Where do I sign up, I've already got my pajamas:
Reporting for duty, and I can salute, too!
Posted on 09/17/2004 4:27:35 AM PDT by TaxRelief
The conservative web group, FReerepublic.com, in its quest for "truth in media", may have accidentally stumbled across the means for unseating the leftists' obsession with "tolerance".
For over a year now, Freerepublic.com bloggers (Freepers) have been publically challenging the "factual information" disseminated in news stories published by the main stream media (MSM). The website's members have picked apart undocumented statistics; they've delved into the partisan semantics of questions on political polls; they've "FReeped" online polls to prove the uselessness of easily manipulated data; they've exposed sub-groups of radical activist organizations like "PETA", which pose as research "think tanks" and "responsible physicians"; they've bombarded news stations with phone calls and emails when the reporting is blatantly one-sided or even false; and finally, as this summer draws to a close, they have begun to publically object to lazy and biased newscasting.
As the analytical members of the conservative website FReerepublic.com have relentlessly challenged the credibility of the MSM, they have also simultaneously proven a theory that our forefathers discussed as they authored the first ten Amendments to the US Constitution; the Freedom of the Press has to be absolute, not just because truth is critical for sustaining a democracy in an otherwise Socialist world, but because truth itself cannot be ordered or legislated; it is the process of discourse, debate and disagreement that leads to true enlightenment.
However, as history has shown numerous times in the past, when "enlightenment" rears it's shining head, "darkness" goes on the defensive. Clearly, the crowd that seeks the truth is in direct conflict with those that "believe" truth is subjective and personal.
In the early seventies, a movement that focused on "prejudice" and "intolerance"--catch words intended to stop random and cruel discrimination against people with different colored skins--ballooned into a social behavior fad that temporarily pushed aside conservative etiquette. As a result, an entire generation of young people has now been raised believing that the concept of "maintaining a good reputation" is a selfish ploy perpetuated by adults who seek to control the scope of their teenagers' sexual activity, that everyone has the right to choose his own moral framework, and that questioning another's reputation is the equivalent of discrimination based on ethnicity.
In the process of subverting social norms, the simple concepts of credibility, honesty and reputation were thrown out with the bath water. A few folks saw what was happening along the way; many had to go through their own life experiences to become aware of the problem, and some have only just figured it out. Regardless of what brought them to this point, conservatives are coming out of the closet in droves, and it seems they are not willing to just "sit back and take it" anymore.
This past week "FReepers" crossed a critical threshold in their war on liberalism. By exposing, Dan Rather, a long-time icon of the MSM, as a man who is, at best lazy and partisan, or at worst dishonest and partisan, they actually were successful in preventing a paparazzi attack on the White House.
The rumbling volcano finally erupted when Dan Rather of CBS news--apparently oblivious to the "New Media"--happily presented some weak, insupportable "evidence" that a sitting president had attempted to shirk his duty as an American by either (a) serving in the National Guard rather than the regular army, or (b) missing 3 months of his 6 years service in the National Guard.
Rather's "evidence" consisted of "testimony" from partisan hacks and misquoted experts, and copies of memos "signed by" a man who died years ago (thereby unseating the commonly accepted theory that "dead men can't tell tales").
A FReeper, "Buckhead", immediately challenged the authenticity of the memos. Within hours, CBS's self-satisfied smiles were wiped off their faces, by the analytical branch of the "New Media".
This may well have been an historical moment; the MSM had probably never been diverted from its modus operandi of accuse-and-attack so successfully in the past. The MSM understandably was stunned to discover that the "seekers of truth" had reached a critical-enough mass to subvert "Plan A", the accuse-and-attack mission plan that had withstood the test of time; and to squash "Plan B": blame "intolerance" for anything that goes wrong. For forty years, the MSM had misused the concept of "tolerance" to cover-up its inadequacy, its laziness and the many, many errors made in haste, all because of a desire to get credit for "breaking the story".
Unfortunately for the MSM--but fortunately for America--FReepers and other rightwing bloggers are calling for a New Era of Credibility. Rightwingers are relying on the age-old premise that each individual is only as good as his honor and his ability to seekout and relay the truth (rather than the leftist theory that each man is only as good as his college degree--whether earned or gifted). The conservative bloggers harken back to the biblically-sound theory that a reputation once damaged is rarely ever recovered.
There may be no greater service that FReerepublic.com can do for the American people than to continue their mission to expose the MSM's poor journalistic practices (like quoting and enshrining of "unnamed sources"; the use of un-authenticated documents; the poor selection of interviewees; personal relationships between editors and partisan hacks; the backroom cover-up games and the rampant plagiarism of blogs and other reporter's articles). Perhaps they will even bring about the demise of the monopolistic mainstream media altogether.
Liberals may have attempted to destroy the value of a good reputation by telling kids not to "judge" others and to be "tolerant", but those same leftists did not eradicate the quest for truth well enough to prevent a powerful force from re-emerging and continuing on with the mission to conquer social misbehavior.
Thanks for the ping, MistyCA!
I also agree with teh sentiment expressed here that more of us FReepers need to start becoming "Journalists", since we ARE the New Media... We can tell the TRUTH, something many in the MSM seem to have forgotten how to do...
To steal a quote from John Kerry, who stole it from the commie Langston Hughes, "Let Journalists become journalists again" ;0)
We surely don't need the MSM editorials <:-}}
Where do I sign up, I've already got my pajamas:
Reporting for duty, and I can salute, too!
You sure are a good bumper! Thanks!
bttt
Great article, thanks for the ping.
Rush is always taking about the Limbaugh echo effect.
In my opinion, this is actually a re-echo of the Freerepublic echo effect.
I have seen, many times, stuff brought up here on the news when I get home. My wife laughs at me, when I tell her, "I think Brit Hume lifted that from us".
This time, with RatherGate, is the first time that we have gotten actual credit from anyone outside our own.
It's a good time to be a FReeper.
See this thread for more on the history/settlement.
Yes, and with that comes a special responsibility to work hard to get it right. Because of all the efforts here to do just that, the credibility can't be denied!! Happy trails, Dan Rather!
You are welcome!
I've been loving the new Swift Vet ad. It's been running very heavily on my cable all week.
My wife and most of our conservative friends no longer snicker when I mention what is happening on Free Republic.
Last week, I told her about Free Republic cracking the forgery. For some reason she had Fox News on and told me to sit down for a moment. The next segment was a good Blonde on Fox showing how the forgery was done.
My wife said, "Your Free Republic Friends" beat Fox with that scoop, didn't they!"
I have to believe that some "leftwingers" remain who share these same values.
And I'm sure you will love every minute of it!!!!!!
There were times in the last five years that I considered changing my screen name. Articles like this give me hope...
Great article, thanks for the ping.
Freeper pajamarazzi rule.
Bump for future reference.
"Bravo!"
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