Displaying 2,011 To 2,040 Of 19,504 Comments The Science of Fox News: Why Its Viewers Are The Most Misinformed 😆 😆 😆 Too funny, Kes!!! » Posted By AdLib On November 7, 2014 @ 12:38 pm Kes, I think we have a new satirical post here, The Republican Book on Bribing Reality. » Posted By AdLib On November 7, 2014 @ 12:17 pm KT – You and Kes are cracking me up! 😆 I’d say I laughed twice in a span of seconds but since I’ve bribed my clock, seconds now last approximately 23 days. » Posted By AdLib On November 7, 2014 @ 12:06 pm Naxos, re-read your original post. You said: Want to test this? Easy. Propose solutions to climate change that couincide with goals of the Right, smaller government, less regulation, reduction of taxes, and see how many Deniers become Believers, overnight. Climate Change regulation that offers less regulation? That makes absolutely no sense, disqualifies all the other propositions as being earnest. Regulations, rules and laws protect. Removing them removes protections. You can’t add protections by removing them, that’s Bizarro logic. » Posted By AdLib On November 6, 2014 @ 2:59 pm Naxos, just like Repubs, always accuse the Dems of their own traits. If you truly dislike intense self-congratulatory and self-serving tribalism, check out every Repub site and channel and the GOP right now. Applying such a description to Dems now in light of the elections is absurd and frankly, bizarre. Your proposition is a confusing loop. Propose Climate Change regulations that don’t regulate? That don’t give government more control? Please explain how such a proposition could work. It’s like saying, “Stop gaining weight by eating a lot,” two completely opposed propositions which negate each other. Like “Raise revenues by cutting taxes” and “Increase healthcare insurance by repealing the ACA and taking it away from 10 million Americans. ” Would really like to hear logical, fact based proposals from Repubs. » Posted By AdLib On November 6, 2014 @ 11:22 am In the Midterms GOP Operatives Have a $331 Million Advantage Over Dems Murph, it is akin to traitorous, what the Fecal Five on the SCOTUS have done to our democracy, declaring that those with the most money should have the most influence and power. That is not what a democracy is about, it is a corrupt, elitist philosophy and directly contradicts our Constitution’s intent. Instead of moving our country towards democracy, they have aggressively moved us farther into plutocracy. Money is speech? What an easy argument to explode. So the wealthy have unlimited speech and the poor have none, that is how a democracy works? That is what these corrupt adversaries of our democracy have enshrined. The only way we could move back in the right direction is once the hold of the anti-democratic over the SCOTUS is broken. That’s why it is imperative that a Republican doesn’t become President over the next few terms, at least. Kennedy and Scalia are 76, Scalia will no doubt hang on as long as he can (Ginsburg is 79 and will need to be replaced before him, Breyer is 74). Within the next 10 years, it’s likely there will be a real turnover on the SCOTUS which makes the Presidency and control of the Senate from 2016 onward critical. To swing the pendulum back from this extremist agenda, we do need to hold the WH and Senate. As for whether the dark money will swing races to their side, that is not proven to be the case. Yes, spending to a certain degree can manipulate races but there are plentiful examples, the 2012 elections for instance, where all the dark money and bigger war chests of Repubs didn’t win them elections. The broader perspective about elections is that voter sentiment will always trump money, if the money is spent in opposition to voter sentiment. Off year elections though are more vulnerable on this due to the lower turnout but when one considers how dismayed most Americans are right now at the way things are and that they typically blame the party with the Presidency, it’s fascinating to see Dems very competitive even in red states Obama lost by big margins to Romney and a number of governorships they may take over too. GOTV will overcome all the millions the Kochs and others pour into their propaganda campaigns to build their plutocracy. We need to work hard to support, encourage and inspire others to get out there and vote on Nov. 4th! » Posted By AdLib On October 23, 2014 @ 9:46 am CNN, MSNBC and Fox News to Sue Ebola For Underperformance UncleB, well put! The modern day Roman Coliseum, bread, circuses and ad sales. » Posted By AdLib On October 24, 2014 @ 5:41 pm KT – The point is well made but as far as whether a Surgeon General’s attempt to calm the public would work…it couldn’t hurt. There is indeed a disgusting alliance between the corporate news industry and the GOP on Ebola, both see it as profitable to distort as a terrifying epidemic about to explode. I doubt the Founders had this in mind when they wrote the 1st Amendment. » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 2:07 pm KT, what gets me is the dichotomy between people being so cynical about what they hear on tv while selectively investing their beliefs in some of what they hear on tv. At the same time that the MSM was fear mongering about Ebola, the Pbama Admin, the CDC and doctors and scientists all around the country were trying to tell the public that this is not the start of an epidemic and they have next to nothing to worry about. And yet, the public bought into the fear like mice blindly running to the cheese. There are two parties to blame in this, the corporate media and the people out there who don’t know how to use their own common sense. I