Showing posts with label FNC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FNC. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Dilemma Our Out-of-Step and Insular Corporate Media Faces


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CNN's Brian Stelter (Reliable Sources)





The question of the day seems to be, WHY do so many in the media see Trump as "the disease," when he's actually ONLY a symptom of a much deeper condition? People like myself SHOULD BE the National media's prime demographic (born/raised in NYC, advanced degree, professional wife, good lifestyle) but I revile what appears to be a Corporately scripted and filtered “news” delivery and the ham-handedness of the National Media on virtually ALL major issues. I now believe that ALL of our news is manipulated and ALL outlets are given, in effect, "marching orders" by their corporate masters. I'm far from alone...many, MANY Americans believe the SAME and more are coming around every day.

I probably come off as "reviling Corporatism," when in fact, I probably appreciate Corporatism more than most of those in the media do...our Multi-National Corporations have created the products and jobs we all depend upon, they’ve pretty much shaped the modern world we all live in. UNFORTUNATELY, however, they HAVE NOT made an affirmative and straightforward case for a founding principle of theirs - MULTICULTURALISM. Academia has failed because the vast majority of College educated folks wind up turned against that by actual events in our lives.

The media has failed and I believe it has because the English majors who predominate there, simply aren't able to make the case for such complex ideas. That takes at least an interest in and aptitude for the math. So, the National media simply assumes that "most people support multiculturalism," even though the enemies of multiculturalism on BOTH sides have been doing a much better job of making their case. The anti-Corporatists in the West and the jihadists in the Muslim world. Ironically enough, BOTH of share at least one ideological enemy in common, so it seems.

I might have been receptive to an honest assessment, in that regard, HAD the Corporate controllers affirmatively made the case for "raising the rest of the world’s economies at the expense of the West, in order to eventually have a more thriving global marketplace,” even the case that, “Through global commerce, we can eliminate the core things (religion, ethnicity, etc.”) that have divided people through the ages and resulted in the bulk of our wars."

Those sound like reasonable arguments,” although they’d be somewhat more compelling IF they weren’t made by Corporate entities that at every turn have profiteered off of war and slaughter.

Today that cynicism has overtaken everything. Tim Carney’s book “The Big Ripoff,” has even brought that same kind of  cynicism to the environmental movement...painting it as, in effect, “a lobbying effort bought and paid for by “BIG Energy,” that is designed to lobby consumers to push for higher energy prices.”

In the end, the biggest advantage the anti-Corporatists (including those opposed to what is increasingly seen as a “Corporate media”) is that the media isn’t merely insular, it almost HAS TO BE (remain) so, if it is to continue pushing the Corporatist meme it’s been invested in.

Now, there is a HUGE and growing web of small bloggers, twitter users, etc. that are reaching an ever-growing swell of the populace, even though individually, they aren’t reaching many more, if ANY more people than they’ve reached before. This movement needs to organized structure and has none, making it impossible to address and much harder to rein in.

There are also the optics, which, for the proponents of multiculturalism, are awful. Within a week of the NY Times printing a headline, “Donald Trump Finds a New City to Insult – Brussels,” Brussels is attacked by jihadists and Trump looks like a genius and the NY Times like imbeciles.

How frustrating must THAT be?

Worse still is the American media’s coverage of Europe where anti-multicultural (anti-immigrant) Parties have been gaining strength for years. A CNN reporter introduced that topic saying, “Here in Belgium where so many are the descendants of immigrants.”

Wha...wha...wha...WHAT?!

No part of Europe has anything like, “A strong immigrant heritage,” so WHY lie? Or at least, WHY appear to lie about something like? Moreover, why continue to downplay the dilemma Europe now faces?

The “Refugees” from the Middle East (primarily Syria) were almost entirely young, military-aged males. Indeed, where were the women and children? More than 3/4s of that group were young males! That has turned out to be “an invading force,” fueling anti-immigrant rage.

INSTEAD of denying that obvious problem, a problem no different than would be flooding the Muslim Mid-East with large groups of ANTI-Muslims and acting “shocked” at the Arab’s anti-immigrant response. CNN and other American outlets are doing exactly that in Europe right now...and looking like fools doing it!

The interesting question for me, is should the current Corporatist oligarchy fall, exactly WHAT will replace, WHO will fill the vacuum?


It doesn’t appear as anyone in the social media community, or anywhere else has even thought about that...nor seems to care much at all.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Some Basic Observations, August, 2015


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Bernie Sanders Confronted by (Hillary paid for?) BLM "Activists"




(*) Hillary vs. Sanders: While I can’t prove it (yet), I firmly believe that Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been paying BLM (Black Lives matter) “activists” to attack and try to silence the Bernie Sanders campaign. It’s “The Clinton way.”


