Quotations Weblog

I admit. I’ve been laughing at this horrible case of stage fright for a week or so:

While the rest of us were laughing at the expense of Miss Teen South Carolina, Powerset were busy trying to diagram her sentences:

• Language Log: Parsing Miss Upton

In the end, it seems that misunderstanding the question and choking on stage isn’t nearly as interesting to some people as the actual words she said.

Via: Pick Me! » Find the USA on a Map

How long until we end this?

Just wondering, because, you know, people are dying.

All the presidential wrangling has made me weary of elections before they have even started. If this quotation from John Adams is true, why are so many scrambling for the opportunity?

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t like to be the one to tell you these things, but you don’t watch the news…”

Now, I’m panicked. What the hell happened?! “What happened?!”

“There was some guy in Trolley Square and he shot ten people before the cops shot him.”

We live within walking distance of Trolley Square.

“He killed some people in Cabin Fever.”

“Which one is that?”

“You know the pink store right across from Tabula Rasa?”

We browse at Tabula Rasa EVERY time we go to that mall.

“I thought you didn’t read the local news.”

“I don’t it was on CNN.”

“Did they kill him?”

“Yeah, an off-duty Ogden cop shot him.”

“So they don’t know why he did it?”

“No…”

Our flags are at half-mast, but something about the shooting bothers me. When there is a gang-related shooting in West Valley, the flags don’t go at half-mast. Why?

For more information: Salt Lake Tribune – Trolley gunman was 18, wielded shotgun and handgun

There has been a lot of talk about weblogs, especially political weblogs. Old school journalists complain that bloggers don’t have the same ethical restrictions as they do. They complain that this new group of writers don’t check their facts, while turning a blind eye to the journalists within their midst that not only don’t check facts, but willfully spread lies. On the other side, bloggers struggle for recognition while refusing to even spellcheck their work, much less confine profanity.

I find the whole thing amusing, not because I consider myself exempt from their disagreements but because both sides are acting as if this is a new thing. It’s not.

The battle cry for ethics in journalism has been going on for a LONG time, as exhibited by this quotation from Voltaire. It is something that needs constant vigilance. The mistake some of us had made is thinking that mistakes can’t be made. Highly respected journalists sometimes fail to check their facts. Additionally, sometimes greatness can come from humble places. Bloggers are there in the trenches and can break the story before a behemoth news site can move.

This is a debate that has been going on for a long time. Just because it’s bits and electricity doesn’t mean it’s any different than paper.