Jon Stewart on CNN's Crossfire

I thought Jon Stewart handled himself rather well on Crossfire, and got in some hilarious zingers at the hosts. Some pretty relevant issues were raised such as responsible journalism. When the tables were turned Jon was exasperated, retorting that his show shouldn't be a source of information. His show's main arena is entertainment and humor. Just because it's a parody of a news show doesn't mean that people can use it as a viable source. That point makes sense to me, but it's become more evident that entertainers are using their voice to influence people's political views but then putting their hands up saying that it's not their job to do that whenever someone calls them out on it. From Michael Moore "documentaries" to Oscar acceptance speeches to song lyrics, celebrities are pushing their own views and agendas on us. I love Radiohead music but I'm not looking to Thom Yorke to gauge my own social/political views. Stop preaching and just entertain me. I'll read the newspaper if I want to get informed. Which, by the way, has its own slant but that's a whole other issue that I'll hold off on ranting about for now.

Watch the video


Other news, I am about to get off early for work to head to Lubbock to go to the Tech/UT game. Go Raiders!!

Practicing my civic duty

i went and voted yesterday, which had much more of a fulfilling effect on me than i would have anticipated. Of course that's all negated by the fact that i'm in a state that's pretty much a sure lock for one side. every time the elections roll around the validity and necessity of the electoral college comes into question. is it serving the purpose that the founding fathers had originally intended? did they forsee our ability to have such vast and all-encompassing knowledge at our fingertips as to be able to make an informed decision? or were their views on the ignorance of the masses still accurate? how many people across this country blindly follow their leaders? how many don't care enough to find out about the stances that the candidates have on pertinant issues? how many rely on things like looks, religion and "values" to make their choice?

this has been a close, hotly contested race. it will be interesting to see what happens, not just in the oval office but the international reaction as well. i'm not a fan of the incumbent but i have my reservations about the challenger as well. i think they're both stretching truths and spouting quotes that we want to hear. who can we trust?

First...

this is the first foray into the world of blogging.

not quite sure what to do with this yet. i may forget about it as early as next week. hopefully this will spark some creative, intellectual activity in my noggin and i will continue to contribute into this bloggin world.