The Hollywood Liberal

Late Late Nite FDL: Werewolves Of London
Warren Zevon – Werewolves Of London (live 1982).

What’s on your mind tonight?

Warren Zevon – Werewolves Of London (live 1982).

What’s on your mind tonight?

2008 Season of Voting Meltdowns Begins
Across the country, problems with voter rolls, voting machines and partisan tactics point to trouble in November.

Suicide Attempts for Vets Jump 500% in Five Years, and Government Ignores It
Vets are killing themselves in growing numbers, but the government sees suicides as a way to lower the official average processing time of claims.

Thousands Gather In Berlin As Obama Speech Approaches
Obama’s Berlin speech is set to begin within moments. You can see pictures of the crowd gathering at the Victory Tower here and here. Video of the scene is here. Fox reports that the crowd may be in the hundreds…

TPMtv: It’s the Surge, Stupid
If you’re desperate to be John McCain’s vice presidential nominee, you better get on TV and start talking up the Surge as the single most important issue in this year’s presidential campaign. And if you’re serious about getting picked it…

Boycott MSNBC Today (Until 8 PM ET)

If I’m not listening to my local liberal talk radio station, I typically keep MSNBC on in my home office during the work day, in part to support its decision to have actual liberals on during prime-time, and in part because it usually focuses on politics during the day more than CNN.

But after this morning I am boycotting MSNBC today, until Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow come back on.

MSNBC has put a manufactured outrage, a non-story, in a constant loop all morning. (I will not waste one letter of my time or your time explaining it.) As if that should be the lead story while the nation looks for answers on how to get our economy back on track, solve our energy crisis, rebuild our infrastructure, make education and health care affordable and accessible to all, and restore our global standing.

Then I flipped over to CNN. I can only assume this non-story got some attention there at some point today, but I didn’t see it for 40 minutes straight, so at least it’s not being treated as non-stop breaking news. So CNN is what’s staying on my TV today.

As a mere single news consumer, I am putting the media industry on notice. You will not get my business by trying to shove the trivial down my throat. You will not get my business with a parade of political hacks pontificating on non-stories. You do that, I grab the remote.

In the case of MSNBC, yes I will come back for Keith and Rachel. Not because they are liberal, but because I trust the focus will then return to important news.

And it is particularly critical to support The Rachel Maddow Show. If it continues to beat Larry King in the ratings (as it did for its premiere), it will send shockwaves throughout a media industry that has long believed liberal views should be marginalized, pandering to conservative audiences is profitable, and that a liberal anchor can deliver an informative program that elevates discourse and strengthens a news brand.

It doesn’t make sense to ignore traditional media and tune it out completely. To get a robust, aggressive, investigative and informative media that helps the public govern, we need to engage the media.

We need to let media executives know — with our words and actions — that they will make money by delivering a good product, and lose money by repeating misinformation and prioritizing non-news that fails to help us citizens run our democracy.

So MSNBC, know that you lost a customer today. If you want me to come back tomorrow, you know what to do.

Originally posted at OurFuture.org

27 And Counting: Palin Repeats Bridge To Nowhere Lie At Virginia Rally
Today at a rally with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in Virginia, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) once again repeated the lie that she opposed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska: I championed earmark reform also to help Congress stop wasting money on those things that do not serve the public interest. I told Congress, “Thanks, but […]

Today at a rally with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in Virginia, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) once again repeated the lie that she opposed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska:

I championed earmark reform also to help Congress stop wasting money on those things that do not serve the public interest. I told Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks for that Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska.” If we wanted that bridge, we’d build it ourselves.

Watch it:

ThinkProgress has been keeping track of how many times the McCain campaign is repeating this lie. Palin’s comments today bring the number to 27 lies:

Everyone Should Take It Down a Notch
“Bring em’ on” vs. “Do Tell” With the nomination of one Sarah Palin, presidential politics is no longer a battle of economic policies and national security; it’s a Saturday night brawl between the Rednecks and the Elites. On the left, we have the smugly smiling, smarter-than-thou, Ivy Leaguers. On the right, we have the gun-clinging, God-toting, cowboys. Make that cowgirls.

Conflicted Moms Wonder About Palin
WASHINGTON — I was driving to school to pick up the kids, listening to conservative talk radio. The subject was, of course, Sarah Palin, and the villains were, of course, liberals. Not just any liberals, but feminist journalist turncoats who preach gender equality until Republicans practice it. I was, it turns out, among them. I’m not telling this story to brag of my notoriety — I was far down the list — or to boast about being the Good Mommy. As my kids would be delighted to tell you, I’ve been anything but recently, as the national conventions collided with the start of school.