Lipstick and the Dodo (among other things)

LIPSTICK AND THE DODO

What do lipstick and the Dodo have in common? They're both dead, gone, extinct, kaput. For weeks, all the news was was lipstick and exotic foods (arugula is indeed, grown in Iowa). But now, the real world has come crashing down onto the election coverage. Now, the economic woes on Wall Street and multiple crisis brewing in Pakistan over possible U.S. incursions have forced the campaigns and the outlets that cover them to actually look at the issues. While some of the major outlets were already beginning to come around, it's kind of sad (but not necessarily surprising) that it's taking something with the force of a sledgehammer like this to force the news to look at each candidate's stance on the issues. ABCnews.com ran an article that took a great look at this, urging people to watch for the paradigm shift coming from the mainstream media. All I can say is, it's about time.

THIS IS YOUR NATION ON WHITE PRIVILEGE

Recently, I was made aware of an article by anti-racism activist Tim Wise entitled: "This Is Your Nation On White Privilege" . Wise takes a brutal critique of the double standards that exist for whites and blacks, not only in the realm of politics, but in most aspects of daily life. It's pretty shameful that these things continue to happen, especially because when you read the article, it's pretty clear the media is responsible for the points in this article that can be related to the political realm for not recognizing this, critiquing it, and then changing it and making sure it ceases to happen. I think this is one of the most biting and insightful articles I have read in a long time, and it deserves to be disseminated as far as it can go into mainstream society. Please click the above link and take a read.

HOORAY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

I love when mainstream journalists take in upon themselves to criticize the media. On September 20, NYT writer Nicholas Kristof wrote an article about how people still believe Obama is Muslim, and therefore distrust him. It's a sad state of things that 13 percent of people still believe that against all evidence, that Obama is a Muslim. But the best part is the last paragraph where he says, "Journalists need to do more than call the play-by-play this election cycle. We also need to blow the whistle on such egregious fouls calculated to undermine the political process and magnify the ugliest prejudices that our nation has done so much to overcome." I couldn't agree more. Finally, someone gets it.