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Subject: 
Re: Newsbits: CA Recall and IMF-Argentina Negotiations
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Fri, 15 Aug 2003 17:28:44 GMT
Viewed: 
422 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Carl Nelson wrote:
   In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Bruce Schlickbernd wrote:
   So I expect to never, ever hear the phrase “liberal media” out of you, right, since it sided with Bush? :-)

No matter how hard I try, I can’t swallow conspiracy theories--including “liberal media.” It’s too ingrained in human nature to blab for any conspiracy to long endure!

I believe that the media is largely composed of liberals (just check editorial endorsements around election time and compare the number of liberal candidates being endorsed to the number of conservative candidates being endorsed). Thus, much news is provided with a liberal viewpoint. (As a counter-example, Fox News, which has more conservative journalists, provides more conservative viewpoints.) Do the “liberal media” members sit around wondering how to provide the liberal view? Nah. That’s just how it is: not a deliberate thing, just what happens.

I think you misunderstand me: the term “liberal media” is used to try and claim a bias in news reporting against conservatives. That’s it - it’s not a term dependent on there being a specific organized conspiracy. You are effectively using the term while simultaneously claiming that you aren’t. You are also using the standard term of “media”, which includes magazines, internet, and radio, when you seem to mean newspapers and television network news (as in NBC, ABC, and CBS, but somehow Fox doesn’t count). If you don’t mean “media” please don’t repeat the term. It is simply a mantra that is used as the Universal Excuse.

  
   “We all know that election laws don’t matter when Democrats are on the losing side...” Okay, back that up. Give some examples.

Okay, from the 2000 election:

-Deadlines required by law aren’t deadlines (FL Supreme Court, “extended polling hours” in heavily Democratic areas of St. Louis).

You don’t give the reasons for this incident at all, so one can hardly judge.


   -Equal protection provided by the 14th Amendment isn’t (“every vote must count” except the military (i.e., conservative) ones, and recounts only took place in heavily Democratic areas with Democratic election commissions).

Same deal. Anyway, if abuses took place to block votes in a heavily Democratic area, why wouldn’t having a recount there make sense? It’s kinda like, “How dare you catch me cheating! If you demand that there be an accounting for me cheating, then you are a cheat because you didn’t call me to account in the places I didn’t cheat!”

  
   As to Gore, he accepted the final ruling, so that would not constitute an example.

True, but you said:

   Judicial fiat is how we have Bush as president

and I was providing an alternate viewpoint, not providing an example to bolster my original argument.

Just anticipating and trying to save us some time. :-)

  
   Mediation is usually to avoid an actual court appearance - there is nothing in and of itself illegal about it. Perhaps if you laid out the entire scenario a little more thoroughly, I could better understand your position.

But mediation isn’t part of the judicial check and balance for legislation! Judicial review is very explicitly detailed at federal and state levels, and it does not include mediation.

Then judicial review should strike down the mediation if it is illegal, so I don’t see the problem. Has it been struck down, proving it illegal? Or is it at least in a court battle at the moment? Or is it just a wild claim not backed up by any action?

  
   Actually, I’d say that was the best line. It has been the age old standby, kill a white person, get executed, kill a black, oh, maybe a slap on the wrist. But I rather imagine that it is as I said, payback for the Willie Horton thing, which your site does not spend one word on deploring. One was a straight racist appeal, the other was a complaint about letting racism continue (remember, Republicans like to pretend they are the “law and order” party). So, no, they are not directly comparable, but if they are, why aren’t you expending even more effort on the ad that is the root cause?

Hey, you argued:

   the right-wing Republicans are doing whatever it takes to actually achieve theirs

...via the central Republican committee, as I pointed out before. Which means to draw a parallel you have to go to the Democratic central committee.

  
I countered with that ad as an example that both sides are willing to do whatever it takes to gain power. It’s beyond the purview of this discussion (though if you want to start one I’ll be happy to join!) to discuss the ad content...

Uh, no, your example doesn’t involve the Democratic party, much less the national organizing committee. Further, you drew an example that compares a racist ad with one that complains about racism and equated them as the same, and have avoided adressing that after I pointed it out. It is not beyond the purview of this discussion to discuss the ad content, it is simply inconvient for your argument to discuss it. If the ad content cannot be discussed, then you have utterly no point (you literally can’t make your claim of both sides are willing to do whatever it takes without discussing the ad content, so you provide the refutation to your own argument).

