alright, but he is also seems kinda soft. Tommy Thompson and Tom Tancredo did a fine job, but neither really blew my dress up. Lastly, Sam Brownback carried himself well and did a good job of getting his positions accross, but something about him just bothers me. Not to mention Ms. Brownback during a post-debate interview looked like she was a special bus regular.

The other element of the debate that engaged my brain was the Reagan ass kissing. Admittedly the debate took place in Reagan's library, but seriously. Every candidate on stage mentioned Reagan's name multiple times in an effort to associate themselves with the last uber popular conservative. I find it quite ironic because, for the voters, it is more of a question of what will you do to improve my life in the next four years and less about which past politicians you relate to. Also because many of the candidates tried to distance themselves from the current Bush administration and especially the decisions regarding the war in Iraq. As a whole the candidates are trying to distance themselves from the current negative sentiment towards the party and revive the overwhelming support for the great communicator.

As we are still a year and a half away from the 08 elections, anything is possible at this point. The one thing I know for sure is that it is very entertaining to watch candidates try and defend their positions while at the same time trying to appeal to the broadest base of the American voting population that they can.

The First Of May

The first of May is upon us. There are a lot of things going on in my life in this month of may. Today my brother was inaugurated as president of the student's association at the University of Arizona. In less than two weeks, I will be graduating from the University of Arizona. Two weeks after that I will be packing up my life and moving away from Tucson for good and moving to Los Angeles. I've known that all of this was coming for quite a long time, but certain realities are just beginning to set in.

1. I am done with my formal education.
2. All of my goals for the "future" must be set in motion now.
3. There are no arbitrary breaks or set times for levels of achievement anymore. It is now my responsibility to set these times.
4. I am leaving the city that I have lived in my entire life.
5. I am solely responsible for my life.
6. I will never see many of the friends that I take for granted in college.
7. I can no longer say "it's cool, I'm in college" and get away with it.
8. I have plans for the future, but not plans for now.
9. I must continue my education on my own.
10. I will miss these times.

Not to be a total serious downer, I am very excited and ready to get out of Tucson. I have friends in Los Angeles and will be living with friends. I'm ready to try and apply some of my knowledge instead of writing papers about bulsh. And most of all I'm ready to prove to myself that I can accomplish the many goals that have been marinating in my brain these last four years.

On a lighter note:
I want
Reefer Madness
Dumb Business
Well Done

Some Good Links

Bullshit Jobs List
The Wii is the Best
I though I loved the Wii

MSM Is Just Afraid

Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine has a great post about MSNBC's failure to take advantage of YouTube or other internet video outlets for the Democratic debate.

This is just another example of the mainstream media not understanding the demands of their viewership. People want to be able to get the information they need whenever they choose not when they are told it is available. The argument that posting videos on YouTube is taking away viewers of MSNBC, or any other network, is just a way to mask their fear. If people are already posting content from your television station, why not eliminate it by posting the content yourself and linking back to your site?

This is a free form of advertising on the part of the network. If people watch a video clip on YouTube that they enjoy I think that they are more likely to watch the programming when it is broadcast on TV. If the TV station themselves posted the videos and had links back to their site, this would bring in even more viewers because they wouldn't have to change mediums, The viewers can see more content when they want, which is usually immediately. Then the station could essentially take an audience from YouTube straight to their site.

Ahh...it is frustrating to watch the mainstream media fumble with the internet like an old man who has lived in solitude for decades and then one day he is approached by a stifling hottie but he can't remember how to handle such new and exciting beauty so he shits himself and whines.

Who Says Comedy Can't Teach?

Think Progress has a nice little survey showing that viewers of Stewart/Colbert are more knowledgable than their Fox News counterparts.