Liberal Special Interests vs. The "Right" Thing to do

I can't figure out why supporting social issues is a "liberal special interest" but being opposed is "right." (Sarcasm)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/us/politics/17hospitals.html

Welcome to Confederate History Month

Here's a fantastic editorial by Frank Rich that in many ways illuminates the "new racial" times in which we live.  All of the talk about Obama ushering in a new phase of post-racial-ness has been bunk. In many ways, I think we live in a far more racist society than we did before the Civil Rights Era. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18rich.htm

What Traffic Jams Can Teach Us About Social Issues

Sitting in traffic on I-35 today, I came to a conclusion.  As I sat in traffic for miles only to find out that traffic slowed down only for people to look at the flashing lights on the side of the road.  And as I saw no one, myself included, stop to help, I wondered why can't people just mind their own business?

The Politics of Activism

Justice John Paul Stevens pending retirement from the Supreme Court has been met with a collective yawn by most Americans.  But his retirement offers a great opportunity to examine how the judicial system, an entity that is supposed to be free of politics, tells us more about party affiliation than we like to admit.  In recent history (particularly during the Bush II administration) we heard a lot about so-called activist judges.  But when we deconstruct the term "activist judge" all it really means is someone who disagrees with our position. 

Entertained to Stupidity

If a celebrity (or fauxlebrity) makes a statement in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer to the question is only if we follow them on Twitter and it then gets reported all across the Internet. As someone who has worked in PR for more than 10 years, I certainly know a thing or two about manufacturing news, but the proliferation of the Internet as a growing source of information seems to have multiplied this to the nth degree. We are constantly bombarded with news of mistresses "speaking out," explicit email revelations and encouraged to take sides in celebrity and fauxlebrity splits.

Framing Homosexuality and Pedophilia

This week has been terribly interesting to watch the story about sexual abuse and the Catholic church unfold (again).  What's interesting is how approved "talking heads" (and the media by sanctioning/allowing their viewpoints) have worked to frame the Catholic church's problem as not one of pedophilia, but as one of homosexuality.  In other words, the media is complicit in recycling misinformation by continuing to allow certain guests on their programs and, in large part, failing to correct the misinformation.  As the brilliant Pierre Bourdieu states in his work On Television, 

"There is a backstage process of shaping the group that ends up in the studio for the show, beginning with the preliminary decision about who gets invited and who doesn't... The set is there in front of viewers, and what they see hides what they don't see-- and what they don't  see in this constructed image, are the social conditions of its construction." (Bourdieu, 34)

The Thrill is Gone: The American Idol and Dancing with the Stars Backlash

Since the Industrial Revolution, our culture has been driven by consumerism and consumption.  VHS became passé so we culturally moved on to the "superior" DVD.  The same argument can  be made for American Idol and Dancing with the Stars this year.  For American Idol, my belief is that the argument holds true as early as Season 5, but I won't get into that.  I don't think American Idol's problem this year is a true lack of talent (there are certainly contestants on the show who have vocal talent) rather the problem is that culturally, we're simply over it.  The newness has worn off and American Idol has become just another reality show.