Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<The best thing about this story is that perhaps a few more people will start to question breitbart's right wing spin sites. He represents exactly what's wrong in this country and the sooner he and his ilk are ignored completely, the better.>> Agreed, 2oony. I'm sick of these jerks like Breitbart. They don't report on the facts, they mislead their followers with falsified info or edited videos and then slam the progressives for supposedly doing the exact same thing that they've been doing all along. Fox News and Breitbart and O'Keefe and others like them are exactly what's wrong with the country. They do not serve the greater good/common good, and only work to destroy our democracy and middle class and turn over complete control of our country to the ultra rich 5% at the top of the economic ladder, who only care about themselves and how to get even richer. And it disturbs me greatly to see their followers continue to swallow every single untruth and misrepresented idea as gospel, while continuing to cast their votes for politicians who ultimately want to see them without an education, without Social Security, without Medicare, without any government assistance when they're totally flat broke and jobless, even to the point of succumbing to an early and untimely death. The politicians who work exclusively for the corporations that bankroll their elections simply do not care about the average middle class citizens in this country. But the followers of Fox News and bloggers like Breitbart cannot or will not admit it to themselves. Hopefully, more people will pay attention to this story and start to seriously question "journalists" who pushed it heavily this week, before the truth came out. These attacks are deliberate slander and libel and need to be called out, big time, in order for them to stop.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "He represents exactly what's wrong in this country and the sooner he and his ilk are ignored completely, the better." I wish. That will never happen as long has we have Fox News to assist in being his messenger. This latest episode proves that the network is nothing more than a mouthpiece for far right nut jobs.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Yep they do, which is why they're no longer on my channels. But let's not act like the rest of the news media should be looked upon as saints." This seems to be rather typical pattern with conservatives lately. There always seems to be this desire to equate things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Brietbart's grounds for attacking the NAACP were similar: 'they called the Tea Party racist, well they're racist too'. Forget about discourse, let's just point fingers.
Originally Posted By hopemax <<The best thing about this story is that perhaps a few more people will start to question breitbart's right wing spin sites. He represents exactly what's wrong in this country and the sooner he and his ilk are ignored completely, the better.>> I found it doubtful. In one of the other threads, I think it was the "we get what we deserve" thread, I was going to post and didn't. But people out there truly believe that this incident and Dan Rather are equivalent. We've already had the false ACORN stuff, the guy trying to plant bugs in the offices of, I can't remember now, but that tells you how much of a non-story it became. Did anyone wake up and see anyone for what they really were? Nope. I used to wonder, how does something like the Third Reich be allowed to happen. I don't wonder anymore. Willful ignorance on one hand, apathy on the other. Throw in a dash of "Why do I need to say anything, isn't it obvious how insane ____ is?" Sprinkle in economic chaos and bam. If the Tea Party ilk could find someone with real charisma...
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "And it disturbs me greatly to see their followers continue to swallow every single untruth and misrepresented idea as gospel..." You mean like the Obama Administration and the NAACP? Their initial reactions to this were extremely disappointing.
Originally Posted By DAR <<2oony, get out of WE...you're supposed to be enjoying your birthday! Get out while you can, man!>> You are right about that.
Originally Posted By DAR Should Fox News, blogs like Breitbart and talk radio 99% of which is conservative be allowed to operate?
Originally Posted By skinnerbox I wholeheartedly agree, Dr Hans. I'm sick of folks on the left jumping onto the bandwagon every time crap like this hits the fan. They need to check their paranoia at the door and cool off and fact check before responding so quickly. Maybe this one will finally sink in. But I'm still mostly upset with the folks who are slinging the crap in the first place.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Should Fox News, blogs like Breitbart and talk radio 99% of which is conservative be allowed to operate?<< Yes, of course. But there should be clear, obvious lines of distinction between what is fact and what is opinion. The blurring of it all is what is problematic. There have been dozens and dozens and dozens of examples of a "talking point" being launched by a right wing talker, which then becomes "news" and it starts gathering steam from there. It comes down to fairness, something Fox News says they're all about. I don't care about balance, I;m fight with left wing and right wing points of view. But it isn't fair to disguise an agenda as news, to blur those lines like they do again and again. The right is forever claiming the left does this. So if it's bad for one, two wrongs don't make it right.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Hans, you're correct. This administration keeps operating under the fantasy that they will somehow ever be able to please the right wing media or even earn its respect. Isn't going to happen, ever, so they should quit trying to dance to their tune.
