Honest reporting: Calling Aces & Spades on Dishonest Media
This morning, I heard someone say America was founded on good
Godly principles. Somehow we are moving away from God, so much so that we are
now reaping the results of that distancing.
We need to get back to the good, honest nation full of the
integrity for which we were founded. And if that means putting good, honest
lawmakers in Washington, then we need to strive for that. All politicians lie;
all politicians make promises that are broken once in office. What we need to
do is stop trashing the honest lawmakers who want those jobs in Washington,
long before they have a chance to get there. None of us are immune to the dirt
someone digs up to throw on us. The desire to be President of the United States
is a heck of a job that few of us would want. So if there is an honest lawmaker
who wants to do the right thing for our country by being President; who wants
to put us back on the road our nation was founded - for God’s sake, give him a
chance instead of trying to look for Saints that aren’t there, except in the
Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
This was posted to Facebook
November 2011 re: Obama v Romney
It still holds true today; pipe dream that it is. As we become aware, and some become victims of censorship and suppression of information by a few of our technology platforms, I am reminded of these words.
The expectations for those holding political office are high. Anyone seeking the United States' Presidency' should be honest about many things, including dealings with foreign nations, least they be deemed politically compromised. If the current alleged charges, on the opposition, of impropriety in allegedly accepting kickbacks for political influence, a serious charge to be sure, the American public needs to know. We need to be able to determine if the opponent can be trusted to hold office. We need to know that influence-peddling of access to our high office leaders have not been done to sell out Americans. We need to know that there are no embarrassing issues that can be used against him (blackmail) to affect our world's position. Despite racial and ongoing social gaffes and accusations of cognitional impairment, the information should be forthcoming to help disprove, or prove, this latest laptop and kickback scandal. After all, the current President has been accused of treason, racism, called a reprobate, a scandalous womanizer, and impeached for allegedly doing precisely what the opposition has actually done and admittedly bragged of doing, in front of everyone, God, and country. And the media didn’t seem to mind, nor did the Democratic Party.
In previous posts, I
have said that social media is a necessary evil and one that we should carefully
tread when navigating its far-reaching tentacles. Now closing accounts of those
who post information, or opinions, about this laptop scandal, is ok? Talk about thought engineering. This pales in comparison to
race-baiting. The genesis of these platforms was not to coerce, but sadly it
seems to have evolved to such (see my blog post titled, “Red Pill, Blue
Pill”). Again, what are they hiding? Suppressing information only makes us
want to look behind the curtain even more. In this case, the lie is worse than
the truth.
Why lie when the truth
would do?
Are we free to speak our
thoughts or opinions? Are social media platforms really being used as instruments
of information suppression? Well, let’s look at this, shall we? I will
provide links when applicable for your reference and further reading.
From the information
I’ve gathered, the Communications Act of 1934 (F.C.C., Title 47 U.S.C.)
introduced the Fairness Doctrine (Fairness in Reporting Act) in 1947. It
governed fairness in broadcast licenses and news reporting in order to
give honest, equitable, and balanced reporting. This included local news
broadcast stations and public radio (e.g., NPR). Broadcast licensing differs
from Cable licensing, so at the advent of cable television stations, the
broadcast license did not govern cable news networks such as CNN. The
commission fought hard to retain the Fairness Doctrine, improving upon the
legislation to include the burgeoning industry of cable news. President Regan
vetoed the legislation, forcing the F.C.C. to remove this doctrine in 1987.
Cable news organizations had no governance other than their own, and the
monopoly on information provided to the American public, without regard to
truth or fairness, was unleashed. This gave rise to conservative radio
platforms like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News so that conservative voices and
opposing views could be heard.
The Communications Act
of 1934, established by the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C., Title 47
U.S.C.), was the last bastion of controls on media bias and fairness in
reporting (Fairness Doctrine of 1947). But the Communications Decency Act of
1996 codified Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 as part of its
internet legislation. Section 230 stipulates that no provider or user shall act
as a publisher of information on an interactive computer service (I.S.P.) and
gives immunity to interactive computer services from lawsuits. It is not and
should not overstep this boundary.
Britannica Communications Act of 1934
Britannica Communications Decency Act
However, technology
services are recently disallowing or censuring conservative opinions.
