Standing Rock

[Brian]

Yeah, I had a problem with the "communist" thing too. I don't buy it.

 

But I do buy the intentional "dumbing down" of Americans.

Still haven't read Alinksky's books, have you?

[Brian]

The notion that the mainstream media is unbiased is, frankly, laughable. The pretense of objectivity has been irrevocably shattered this election cycle (caught red-handed colluding with and collaborating with the "Progressive" candidate from soup to nuts and responded with denial and doubling-down) to the point where I doubt all the big-league players will even survive until the next presidential election. That behavior is so deeply ingrained, however, that I honestly believe they think they sound reasonable and unbiased -- much like "community organizers" outside spheres of the media and political elite.

[ralis]

The notion that the mainstream media is unbiased is, frankly, laughable. The pretense of objectivity has been irrevocably shattered this election cycle (caught red-handed colluding with and collaborating with the "Progressive" candidate from soup to nuts and responded with denial and doubling-down) to the point where I doubt all the big-league players will even survive until the next presidential election. That behavior is so deeply ingrained, however, that I honestly believe they think they sound reasonable and unbiased -- much like "community organizers" outside spheres of the media and political elite.

 

I never said the media was unbiased, but questioned the so called 'liberal media' meme and the accusations that all are published lies by these organizations. Questioning sweeping generalizations is just basic for any critical thinking. 

[MooNiNite]

I dont think anyone is excited about coal mining, pipelines, or shale. Solar panels are much more interesting. 

 

They can coat office buildings with them now. 

[MooNiNite]

no solar panels in sunny states though...to much corruption.

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-no-solar-20140810-story.html

[redcairo]

Liberal media are controlled by some communist agenda? Are you informed as to what communist propaganda is? Rush and others have started this meme with no proof or analysis but ranting narratives.

 

I actually only listened to Rush in the 90's and not for long, and I thought he was totally hilarious, in a good way. His take on the Menendez brothers trial (and his rants on Feminazis) I thought were great.

 

I haven't actually heard/read much of him in many years -- very rarely some brief article perhaps over the last few months -- I wasn't even reading anything news/media-like on the internet until super briefly when the campaigning began, and then just before the election to now. Is he nuttier now? My familiarity with him is pretty long ago I admit.

 

So I missed whatever Rush had to say about the Russians and likely a million other things.

 

There were some fairly right-wing news sources I used to like ok -- there's bias on both sides so there's limited options -- but have become so hyperbolic I don't much like them so well anymore, such as Brietbart and Infowars. Too bad.

 

I joke that Alex Jones is the David Icke of political media.

 

I often like College Fix, they are conservative but usually specific to the edu industry. They have a lot to talk about since Title IX has basically wrecked any sanity on campus, particularly for men.

 

Re: Communist propaganda: if you mean is our media doing official statist propaganda that looks just like the Soviet Union in 1973, why no, I would agree it's nothing like that.

 

But I do mean that I think a great deal of the intentional 5th column undermining and divisiveness that has gradually permeated our culture -- and yes I mean the stuff McCarthy was battling, though his approach was imperfect -- has come initially 'through' -- and now intentionally 'from' -- many of the most massive media outlets.

 

I suppose blaming it on either wing of politics is injust and probably wrong, you may be right about that -- but I see the 5C element as having gone from present to virulent to pretty well nearly out in the open at this point.

 

RC

[redcairo]

I never said the media was unbiased, but questioned the so called 'liberal media' meme and the accusations that all are published lies by these organizations. Questioning sweeping generalizations is just basic for any critical thinking. 

 

You're right that I should be more careful with my words.

 

However the emails from Wikileaks did indicate that nearly EVERY major news source was intentionally colluding with DNC. So if I am a bit generalized about the reference to MSM there is some just cause.

 

And I agree that lots of stories are not lies, or in many cases are simply highly selective to be present at all, highly selective in which facts to include, highly editorial not objective is very common, and the stories, the 'facts excluded,' the subjective elements, and the headlines, are -- concerning the major topics we have been discussing here which is generally federal government and just a few very specific issues (such as this thread's) -- highly prone to create, not by accident but by clear design, both an erroneous conclusion/belief in the reader, and usually some degree of emotional/dramatic response. 

 

Like the news has en masse become The National Enquirer.

 

That doesn't mean every single possible source in the whole country. But it does seem to mean "the majority of the most major sources" -- like the ones that colluded with DNC, as a place to start, though even on that list some are better/worse than others.

 

It's not like on any given topic, one can be prevented from having a conversation unless they spend a day doing a whole research project to find 12 MSM sources and review all articles on the topic and evaluate what % of those might have clear inaccuracy or bias in order to be able to provide a list of caveat/conditions -- for a mention in passing. It does not seem injust or inaccurate to me, to suggest that the majority of the 'mainstream news media' has evidenced a very clear bias in favor of politics we call liberal Leftist.

 

RC

[Brian]

I never said the media was unbiased, but questioned the so called 'liberal media' meme and the accusations that all are published lies by these organizations. Questioning sweeping generalizations is just basic for any critical thinking.

Not sure anyone here is claiming every single sentence the liberal media utters is a lie. That's a false narrative you perpetuate in order to rail against. Not just you, of course -- don't want that to sound like an singling you out.

 

That's not how The Big Lie works, though. Outrageous and bald-faced lies are interspersed with harmless truths, and even the (very) occasional positive-sounding tidbit, so as to provide a veil of objectivity. Multiple outlets reference each other to make the stories sound like the are vetted and corroborated, and even "common knowledge" after they've been repeated enough. Then these "truths" are used as the basis for the next wave. By coordinating the talking points behind the scenes, these agencies amplify the impact on the unsuspecting -- this makes the "breathing together" more transparent to those who realize what is being done but this group is personified, labeled, targeted and ridiculed so that the Proles start to just ignore them, too.

