Interesting read, explains a lot

[Dunkopf]

#1. It sure didn't cost any jobs. We will never know if it actually helped or not. 40% of the stimulus went to tax cuts.
#2. The congressional accounting office says it won't. They are not a partisan office. They work with actual cost figures. Most of the reform isn't due to start till 2014. That's when the mandatory insurance starts or doesn't. Right now it's looking like it wont.
#3. The economy is getting better right now. Not much but it is. Hard cold fact. that of course applies to the entire country. Obviously some sectors are getting better while others get worse. Overall it is getting better. Jobs still suck wind though.
#4. Climate change is occurring. Those same people believe via FOX that most scientist say it isn't. Fact is most as in 90 percent say it is occurring. The only thing up in the air is if it is caused by human environmental destruction or not.
#5. Federal taxes have not gone up. Anybody that can't tell the difference between federal and state or local needs to get informed.
#6. A full 40% of the stimulus was expended on reducing taxes for those under 250k. Waste of money for sure since a lot of people didn't even notice.
#7. Obama didn't initiate the stimulus or the tarp. It's a good thing he bailed out GM or we would've had an additional 6 million out of work on the unemployment roles. GM failing would have affected a lot more than just GM. If you remember back to Ronnys days he gave Chrysler a loan to keep them from failing.
#8. It's a rare day when a Republican opposes giving money to a big business. That's why it's only 38%.
#9. Not surprising as much saturation as there is on that one. Just shows that not too many people thought it through though. No the pubs would not have sat by if there was a shed of proof.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Um, if you're speaking to me, and I guess you are since you addressed what I said about NPR, I said that I don't watch the news other than local weather and such. I have no idea who the Koch brothers are. NPR has quite the liberal and elitist slant to it, as far as I've seen, but then again, I don't listen to them. I heard some of their broadcasts accidentally. Guess someone who agrees with them would think they were objective. NPR's own official ombudsman, Jeffrey Dvorkin, admitted a liberal bias in NPR's talk programming. They do lean and it's definitely to the left. That said, what do I care? Most of the media is of that persuasion anyway. That doesn't mean I watch Fox, either, which is another stereotype. I'm really sick of stereotypes.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

ALL of the media networks are biased. Your best bet to watch a little of all of them and come to your own conclusions. I don't think the people that watch Fox are any stupider than the people that watch CNN. Just like those that like Glenn Beck aren't any stupider than those that like Ed Schlutz. Every single show out there has an agenda.

NPR is more liberal and elitist than some of the others. I consider it to be the opposite of Fox news.

Some other points-
- Studies are paid for with grant money. Grant money comes from somebody. That person also has an agenda. Often the study leans in the direction that the gran tmoney giver supports. You certainly don't want to offend the gift horse.

- This article is on what is clearly a biased website. Where does it give details about the study? I must have missed that. How am I to know that the study isn't biased?

•91 percent believe the stimulus legislation lost jobs
The fact is that since the stiumus process started, many people HAVE lost their jobs. There is little indication that the stimulus money generated any new, long term jobs. What seems to be coming up now is that a LOT of that money was wasted.

•72 percent believe the health reform law will increase the deficit
Immediately following the health reform law was passed, MY health insurance rates shot up. Dunno about the national deficit, but my personal deficit went up immediately.
Part B of this argument is that someone has to pay for those folks that can't afford their own. Where is that money coming from if not out of the national coffers?

•72 percent believe the economy is getting worse
My local news talks about loss of jobs pretty much every night. There are no new jobs available. Retailers are seeing fewer sales. All around me are businesses that have closed thier doors. Locally it DOES appear that the economy is getting worse.

•60 percent believe climate change is not occurring
Until just recently, this was called GLOBAL WARMING. There is evidence that it isn't warming. It likely IS changing, but there is evidence that climate change happens naturally every so often. Can we as humans be better at taking care of our environment? Heck yeah. Is banning the sale of incandescent light bulbs under the guise of saving the environment going to work? No. Our only alternative is actually worse for humans and the environment. Sadly, the gov't has jumped on the bandwagon and is banning the little stupid stuff instead of taking care of the larger issues.

•63 percent believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear)
Again, how hard is it to video the birth certificate and show it on all the biased/unbiased news shows? I'm not sure why this one continues to be an issue. Just show the darn thing and move on. If there is a question (and clearly some think there is), show the paper and move on. Sheesh. That it hasn't happened publically just adds fuel to the fire.

 

[Goose and Fig]

No- not directed at you, just people in general. This forum is the only place I frequent where many people don't seem to understand the difference in public broadcasting and corporate sponsored programming. And everyone should know who the Koch brothers are.

Another thing that shocks me is when people say that the Southern Poverty Law Center is a liberal organization. You might as well admit being in the klan if you're going to say that.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Talk programming and news are not the same thing.

Also NPR's ombudsman is Alicia Shepard and has been since 2007. I don't know when Dvorkin supposed made this statement but I can't seem to find it on the web.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Obama's birth certificate is out there for all to see....

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

 

[Dunkopf]

It was a pew study. I just clicked the first one. If you google it you will find many articles on it. No you won't find it on any right wing sights obviously. It is a legitimate study though. I have heard pew used many times on right wing talk stations when it suited them.

Yes all the media is biased. The main stream media tells the truth though. They may slant it and omit things occasionally, but what they do say is true. On the occasion that it isn't they either print or broadcast a retraction. FOX does not do that. MSNBC is the closest thing to FOX on the opposite side. Even MSNBC has people with right leaning views.

