Posted on 12/19/2004 3:47:52 PM PST by BulletBobCo
The idea of a liberal media bias is simply a myth. If only it were true, we might have a more humane, open-minded, and ultimately effective public debate on the issues facing the country. We may actually embrace the principles of liberalism, instead of using it as a tool to divide the nation. Everything good that has happened in this country is founded on the ideology of liberalism. Liberals in the past were liberators who fought for a woman's right to vote, and fought to end segregation in the United States and then to end apartheid in South Africa. Thanks to liberals, today we have public education, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, environmental protection laws, a minimum wage law...among many other wonderful programs. Such a label should be worn with a badge of honor and defended by Democrats, not allowed to be used as slander by the Right Wing.
Frankly, the idea that the media is sympathetic to conservative causes rather than liberal ones is obvious, for reasons of ownership, economics, and outside pressure. With the major networks being controlled by a small group of large corporations, the news reporting has become most often sympathetic to conservatives, for fear of losing advertising dollars and being reprimanded by the current administration.
Dan Rather was castigated by the media for airing the Bush National Guard story before completely verifying one document. As we have known for years, the details of Bush's service record offered in the story were true, as Killian's secretary even verified, although the document presented in the piece is in question. Men who served in Bush's unit for the year he claimed he was in the National Guard, have stated on record that they do not remember seeing him there. The LA times also reported the story and even printed that when asked to report to Vietnam, Bush checked the box stating "do not volunteer for overseas." Now, an award-winning respected journalist has decided to retire early with a black mark on his career. In sharp contrast, no such walking papers or even a slap on the wrist was given to those in the Bush Administration, who perpetuated false information to the public as a way to rally support for the Iraq war. Dan Rather's error didn't hold a candle to the seriousness of the lies and lives lost by entering into an unnecessary war. One's actions are a little sloppyÑthe other's actions are high crimes and misdemeanors. Among the litany of false claims by the Bush Administration were a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, the purchase of aluminum tubes for nuclear weapons by Iraq, the possibility of a "smoking gun" to become "a mushroom cloud," and Iraq's purchase of yellow cake from Niger. If the President, who has formed a habit of blaming others for the mistakes committed by his administration, thought that the intelligence, defense and security information he received was bad, then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, CIA Director, George Tenet, and National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice should have been fired immediately. Yet few in the media took aim at anyone in the Administration for their egregious errors and deceit. If Dan Rather was so excoriated for talking about a document that may not be real, the press should have pressured this administration to step down for their countless lies and irreparable mistakesÑstarting with the President. The Bush Administration's lies were far more serious and detrimental to the American public, in that it falsely represented the reasons to wage war and send American soldiers into battle. Thousands of young soldiers and a hundred thousand innocent Iraqis have died in vain, thousands have been wounded and more continue to die everyday as this war wages on. The hypocrisy would be laughable, if it wasn't so tragic.
The press failed once again with regard to fellow Journalist Robert Novak, who stooped to a low in journalistic integrity by naming an undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame in his nationally syndicated column, thereby destroying her career and putting her life and her network of associates in danger. Novak was neither fired from CNN, where he is a commentator on Crossfire, or from his newspaper column. Nor was he even publicly reprimanded. The "liberally-biased" media failed to hold Robert Novak accountable for his highly partisan and destructive actions.
Remember back during the 2000 election when RNC employees posed as "irate local citizens" and stormed polling places in Florida in order to squelch the recount process. Where was the press coverage investigating the deception and informing Americans of the truth. Where was the press coverage of Florida's highly controversial felon list, which was produced by a private contractor and riddled with inaccuracies, denying tens of thousands of eligible voters the right to vote? When minority voters are being intimidated and disenfranchised by the thousands leading up to and during a close election race, the public relies on the press to bring the story to the forefront thereby prompting immediate action by our leaders.
With the presence of Fox News, The O 'Reilly Factor, Rush Limbaugh, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, no one can dispute the existence of a strong conservative media. However, where these news outlets feel free to proudly proclaim their "conservative bias" by sharing their unwanted opinions, prestigious TV network anchors like Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Bill Moyers and Jim Lehrer carefully tow-the-line to present the news in a balanced manner. They are real journalists who objectively present the news in order to allow the audience to make up their own minds. But sadly, today some of these wannabe TV reporters make inappropriate and derogatory statements perhaps in an effort to make a name for themselves.
Despite all the claims of pushing a biased liberal agenda by the press, the Republicans have managed to win five out of the last seven Presidential elections, and this year continue to strengthen their control of the congress. Their success undoubtedly is due in part to the fact that reporters on major networks have become so fearful of either losing their job or being deemed biased, they have relinquished their journalistic responsibility to hold our leaders accountable.
Is Brolin still hawking Mida mufflers on TV? Haven't seen one of his commercials for awhile. I thought maybe Babs had him on an allowance or something.
grammAr
I think (hope) the cancer has finally found her brain!
Looks more like a catfish
Isn't wonderful how well a public school education teaches?? Even this person, if I may defile the rest of us, with all her money can't spell correctly. BTW, I love how her initials BS also stand for what she knows about politics: BULLSH*T
Lol...Shiiiit....
But maybe Babs hasn't been impressed enough with Brolin's "performance"?
Let's assume it must be difficult to "perform" while simultaneously gagging and barfing...
Look at her eyes in the photo. Looks like she is taking a high colonic coffee enema purge. Something other worldly is going on there.
I was going to reply to this thread buy your post #5 covers me. Nothing more to say.
Dead catfish smell better.
Wasn't the first public school started by one of the founding fathers, around 1802 or thereabouts?
Somehow, I can't envision Streishole giving praise to a white Christian male founding father who happened to believe in public education.
The main problem in public education arose in the 1970s when globs and globs of wank-yankers (mostly anti war types) began interjecting their own anti-American ideals into the cirriculum, thereby creating what to me seems to be a perpetual cycle of dumbed down students who often graduate with the idea they are living in the most horrendous country in the world.
Yeah, thanks a lot, Liberals.
Hey, Babs, they were irate because the election board, with a majority of Democrats on it, were attempting to do the count in private so they could manipulate the recount process.
He probably uses the "paper bag over the head" method....LOL
Yo, Babs! Walter Cronkite retired 20-some years ago. And people "toe" the line - if you "tow" the line, that involves actual physical labor.
Has anyone but me sworn off of the USA Network because of the relentless, never-ending hyping of that damn movie? LOL. I swear, it's on at EVERY commercial break.
I've had to swear off Law and Order, SVU for awhile. And JAG. I just couldn't take it anymore.
I went to USA's website and it's impossible to send them an email complaint. I spent over thirty minutes trying to do it . . . but they say it's a "preview" site and not "interactive."
Methinks they just don't give a damn what their viewers think. Regardless, that's the most annoying commercial I've ever seen.
Oh, good then. There is no liberal media. Thank God.
Remember, for the rest of her life, every day, wherever she goes, whatever she does...there she is.
;o)
But wouldn't that make it hard to paint her toenails?
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