My Thoughts Exactly

I refused to watch two of the big affiliates in Pittsburgh felatiate poor old Ben. I didn't want to give them the ratings.

Chris Potter at the Slag Heap did the work, and the thinking for me. Check it out here. He expressed excellently, why Ben has yet to be held accountable and how his words are just that; words. They are nothing more, not an admission of guilt, or remorse. The worst part about this is, our news media is giving him a pass. At a certain point, our media's love affair with the Steelers stops being cute. At certain times I have relished the fact that the lead in to most newscasts was Steelers related, and that it was all fluff but it's gone too far. The networks are clearly still walking on eggshells around the Steelers organization like it is God's Kingdom come to earth. (Not sure if that has more to do with the organization, or more to do with ratings. Lord knows you wouldn't want to piss any of those yinzers off that watch your newscast because the Steelers lead every night)

We should start a pool; what's the over/under on how long it takes poor old Ben to become a condescending, arrogant rapist again?

Fluff

A lot’s been said about Pittsburgh’s new hotel: The Fairmont. The Radical Middle Covered this a while ago, but the other day I saw another post on the kick ass blog "PGH is a City". Nothing against PGH is a City, I enjoy reading it (hence why it's filed under good ass links), but it reminded me how the hotel has been electronically shoved down our collective throats, and made me think:

That’s great, I am happy we got a nice new hotel, but seriously. It’s fluff. Who gives a rat’s ass in the grand scheme of things? Is the Fairmont going to stop the population loss within the city? Is the Fairmont going to solve the pension crisis? Is the Fairmont gonna be able to figure out how to fund the Port Authority? Is the Fairmont even gonna last?

Sure, it makes everyone feel all warm and fuzzy about the city because there is a new swanky, “green” hotel. I am not by any means saying that we should not have it. I am saying that it doesn’t merit the attention it’s getting, and people should be directing the energy devoted to covering this new hotel to something really meaningful (see above).