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Comments Posted By agrippa

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That is an interesting site. Thanks for the link.

» Posted By agrippa On December 15, 2013 @ 7:49 am

Could someone provide a link to the Poynton blog?

Thank you.

» Posted By agrippa On December 14, 2013 @ 7:34 am

They are free to say and write whatever they wish.
The problem is that they have far more credibility than they have earned.

» Posted By agrippa On November 22, 2013 @ 10:09 am

I think that the tea party faction is at maximum strength right now.

I, too, think that it will start to decline.

» Posted By agrippa On November 21, 2013 @ 3:00 pm

Well, I am not part of that. I do my own reading; my own analysis. I do not need the advice of pundits ( who are not pandits). When I do read them, I read to see what sort of rhetoric they are putting out for the day.

I do not watch TV; I do not what is on TV; nor, who is on TV. I have not watched TV in years.

I am afraid that I do not believe in those people having a long term agenda. From what I know of people ( including the ‘better sort’), that is giving them too much credit. Their thinking is much more short term and tactical.

» Posted By agrippa On November 21, 2013 @ 12:06 pm

There are a couple of things that I noticed:

Very few people or ‘pundits’ want to discuss George W Bush.

Very few people or ‘pundits’ want to discuss the calamity of the Iraq war.

Very few people or ‘pundits’ want to discuss the consequences of that war.

Put them all out of your mind, and forget all about them as fast as you can.

» Posted By agrippa On November 21, 2013 @ 10:31 am

Kalima, basically, they are robotic liars.
And, those at fault are those who believe the media and the RW politicians. Americans are, by and large, quite credulous.

» Posted By agrippa On November 19, 2013 @ 2:55 pm

The news media has never been very good. We have had good reporters and good newspapers – and continue to have. But, that is unusual. The news media is, generally, mediocre.
But, the media may have gotten worse. Why?

The newspaper business has declined; far fewer newspapers ( they went bankrupt); far few reporters, as surviving newspapers have reduced the news room. Reporters simply are not there to report news.
Afternoon newspapers went broke first.

Broadcast news ( radio and TV) has always been a stepchild; at best, a loss in revenue. News gathering was never an real interest or priority with broadcasters. It is not important to them now.

Under the best of conditions, reporting is difficult. There is the problem of access to those who know; there is the problem of getting them to talk. And a myriad of other issues; but, I think that access comes first.

Political bias? That is built in; no news outlet is impartial.

» Posted By agrippa On November 19, 2013 @ 5:33 am

That is what many of them are doing.
To some extent, they want to be the story.

» Posted By agrippa On November 18, 2013 @ 12:57 pm

I see that portions of the ‘news media’ are playing up ( AKA hype) the problems with the ACA website; such as comparing it to Katrina. AS is a glitchy website and a hurricane are the same. Pretty silly.

It is beginning to look like a another era of yellow journalism.

With the ‘news media’, there are no good old days. But, it is different now. There are many fewer newspapers and news magazines. The newspapers that remain have reduced the size of their news room. Broadcast journalism is similar.

» Posted By agrippa On November 16, 2013 @ 6:57 pm

I think that this article by Johnathon Turley is pretty sensible and worth reading:

http://jonathanturley.org/2013/10/05/the-decline-of-journalism/

» Posted By agrippa On November 10, 2013 @ 7:34 am

Adlib:

They are what they are.
The news media has never been excellent. It has been about entertainment for generations. I think that whatever political slant an outlet happens to have is secondary to ‘news is entertainment’.

» Posted By agrippa On October 23, 2013 @ 4:31 am

The news media are like birds on a wire.
When one comes, they all come.
When one leaves, they all leave.

» Posted By agrippa On October 22, 2013 @ 12:33 pm

In the matter of this shutdown, all the WH and Capitol Hill is to keep the pressure on and wait out the GOP.
No compromise is needed.

» Posted By agrippa On October 4, 2013 @ 2:51 pm

Kalima:

that article is funny.
Daily Beast lives on trolls. That is most of the traffic on that site. I regard that article as an invitation for more trolls to come and romp and play.

» Posted By agrippa On September 29, 2013 @ 6:09 pm

I think that the Tea Party faction has taken over in the HoR. The Republican has either lost control or ceded control to that faction.
Thus, I think that government shutdown will be very hard to avoid.
The Tea Party does not care; it welcomes the confrontation.
The principle seems to be: “the worse, the better”.

