Comments on: Whose Denial?

By: erinyes

erinyes — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:21:07 +0000

LHW, Cigarettes and automobiles kill far more Americans than any “Terrist” could hope to.
What you wrote is not a “tidbit”, but rather, the key.When you have the population afraid, they’re easier to control. amd when they think about how dangerous the world is, they will readily accept searches and detention, and will cheer when “suspects” are mistreated or killed by the authorities and the military.

By: LongHairedWeirdo

LongHairedWeirdo — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:30:52 +0000

An interesting tidbit to consider as well.

When daytime news consists of a lot of reports of horrible crimes, it also damages the spirit of the populace. They start seeing the world as a much more dangerous place. This is also something being pushed by conservatives – pro-gun conservatives, pro-police-power conservatives, and, of course, pro-GWOT conservatives.

I strongly suspect that the more the meme of the dangerous world spreads, the less people care about those who get ground up in the wheels of the machine.

(e.g., I’ve long suspected, and wish I had the historical/anthropological chops to research, that the harsher the society, the more brutal the punishments society finds acceptable. But with TV, we don’t need an unduly harsh world to make people think the world is harsh.)

By: Dave S

Dave S — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:51:26 +0000

“..the practice of concealing truth behind carefully chosen words stems from the practice of the political parties of politicizing and sensationalizing anything the other side says.”

How Orwellian.

By: KathyP

KathyP — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:28:26 +0000

As I was listening to one of the Sunday morning talking heads program yesterday morning, I was struck by a conversation amongst the pundits about what words and phrases would best describe the economy and a possible nationalization of insolvent banks. The topic, in my opinion, was actually about how to best obsfuscate the reality of the ongoing collapse for the program’s viewers. I pointed this out to my husband who agreed suggested that the practice of concealing truth behind carefully chosen words stems from the practice of the political parties of politicizing and sensationalizing anything the other side says. Fear of having one’s messages twisted leads to obfuscation and actually prevents the public from understanding what is actually going on. Little wonder that the public is not facing reality – no one is doing any more than giving them a little peek at what is actually happening.

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:38:12 +0000

Ever feel like that person in the movie who is the only one who has seen the aliens and can’t convince anyone else that they are real?

Self-absorption leads to that kind of denial. There is a basic alienation from the circumstances that affect us. It all seems so far off and complicated that most would rather someone else deal with it.

With that sad state of affairs only something that reaches out and touches the majority people will awaken Americans from the stupor.

CBS and newspapers are having financial problems. Maybe the only way for things to improve is for new media to rise from the ashes of the old. But instability causes opportunities, particularly for those who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth.

We’ll see but I see few signs of hope. The entire LA 11:00 news consisted of mind-numbing images of a slow speed car chase accompanied by dull uneventful narrative…the kinds of drugs required to keep us in our stupor.

By: Doug Hughes

Doug Hughes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:23:21 +0000

PW – You suggested a boycott of the TV sponsors of the MSM news. You euthanized your TV, so you may not be aware how the list of suspect would read: oil & natural gas, coal, drug companies, banks, investment companies, insurance companies. The only way to avoid all the advertised products is to die. Even that won’t work once a major mortuary signs on to CNN.

But the idea is sound. A list of quality TV is much shorter as is the list of advertisers who could be thanked for their sponsorship of quality programming. This is worthy of discussion by the major bloggers to see if we can drive up the viewership and appreciate the sponsors where there is evidence of critical thinking.

By: erinyes

erinyes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:15:10 +0000

I get my news from a wide vatiety of sources. I believe in the line “Hans und Franz” used in the old Saturday night Live Show ” hear me today und believe me tomorrow!” that’s a great line. watch and listen, use a bit of critical thinking, throw out the tribal instincts, ignore anything “biblical” in regards to prophesy and current events, and you can pretty much sort the wheat fron the chaff.If something is too rediculous to be true, its a hose job.
Here’s a simple anology; dogs and cats are more popular as pets than monitor lizards because they ARE better pets, don’t buy a monitor lizard, its a simple thing.
I usually rise around 5AM, get some coffee, and head for the ‘net. When my day is done, I go back on line after dinner, then tune into “Tweety” unless my wife wins the toss, in which case it is “Two and a half men” until Keith comes on at 8. (My wife had a bit of a crush on Keith until she saw his belly) By the time Ms. Maddow is on, I’m ready to turn in.
The guy I really admired was George Carlin, pretty much the same take on politics, religion, and guys named “Todd” as I have….

By: CabinInThe Woods

CabinInThe Woods — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:36:58 +0000

Did any of you see Bill Moyers address the 2008 Nat’l Conference for Media Reform? Link to the YouTube recording below (sorry about the poor pic quality and closed captioning):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0r71L7cojE

By: c u n d gulag

c u n d gulag — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:32:21 +0000

Ditto, all. DITTO!
I can’t even turn the TV news channels on after the election. All of the Ken and Barbie dolls on the news shows. They know nothing, but they opine away.
Actual knowledge is no qualifier to getting a job. It’s how cute you are (male of female), or how entertaining or outragous your opinion’s are. That’s what matters.
Look at the turd from CNBC, Santelli. Personally, I’d like to see the SOB toothless, without health care, begging in the street’s.
He may have money, but as far as his soul is concerned, he is the true loser.

Cue “Sympathy for the Devil…”

By: Gary Farber

Gary Farber — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:32:01 +0000

“I propose that Frank Rich and others who spend their lives in national news media leave their newsrooms and spend some time purely as news consumers.”

Frank Rich is a columnist who used to be the Times theatre critic; before that he was a film critic; I seriously doubt he’s ever spent much time in a news room; he’s never been a reporter. You probably want to pick an actual reporter for an example of someone who spends time in newsrooms.