The press

From Kevin at Lean Left:

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The press in this country is so ineffective, so wedded to the idea of "balance", and so cowed by the right wing that it simply cannot give the public an accurate and clear picture of the situation. The information is there if you hunt for it, but this kind of equivocation and faux objectivity muddles the waters and gives people willing to lie brazenly the advantage. If the Bush says 2 + 2 = 5, the Washington Post would then write a story containing the line "But some Democrats maintained that 2 + 2 is actually 4." That is not balance or objectivity. It is aiding and abetting a falsehood. Just as the article above does.

You know, it's ridiculous. It's not just the press, it's everybody in this country. Nobody has the nuts to call a spade a spade anymore. What is it, just guys like my partner Gordon and me, and the guys I work with, who'll tell someone they're a liar, or a fucking asshole. Nobody has the balls to call anyone on anything anymore. When someone spouts drivel to you about a subject they know nothing about, do you say, 'you're an idiot, shut up'? Parbly not. I've seen guys do nothing when some other asshole says something rude to their wives. You get in my wife's face while I'm standing there, I'm gonna put you on your ass. Where are the real guys? And I'm not just talking men. Everybody's gotta be so PC because they're afraid of getting sued.

That's the way our press is. President Moral Failure lies (no, not misleads, lies) and the press eats it up. Call a lie a lie, godammit. Hell, even if you want to call it misleading, show some fucking outrage at least. If they'd let me within shouting distance of Bush, I'd call him a lying sack of shit to his face. Ya think one member of the WH press corps would say, 'but Mr. President, you know that's not true' after he throws another falsehood out there? When I watch one of the cable news networks, I take it for what it is, a regurgitation of the Republican talking points. When I watch a press conference, I see a bunch of slackers asking questions. I see a big waste of my good air.

What happened to the business when the Paragon of Journaism, Cronkite's Heir Dan Rather, is too lazy to properly source out a story? If I did my job as half-assed as the press does theirs, Harry would have pushed my toolbox into the street and kicked me to the curb long ago, friend or no friend. If Harry would run his buisiness the way the press runs theirs, he wouldn't have a business.

The press is supposed to be part of the checks and balances built in to our democracy, the voice of the people. The Founding Fathers specifically indicated a free press, the eyes and ears of the people on the system. Instead, we have a government propaganda machine reminiscent of Josef Goebbels. The press has been cowed by the right wing, so much so that they are merely vassals. At least you can hand it to Fox, they might say fair and balanced, but they make it easy enough that any moron can figure out where they stand. They are straight up about that.

And I have another question. Are reporters actually that stupid? Are the people who decide what gets reported? I mean, I'm a mechanic, people expect me to be a high school dropout and a little rough around the edges. I expect reporters et al, with their high-priced degees, to find out what's really going on, not worry about whether one candidate is wearing a red tie, or the other one sweats profusely. I expect reporters to ask Bush, what exactly is his plan for Iraq. What are they afraid of? Aren't journalists supposed to sacrifice everything for the story? Aren't editors there to separate the wheat from the chaff, calling something bullshit when they smell it instead of presenting it a fact. Jesus H. Christ, Iraq is a mess and they're still giving Bush the benefit of the doubt over his rosy outlook on the war. Can just one of them say, 'President Bush lost his grip on reality today when he said things in Iraq are going swimmingly'?

No, because they've gotten fat and lazy and they're scared that Bush might take it all away from them. You think any of 'em have the balls to sacrifice a job and report honestly? And if they are actually as stupid as Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn seem, what the fuck are they there for in the first place? And if they are as partisan as Bill Schneider and Howie Kurtz seem, why do they still have their jobs? I mean if it's supposed to be entertainment, say so. If it's supposed to be objective reporting, then do your fucking jobs. I mean, if people went to a comedian to get their car fixed instead of to me, it would sink in real fast that I was doing something wrong. Guys, more people look to The Daily Show for their news instead of the news networks. Guess what? Time to get on the ball. You got a little over a month to cover the most important election since FDR the right way. Get on it, before people start getting their news from Jerry Lewis.