ShortFormBlogdebates Archives

Getting touchy: Remember when Mitt Romney touched Rick Perry’s shoulder during a GOP debate a while back, and everybody freaked out? Yeah, that was nothing. During a televised debate about Syria yesterday, two Lebanese politicians became enraged and started throwing things at each other. After one guy chucks what looks like a glass of water across the table, the other guy stands up, grabs his chair, and almost hits his foe with it before the host intervenes. The topic of debate was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a very polarizing figure in Lebanon. American debates can get heated, but we’d be awfully shocked to see Newt Gingrich chuck his podium at Jon Huntsman while discussing Chinese economic policy. source

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

Could Twitter make me stupid? Absolutely. If I only followed funny cats that speak with poor grammar, I’d be on my way to a vapid state of mind in no time. But I don’t. I follow dozens of news outlets and writers; I follow chefs, neuroscientists and the president of the United States; and of course, I follow Mr. Keller.
NYT blogger Nick Bilton • Publicly taking his boss, Bill Keller, to task about his Twitter-bashing column earlier today, where he suggested allowing his daughter to use Facebook was like giving her crystal meth. Keller got a chance to respond in an update at the end of Bilton’s piece, where he tried to clarify what he was going for (as well as jokingly threatening to fire his talented blogger). “If Facebook is displacing real friendship, if Twitter is diminishing actual conversation,” he says, “then maybe that’s a good reason to limit how much of your life they consume.” You know, here’s the funny thing about Facebook and Twitter: For the people in your social circle, you can turn the service off and contact many of the people you’re talking to on Facebook and Twitter in the flesh. And the people you can’t, you can reach via the service. These services don’t take away from our knowledge. They expand our reach, as long as they’re not used to excess (a point both Bilton and Keller agree on). Bill just doesn’t explain this point very well at all. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Just a hunch: She said “big fat boners,” but we’re sure she meant “big fat bonuses.” source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

You’re one of the richest men in the U.S. Senate. Now on behalf of Nevada taxpayers, I would like to know, we would like to know, how did you become so wealthy on a government payroll?
Sharron Angle • In one of many attacks she made against Nevada Senator Harry Reid last night. Let’s face it, while she didn’t necessarily win last night, she stood toe to toe with one of the country’s most powerful Senators. It’s a performance that makes Christine O’Donnell’s debate work seem laughable in comparison. While Reid was probably right to call some of Angle’s views “extreme,” the fact of the matter is she didn’t embarrass herself like many people might have expected given her press-evasiveness. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2011 22:19