Well, maybe not, but this pissed me off no end.
BOSTON (Reuters) – War and politics are largely ignored by American teenagers, according to a Harvard University study released on Tuesday, which found that 60 percent of them pay little attention to daily news.
Researchers interviewed 1,800 people between January and March and found that 28 percent of Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 said they pay almost no attention to news every day. Another 32 percent said they pay only casual attention to one news source a day.
“News is not something that gets a lot of time or attention or interest from teens,” said Thomas Patterson, a professor of government and the press at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Among people aged 18 to 30, the poll found 48 percent said they are inattentive to daily news. Only 23 percent of older Americans said they largely ignore news.
In general, soft stories about celebrities interest young people more than hard news stories like congressional votes or developments in Iraq.
One reason teenagers may pay less attention to news than older Americans is only one in 20 young people rely heavily on a daily newspaper, according to the survey, which had a margin of error of 2 percent to 3 percent.
Hey! Young america! Go fuck yourself! Wait, no, don’t bother – that’s being done for you. Here, I’ll tell you what: don’t go fuck yourself – instead sit around reading up on Britney Spears and Paris Hilton while everyone else in the whole wide world fucks you. The administration (who lie and steals from you), the corporations (who lie and steal from you) , the chinese(who feed you poison, lie about it, and steal your jobs) , even your own parents (who the fucking fuck do you think got us into this mess?) have and are fucking you. So, enjoy the moment, while it lasts.
Oh, whatever. Go fuck yourself, you little shits.
U.S. teenagers have little interest in news: study | U.S. | Reuters
Wonkette interviews a real live lobbyist.
Do these people just stay so freaking manic that they CAN’T contemplate how they are ruining the best government ever seen on the planet?
Maybe if we all bothered to vote, to start, and then voted for smart people rather than those with the best teeth/hair/campaign commercials there wouldn’t be as much of a use for me. But, lucky for me, most of you don’t bother voting (though find me a lobbyist who skips voting and I’ll buy you a drink) and you vote for the best politician rather than the best, smartest or most ethical lawmaker. The “best government ever seen on the planet†is managed by politicians who appeal to the least common denominator, but I’m the one ruining it? Don’t bullshit a professional bullshitter.
They are already stealing votes in Florida
10/30/2006
Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, a Democrat, but the review screen repeatedly registered the Republican, Charlie Crist.
I’m feeling pretty powerless right now. Here’s the news article:
MiamiHerald.com | 10/28/2006 | Glitches cited in early voting
There’s discussion on Daily Kos about this. And this, on how to report problems you see.
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel (11/22/05)
en days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.
Not to belabour the point, but,
9/11/2005
FEMA won’t accept Amtrak’s help in evacuations
FEMA turns away experienced firefighters
FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks
FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel
FEMA won’t let Red Cross deliver food
FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans
FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid
FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board
Somethings rotten in New Orleans…
9/8/2005
A harrowing first person account of what’s going on in New Orleans
[quote]…From a woman with a battery powered radio we learned that the media was talking about us. Up in full view on the freeway, every relief and news organizations saw us on their way into the City. Officials were being asked what they were going to do about all those families living up on the freeway? The officials responded they were going to take care of us. Some of us got a sinking feeling. “Taking care of us†had an ominous tone to it.
Unfortunately, our sinking feeling (along with the sinking City) was correct. Just as dusk set in, a Gretna Sheriff showed up, jumped out of his patrol vehicle, aimed his gun at our faces, screaming, “Get off the fucking freewayâ€. A helicopter arrived and used the wind from its blades to blow away our flimsy structures. As we retreated, the sheriff loaded up his truck with our food and water.
[/quote]
Democratic Underground – INCREDIBLE First Person Katrina Account
I’ve cut and pasted it below the fold, in case the original link goes down.
Read the rest of this entry »
If this school doesn’t straighten you out, we’ll send you straight to the Army, and they’ll send you straight to whatever major quagmire is going on. Will it be North Korea? Iran? I guess wherever Commander Cuckoo Bananas wants to go next.†– Homer Simpson
803 hits on google today for this.
President Bush debates himself back when he was Governor, courtesy of the daily show.
Bush vs. Bush