I heard the tail end of a story on KMUD tonight. A lot of hoopla over a flagpole on a hill in Ukiah. Apparently it doesn’t conform to height code, and the city council majority found it to be garish looking and not consistent with the changing aesthetics of the town (it’s really not the most beautiful of places anyway, and if you’re worried about a blight you might ask the big boxes at the south of town to spruce their suicide inspiring landscapes up a bit). Of course, the pole flies an American flag, so obviously the majority hates America, apple pie, Mom, and Nintendo.
But not to fear. Word got out among the patriots. And sure enough Murdoch’s machine made its second north coast appearance of the year (Fox showed up a couple of months ago to kick off Schwarzenegger’s campaign in Eureka, somehow managing to avoid any mention of Eureka). We’re talking the “we report you decide” outfit that pushes compulsory editorialization on its reporters in the very terminology to be used.
Fox’s ratings exceed all three cable news competitors combined, so the other networks are following not only the example of political spin, but also Fox’s formula of glitsy MTVesque computer graphics, lower brow aesthetics (non of this elitist scholarly pretension exhibited by the likes of Murrow, Cronkite, or even to a lesser degree Ted Koppel), and commentators who yell at you in your own living room. Aside from the ascent of conservative politics in alleged news coverage, it represents precisely what Hunter Thompson described in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as the sort of entertainment that would have dominated the post-war decades had the Third Reich prevailed. At this point, only one openly liberal commentator retains his own show on MSNBC. Nobody on CNN, and certainly nobody on Fox. The beneficiaries are the Republican Party, and incidentally Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. The banality of television news has reached apocalyptic proportions, with the one quasi-mainstream television hold-out being the MacNeil-Lehrer hour – a “high brow” news show that according to FAIR interviews far more conservatives than liberals.
You know they have the resources if they can make a special trip to Ukiah over a story that would normally be hard pressed to make page one in the Ukiah Daily Journal. But Fox, which has invested heavily in fighting the resistance front in the “war on Christmas” and the “war on Easter,” has material to argue a renewed “war on the flag.” I’m sure it’ll be “analyzed in context” of the 9th Circuit Pledge of Allegiance decision and other hateful acts of the liberal war on America. I don’t have cable, but I imagine it’s already made O’Reilly. It sure won’t be covered in the “liberal media,” ie. any medium not owned by Murdoch or the Moonies.
Chalk it all up to my smug sense of liberal superiority I guess. Then visit the site areas dedicated to Fox at Media Matters and FAIR. The network is scarier than you think.
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August 3, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Anonymous
link to Fox?
August 3, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Anonymous
Eric, it was somewhat interesting reading your comments on Fox news… “the banality of television news has reached apocalyptic proportions” was my favorite. Gee you’re sooo smart. Especially when you admit you don’t have cable TV ! If you don’t have cable how can you be such an authority on the cable news networks ? Or is it your “SMUG SENSE OF LIBERAL SUPERIORITY” makes you an expert on EVERYTHING ! What it seems is that you’re just talking out your backside again.
Your ego is out of control !! And you are certainly not as bright as I gave you credit.
August 3, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Eric V. Kirk
anon 7:16 – http://www.foxnews.com
anon 8:14 – Well, my ego has always been out of control, but that’s beside the point. I had cable until about 3 years ago before my wife and I decided it was a waste of time. We’d turn on and flip through all 50 channels finding nothing of interest on. We decided it was too much money for too little. If I could cherry-pick my stations, I might pick CSPAN, TMC, PBS (which I get anyway, although it’s foggy), the Comedy Station and the food channel (for Iron Chef). I’d pay about 10 bucks a month for those stations. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
But my job takes me to hotels often, and we visit family in the Bay Area frequently. I get plenty of exposure to cable television to have a pretty good idea of what’s there. And they get like a hundred stations, which I flip through, usually commercials on half of them at any given moment. Same old dumb movies played over and over again. I watch the old sitcoms from the 70s and 80s which are hardly Shakespeare, but they seem like it compared to vast majority of what’s on today. And the commercial time has been increased so much that the old shows have been cut into so that some of the episodes don’t even make sense anymore.
Fortunately, there’s Netflix, the radio, and (gasp!) books.
August 3, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Eric V. Kirk
Oh, and by the way, I am an expert on everything. I listen to right wing talk radio afterall. How could I not be?
