Daily Archives: February 12, 2010

Friday Open Thread

It’s Friday of one of the strangest work weeks I’ve ever had. Two snowstorms in one week with two driving bans. It’s hard to say TGIF since I only had to go to work 3 days this week. Today’s open thread is a video-rich open thread. Enjoy!

Both Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart take on Fox News and their contention that the recent snowstorms means global warming is a hoax.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
We’re Off to See the Blizzard
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Unusually Large Snowstorm
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Rachel Maddow and Bill Nye the Science Guy explain the link between global warming and the recent snowstorms:

Snomaggedon: Critique The Governor’s Performance

There’s been a lot of chatter on Twitter and elsewhere about the Governor’s performance during the snowstorm. The critiques I’ve seen are the following:

  • The governor is on a boondoggle in Europe while Delaware suffers from the snowstorm.
  • The State of Emergency was too draconian and lasted too long. It should have been lifted earlier.

    • On the positive side, many have praised the responsiveness of the governor’s office. Both the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and a new account on Twitter called @DelStormInfo kept the public informed about road conditions, storm conditions and power outages.

    What’s your opinion? Did the Governor respond too zealously to the storm? Did he declare a State of Emergency too soon and did it last too long? What about his economic development trip to Europe during the storm, was this the wrong move?

    Glenn Beck Loses All U.K. Sponsors

    The activist group Color of Change started a campaign last year to contact Glenn Beck’s sponsors after Glenn Beck said on the air that President Obama was a racist and had a deep-seated hatred of white people. That effort has been very successful. According to Stop Beck, 102 sponsors have pulled out of Glenn Beck’s show. The effort has been so successful, in fact, that Beck’s show has no sponsors when it airs in the U.K.

    During the last week and a half, Glenn Beck lost his 100th, 101st and 102nd sponsors. A full list of all 102 sponsors that dropped Mr. Beck (or Fox News as a whole) can be found here. Please note that this total includes sponsors that have dropped him both United States and/or in the United Kingdom.

    It seems like our efforts are having an effect…

    Glenn Beck’s show in the United Kingdom has not run any commercials during the past three days (Tues-Thurs). Glenn Beck’s show in the UK used to run commercials. The shows that come on before and after Glenn Beck still run commercials. But, for the past three days, Mr. Beck hasn’t had any sponsors in the U.K. During the commercial break, instead of running ads, they cut away to Sky News updates or the weather. Perhaps they’re having trouble finding sponsors willing to subsidize Glenn Beck’s misinformation, vitriol, sexism and race-baiting?

    I think the question I have is whether efforts like these have lessened Beck’s influence. Perhaps, I haven’t seen him as much in the media lately, but his paranoia and off conspiracy fantasies are still part of mainstream Republican thought. What do you think? Have these efforts made a difference?