(*) Trumping Conservatives: To the charge that “Donald Trump’s NOT a Conservative,” that misses the point! Trump is the ultimate “No confidence” vote, a platinum plated “No” vote, as in, “NO to the political/media class.” Moreover, just WHAT, exactly, have all these bona fide “Conservatives” done for Conservatism? Even with BOTH Houses of Congress and the Presidency (under G W Bush) we DID NOT anything like a Conservative surge.


(*) Trust Lost is NEVER Gotten Back: With its overt sandbagging of Donald Trump, FNC proved that it’s as much a part of the corporate media as ABC, CBS, CNN and NBCSorry Roger, once lost, that trust FNC had with many Conservatives has been unalterably broken.

Many Conservatives, including the likes of Mychal Massie and Mike Savage have long acknowledged that "Fox News is no less Corporatist than any of the other media outlets." They're right!



(*) Tough Times for Mayor BeBlasio: With the grade fixing scandal and the apparent “fudged” investigation (lead investigators have worked under Carly Fiorina), the amateur response to the Legionnaires outbreak in the Bronx, on the heels of an ill-conceived war against Uber, it’s fair to ask, “Can this Mayor do ANYTHING right?”

A LOT of this comes down to timing. Donald Trump assails the criminal aspects of illegal immigration (it’s actually a VERY SERIOUS economic issue – IN-SOURCING) and suddenly, as if on cue, a spate of serious crimes by illegal immigrants makes Trump look prescient. By comparison, Bill DeBlasio assails Uber and is flooded with complaints from workers and the riding public that back him off, in a disorganized retreat, then gets blind-sided by an apparent citywide grade-fixing scandal and an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the Bronx.

The optics tell the story. One guy looks prescient, the other guy confused and disorganized. THAT’S a problem for any elected official.

Friday, August 7, 2015

FNC Vs Trump


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FNC's Megyn Kelly...and Her "Team"




Donald Trump’s lead in the GOP polls is about a LOT of Americans fervently believing that, “There’s no such thing as a ‘professional politician.” Apparently many even believe that what we have in government today is a “Gaggle of unprofessional politicians,” and who can argue with that given the arrest records of NY State’s Legislature, the political crimes and corruption in places like Louisiana and New Jersey?

Tragically FNC chose to attack the messenger (Trump) and, in the process attack all those who are sick and tired of our sad sack and the political and media class. (http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/08/07/post-debate-analysis-fox-news-the-biggest-loser/)

FNC SHOULD HAVE explained WHY that anti-establishment view is so wrong-headed, and WHY such “professional politicians” are needed today, instead they chose to slime and attack the symbol (Trump) and, by extension, ALL those who support that viewpoint, which at this point is, if NOT a majority at the very least a sizable plurality of American voters.


It’s now far too late for FNC to even consider switching strategies now.

The very worst, most aggressive of the Fox attackers was Megyn Kelly (see photo above) to the scorn and derision of many FNC wachers;


After this debate, my opinion changed the MOST about @foxnews, @megynkelly, @BretBaier & Chris Wallace! Utterly Disappointed…#GOPDebate


The biggest losers in the debate were the Fox moderators who attacked instead of moderating #GOPDebate


Terrible job @FoxNews!
Terrible job @FoxNews!
Terrible job @FoxNews!
Terrible job @FoxNews!
Terrible job @FoxNews! #GOPDebate #FAIL


@Snap_Politics @TheLastRefuge2 Absolutely disgusting! @megynkelly behavior was horrible! She interrupted everyone. No lo(ng)er a fan of her.


Tweet me who YOU think won the GOP debate - use #Greta


.@greta I can tell you who lost.... @megynkelly


the training of Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace for the GOP debate was brought to you by Candy Crowley AND by the letter "B" for BIAS


I'm super disappointed in @megynkelly . You came a Trump with bias. I've always found you more professional than tonight.


Yikes! Megyn (“Don’t worry kids! Santa Clauss is WHITE!”) Kelly didn’t help herself, NOR did the optic presented by her “pre-debate twitter pic” of herself and her “team,” ALL of them blondes.

Seriously?!

Had Chris Wallace posted a picture of himself and his team entering the debate area and his “team” all looked exactly like him, wore the SAME color tie, with the SAME haircut, he’d be immediately excoriated as a “xenophobic bigot.”

WHY is Megyn Kelly held to such a different standard?

WHY shouldn’t her staff be as diverse as we expect others to be?

