13 May 2010

lines of the week

"This vehicle may speed dangerously out of control and kill me without warning?" they say. "OK, but I'm not paying sticker."

So we need a government mandate to put a black box in all cars now? What exactly does that accomplish? (Other than increase a disparity in driver safety between richer people who could afford the higher sticker price or the modification, and poorer people, who would simply continue buying cheaper older used cars that don't have such things AND which may require higher maintenance costs to keep them safe and running)

Speaking of useless mandates: So we need a sprinkler system in our homes now?

And then of course this was classic Black.
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's
www.thedailyshow.com
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I've been thinking about perspectives. It occurs to me that I can imagine how Glenn Beck's mind operates: find something shocking to say, make a random comparison to something...odd and frightening from something much less hideous, possibly even innocuous. What I cannot follow is how someone could watch him work and come away...agreeing to those conclusions. Look, I listen to a fair amount of sports talk radio (once in a while). Typically the reporters and podcasts I listen to are sane, making reasonable points and observations, maybe with some local or personal biases, but even there making critical analysis over their favourite players and teams or sports. But the talk radio hosts are often morons, making insane points in order to stir up the shit. Glenn Beck does the same damn thing. It gets ratings and attention. It does not matter that some of the attention is negative, from people thinking he is insane, because he pockets money hand over fist anyway as people call in to complain or watch to see what outrage he will commit next.

What does matter, I think anyway, is that some of the people listening take this kabuki theatre show going as real and serious.

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