Booman Tribune ~ On Rachel Maddow

On Rachel Maddow

by BooMan
Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 03:50:46 PM EST

Don't get me wrong. I'm very pleased to learn that Rachel Maddow has been awarded her own one-hour evening program on MSNBC. But I'm somewhat put-off by all the enthusiasm people are displaying. It's like a new Wendy's opened in town and people celebrated because they wouldn't have to eat at McDonalds anymore. You shouldn't consume fast-food...ever. It is terrible for your health. The same is true of Cable News.

Yes, every once in a while the Cable News channels will air a debate or forum that is safe for human consumption. But most nights they provide the equivalent of a balloon of nitrous oxide. If you hooked your cranium up to a scanner you could actually see the brain cells dying as you watched the pundits perform their circle jerk.

So, yes, hurray for Rachel Maddow. She deserves a show and I'm confident that it will be one of the best of its genre. But, so what? You'd be an idiot to watch it. Or you'd become one.

On Rachel Maddow | 20 comments (20 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: On Rachel Maddow (4.00 / 2)

couldn't agree more. Rachel is smart and quick, and has the genre down, but the problem is the genre itself. about as deep as a thin crust pizza.
people who get ibto shalow stuff might learn something from her that they certainly won't learn from Chris Mathews, but every sentence is a segue to some bumpersticker soundbite.

America needs to learn to think critically again.

The sleep of reason begets tyrants. -Goya

by joe in oklahoma on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:31:18 PM EST

The Contrarian View (4.00 / 6)

OK, I grok your Wendy's analogy, but in a lot of ways it's more like, we've been eating shit for the past eight years and all of the sudden someone opens up a McDonald's right across from the shit store. Now you and I both know McDonald's is shit, but it's so much better shit that it catches on.

Personally I'm glad to have Olbermann and Maddow as something of a counterbalance to Fox News. Most of the time when I'm watching Countdown with my wife I'll know what the stories and the issues of the day are because I've read them out here in the blogosphere, and when my wife asks about them I can give her some analysis and depth.

And in that previous nugget, is the reason why Maddow's show is a Good Thing: My wife watches these shows. She has never been on a blog in her life. She wouldn't know what to do with one if I handed her the URL and gave her a map. But she and millions of others like her watch TV, and thus get at least some of the "liberal" viewpoint that's lacking (or actively fought) elsewhere on TV.

You and I might think they're foolish to be getting their news from TV, but it's what they know, and you can't win hearts and minds by mocking choices like watching TV. I say, give them better TV and then start moving them to where they can get the good stuff.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:11:12 PM EST

Re: The Contrarian View (none / 1)

true true
good points

The sleep of reason begets tyrants. -Goya

by joe in oklahoma on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:27:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yup. (none / 1)

I'm with Omir. If this country is ever going to move in a progressive direction, then we're going to have to push that message in every forum possible. We can't give an inch anywhere. Even cable news. And even if it isn't as 'progressive' or 'liberal' as we might want, any step in the right direction is a good thing because the media has been so right-wing biased for so long that giving something even slightly opposed to that message may free some minds.

Frankly it strikes me as kind of elitist to argue that we shouldn't sully our hands with such krill as cable news. Next thing you're going to suggest that the Yankees should be able to skip the regular season and go right to the playoffs!

Tengo un sueño.

by ejmw (ewitham (at) umich (dot) edu) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 10:19:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yup. (none / 0)

People do bother with the Cable News. We have several media bloggers that gadfly those shows, and for good reason. But you personally should not watch them. Is it elitist to tell people they shouldn't eat Wendy's?

by BooMan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 11:16:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yah, it is. (none / 0)

Telling anyone what they should or should not do is elitist, IMHO. Making people aware of the benefits or detriments of their behaviors is one thing, but making decisions or passing judgment is a different thing altogether.

But yes, you're right that there are plenty of bloggers who do monitor the news. And I don't expect you to do it, but I don't think it's necessary to call those who do idiots or accuse them of being susceptible to premature brain rot because they do.

I don't watch cable news. And though I avoid Wendy's now, I wouldn't have made it through college without it!

