Freedom of expression and truth

The health care debate has given rise to a number of spurious claims, as sides passionately cling to their views.
The most infamous certainly was Sarah Palin's "death panels" assertion. Jon Stewart did an artful job taking on another seller of that spin on the proposed legislation.
The White House got into an interesting kerfuffle over an effort to get people to root out "fishy" information that they could then try to debunk. The plan was a pretty commonplace blogosphere approach. The theory goes: the more eyes watching facts and working on verifying them, the more likely truth will have a chance to emerge.
But what if those eyes are being asked to watch by the government? What does that do to your constitutionally protected freedoms? Was the White House asking people to rat out their friends and family, a la McCarthyism? Or trying to get real answers out into the public sphere in response to flat-out lies? Dig around for updates to this story. What did the administration decide to do?

What is journalism?

Some researchers say you and your peers get a great deal of your news and information from sources like The Daily Show. Some could argue that Jon Stewart embraces journalistic values, such as skepticism, as he does in this challenge to claims of readiness and gender bias involving Sarah Palin.
How much to you rely on these sources? What about other sources, newspapers, magazines, etc.? How does that inform you as a citizen? Does it matter?

Daily Show

So in the volume-challenged and time-elapsing lecture hall Monday morning, I didn't get a chance to play that last video for you.

Go to Comedy Central and watch the video marked "Sarah Palin Gender Card."

So what is the Daily Show? Is it journalism? If so, how so? If not, why not? It matters a great deal because you and your peers watch it more than you consume mainstream news media.

Chandrasekaran Visit

As I mentioned in class, attending the speech by Rajiv Chandrasekaran at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, counts toward your Professional Practices credit. I think this could end up being one of the best events on campus this year. He's an engaging speaker, and his book blew me away. Some clickables:
1. Rajiv's appearance on The Daily Show (wherein Jon Stewart butchers his last name)
2. His appearance with Keith Olbermann (who got the name right)
3. His Web site on the book and his background
4. His book for sale on Amazon
"Imperial Life in the Emerald City" is easily one of the five best books I've read in the last five years. I recommend it as one point on a triangle of reading. It does an excellent job covering policy and the botched effort to rebuild Iraq. To get a view of the war's effect on everyday Iraqis, read Anthony Shadid's outstanding "Night Draws Near." And finally, I'm newly into Tom Ricks' "Fiasco," which provides excellent coverage from the military perspective. Read together, the three give you a well-rounded view of what is aptly called the key story of this generation.