Posted on 01/16/2011 2:48:26 AM PST by Scanian
Well, that was a week we could have all done without.
As President Obama declared in his legitimately moving speech to what seemed to be the homecoming rally of the Arizona Wildcats, now is a time to re-embrace civility.
To that end, now might be a good time to examine the media’s role in this mess. There’s no disputing — nor any surprise — that left-wing activists didn’t need to wait for accurate reporting to jump to conclusions about the “real” culprits in the Tucson massacre. For instance, within minutes of the news hitting the wires, commentator Markos Moulitsas wrote on Twitter, “Mission accomplished, Sarah Palin.” David Brock, the head of a left-wing activist outfit called Media Matters for America, wrote a laughably self-important “open letter” gloating how he had “warned” Fox News about its dangerous rhetoric. Sounding a bit like Dwight Schrute on NBC’s “The Office” penning an urgent letter to the head of the FBI, Brock wrote: “My previous warnings were laughed off and ignored. For the country’s sake, I hope you take them more seriously now.”
Of course, activists and pundits play a different role than allegedly straight reporters. And yet, the “mainstream media” seemed to be suffering from the same groupthink. Even as evidence mounted that Jared Lee Loughner was no Tea Partier, was not a Sarah Palin disciple, and didn’t even listen to talk radio or watch cable news, media outlets seemed to tighten their grip on the story they wanted rather than the story they had. At the end of the week MSNBC was still using a graphic for its news coverage showing Loughner’s deranged mug shot along with the text “The Power of Words.”
Confirmation bias is a problem for all people and institutions of all ideological stripes, but in this instance...
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“False ‘national debates’ that journalists only have with themselves”
The “media” are not an agent of the democrats or the leftists. It is the other way around.
Circumspect though this editorial might be, they lose me when writing of a "legitimately moving speech."
Sorry, but I don't buy, no matter what our Licensed Conservative pundits allow.
I don't buy the premise on bit and found the Federal Executive's "putting the 'me' in 'memorial'" shameless and grossly opportunistic. I couldn't give a tinker's damn what anyone else's "perception" of it might have been.
"A week we could have all done without," covers it for me.
Prayers for the victims and their families, but prayers mostly for my country, showing increasing signs of plain soul-sickness that, while the right circumstances, deteriorate the situation badly and at an alarming speed.
People who look to the president, whoever he or she might be for "healing," or more especially to "heal their land," are already in a precarious situation, and ready to believe anything.
Three phases of totalitarian social control:
1) Guilt and re-education
2) Intimidation
3) Violence
“Licensed” Conservative Pundits. ROFLMAO! I’m gonna steal that one!
I think America’s pressitutes, both left and right, feel some emotional need to arrive at some sort of rudimentary consensus...in this case, “legitimately moving speech” is serving that function. It makes them think that they are all part of the same “profession.”
Probably does. They just aren’t well-connected to the American people and haven’t been for years.
The Bishop was commenting about the media's misrepresentation of the situation in Communist Russia
And just like today, he said they misreported key features of the situation that made Communism look bad.
"The Times, they aren't a-changin'"
First of all, I love everything Jonah Goldberg writes..He is a true intellectual and right every time. Thanks for this article.
