Friday, September 12, 2008

Draw Tippy, Journalism Version

There is a long-standing offer found in magazines and on matchbooks which urges the reader to "Draw Tippy" and win a scholarship to art school. The normal six-year old dutifully enters the contest by placing a transparent piece of paper over the hipcat turtle image and carefully tracing the contours. No skill required, great fun for those so freshly out of nappies.

The journalistic equivalent of "Draw Tippy" can be found in Alessandra Stanley's reportage (née, opinion) piece regarding Governor Sarah Palin's initial television interview. Not having seen the interview, it is obvious the Governor did well. How can you tell, start with the headline:
Showing a confidence, in prepared answers
Of course politicians never use prepared answers. Granted, journalists do not write the headlines. So what about the reportage heft:
Palin didn't look rattled or lose her cool in her first interview with Gibson, the network anchor, on Thursday night, but sailed through with general answers, sticking to talking points that flowed out quickly and spiritedly — but a little too much by rote to satisfy her interviewer that she was giving his questions serious consideration. When Palin seemed not to know exactly what the Bush Doctrine is, Gibson made a point of explaining exactly what it means — pre-emptive self-defense — and demanded that she tell him whether she agreed with it.
So, now the meme of the Left will be that Sarah Palin is too prepared. This after two weeks straight of Sarah Palin is too un-prepared. As with everything, the Left emotively bounces from meme to meme, clutching any straw - scraping every barrel. No logic, no rationality, no continuity, no thought required, just bleat on cue.

Drawing Tippy may actually be a bit too intellectually strenuous an exercise for our friends in the media. On second thought, just ask the AVM about the Republican ticket:
Republicans? Bizarrely, BusHitler caused hurricane Katrina by defenestrating the Palestinian puppies in Branson!!!! If you aren't joyless about this chimp in charge, as a matter of fact you are a Repooplicker acolyte of Pat Buchanan!!!! You should read "PEOPLE vs. ALBERTO Gonzales: a Tale of Hatred," by Barbra Streisand. It changed my life!!! Fundies!!
Cut, paste, file, yawn.

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posted by Georges at 07:49 |

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Puzzling

Why are far more lucid and nuanced people interested in the choices of Bible-thumping, flag-waving, environment-killing, no passport having, authoritarian-capitalist, world has passed them by, red-necks, in the first place:

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may be struggling to nudge ahead of his Republican rival in polls at home, but people across the world want him in the White House, a BBC poll said.

All 22 countries covered in the poll would prefer to see Senator Obama elected US president ahead of Republican John McCain.

In 17 of the 22 nations, people expect relations between the US and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama wins.

More than 22,000 people were questioned by pollster GlobeScan in countries ranging from Australia to India and across Africa, Europe and South America.

The margin in favour of Senator Obama ranged from 9 per cent in India to 82 per cent in Kenya, while an average of 49 per cent across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12 per cent preferring Senator McCain. Some four in 10 did not take a view.

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posted by Georges at 08:07 |

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Twist and Shout

Those who live in echo chambres should really spend a bit more time in reality before opening up the old keyboard and sticking both feet in it.

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posted by Georges at 11:37 |

Monday, September 08, 2008

Those "free" markets

As those "free" markets are busy turning chicken-shit into chicken-salad, what better way to kick-off the week:

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posted by Georges at 09:44 |

Sunday, September 07, 2008

State-owned

The wonderful thing about the internet is the ability to have a peek at the unfettered and unfiltered nature of the truly bizarre machinations of unreconstructed statists. Feral leftists if you will. By all means go bow and scrape before our collective betters and justify your existence:
There is no campaign against the super rich: there is a campaign that they justify their pay and make their appropriate contribution to society, which is something quite different.
The hard-core Left: never about lifting up, only about dragging down.

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posted by Georges at 22:59 |

Prague Spring, Part Deux

Let's hope the upcoming Czech turn at the EU Presidency (the Rota) is indeed as refreshing as they are planning:



Of course, per the DW article linked above, there will be critics:
The clip, airing on nationwide television since Thursday, says nothing about Prague's agenda for the 27-nation bloc.

Instead, critics argue, it's a rebellious yet toothless jab at Brussels that gives a telling glimpse into a small nation's insecurities.
No doubt the un-named critics are the very same types whose are so secure in the current state of the EU that they would heartily welcome a referendum on Lisbon in every member state.

Of course watch for Bruxelles to pull the rug out from underneath the Czech's at every turn next year. Always note, in the zero-sum mindset of large bureaucracies it is not success (writ large) which is the over-riding goal. The goal of a bureaucrat is making sure that the other guy does not get success (writ small) no matter how deserving.

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posted by Georges at 19:40 |