Sunday, August 17, 2003

Gasoline Shortages in Phoenix Via PhoenixBloggers.com: Gasoline Mayhem!. I witnessed some serious chaos this evening. Yes, we are going through a gas shortage, as has been repeatedly pointed out on the news. It seems that some parts of the valley have more gasoline than others. For example, I... [Phoenix Bloggers] 11:27:26 PM

The McCain of Vermont In an article titled 'The McCain of Vermont' Arizona Republic reporter Chip Scutari chatted with Dean this week as he campaigned in Iowa. 9:44:10 PM

Michigander Photo Photos from the Road: Michigan. Kate sends in these photos from the road. Gov. Dean visited Ypsilanti, Michigan on Saturday [Blog for America] 8:19:53 PM

Ghost In The Shell II: Innocence Dreamworks plays Go Fish. Go Fish, the new distribution outlet set up by Dreamworks SKG to compete with Warner Independent Pictures, will be releasing Ghost In The Shell II: Innocence next spring, reports the Anime News Network. And ICv2, noting that the film will... [GreenCine Daily] [cinema minima] 6:25:48 PM

Mediaburn Books, Music & More Are you an eBay customer? Mediaburn has it's eBay store of Books and Music from Half.com. Awesome sales are going on right now. Some great book titles are as low as 75 cents! Great deals on text books and other resources for the fall. 2:52:52 PM

Dimmer Switch There is a rumor going around that the recent blackout was caused by a dim light bulb in the White House. 1:06:39 PM

Yahoo Groups Generating an RSS feed for Yahoo Groups 12:54:38 PM

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them Al Franken Couldn't Buy Publicity Offered by Loony Fox News Lawsuit. Salt Lake City Tribune by Brian Lambert 14 Aug 03 o the long list of stories you can't make up, we can add the one about Fox News suing Al Franken over his use of the phrase 'fair and balanced.'   By provoking this hilariously ironic legal snit, Franken, the satirist, has achieved full warrior status in the pitched battle between the forces of cartoon righteousness and the decimated remnants of sanity. The latter are in an Alamo-like defensive position at the moment, surrounded by cutthroat opportunists and firing in every direction. Franken happens to be the depleted tribe's best sharpshooter. The new book is called Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. It is to be released next month. The cover features a picture of Franken, arms crossed, standing before a bank of monitors on which the faces of various undermedicated 'conservative' spinmeisters are plain to see. Franken's book is supposed to be intentionally funny. Use of the phrase 'fair and balanced' is, you see, a play on words. A joke. A matter of humor, as it used to be known, before every aspect of partisanship became a grim, vicious process of slander and gizzard-ripping.   Sadly, humor of any self-deprecating kind is alien to the suits and circus performers at Rupert Murdoch's 'news' empire [see Murdoch's Mean Machine by Russ Baker, Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 1998.].   In taking Franken to court, Fox lawyers argued that 'Franken is neither a journalist nor a television news personality. He is not a well-respected voice in American politics; rather, he appears to be shrill and unstable. His views lack any serious depth or insight.' This, I remind you, is from the people who employ Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and give Matt Drudge and Ann Coulter more air time than most non-Republicans. Strictly speaking, can any of the Fox News 'team' be considered any more a 'journalist' or 'news personality' (emphasis on the 'news') than Franken, who I don't believe has ever said he was either? Have Fox's lawyers ever watched their own channel? It is essentially programmed by and for the shrill, unstable and depthless. [KWSnet Radio Weblog] 12:49:12 PM