The FreeRepublic "BLOB" sees all, so watch your P's and Q's !
Posted on 09/17/2004 4:27:35 AM PDT by TaxRelief
The conservative web group, FReerepublic.com, in its quest for "truth in media", may have accidentally stumbled across the means for unseating the leftists' obsession with "tolerance".
For over a year now, Freerepublic.com bloggers (Freepers) have been publically challenging the "factual information" disseminated in news stories published by the main stream media (MSM). The website's members have picked apart undocumented statistics; they've delved into the partisan semantics of questions on political polls; they've "FReeped" online polls to prove the uselessness of easily manipulated data; they've exposed sub-groups of radical activist organizations like "PETA", which pose as research "think tanks" and "responsible physicians"; they've bombarded news stations with phone calls and emails when the reporting is blatantly one-sided or even false; and finally, as this summer draws to a close, they have begun to publically object to lazy and biased newscasting.
As the analytical members of the conservative website FReerepublic.com have relentlessly challenged the credibility of the MSM, they have also simultaneously proven a theory that our forefathers discussed as they authored the first ten Amendments to the US Constitution; the Freedom of the Press has to be absolute, not just because truth is critical for sustaining a democracy in an otherwise Socialist world, but because truth itself cannot be ordered or legislated; it is the process of discourse, debate and disagreement that leads to true enlightenment.
However, as history has shown numerous times in the past, when "enlightenment" rears it's shining head, "darkness" goes on the defensive. Clearly, the crowd that seeks the truth is in direct conflict with those that "believe" truth is subjective and personal.
In the early seventies, a movement that focused on "prejudice" and "intolerance"--catch words intended to stop random and cruel discrimination against people with different colored skins--ballooned into a social behavior fad that temporarily pushed aside conservative etiquette. As a result, an entire generation of young people has now been raised believing that the concept of "maintaining a good reputation" is a selfish ploy perpetuated by adults who seek to control the scope of their teenagers' sexual activity, that everyone has the right to choose his own moral framework, and that questioning another's reputation is the equivalent of discrimination based on ethnicity.
In the process of subverting social norms, the simple concepts of credibility, honesty and reputation were thrown out with the bath water. A few folks saw what was happening along the way; many had to go through their own life experiences to become aware of the problem, and some have only just figured it out. Regardless of what brought them to this point, conservatives are coming out of the closet in droves, and it seems they are not willing to just "sit back and take it" anymore.
This past week "FReepers" crossed a critical threshold in their war on liberalism. By exposing, Dan Rather, a long-time icon of the MSM, as a man who is, at best lazy and partisan, or at worst dishonest and partisan, they actually were successful in preventing a paparazzi attack on the White House.
The rumbling volcano finally erupted when Dan Rather of CBS news--apparently oblivious to the "New Media"--happily presented some weak, insupportable "evidence" that a sitting president had attempted to shirk his duty as an American by either (a) serving in the National Guard rather than the regular army, or (b) missing 3 months of his 6 years service in the National Guard.
Rather's "evidence" consisted of "testimony" from partisan hacks and misquoted experts, and copies of memos "signed by" a man who died years ago (thereby unseating the commonly accepted theory that "dead men can't tell tales").
A FReeper, "Buckhead", immediately challenged the authenticity of the memos. Within hours, CBS's self-satisfied smiles were wiped off their faces, by the analytical branch of the "New Media".
This may well have been an historical moment; the MSM had probably never been diverted from its modus operandi of accuse-and-attack so successfully in the past. The MSM understandably was stunned to discover that the "seekers of truth" had reached a critical-enough mass to subvert "Plan A", the accuse-and-attack mission plan that had withstood the test of time; and to squash "Plan B": blame "intolerance" for anything that goes wrong. For forty years, the MSM had misused the concept of "tolerance" to cover-up its inadequacy, its laziness and the many, many errors made in haste, all because of a desire to get credit for "breaking the story".
