«« :: 2008 Feb :: »»

# 2008 feb 15 (fri) 10:28 :: Spook Country

"Are you really so scared of terrorists that you'll dismantle the structures that made America what it is? ... If you are, you let the terrorist win. Because that is exactly, specifically, his goal, his only goal: to frighten you into surrendering the rule of law. That's why they call him 'terrorist'. He uses terrifying threats to induce you to degrade your own society."

--William Gibson

# 2008 feb 13 (wed) 7:52 :: The Liberal Media Conspiracy

I'm reading a couple articles that were mentioned in a Revolution in Jesusland posting about how young evangelical voters are not necessarily Republicans (thank God this is finally starting to happen!).

The ABC News article says that those interviewed for the story were at "a concert and a rally in New York City, a huge gathering of Christian youth came together to decry the coarsening of culture." One of the quotes lept out at me:

"What should be done to stop glamorizing the things that are destroying my friends, your friends -- like drugs, alcohol and sex?" cried a young evangelical.

START RANT

When are people going to figure out that there IS no "liberal media conspiracy"? This betrays a lack of understanding of how the media functions, and an incredible passivity.

Media companies produce shows/movies/games BECAUSE PEOPLE WATCH/PLAY THEM (and watch the ads that go with them). Media companies really only care about advertising dollars, and will cancel even really good shows (like Firefly, Futurama, Joan of Arcadia, etc.) if not enough people watch them (i.e. if they can't sell enough ads).

If you don't like something, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH IT! Nobody's forcing you! And if you and enough other people don't watch something, it will usually go away because it's not profitable to produce. Sheesh!

END RANT