August 3, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Anonymous
Eric, I agree about cable TV and all the commercials and repeat movies but …… you were talking specifically about NEWS, Fox news, and now you’ve gone of an a tangent about the regular programiing on cable, sit coms etc. I too would like to “cherry pick” the stations/channels I could have on cable and only pay for the ones I want. I have no use for the ten home shopping channels, etc. And I did watch the Iron Chef once ! BUT. You’re avoiding your original Blog or statement.
I credit Fox News for keeping CNN and MSNBC in line. And by that I mean not so one sided (left or liberal). They say “Fair and Balanced” …. and I think it is. Whether you like it or not you get stories/views/prospectives on Fox news that you won’t get from Ted Turner. And I do watch CNN frequently. I watch BBC too, and I don’t like everything I see but I still want to see/hear different views.
Get back to your statements about/against Fox News ! If you don’t watch it regularly how can you make intelligent and informed comments ? (* the answer is that you can’t — despite your overinflated ego). You don’t want to waste your time on certain things (cable TV news)but you put lots of effort into things like breast feeding at the Benbow Inn, etc.
Once again Eric you’ve got me beat ! I don’t listen to right wing talk radio …. AT ALL. I occaisionally listen to KMUD and that is ………………. (I won’t even go there at this particular time as I have things to do today).
August 3, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Anonymous
For the best in FauxNews deconstruction: newshounds.us
August 3, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Anonymous
Elitist ? In your own mind.
As for more “conservatives” watching cable TV you’re probably right. Conservatives tend to have jobs/careers, children, and like be informed about current events that may affect them.
What kind of law do you specialize in Eric ?
August 3, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Eric V. Kirk
My elitism is in my own mind? Why thanx for the complement. Okay, that was a double entendre. Maybe even a triple entendre. Bad Eric. Bad, bad bad!!
So conservatives watch more TV because they work? The idea being that it takes more time to read a newspaper? I think I’m probably missing something in your argument.
As for my specialty, I’m a general practioner. Real estate law is probably my biggest area of practice, but we do pretty much everything except family law or anything that involves federal court. And we leave the marijuana grower defense to the specialists, though I have taken on criminal cases (undefeated in criminal trials by the way – okay, I’ve only tried one crim case). Why do you ask?
August 4, 2006 at 12:22 am
Anonymous
Just curious. You don’t seem to spend much time in court. You seem to read alot and you spend lots of time on the computer. All that activity would keep you out of court. And besides most court cases are heard in Eureka.
Real Estate law in SoHum, gee that’s a real surprise.
Tell me Eric is it true that you can’t buy property on Seeley Creek without giving an “offering” of cash (small bills) in a brown paper bag? I guess the brown paper bag could be substituted for a small backpack.
What do you think the % is of your clients that grow marijuana (215 & commercial)? I know you can’t/won’t answer that but I just had to ask.
There sure seems to be lots of property being bought up in Shelter Cove !!
Forgive me but I’m not a fan of what the marijuana growers, nor the leechs that make their living indirectly off the marijuana industry, have done to HC. And yes I know it’s been going on for years …. I’ve been around alot longer than you.
Have a pleasant evening.
August 4, 2006 at 1:21 am
Eric V. Kirk
Well, I don’t spend that much time in court actually, now that we’re allowed to make court appearances by telephone. I have actually made court appearances in my underwear. The most cases I’ve tried in one year is three. I’ve tried two so far this year – both in Ukiah. I have a feeling I’m going to be trying one more. But most cases settle. We have maybe 2 or 3 motions a month to make or oppose. Case Management Conferences and probate appearances are mostly by phone. I do some criminal law, but most of those cases are handled down here in Garberville. So excluding trials I probably step foot in court in Eureka or Ukiah 2 or 3 times a month, and maybe 1 or 2 in other counties though 90 percent of my cases are in Humboldt or Mendo.
Most of my time is spent in this office. Maybe a fourth of my time is in depositions or traveling to and from them. When I’m here, sometimes as many as 10 hours a day. I take some breaks. Keeps me sane. Blogging gives me the opportunity to write about something other than law. You might notice I don’t take up many legal issues. Don’t do it on my radio show either.
I don’t know about Seeley Creek cash purchases. I deal in easement fights, partition actions, CC&R disputes – that sort of thing.
Shelter Cove is a long story. This office has made a lot of money over those disputes.