  
   Yes, they tried to bribe anyone, yes, when the cold light of day struck, the cockroaches pretended like they didn’t know them. So what? The bottom line is that they were protected and sheparded by Bush and his buddies every step of the way except the last (i.e. the main cupability for Enron getting out of hand lies squarely on Bush). Just say, no they weren’t and we can go from there, or admit that they were instead of these sound bite defenses. And yes, it did do them a lot of good (in the short run, and some still now): many of those weasels running Enron made millions at other’s expenses.

I’m afraid I lost you with “the main cupability for Enron getting out of hand lies squarely on Bush;” can you provide examples of special treatment that they received over and above what other companies did?

Don’t need to. I said, “The bottom line is that they were protected and sheparded by Bush and his buddies every step of the way except the last.” And now I’m going to repeat, just say yes they did (and feel free to append whatever you want after that) or say no they didn’t.

It’s just a bad
   corporation run amock. Bush didn’t cook their books, lie to investors, and ruin the lives of employees.

He made it easier for them to do so, however.

  
IMO, there’s no defense possible for the blatant fraud that Enron did. The Enron execs who wilfully cheated millions of investors and employees should not only be in prison (and not a country club one either, but kinda like the HBO show Oz), but their lifestyle should be ruined so that even if they get out they have to be just like the rest of us working stiffs. It was sickening when Ken Lay’s wife was weeping about having to sell one of their houses.

Then wouldn’t it follow that you should want to prevent reaccurances of this problem, and understand how and why it happened? If the response is yes, but not if it gives liberals a chance to attack conservatives successfully, then your answer is actually no, and you will have just diagreed with what you wrote above (i.e. there is an excuse).

  
   Is it? I must admit I haven’t had a regular newpaper the last few weeks, but I haven’t really seen evidence of this. Anyone with some reports (and please, regular news or business sites, not conservative or liberal propaganda sites)?

DJIA, consumer confidence, and consumer spending are all improving. Actually, anyone *know* any sites that aren’t propagandizing in some form or fashion?

It depends on what you mean by propagandizing - active distortion or supression of facts to support your case, or using arguments that the writer doesn’t believe in, but uses anyway (kinda like blaming Clinton for the bad economy in one breath, and then saying that he couldn’t actually affect the economy in another)? Anyway, I think you know what I mean: sites that are grinding an axe and don’t even take an stab at balance.

  
   Hmmmm, I don’t know where we seem to be disagreeing that much: you site nothing to blame Clinton, so it would seem to be on Bush’s head, and if it is recovering, then it must have been down. All that we seem to differ on is that it is going back up, and time will either prove your right or not, regardless of what it appears like at the moment.

You talked about:

   the bad economy in general (same culprits ed: Bush/Cheney)

I believe that the president and government has little effect on the economy other than at the level of the individual consumer--and more precisely, how much money that consumer has to spend, whether it’s through tax rate or interest rate changes. The government can accelerate or retard trends, IMO, but not much more.

The Federal Interest Rate springs to mind, and that has a great effect on the economy, whether it is on the individual consumer ot not. Your basically saying that there is no effect except for where there is an effect. Further, you credit Bush for reviving the economy via taxes - either this is another you don’t believe the argument but you’ll use it pieces of propaganda, or you have successfully provided the counter to yourself.

  
(If the government had that amount control over the economy, we’d be communist instead of capitalist.)

I provided examples to support my argument, and hopefully did a decent job of demonstrating that neither Bush nor Clinton is particularly to blame for the economy. (Hop-Frog said they were mere figureheads, but the downside of being a figurehead is that you also get to be the fall guy when things go bad.)

Maybe I’m dense, but I don’t see where you made your case at all.

-->Bruce<--



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Newsbits: CA Recall and IMF-Argentina Negotiations
 
(...) Don't take my word for it--try reading Bernard Goldberg's book Bias. I don't think anyone can make any persuasive argument for Goldberg being conservative. He details from personal experience what happens when one questions the way that news (...) (21 years ago, 15-Aug-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Newsbits: CA Recall and IMF-Argentina Negotiations
 
(...) No matter how hard I try, I can't swallow conspiracy theories--including "liberal media." It's too ingrained in human nature to blab for any conspiracy to long endure! I believe that the media is largely composed of liberals (just check (...) (21 years ago, 15-Aug-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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