Tuesday, December 09, 2003 Reality, Alternate and Otherwise So I'm not blind to the fact that Bush was elected with a near majority of the vote. So I'm not blind to the fact that his approval rating rests high above the 50 percent line, as a rule, and that a lot of people think he's doing a great job. I manage to make this thought jibe just fine with my own opinions regarding his administration, and can even say nice things about our president, when put to the task. I understand the opposing viewpoint, is what I'm trying to say, no matter how much I disagree with it. So why is it that I feel like I've fallen into an alternate reality every time I end up watching Fox News? Is it because of the annoying-as-hell news crawl? The running and rerunning of Bush's political ads alongside the outright mocking of the Democratic candidates? The Botoxed smirks of its lady anchors and guests? Bill O'Reilly? One of the TVs at the gym, invariably, plays Fox News, and also invariably, the only open cardio machine is usually right in front of it. So I watch people scream and bicker and condescend while, out of the corner of my eye, I can just barely glimpse CNN covering real news. And then a Fox News promo plays, lauding itself as "the most powerful name in news," and I start to feel sick. 'Cause news, this ain't -- but people are still watching it. It's popular. Das Roomie, who as a rule abhors and avoids the news, knew who Hannity and Colmes were. I didn't, until recently. I may have been better for it. Call me a pinko liberal elitist. But Fox News just can't exist in my reality. | permalink blog • archives • photos • about • contact This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. All content © 2004.