Poll - Democrat or Republican?

[gadgetlady 4]

Fascinating study from Pew Research just came out about positive and negative media portrayal of the candidates, called Canvassing Campaign Media: An Analysis of Time, Tone and Topics. If you don't read the report, you should at least look at the pretty graph:

Pew Research Center: Canvassing Campaign Media: An Analysis of Time, Tone and Topics

[green 6]

The Pew site has a number of interesting articles on this election including the one on the media bias. Thanks for posting this site.

[gadgetlady 4]

The Pew site has a number of interesting articles on this election including the one on the media bias. Thanks for posting this site.

I appreciate that you appreciate it I'm a big believer in looking at unbiased facts to come to a logical conclusion -- I don't much care for spin. I've always wondered what the political landscape of America would be were it not for the obvious and documented media bias.

[green 6]

I appreciate that you appreciate it I'm a big believer in looking at unbiased facts to come to a logical conclusion -- I don't much care for spin. I've always wondered what the political landscape of America would be were it not for the obvious and documented media bias.

Your comment interests me because I was under the impression that there are just as many outlets south of the border which tilt to the right. Certainly, such entertainers/political pundits as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly are conservatives. Up here in Canada, the liberal/left bias is much more pronounced. Although I am kind of a centre-left wing-nut I like to receive information and ideas from both sides and this is why the two newspapers I subscribe to are centre-right and right wing in their political stance.

[green 6]

Your comments are interesting, Jack. Up here there is a tilt to the left on our national taxpayer-funded television channel (and the two radio channels, CBC 1 and 2 for that matter), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and on the Ontario public channel, TVOntario.

I am aware that there are many publications, both north and south of the border, which tilt in one direction or another. Surely the public is aware of this and subscribes to those offerings which they find the most satisfactory in view of their own interests.

[gadgetlady 4]

It doesn't matter to me what the bias is, as long as they admit it for what it is. Presentation of your point of view is fine, just don't pretend you are "America's Newspaper" or your views are the beyond critical review. Stand up for what you believe is fine, just don't hide from the likelihood there are other valid veiwpoints.

Jack, as usual, you're spot on on everything you said in this post. The mainstream media, aka MSM, is incredibly biased -- and not everyone realizes it. Liberals tend to say, "but you have Hannity!" which is ridiculous because 1) Hannity is a self-described conservative, and 2) Colmes, a liberal, shares the show with Hannity.

It is also the case that the right-wing commentators tend to dominate the radio. But again, they all clearly identify themselves for who they are.

[gadgetlady 4]

Surely the public is aware of this and subscribes to those offerings which they find the most satisfactory in view of their own interests.

Nope. Very often they are the unsuspecting dupes of what the MSM believes or presents as "unbiased truth". It is literally pervasive, and often well-hidden.

[gadgetlady 4]

Without dwelling on political examples of outright fraudulent misrepresentation, my own educational process left me with the distinct notion 'the NEWS" was supposed to be factual and neutral...not partisan. We can order partisan if we desire.

Yes, and again I say yes.

I have similar stories -- several of them -- but I will tell one. And just so everyone knows, I am NOT trying to bring abortion back into this thread, but simply using it as an illustrative story.

Many years ago, I was involved with Operation Rescue, which was a peaceful protest, civil disobedience movement in which hundreds of pro-lifers sat in front of abortion clinic to shut it down for the day (risking, and often getting, arrest). I was a videographer for these events. One day, we arrived at a clinic in Los Angeles before it opened for business. The doors were closed, lights were off, bars on the windows (it wasn't a great neighborhood), no cars in the parking lot. The pro-lifers blocked the door and, after negotiations and many, many hours of sitting there, were arrested, one-by-one. The clinic was closed for business the entire time. There was even a "closed" sign in the door.

After the last person was arrested, at the end of the day (around 4:30pm on a Saturday, after business hours) I watched a news team direct three people huddled over, to walk up to the door of the clinic (doors still closed, lights out, "closed" sign still in the door) while the tv crew filmed them. I thought to myself, "I wonder what they're doing?" I was there at the clinic for at least another hour after the last arrest; there was no employee activity at all. By the time I left, it was dark.

That night, I came home and turned on the news. The station reported on the protest, showed the pro-lifers sitting there, showed them getting arrested, and then showed the huddled-over trio approaching the door. The reporter said, "Despite the protesters, the clinic was open for business all day." My jaw dropped. Not only was it an outright lie, it was 100% staged!

I do not trust the media one iota.

[BJean 16]

I'm curious Jack. Did the pickup trucks actually have dangerous gas tanks or was it proven that they were not dangerous?

[BJean 16]

And turns out you all who were arguing that Sarah Palin is no expert on autism were absolutely right. Wonder who fed her the line decrying research using fruit flies?

[green 6]

If she doesn't like fruit flies then she is no fan of Gregor Mendel, I guess.

[BJean 16]

Thanks for your response, Jack.

I completely agree with your point that the news media are biased.

I can't remember exactly when that fact first starting revealing itself to us. But it seems ever so long since we could feel confident that the "news" is purely factual information.

[pilotlisa2008 0]

Yellow dog Democrat here...LOL. Actually, I am a conservative Democrat and no, that is NOT an oxymoron.

That's funny because I would say I am a liberal republican. It would be nice it the in the middle were more respected. I can never agree entirely with one or the other, however I am irate about cirten current events.

Any one going to DC for the 9/12 march?

Edited September 4, 2009 by pilotlisa2008

[pattygreen 5]

You posted on this forum after it was silent for over a year. But it is good to get back on the topic. I am a conservative. I will vote for whoever will do the "right" thing morally. I believe if God could vote in this forums poll, he would be a "right winger". There is a book by that title : By Don Boys. Ph.D. "Is God a Right-winger?". It's a great read and an eye opener as to how the precepts in the bible teach us that those who are far right are the closest to being in agreement with how God would have us live.

[BJean 16]

Haven't read the book patty, but I am certain that God is not a right winger! I wish He were able to post here. I think you'd be very surprised at the things He would post to enlighten us all - I believe that the right wingers would be the most surprised at His views in these discussions.