a line of argument that rejects critical thinking, exploits paranoia at the expense of reason and ignores the contingency of events in search of plots the powerful few implement at the expense of the powerless many . . . is not simply the everyday pollution of political discourse. It is the nullification of political discourse.
I put it to you that political discourse is not nullified but vigorously exerted here on FR and on the typical "right wing" talk radio show, but it
is nullified in
news reporting. Political discourse can be nullified only to the extent that the mind is diverted from reason, and the format of discourse known as "news" is designed to do that in two ways:
- by rejecting self-criticism, which is the implication of claiming objectivity and using power (in this case, PR power) to "reject labels." That is what journalists do - and journalists allow Teddy Kennedy to do exactly the same thing.
- by using the deadline and the arbitrary enforcement of the "rules" which determine what is news and what is not. Journalism's agenda is that journalism be important, the corollary is that what journalism can easily cover is important. Since government happens at a predetermined place and time, journalists know where to be, when, to cover it - in the same way that a sports reporter knows where and when to put his TV camera to capture the drama of a ball game. The principle that the least government is the best government is actual liberalism; the principle that government should be dominant is the ersatz "liberalism" of the socialist.
Running on Hearsay--John Kerry looks to the black helicopter crowd for votes.
Wall St Journal ^ | March 23, 2004 | LAWRENCE F. KAPLAN
- Leslie Stahl made to look 'The Fool,' a lazy shilling reporter who is over the hill and lacks even the minimal professionalism.
- 60 Minutes, just another democrat hack program of the libs.
- VIACOM...a shill corporation, hawking, hyping lies for dollars.
- Clarke's publisher, printing, hyping lies for dollars.
- Richard A. Clarke, an embittered, failed, out of the loop hitman, a useful idiot of the libs.
- Journalists (so-called) in the alphabet partisan media, as willing mouthpieces of the libs...just to get 'face time' with the Sheeple. The Media is corrupt...they have NO BALLS, ETHICS OR COURAGE to do honest work...yet they want you to watch them preen on TV and in print....they are worse than the most incompetent whore, banking the big dollars and telling you what and when and how to think..!! They are the heroes of The Sheeple.
- 'The Hill'... sucking in all in and spinning for their own self-interests.
- Kerry and his minions...exploiting their own lies & liars in bungled attempts to regain power.
- Bush haters, who once again are caught in their own juices of boiling acid that steadily continue to erode their brains, and eat at their hearts due to outright stupidity and malice; yet they never are able to understand that we can see through them.
- 'The Sheeple,' who stupidly are willing to be led by the nose because they are too lazy and too stupid to see through the lies, distortion, spinning and manipulation of liberal agenda; they would rather watch reality TV.
- 'The Media' in general who still can't believe they are losing market share to 'The NEW MEDIA'
8 posted on 03/24/2004 8:15:55 PM EST by Wolverine (A Concerned Citizen)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1104734/posts Booking Bush: Dick Clarke's election-rockin' eve