CNN: We Are All White Women Aged 18-26 Now

Would CNN give a front page story and nearly 1250 words to describing the parents’ defense regarding a black person or other racial minority accused of murdering someone? I’m guessing no.

But when a white girl is accused of it? Stop the presses, let’s get a full story from the parents on how they raised her. It makes me sick.

CNN: We’re Not Paying Attention

CNN: New website, same old ineptitude.

CNN thinks the race in the New York 23rd hold “little national interest” and that Palin is taking some strange tact by endorsing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over the GOP candidate.

Well, here’s a list of national figures who have endorsed in the NY 23rd: Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, Tom Cole, Jim DeMint, Dana Rohrabacher, Tim Pawlenty, Fred Thompson, Rick Santorum, Steve Forbes, Michelle Bachmann, sort of Mike Huckabee, John Linder, the New York Post editorial page, Michael Barone, and Todd Tiahrt. And all but Gingrich endorsed Hoffman.

Moreover, Hoffman on his website has audio clips of him on three popular (unfortunately so, but still) conservative radio shows: Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh.

Yet, to CNN, there is “little national attention” on this race, and it is only a referendum on Palin. This makes literally no sense whatsoever if you pay more than 5 minutes attention to politics per day.

In Which I Blog About Barbies

I promise you, this is worth m attention.

Anyways, CNN is tackling the response to Black Barbies:

It's Not About Black Enough, It's About Sending a Message

They frame their story in terms of “filling a void for young African American girls” as if criticizing Mattel here will make the First Daughters sad. Please.

The problem with the old Barbie was not that it didn’t “fill enough voids” but that it was a ridiculous caricature of women and created a false ideal. Part of that was the white skin. Other parts were the ridiculous proportions, etc. I’m sure someone on the internet has done a better writeup on the problems of Barbie than I could.

The point is that there should be black dolls because a significant partof American girls and women are black. That’s it. That’s the reason. And for the same reason, there should be Hispanic dolls, Asian dolls, etc. This is not Hitler’s Germany. A multicultural approach is a fundamental part of America. And not just for marketing, though I think there is a convenient overlap in this instance. (By ways of comparison, if there was a niche doll shop in some really white area of the country that made white dolls, I don’t think anyone would complain about them. The sheer market presence of companies like Mattel imposes social responsibilities, whether they like it or not.

It’s curious, therefore, that we can all discuss the social responsibility of a company that makes dolls, but  if we discuss the social responsibility of companies actively dumping millions of pounds of pollutants into rivers in just a single state, then it’s just the creazy green people talking. There are similar instances in every field. Why aren’t banks held to account the way Mattel is? Why do we place a higher standard on the social norms of toymakers than we do of people and companies actively shaping the world we live in? It’s a question I hope to come back to, but I hope if you read this much, you ask it yourself. I don’t think there’s a good answer.

CNN: Parents Thankful Kid Is Not Dead

This is just shamelessly looking for hits. This is in no way actual news. A real news organization would have just run an updated story of what happened with the quote on the end. CNN? Their top headline of the day!

CNN Takes Lead Story From Batman Villain

Cnn.com’s current lead story – the most important story in the world to CNN:

Sound familiar? It should. It’s similar to the (relatively) well known backstory of Batman villain Mr. Freeze: His wife is deathly ill, he places her in a suspended animation, but when one day he falls into the liquid, he turns into the villain. Here’s a picture from the movie Batman and Robin:

Of course, that head you see there is the current California governor.

On the other hand, if Chris Nolan or any of his assistants is reading this, please do not take this as an opportunity to re-imagine Freeze. The whole thing  is too ridiculous for me.

We get sick and we die. It happens. Sometimes too early. We don’t need to cheat death. In fact, I’m as upset about Gupta’s cheating death as the ridiculous top story.

CNN Investigation: Hitmen Are Cold Blooded

What would we have done without CNN getting the scoop that paid hitmen are cold blooded? Also, I like that CNN reporters are now taking cues for what to ask their subjects from Jay Leno. They are hitmen! What’s next, we ask Charles Manson what his mother would have thought of him? Please, spare me.

This issue should probably get more play in the US, but I’m having a hard time accepting this type of story in particular as an effective or appropriate way to do that.

Still More Adventures in CNN Excellence

Count the stories on the sidebar that are actual news, and the stories that are silly entertainment

By my count, it’s a robust 50%. CNN, where literal mediocrity is good enough.

More Adventures in CNN Excellence

This is the most important story in the world to CNN: