So, while considering the truth behind a lot of things going on in the country as of late, I ran across a rather interesting little MSNBC clip from Rachel Maddow. I admit, she's not my favorite news caster on earth, but some of the things she makes mention of do make one stop and wonder for a moment....... Watch it to the end and then decide for yourself.
Scripted? Organized by special intrest groups / Lobbyists? Forged documents? Big business fighting tooth and nail for their profit margins again? Hmmm, so if even some of this is real and not just made up by the "Liberal media"........ What does that mean exactly?
Sweet mother of the internet, I wrote all that and a server error nuked it!?!?! GAHHHHHHH.....
Ok shortened version.
Everyone uses propaganda, biggest point I'm trying to get across here. Blanket statements are just dumb, Bush wasn't completely a nazi and obama isn't a socialist.
Conspiracies? Yep, they happen. Single motivated nut jobs doing dumb things on their own? Yep, also happen. Nothing is either completely one way or the other, just shades of grey on both sides of the block.
Yes they have to do townhall meetings, if they want to be reelected anyway, and in a very real sense its their job to do so. Screaming like a group of dumb kids on a playground fixes nothing though and the representatives should be able to defend their positions. With that in mind, 30 people in a town hall meeting does not represent the majority of people in even a single city, just the loudest individuals. I'd personally say if you want to make a point with a mob, just get a bull horn and give them the answers, then see if they peacefully want to discuss whats on their minds. A battle of decibels isn't going to get anyone anywhere on either side of the block, but sometimes giving people a taste of their own medicine is the best policy for a short while. Then again, one might also just kick back in a chair on stage and order a drink until they finally care to listen.
I really don't consider the conservatives to be knuckle dragging, just their followers in my little slice of the country. They act like a cult around here, born into it and damn near sacreligious to vote anything else (No matter who is running). The leadership is definately intelligent, although completely self serving. They cling to the whole business model of a pyramid scheme too much, but with good reason, when your at the top you want to stay there by any means necessary, wish people would realize that. I find it ironic that so many people around this part of the country willingly vote for the side that doesn't do squat for them and call the side that will fight more for the little guy socialistic. Our part of the country has one of the highest right wing followings (Ratio anyway) and yet has one of the lowest hourly wage rates at the same time. Its just silly lol. And the rich people just flow down here like a river buying up land and zoning it off as their personal playgrounds, kicking the rest out. They love the fact that the hourly wage is so low and build plants and factories left and right, but do they ever share the wealth with the workers or do anything to help the rest of us? Course not. They love the notion of serfdom from the population, which is why I find it so ironic that these people keep voting for politicians that don't want to raise the minimum wage level (But hop a flight down to argentina to have a quickie with their girlfriend on taxpayer money. Really not surprised it happened though.)..... Its like so many of them are so concerned with having a job, they don't even realize that the job they have doesn't pay their bills. Hell, even the ones with college degrees don't make what they could if they left the state (which plenty do) and then they wonder why our state has such a low population of people with degrees. Rather than vote for someone who might change that, they blindly follow the right wing religion and happily skip off to work each day to work 12 or 14 hours, 6 days a week, for the same pay someone else only has to work 6-8 hours, 5 days a week for. But at least they have a job right? Not like they will be able to afford their health care premiums or put their kids through college, or even get to spend any time raising their kids from having to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. Is a redistribution of wealth needed? Hell yes it is. Its just ridiculous that some business exec should be whinning about only making $500,000 as opposed to $1 million while a father with 2 kids is having to work 12 or 14 hours a day and live in a rental home or trailer. And the sad part is, I'm one of the luckier ones I know. Hopefully in a few years I will be done with my degree and be making an alright salary, I really am not going to be crying if they take 1/3 of it to help pay for healthcare, I will happily survive with whats left. I don't need a new mercedes to be happy if it means some kid gets to see a doctor on a regular basis. Anywho, rant over, on a more logical note.......
Yes, ratings do make the show don't they...... They've done wonders for Jerry Springer over the years after all...... None the less, mainstream media truely is a "Weapon of mass distraction" and no thats not just a catch phrase, it really is the truth. Even MSNBC was all behind bush when it was what they percieved the popular opinion to be, and when the tide changed they did as well. It basically boils down to simply taking the side that the largest body of people want to hear, or in certain cases, what your payroll masters want you to say. Either way, its not exactly objective and unbiased. There is almost always a grain of truth in everything a particular news station broadcasts, even fox (Once in a while), but if you fully believe the whole story at face value, your just kidding yourself. Same goes for this one.
Double standards in the lib / dem camp!?!?? Dude, even you can't believe that..... I mean really. Yeah, they have done some stupid stunts over the years, make no mistake, but I can remember plenty of times they were condemned for it or at the very least laughed at for it. Heck, don't you remember that clip I posted of the DNC in colorado when that dumb fox news caster was playing up the story to be a full blown riot / revolution movement?? I can remember plenty of times being called "Unpatriotic" or "Unamerican" for my points of view being professed and I personally didn't care, I think its just a new sensation for the conservatives to be on the receiving end of that crap for once. Getting a taste of their own medicine. With that said, I think the dems should remember what it felt like being in their shoes in the past. Maybe the feeling of payback is too strong just yet, but maybe it will get out of their system eventually, dunno. Either way, its dumb and wrong to label someone just because their views differ on either side of the camp, but it happens on a daily basis. Just debating things logically shouldn't be taboo and the more times this whole "Unamerican" thing gets thrown around on either side, the less power it really has. Just like name calling on a playground.
