The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[scaeagles]

I don't see a need to post hundreds or thousands of examples.

Soft on McCain and Palin? I see it completely the opposite. Big shock. I think they have been ridiculously soft on Obama.

Like has been brought up before, we can each lay evidence as to why we believe that the media is biased in one way or another. I'll leave it at that and continue on, realizing it is pointless to continue along the same lines and just agree to disagree rather than belittling your viewpoint.

[Not Afraid]

The whole media bias to the lift argument is ridiculous. The media bias is to the sheep, dumbing down all information to a bland pablum that [strike]people[/strike] sheep feed on with dumb accepting eyes and apparently no brain. Why our culture has become a herd of manipulated sheep is beyond me.

I don't have a lot of time invested in watching TV news. I can only handle about 3 minutes of any news source at one time. But, what I do end up hearing/seeing is crap stuffed into small sound bites. But, as for leaning one direction or another, I only see right-leaning or marshmallow stances. I suspect the left-leaning media bias myth is another piece of pablum that has has been fed to the sheep.

[innerSpaceman]

Baaa Ram Ewe, Baaa Ram Ewe, to your dumbass clan be true.

[wendybeth]

I agree, NA. It's an excuse to say and do outrageous things and I find it very childish. ("But, Mom- the other kids are doing it too!) Alex is correct with regards to straight news on Fox- they dumb it down, but it's not horribly skewed. Unfortunately, the zillion 'analyst' programs take up far more air time than any newscast and present a picture of collective bias against anyone who isn't hardcore conservative. CNN, NBC, CBS and others seriously dumb down the news as well and I believe they are kinder to Obama than Faux, but I haven't seen the same level of mocking, insulting and inflammatory rhetoric directed at McCain. Then again, I don't really watch them too often. I prefer to read the news.



Edited to add: Lol, iSm! Just ten minutes ago I was taking the Girl to her homeschool class and we had to go over a very bumpy dirt road. We both started saying the "Baa Ram Ewe', as the bumps were making our voices quaver just like a sheep's.

[scaeagles]

OK....so matters of opinion mean I'm a sheep now. OK.

So far today I've been called delusional and a sheep. Good thing I'm not taking anything personally.

[mousepod]

For me, the media (and we're talking in-your-face headline media, not dig-until-you-find-the-story media) fails to present an objective "truth" not because it's left- or right-leaning, but because in almost every case, sensationalism trumps everything.

Case in point: I come to work today, and my boss says, "Did you see this? Lindsay Lohan has come out against Palin." He reads me the story, chuckling all the way through it. I agree with him that Lohan is a terrible political spokesperson, but did he hear what Greenspan said about McCain's proposed tax plan last Friday on Bloomberg? Of course he hadn't.

(In a nutshell - Greenspan said that McCain's 3.3 trillion dollar tax cut won't work unless there's an equal cut in the budget. Bloomberg's website pointed out that McCain's proposed cuts to earmarks and pork barrel spending would be under $200 billion - and that McCain hasn't spelled out any other specific cuts.)

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

OK....so matters of opinion mean I'm a sheep now. OK.

So far today I've been called delusional and a sheep. Good thing I'm not taking anything personally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53rWAzRIUR0

[Alex]

I'm still waiting for iSm to get indignant about name calling being a step too far (personally, I don't care about name calling on the assumption that we're all growed up enough to take it without needing extra therapy) but it is true that when it went the other way -- politically -- suddenly it needed reining in.

[wendybeth]

You shouldn't, Scaeagles- sheep was a general term and not directed at you specifically. Further, here is the definition of delusional, and I believe you were were accused of being delusional if you followed a certain line of thinking- it's not like anyone said you were a nutjob. (If they had, they would be called on it):

delusional

One entry found.




Main Entry:de·lu·sion Pronunciation: \di-ˈlü-zhən, dē-\ Function:noun Etymology:Middle English, from Late Latin delusion-, delusio, from deludereDate:15th century 1: the act of deluding : the state of being deluded2 a: something that is falsely or delusively believed or propagated b: a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary ; also : the abnormal state marked by such beliefs



If only Faux was as conscientious as you in the name calling department- we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[wendybeth]

Alex, it wasn't because of the political nature of the conversation that there was a warning applied- it was the personal and insulting attack that got the attention. If anyone said the same to Leo, you bet I'd be all over it. It was over the line. You have a personal problem with someone, then take it to PM or put them on ignore- don't call them names and expect to get a pass.