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| Congresswoman Jane Harman (ret.) Source: |
On January 23, Former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Venice) was a guest speaker on MSNBC, commenting on the increased incursion of NSA spying into American citizens' private lives, including phone records. While Harman acknowledged that President Obama's homeland security methods were heading into unconstitutional practices, news anchor Andrea Mitchell interrupted the former South Bay representative and current President of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
to announce breaking news:
"Big news coming out of Miami: Justin Bieber has been arrested on a number of charges."
So, "Baby, Baby, Baby" Bieber getting in big trouble with the law once again -- this is news? How many times have the paparazzi baited this popstar-turned young adult-child to scream at the cameras? Like former "Two and a Half Men" half-man star Charlie Sheen, Beiber is melting down before the public's very (bored, distracted) eyes.
Even Breitbart has stepped into the mix, along with the Huffington Post. Give me a break! Celebrities, especially young ones, behaving badly: This is not news, and certainly not newsworthy enough to interrupt a policy discussion on the proper balanced between liberty, security, and fighting terrorism. What's more, this immoral obsession with documenting young stars' descent from stardom unveils a thin desperation on the part of media outlets just to get some traction with a busy, dazzled Internet readership.
Then again, there are number of trends we can tease out from this lapsed transition:
1. The increasing flippancy of MSNBC as a serious news analysis network. Let's not forget that Ms. Mitchell has been caught off-guard before. In an 2012 interview with Romney surrogate John Sununu, she stumbled through talking points and misinformation to question the former New Hampshire governor. Here are some other flubs from Mitchell, along with ratings going down in August 2013 and MSNBC's slide behind Fox News.
2. The media's petty, pathetic obsessions with celebrity meltdowns. Once again, how is any of this news? All of this scrutiny has only exacerbated a debilitating trend, with insta-media making a mockery of time better spent reporting major issues, like the Benghazi cover-up that won't stay covered, or the troubling market trends which suggest another recession in our near future.
3. The widening division among Democrats about the viability of the President's policies. It may seem a stretch to draw this information from a media-spat, but leading Democratic Congressmen have already signaled their retirement, including two House Reps in heavily-Republican districts. Dems are looking more scared than ever entering 2014, and a liberal like Harman voicing the concerns from other liberal-leaning intellects can only signal that more Dems will abandon the President in the 2014 elections.
4. American liberals are breaking with the Obama Administration, about the proper scope of the state, at least in terms of terrorist intelligence. While in office, Congresswoman Harman was a moderate on national security and foreign policy, supporting the War on Iraq and championing a strong Israeli-America relationship. The Woodrow Wilson Center is not exactly right-leaning, and with a liberal Democrat as its President, one should take heart that even Democrats are fraying on support for the President's expansive invasion of American privacy.
5. The declining relevance of Harman as a policy wonk of any substance. She was never my favorite House Rep. I voted against her in every election, but I did respect her stance on foreign policy, and her more moderate voice on some issues (She also slammed Bill Maher's sexist remarks on his own show). Yet Harman's tortured defense of Obamacare (which she proudly yet shamefully supported), her calls for greater American intervention in Syrian, and her suggestion that Secretary of State John Kerry should be nominated for Sainthood, Harman's liberal leanings can never be ignored. .
And yet now they are! Now, if only the media would show the same indifference to such indifferent displays of misconduct from scarred star celebrities.
"Big news coming out of Miami: Justin Bieber has been arrested on a number of charges."
So, "Baby, Baby, Baby" Bieber getting in big trouble with the law once again -- this is news? How many times have the paparazzi baited this popstar-turned young adult-child to scream at the cameras? Like former "Two and a Half Men" half-man star Charlie Sheen, Beiber is melting down before the public's very (bored, distracted) eyes.
Even Breitbart has stepped into the mix, along with the Huffington Post. Give me a break! Celebrities, especially young ones, behaving badly: This is not news, and certainly not newsworthy enough to interrupt a policy discussion on the proper balanced between liberty, security, and fighting terrorism. What's more, this immoral obsession with documenting young stars' descent from stardom unveils a thin desperation on the part of media outlets just to get some traction with a busy, dazzled Internet readership.
Then again, there are number of trends we can tease out from this lapsed transition:
1. The increasing flippancy of MSNBC as a serious news analysis network. Let's not forget that Ms. Mitchell has been caught off-guard before. In an 2012 interview with Romney surrogate John Sununu, she stumbled through talking points and misinformation to question the former New Hampshire governor. Here are some other flubs from Mitchell, along with ratings going down in August 2013 and MSNBC's slide behind Fox News.
2. The media's petty, pathetic obsessions with celebrity meltdowns. Once again, how is any of this news? All of this scrutiny has only exacerbated a debilitating trend, with insta-media making a mockery of time better spent reporting major issues, like the Benghazi cover-up that won't stay covered, or the troubling market trends which suggest another recession in our near future.
3. The widening division among Democrats about the viability of the President's policies. It may seem a stretch to draw this information from a media-spat, but leading Democratic Congressmen have already signaled their retirement, including two House Reps in heavily-Republican districts. Dems are looking more scared than ever entering 2014, and a liberal like Harman voicing the concerns from other liberal-leaning intellects can only signal that more Dems will abandon the President in the 2014 elections.
4. American liberals are breaking with the Obama Administration, about the proper scope of the state, at least in terms of terrorist intelligence. While in office, Congresswoman Harman was a moderate on national security and foreign policy, supporting the War on Iraq and championing a strong Israeli-America relationship. The Woodrow Wilson Center is not exactly right-leaning, and with a liberal Democrat as its President, one should take heart that even Democrats are fraying on support for the President's expansive invasion of American privacy.
5. The declining relevance of Harman as a policy wonk of any substance. She was never my favorite House Rep. I voted against her in every election, but I did respect her stance on foreign policy, and her more moderate voice on some issues (She also slammed Bill Maher's sexist remarks on his own show). Yet Harman's tortured defense of Obamacare (which she proudly yet shamefully supported), her calls for greater American intervention in Syrian, and her suggestion that Secretary of State John Kerry should be nominated for Sainthood, Harman's liberal leanings can never be ignored. .
And yet now they are! Now, if only the media would show the same indifference to such indifferent displays of misconduct from scarred star celebrities.
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