March, 2011 archive
He Was Framed, Metaphorically Speaking 0
Conventional wisdom, which may be correct, has it that the right is better at “framing” issues–that is, twisting issues in their favor–than is the left. Andrew Sullivan cites an article that their shamelessness might have something to do with:
A piece from the latest On the Media investigates how this may work; it casts some light on how an issue’s “framing”–the language used to describe it–serves to influence subconsciously persons’ reactions. From the OTM website:
Follow the link to listen or to read the transcript, or listen below:
Facebook Frolics 0
On one level, this begs for snark, but, on a deeper level, it is somehow very sad.
The feature is being run in conjunction with Samaritans, which said several people had used it during a test phase.
Facebook is, after all, nothing more a than website with a database. Many, including me, have found it to be a useful tool, but it’s still a tool.
Punishment 0
There has been no trial, just wrong word merely punishment.
The treatment accorded Bradley Manning is detestable. It is, indeed, Cheney-esque.
Networkscape 0
Making visible the invisible:
Immaterials: Light painting WiFi from Timo on Vimeo.
Via Andrew Sullivan.
We Need Single Payer 1
The high cost of health care in the U. S. all about the country club memberships–and not for the doctors. Derrick Jackson in the Boston Globe:
IF MASSACHUSETTS is the model, then national health care reform is ultimately doomed. That can be the only conclusion after this week’s news that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is in the homestretch of paying out nearly $28 million in retirement and severance pay in the last five years to its last two CEOs.
(snip)
But Massachusetts is not alone. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doled out $1.54 million to 34 board members, even as the company was losing $145 million, the Detroit Free Press reported in 2008. In 2009, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, nationally touted as a well-run alternative to the vilified “public option,’’ was exposed for paying out millions in bonuses, charter flights, Caribbean junkets, and severance for a CEO who had been busted for drunk driving.
Read the whole thing. Then you will need a doctor for those heart palpitations.
Walled Orchards 0
John Naughton has doubts about Apple’s dominance, via Itunes’s, in the on-line media sales world. A nugget:
Eco’s metaphor applies with a vengeance to the new generations of Apple iDevices, which are rigidly controlled appliances. You may think you own your lovely, shiny new iPhone or iPad, but in reality an invisible virtual string links it back to Apple HQ at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino.
Read the whole thing.
And Now for Something Completely Different 0
And truly weird. (Warning: Mild innuendo and out the other.)
Twits on Twitter 0
The internet is a public place. The principles of civil discourse apply (if you can afford the lawyer).
While the case didn’t go to a jury, First Amendment experts say it highlights the need for celebrities and average people to watch what they say online.
(snip)
“The laws controlling what is and isn’t libelous are the same regardless of the medium in which the statements appear,” (First Amendment Attorney Doug Mirell) said.
In a parallel vein, the local rag has banned anonymous comments on opinion pieces (not on news stories) and considers the experiment a success. From the editor of the editorial page:
The content of the comments on letters, editorials and columns has been so uniformly better, in fact, that we’ve been running them regularly in our letters column.
There is a difference between being intense and being insulting.
“The Right Wing Goon Squad” 0
Chris Matthews on the Republican Party’s odious Southern strategy.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Via Bob Cesca.
QOTD 0
Mae West, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Experience is by far the best teacher. You know, ever since I was a little girl I knew that if you look both ways when you cross the street, you’ll see a lot more than traffic.
Stray Question, True Colors Dept. 1
How long before Wisconsin Republicans seize the radio and television stations (at least the ones that aren’t already Fox), declare martial law, and announce the coup?
The Huckaster Takes on the Force 0
It is likely not wise to take on The Force, but it’s safer than taking on the GingGrinch.
Addendum:
Ta-Nehisi Coates points out the Huckaster’s differential standards: One for a Palin, the other for a Portman. And he has the citations to prove.
Republicans will say whatever sounds good in the moment. They are persons of sound bites, not substance.
