News to Me

You know how frustating it is to try to discuss something with someone who simply believes something, and that something simply isn't true?

Like: "Saddam was involved in 9-11"

I personally hold the very strong belief that what separates Americans from the rest of the world, is our belief in fair play. I could be wrong, of course, but I cling to that with all the strength residing in my own personal reservoir of cognitive dissonance.

We make judgement calls based on the knowlege we have. Given the knowlege, I believe we tend to do the right thing as a Nation. That, of course, is the problem. As right wing talking heads rail about the "Liberal Media", every single peer reviewed academic study ever done comes to the conclusion that there is no Liberal bias. In fact...the truth is just the opposite. Sunday morning talk shows are overwhelmingly populated with Republicans and Conservative think tank denizens. Liberals and moderates combined make up less than one third of the people who give their opinions, and that is only on the broadcast networks. Fox network is simply a propaganda organ for the various factions of the right wing. And "Propoganda" has been raised from art to science by Republicans...So much so, that even THEY can't always tell when they themselves are lying.

As an aside...Ever wonder why the Religious right never spends much time on the "Thy Shalt Not Lie" commandment? It really screws up their version of things when you have to tell the truth all the time.

Anyway...There have been several studies that show Fox news as a vehicle for false information. Here is an interesting survey on the 2004 election, and before you read it, you should know that at least three republican operatives have already been convicted of fixing that election, (the Republican party spent over $3,000,000.00 on a Republican state chairman's defense who was convicted anyway) :


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Of course, you Fox News watchers didn't know that did you? Did you know that viewers who watch The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are way more informed than viewers of Fox News? Those aren't even real news shows

...But then neither are the ones on Fox.

Democracy demands an informed voting electorate. Unless we reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in media, Democracy is an illusion.

Courage,

Steve

The whole article is here