Media Bias, Business as Usual

Here's a trick that the Democrats really need to master in order to stay in power. They must learn to use the media instead of being used by them. They need to recognize that the media is no better or worse than a ditch digger. They need to realise that the media has an overinflated opinion of itself as a whole. I'm not advocating cover ups at all. I would like to see the media restored to it's rightful place of reporting the news in an unbiased manner.

Back in 1979 I was enrolled in Journalism 1 as a Sophomore in high school. The thing I remember the most was that we were required to write in what our teacher called "the neutral voice". Neutral meant that after reading the piece she had no clue what our opinion on the issue was. So of course we were required to write about abortion. And of course we were required to write about school policies. Finally, we had to write a biography of President Carter. She would red pen all the stuff that pointed to an opinion. Then she'd subtract that from the total column inches assigned. Normally we had to provide a minimum of thirty and a maximum of thirty-five inches. If the pen took you below that minimum, you failed.

Speaking of failure, the modern professional media would not survive that class. The current mantra is that "If it bleeds, it leads". The goal is to sell papers, airtime, bandwidth, google ads, or something. So while there are competing arguments about whether the media bias is liberal or conservative, there cannot be any doubt that the media leans far more to the sensational than the mundane.

Take the current Scandal Dejure. Some US Attorneys were fired. Wow. And that affects Mr. or Mrs. McUSA how? Let's be realistic for a moment. They serve at the pleasure of the President. When the questioning began, he should have said "because I can". Of course he didn't. Now, between the media pontificating, and the Congressional sound-bytes, who is profiting? The outlets. Ratings are up, sales are up, the almighty dollar is fat, dumb, and happy for the nonce.

Proof that sensationalist bias rules is easy to find. Look at what "war correspondent" Geraldo Rivera did. He knelt down and started to draw pictures in the sand. The Army rightfully ejected him. The entire event was sensationalized to the point that Geraldo got a plum job out of it. Lucky for him it wasn't my unit. The on-camera beating would have really been sensational.

Note to Pols. Save the speeches for the floor. Note to the media. Stick to the facts and leave the editorializing to the oped pages.

Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist
"In a world of blogs, instant messaging and multiplying media choices, is media bias a real problem for our society or just a political argument?"
Sensationalism in the News: The disinformation superhighway
FAIR Archives: Profit-driven news organizations are under great pressure to boost ratings by sensationalizing the news

news+media media+bias sensationalism breaking+news liberal+bias conservative+bias

Break Time Again.....

It's another Saturday Night and I aint got ..... Well not quite. But, I am not in the mood for deep political thought right now. Even realists have to have some fun from time to time. So let's check out some very cool places

Does anyone besides me actually read books anymore? I think of the library as the best public money ever spent. It's like a prehistoric Internet. But sometimes the library doesn't have what you want and you will actually have to pay the big bux to get that much needed information.

Two sites that I really like are Booksprice and Smartflix. Booksprice allows you to compare the prices on book or dvds or cds. Just enter the author or title or ISBN and voila there is your books. Hit compare price and voila again.... many sources for the book with links and reviews. It will also get sources in Germany and the UK. So if your 5.00 book has a 40.00 shipping fee, check the country of origin.

Smartflix is just like netflix except the content is how-to oriented. Wanna make a knife, knit a sweater, build a mold to cast plaster or plastic in? They have the video. SF is a bit pricey when you compare it to netflix. But, netflix isn't going to give you a class in oxyacetylene welding either. So if you would like to build it, fix it, or just learn about it check out smartflix. There is a link on the left to click.

Like animals? My family is very animal oriented. If we had the space, we'd have dozens of animals. But alas we have to get by with two cats and a pup. If you have a canine buddy and need advice on how to care, feed, train, etc here is a message board that is all about dogs. The members are great and have proven to be helpful many times.

