I feel stupid that I didn't know of this book. Just saw it on Barnes and Noble and will be ordering it !

Thanks for the reference !

Do you believe that the general news media is doing its job of giving us all of the facts about government without slanting it to advance an agenda?

Yoda

A member of the loyal opposition

I don't see so much an agenda...I see incompetence in the so-called 'mainstream media' (I don't clearly know who is part of that, let alone who so decreed it). Some pundits are calling it an agenda to suit their agenda. Fox and MSNBC are both at fault.
If you want a refreshing view, Google both McClatchey News and the Christian Science Monitor.

Ohhhhhh, creating controversy for the sake of controversy (and big bucks)..... and also ruining the Republican party.

You know though, I had thought that Limbaugh and Co. were just ventriloquists.

Boomer

Not sure I was speaking of the "Limbaugh and Co", Hannity, Savage, etc.

Was speaking more of those who are charged with covering news and asking the questions we need to have asked along with investigating !

Actually, Bucco, I think we are talking about the same thing.

Why have we allowed the media to render us a nation of puppets? Political discussion must be avoided more and more. At a recent family event, my sister-in-law kept making warning "buzzer" noises when our discussions started to cross over into political. It was funny. But sadly, it was needed, to keep the peace.

I do believe that Limbaugh and Co. have, for some reason, caused so many to simply check their critical thinking skills at the door and be willing to simply repeat the latest catch phrase. But I don't take the left off the hook either. I have most often found though that the far right just gets angrier faster. And communication shuts down. They start to chant the latest thing they heard on Fox Newspeak. Nothing is original thinking on the part of the individual.

Why are there no real reporters anymore? Because we as a nation do not demand it. We are willing to abdicate our thinking to whoever taps into us emotionally. Why we are not outraged by what has happened to the economy and with so many other things, I will never understand. DC is guilty across the board. Where is the outrage? Why aren't we marching in the streets rather than sitting back in front of the big screen, turning into a nation of cash cows for entertainers masquerading as "Good Americans."

A month ago, I ventured in here to Political and I started a thread that I titled "It Was My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To." A little discussion actually went on, for a brief, very brief time. But then the pattern reared its head. And the stuff of the media catch phrases took over. It's a circle in here for the most part, you know. Moderates do not fit in.

I fear for the future of our nation, too. Why are we so willing not to think? It is surreal. It is like one of those futuristic movies or novels. In 1984, I was a part of discussion of the novel 1984. Just a couple of decades early I guess.

Something funny though that I noticed about my little visits into the Political forum. Last month and this month, too, I showed up close to the time of the full moon. Funny. A pattern I saw. I guess that explains it. Seeya next month.

Boomer

I think the so-called moderates have tried to express their frustrations and were mocked and demeaned by the media. I am, of course, talking about the "tea party" demonstrations. I went to one last April and I read all the signs and talked to alot of the participants. These people were just working stiffs concerned about the future of the USA. Many brought their children. It was the most peaceful, thoughtful gathering I have ever been to.

How did the media portray it? They called them bigots, racists and used sexual terms by calling them "tea-*******" After they went home after the demonstrations they saw themselves portrayed that way. It was frustrating. The only news broadcaster that showed them in a favorable mode was Fox News. Why was that????????
Where is the moderate voice??????? Where can concerned citizens turn to????? It is no small wonder that they tune in to the extreme right....they can more identify with them then the one's that mocked them.
Keedy