When politicians refuse to answer questions, report it.

Why does it seem so easy for comedians to conduct satisfying interviews of politicians and so difficult for mainstream reporters?  For example, check out Jon Stewart’s interview of the RNC’s Ken Mehlman.   Stewart’s recent interview of Mehlman powerfully painted members of the current administration as a pack of lying conniving hypocritical thieves.  

To contrast, the mainstream media usually stumbles out of the gate.  Even when mainstream reporters ask clear questions, they receive heavily spun non-answers which they often treat as answers.  As we all know, these heavily spun non-answers reported by mainstream reporters are not valid perspectives regarding important issues. Such spin-doctored statements are actually filler–opportunities for politicians to claim that they answered questions that they didn’t answer at all. 

What Jon Stewart does on the above video clip is satisfying because he repeatedly indicates to the audience that Mehlman is failing to answer his straightforward questions.  Yes, Stewart does his work as only a good comedian can do, by rolling his eyes, smirking, joking and being sarcastic.  But his work as an interviewer is effective because the audience is constantly being reassured that the questioner (Stewart) is aware that the interviewee (Mehlman) is not really answering his questions.  Stewart’s questions, e.g., about the metric of success in Iraq or the identities of the oil executives with which Dick Cheney secretly met, deserve real answers. How strange that we get more dependable and important information from five minutes comedian interviews than from reams of newsprint and hours and …

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Suicides further expose the immorality of Guantanamo.

This post by Amy Ephron succinctly sums up a horrible situation: There are so many things that are wrong with Guantanamo, it's hard to know where to begin. It's a complicated issue and it's a bit like defending the wrong side. Unless you look at it from the human rights…

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New legislation will reduce access to competitive Internet content and services.

On June 8, 2006, the House passed telecommunications legislation "that will leave many consumers worse off, facing cable rate hikes, declines in service quality, inadequate consumer protections, and reduced access to competitive Internet content and services."  The Act, H.R. 5252, is oxymoronically called the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act.…

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The Bush administration relishes unplanned pregnancies – new evidence.

Today's Associated Press report on the deposition testimony a former FDA commissioner sheds further light on the FDA's extended and shameful failure to approve "Plan B," the morning after pill.  According to the recent testimony: The Food and Drug Administration had intended to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B last year…

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Val Lewton and the Madness of Authoritarianism

I’ve always been a fan of Val Lewton films, and I recently discovered a “new” one which can be enjoyed for reasons which go beyond the Lewton trademark cinematography and low-budget creativity. The Ghost Ship (dir. Mark Robson, 1943) was pulled from theaters almost immediately after its release due to…

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