The Political Discussion Thread

[Col.Foley]

Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck.

I do not think that either of them are registered Republicans, and all three have been highly critical of the Republican party so even if they were...and I am pretty sure Beck and O'Reilly are not...then the point is moot.

[Rickington]

I do not think that either of them are registered Republicans, and all three have been highly critical of the Republican party so even if they were...and I am pretty sure Beck and O'Reilly are not...then the point is moot.

One can still be Republican/Democrat and still be critical of one's own party. It's perfectly acceptable.

[s09119]

Your point is what exactly?

That they blatantly manipulated the news to favor Republicans turn viewers against Democrats.

[Col.Foley]

One can still be Republican/Democrat and still be critical of one's own party. It's perfectly acceptable.

Exactly.

That they blatantly manipulated the news to favor Republicans turn viewers against Democrats.

that is your point? Because if it is you did a terrible job (IMHO) of making it. Because that is not what the memo said. The memo said to use Word X, instead of Word Y, when in modern day political speak they are the same exact thing.

[lordofseas]

I do not think that either of them are registered Republicans, and all three have been highly critical of the Republican party so even if they were...and I am pretty sure Beck and O'Reilly are not...then the point is moot.

What about Mike Huckabee? Surely he's not Republican. Maybe when Fox News wrote a check to the Republican Party for $1 Million, they made a misprint. Fox's news personalities are self-described "conservatives". Fox has always favoured the right-wing, if not the Republican Party itself.

[s09119]

Your point is what exactly?

Exactly.

that is your point? Because if it is you did a terrible job (IMHO) of making it. Because that is not what the memo said. The memo said to use Word X, instead of Word Y, when in modern day political speak they are the same exact thing.

It said use Word X instead of Word Y because using X makes people angry at the Democrats much more than Y. It's literally spelled out for you in the last post.

[EvilSpaceAlien]

I don't consider Fox News to be a news channel, not really. When you start promoting anti government rallies you can no longer claim to be a news station (with a conservative bias), you have become an opposition political force.

[Col.Foley]

What about Mike Huckabee? Surely he's not Republican. Maybe when Fox News wrote a check to the Republican Party for $1 Million, they made a misprint. Fox's news personalities are self-described "conservatives". Fox has always favoured the right-wing, if not the Republican Party itself.

Oh yeah...honestly forgot about him. Forgive me Mike.

So...let me get this straight...Fox News somehow grew arms, probably legs, obtained sentience and got a job or won the lottery in order to make a million dollars and then finally after Fox obtained all of this it decided to write out a check to the Republican Party?

Not all of them. And they have had people on who are Libertarian, Socialist, Communist, Anarchist, Seccessionist, Liberal, Progressive, morons, idiots, smart people, dumb people, ignorant people, comedians, scientists, political commentators, politicians, and pollsters. All of them have an equal chance to debate and to learn and to spread their opinion.

So again Fox News is now Sentient and then it chosses to always favor the 'Republicans' Interesting. This life changing feet of almost God Like evolution has toatally escaped my notice.

It said use Word X instead of Word Y because using X makes people angry at the Democrats much more than Y. It's literally spelled out for you in the last post.

Wow, I just read the post again and it did ot even mention the word 'Democrat' once. Nor did it mention the Republicans, or helping the Republicans, or getting our political Republican base mad and riot against the Democrats and get them all mad and manipulate them. either that or I am blind.

Or is it that I have to be someone who is on the left, a liberal/ progressive, and has that type of mind set in order to interpret the words and make the metaphorical leap in order to glean that is what the memo is actually doing? That there is nothing that is literrally spelled out just someones interpreation based on ideology?

[Col.Foley]

I don't consider Fox News to be a news channel, not really. When you start promoting anti government rallies you can no longer claim to be a news station (with a conservative bias), you have become an opposition political force.

And someone else who does not watch Fox News.

[EvilSpaceAlien]

And someone else who does not watch Fox News.

We may have different definitions of things, but I see this as a promotion of anti-government/anti-obama rallies. As a credible news network you do not promote or support these things, you just report them. Otherwise you are not a credible news channel.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

All these people whinging about Fox News, really grow the f**k up. You think the Left is some shining beacon of light and good that does nothing wrong? Piss off. Fox is hardly the only unbiased news channel out there, look at MSNBC and it's continuing desire to be the most Left Wing News channel it could possibly be. If Keith Olberdouchebag and his chums there sucked up to Obama any more they'd be fellating him.

All news is bias in some form, it is impossible to entirely remove remove it. Combine that with the media's appetite for hyperbole and you have a heady concoction. In the UK we have far better media, yet it would be utterly foolish to say there is no bias, there's tons. The BBC may strive to be unbiased in its reporting, yet every time a news story on the countryside starts, the fact that it is run by a bunch of city types from Islington shines though.

No Faux News hardly has any credibility as a News channel. However it is not some isolated evil Conservative plot to distort the News, it is simply a systematic example of the bias and hyperbole that the American news media and indeed new media across the world suffers from. You can find Right Wing biased new media, Left Wing bias new media and even "death to America, Jihad!", Islamic fundamentalist new media, otherwise known as Al Jazeera.

To attack Fox News and other Conservative outlets only ignores the problem as a whole with the media, and will get nowhere. You can't claim the moral high ground when both sides are at it constantly.

[s09119]

All these people whinging about Fox News, really grow the f**k up. You think the Left is some shining beacon of light and good that does nothing wrong? Piss off. Fox is hardly the only unbiased news channel out there, look at MSNBC and it's continuing desire to be the most Left Wing News channel it could possibly be. If Keith Olberdouchebag and his chums there sucked up to Obama any more they'd be fellating him.