 

The tactics and methods being employed by the Left are nothing new, though they continue to be refined. In fact, the core philosophy and strategy were published in book-form years ago.

[ralis]

Not sure anyone here is claiming every single sentence the liberal media utters is a lie. That's a false narrative you perpetuate in order to rail against. Not just you, of course -- don't want that to sound like an singling you out.

 

That's not how The Big Lie works, though. Outrageous and bald-faced lies are interspersed with harmless truths, and even the (very) occasional positive-sounding tidbit, so as to provide a veil of objectivity. Multiple outlets reference each other to make the stories sound like the are vetted and corroborated, and even "common knowledge" after they've been repeated enough. Then these "truths" are used as the basis for the next wave. By coordinating the talking points behind the scenes, these agencies amplify the impact on the unsuspecting -- this makes the "breathing together" more transparent to those who realize what is being done but this group is personified, labeled, targeted and ridiculed so that the Proles start to just ignore them, too.

 

The tactics and methods being employed by the Left are nothing new, though they continue to be refined. In fact, the core philosophy and strategy were published in book-form years ago.

 

I was speaking to RC's characterization of the 'liberal media' as being communist and continually lying. That is all I said which is in direct contradiction to your indictment of me. (See bold) I know how the big lie works and am in agreement with you on that. 

[ralis]

You're right that I should be more careful with my words.

 

 

 

May I suggest this book? I read and used it when I was studying at Ohio State and it really improved my skill in reducing wordiness. That is not say you are not a good writer, but just comes off a bit wordy. If this offends you then disregard.

 

BTW, I reduced wordiness by a least 50%

 

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548

Edited January 29, 2017 by ralis

[zerostao]

z

Edited January 30, 2017 by zerostao

[redcairo]

May I suggest this book? I read and used it when I was studying at Ohio State and it really improved my skill in reducing wordiness. That is not say you are not a good writer, but just comes off a bit wordy. If this offends you then disregard.

 

BTW, I reduced wordiness by a least 50%

 

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548

 

Thanks Ralis. Nope, not offended at all. It takes me an hour to write a 6000-word essay and two days to write a half-page brief LOL. Poetry is the only way I've found to somehow get "more than the sum of its parts" into english. 

 

And what works well in fiction or conversation is not what works best in non-fiction. (Unless the non-fiction is meant to be persuasive rather than pedagogically memorizable.) So I know I can use the help. ;-)

 

RC

[ralis]

Thanks Ralis. Nope, not offended at all. It takes me an hour to write a 6000-word essay and two days to write a half-page brief LOL. Poetry is the only way I've found to somehow get "more than the sum of its parts" into english. 

 

And what works well in fiction or conversation is not what works best in non-fiction. (Unless the non-fiction is meant to be persuasive rather than pedagogically memorizable.) So I know I can use the help. ;-)

 

RC

 

There have been times on here when I wanted precision that I would take an hour to write a 100 word paragraph. Made myself crazy. At least I have become less wordy and hopefully more precise in context.

[zerostao]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/water-affordability-study_us_588b6bf7e4b0303c075332e4

 

#Mniwiconi

#waterislife

[zerostao]

the city of Seattle divested 3 billion from wells fargo largely due to wells fargo's funding of dapl.

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-seattle-divests-from-wells-fargo-20170206-story.html

[zerostao]

http://standwithstandingrock.net/march/

[MooNiNite]

Love how they say OBama was blocking it. He wasn't blocking it. He was just not touching it. 

[Marblehead]

It's really a dead issue now.  The pipeline will go through.

[Stosh]

I will never forget that night, that fateful night, when the underdog , slandered and bashed for years , was voted into office according to the cherished and defended laws of these American United States.

I watched the various news organizations pundits, whom I had trusted to objectively give me honest unspun fact,, as the results came in.,,,, turned literally gray.

Convinced they knew who would win, convinced they had kept their own bias in check, convinced that their own belifs had virtue ,,and those who didnt share those beliefs were just an unintelligent few bad actors set on evil and hatred.

Those presumed kind hearted loving but defeated public souls , fired up by the media ,proceeded to disgrace us all by rampaging burning, and protesting against the validity of our own constitutional election process as If they were born to some failed foreign mob ruled state.

I'll never forget that,.. and I foget an awful lot.

[Marblehead]

I regret to say that even if the other side would have won the pipeline would have been given approval.  Money talks.  Big corporate interests always overruled the desires of the common folks.

[Stosh]

I regret to say that even if the other side would have won the pipeline would have been given approval. Money talks. Big corporate interests always overruled the desires of the common folks.

No doubt it often does, but when common folks want jobs products and prosperity, they have to recognize that economic interests are valid considerations. I know its difficult to have to actually weigh what is the greatest good and to have to negotiate our values because we want cake in hand for later, and to eat it now too. And though Im just a peon , I do have investments , as many actually do . Edited February 11, 2017 by Stosh

[Marblehead]

I hear you Stosh.  You know that old saying, "You can't always get what you want."

[Wu Ming Jen]

"but if you try sometimes you might just get,,might just get, get what you need". (Rolling Stones).

[Marblehead]

I figured someone would finish the story.

[zerostao]

Violence cannot be justified as part of a protest. Likewise, violence used against protesters by the authorities cannot be justified either. My opinion is that law enforcement who used brutal tactics against the protestors at Standing Rock should be held accountable for their violent actions against the protesters. The protesters remained passive and non-violent as they exercised their rights to assemble peacefully. 

Now, these rights are at risk of being lost.

 

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/19/republican-lawmakers-in-five-states-propose-bills-to-criminalize-peaceful-protest/

Edited February 12, 2017 by zerostao