Tengo un sueño.

by ejmw (ewitham (at) umich (dot) edu) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 11:29:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yah, it is. (none / 1)

you want to be a sophisticated consumer of political information? Don't watch cable news, even Olbermann. It will make you stupid.

You'll nod your head and it will feel good, but you'll begin to lose all sense of why things are done, who is behind them, how elections are won, what really matters politically, etc. You'll start worrying about nothing but 'message discipline' and 'framing the arguments' and getting more libruls on teevee, as if it will solve something.

You don't have to listen to me. You can ignore my advice. But people that watch a lot of cable news and that worry about it a lot (aside from the people making a living out of it) are making themselves stupider and stupider every night.

It's no different from that Wendy's. It gave you lower energy, lowered your brain function, and shortened your life, possibly considerably. Maybe you couldn't afford anything else. That's a problem U of M should think about solving.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 11:58:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yah, it is. (none / 0)

I think you're giving far too little credit to your readers. Watching cable news and believing every drop of it are hardly the same thing.

Personally I feel like I have a decent handle on the power structure of Washington, how things happen, why, and what they mean. I don't live it and breathe it like you do but I still have a pretty good BS meter.

And when I do sit through a cable news show, I do find it interesting and at least marginally valuable to see how and try to gauge why they are constructing the narratives they do. You have to admit that there is some use to seeing what the gentrified classes are putting forth.

When I was eating Wendy's, I was working out more and studying more...so despite the fact that I knew what I was doing to myself, I was compensating appropriately. I think it's a valid analogy to why we watch cable news.

Tengo un sueño.

by ejmw (ewitham (at) umich (dot) edu) on Thu Aug 21st, 2008 at 12:51:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (4.00 / 1)

Come on now. A little nitrous every now and then is fun, and it doesn't make you any more stupider than everyday interactions with the various humans you will encounter on a daily basis.

Keith and Rachel are entertaining, and I shall continue to watch them without shame. My nitrous days are over, however.

"We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." - Richard Dawkins

by halo0 (philiott at gmail dotcom) on Thu Aug 21st, 2008 at 12:17:42 AM EST

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

This isn't to agree or disagree, because I've never owned a TV anyway. And I don't want to clutter up your email inbox. But I'm wondering: How does a person close an account here? I've decided to opt out of US blogs. They're terrible for my health.

by Dubh on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:34:26 PM EST

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

but u keep logging in?

The sleep of reason begets tyrants. -Goya

by joe in oklahoma on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:46:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

Had to log in to ask the question. Do you know how to close an account here? Do I just stop logging in? What happens to my personal info? Would appreciate any information you can provide. Thanks.

by Dubh on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:50:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

there is no such thing as 'closing an account here'. You just stop posting.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:50:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

OK, thanks. All the best to everyone.

by Dubh on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 04:52:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

meh (none / 1)

I've been an idiot for a long time without the help of cable news.

a little more stupid can't hurt.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:03:50 PM EST

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

"You'd be an idiot to watch it. Or you'd become one."

Those are strong and insulting words. You haven't even seen her show and you don't know what kind of format she's going to use, but you've already written her off?

by KansasVoter on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:09:30 PM EST

Re: On Rachel Maddow (4.00 / 1)

Somewhere in the distance I can hear somebody saying, "You'd have to be an idiot to visit liberal blogs. Or you'd become one."

Personally I am guessing that watching Olbermann, Maddow, Stewart, Colbert, Moyers, Maher and similar shows might make you an idiot, but it would make you a much better informed idiot than you would have been otherwise.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:22:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

If I never said anything unorthodox or contrary to liberal common wisdom, that'd be true of this blog. But at least I don't have guest posters from the cocktail weenie circuit.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:26:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 0)

And don't think that we're not grateful.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 07:05:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On Rachel Maddow (none / 1)

Bill Moyers or Charlie Rose, it will not be. Nor should it because it would get crap ratings and be canceled within months.

But there is no reason to watch cable news, including Olbermann, unless you value inserting manure into your brain.

Now, it has value for balancing out the horrid imbalance in cable news coverage and reaching potential voters. But these shows preach to the converted, for the most part, and they are usually loathe to ask any question they don't already think they have the answer for.

It's dreck and it will make you stupid.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 20th, 2008 at 05:15:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

On Rachel Maddow | 20 comments (20 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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