Politi-geek

I was inspired by a friend who, good-naturedly, was lamenting about the distinct lack of political-ness here on the Geek Find. Happily for me, I didn't have to try too incredibly hard. Being a geek doesn't mean burying your head in the latest Astonishing X-Men or being too googly about the fact they are making a movie of the manga Battle Angel Alita. A geek can be just as serious as the big-time pundits on TV (insert laughter about TV personalities here). I've begun to avoid the televised news as there is never anything thoughtfully discussed about local or national issues, unless its on OPB. You can see better political manueverings and discussions on Battlestar Galactica or West Wing. But that's why I love podcasts. I can find the people who keep my interest and have something to say which interests me.

This vague notion of political geekery was rolling around in my mind when I listened to one of my favorite podcasts today, Escape Pod. The most recent story, Shadowboxer, was disturbing in a political ethics sort of way. In a war on terror, what are we willing to give up? And what are we willing to do to secure our way of life? Which leads me to another, perhaps too serious Tuesday question: Do we need to change our thoughts on our way of life and the way it survives? Am I touching on blasphemy? Shocking? Check out the story and decide for you self.

Of course you can't have political discourse without people to fire you up. I mean, Fox has Bill O'Reilly and Anne Coulter. I find them very similar to Jerry Springer (What? You can't see Jerry in a blonde wig?). Outrageous and a tad on the far side for me. You can only shout at the TV so many times before it gets old. I haven't chanted 'Jerry! Jerry!' in years. The Leftwing Nutjob podcast lets me be outraged without hearing Bill hoarsely drowning out opponents. There isn't any yelling which saves my poor ears.

If you aren't in the podcast-listening mood, you can always check out a few places with way too many fun facts. NPR is fast becoming my only news source. Easy to read and with more than just the impression of being balanced, I absolutely adore the site. Of course, they also have podcasts from their shows, which are very nice too.

Tired of hearing how badly Dems behave? Or at least finding only them scandalized in the news most often. Now you have a home to call your own with the Republicans Behaving Badly blog. You know they can't all be good upstanding leaders . . .

Do I lean a wee tad to the left? Well, yes I do. Do I think all Republicans are big idiots? Well, no. Or at least not all of them. But then I will admit some Dems are big idiots too. The only way to get out of this mess alive is to attempt some sort of civil discourse. Mud slinging back and forth is just dirty. Not to mention eventually it seems to turn into bombs. Those are a lot more deadly. Here's hoping peace will come to the world. And Anne Coulter comes to her senses. I'm just kidding. Sort of.

This has been your politi-Geek Find of the Day.