Oh, Sweet Nothing, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise
With all due apologies, I’m kind of scattered this week. There is no single topic that is screaming out to me, eliciting a well-thought out essay.
That said, the media still manages to outrage me, and I am compelled to share. Use the links to get a fuller story
• Bloomberg, which is hardly a left-wing news organization, reported that the Koch Brothers secretly (and illegally) conducted business with Iran. You might think this would be a major news story, since they are among the world’s richest men, and major funders of various conservative think tanks and candidates. Also, you know, there’s that whole Axis-of-Evil thing. But, no, instead we got coverage of Rick Perry’s parents’ hunting lodge and other irrelevancies. I can only assume that those Dixie Cup ads come with a lot of strings attached*.
• Hank Williams, Jr., an entertainer said something stupid about the president. As a result, he lost a lucrative gig, and there is controversy. While I’m opposed to censorship, I’m not opposed to this. It’s cause and effect. If you don’t like what happened to Hank, buy his records. I enjoy listening to the Dixie Chicks. And if you look to entertainers for your political insight, you deserve what you get.
• I don’t quite hav a handle on the Occupy Wall Street folks, but I must agree with them because they’re pissing off all the right people.
* And also, the central idea, which those of us on the Left have been saying for at least three years now, is that creating jobs is more important than shrinking the debt. This report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office would seem to support that idea. And if tax cuts for the rich actually created jobs, we would have seen more growth in employment under Bush than we did under Clinton. As Stephen Colbert says, facts have a liberal bias. (Thanks to Josh Marshall for the link.)
• Scientists have found that one of the major differences between males and females is that males are more stimulated by visuals. And in case you didn’t think that was stupid, read this. I look forward to the hot new DC New 52 heroine, Beer Bottle Girl.
* (Please note: That’s sarcasm, not paranoia.)
Media Goddess Martha Thomases is grateful to have lived at a time when there was a Steve Jobs.
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October 8th, 2011 at 8:08 am
What I’M most exercised about at the moment is this: Why isn’t there more outrage about the Republicans’ national campaign for the suppression of votes by likely Democrats? Why am I not hearing about legal challenges on dozens of fronts about this? When I was a kid the South used Poll Taxes to keep African-Americans from voting and it was declared illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court. These current practices strike me at unconstitutional on the face of it, but the such outcry as reaches the mainstream media seems muted and rather resigned. Why?
Oops. That wasn’t one of your topics, was it, Martha?
October 8th, 2011 at 8:21 am
@Howard: No, I didn’t write about that, but it’s a good rant on its own terms.
October 8th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Hank Williams III (who is twice the talent his daddy ever was, but not the equal of his grandfather – who is?) said he was wondering why anyone would even bother to listen to anything Junior says about politics.
October 8th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Howard,
The link below is just the TIP of iceberg and yet still nothing from the major networks.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2011/10/05/96-year-old-woman-who-voted-during-jim-crow-is-denied-photo-id
October 8th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
@MOTU: Wow. That’s amazing.
October 8th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Mike,
I ask the following question to anyone who is stupid enough to think I give a shit about 99.9 % of what any celebrity says about anything.
“Is Hank Williams writing you a check OR checking your blog to see what YOU are doing?”
Of course the name changes to reflect said celebrity or ass (Herman Cain) hole.
October 8th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Martha,
The link-’Beetles Die During Sex With Beer Bottles’in your article could not have been more damning.
Now,because of YOU, the GOP knows beetles have sex. Look for them to pass a law that prevents them from marrying.
Thanks a lot.
October 9th, 2011 at 8:03 am
MOTU: we can be assured that Beatles had sex. There are children. The baggers have reacted. Don’t hear any Beatles anthems from that corner. “Say you want a revolution….”
This Hank Williams thing is beautiful. It is a mirror moment reflecting the true sentiments of many. In fact…”Hey Good Lookin…”
Martha, in twirling this around, it occurred to me that the Wall St movements spreading throughout the country–they materialized in little Grand Rapids yesterday–have a certain parallel to the baggers. Both represent a defiant and pro-active revolt against the status quo. Both groups want change they can believe in–a neglected promise we all heard recently.
That little has changed for the better for the majority not affiliated with the upper echelons of power and finance stirred the pot. We are mucked up with 15-20 million (or more) out of work and under-employed. Many face no meaningful work again in their lifetimes.
Do the street people or baggers have anything substantial to contribute as meaningful solution? Not so much. The protest is the dynamo for both. The political gulf between the two groups is akin to the West Village and West Nevada. Not much common ground there, eh?
Polarization fulminates and rules the airwaves. One techno-media savvy woman (nom de plume of Grim) is the driving force for the street people and it is clear she has touched a national nerve. A month-long street festival for the disaffected who missed out on our rock festivals but are certainly rocking the boat themselves.
Burning Man meets Manhattan–and takes it to Peoria. Maybe Manhattan and West Nevada do have something in common…”Why don’t we do it in the road?”
October 9th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I think the folks at Occupy Wall Street are the real deal. They could be more focused with their message, but i don’t think it’s their fault that the media doesn’t want to get it.
October 11th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Media-wise, we definately are at risk of missing the forest for all of the trees. Whether it’s the non-news that Perry is not someone who could run the country well, or minimizing the Occupiers and what might happen through the movement.