Unfortunately for the MSM--but fortunately for America--FReepers and other rightwing bloggers are calling for a New Era of Credibility. Rightwingers are relying on the age-old premise that each individual is only as good as his honor and his ability to seekout and relay the truth (rather than the leftist theory that each man is only as good as his college degree--whether earned or gifted). The conservative bloggers harken back to the biblically-sound theory that a reputation once damaged is rarely ever recovered.
There may be no greater service that FReerepublic.com can do for the American people than to continue their mission to expose the MSM's poor journalistic practices (like quoting and enshrining of "unnamed sources"; the use of un-authenticated documents; the poor selection of interviewees; personal relationships between editors and partisan hacks; the backroom cover-up games and the rampant plagiarism of blogs and other reporter's articles). Perhaps they will even bring about the demise of the monopolistic mainstream media altogether.
Liberals may have attempted to destroy the value of a good reputation by telling kids not to "judge" others and to be "tolerant", but those same leftists did not eradicate the quest for truth well enough to prevent a powerful force from re-emerging and continuing on with the mission to conquer social misbehavior.
I don't think I have that one either, Grampa. No bells going off. And searching
my Word file where I keep my URLs I don't find anything like it.
Excellent essay. This will be bookmarked.
I have to say I was here when FR reported directly from the Twin Towers on 9/11. That was of course before the web went down.
I always am ;-)
In fact, we can take credit for His Slickness's impeachment. Without FR, it wouldn't have happened.
They'd have to pull it out of their butts first.
Thanks.
CAPED (pajama(ed?) CRUSADERS, AWAAAAAAY!!!!!
That is too kind of an assessment; the truth is the MSM has deliberately disseminated false information for decades in an attempt (often successful) to control the political dialog. The alphabet news agencies are no longer staffed by 'objective' journalists (in the Edward R. Murrow tradition) but by those who are operatives of the DNC. The 'press', by and large, has become merely 'the media', the propaganda arm of the DNC.
Please stop pinging me to all your pet threads.
Excellent commentary, TaxRelief.
We're no longer the "silent majority" -- and, as a result, the world is benefiting!
(Rush made an astute observation the other day, which I'll paraphrase: Perhaps the rest of the world doesn't like the USA because of the incorrect way we're portrayed in our own MSM!)
excellent.
I have a few recommendations to anyone faced with being interviewed by the MSM:
1. refuse to do any interview in "face to face" setting - it is too easy for the media to splice such an interview. Make it a demand that the interview be conducted in a collegial side-by-side setting, with both reporter and interview subject in the frame at all times. As a side note: do not allow use of multiple cameras, or or a camera capable of in-session panning.
2. ALWAYS MAKE YOUR OWN VIDEOTAPE OF THE INTERVIEW, AND LET 'EM KNOW YOU ARE DOING SO.
3. Make a list of confirmed, documented, dated instances of that reporter's failures in integrity (fraud, plagiarism, slick disingenuous editing, etc...) and have that list ready to hand in case the reporter decides to go into attack mode. Remember: The best defense is to gut your opponent.
4. Do not EVER lie, fabricate, or hedge. If you don't know, say so. If you cannot be certain, say so. Never put your reputation at risk by offering conjecture or opinion as fact.
And in proper uniform too!
I wonder how many welcome newbies we've(Jim) had this month?
Thanks for the ping!!
It's a good one!
I like the sound of that. Very well said. Something along the line of your post has been ka-noodling around in my own melon since this See-BS thingie blew up. Something like "Post-establishment Truth", or "New Truth Constructionist".
Or some other hoity-toity catch-phrase. Again, well said.
Thanks for the PING! Boing!
"In the process of subverting social norms, the simple concepts of credibility, honesty and reputation were thrown out with the bath water" pretty much sums up the Left, Dems and Kerry!
Pajamas and nurses uniforms: To get any more comfortable, you'd have to be naked!
:) And I'm bettin' some freepers type na...nevermind...
:)
Thanks for the ping - great article!
The FreeRepublic "BLOB" sees all, so watch your P's and Q's !
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