Tonight marks the unofficial start of the Green Bay Packers' title defense. Whether or not you agree with that statement is your choice. I've always been a fan of the NFL Draft and love to waste an entire weekend watching it. This year, however, is going to be one of the strangest drafts in recent memory regardless of the selections made. Without the possibility of a player for pick trade in the equation, as well as a lack of draft day contract negotiations, the draft will be different than ever before. The great news about the draft is that the time between picks is still just as ridiculous as it ever was. In college, I could use that 10 or 15 minutes to read another couple of pages or write another paragraph. These days, the good news rests in the NBA playoffs. The first round of the draft now takes place during primetime while an NBA playoff game is going on. What a perfect scenario for the sports-addicted channel-flipper. Every timeout is an opportunity to check who's on the clock and catch up on the picks you might have missed. I would like to thank the NBA and NFL for developing this fan-friendly orgy of sports entertainment. Needless to say, I'll be spending the next 2 1/4 days flipping back and forth from the first pick/opening tip. I am beyond excited for a great weekend of sports programming.
P.S. Baseball is still televised as well.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Birthers and Blathering
Wow. Just when you think the political process could not become less issue-driven, something pulls us further into the abyss. Today's press conference conducted by the White House addressed the issue of his "long-form" birth certificate. Political posturing from the right ranged from "He caused this distraction." to "I"m glad I could finally put this issue to rest." In any case, it's entirely evident what power the right-wing noise machine possesses. From the chain e-mails that started the controversy to Donald Trump making it the single issue upon which his campaign rests, the power of the noise machine is unquestionable.
It is not to say, however, that the mainstream media and leftist news websites are not also at fault. As the old saying goes "All press is good press." and it certainly rings true with the birther issue. Websites such as Politico, the Huffington Post, and the Daily Beast all produced headlines with birther titles. That's not to say these outlets questioned the President's birth, but were covering others that believed as much. Maybe their agenda was also to press for the President to put this issue to rest once and for all.
In any case, the fact that so much time and effort has been dedicated to this issue is dumbfounding. At some point, it must be realized that certain segments of the population are not given to believing facts. This realization is paramount to moving past such issues, and devoting our time and effort towards making policy and progress.
It is not to say, however, that the mainstream media and leftist news websites are not also at fault. As the old saying goes "All press is good press." and it certainly rings true with the birther issue. Websites such as Politico, the Huffington Post, and the Daily Beast all produced headlines with birther titles. That's not to say these outlets questioned the President's birth, but were covering others that believed as much. Maybe their agenda was also to press for the President to put this issue to rest once and for all.
In any case, the fact that so much time and effort has been dedicated to this issue is dumbfounding. At some point, it must be realized that certain segments of the population are not given to believing facts. This realization is paramount to moving past such issues, and devoting our time and effort towards making policy and progress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)