2.4
June 17, 2011

American media, readership cast first stone: at sacrificial lamb Congressman Weiner.

Weiner Resigns: Video. Importance of Indie Media? Corporations turn news into entertainment.

63% of Americans claim they’re sick of news about Congressman Weiner’s online sexual photos, which culminated in his brave, sad, unnecessary resignation today.

“Today I am announcing my resignation from Congress so my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative and most importantly that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage I have caused,” he said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr0afNDFsg8

My first instinct, as a publisher, is to doubt that stat: I’d say, more accurately, that 63% of Americans claim they’re sick of Weiner news. The media just feeds what gets ratings, right? It’s our fault, right? No: with independent media, like elephant (which ignored Weinergate except for one mention, a contemplative one), an increasingly rare species, corporate-owned media is a dog wagged by its own tail. News has become entertainment. Priorities are ratings, not quality.

For more.

My opinion, for what little it’s worth: it’s a shame. He should have stuck it out. The American media, and public, is fickle, and would have moved one. Now his life is black-marked. He could have risen above this—he was popular, well-supported, named as a bright young rep with a future. His judgment and habits, obviously, need help. Serious help. But he harmed no one, that I know about. Now he’ll sit in depression and cease to do what he’s good at: service.

~

A few choice comments from Daily What:

Such a shame. One of the few democrats with a spine resigns over a personal matter that did not affect his ability to do his job.

Frankly, no seems to care about the government lies involving our finances or even apparently the undermining of much of our Bill of Rights that took place within the Bush administration. But a weird sex-like-scandal, THAT Americans perk up for.

If every politician who lied resigned we’d have no one in Washington, or any state capitol.

So politicians that break their marriage vows get booted, but politicians that approved torture are no problem whatsoever.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like some of our best leaders have been the guys who were sharing their wangs, and some of our worst have been the guys who kept their zippers up.
Hell, we have a guy who cheated on his wife while going after one president for adultery, and who divorced his wife by having her sign the papers while in a hospital bed, running for president, and Weiner can at least say he’s never crusaded against the behavior in which he engaged. Weiner should run for president, his running mate could be someone new, maybe an intellectual like Patrick Bahls or Elyn Saks.

So you think David Vitter should resign too, I assume?

Because of this lie, everything before it now a lie?
Have you ever lied before? Does that mean everything you did before that lie became a lie?

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