In the shop I like to listen to the radio. I listen to sirius at work in my van and at home listen to the local AM talk radio. On Sirius I listen to all the talking heads. Sean Hannity,Spencer Hughes, Brian and the Judge (Napolitano),Andrew Wilkow Lynn Samuels, The Young Turks, and Alan Colmes. I obviously cannot listen to everyone everyday or I'd never get any work done. But I find that they all are generally talking about the same or similar issues. It can be real entertaining to listen to each sides talking points. If you didn't know better you'd think they had an agenda.

On the AM talker I listen to Pratt on Texas. He is a Libertarian leaning with a mix of conservatism. He also rarely comments on national issues. Instead he focuses solely on Texas. That is cool since nowadays it is sooooo easy to get distracted by the label-makers and forget that there is a local and state government you need to keep an eye on as well.

I'm not going to bore you with all the hobby related woodworking or metal working sites I go to. But suffice to say that I am a news and Internet junkie. Now, the real question is where you go to surf when you are not going after the political analysis of the moment.....

Thanks for reading.

radio book dog local

Car Wrecks and Common Sense

Nothing in the normal world gets your attention quite as fast as a 200 mph explosion literally in your face. Got in a car accident day before yesterday and the air bag hit like Mike Tyson with a fast jab. After that, things focus sharply and you have to wonder about all the stupid stuff going on in the world. I didn't see my life pass before my eyes or anything. But it damn sure made sure I noticed the blue sky, the green grass, my dog, and so on and so forth. But, I'm still on a mission to ensure the Democrats are successful in governing the USA. Why? Because if they fail as miserably as the Republican Congress did, I am the one living with it.

I'm going to incorporate a new idea in (hopefully) each political post from now on. Instead of the normal left/right Repub v. Dem paradigm, we are going for the common sense approach that has a realistic chance of success if implemented. It won't be perfect of course since nothing is. If I don't have an idea, I will look for the common sense solutions in effect and highlight some of them.

I found this during the news dump. I can't help but laugh. Folks who argue politics either love or hate Wikipedia. In all reality it is improving. It's gone from pure speculation to almost authoritative.

Morning Edition, March 12, 2007 · The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is running into trouble with with contributor credentials. Last week it discovered that an influential contributor who claimed to be a theology professor was, in fact, a 24-year-old college dropout.

One of the founders now says the site may start vetting the credentials of contributors who claim to have advanced degrees.

Isn't that a hoot?

Anyway...... Today's issue is the Flag Burning Amendment that was before Congress. The house passed it, but the senate rejected it by one vote. I seriously doubt that the Democrats are going to allow it to come up again either. So, if you want to prevent flag burning without compromising civil liberties.... how do you get it done? Simply pass a law that requires all US Flags or US Flag images manufactured, bought, sold, or imported into the USA or its' territories be made of a nonflammable material. Try to burn it all you wish. Some will succeed, most will fail. No amendment needed, no violation of anyone's rights. As a practical matter, we will have to make a reasonable deadline so folks can switch over. But, it is doable. Credit for this goes to Redwinggirl over at polyrap.

In the issue that was resolved using common sense category..... today goes to Texas and the legislation that limits protests at funerals. No ones rights are violated, and the dignity of the occasion is maintained. Good Job.

The new law makes it a Class B misdemeanor to protest within 500 feet of the site of a funeral service from one hour before a site is used for a service to one hour after the service.

"This bill protects the sanctity and solemnity of services as fallen Texas heroes are laid to rest," Perry said. "There is a time and place for protests, but it is not at funerals and burials for U.S. soldiers who died to protect the freedoms we hold so dear."

The point of these two examples is to demonstrate that we don't have to accept ideological solutions or talking points from any side. And, by thinking out of the box, things can be fixed no matter who is in charge.

So far I haven't seen much out of the current Congress. I hope they get a move on.

Time to hit the wood shop. Thanks for reading.

Wikipedia Considers Vetting Contributor Credentials
Perry signs law barring funeral protests

common+sense realist reality

The Right of Peaceful Assembly

Hat tip to SouthsideDem at Daily Kos for this piece that details the police breaking up a war protest. There are two videos from YouTube showing what appear to be peaceful war protesters singing an old John Lennon tune. Then shots ring out and teargas begins to cloud up. The police broke up the demonstration with teargas and rubber bullets.

