So we have BOR and pseudo-psychiatrist (that the phrase Crooks & Liars used but I think it sperfectly apropos) Keith Ablow grousing about this “Gangnam Style” video that trending so high right now as being totally senseless and a waste of time etc. etc. you know the drill.
Yeah it is catchy amongst the youth probably for it beat and dancing but to imply its meaningles drivel shows me how clueless and lazy O’Reilly Albow and “The Factor” staff really are. BOR and “The Factor” claim to be journalist and yet no one there could do what I did which was google “Gangnam Style” and/or check on it in Wikipedia to discover that it was intended as a piece of satire mocking ridiculously rich opulent lifestyle and aires of the folks in Korea who live in the region of Seoul known as Gangnam.
I try to watch Fox from time to time just to see if they are making any strides to real fair and honest you decide journalism instead of the being just the right wings talking points video blog so the other day I actually caught this bit where an overly self righteous and obviously either dangerously naive or outright partisan Megyn Kelly says that Fox news personalities don’t use Nazi references in describing President Obama, Democrats, and progressives.
When democratic strategist Richard Socarides* made the claim:
"If we want to get into who is heating this and overheating this, I mean every night on the very network we’re on right now, the leading commentators on this network use this kind of language,"
Kelly replied in what I perceived as a somewhat sanctimonious tone:
"That’s not true, Richard, I don’t know if you sit and watch our programming every night, but I watch it every day, and you’re wrong."
Just who is she frickin kidding?
Almost soon as I stated to search through Google to build my own collection of evidence of nazi references by Fox personalities to rebut her claim I found I wasn’t at all alone in spotting just how absurd Kelly was with her proclamation.
…and then as for all those other folks and blogs that also recognized how ridiculous her claim was here are a few:
Ed Brayton Dispatches From The Culture Wars— Nazi Analogies? What Nazi Analogies (Brayton also makes a great point when he points out that "…Richard Socarides is no better in pretending that Rep. Steve Cohen had apologized for comparing Republicans to Nazis when he offered one of those silly "if my words upset anyone…" non-apologies.")
And as it turned out Massimo Pigliucci who writes for and maintains one of my favorite blogs on the net (RationallySpeaking.blogspot.com) wrote in his Massimo’s Picks for Sunday, January 30, 2011 as the third pick "Once again, Jon Stewart nails Fox and O’Reilly exactly where they should be nailed."
And there is plenty more where all that came from.
My point is,…are all of us wrong?
Let’s look at that short video of Jon Stewart’s: Bill O’Reilly Defends His Nazi Analogies
I am always struck by just how ridiculous the claims that liberals are afraid of or intimidated by Sarah Palin that usually comes from the mouths of tea partiers, neah…the tea baggers*.
(*— I draw an important distinction between Tea Partiers and Tea Baggers, Tea Partiers I recognize may very well have an authentic and purposive legitimate conservative and libertarian vision of small government that I just happen to find unrealistic, impractical, and heartily disagree with while what I call Tea Baggers seem to be fixated on whacko memes and wild conspiracy theories such as Obama is not a citizen, Obama and liberals want to destroy the country, etc.)
Speaking as a liberal I can say we are hardly "afraid" or "intimidated" in that we just can’t see how an intelligent America could ever possibly elect (or even nominate) someone like Sarah Palin for the highest office in our country especially given all that we know now from seeing her in the spotlight these last two years.
I bring this up because I was struck by the brilliance in a great bit of comedy that I saw this morning on Morning Joe where they played a clip of Stephen Colbert telling Mika Brzezinski to "buck up" and just read the Sarah Palin news clips she is asked to read.
Folks might remember how Mika Brzezinski famously once upon a time in an act of protest regarding irrelevant trivial journalism working its way into what should be real hard news refused to read a report about Paris Hilton being released from jail or something like that and actually attempted to set the pages of her script for the show on fire. (Watch it here: Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC rips Paris report)
Well last night on his Comedy Central program Stephen Colbert gave Mika Brzezinski a heartfelt piece of his mind to Mika for her expressed frustration at having to report on the Sean Hannity—Sarah Palin interview/chat from the night before which she again felt just was really newsworthy.
Mika Brzezinski Experiences Palin Fatigue
Mika Brzezinski thinks Sarah Palin’s speeches are coded talking points mixed in with words picked up at random from a thesaurus.
Quoting from Colbert’s "dressing down" of Mika we get what might be the most succinct analysis we have of just who and what Sarah Palin is:
"…I know you think this story has no purpose other than keeping Sarah Palin’s name in the headlines for another news cycle. I know you think she has nothing to offer the national dialog and that her speeches are just coded talking points mixed in with words picked up at random from a Thesaurus.
I know you think Sarah Palin is at best a self-promoting ignoramus and at worst a shameless media troll who will abuse any platform to deliver dog-whistle encouragement to a far right base, that may include possible insurrectionists.
I know you think her reality show was pathetically unstatesmanlike and at the same time I know you believe it represents the pinnacle of her potential. And that her transparent desperation to be a celebrity so completely eclipsed her interest in public service so long ago that there would be more journalistic integrity on reporting on of the lesser Kardashians’ ass implants.
I know, i know that when you arrive at the office each day you say a silent prayer that maybe, just maybe, Sarah Palin will at long last just shut up for just ten f*cking minutes. I know because I can see it in your eyes.
Well, guess what, Mika that’s the gig. And it’s only January of 2011, kiddo. And you have a minimum of two more years of this ahead of you. You want to stay in this game? You dig deep. You find another gear. You show up to work every day and get your hear and makeup done. You slap on a smile, get out there on TV and repeat what Sarah Palin said on Hannity last night right into the lens.
I have faith in you, kid. You can do it. See you in New Hampshire. I’ll buy."
Colbert has done all of us Americans a great favor with his "criticism" of Mika’s journalism.
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