Originally Posted By DAR Whether it's Fox, MSNBC, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Bill Maher, John Stewart, Limbaugh, Hannity, Ed Schultz and other media outlets and personalities, they all operate under free speech in this country. You or I might not like what they have to say, but I'm going to damn well defend all of their rights to exist and to say what they want offensive or not.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<Should Fox News, blogs like Breitbart and talk radio 99% of which is conservative be allowed to operate?>> Only if they present actual true stories as "news" and their opinions as "not news." But these jerks deliberately lie and mislead and present their opinions as FACTS. Over and over and over again. Ditching the Fairness Doctrine has allowed people like Beck and Limbaugh and Coulter and Hannity, et al, to run with garbage like this and present it unchallenged. Their fans wholeheartedly believe everything they hear and read as absolute truth. No mechanism exists for those who are slandered, including our government officials, to defend themselves against the trash talk. And that's the problem. The lies and falsehoods are tossed out for widespread public consumption without any punishment for those who deliberately deliver them. Fox News was created by Murdoch for this reason specifically, to push his conservative political agenda and put conservative pro-wealth, pro-corporation, anti-middle class politicians in our government. It has never been "news" by any stretch of the imagination.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<You or I might not like what they have to say, but I'm going to damn well defend all of their rights to exist and to say what they want offensive or not.>> There's a difference between having an honest opinion about a truth, and misrepresenting or lying about that truth to shape your opinion. No one has the right to slander someone else, even under the guise of "news reporting."
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <like feeding a dog from the table, handing heads to the right wing only encourages the use of dishonest tactics.> What a great way to put it! The DofA and NAACP reactions were disappointing, and illustrate how cowed by the noise machine virtually everyone in politics has become. Gotta prove you're not reverse-racist-socialist-fascists... even if you know damn well you never were to begin with. Progressives really need to grow a backbone and stand up to these people. And call lies like this what they are: lies. <Now Fox is questioning the Administration's judgment for pressuring her to resign without doing the proper examination and evaluation of the facts. > And it should be questioned, but when it's Fox doing the questioning, considering their role in disseminating the lie... is there a word for the conjunction of irony and shamelessness? <The best thing about this story is that perhaps a few more people will start to question breitbart's right wing spin sites. He represents exactly what's wrong in this country and the sooner he and his ilk are ignored completely, the better.> Boy I hope so. I understand the cynicism by those who think it might not happen, but I think it might, at least to a degree. I mean, yes he was the guy who publicized the doctored ACORN tape and destroyed that group and then suffered nothing for that deliberate deception (indeed, probably grew bolder), but luckily this one was exposed almost instantly and was sooo transparently nasty, that the reaction is indeed different. A lot of people probably don't even know that the ACORN thing was debunked, but it's hard to escape this story, and the fact that Sherrod was almost instantly vindicated. So now, while no doubt the noise machine will continue to trumpet Breitbart's next lie, after this transparent episode plus ACORN, I think at least a). mainstream news outlets will be sure to look a little deeper next time if they know Breitbart is the source, and b). same thing for official Washington. At least there shouldn't be such a knee-jerk reaction next time. "Shouldn't" being the operative word.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <It all falls under free speech.> Usually, yes. But slander and libel (i.e. something deliberately false and defamatory) have long been determined not to qualify as free speech. You have to prove it, of course. But Sherrod said this morning she was at least considering a lawsuit. I hope she takes Breitbart to the cleaners.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Should Fox News, blogs like Breitbart and talk radio 99% of which is conservative be allowed to operate?" Talk about an apples and oranges comparison. Fox News is supposed to be a legitimate news organization. Thus, they have a responsibility to tell the truth, or at the very least properly vet their stories before airing them. Even worse is their new spin on the whole thing now - accusing the Obama Administration of jumping the gun without verifying the facts first.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>And it should be questioned, but when it's Fox doing the questioning, considering their role in disseminating the lie... is there a word for the conjunction of irony and shamelessness?<< I think that's technically known as a "Hannity."
Originally Posted By fkurucz I knew there was a reason why I stopped getting my news from the boob tube (what's the flat panel equivalient of that?)
