1. Is it just me or are the more black "talking heads" on the television news shows? And what is even better is the fact that they aren't just race experts but they are talking about the economy, the war, etc.
2. What is more elitist than being willing and able to whip out 6 million dollars of your own money in an attempt to acquire more political power even when the popular will seems to be against you?
3. I was fortunate enough to see MSNBC's Chris Matthews give a verbal smackdown to Kevin James on live television. It is sad to think that the people in the media responsible for informing the public could be so misinformed themselves. I think that part of the issue is that much of the news is just political propaganda read by "pretty faces" (see "i'm as mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore") and so research is less important.
4. In a similar vein, I was surprised to see some clips recently where Fox's O'Reilly reveals how mean-spirited he can be. The following exchange with Geraldo Rivera makes O'Reilly look like the last juror to switch sides in 12 Angry Men:
and then in the following O'Reilly just shows himself to be short-tempered and crazy:
5. John Hagee really isn't all that unique. Anti-Catholic and anti-Islamic ideas are more prevalent among Evangelicals than is generally acknowledged by the media. I mean, I grew up going to church which taught from the pulpit that Catholics weren't really Christian. I think such sentiments are widespread. I'm not saying that we are anywhere close, but I wonder what kind of pressures, what kind of change in the political and economic situation, how much of a loss of social order and restraint would be necessary for the US to sink to the kind of sectarian violence which has appeared in Pakistan or Iraq (or Northern Ireland for that matter)?
2. What is more elitist than being willing and able to whip out 6 million dollars of your own money in an attempt to acquire more political power even when the popular will seems to be against you?
3. I was fortunate enough to see MSNBC's Chris Matthews give a verbal smackdown to Kevin James on live television. It is sad to think that the people in the media responsible for informing the public could be so misinformed themselves. I think that part of the issue is that much of the news is just political propaganda read by "pretty faces" (see "i'm as mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore") and so research is less important.
4. In a similar vein, I was surprised to see some clips recently where Fox's O'Reilly reveals how mean-spirited he can be. The following exchange with Geraldo Rivera makes O'Reilly look like the last juror to switch sides in 12 Angry Men:
and then in the following O'Reilly just shows himself to be short-tempered and crazy:
5. John Hagee really isn't all that unique. Anti-Catholic and anti-Islamic ideas are more prevalent among Evangelicals than is generally acknowledged by the media. I mean, I grew up going to church which taught from the pulpit that Catholics weren't really Christian. I think such sentiments are widespread. I'm not saying that we are anywhere close, but I wonder what kind of pressures, what kind of change in the political and economic situation, how much of a loss of social order and restraint would be necessary for the US to sink to the kind of sectarian violence which has appeared in Pakistan or Iraq (or Northern Ireland for that matter)?
1 comment:
Agreed on everything else, but I'm not sure I'd describe the troubles in terms of religious sectarianism. While it's true that one side is mostly Catholic and one is almost entirely Protestant, there are Protestants in the IRA and Sinn Fein and Protestants who aren't loyalists in North Ireland and Scotland. It ultimately has more to do with ethnic background and political leaning than religion, which in Sinn Fein's case for example is pretty understated as part of the program. And while the orangemen may hate Catholics (in fact, some orangemen have started Klan chapters), devout Protestantism is rare in their ranks.
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