Allegedly, whole accounts are being taken down for various reasons, if not for political
expediency. If true, aren’t they behaving as publishers, limiting and allowing
only opinions they deem appropriate? The monolith of social media platforms, and
the monopoly they hold over other competitors, is astounding. If true, to engage
in censorship of this magnitude is to beg the question of information and voter
suppression, not to mention Authoritarianism. For these Oligarchs to lord over
what can and cannot be printed or aired infringes on our right to free speech
and violates Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
At least that’s the way
it seems to me, in my humble opinion.
As individuals, we each
have the right to speak out for or against our advisories. As long as the
speech is not inflammatory, giving rise to hate, or used maliciously, it should
not be censored. These media activist wonks who masquerade as journalist give
their daily take on events as it pertains to: not the growing threat from
China’s Naval forced and military might, not the incarceration of Muslim
Uyghurs in China, whose heads are shaved and hair sold to American women
(allegedly), not the threat to Christians and Christianity in Europe, not the
alleged child trafficking arrests perpetrated by elites across the globe—no!
They focus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on negative stories about Trump, on
Trump, of Trump. All-day, all the time. Reference the links below for
percentages of negative coverage, 90% to 95%, from 2017 through
2020.
Negative coverage of Trump 2017
Negative coverage of Trump 2020
Methinks they protest
too much!
Anytime deflection is
perpetrated on an individual to this extreme, makes you wonder what is hidden
behind the curtain. To my mind, something isn’t right here. By deflection, I point out that while America slept, and focused on
calling out the current President’s faults, the virus that affects us worldwide
was growing out of control. The virus that affects us worldwide was perpetrated
on us while we focused on one thing—impeaching Donald Trump! Now we MUST blame
him for not doing enough to stop the virus from spreading. Like a parent asking
you to explain something and telling you they don’t want to hear explanations
when you try.
How pathological does
that sound?
As an
observer, I have come to believe that the last twelve (12) years of corruption,
as witnessed in our Nations’ Capitol, is broader and deeper than the
Marianas Trench. To call it a swamp is an understatement. I provide a
glimpse of this in the links below.
Well, now we know what the media is hiding. They
tell us to our faces that we are stupid and can’t think for ourselves. Critical
thinking has gone out the window because we all know that ‘Democrats rule the
world, don’t you know.’ They have the power and, once lost, MUST get it
back by hook, crook, or telling us to believe our lying eyes. It seems they
think most people are lazy and want to be led. They believe most people want to
be bamboozled with fairy dust and magics glamourous sleight of hand. They
understand that people want to be entertained and relish the next bit of juicy
gossip. The truth is boring. As Gloria Steinem says, ‘the truth will set you
free, but first, it will piss you off.’ Most people are entrenched in their
beliefs and will not let go of those beliefs, even if given immutable facts.
About like that boyfriend, everyone told you to stay away from because of his
bad reputation. But you married him anyway. You didn’t follow that advice
because it pissed you off, but defend to the death your decision to blindly
stay by his side, despite his gift of infidelity or a broken vow or two, or worse. You know you have to
safely leave him, which will set you free, but first, you have to get over the
pissiness of others being right—and you being wrong.*
How noble!
The current President is not my favorite person
(insert big smile with a star ‘ding’ on his toothy grin). Many dislike the
current President’s tone, speech patterns, Tweets, embarrassing insults, or
past indiscretions. Regardless of his manners or offense to sensibilities, his
accomplishments are many, but sadly can only be found on an obscure media or
internet site. Love or hate him, he is not a criminal. This is not and should
not be a personality contest. Having said that, he is far from being Hitler and
is not Hitler, he is not Satan, he is not the anti-Christ or any of those
things, although he may have a few of their attributes like Narcissism or a God
complex—but what President doesn’t? That goes for the current opponent
running for the office of the President.
Both opponents make gaffes;
we all do, but some are more legendary than others. I offer YouTube as a resource to review gaffes on both sides. Sad to say, but many of us
rarely take the time to view an entire YouTube video to get at the truth. That
1:30:20 hour-long video is too much to take versus the :30 second or 2:30 minute video. That
shorter video cuts to the chase and gives us the information we need, right?
