No. He'll be an engineer.

Open letter to the Star Tribune

· 03/25/2009 09:37 AM by Steve Gigl

(Because I know they won’t do anything with the email I sent to their Corrections address.)

Context (heh) here, original nonsense here.

Hello,

You have done Michele Bachmann, but much more importantly your readership, a great disservice by stripping her remarks on WWTC of context and parading them in front of readers as if they were controversial or dangerous. Just because she has a reputation of getting carried away when talking to the media (one reason I’m not her biggest supporter), do you really think you have license to make this comment:

“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”

into this?

“WASHINGTON – Rep. Michele Bachmann is mad about taxes and she wants taxpayers to revolt.

But don’t reach for your gun yet.

According to a spokesman in her office, the Minnesota Republican was speaking metaphorically this weekend when she said in a radio interview that she wants ‘people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back.’”

No one would read or hear her full statement and think she was speaking in any other mode than metaphorically. So why is it that the Star Tribune decided to make it seem as if that was even possible, and then strip the context out entirely to make the lie seem plausible? I could go through a big list of possible reasons, but frankly you’ve heard them all already, and dismissed them all without an ounce of self-reflection.

And sadly, I no longer expect anything better from journalists, so I’m going to throw this out to you and on my blog, and then not even bother to check for a correction that won’t come. And throw this on the pile of evidence that context is like Kryptonite to most media that claims to be objective.
—Steve Gigl
Crystal, MN

(A Sunday subscriber, but only as long as Lileks remains in print.)

Category: Media & Entertainment
Scope: Humor

Rantback

Shocking

· 10/04/2008 08:14 AM by Steve Gigl

Well, actually not:

That’s because UW’s marching band has been banned and won’t be allowed to perform tonight.

[...]

Nope, the band was suspended indefinitely Friday while allegations of hazing, alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct are investigated.

Although only a small number of band members were involved, longtime director Mike Leckrone told the Associated Press the behavior was significant enough to warrant the suspension.

Not that I’m biased, but… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

I'm Oscar-worthy?

· 08/04/2008 03:28 PM by Steve Gigl

Who knew?

[Yeah, I know, he meant this. Even people who have never heard of me have made that exact same typo. I’d feel bad about Google bringing them here, but just think about what typing it correctly would lead them to…!]

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

Only in Minnesota

· 03/02/2008 03:15 PM by Steve Gigl

“Oh my god, a bridge collapsed!”

“Quick, raise taxes!”

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

Because the well is dry here

· 09/21/2007 02:12 PM by Steve Gigl

Go read Dilbertblog:

And how do you hand a pizza to a 900-pound guy? I’m no hero; I think I’d toss the food in his general direction, scream like a little girl, and jump out the second-story window. That’s how I roll.

Category: Humor
Scope: National

Rantback

Open letter to the Star Tribune

· 03/25/2009 09:37 AM by Steve Gigl

(Because I know they won’t do anything with the email I sent to their Corrections address.)

Context (heh) here, original nonsense here.

Hello,

You have done Michele Bachmann, but much more importantly your readership, a great disservice by stripping her remarks on WWTC of context and parading them in front of readers as if they were controversial or dangerous. Just because she has a reputation of getting carried away when talking to the media (one reason I’m not her biggest supporter), do you really think you have license to make this comment:

“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”

into this?

“WASHINGTON – Rep. Michele Bachmann is mad about taxes and she wants taxpayers to revolt.

But don’t reach for your gun yet.

According to a spokesman in her office, the Minnesota Republican was speaking metaphorically this weekend when she said in a radio interview that she wants ‘people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back.’”

No one would read or hear her full statement and think she was speaking in any other mode than metaphorically. So why is it that the Star Tribune decided to make it seem as if that was even possible, and then strip the context out entirely to make the lie seem plausible? I could go through a big list of possible reasons, but frankly you’ve heard them all already, and dismissed them all without an ounce of self-reflection.

And sadly, I no longer expect anything better from journalists, so I’m going to throw this out to you and on my blog, and then not even bother to check for a correction that won’t come. And throw this on the pile of evidence that context is like Kryptonite to most media that claims to be objective.
—Steve Gigl
Crystal, MN

(A Sunday subscriber, but only as long as Lileks remains in print.)

Category: Media & Entertainment
Scope: Humor

Rantback

Shocking

· 10/04/2008 08:14 AM by Steve Gigl

Well, actually not:

That’s because UW’s marching band has been banned and won’t be allowed to perform tonight.

[...]

Nope, the band was suspended indefinitely Friday while allegations of hazing, alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct are investigated.

Although only a small number of band members were involved, longtime director Mike Leckrone told the Associated Press the behavior was significant enough to warrant the suspension.

Not that I’m biased, but… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

I'm Oscar-worthy?

· 08/04/2008 03:28 PM by Steve Gigl

Who knew?

[Yeah, I know, he meant this. Even people who have never heard of me have made that exact same typo. I’d feel bad about Google bringing them here, but just think about what typing it correctly would lead them to…!]

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

Only in Minnesota

· 03/02/2008 03:15 PM by Steve Gigl

“Oh my god, a bridge collapsed!”

“Quick, raise taxes!”

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback

Because the well is dry here

· 09/21/2007 02:12 PM by Steve Gigl

Go read Dilbertblog:

And how do you hand a pizza to a 900-pound guy? I’m no hero; I think I’d toss the food in his general direction, scream like a little girl, and jump out the second-story window. That’s how I roll.

Category: Humor
Scope: National

Rantback

Perfectly Intellectually Consistent

· 08/11/2007 12:31 PM by Steve Gigl

Bumper stickers on a Saturn:
1. “I think, therefore I’m single”
2. “Bush Lied; Thousands Died”

Gives a pretty good picture of her reasoning abilities, doesn’t it?

[And sorry, King, but she also had an SCSU sticker on her back window. I would never go as far as suggesting that it’s in any way related…]

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback [7]

Today's philosophy quiz

· 08/11/2007 09:15 AM by Steve Gigl

Can geeks have inner demons?

[OK, obviously they can, but I’m more interested in whether other people “allow” them (OK, us) to have them. Think about it; have you ever once wondered whether Jamie or Adam from Mythbusters or Alton Brown have inner turmoil? Is it just the “gee whiz” front that most geeks put on for the world that keeps others from considering it, or is it some other assumption? Just curious.]

Category: Humor
Scope: Personal

Rantback

Right on

· 05/09/2007 10:23 AM by Steve Gigl

I had seen this comic before, but forgot how good it is (not the drawing, obviously). Thanks to Roadguy for reconnecting me…

Category: Humor
Scope: National

Rantback

Funny misreading of unfunny headline

· 11/21/2006 07:33 PM by Steve Gigl

On front page of Strib: Newborn girl abandoned by road in Stearns County.

Those damn dirty roads.

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback [1]

Dang

· 11/21/2006 07:32 AM by Steve Gigl

How did I not hear about (or see) Bruce the Spruce when I lived in Green Bay and occasionally went to Prange’s? I feel deprived…

Category: Humor
Scope: Local

Rantback [3]