I stumbled across this inspiring talk by musician Amanda Palmer. She gives considerable insight into the economics of the music industry. But she gives even more insight into human connections and the importance of asking as the prelude to those connections. I'm including both her TED lecture and beneath it, a video of her performance of the "Bed Song." There is a direct connection between these two performances.
I have nothing against nudity. I like creativity and camaraderie, which nakedness would seem to encourage. But I also like being productive. I'm wondering how much of this article about arranging for an entire office to work in the nude for a month is accurate and how much is spin.
Hemant Mehta argues that religion needs to be mocked, but only in the right way with the right type of audience, and using the right tone. Mockery is a form of criticism, he states, and many aspects of religion deserve to be criticized.
If the media were really liberal, we would see a lot more coverage regarding these issues: 1. Where the jobs went. 2. Upward wealth redistribution and/or inequality. 3. ALEC. 4. The number of people in prison. 5. The number of black people in prison. 6. U.S. health care costs are the highest in the world. 7. Glass-Steagall. 8. Gerrymandering. 9. The number of bills blocked by Republicans in Congress. 10. The Citizens' United Supreme Court decision 11. Nixon’s Southern Strategy. 12. Tax cuts primarily benefit the wealthy. 13. What's happening to the bees? 14. The impact of temporary workers on our economy. 15. Media consolidation
If the media were "liberal," it would serve the public interest and shine a light on issues like the ones above. More people would also have a better understanding of global warming, peak oil, population growth, political lobbying, government's role in a functioning economy, how much we spend on the military, and countless other issues. What you’re more likely to see in the media, however, are stories designed to get you to buy their paper, or watch their show, or listen to their radio station. If it bleeds, it leads. This is why the media is concerned with scandal, celebrities, gossip, and fear. If anything, our news consists of paid advertisements and outlets too scared of offending anyone to publish much of substance. Investigative journalism is also expensive; entertainment is cheap. . . One way to approach the topic is to simply ask: If we have a "liberal media," where are the liberal stories?