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News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

 

Entries Tagged as 'Media'

Guantanamo, False Imprisonment, and the Human Rights Toggle Switch

Posted by Ocelopotamus on June 27th, 2008 at 7:04 am

This story is about a week old at this point, but it goes in the “things everyone should know” category.
One of the most common talking points from right-wing pundits, especially on Fox News, is that whatever happens to the people in Guantanamo Bay is okay because all those prisoners are really bad guys — “the […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Media · George W. Bush · Torture · Human Rights · Journalism · Justice System · Terrorism · TESK

Uncertain Smile: McCain Shredded by His Own Side

Posted by Ocelopotamus on June 5th, 2008 at 11:09 am

Watch the Republican pundits on Faux News shred McCain’s speech from Tuesday night.

 
I daresay we won’t see him get within a mile of a green backdrop again.
And suddenly, I can’t wait for the debates this fall with Obama and McCain on stage together.
In the meantime, I’m dedicating my favorite The The song to […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Media · TV · Barack Obama · John McCain · Video · 2008 Election

McClellan, Yellin, and the Press Under Pressure

Posted by Ocelopotamus on May 29th, 2008 at 8:55 am

Boy, Scottie McClellan’s decision to come clean — well, I say clean, I mean slightly less dirty — on his role as the Mouth of Sauron, and how the press corps passed along the White House’s propaganda to sell the invasion and occupation of Iraq, has really opened all sorts of floodgates.
In addition […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Media · George W. Bush · Iraq · Foreign Policy · Video · Journalism

Colbert on the O’Reilly Meltdown

Posted by Ocelopotamus on May 14th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

Sublime. Any comment would be superfluous.

 
And in case you haven’t seen it, the dance remix. Warning: Loud, crude, uncensored language, accompanied by a nifty techno beat. Lots of bad words that cultural conservatives might find objectionable, uttered by a conservative! Definitely not safe for work, kind of like the Falafel King himself.

 

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Tags: News · Culture · Media · Comedy · TV · Stephen Colbert · Video · Journalism

Larry King on the Other Larry King: Day of Silence PSA

Posted by Ocelopotamus on April 25th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

Very cool — CNN’s Larry King records a PSA in honor of his murdered namesake, in support of the 12th annual Day of Silence organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

 
Previously on Ocelopotamus:
• Death by Flirting
 

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · LGBT · Media · TV · Human Rights · Video · Hate Crimes · Education · Homophobia · Transgender

Death by Flirting

Posted by Ocelopotamus on March 29th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

From Friday’s AP story on Lawrence King:
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Larry King was a gay eighth-grader who used to come to school in makeup, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would boldly tease them right back by flirting with them.
That may have been what got him killed.
No, […]

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Tags: News · Culture · LGBT · Media · Comedy · TV · Human Rights · Hate Crimes · Education · Journalism · Homophobia

Rough Beast

Posted by Ocelopotamus on December 11th, 2007 at 10:02 am

From the profile of Putin’s protégé (if that’s what we’re calling it), Dmitry A. Medvedev, in this morning’s New York Times:
Short, boyish with a tuft of brown hair and sometimes described as socially awkward, Mr. Medvedev is also praised for a sharp and lawyerly intellect.
Awww … tuft! Don’t you just want to tousle him?
He’s […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Music · Media · Russia

Keith Olbermann Reads Tom Tomorrow

Posted by Ocelopotamus on December 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 am

Here are your Sunday funnies, courtesy of Keith Olbermann reading Tom Tomorrow channeling Bill O’Reilly, bestowing The Falafel Truth upon America’s young people.

 
***
UPDATE: Should have included this before — you can read the whole cartoon here.
 

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Media · Comedy · TV · Comics · Video · Keith Olbermann

Roundup: Flight of the Humpback Edition

Posted by Ocelopotamus on November 19th, 2007 at 2:46 pm

Markos from Daily Kos has a new gig writing opinion pieces for Newsweek, and he’s been in rare form with his first couple of efforts. From this week’s column: “In his first Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan remarked that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’ While the quip has provided […]

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No Backsies

Posted by Ocelopotamus on October 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am

I haven’t weighed in on the whole gay Dumbledore thing, partly because everyone is already talking about it, and I usually view OcPot as a place to post about things that deserve more attention than they seem to be getting.
But Minnesota Malcolm brought it up in the comments to this post last night, and […]

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Tags: Politics · Culture · LGBT · Media · Film · Books · Lit · Science Fiction · Human Rights · Civil Rights · Education · Tolkien · Fantasy · Fiction · India

The War on Halloween, Anderson Cooper, and Keith Olbermann’s O’Reilly Defense Initiative

Posted by Ocelopotamus on October 22nd, 2007 at 11:58 pm

Here’s a little video roundup to keep you entertained while I try to scrape together the time to post something more substantial.
First off, Mr. Colbert points out the enormous black-and-orange elephant in the living room … the War on Halloween! That’s not going to be very popular in the candy corn belt.

 
He really enjoyed […]

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Tags: Politics · Culture · Media · Comedy · Climate Change · Stephen Colbert · Animals & Environment · Video · Muppets · Journalism · Keith Olbermann

Video of the Week

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 24th, 2007 at 12:30 am

In case you missed it, Keith Olbermann was on fire this week. His special comment was possibly the most powerful I’ve seen him deliver. And his ultimate point about the sacred dividing line between the civilian leadership and the military is one that needs to be heard more often — too many people don’t seem […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Media · George W. Bush · TV · Iraq · History · Foreign Policy · Video · Journalism · Keith Olbermann

Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 17th, 2007 at 2:05 am

Eric Alterman has an outstanding column in The Nation on how the media’s mean girls (of all genders) develop the narratives they use to bring down the presidential candidates they take a dislike to. With examples of what they did to Gore in 2000, and what they’re doing to Obama and Edwards right now.
Two of […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Science · Tech · Chicago · LGBT · Media · Activism · Film · Climate Change · Democrats · Barack Obama · Books · Comics · HIV · Lit · Science Fiction · AIDS · Peace · Health · Iraq · Animals & Environment · History · Al Gore · U.S. Senate · Foreign Policy · Nature · John Edwards · 2008 Election · Hate Crimes · Fantasy · Cancer · Astronomy · U.S. Congress · Journalism · Elections · Roundup · Jamaica · Middle East · Infrastructure · Public Transportation

Colbert on the Klingon-Republican Alliance

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 12th, 2007 at 2:10 pm

Stephen notices the Republicans’ rhetorical reliance on the word honor, and points out who else tends to use that word a lot.

 

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Tags: Politics · Culture · Media · Comedy · TV · Stephen Colbert · Peace · Iraq · Foreign Policy · Video · 2008 Election · Elections