Politics Blah Blah
Posted on August 27, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 28 Comments
To answer the person in e-mail who asked if I planned to say much about the Democratic convention: No, not really. As I believe I have mentioned before, right about now, politics makes me feel positively stabby, and I think it’s best for all concerned that I just avoid it all when possible. In fact, to keep my stabbiness to the bare minimum, I’ve unsubscribed to all my usual political blogs and check on the news maybe twice a day, usually skirting over the convention news if I can. I am aware of what’s going on, but I’m not doing my usual “crawl through all the news” thing. I don’t know whether this is making me happier, but I suspect it’s keeping me from being pissed off.
And yes, I plan to keep this up through the Republican convention as well. Don’t worry, I expect you can get your political updates other places.
Aww… so it’s back to being all about you? ;)
I do imagine there is more to discuss in the world than me and/or politics.
I’m pretty sure this presidential race is making every sane person stabby.
I turned off TV coverage of the convention, but then damned if I didn’t put a wee, little streaming window in one corner of my display while I tried to do other things on the ‘net. I’ve gone from largely apolitical to politics junkie in the matter of, oh…. 19 months.
But I can quit any time. Really.
How positively healthy of you, John. Congratulations.
But are you concerned by the sloppy play of the Patriots in the preseason or the knee surgery of Peyton Manning?
Will you be sharing your football wisdom?
I am kind of burnt out of politics so I am largely tuning it all out, for now, and I will for a while. I check Crooks and Liars and that’s it. I need a break.
I envy you. I work in a Operations Center where one of the TVs needs to be on CNN (or some other cable news) the entire time during my 12 hour shift. I passed stabby with regards to politics in March…
I too am a little burned out at this stage….Time to let things settle. I still keep up with things via my CNN feed through Google, but that is just headlines in passing. No interest in reading the articles. (Unlike YOUR articles, which I find myself reading more and more of….Oops, sounds like a stalker comment!)
Thank you. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
My standard line is “I really don’t need to be taking *more* blood pressure medication” – and that just about says it all. I’ve been avoiding politics offline as well; if friends want to talk about it, they can do it elsewhere or when.
“Stabby” is an excellent description.
But I relied on you to do all my politicking for me. Now am I going to have to start watching this crap?
I’d be happy to email you long daily summaries John… :)
But you’re awfully entertaining when you’re stabby.
I recall you saying pretty much the same thing in the previous campaign.
well, yes, there’s other places to get the news, but you’re the only place to get cats in blenders with the news.
Cassie:
Yes, well. I never last. But it’s good for me to make the effort.
Ooo… so you’ll crack? Excellent. :D
I’m in the same position as Lauren. I wait for people like you to filter through all the political crap and tell me the important parts, so I don’t have to look at it myself…
I just think anouncers on tv should be banned. Political & Sports both. It’s not the politics making me “stabby” it’s what “they” have to say about the politics that make me, (want to stab them?).
It is comments like this which make me wonder about this mysterious “blogs” you read. Not the political ones, per se, just what sorts of blogs you like to read for all sorts of purposes. I think that would make for some interesting entries here…some samples of “What John Reads”.
I read a couple hundred blogs — I don’t know there’s that much commonality among them, however. Except, you know. That I find them readable.
I gave up all political stuff in the last week of July – no polls, no blogs, no cable news. It was hard but I lasted one whole month. I finally broke last friday during the VP pick/text message cliff hanger. I’ve so far avoided the convention though. Watching this video got me through some rough spots early on. Highly recommended.
The Onion: Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election
This is the first convention since I became a news junkie a couple of years ago, and the coverage has been brain-stabbingly insipid. Five minutes of any cable news channel makes me want to find the nearest makeshift melee weapon and go Office Space on my TV. Blogs haven’t been much better.
I’ve enjoyed several of the speeches, but the analysis that follows is interminable. Andrew Sullivan commented earlier that the best way to follow the convention is to watch the online live feed on CNN; no pundits, no commentators, nothing but the pandering.
It’s a sad commentary on something or other that this feels like peace and quiet compared to the full shebang from CNN or MSNBC.
I moved beyond stabby years ago. The convention coverage on C-span (sans-talking heads, yay!) has a few unexpected bright spots, though. :)
I had to turn off NPR last night on the way to the gym because, in the five minutes I’d been in my car, I was starting to get Obama fatigue. (That and they kept cutting away from the commentators every time someone stepped up to the podium, which I gathered was a steady, unflagging process. So, you know. Annoying.)
I don’t want Obama fatigue and I’ll be mad if they give it to me.
Watching the network coverage (broadcast and cable news) makes me feel “stabby,” too. In fact, I had intended this year to avoid the whole circus and reduce my Prilosec budget.
But then I discovered the uncut feeds from CSPAN and from the DNC on the Web, and it seems a very different experience. I’m very interested in the rhetorical and theatrical aspects of the convention, and without the mosquito buzz of the pundits, I can actually get a sense of the show. And it is fascinating.
I tried to make the same commitment, but the three-week-old has other plans in the middle of the night. At that time of the night, it’s either Infomercials or rehashed primetime coverage on CNN. The choice is tougher than you’d think, but CNN still wins out. Man, I miss the Olympics.
That said, I’m watching Obama tonight.
The CSpan coverage is interesting…but how many awful bands can the democrats squeeze in between the speeches?
I’ve decided to alter my political views; the first candidate to get Tom Waits to perform at their convention gets my vote.
If I could add up all the hours I’ve wasted surfing political content on the web, since 2001…. No, it hurts too much.
Here’s something that occurred to me after my wife politely demanded (for the 83rd time) that I cut back on political surfing:
1 – I never earn a dime from it.
2 – All my reading and replying in blogs, never impacts anyone in office.
3 – I don’t think anyone has ever changed my mind, nor I theirs.
4 – I’m either just agreeing with someone else, or….
5 – Disagreeing vehemently with same, and….
6 – It all just gets me spittingly pissed off!
No thanks, I wanted off the crazy, time-wasting train.
I have better things to do. And so does just about everyone else on the internet who spends hours, days, weeks, etc, pounding the keys over U.S. politics.
Alas, it’s tough to pull the needle out of your arm, once it’s in.
Good on Mr. Scalzi.