Television hasn't always been stuffed full of mindless babble and propaganda pundits competing against the latest reality series for commercial advertising dollars. In fact, sometimes -- whether it's regular television across the airwaves¹ or via cable -- educational and informative episodes still air.

It's refreshing.

The best combination, in my opinion, is when a show is geared toward children and provides both education and entertainment...something which may not be as effective nowadays as it used to be. I say this solely due to one particularly fond memory of my younger years -- the Schoolhouse Rock episodes that helped shape a lot of younger minds.

From the Wiki,

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Schoolhouse Rock! is a series of animated musical educational short films that aired during Saturday morning children's programming on U.S. television network ABC. Topics covered include grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and politics. The series aired between 1973 and 1986, and infrequently during the 1990s and 2000s, with new shows created between 1993 and 1996 until its cancellation by ABC in 2001.

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Lately, I wonder if more adults shouldn't sit down and watch a few episodes...alright, all the episodes...due to the lower quality of communication skills I've noticed throughout corporate and political America.

To get the ball rolling in hopes of starting a trend toward re-educating some of our adult "leadership" and to provide more educational entertainment for the children, I'll leave you with this little bit about pronouns:

This is an Open Thread.

The YouTube, MySpace, Facebook; all of these sites are significant amongst the millions and millions of internet websites around the world. These are among the more popular and more controversial sites that plague favorite past times. The big question, however, is are these web browsers and the many others out there on the internet the new source of education and entertainment?

At a time when the American economy appears to be suffering from a financial decline, or a recession, there is a constant need and a certain desperation for production to continue-wherever it is possible. Having said that, in the entertainment industry, shouldn't the business (among other prospects) be allowed to expand beyond their simple conquests and explore new pastures, starting with the decrease of censorship?

originally posted 2008-02-10 18:21:59 - bumped

The inability to hold those accountable for crimes committed with regard to Iraq -- illegal detainment, torture, murder -- is a major loophole that must be closed. Redefining "torture" to exclude certain activities and calling those activities "enhanced interrogation techniques" doesn't change what it is, nor does it alleviate the guilt or responsibility of those who have assisted and participated in it.

The biggest concern of the White House and the Republicans in Congress -- and, indeed, at large -- is that the public will finally reject their waffling and dissembly and ultimately hold them all accountable for what evil they have wrought.

They are right to be concerned.