Over on Kos, one of the posters opined that the state has a plan to provoke this kind of thing. To me that sound like a bit of a conspiracy theory that won't work. But there is no denying the evidence of the videos. Pretty surreal as the camera guy backs out of the fog and you see darkened cops coming in to latch onto hapless protesters. There is a girl, obviously gassed (no not that kind of gassed) trying to clear the effects with water.

Of course there is always another side to the story. The police arrested three people. The next day the charges were dropped. The link to the story is at the bottom of the page. I'm afraid that the videos trump the police story. IF only three protesters were getting rowdy or breaking the law, why gas the lot of them?

This blog isn't about current news so much as using the news to assist in driving home a point or two in the political realm. For starters, video of things like this will be covered far more often since it falls into the "IF it bleeds, It leads" mentality of the media. The camera is double edged. I am a law and order type of guy and I didn't like what I saw the police doing in the videos. So, it has the effect of making a psychological statement without presenting the rest of the facts. Am I the only one who realises that sentence can apply to virtually any marketing strategy up to and including the presidential race?

From the second link: Emphasis added.

But Tacoma Police say what you don't see in the video is that just before the tear gas canisters were fired, some demonstrators had started to throw barricades at officers, and the crowd was told to disperse.

"A large number of protesters started to cause a disturbance. They picked up some of these sawhorses and started throwing them in the direction of officers, and then started sitting down to blockade the street." said Det. Brad Graham. "At that point officers had to move in and disperse the crowd."

Throwing sawhorses certainly isn't what I'd call peaceful and non-violent. I have to wonder how many cops were there and how they were arrayed. Could they have isolated the violent protesters and simply monitored the rest? Pundits and Critics alike will second guess this until hell freezes over. I've been in situations where you have to make a decision under stress, RightFreakingNow. When it is over you have to wonder if it was you, or your training that made the call. Right now, based only on the kos entry, the two videos, and the two stories linked below, I have to conclude that I think the cops mishandled the situation. Just like the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines: Cops are (and should be) held to a higher standard of conduct on the job.

Freedom to assemble and protest in this country is sacred. It is what allows a person who is so frustrated, enraged, fed up, or just plain mad to get thier point out in the open without resorting to a truck load of fertilizer. I don't agree with a lot of protesters. In fact, before my retirement from the Marine Corps, I used to remind my Marines that beating up protesters was verboten. I told them that we, Marines, exist to ensure that protesters have the right to peacefully assemble. So even if you don't like the message, thou shalt not boot stomp the messenger.

As I said, I am a law and order guy. I am that way because order is better than chaos. I am that way because without law predators will go unchecked. Without law, there is only anarchy and the rule of strength. I am also that way because my country has crafted laws to ensure that opposing voices can be heard without breaking the law. The final link below is an oped from an "Anarchist" purporting to be with the "liberals" who protested. I wonder if he or his people had anything to do with tossing sawhorses around.

I don't believe we are anywhere near being a police state. If I did, then my second amendment rights would come into play. IF I did, those bullets would have been lead instead of rubber and the gas would have been a blister agent. If I did, there would have been far more than three arrested and then released.

The last question I have is directed to the cops. Where is your video? Patrol cars routinely carry them. If I am deploying riot cops I would damn sure have a camera(s) focused on the action. Obviously the other side did. IF any reader finds a video from the cops side, please email me. I would love to see it.


Activists bring war protest to Port of Tacoma
Video camera rolls as war protesters clash with Tacoma Police
Plea For Radical Presence at Port of Tacoma on Friday

Riot Tacoma+Police Antiwar+Protest War+Protest Tear+Gas Civil+Disobedience

Politics As Sport

With the Presidential pre-season in full swing there comes war and rumors of war. Not Iraq, not the drug war, but instead a limited engagement on every conceivable front as the contenders work to make it to the playoffs (er I mean the primaries) and finally to the big bowl game itself. If the Democrats want to maintain control, and win the 08 elections... Here is some more free advice.

