BEST. RANT. EVER.

[JohnnyCougar]

I would quote a few paragraphs and post them here, but I fear that people will then just read what I snip out here, and not click on the link and read the whole thing.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/03/washington-post-sloppy-journalism-stop.html

Ok, maybe just one little teaser snippet:

You get tired of always having to be the parent. Always having to be the bad guy. Never getting any respect. But someone has to do it. And if not you, then who?

That's why liberal blogs are constantly berating the traditional media. Because the traditional media is made up of a growing number of increasingly sloppy children. And their sloppiness is now jeopardizing our democracy. It's gotten us into a war that's a disaster, and it's helped re-elect a president who isn't capable of managing our country. All because the traditional media let themselves be emasculated and lobotomized rather than simply doing their job.

Make sure you follow the link and read the whole thing!

[Blaze Diem]

1. "lobotomized"

That says it all.
Great Post..tks

[sheelz]

2. Thanks

And another good rant for you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x197136

[JohnnyCougar]

4. Yes!

A great rant indeed.

I love Feingold. He fuckin' fired me up. I am madder than I have been since Bush started bombing Iraq. I'm just going to call my senators once a day, every day to request that they support censure. Until they do. It will be part of my daily routine, just like eating breakfast. "Hello, Senator Kohl's office? Have you decided to endorse Russ Feingold's move to censure President Bush yet? No? Talk to you tomorrow, hopefully we'll see a little backbone by then. Thanks. Bye."

[Mythsaje]

3. Great rant...

We're on the same page, definitely.

[Hissyspit]

5. k & r

[LisaLynne]

6. Excellent rant!

I think that is exactly one of the "problems" in the perception of liberals. Yeah, we're always telling people what's wrong, but it's because we think we can make it better if we acknowledge it! Face it, nothing gets better if you ignore it. Except maybe a nice bottle of wine ... for a few years. ;)

[Just Me]

7. Replace "communists" with "liberals" and it's clear we're back to,...

,...that same McCarthy bashing bullshit. The right-wing has infiltrated journalism and created hatred against anything/one opposing government abuses. Its' sickening.

I watched "Good Night and Good Luck" last night for the first time. I found myself so angry I was shaking. The same lot of predatory barbarians have possessed this country, AGAIN. What's worse is, the corporate media is even more weak and sheepish than they were back then. There is little that comes out of any corporate news body that I don't question whether or not the publication is factually authentic. The frequent utilization of certain key words and phrases compels me to think, "this is just another propaganda piece".

It's awful. The prostitution of journalism and news is awful. How can these people (and fuck the excuse associated with being "corporate" --> corporations are still run by people) be so goshdamned irresponsible when they wield far-reaching influence over the American people? Don't they realize that, ultimately, their behavior will also impact their lives, the lives of their friends, and their families' lives?

We are all entitled to rant about the failed state of journalism.

[mogster]

8. Strange, I just read about McCarthy prior to seeing this thread

This was lifted off the DU some years ago - a story about Edward R. Murrow, a journalist icon who had the program See It Now and boldly criticized McCarthy in a March 9, 1954 broadcast. Read this piece written about him by Joseph Wershba, long time producer of '60 Minutes':

"The Radulovich case involved a young Air Force Reserve weatherman who had been dropped from the service in the age of security madness. The Air Force secretly accused his father and sister of holding radical views. There were no complaints against Milo Radulovich. He was given to understand that if he publicly repudiated his father and sister he might get his commission back. Radulovich said that wasn't what Americanism meant to him. He refused to "cut his blood ties."

On the program, Murrow was never more magnetic in his stark portrait of America going dark: "Whatever happens in this whole area of the relationship between the individual and the State, we will do ourselves; it cannot be blamed upon Malenkov, Mao Tse-tung or even our allies." There followed a public outcry. A few weeks later the Air Force announced on See It Now that Milo Radulovich had his commission back.
(...)
Over the next four months, while Murrow held the reins, Fred Friendly organized the material -- mostly devastating clips of McCarthy himself -- for the broadcast. What I remember most of that period were Murrow's comments on the kind of America he believed in. He said, "All I can hope to teach my son is to tell the truth and fear no man" And: "The only thing that counts is the right to know, to speak, to think -- that, and the sanctity of the courts. Otherwise it's not America." And: "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty."
(...)
On the night of the broadcast, March 9, 1954, the night the spear was hurled against the terror that held America in thrall, Edward R. Murrow spoke words that should be handed down as legacy to every generation of Americans:

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were for the moment unpopular. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the Republic to abdicate his responsibility.""

http://www.evesmag.com/murrow.htm

[WiseButAngrySara]

9. K & R and thanks! ....n/t

[RazzleDazzle]

10. oooh, that WAS good. Thanks.

[annabanana]

11. quite excellent

interesting comments, too

[Canuckistanian]

12. John Avarosis is great

He's always the first one out with spot-on commentary. He's proabably one of the most tracked-back bloggers among the progressive blogs.