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Friday, May 16th 2008

5:50 PM

MUSINGS IN POLITICS: FACTS BEAT PERCEPTION ANY DAY

I had a moment today, when I took information about a project from an extremely reliable source thus did not double check the information.  The information was wrong, and by the time I decided to double check, I had called people and hmmm, damaged my credibility.
 
It seems that Congress has had enough of the insanity and the continual demise of the media. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who introduced the rarely used "resolution of disapproval,"  to reverse the FCC's decision allowing media companies own both a major TV or radio station and a major daily newspaper in the same city.   Senator Barack Obama, who co-sponsored the bill, added his support to the resolution saying, "I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to expeditiously pass the legislation."

The Senate vote is good news for everyone who is fed up with a media system, that, in the words of Jon Stewart, is "hurting America" with propaganda pundits, embedded journalists, horse-race election coverage, and celebrity gossip posing as news. It reflects growing awareness -- in Congress and with average Americans -- of the perils of concentrated media ownership. Namely, insatiable profit pressures that gut newsrooms, replace labor-intensive investigative news with salacious, cheap-to-cover stories, and encourage the dumbing-down of the most pressing issues into 30-second sound bites and partisan shout-fests. (huffingtonpost.com)

It's about time.  In the midst of an incredible history-making presidential election, we have absolutely the worst resources of news information.  As I type this I flip back and forth through the news channels to compare and see if I can find a collective truth, since I hear more opinion and second guessing than actual fact.   I have consistently said that the corporate media, ergo the corporate lobbyists, have had a lot to do with a lot of the nonsense that we've seen pass as news, especially when it comes to the primaries and now, the presidential election.  My point is best articulated by this quote: "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance . . . it is the illusion of knowledge."  A great and timely quote by Stephen Hawking that I found on the website of Terry Howcott a writer and blogger of news, history great information (www.terryhowcott.com).  We are all weary of the media noise, even some of the media is weary of the media noise.  Hardball host Chris Matthews took the bullying right-wing radio host Kevin James to task, telling him to stop screaming and stop talking about when he doesn't know what he is talking about. (Visit here for the video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/15/hardball-shoutfest-matthe_n_102020.html

While you will hear a lot of perception attempting to become reality as the pundits, parties, and such attempt to plant doubt in your mind concerning who is your best choice for U.S. president, remind yourselves not to react to everything that is put out there by the various media sources, because their credibility is sorely lacking right now.  Try not to react before you can verify the source of information and then respond accordingly.  I fully believe that whoever your choice is, you have taken the time to consider what the person stands for and what his/her character genuinely purports.  Because you are smart enough to make your decisions based on facts, not agendas and innuendos.  Final note: this is a great video on YouTube for those who support Senator Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoKPnhdv8Yo
Until next time...

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