Posts by AllTimeJeff

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Freemindride, please forgive my attempts at humor. I am sure you don't get your news from Breitbart.

The whole point of this thread is that the "news media" is biased. Clearly, traditional news media is under attack from the right. The more I think about this thread and the comments made, the more I think we are talking about the wrong thing. Thus, my recent comments above....

Freemindride, leftist protests are also constitutionally protected. As is the news media. For now. Imagine if it was somehow...outlawed. Because it irritated people. You know, no need for the whiners to let it be known that they don't like it when a President who won the electoral college but not the popular vote suddenly says "That can't be right!" and then repeatedly disagrees with anything resembling truth and a fact. Should we not expect such STUPID behavior to be called and cause upset? I protest it. Trump is wrong where he stands. To defend it is utter stupidity. Let's call it what it is. And let's not get mad at the news media for doing the same thing.

Apologies if I missed your point in Trump being volatile versus those who choose to protest.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Last post for a bit... Here is McCain's quote... (Got it from CNN instead of Breitbart. Sorry to whomever that offends)

On Sunday's "Meet the Press," McCain joked that he hates the press, and host Chuck Todd "especially," but defended the role of journalists in society when asked about Trump's tweet Friday that the "fake news media ... is the enemy of the American people" and similar remarks he made at a rally the following evening in Florida.
"If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press," McCain said. "And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started."
"They get started by suppressing free press," McCain continued. "In other words, a consolidation of power. When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. And I'm not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I'm just saying we need to learn the lessons of history."

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Freemindfade, modern leftists such as whom?

And I directly disagree with you. He is volatile.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

And speaking of bias, Obama, with class and dignity, lived through years of his citizenship and religion being questioned. There was never a basis for that, it was done simply to deligtimize someone who narrow minds were scared of. (Read: A Black President)

Are we truly interested in the truth of matters? Or just what we feel comfortable with? You know, as long as it's "Truthy".

To this day, Obama is considered a Muslim by a sect of biased media. But of course, that inconvenient fact might not want to be acknowledged here today. Are we truly interested in discussing media bias, or is this conversation really about silencing opposing points of view that disagree with our world views? Or disagree with the powers that be? In that case, you probably don't like "mainstream" media. You might enjoy a more white view of the world, which is the last thing from reality.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Having no free news media is the same as having the most biased media (because presumably it's state run).

I just totally disagree with this. What? Is CNN run by the government? NBC? No they aren't. Do they report what is inconvenient to the right wing mind? It would appear so. History shows that the right usually doesn't like the news media because they portray change, show the plight of minority and fringe groups that are in need or suppressed (see: Civil Rights movement of the 60's), and point out abuses of power. (See: Nixon) And do they do that to Democratic Presidents? (See: Clinton, Bill)

The difference is, one is potentially a crime and she had a responsibility, the tax return is something that most recent candidates have done but isn't a requirement.

That is a convenient side stepping of the issue to the right wing mind. Taxes are released precisely to demonstrate where a candidate has been playing and who they have been playing with. It is legit. If Trump had any dealings with the Russian government (and through surrogates, he has) and if he has business dealings with ANY foreign government, there are all kinds of potential conflicts of interest. Will he do what is right for his business or the American people?

I call him President Small Hands to make a point. He is volatile. Instead of embracing accountability and our democratic traditions, he attacks them. That is bad. And frankly, the fact that others support a belief that the media should just leave him alone should be met and debated in a forum like this and others. While I respect your right to your point of view, I believe in the grand scheme of things that attacking the media in this manner is wrong and bad for the future of democracy.

Attacking a news story is one thing on the merit of facts. But clearly, a President who has surrogates on the record asking that their "alternative facts" be considered causes less of an alarm then Jake Tapper? That is flat out wrong. He doesn't want to be accountable. I don't care if he is a Democrat, Republican, or Martian, that should be rejected soundly. As McCain said, censoring the news media is the first step toward a dictatorship.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

So without a lot of time to delve in here, (I will try later on) I'd like to point out that it seems we are mistaking the forest for the trees.

It occurred to me that this whole thread is saying that potential news media bias is more dangerous than having no free news media at all? Would that be fair?

History demonstrates that dissent by the citizenry is the last thing from refined or at times, smooth.

