...so any take I have does not account for unknowns that would provide the full picture. That said, I'll take positions on views on this forum anyways. However, it doesn't mean I actually believe what I'm supporting at a given time. I'll also weigh in on positions I actually support too. There again, maybe I'm foolishly supporting something that isn't reality due to not having all the facts.

It's interesting to discuss politics, history, religion, etc. It passes the time. That's what all of this is really about - just a diversion. No matter who calls anyone else out for being this or that...it doesn't really matter in the end. For example, a number of conservative/libertarian minded people in this forum will rake me over the coals on various topics. Ironically, I'll most likely vote for the exact same candidates they will (or would) come election day so it really doesn't matter.

We are all biased and will lean toward or on any news that supports our own positions.


That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

(02-16-2024 08:52 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  We are all biased and will lean toward or on any news that supports our own positions.


That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

That's because the first is no longer the second. If it ever was.

(02-16-2024 09:49 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  

(02-16-2024 08:52 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  We are all biased and will lean toward or on any news that supports our own positions.


That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

That's because the first is no longer the second. If it ever was.

I feel like this all started to turn when Bubba got into office and all of his antics, and the explosion of the internet moved that needle like it was on steroids.

The internet is a double-edged sword. We all have so much more knowledge available to us now, but overall, we're dumber for it. We no longer need to research and dig for information; it's just there waiting for us to tap into it. In doing so, we miss some important lessons in the use of critical thinking and original thought from which we can form our own opinions.

I'm as guilty as anyone of it, if not more so, as I lack the educational foundation that most of you here possess.

(02-16-2024 08:52 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

I really think the biggest issue is the media is just as lost as we are anymore. Who can you trust? Who is just trying to get a quick headline out for a political point but misses the big picture. So much is hidden in the bills that get passed in congress, so neither side is actually getting what they claim they are getting. Stink said it best in another thread, the PACs are running the country and getting language put into anything gets throught congress and signed by the President that nobody knows what really is being put forth until years later.

(02-16-2024 10:50 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(02-16-2024 08:52 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

I really think the biggest issue is the media is just as lost as we are anymore. Who can you trust? Who is just trying to get a quick headline out for a political point but misses the big picture. So much is hidden in the bills that get passed in congress, so neither side is actually getting what they claim they are getting. Stink said it best in another thread, the PACs are running the country and getting language put into anything gets throught congress and signed by the President that nobody knows what really is being put forth until years later.

The media reports what they're told to report by the people that pay them to report it.

Don't believe me?

Watch how often every single news outlet across every single network reports the exact same stories using the exact same words. That is hardly a coincidence.

We just have to remember that whatever info we get is coming from a biased sourced, I don't care what the actual source actually is. Hard put is take info from a couple of different sources and then realize the truth is somewhere in the middle. We'll never have the complete truth, no matter which side we are on and confirmation bias will always be present.

I don't watch any news anymore and I take everything I read with a grain of salt. It is all just a soap opera. Nobody knows the truth. Can't trust "the experts", can't trust flimsy sources, can't trust the bureaucracies. The one institution that has the capability and resources to give a full, honest, investigative truth is the MSM and you can't trust them. We're all just pisssing in the wind. Only thing to go by is instinct or gut based on personal experience.

(02-16-2024 12:23 PM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  

(02-16-2024 10:50 AM)mlb Wrote:  

(02-16-2024 08:52 AM)Eldonabe Wrote:  That is where the media has failed as they report "their facts" similarly. I do not believe I can honestly say there is one single news source that reports inclusively all facts consistently (or ever).

I really think the biggest issue is the media is just as lost as we are anymore. Who can you trust? Who is just trying to get a quick headline out for a political point but misses the big picture. So much is hidden in the bills that get passed in congress, so neither side is actually getting what they claim they are getting. Stink said it best in another thread, the PACs are running the country and getting language put into anything gets throught congress and signed by the President that nobody knows what really is being put forth until years later.

The media reports what they're told to report by the people that pay them to report it.

Don't believe me?

Watch how often every single news outlet across every single network reports the exact same stories using the exact same words. That is hardly a coincidence.

I think this is closer to the truth. The traditional media doesnt so much "lie" as it purposely "misleads". The heads of most networks like "stories" and "narratives" that they can advance. So, they tend to start with a narrative and then only report "facts" that tend to advance the selected narrative. Most of the "facts" they give are "true" in that they have a source (could be a biased source) or a document (could be just a poll) of some sort that supports it. But by failing to report both sides of the story, they often leave out crucial context or other facts that would undermine the networks chosen narrative.

Thats why I say they dont really straight up "lie" as much as they purposely mislead. The main stream media has basically become a form of propaganda. Most of these talking heads are not stupid people. They know exactly what they are doing (plenty of under cover videos out there to support this). Like someone said before, the internet---and talk radio which came before it---have become alternative news sources where the other side of these stories can be easily found----and THAT is why the number of people who trust the main stream media has been slowly dropping since Limbaugh hit the air in the late 1980's. That trend has only intensified with the explosion of internet based news content providers.

In movies we hear the main actors telling someone, "don't trust anyone", maybe they got that from watching the news, or if I may, the propaganda of the day. I go by what I see and not by what someone wants me to believe. It's that simple.

Like the media telling me that Ol' Foggy is master of all his faculties and I see that he's not is a good example.