All news is bias in some form, it is impossible to entirely remove remove it. Combine that with the media's appetite for hyperbole and you have a heady concoction. In the UK we have far better media, yet it would be utterly foolish to say there is no bias, there's tons. The BBC may strive to be unbiased in its reporting, yet every time a news story on the countryside starts, the fact that it is run by a bunch of city types from Islington shines though.

No Faux News hardly has any credibility as a News channel. However it is not some isolated evil Conservative plot to distort the News, it is simply a systematic example of the bias and hyperbole that the American news media and indeed new media across the world suffers from. You can find Right Wing biased new media, Left Wing bias new media and even "death to America, Jihad!", Islamic fundamentalist new media, otherwise known as Al Jazeera.

To attack Fox News and other Conservative outlets only ignores the problem as a whole with the media, and will get nowhere. You can't claim the moral high ground when both sides are at it constantly.

A recent study found Fox viewers significantly more misinformed than those of MSNBC and other stations. It's not a bunch of kids whining about the other side, there's evidence to back this up.

Calm yourself down and get off your own soapbox before you go screaming at others to do the same.

[EvilSpaceAlien]

All these people whinging about Fox News, really grow the f**k up. You think the Left is some shining beacon of light and good that does nothing wrong? Piss off. Fox is hardly the only unbiased news channel out there, look at MSNBC and it's continuing desire to be the most Left Wing News channel it could possibly be. If Keith Olberdouchebag and his chums there sucked up to Obama any more they'd be fellating him.

All news is bias in some form, it is impossible to entirely remove remove it. Combine that with the media's appetite for hyperbole and you have a heady concoction. In the UK we have far better media, yet it would be utterly foolish to say there is no bias, there's tons. The BBC may strive to be unbiased in its reporting, yet every time a news story on the countryside starts, the fact that it is run by a bunch of city types from Islington shines though.

No Faux News hardly has any credibility as a News channel. However it is not some isolated evil Conservative plot to distort the News, it is simply a systematic example of the bias and hyperbole that the American news media and indeed new media across the world suffers from. You can find Right Wing biased new media, Left Wing bias new media and even "death to America, Jihad!", Islamic fundamentalist new media, otherwise known as Al Jazeera.

To attack Fox News and other Conservative outlets only ignores the problem as a whole with the media, and will get nowhere. You can't claim the moral high ground when both sides are at it constantly.

I for one is of the opinion that both Fox and MSNBC are awful networks, but since the discussion was about Fox, I talked about Fox.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

A recent study found Fox viewers significantly more misinformed than those of MSNBC and other stations. It's not a bunch of kids whining about the other side, there's evidence to back this up.

Calm yourself down and get off your own soapbox before you go screaming at others to do the same.

Right, one survey and it's gospel? Apparently the concept of bias in a survey, or anomalous results, or the fact that sample groups cannot account for an entire group with 100% accuracy seemed to have slipped by you. Further the survey was published in April 2007, that's nearly 4 years ago, so it's not that recent, and in terms of Politics that's really a long time. Since 2007 the Political landscape of America has changed drastically. And interestingly enough said same survey found that Republican and Democrat were equally represent in the most knowledgeable category.

And I'm not on a soap box dear chap. Just an exasperated outside observer who's fed up with seeing idiots who are so blinded by their own ideology, that that they can't see their own hypocrisy. America is sick and dying, the world is passing it by. China and India are the new dogs, Europe, Africa, Arabic and Persian Gulf countries look to them increasingly, and the U.S population is too busy blaming each other for whatever problem to notice. The fact is the decline of America rests on all sides, a successful democratic country requires a strong government backed by the people along with a successful political opposition to counter it. America has neither, it has a President who is seen as weak and unreliable overseas, and is increasingly disliked and unsuccessful at home. The opposition is unable to come with a Presidential candidate who could truly challenge Obama, a damning fact considering his unpopularity. American support for politicians is at a all time low, many are viewed with outright hostility and suspicion, a not unreasonable behaviour considering their behaviour. America has a war on its doorstep now larger than both Afghanistan and Iraq, a situation it refuses to address but simply wants to ignore, the country is becoming more racially and geographically divided again, all the while the economy fails and the media fuels the fire by stirring the pot.

Traditional Empire building is now gone, it began to disappear at the end of the 19th century, nevertheless the last 60 years the "American Empire" has flourished, it may not have held territory, but it was the worlds super power, it held dominance, culturally, economically and military. Now I'm a Brit, I'd much prefer if we were still the Worlds super power, we did it, and could still do it a lot better, but I also know my history, no Empire lasts forever, and Britain fell from power because of that. For me America represents a good alternative, it's a western Democratic country, there might be lots wrong with it even at the best of times, but it's better than any alternative. Nevertheless the American Empire will fall, but it is doing so much faster than it should, and it will leave behind a void in power, that no country is ready yet to fill, even nations like India which are almost certainly to be one of the next super powers simply aren't developed enough yet. America needs to survive because Pax Americana is needed by the world because at the moment there is no replacement ready yet and I don't fancy the world being at China's mercy.

But at the moment America is simply being childish. The recent Tucson shootings show the problem with America, the sickness in its culture and it's politics. Not that a nut would target a prominent local figure and go on a rampage, that is an unfortunate part of life, thing like that happen, but what is sick is that following this rather than the nation pulling together in the face of tragedy, it erupted in an orgy of blame, the Left Wing were to blame, the Right Wing were to blame, Beck, Rush and Palin were to blame, Keith Olberman was to blame, guns were to blame, computer games were to blame. The fact is America is now adverse to the idea of personnel responsibility, it's easier to blame the opposing political side than look at the bigger picture of what's wrong with America.

[jelgate]

To me Fox is just as biased and opinionated as the rest. It just gets the heat because while the others are left biased Fox is right biased. I wonder what it would be like to have unbiased journalism?