History without fail teaches the mistakes that happen when the citizenry is not informed. No free press, no access to real information, no accountability in a democratic government.

The thing I find backwards about this argument is that Clinton was a major focus of the media. In fact, both the email servers and Benghazi matters, she received not just media attention, but Congressional scrutiny.

Trump hasn't released his tax returns.

There is more than enough evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, to show that he is at the very least friendly with perhaps THE mortal enemy of the United States.

Whenever the media points this out, the non-democratic, communistic/dictatorial response of President Small Hands is to say that all facts are fake. Very JW of him.....

This is somehow the free media's fault?

You can say the media has bias, but that doesn't mean the evidence they present isn't true. And in the case of President Small Hands, it is.

And you can complain all you want about media bias, but frankly, that makes you less of a democrat and more than susceptible to power grabbing by the powers that be. Whether you see it this way or want to admit it or not, such rhetoric just makes it easier to take freedoms away.

Let's hold ALL the government accountable. Starting with President Small Hands.

1

I finally updated my @!#$* avatar. It's really Truthy...

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

i am officially into truthiness.

colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one..... i remember when i first joined, i saw colbert's "truthiness" and laughed.

i had no idea that the small bands of truth and facts were actually held together by the large fog of "belief".. no matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, i hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for jw's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

AllTimeJeff

http://www.cc.com/video-collections/ha9eov/the-colbert-report-the-word/63ite2

Watch it and weep....

1

I finally updated my @!#$* avatar. It's really Truthy...

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

i am officially into truthiness.

colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one..... i remember when i first joined, i saw colbert's "truthiness" and laughed.

i had no idea that the small bands of truth and facts were actually held together by the large fog of "belief".. no matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, i hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for jw's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

AllTimeJeff

I am officially into Truthiness. Colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one....

I remember when I first joined, I saw Colbert's "Truthiness" and laughed. I had no idea that the small bands of Truth and Facts were actually held together by the large fog of "Belief".

No matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, I hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for JW's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

We have come too far to jerk back to darker times, when what we wished was true was actually valued more than what is actually true...

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Trump is brazen, and feels entitled. What concerns me is that he has no interest in furthering democracy, just his own power.

Btw, both parties are open to this criticism in the past. However, even at their very worst, I have never seen a Republican speak against the ideals of the founders the way Trump has. He has no respect for a very democratic institution, the free press. A press that has a proud tradition of over-reaching and promoting agendas at times. True. But within those confines of a free press comes the ability to hold the elected leaders accountable.

Trump must be held accountable by the press, or this isn't a democracy. That is the very FIRST amendment.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

AllTimeJeff

Simon, I have no issue with you or anyone not trusting Hillary. I get that. And I voted for Hillary. Because she wasn't The Donald.... Because I don't trust him...

Biases exist everywhere. But having said that, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Without a free press, much would be at stake. And that is my biggest beef with Trump. He is a genuine p***y who can't handle the press. And that smacks against EVERYTHING the founding fathers wanted for this nation.

May I say that when I read your ops, it seems to me a bit naive to not recognize Putin's extreme interest in getting Russia back on a more even super power playing field with the United States. He is former KGB and by all accounts is a master intelligence operative. It isn't far fetched at all to surmise his attempts at influencing this past election. To what extent the influence worked, no one will ever agree. But there is no doubt, he was an influence...

Trump isn't Hillary. Message received. I get that. However, I worry that Trump's early supporters are turning a blind eye to the legit evidence that Trump is in bed with Putin. Do I think WWIII is imminent? No. Do I think Trump has a lot to hide? Hell yes I do! Just release the damn tax returns. That will start the healing, a healing he has demonstrated no interest in starting. And who can at all expose that if not a free press?

There does come a point where a leaders interest in governing a democracy comes into play. He has not engaged Congress. All of his actions are executive orders. Even more dangerous than trying to ban guns, he is attacking the very 1st amendment! Again, this is contrary to the intentions of the founders, and indeed, what caused the United States to become a super power in the first place.

What Senator McCain says IS true: a free society is free so long as there is a free press. Dictators always suppress dissent. You don't have to like what they say, but they are free to poke holes in the powers that be, until they are no longer allowed to by the powers that be. That is what should worry us all, imo.