Friday, April 25, 2014

Rare (from me) Kudos to CNN...Specifically to Chris Cuomo


CNN's Chris Cuomo




Since I have excoriated CNN (especially Carol Costello and Erin Burnett) over their coverage of racial issues (ie. the Trayvon Martin case, etc.), I HAVE TO credit CNN, especially Chris Cuomo for doing an excellent interview with the very flawed and inarticulate Cliven Bundy AND for dealing with the issue in a far LESS politically partisan and inflammatory way than many of his co-workers at CNN.

Here is a good clip of a good portion of that interview;


I believe Chris Cuomo went out of his way to be fair and even-handed with an obviously inarticulate man. He did NOT look to bait Bundy into digging an even deeper hole and even appeared to look to understand Bundy’s concerns over what he saw as federal overreach. Cuomo delivered a very “fair and balanced” interview of a highly controversial man. It was certainly a much more fair and unbiased report than any of those done on MSNBC and FNC. In fact, Chris Cuomo even defended FNC host Sean Hannity, as "a friend," who he's certain shares none of Bundy's racial views.

Bundy, to his great detriment, has allowed his poorly articulated and archaic racial views to overshadow a legitimate state’s rights and federal overreach issue.

THAT (Bundy’s reckless racial commentary), is not the national media’s fault.

Its ultra-partisan way of handling it certainly IS!

That is why Chris Cuomo stands out, today, as a beacon of non-partisanship.

Many paternalistic bigots have attempted to use Cliven Bundy’s grossly inarticulate words to (1) undermine his very real issues with federal overreach and land management abuse, via high fees and senseless regulations and (2) to tar those who supported those legitimate issues as “racists,” for having defended Bundy’s views on federal overreach.

Many of these paternalists have likened Bundy’s racial views to those of the critics of the existing American welfare/dependency state. Indeed legislators like Paul Ryan, Scott Walker and others HAVE rightly note that the existing welfare/dependency state “breeds dysfunction.” That is as sad, as it is true, BUT it is also undeniable. I've been to hundreds of fires and many hundreds more emergencies in urban housing projects (mostly in the South Bronx). The stairwells and elevators in ALL those buildings reek of urine. Drug deals and sexual encounters regularly go on in those enclosed stairwells. The marauders, the violently dysfunctional control those areas. Others live in abject terror. Many people born into those areas DO get an education and good jobs and LEAVE those areas.

However, the idea that the paternalists seem to posit; that there’s very little difference between the population (and their behaviors) in any given urban housing project and that of any up-scale suburban neighborhood is naively ignorant.

Poverty, like LIFE itself doesn’t just “happen to us.” We make things happen, we bring BOTH the good and the bad into our own lives. Just as specific human qualities and actions bring about prosperity (innovation, ambition, focus, delaying gratification, planning, etc.), specific human qualities and activities bring about poverty (recklessness, irresponsibility, poor impulse control, the inability to delay gratification, substance abuse, illiteracy, etc.).

Cliven Bundy may well be an inarticulate, “hick,” at least in the eyes of many urban elites, who’ve harped on what they’ve called his “nostalgia for chattel slavery,” BUT interestingly enough, one of Bundy’s black supporters (Jason Bullock) seemed to paint a very different picture of the old codger; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCto_bGIT2o

What counts the most, how poorly or well one articulates their sentiments, or how well they treat others? Many people who say all the right things, never act in accordance with their own words. Hell, con-men and sociopaths ALWAYS say the right things and practice coming across as “good & decent,” even “caring and empathetic.” We put weight on people’s words at our own peril. It SEEMS that Jason Bullock attempts to convey that Bundy’s actions appear to belie his words.

Bundy’s plight SHOULD bring to light federal policies that abuse individual ranchers via escalating fees and senseless regulations. His unilateral actions (NOT paying fees that other ranchers are forced to pay) were illegal, but the federal policies themselves seem to have been poorly implemented, probably abusive, even potentially immoral.

There are legitimate issues around government overreach and federal land abuse here, and seeking to bury those legitimate issues beneath an avalanche of trumped up racial outrage is patently dishonest.

Many years ago, a College classmate of mine said, “Almost everyone derives at least some of their income from government today. We have an army of local, state and federal officials, from educators, to police, to workers in a vast array of government agencies, private contractors who pave roads FOR the government, workers in private Corporations that have huge government contracts, farmers and ranchers who get government subsidies, etc., so WHY do so many of us (especially so many military and former military...GOVERNMENT WORKERS) fear the growth of government so much?”

I call that, “The HAPPY Slave narrative.” People like that classmate simply embrace the universal slavery to the state that Libertarians and many Conservatives reflexively question.