They are not insane. This is being done with premeditation and malice aforethought.
Moderate Republicans have a problem when they vote: they go along to get along; stay home; vote Democrat.

» Posted By agrippa On September 20, 2013 @ 12:38 pm

The Administration is handling this well. It has gone, so far, as I expected.
I do not expect either the GOP or the Putin groupies to give PBO any credit. Those people are behaving as I expected them to behave.

» Posted By agrippa On September 14, 2013 @ 8:37 am

I think that the President is right to go to Congress.

As for this ‘news media’ of ours, it is, for the most part, fatuous.
I do not take the seriously.

» Posted By agrippa On September 1, 2013 @ 10:55 am

I think that the philosophy of the GOP is: nihilism.
No values; no beliefs; no ideas.

» Posted By agrippa On August 1, 2013 @ 3:28 pm

I think that Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” worked for the GOP. The old ‘Dixiecrats’ moved from the Democratic Party to the GOP and essentially took it over. The moderate Republicans are, essentially, out of public life. As for voting: they do not vote, or vote for GOP. Owing to party loyalty ( which is strong) not may will voted Democratic.

The Party of Lincoln is long dead. Today, the GOP is, essentially, controlled by southern conservatives; people who used to vote Democratic.

In order for this to change, people who vote Democratic have to get out and vote. This means that the Democratic Party has to get out the vote.

» Posted By agrippa On July 30, 2013 @ 5:34 am

This USA would be a much different place if many more people kept themselves informed and educated on the issues. If they had a base of political knowledge much higher than is common. That alone would raise the quality of political discourse, improve the quality of political activists, candidates and office holders.

The apathy and lack of knowledge on the part of the general public is harmful to the political process.

But, that will not happen. Most of the general public will remain disengaged from politics and public policy.

» Posted By agrippa On July 24, 2013 @ 1:53 pm

The people who wrote that are actual leftists ( a pretty rare breed to day, for good or ill) who have no respect for practical politics or political realities.
It is a very facile way to distance themselves.

I agree with you about Obama, whose political views seem close to mine.

» Posted By agrippa On July 9, 2013 @ 7:24 pm

I have read in more than one place that Obama is really a ‘moderate Republican’. Also called an “Eisenhower Republican’ or a ‘Rockefeller Republican’.

I do not think that very many GOP types would go along with that.

» Posted By agrippa On July 9, 2013 @ 2:33 pm

Rick Perry is pretty low quality. No one in Texas will actually miss him.

» Posted By agrippa On July 9, 2013 @ 2:30 pm

I separate Snowden from what the NSA is doing and the Patriot Act.
The NSA is acting in accordance with the law. If people have a problem with the actions of NSA, the law needs to be changed. Some US Senators ( I do not recall their names) are working on revisions to the Patriot Act.
I do think that this law needs to be seriously revised.

» Posted By agrippa On June 25, 2013 @ 2:45 pm

Agreed. None of them have accomplished very much, except to make themselves famous for a short time. Snowden will be forgotten, as other spies have been forgotten. Most of this has been media hype, with wailing and gnashing of teeth.

» Posted By agrippa On June 25, 2013 @ 7:10 am

This situation in Syria ( sort of) reminds me of Yugoslavia. A Civil War with many civilian deaths; a villain ( Assad); Russia standing more or less against involvement. It is far from the same; Syria reminds me of Yugoslavia.

» Posted By agrippa On June 19, 2013 @ 9:26 am

I am not impressed with Greenwald. I think that he is a table pounding zealot. At this moment ( pending more information) I thnk that Snowden is a very naive and foolish young man. I think that he may be in a very dangerous place.
I was not in favor of the Patriot Act. I thought ( and still think) that it was an over reaction. Understandable, though.
This may not turn out well for those who think that Snowden is some sort of hero.

» Posted By agrippa On June 10, 2013 @ 7:55 pm

» Posted By agrippa On June 7, 2013 @ 7:16 pm

I do have problems with data collection on electronic communications. It is intrusive and has potential for harm to civil liberties.
But, we had, some years back, a dispute between security and civil liberties. When that occurs, security needs will trump civil liberties. I think that we have to live with that, as I do not think that will change.

» Posted By agrippa On June 7, 2013 @ 7:12 pm