It’s been sorta quiet around here. Finals, family stuff, and a visit in California have made posting a little sparse lately. Needless to say, Citizen Sig is on a bit of a hiatus but rest assured in the new year we’ll be back and as good as ever. So sit back, enjoy a beverage of your choice, and enjoy whatever winter holiday you may or may not observe. See you in 2010!
The title is a bit misleading. This is an open letter to the non-racist piece of shit bloggers, so Alaska Pride you can go away. No seriously, go away. Stop embarrassing the rest of us.
*ahem*
Alright Shannyn Moore, AKMuckraker, and Gryphen…I think we need to talk. I think it’s time that you consider a Palin embargo. Please don’t get upset, hear me out.
We get it. Seriously, we get it. By we, I certainly mean me and some unknown number of others. Palin sucks. Good God she was a terrible governor, a terrible choice for vice presidential nomination, and by the accounts of many, a terrible person in general. We’ve been there. We’ve done that. Now can we please talk about something else?
Shannyn, when I met you at the 2008 J-Week, you actually became something of an idol of mine. I thought, “My God, here’s a person who really took blogging and made a career of it. If she can, why not I?” You helped inspire me to get interested in Alaskan politics.
AKMuckraker and Gryphen, your coverage of the Anchorage assembly’s anti-discrimination ordinance and all that that entailed were a true credit to the cause and I deeply appreciate it.
Which is why I am asking, pleading really, that you quit beating the dead Palin horse and get back to what you need to be doing, covering the aspects of Alaska politics that don’t receive proper attention in the traditional media. Has there really been nothing newsworthy in Alaska since Palin resigned? Is she really the most important thing to talk about? Look, I know that Palin buttered your bread and helped to elevate you in prominence, but now it’s time for you to use that power where it is needed. Please. Governor Parnell, Palin’s ideological twin, is actually in power right now so why not talk about him? Why not cover the Pebble Mine ongoing fiasco? Bent Alaska’s been doing a good job covering LGBT news in the state, but that cause can always use more vocal help.
I’m not guiltless. I’ve done more than my fair share of Palin-bashing here at Citizen Sig. But I’m doing my best to cover Alaskan politics up here in Fairbanks and central Alaska, and I am asking…I am imploring you to do likewise. Palin was fun, but until she does something genuinely newsworthy I think it is time for us to let her go and deal with the very real, very day-to-day political battles being waged here in the 49th state.
Thank you.
Cheers,
Andrew
Truly, this is the will of the Alaskan people. After all, the people of the Fairbanks North Star Borough clearly supported her enough to become borough may….wait.
Who knows? Maybe Parnell just has a soft-spot in his heart for know-nothings. Hell, one of them gave him the job he has right now.
Today we honor all the transgendered men and women who were murdered in the past year. Forget Sarah Palin and her stupid publicity tour. Forget this nonsense about how horrible it is that Obama bowed to Japan’s emperor. This, this right here, is what should be on the news channels. Every man and woman murdered in cold blood because some bigot just couldn’t tolerate their existence. And for every murdering bastard who actually does the deed, there are a dozen who are just as culpable. Who spread hate speech or who work to undermine or prevent the passage of hate crimes and anti-discrimination laws. Men like Jerry Prevo in Anchorage, or the fine folks at Fairbanks Bible Baptist Church, or state senator John Coghill.
Today let’s all take a moment to honor and remember the fallen, and work to make a better, safer future.
In honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance
Ok so the hangover from (not-quite-super, bordering-on-remarkable) Tuesday has ended, and so I bring you the Citizen Sig recap of Tuesday’s election results.
In New York City, billionaire Michael Bloomberg gives term limits the middle finger as he wins a third term as city mayor, albeit with some stiffer-than-expected competition.
Upstate, self-described Glenn Beck protege Doug Hoffman got beaten by democrat Bill Owens in the NY-23 congressional race. Some perspective: for the first time since the freaking Civil War, NY-23 is now represented by a democrat. Oh yeah, that sure is a stinging rebuke to Obama alright.
In Virginia, Bob “Women should be barefoot and in the kitchen” McDonnell beat Creigh “Who?” Deeds to become the state’s next governor.
New Jersey saw Chris Christie (R-Fatty) unseat Governor Corzine (D-Baldy) in what was really a case of “Neither of these two men should be governor.”
Maine decided that it prefers the 12th century to the 21st century, voting to strip gays of the right to marry. Way to go Maine. I hope you have a TERRIBLE lobster harvest.
Washington state on the other hand decided to act like a freaking adult by roundly approving R-71, the so-called “Everything but marriage” amendment. Suck it, bigots.