What troubles me is the abject close-mindedness of those who don’t question the “happy slave narrative.” WHY? I should say, what motivates people to simply accept the idea of a universal slavery to the state as inevitable? I can’t respect that view, but that’s just me, I guess.

Today, I laud Chris Cuomo for being a straight shooter on a very controversial issue and in dealing with an inarticulate and non-media savvy individual without baiting and abusing him. It may be unfortunate that that stands out as a “rare decency,” on the part of the national media, but for better, or worse, it does stand out as exactly that.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Why is FoxNews Always Under Attack?....







WoW! According to Howell Raines the failed NY Times Executive Director, who left shortly after presiding over the Jason Blair scandal in 2003, FoxNews’ ((FNC) Roger Ailes “has overturned standards of fairness and objectivity that have guided American print and broadcast journalists since World War II. Yet, many members of my profession seem to stand by in silence as Ailes tears up the rulebook that served this country well as we covered the major stories of the past three generations...”

Raines asks, “Why haven't America's old-school news organizations blown the whistle on Roger Ailes...for using the network to conduct a propaganda campaign against the Obama administration - a campaign without precedent in our modern political history?”

Apparently Howell Raines is either hopelessly hyper-partisan or stupefyingly ignorant of today’s news media landscape...or perhaps both.

FNC, like CNN and MSNBC, the other major 24-hour Cable News Networks offers straight news during the day and Commentary in the evenings.

The mainstream broadcast media (ABC, CBS and NBC, a/k/a the MSM) have long been reliably Center-Left, peopled by a staff that has consistently been over 80% both liberal in outlook and registered Democrats politically.

But recently MSNBC has brought a virulently Leftist and hyper-partisan agenda to an unprecedented level.

MSNBC’s evening crew is the most liberally biased and politically partisan on the air today. Their evening Commentary line-up of Schultz, Matthews, Olbermann and Maddow are all committed (and in a few cases committable) far-Left partisans.

FNC’s evening Commentary crew consists of the fiercely Independent Glenn beck, who has excoriated progressives both Democratic (Carter and Obama) and Republican (Hoover, Nixon, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.), the slightly Left-of-Center, traditionalist Bill O’Reilly, a man who opposes the death penalty, supports a guest-worker program, believes in a strong environmental agenda and regularly rails against “oil companies profiteering at the expense of the folks,” often mistaken for a “Conservative,” by far-Left partisans who revile his traditionalist views and his support for things like Megan’s Law and stricter penalties for pedophiles and the Christmas Holiday. Sean Hannity, a very partisan Conservative and a generally reliable Republican supporter is the lone partisan in FNC’s evening line-up. He’s followed by Greta Van Sustern, a lawyer who usually focuses on crime stories along some other legal issues.

So why have some, like Howell Raines, excoriated FNC without objecting one bit to the far more egregious, hyper-partisan, and out of step with America propaganda they’re nightly spewing out on MSNBC?

Almost certainly because Raines is delusional enough to believe he lives in a Center-Left country, when there is absolutely no indication that is so.

In fact, the most generous poll to date shows self-identified Conservatives (40%) outnumbering self-identified Liberals (21%) by about 2 to 1. America is and long has been a Center-Right nation. This goes a long way to explaining why both Conservative Talk Radio and FNC slaughter their competition in the all important ratings war.

Today FNC has 4X as many viewers as CNN, while the far-Left MSNBC isn’t even on the ratings radar!

Why do you think that is?

Primarily it’s because the American people’s political views aren’t shaped, nor even very much influenced by the media, if they were, then through the 1960s and 1970s, when Liberals held a veritable monopoly status over America’s MSM, America would’ve been a Center-Left nation. It was most certainly not.

In fact, those were the same folks, the same viewers and listeners who gave the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other Conservative Talk Radio hosts the HUGE ratings advantage they enjoyed long before FNC came on the scene.

That too shows that media figures and pundits don’t convert the people, nor even sway them much, if at all. Instead it proves that the people respond to those who espouse views that resonate with their own, they gravitate to the people and views that mirror their own. It really is that simple.

Apparently Howell Raines is someone who sees nothing wrong with a corrupt, pro-BIG government media pushing a vile, largely anti-Capitalist/anti-American agenda on an increasingly unwilling populace. That’s the ONLY way to explain his seeing FNC, a lone Center-Right media outlet, as a threat, while apparently having no problem at all with the far more vile and hyper-partisan MSNBC.

That’s NOT OK and that’s why Howell Raines’ views are recklessly irresponsible and dangerously antithetical to an open discourse where all sides are able to offer their best arguments and the people themselves decide which side to support.
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