"… Mr. Stewart is usually extremely careful about taking serious positions for which he might…"

Johnny Rollerfeet's Echo Chamber — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:53:06 +0000

“… Mr. Stewart is usually extremely careful about taking serious positions for which he might be accused of trying to exert influence. … “I have to think about how many kids are watching Jon Stewart right now and dreaming of growing up and doing what Jon Stewart does,” [Robert J. Thompson, a professor of television at Syracuse University] said …”

- The public is right to question Jon Stewart’s advocacy on a show that purports to be entertainment, and this article shows a fine balance of journalism neither supporting nor decrying Stewart. The final tally will fall in Stewart’s favor because he rarely wields such a powerful position. This exception to the rule reinforces Stewart’s effort to maintain an integrity similar to what journalists should have, allowing him some wiggle room to tell jokes.

The article also mentions that Stewart “went to great lengths to avoid commenting about the intentions of his Rally to Restore Sanity”, which — as an attendee — I think was the point. On both fronts Stewart is giving action to a thoughtful approach to politics, demonstrating that level-headed discussion without vitriol should be the norm and activism is to be reserved for those rare events outside the margin.

(quote from Jon Stewart’s Advocacy Role in 9/11 Bill Passage - NYTimes.com.)

Live Music Complaint From Live Music Task Force Member

etrigan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:06:56 +0000

Props to the Austin American Statesman for putting the audio from the 911 call that shut down Shady Grove on their website (Austin360). The audio even includes the caller giving his name. I can empathize with Mr. Trainer since the music does seem pretty loud, but when you live just across the street, and up the hill, from one of the busiest restaurant neighborhoods maybe you should recognize you’re in the minority for not wanting to hear music in the neighborhood…particularly at 7:30pm on a Thursday.

I feel more than a little empathy for Mr Trainer’s name making it onto the interwebs since it isn’t difficult to find a person’s address these days. I won’t tell you which house it is specifically, but Scott lives inside this graphic:

In case you were wondering, this decibel level compare chart shows that the city’s 75dB limit on restaurants is just above normal conversation tones, and below telephone dial tone.

Backporch Beer » 911

"… Mr. Stewart is usually extremely careful about taking serious positions for which he might…"

Live Music Complaint From Live Music Task Force Member