First and foremost they need to make sure that they are living the life that they talk about. They need to hammer ethics, ethics, ethics and more ethics until every American is talking about it. The rules need to be no nonsense, tough, and zero tolerance. Individually they need to build on the Leadership Traits and Leadership Principles. In other words, on a daily basis they need to make politics respectable.

By living the life, they must confess, atone, and improve. Newt knows this and has confessed. Look for him to begin some form of atonement. Emphasis/comment added is mine.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former House speaker and potential presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has confessed, telling conservative Christian leader James Dobson that he was cheating on his wife at around the same time the House was impeaching President Bill Clinton over his White House affair with Monica Lewinsky.


But Gingrich said that didn't make him a hypocrite, because Clinton was impeached not for the affair, but for lying about it. Technically correct, but somehow not satisfying, kinda weak actually, almost like the definition of "is". Oh well, Pot, meet kettle.

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the Georgia Republican told Dobson in an interview posted Friday on Dobson's Focus on the Family Web site. (Listen to Gingrich admit he had an affair )

Then, they must make a connection with "the people". Obama is going all out and appearing to be articulate and human. Hillary is shouting and shrill. IF she doesn't fix it, Obama will run away from her as long as the Clinton Mafia doesn't target him.

The best way to connect with the McUSA's is to give them something. Tax cuts spring to mind. Currently it's all the rage to be hypercritical of the rich and the taxes they do or don't pay. Look for a tax hike on the rich in 07 methinks. Look for buried legislation that will offset it as well. Doners understand how the game is played. So, point your browsers to Thomas and Yahoos Elected Officials to see what it turns out to be.

Watch for the judiciary to have a fight on it's hands over gun control. The USSC hasn't ruled on the second amendment in years. The recent ruling that shot down the handgun ban in DC may trigger a similar lawsuit/overturning in San Fransisco. It will be harder there however since the 9th circuit rules with an iron fist. Congress is going to have to watch closely lest they get tripped up. Why is this important? Because currently the Republicans are not well liked in the individual liberty issues. Making sure that rulings like this are supported is both the right thing and sound tactics.

At issue in the case was the wording of the Second Amendment, which is broken into two parts: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."


Washington had contended that the reference to "people" in the second part of the amendment should be considered as a collective right applicable only to the "militia" referred to in the first part.


But the judges in the majority held that the phrase "people" is well understood in constitutional law to refer to individuals -- and that the first clause was an explanation of the major purpose of the second clause, not a limitation on it. -- CNN

Another hot issue is immigration. If Congress can fix this, they win. Hands down. I haven't personally met an American that supports amnesty. I haven't personally met an American that supports illegal immigrants receiving any public assistance either. The first and most important thing to do is enforce the existing law until change is enacted. IF some wish to hold the white house accountable for violations of the law, they need to be consistent. From the LA Times (emphasis and commenting is mine):

"Every police chief since Daryl Gates has supported Special Order 40," Villaraigosa told reporters. "They have because they understand that in a city as under-policed as Los Angeles is, we need to focus on crime. We need to ensure that the victims of crime, the witnesses of crime come forward. We don't want them to believe we're going to report them to ICE when they do come forward and report a crime." Newsflash for the Mayor. The reason they are called "Illegal" immigrants is to highlight that they are committing a crime. IF the police chief is supporting an order to not enforce the law, then it is time for a new Chief of Police, and maybe a Mayor as well.

Officials with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund express similar concern. They say they do not oppose the deportation of convicted criminals by federal authorities but believe rescinding Special Order 40 would be a setback because without it some witnesses to gang crimes who are not legally in the country might be unwilling to cooperate with police.

That's it for now. Ethics, Civil Liberties, and Enforcing existing law. If they can do that then they will win.

Gingrich confession: Clearing the way for a 2008 run?
Court strikes down D.C. handgun law
Gang crackdown raises touchy issue

Ethics Gun+Control Immigration Election+2008 Civil+Liberties