mean, if you knew someone who was proven to have lied to you repeatedly about how something’s coming to kill you, most reasonable people would stop believing them. So why do so many people keep believing the corporate news industry when they are constantly proven to be dishonest? Americans as a whole should have a simple policy, trust those who aren’t proven to lie and exaggerate repeatedly and distrust those who are…especially those with power. » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 2:00 pm Funk – Heh! I saw that joke on a graphic of Kardashian looking proud. Wonder if we could make her the mascot for Ebola? Cheers! » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 1:53 pm Hey Funk, thanks so much for the props! I think part of the problem with many Americans, why they buy into the MSM fear mongering, is that they have grown up in a country where the media used to be trusted and the common thinking about them was, “They can only tell us what’s true.” It’s kind of like how people go to doctors and treat them and every word they say as golden. I think it’s hard for many people to go through their lives accepting that they walk on shifting sands, that you have to question anything that comes your way when there’s a possibility of conflicting motivations. Mainly, I think many Americans are more accustomed to accepting things on faith and not employing reason, especially when emotions are at play. If one was to zoom out in a temporal way and watch all the phony panics the media portrays that the public reacts to, kind of like a perverse Simon Says where the MSM says, “Look! Something’s coming to get you! Run that way! Look, something else is coming to get you! Run this way!” and we could see a society blindly running from one end of a room to another in panic…with nothing chasing them, it would display what’s going on. Y2K, Avian Flu, Killer bees, The Mayan Calendar ending, planetary convergence, zombie apocalypse…throughout avery year, the corporate fear machine manufactures one boogie man after another to scare Americans into watching more of their channels and bringing them greater profits. My instinct when these hysterias start is to watch less tv and follow things on the internet more. After all, who needs to hear political pundits who blame Obama for eclipses, talk like an expert about something they have absolutely no education on. I actually think America is well prepared for a pandemic, they’ve been practicing run throughs for so long… » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 1:50 pm monicaangela, thank you for your wonderful comment, you really expanded upon all these issues so well. It is sad but true that fear is indeed the most powerful of all motivators and tools to use on human beings and it is a disgrace that our corporate-minded news media has so cynically and transparently embraced it as a necessary income generator. The problem with the FTC’s Truth in Advertising law is that, of course, it only applies to advertising. Citizens have no recourse if news medias lie and use propaganda, having a law against that would be seen by the SCOTUS as violating the 1st Amendment. All we have to address these yellow journalism outlets are our remotes. Cheers on the props on O’Mara! When I thought of who might represent something disgusting, he popped up right at the front of the line. There’s kind of a disconnect when it comes to the public awareness of how corrupt the corporate news word is, we can watch The Daily Show or Colbert and knowingly nod as they point out what hucksters, liars and frauds they are…yet many still cooperate with allowing them to scare them or manipulate their perceptions. Cognitive dissonance, that’s what seems to describe America’s mindset when it comes to the MSM. » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 1:31 pm Thanks Nirek, that belly laugh is good as gold to me! The MSM “news” does sell opinions as news but what’s worse is they push propaganda in a wholly immoral way, just for greater profits. They should be sued for false advertising by calling themselves “the news”. » Posted By AdLib On October 20, 2014 @ 7:11 pm GC, thanks so much! That’s the strategy we’ve seen, these “news” channels spread fear and panic that’s totally unjustified then when that fraud is exploded, they make the story about the fear and panic they’ve whipped up as if it’s new to them. What does that remind me of? Oh yeah…
» Posted By AdLib On October 20, 2014 @ 7:09 pm Cheers, Murph, thanks so much! It’s not a new thing, some of the press has practiced yellow journalism and acted not as a source bringing news but fabricating news to manipulate the masses. It’s a little different today because in the past, it seemed just motivated by egotism and a lust for power by the media owner but today, the greed of the corporate media makes them so irresponsible and ready to fabricate news sometimes just for profit. Too bad that Swine Flu, Killer Bees and Ebola can’t file a class action suit against the MSM for defamation. » Posted By AdLib On October 20, 2014 @ 2:06 pm The Weekend Music Thread – Love Songs Nireks Nirock! » Posted By AdLib On October 21, 2014 @ 2:09 pm Against Their Own Self Interest: Missourians Likely to Vote to Hurt Themselves Murph, why do you think that all these poor rural people who depend on programs that Republicans want to destroy, vote Republican? Just because of the social issues like abortion, race and religion? Or is it a cultural thing? Have they been indoctrinated into voting Republican like a religion, believing in them no matter what as an act of faith? Meanwhile, they are voting to have their health care, food and homes taken away from them and their children. And voting against better paying jobs, a healthy environment and all of their futures. As I often say, you can’t reason people out of a position they didn’t use reason to acquire. I think it may take appealing to emotion and…unfortunately, their desperation once their Republicans further destroy their lives. One has to wonder if even then, such obliviously self-destructive people won’t just double down on their misguided faith in the GOP as their saviors. Ignorance is a deadlier disease than ebola. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:16 am Should Voting in the U.S. Be Mandatory? monicaangela, the video begins with a huge misunderstanding of compulsory voting so aside from the fact that it is purely anecdotal, it is wholly misguided. Here’s the main problem with the video’s approach, compulsory voting does not require anyone to vote for any candidates or measures if they choose not to. They can turn in a ballot that is completely blank or has only selected votes on it, where they have only voted for the candidates or issues they want to. I mentioned below, there used to be Poll Tests in the South, asking ridiculously difficult questions to prevent black and poor voters from voting. A democracy can’t be and isn’t selective about only allowing people to vote who are well informed. Surely, all people who will vote in November won’t be well informed. And there are many well-informed people who don’t vote because they are apathetic. I don’t think it would be accurate to assume that all those people who don’t vote are poorly educated or uninformed. In fact, many younger people who are very well informed, don’t vote for a variety of reasons. Why do you think the Repubs are instituting Voter ID in red states, to reduce voter turnout? Because the smaller the electorate is, the less representative it is of the people. There are no studies and no proof that I’m aware of that show that compulsory voting in the U.S. would lead to a less representational government or for that matter, government that was worse than what we have now under a minority’s choosing of government. In fact, the Repub fears of more voters (which no doubt is based on substantial research) reflect their worries that the more people who vote, the more Progressive the country would become. So, have to disagree with you on this one, IMO, one of the reasons our democracy has become so corrupt and unresponsive to the majority is that the majority is not represented by their representatives and compulsory voting would change that for the better. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:52 am PPO, great to have your affirmation on compulsory voting, as someone who’s familiar with it first hand. It isn’t an imposition at all, is it? It’s a responsibility, one of the few that apply to being a citizen in a democracy. And as you say, if people don’t want to vote, they can leave their ballot blank. No question that ending gerrymandering and unlimited campaign donations would complete the repair of democracy but those are long haul goals. In the meantime, we could get people out to vote and at least have a more representational government. And yes, if there was mandatory voting, that would naturally include mandatory registration. With those mechanisms in place, we should be able to have courts knock out all Voter ID laws. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:37 am Beatlex, I think it’s kind of a vicious circle. A minority votes so politicians are elected who just pander to a minority and the majority whines that government is terrible so they don’t vote. I think if everyone had to vote, the quality of politicians and their philosophies would be different and things could get better. Only way to break that cycle may be to force a majority to vote and get a more representative government in place. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:31 am Kes, actually, that would probably be portrayed as a government handout for paying people (especially those terrible poor people) for something they ought to do anyway. Well…the Repubs would oppose any approach to getting more people out there to vote. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:28 am RSGMusic, the thing about true democracy is it’s messy. Some people who already vote, are poorly informed while some who don’t vote are well informed. Democracy means that all people get to vote, whether they’re smart or dumb, informed or uninformed. There used to be poll tests, requiring people to prove a knowledge of American history and civics that was used to prevent blacks and poor people from voting. People do know what they like and what they don’t like though and if Dems do a good enough job communicating what they stand for, I think they would acquire more support from new voters by a large margin. » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2014 @ 11:25 am Sabreen, that is part of the suspicious nature of harsh drug laws and selective enforcement against minorities, that red states also strip them permanently of just the right to vote. They can do just about anything else after they’ve served their time but what is the logic behind denying them the ability to vote, how could that harm anyone or anything except democracy? As to an election holiday, just speaking from a pragmatic POV, it would be hard to pass with all the corporations fighting that but if you could vote over the weekend, if voting was held over a full week, you wouldn’t need a holiday, you could find an hour somewhere in that week and corporations would have no legit