Egotistical, moi? When my country is dying, sorry, I’m allowed to be a little miffed. Frankly, I’m reaaaallly miffed! Some things we are both angry about, but too much of your outrage is directed at things either blown out of proportion, or likely to be disproven a year from now. But that’s OK, because by then you’ll be reacting to a whole new batch of false assumptions.
Fox is never having to think about your last post. The ‘selective outrage’ machine will find some other rapper at the White House or community organizer gone awry to bitch about. But…the other 10% of your outrage is correct and needs to be addressed. There’s important stuff in there…somewhere. But we can’t ever seem to find it through this ‘Are You Smarter than a Fox News Anchor’ approach to journalism.
I know…I’m the problem, not to be trusted. People who see through the matrix have no business addressing the necococoon at all anymore. But here’s the rub, dumb are getting dumber (R) and dumbest (the Tea Party) are becoming the loudest. And as for the just plain dumb (D), the only ones policing them would be better served in a tree somewhere flinging feces at one another. Fox & Feces? Hmmm.
Here’s a brief integral approach to two of today’s issues:
Deficits: The right should be saying:
“OK, we’ll let you raise the debt limit (because the dollar’s collapse benefits no one) but only if you agree to these stipulations about spending cuts over the long term.”
These need to be sane cuts, however. Oh, and if the right gets their way and does block the debt ceiling hike, it’s double dip time. Their own all-or-none thinking may well bring this about. Example: debt didn’t matter, at all, until…er, when was Obama’s inauguration? In this case, none-or-all thinking
Energy/Oil: Now for the left. The alternative energy debate should have started post-Carter, but greed and super-capitalism have a way of derailing anything healthy and good in the world. This is truly pathetic amidst a mass extinction. I‘m talking about the right’s brain cells…what did you think I was talking about? The left should be saying:
“Sure, you can get some of your oil shale permits and permission for new drilling locations, but only as part of a true transitional period to alternative green energies.”
The current Republican plan is to keep the status quo until the shit hits the fan belt; great plan. Neither the left nor the right will budge on this, hastening our demise. Obama needs to be tougher on this issue. The clock is ticking. And as for green energy, how the right has demonized our country’s ONLY route for survival is another testament to both their short sightedness and their propagandic abilities, kudos. You have convinced 40% of our country (in 2011) the only way to proceed is the big three: oil, coal, and nuclear. Oh, on a related note, I did my thesis on clean coal…and unicorn migrations.
Unfortunately, this Discord post project has mired us in debates we should no longer be having. I still believe Sanjaya! Look, here’s the problem, Crankster: your posts always sound well researched and the arguments are sometimes even compelling, but, at the end of the day, perhaps a year from now, we’ll discover most of your assumptions were inaccurate (hint: recently ACORN was absolved of any wrongdoing in a court of law. How many posts was that again?). Not that it mattered. Even if they were as guilty as sin, it still should have been a one and done story. But Fox News, the heart of the misinformation, made it one of the non-issues of the year. Whoo hoo!
The following is a breakdown of your average 10 Fox commentaries:
6 stories: They are pushing an ideology that is dead wrong most. They had a point, somewhere back in the fifties, but have since jumped the shark–at least that’s been their track record over the last decade. Recent example: this week Neil Cavuto defended poor old Chevron again…those poor misunderstood oil companies, all the while hitting the SPA…socialism paranoia agenda. They are always reminding us about our socialist future, when today, right now, twelve people own nearly all of the country’s wealth. What a feat! Paid for by those same twelve people.
3 stories: An average of 3 of 10 are simply “selective outrage” moments, where they choose to be really angry about something completely inane. These generally fall into three major categories:
A.) Stories that hold no interest to me (the mosque debate, birther shit, rapper with bad lyrics invited to White House, yada, yada).
B.) Problems that were actually created by Republican ideologues, but now are suddenly unacceptable under Obama (Secret Service monitoring Fox News!, czar appointments, and deficits that seem to only exist under Democrats).
C.) Simply lies (torture techniques helped capture bin Laden, Bush captured bin Laden, Obama’s a Muslim, etc).
Notice you don’t have to look back too far for the bullshit. Most of those are from this week. Meanwhile, the Crank, had two years to list the atrocities of the lame stream media and has named about as many as covered on this week’s Fox & Frauds. What’s curious is not only their ‘selective outrage’ but their ‘selective memory.’