As to marijuana growers, well, it’s complicated for me. I started to type my thoughts about it, but maybe I shold dedicate a post to it. I have a hard time with certain aspects of our subculture down here actually. I make decent money, but I had to get into a great deal of debt to get here and we’re just starting to get our heads above water. And I see the money being made – I won’t say I’ve been tempted, but the thought’s crossed my mind. And some of the people who do it, it’s almost like a religious fervor – like they’ve been granted riches for being in favor with God or something. And yes, I’m an indirect beneficiary, although I could probably make even better money somewhere else.
There are aspects to this community that I truly admire and appreciate. But there’s a dark side, and I’m concerned about raising my kids here.
I promise I’ll write more about that later. I’m due home for supper at the moment.
August 4, 2006 at 2:35 am
Anonymous
Now that strikes me as an honest and insightful answer. On your post about Fox News, you didn’t even try for either.
August 4, 2006 at 4:10 am
Anonymous
Eric, I agree with anon 7:35, honest and insightful. I look forward to your next ….. posting.
August 4, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Fred
BTW, that Ukiah Flag story was on the front page of the Ukiah Daily Journal, once again, yesterday or the day before. At least I assume it was the front page as it was headlined on their web site.
August 4, 2006 at 4:30 pm
Eric V. Kirk
Probably was. The biggest event since they political petitioner won his First Amendment case against Walmart. Probably came in ahead of Mrs. Peabody winning a blue ribbon for her blue berry cobbler at the Rainbow Club cookoff.
August 5, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Anonymous
Eric. IT’s been two days and we still haven’t heard more on the marijuana issue … as promised !?
I guess that one is kind of touchy for a SoHumboldter 1
August 6, 2006 at 4:26 am
Eric V. Kirk
I’ll do a whole post on it – and plan to do follow-ups. But it’s not something I just want to crank out in a hurry.
FYI – I haven’t smoked marijuana in over 20 years.
August 6, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Anonymous
sounds interesting
August 10, 2006 at 12:34 am
Anonymous
Fox News is the best ! The main reason to have caable TV.
August 10, 2006 at 2:22 am
Eric V. Kirk
You pay 40 bucks a month to watch Fox News?
All of the sudden I realize why the country’s where it’s at.
August 10, 2006 at 2:06 pm
Anonymous
Actually I pay a bit more to get all the movie channels.
All of my entertainment can’t come from your blog Eric.
Do you think one should only listen to network TV news and accept what they say as gospel ?
August 10, 2006 at 5:40 pm
Eric V. Kirk
Well, you did say it is the “main reason” to have cable TV.
I don’t have cable, nor do I really watch the network news. I get channel 3 and 13 in fuzzy. Occasionaly I watch the McNeil-Lehrer report. Other than that I have to resort to NPR and newspapers for news.
If I had cable, The original Iron Chef would be my “main reason” to have it. But one too many times we flipped through our 50 stations finding nothign to watch and decided that the money was better spent elsewhere.
August 10, 2006 at 5:50 pm
Anonymous
“THE IRON CHEF” ??????
I guess that explains some of it !
August 10, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Eric V. Kirk
Oh come on! That show had pizazz! Especially Chef Morimotto! He was my hero.
August 10, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Anonymous
Eric OK. Tell me you were high on red wine when you watched the Iron Chef AND you thought is was a Sit Com? Tell me that and maybe, just maybe I won’t think you toooo wierd.
August 10, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Eric V. Kirk
Well, I view it as higher kitsch. Come on, you can’t appreciate the music? The camera angles as the iron chef warrior arise in the mist, holding pears and peppers as weapons? The dubbing, using the same voices for different judges each week? The deliberate translation of mispronounciations like “he’s making a European stew known as ‘ratatooyou.’” The woman judge in the middle being placed in front of the logo on the wall behind her so that it looks like she has horns? The folksy commentary with jokes too sexist for American consumption anymore?
It’s art!
January 29, 2009 at 5:28 pm
More on that liberal media « Sohum Parlance II
[...] discussed this before. And we’ll probably hear from conservative posters in this thread who won’t cite any [...]
January 29, 2009 at 6:07 pm
arcatahippie
Right wing radio needs to be shut down because they have way to much hate on it. Faux needs also needs to be shut down, hopefully President Obama can get that done. It’d be awesome if it got done in the first 100 days.