grounds to protest. » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 5:29 pm Funk, glad you concur. Is requiring citizens to vote, as their only duty to their nation, a burden? Can’t see how that could be. Of course the anti-democracy folks like Repubs and the Kochs would fight it but they would be blatantly on the side of tyranny. The apathetic culture your percentages portray has to be changed and if that requires mandating citizens to be responsible and simply take a couple of hours out of one day every two years to do that, how is that asking too much? » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 5:22 pm Nirek, I totally support exceptions to compulsory voting due to legit health or other reasons. The idea would be to compel all citizens to vote and make it a positive thing. But lame excuses should be rejected and voting should take place over at least a 1-2 week period instead of a single day. Have to do a little research on this but I think states can make such laws if the Feds don’t. Maybe the initiative process would be the way forward? » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 3:15 pm Thanks Nirek! The GOP would surely fight compulsory voting but let them stake out the “pro-not-voting”, government without majority vote democracy. But why can’t we at least do this state by state? 99% of Americans never serve their country in the military as you did (well done, sir!), I don’t think it is asking too much of them that every two years they vote their own interests. And those out there who whine about how bad government is can stop whining and take some responsibility for making it better. » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 11:35 am Elizabeth Warren Unloads on Obama Sabreen, I’ve been thinking about writing an article about that as well. The “hip” thing to do now if you’re a trendy Lefty is to diss Obama. Yep, these Dems are so right, we would have been so much better protected against Ebola and ISIS if Romney was elected in 2012 instead and had bombed Iran. Well, maybe these geniuses will have another opportunity to vote for Romney in 2016! They must be so excited at that prospect. » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 5:48 pm Here’s another story on the theme I mentioned in my other comment, corporations starting to reap what they’ve sown on oppressing the majority on wages: Wal-Mart Stores Inc cut its annual sales forecast on Wednesday, citing a stronger dollar and the impact of food stamp reductions, and it said it would slow store openings in the next financial year as it shifts spending to its online business. The announcements, made at an annual gathering of analysts and investors, highlight how the financial struggles of its core customer base – low-income consumers – continue to weigh on its earnings and have prompted a more cautious stance on traditional bricks-and-mortar expansion. http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-cuts-full-sales-growth-forecast-211722955–finance.html » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 5:44 pm MBE, I am a big fan of Elizabeth Warren and her sensibilities really nail the biggest problem in our nation, economic injustice and disparity. The system of corrupt capitalism that dominates the US is destructive to the 99% in the short term but self-destructive to the 1% long term. With the rising cost of living and stagnant and in some cases, declining wages, these greedy idiots are only now starting to realize that they’re sabotaging their own economic futures. A story that’s been making the rounds lately is that major corporations are having to project lower revenues than expected in future quarters and years because consumers have less and less expendable cash. Here’s one article on that: Their Own Words–Nation’s Top Retailers Deeply Worried About Stagnant Wages and Middle-Class Weakness CAP’s analysis, “Retailer Revelations: Why America’s Struggling Middle Class Has Businesses Scared,” showed that 88 percent of the top 100 U.S. retailers cite weak consumer spending as a risk factor to their stock price, while 68 percent cite falling or flat incomes as risks. When you depress wages, fight minimum wage increases, don’t provide health care to your employees and squeeze workers down just to wring higher bonuses for yourself, they don’t have enough money to buy your products. It’s Bizarro Henry Ford, pay your workers so little they can’t afford to buy the product their company makes. That’s typical 21st Century Capitalist thinking. Kill the golden goose to get that gold now and worry about not having more golden eggs later. I still have the feeling that our economy is teetering despite the high level of the stock market. It just reflects that the wealthy are getting wealthier but if the weakness of the 99%’s income reaches a critical mass, I could imagine a domino effect that could lead to another recession. A rising tide raises all ships but a tsunami of greed will leave everyone underwater. » Posted By AdLib On October 15, 2014 @ 11:30 am Nirek, really appreciate your POV on this and very much agree. It sure would be great to have a requirement that any politician who votes for war has to have their adult children drafted into the military to fight that war. The US would suddenly become a much more anti-war country overnight. It’s disgusting how bitter, hateful, greedy men can push for sending those Americans they see as inferior to die for their selfish reasons. Would be great if there was some way to disarm them. » Posted By AdLib On October 7, 2014 @ 1:56 pmComments Posted By AdLib
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