1 story: Here’s the rub, Fox News is right for about 1 in 10 of their features. This spritzer—this glistening effervescent drizzle of actual reporting—is the gas that feeds those Crank features for months. It gives them that hint of legitimacy. Let’s take immigration reform. I agree with the Crank that we need comprehensive immigration reform and that Obama’s handling of this issue has sucked. But Obama can laugh at anything the right says, because they’ve delegitimized themselves long ago. For a healthy debate, we need a healthy right and a healthy left and today we have anything but.
Here’s my appraisal of the last four Fox News moments:
Story 1: who cares?
Story 2: who cares & has since been disproven in a court of law.
Story 3: wrong!
Story 4: Really?? Sure they don’t want to legalize pot, they must be keeping it all for themselves.
The Crank focuses on dumb and I focus on dumber. I focus on dumber because I think dumber has destroyed us. Sure dumb hasn’t helped, but the sheer list of atrocities for dumber is damning. Oh, and I can’t wait until dumbest takes control. That’ll be real swell. Did you know that dumber is in on the whole getting dumbest elected thing…are they dumbing down?
I would like to get on the same page with the Crank so we can focus on what’s going wrong, right now, but it’s hard to get past the Fox approach. It’s hard to watch their network and keep down your lunch. And at the end of the day, most stories on the right tend to be doctored, irrelevant, or fabricated. Fox News is a delicate blend of misinformation and propaganda, steeped to perfection in bullshit. Sorry, but that’s our job. Granted, they’re effective. They have convinced 40% of our country of a whole host of nonsense.
To briefly address your points from the last post, Mr.Crank:
Sorry, we are two countries now, but to call Obama the divider-in-chief is hysterical. Luckily this is a comedy site. Karl Rove ran Bush’s campaign on a polarization theme, divide and conquer, because he knew it was the only possible way to get someone as dumb as W re-elected. And we have yet to recover. As for Fareed Zakaria advising the president, he’s one of the few integral thinkers out there. The fact Obama has identified him as such is awesome. You say scary and I say whoo! hoo!…progress. Remember how safe you felt under Bush? It’s kind of like that. See my related article.
As for Reid & Pelosi’s shenanigans, you mean to tell me a politician has used his or her influence to help their own districts! Preposterous! I’m not defending it, but it’s been that way since General Washington galloped into office. This is yet another example of Stewart’s selective outrage. Where’s your vent about Republicans pulling that shit? I guarantee there’s more material on your side of the aisle. In fact, I think you’re stepping in some.
Clearly some of your valid rants involve the recent expansion of executive powers. What you fail to realize is, these were all created under Bush. I took note of them and complained about them when they were spawned (hint: when it might have mattered). But don’t worry, they will magically disappear again under the Romney Administration, with the aid of some Fox News pixy dust. Why have a Constitution at all, when all you need is a Sean Hannity telling you just how patriotic you are for gutting it? Example, you never complained when Cheney downloaded all of Google after 9/11 to spy on his political adversaries—er, I mean, to keep us safe—but the Secret Service is now monitoring Fox News? Oh the horror!
Remember what our old VP said, “You’ll thank me someday, Barack, for expanding executive powers.”
Let’s all take this moment to say thank you, Mr. Cheney and move on.org. This stuff isn’t news anymore and I doubt those checks and balances are coming back. We had a chance to say ‘no’ to such things back in 2004, but epic fail. Besides, one false Tweet does not a conspiracy make. If the Secret Service is watching Fox News, what we should be worried about as taxpayers is the hardship, the severance pay, and the increased healthcare cost for those subjected.
How about we review a post or two from a couple of years ago, and then compare notes, eh? Or better yet, let’s take the leading issues of our time and see who stands where on what issues. That should be very revealing…well, not to me. Meanwhile, I will try to identify the relevant points you’re making. Er, I may need to hire a staff, Winslow.
Look, I don’t want to focus on the sickest part of this tree called the United States, but that’s sadly what I’ve done. And, yes, I’ve done this using a less than integral approach and for that I am sorry. But, if you continue to rally around the dumbest, no one is going to beat Obama in 2012—even if he turns out to be the worst of the worst! But, I suppose if you keep defending education at this rate… Hmmmm.
Regardless, we need to move the debate to where it should be. I don’t want to play this ‘No Foxeteer Left Behind’ shit anymore. Sorry, but it’s time to report to the emotional support class down the hall. And would the rest of the class please turn to the Chapter marked Alternative Energy.