And right here in Fairbanks, it looks like Luke Hopkins has edged out Tammie Wilson to become our next borough mayor. Congratulations Fairbanks. You didn’t put a complete incompetent in charge of the borough. Be proud. Of course, in the event that the absentee ballots come back and Wilson is declared the winner, reverse that. Screw you Fairbanks.
All results are courtesy of Nate “I have a political crystal ball” Silver, except for the Fairbanks results which are courtesy of Tom Hewitt’s reporting at the UAF Sun Star Twitter feed and most CERTAINLY not courtesy of the News-Miner’s crap-tacular new website. Boo on you, News-Miner.
Cheers.
In the course of my surfing for links tonight, what should I happen upon but this delightful blog called Alaska Pride. I know I’m in for an…interesting read when the blog proudly labels itself “as Alaska’s most politically incorrect blog.” That’s usually just code for “I’m a raging homophobic racist DON’T JUDGE ME!”
And sure enough, I was right.
Here’s the headline for a post from last Thursday, “Nicholas Showers-Glover Found Guilty Of Murder, Chimps Out In Anchorage Courtroom.”
Yep, way to really “educate Outsiders about the real Alaska” as your tagline says. Way to show the rest of the country and the entire world that we’ve got our fair share of racist fuckwits right here in the 49th state. Stay classy, Alaska Pride.
On the dangers of false equivalency.
We had an interesting discussion in class today regarding the future of journalism. In particular, is somebody like Keith Olbermann the face of journalism’s future?
Some disclaimers are in order right about now. One, I rather like Olbermann and Maddow. I think they represent voices that were conspicuously absent during the first George W. Bush administration, when we could’ve used them the most. I think that for years, conservatives have had an overpowering voice in the mainstream media with little in the way of contradiction. Alan Keyes, Joe Scarborough, Pat Buchanan, and even Michael Savage all got television shows on MSNBC. Out of those, Scarborough remains MSNBC’s morning anchor and Pat Buchanan may as well keep a cot at 30 Rock for how often he’s asked to come on various shows as a commentator. So I say that Maddow and Olbermann are a net good.
That said, I can certainly admit that Olbermann, Maddow, the guys at the Daily Show and Colbert Report are fallible. There’ve been times when they were wrong, or when they “conveniently” left out a salient detail of some sort. In class, we watched footage of The Daily Show, which in turn referenced Rachel Maddow, excoriating the 30 some republicans who voted against the Al Franken anti-rape bill. Both Ms. Maddow and Mr. Stewart left out that Barack Obama was actually against the bill as well, claiming it was too specific and too full of loopholes. This was an error.
But here’s where things get dangerous. You see, there’s a difference between leaving something out because it’s not funny enough or because it isn’t convenient to the point you’re making, and outright manipulation of facts and/or lying.
Example: When Rachel Maddow criticized tax-payer funded AIG for hiring the PR firm Burson-Marsteller to burnish their image, she left out the fact that they were the company that basically saved Tylenol after the huge cyanide scare in the 80’s. Sure, it might have humanized the firm for her to mention that before mentioning all the horrible human rights abusers that they either represent or have represented over the years, or the fact that they have worked as Blackwater’s PR firm. You know, the mercenaries who murdered 17 defenseless Iraqis and got away with it? But is it Maddow’s job to polish that turd? No. It doesn’t matter if they repaired Tylenol’s damaged reputation or if they gave a bus full of orphans free puppies, Burson Marsteller still represents some of the most despicable entities on the planet. It is perfectly acceptable that Maddow chose to omit the Tylenol story. Journalists do that all the time. Even journalists who call themselves unbiased reporters still pick and choose which facts, which statements, which details to write down and in what order. And then editors come in and change it even more. That’s what journalism does, so why are Maddow and Olbermann being held to some different standard?
You might not agree with the politics of Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann. That’s fine, I totally understand. But what really gets me going is when people try to claim that Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow are at all equivalent to Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. For giggles, let’s take a look at some clips.
First, Keith Olbermann:
Now, Rachel Maddow:
Now compare those to this…
And this is the danger of false equivalency. Rachel Maddow has been wrong. Keith Olbermann has been wrong. But to equate them with Limbaugh or Savage or Pat Buchanan or any of the Fox News pundit pack is I believe disingenuous and misleading. Never…never have I seen Maddow or Olbermann make a comment as hateful, as racist, as homophobic, as outright wrong as those extreme pundits on the right have. To claim that they are the same is to be grossly misleading, intentional or not, all in the name of being non-biased. While I can respect the need for journalists to be as objective as possible, that objectivity should not come at the expense of facts, especially when that is the very claim you are leveling at Olbermann and Maddow.