Everyone should get info from both sides.

I never followed politics very much until 911. At that point I was hungry for news and searched out different outlets. I actually listened to Rush for a little while. It didn't take too long to figure out where he is coming from. That is one guy that can say whatever he wants and actually controls politicians. I actually voted for Reagan in 1980 because I was very PO'd at Carter for letting the hostage situation go on so long. I didn't pay much attention to Bush Sr. Didn't pay much attention to Clinton except for the fact that they wasted so much time and money prosecuting someone for something that most of them do on a regular basis. The thing he lied about is as common as can be amongst the powerful. It was a total waste. Turns out Clinton did a lot of damage by signing the NAFTA treaty. Didn't know about it back then.

I did get involved when Bush Jr got elected by the Supreme Court. Then along came 911 and I started paying attention. In 2008 I thought Obama could actually make a difference in the country. Heck he had a majority on both sides of Congress. Now after 2 years I know that it doesn't make any difference. Big money runs the show. Big money runs the media and if they are on cable they can say whatever they want. People will believe whatever the entertainers say. The entertainers say whatever they are paid to say. It's a sad sad system.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

The Media Can Legally Lie

By Mike Gaddy
Writer for lewrockwell.com.

In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.

Back in December of 1996, Jane Akre and her husband, Steve Wilson, were hired by FOX as a part of the Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 1997 the team began work on a story about bovine growth hormone (BGH), a controversial substance manufactured by Monsanto Corporation. The couple produced a four-part series revealing that there were many health risks related to BGH and that Florida supermarket chains did little to avoid selling milk from cows treated with the hormone, despite assuring customers otherwise.

According to Akre and Wilson, the station was initially very excited about the series. But within a week, Fox executives and their attorneys wanted the reporters to use statements from Monsanto representatives that the reporters knew were false and to make other revisions to the story that were in direct conflict with the facts. Fox editors then tried to force Akre and Wilson to continue to produce the distorted story. When they refused and threatened to report Fox's actions to the FCC, they were both fired.(Project Censored #12 1997)

Akre and Wilson sued the Fox station and on August 18, 2000, a Florida jury unanimously decided that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) “a false, distorted or slanted story” about the widespread use of BGH in dairy cows. They further maintained that she deserved protection under Florida's whistle blower law. Akre was awarded a $425,000 settlement. Inexplicably, however, the court decided that Steve Wilson, her partner in the case, was ruled not wronged by the same actions taken by FOX.

FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the settlement awarded to Akre. The Court held that Akre’s threat to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation." In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a "law, rule, or regulation," it was simply a "policy." Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly.

This case makes it completely legal for a news station to report things that it openly knows are false and it can still call it news.

In the UK any broadcast that calls itself news will lose its license to broadcast if it broadcasts anything it knows is not factually true. Once upon a time that was also the case in this country. But not any more.​

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

News report form the business insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/leak...vision-told-to-echo-gop-talking-point-2010-12

Not exactly a left leaning organization.

The story demonstrates that FOx knowingly and deliberately echoed GOP talking points in their "news". There is also ample evidence that their fair and balanced news was told to manufacture doubt about climate change.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Quote:

Hardee-har-har. I took a personal BYC break and come back to this....

This is like arguing over the placement of deck chairs on the Titanic over, in some cases, minute details.

#1 Like the "jobs saved" number and recent admission that "there really wasn't any shovel-ready work".
#2 Um, when the accounting office scores the legislation, they have to use the model/data provided to them, they aren't allowed to play the "this is complete BS" card on the projections provided. Remember the stimulus claim of no more than 8% unemployment if enacted?
#3 Great, some economic indicator has ticked upwards by something less than 1%, but it's still positive. Show me 2-4% growth and I'll agree with you. Updated 12/22 *Fox* reported 3rd qtr GDP growth was 2.6%

Yes, employment numbers are a lagging indicator

but, we'll probably never know the real source of the improvement, but I want it to continue
#4 Climate change? Oh yeah, that thing they called global warming two years ago that was "proved" by fabricated data is now "climate change" because temps are decreasing. I think Pineapplemama had it right, we are becoming supremely arrogant if we think human activity is so far reaching.
#5 Federal decisions impact my state and local governments. Fine, the Feds didn't hurt me directly, the spending cuts they applied to states which they passed on to the local govt, is my local politicians fault, not the Feds, got it.
#6 I didn't see any meaningful decrease, but if my take home increased $10 per pay, I should be sending my thank you letter to Washington DC? My attention was focused on whether or not the current tax rates would be extended or not instead of the paltry change what the government allows me to keep of my money
#7 and which group stands to gain the most from the GM bailout? Can we please have unions get counted as "big business"?
#8 Ditto for Democrats, too. The spending bill that was shot down last week was just a R-only corporate give-away, right.
#9 Lack of transparency from the "new era politician" who would be 100% transparent. Trot out Gibbs with the officical document and the story ENDS. (except for the wackos on both extremes)

Oh yeah, the Senate Bill on tightening up rules on ag production passed too lately. And today I did see the Barney Frank clip (on Fox) explaining why children of wealthy parents should be forced to pay large inhertance taxes because the kids didn't earn the money themselves Barney's words.

Just call me another stupid Fox viewer. I prefer FOX over "tingle up my leg" Chris Matthews or NPR running stories about free enterprise farmers needing to be stopped in Cuba.