Wrong. Ask the student from Covington, Kentucky. That hour-long video got to
the heart of the matter and earned him an undisclosed amount that CNN had to
shell out. I get that we’re busy. But sometimes, it’s worth the time to combat
bias and misinformation in media.
Trump condemns violence in Charlottesville
And they say President
Trump is a racist? Well, if it walks like a skunk, looks like a skunk, and
smells like a skunk—it ain’t no donkey!
It is our responsibility to thoroughly vet the person we choose to lead us. Based on what I have seen and heard, why haven’t we seen much in the media about a candidate who has declining mental cognition, the mentality of a plantation slave owner, whose racial gaffes and plagiarisms are legendary, who has incarcerated many minorities, Black men particularly for minor offenses, without apology?
I recently received an email with an embedded video of a minister espousing Trump’s racism by not electing black judges to the supreme court or any lower-level court. He ignores the fact that there aren’t very many Black conservative Republicans to choose from because, unfortunately, Blacks tend to vote Democrat monolithically, so the pickings are slim. The bible says for us to pray for our leaders, and lastly, many bible verses speak about the separation of church and state. The most well known are Mark 12:17 and John 18:36, so why are ministers preaching hate about an elected official?
If we had honest and open media reporting, I
wouldn’t need to write a post like this. I have a love for the truth. I have a
love for America and Americans. I will not condone lies perpetrated on us for
political manipulations. Neither will I lie in support of political views. If
truth is presented to me, I will share that truth or provide an avenue of
research. As the book of John illustrates and tells us: ‘Satan is full of lies
and darkness is where he dwells, so shine a light on the truth.’ Corruption and
evil hide in darkness, it thrives on our fears. Light banishes evil from the
corners of our minds, so let that beacon of truth set you free.
We owe it to ourselves to seek the truth. I can’t
say I’m impressed by either side, but the most concerning for me is the amount of
information being suppressed, crippling our efforts to make an informed
decision. The honest truth is not evenly balanced. When faced with the lesser
of two evils, we have the right and must demand the right to know as much as
possible in order to choose for ourselves.
To be honest is to share as much as you can
without embarrassing yourself. I don’t know if any politician can be honest in
that sense. The importance of voting, fully informed, is the most honest
we can be when pulling that lever or darkening the circle on the voting form as we help shape the
country we want. Honest information is necessary for decision making of this
magnitude, especially if we want to preserve our nation’s sovereignty –
regardless of who runs for President.
~ DaMarie
*Disclaimer: This comment is not meant to negate the issue of domestic abuse.
Photo Courtesy of Chris Brignola
©Copyright 2020 d.lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
You make many valid points here and your willingness to examine both sides is refreshing. Neither candidate offers honesty and/or integrity, essential qualities for someone seeking to occupy the Oval Office. I have kept my mouth shut about my dislike of Joe Biden because, sadly, I do believe he is the lesser of two evils. Having said that, both parties are corrupt to the core and serve only wealthy donors and heartless corporate interests. Our electoral system is irreparably broken and unless and until we find the collective will to fix it, we will never elect a president that actually represents the people. I left the Democratic party in 2016 after watching them rig the primary for Hilary Clinton. They did it again this year, kneecapping the most qualified candidate and the only one fighting for everyday Americans - Senator Sanders. As for the media, we no longer have unbiased reporting from any outlet, including publicly funded platforms like NPR. The talking heads on MSNBC, CNN and FOX are there to manufacture consent and offer carefully crafted and scripted opinions instead of facts. Censorship is rampant on social media as Google, Facebook and other tech giants control what we see, hear and search for. We are awash in a sea of disinformation and, as a result, no one really knows what is TRUE anymore. What this election will bring is anyone's guess at this point. I wish I believed that our votes will be counted fairly but we all know that is not the case. Meanwhile, the fate of our democracy hangs in the balance. It is up to each of us to discern our own truth as best we can and to unite with others who truly want to create a better world for our children and grandchildren. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thanks for keeping it real.
ReplyDeleteWell said Leslie. Well said. Thank you.
DeleteI couldn't agree or add more, Leslie!!
Delete