I cannot watch any television deifying the President or any human being in times of crisis where people are suffering. Our spiritual leaders all have clay feet, as well, but they are the ones who should offer words of “comfort” to the suffering, along with families and friends. The President has no first-hand knowledge of the suffering of those families effected by the Tucson massacre. Most of all that is a charade and a political script to follow and, to me, it is sickening. The feigned grief, the feigned pained expressions on the faces are mostly a farce, and especially when the setting is much like that of a college sports event. When I see that, I think of the pain our people are collectively in because of the government policies of the left; I think of the “death panels” which will be set up for you, for me and for ours, where nameless, faceless bureaucrats will determine our fate..I think of the people, old and young, who will eventually be fearful of letting anyone know of a health problem, because of the potential of a decision to just let one die or worse. These are the imposter's who claim compassion while, all the time, using their words to endanger people who have principles of belief which they hate. As I watched the final episode of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” I thought, “These episodes explain so clearly why the leftists want Sarah out of the picture.” First of all, there is little Trig. They, perhaps, hate her the most because of him..They abort their healthy, perfect children for convenience and she refused to abort her child, regarding him as precious in the sight of her God and a person with a life purpose just the same as you or me. Then, there is the little fact that she is a normal American, without an Ivy League “pass” to success, whether deserved or not. She earned hers on the front lines of society, in the field. Everywhere you look in Sarah's life you find goodness and faithfulness, not perfection, as no human can achieve perfection in reality..She has been married to Todd for many years and they are true helpmates to one another, equal in their inter-family power. She has surrounded herself with a brood of children and her maternal caring is so obvious..She honors her parents and she loves her state and her nation. When attacked, she does not cower in the corner hoping to fade into obscurity, but she faces the viciousness with grace and dignity..They hate her for her faith which is fundamental to all her actions, and, lastly, she is hated by leftist women who can't hold a light to her in any way what-so-ever because of the physical beauty she has in middle age..She is regarded by men as a “sexy babe.” And, oh, yes, she likes and respects men, beginning with her Dad. They cannot fight all these things, no matter how many lies, threats, or you name it, they bring against her. As I have said before, and I freely admit that I am a Christian and believe God has a plan for this world..I am convinced that anything these little wanna-be gods throw at Sarah will come back on their own heads. I know this post is a dissertation..Sorry..It just spilled out this morning.
The liberal press is dying and are grasping at anything to reassert their control over the news spin. It’s fruitless. They are just damaging their credibility even more rapidly.
Liberals are on the losing end of the political arguments. Rather than reassess, repackage, and actually come into line with the mainstream of the citizenry, they continue on a seek and destroy mission against conservatives. Any current tragic event is twisted and painted with the same broad brush - conservative rhetoric caused the event. Used to be that Bush caused it, but he’s out of the picture now and “conservative rhetoric” is the new meme. This strategy only steels the spines of conservative voices.
Unjust persecution always produces the opposite effect than the one desired.
I agree with every point. The left hates Sarah Palin because she is everything they are not...a living, breathing SUCCESSFUL antithesis to their agenda.
Andrew Breitbart:
“The call for toning down the ‘heated political rhetoric’ is a convenient scheme by the permanently intemperate and propaganda dependent political left,” Mr. Breitbart said in an email to Washington Wire. “Once this heinous and uncivil strategy of blaming Sarah Palin and the Tea Party for Jared Loughner’s act imploded, there were not only no apologies from drawing these false conclusions, the perpetrators outrageously doubled down on a more generic yet equally cynical strategy to stop heated political rhetoric.”
It comes as no surprise that Obozo wants to embrace civility—the Right is beginning to push back. But civility was abandoned by the left wing over 40 yrs ago. They have used the tactic of vilifying their political opposites from the get go. Disagree with a liberal at any time since the ‘60’s on ANYTHING and you were called “Hitler” a “Nazi” a “Fascist” or just plain “evil”.
Problem is, Obozo, this “incivility” isn't going away. When the right wing starts calling you names it's done THOUGHTFULLY rather than as a tactic to score points.
Beware the anger of a just man.
Wouldn't they then be Republicans?
The press routinely floats the idea that the country needs a “frank” or “honest” “national conversation on race” but viciously punishes anybody who says something they don’t want to hear.Flashback to the '08 campaign, when Obama called for a "dialog on race" - and someone astutely pointed out that whenever someone calls for a "dialog on race" what the mean is that they are going to lie about race - and quash any attempt to rebut them.
Jonah Goldberg is clearly being sarcastic. Read the whole sentence:
As President Obama declared in his legitimately moving speech to what seemed to be the homecoming rally of the Arizona Wildcats, now is a time to re-embrace civility,
It's tongue in cheek.
that was really beautiful, thanks.
Sounding a bit like Dwight Schrute...
. . .
LOL that’s perfect!
Loughner’s actions didn’t spark the conversation, the media (and the Democratic Party) sparked that conversation because they were already locked into a storyline, like a newspaper that has already written an obituary for a still living actor. “People are debating” or a “national conversation has started” is a cheap gimmick for the author — or his editor — to talk about whatever they want to talk about. If The New York Times ran an untrue story tomorrow announcing that I beat my wife, it would be the Times that sparked the conversation about my wife-beating, not anything I did.
Exactly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.