On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:10:08 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ed
Huntress" quickly quoth:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .

Anything said by anyone who fears global
warming(kumbaya) or guns is accepted as truth...

By whom? Not by me, and not by most sensible people.

By THE MEDIA, the subject we're talking about.


The "gun nuts" and "warming denialists" are seldom if ever
heard from.

Good grief. I hear from them all the time.

Via what MEDIA?


Some half-associate professor from the worst college in
some unheard of 3rd world country says "Orgasm may be linked with
cancer." and the media spouts headlines like "ORGASM CAUSES CANCER!"

Yup, they do get carried away with headlines, and they're always ready to
treat some early-stage research as if it were a conclusive finding. But
that's a weakness, not deceit. The Internet chatterers are mostly about
getting away with outright lies disguised as expert opinion.

OK, I'll agree that there is a lot of unsubstantiated crap on the Net.


Come on, Ed. Don't tell me that you buy the media's whole line. ****,
Rather's stunt was one of 1,000 others which went unnoticed by the
powers that be. Can you say "scapegoating"? I knew you could.

Tell us about the other 999. Seriously. You've made quite an accusation
there. It sounds to me like a case of letting your emotions carry you away.

OK, without the emotion, it's likely only about 876. Jeeze, where do
I start. I'll pick a few from today's paper tomorrow and post 'em if I
have time.


That's just one example, and Drudge is not even an intentional liar. He just
doesn't really care what's true. He's said as much, openly. That's for
someone else to figure out, and then to give him the credit when one big
story happens to be true. Imagine that, he gets some right.

I'll see you and raise you a "Halelujah!" How about the religious
programming channels, which seldom get anything right? g


Others, such as some of the gun sites, pretty obviously cover up the truth
to make their cases. For example, the drop in homicides that "followed
passage of the CCW law." It's virtually certain they drew their numbers from
a source similar to the one I saw, which makes it abundantly clear that the
drop in homicides was already happening before the law, and, in fact, that
the reduction slowed down once the law was passed. They don't want you to
know that.

There are plenty of legitimate things to complain about the mainstream media
without making things up. Comparing them to the Internet bloggers is like
comparing a guy who claims too many business miles on his tax returns with
Ken Lay.

What threw me over the edge to total distrust of the media was that
clip on Rush Limbaugh's show one time. I saw the entire -uncut-
30-second clip of Clinton leaving the funeral and he went from guffaw
to wiping away a tear from his eye in one step, just as he caught he
cameras on him. They were telling jokes but ALL the mainstream TV
networks showed only the last 8-10 seconds and made the comment that
he was tearful at the funeral. I absolutely exploded over that one
since I had seen the total farce that it was. Hell, I think Clinton
was responsible for the death in the first place.

DAMN I wish I'd _recorded_ that show.


No, they just accept statements from nobodies who appeared out of thin
air. "I didn't make it up. HE said it!" They're lazy (or budgeted) and
probably aren't checking their sources nearly as closely as they used
to.

That's mostly true. And the big factor is that they're under pressure to
produce too much these days, with seriously reduced staffs. It's too much to
get it right all of the time. In the mainstream media today, the money has
been squeezed out of the business, mostly by Internet advertising, and the
old model of journalism is breaking down. That's what makes me angry about
it. I don't believe they're intentionally making stuff up like the Internet
pundits do.

Whatever the cause, the result is all-too similar, though.

--
Jewish Zen:
Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated, already?
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