See Celtic, thats where you and I differ. I honestly don't think I'd say most people are smart, I'd personally give it a 50/50 ratio. The majority of people have far too short a memory and happily just follow along without questioning things. Is Obama perfect? Hell no, course not, not even close. Is he "A terrorist, the antichrist, socialist, or killing old people"? No... Thats just silly too...... And just because someone makes some stupid little internet picture and posts it to all his friends doesn't mean its correct. It doesn't take much to figure out how to work photoshop after all. I got plenty a laugh out of pictures of Bush leading the 3rd reich, but I knew that was just silly (Figured he was more a wannabe crusader as he said), the problem lies when people actually start believing those things. Neither side of the ongoing debates is 100% right and saying otherwise is just outright wrong, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion I agree. I was, more than anything, hoping these 2 blogs would just make people understand that propaganda goes both ways and not to believe everything you see or hear.
Oh and as for the site you posted, that just confuses more than it answers honestly. On the one hand, the guy was walking around with a big nazi sign and then was handing out leaflets, they never said specifically if they were pro or against dingell, just about dingell.... And the site says there was an eye witness that saw the poster guy switch sides, but never gave any reference who that was exactly. Is this one a conspiracy, within a conspiracy, within a conspiracy? Getting a bit deep for me. Also, did he ever actually post the audio clip of the interview from the eye witness that was supposedly left off the other site? Not saying its not true, but it is definately a bit eh...... Fragmented? Just goes to show you though, the "Liberal" media didn't cover it, but the "Conservative" fox news jumped right on it..... Just sayin, I think that one needs a bit more clearing up before a solid answer one way or the other can be made.
hahaha... i love this. there's a reason MSNBC is one of the least-watched networks on television. lunar, i think we push each other's buttons nicely, dude. as much as you get me worked up sometimes, i can't help but try not to take it for granted. i respect your right to your opinions, but i can't help but respond most of the time. several points, man....
1) everything is a conspiracy with you guys. everything is cover-of-darkness, under-the-table villainism. the GOP mob bosses who sit in smoke-filled rooms with cats in their laps call the shots. they send their thugs out to all these town hall meetings... (of which, there have been DOZENS nationwide)... and rig the whole thing. "here's your set of instructions from the Right Principle group... memorize these lines." the knuckle-dragging conservatives have people lining up by the hundreds to get one of these instruction sheets so they can go terrorize the poor, innocent democrats who just want to reform health care. i love it.
2) these democrats don't HAVE to do these town hall meetings.... it's not an address to the nation. it's not a state of the union. it's not even a campaign rally. the congressional people choose to go to these things and represent their point of view to locals. they should be prepared for opposition when they go.
3) because these meetings are very voluntary and informal, the interchange between speaker and audience is the same way. if these people yelled this way at an official presser or at a congressional meeting, it would be unacceptable, for sure. if they get shouted down at a town hall, however.... tough luck, dude. suck it up and defend yourself. if you really take a look at some of this footage (which i have already seen most of it), it's very clear that they don't know what they're talking about half the time. they don't know what's in the bill... and when people ask them about parts of it, they can't respond because they haven't read it. no wonder some people get pissed at that.
4) last thing, man..... i love the double standard on the part of liberals in this country. democrats have some of the most "hooligan" supporters on the face of the planet. code pink can break into congressional hearings covered in fake blood and shout down republicans while they're at the mic. a mccain supporter can get beat up by anti-war protesters at a mccain rally. democrat congress men/women can call bush a nazi, call our troops rapists and uneducated, make speeches slandering the country internationally during war time..... an anti-obamacare protester can get beat up at a town hall meeting by some union dudes (which happened a couple of weeks ago).... none of that is ever "hooligan", though. nothing is ever uncivil unless democrats are the target of the criticism. NOBODY ever publicly condemns any of the above i just cited... but now people screaming and getting worked up at a town hall is completely unacceptable.... and by the way, none of them are actually angry anyway... they're all just acting with some fresh C-notes in their back pocket.
The two videos down at the bottom in particular. Evidently, the same man holding a "nazi obama" poster was seen after the town hall giving out leaflets for Democratic Congressman Dingell. Also possible priority seating/ticketing being given to certain parties.
What I take away from all of it is that people aren't dumb, and most are not complete pawns but are actually speaking their minds - on both sides. It's hurtful to democracy to try blowing off people's honest opinions as some lobbyist compaign when it's not indicative of the whole. We should have learned that 6-8 years ago when the balance of power was switched. There's always going to be some attempts of manipulation with muscle on both sides, but I'd like to think we can overcome that.
