Antagonist in Chief

[hodad]

Sadly main stream media has given up any pretense of objectivity, actively rooting for the left.

From my perspective, mainstream media leans to the right. In general I think it's fair to say that mainstream media--media big business--is above all corporatist. Very few newspapers, magazines, or tv stations are not owned by rich people or large corporations, and even fewer are not supported by ad revenues or "donations" from these same folks. The wealthy and large corps will always have an outsize voice in our media, just as they do in our govt.

The biggest problem with Fox News is that there are people who confuse their evening op-Ed shows as fox reporting news.

Might be the biggest problem, but it's not the only problem. I'm sure I made more than a few posts here years ago about their incredibly biased news coverage of the 2nd Iraq War. Every rumor of WMD was breathlessly reported, and nary a retraction was issued. And there have been other stories more recently that Fox has meticulously avoided reporting on for political reasons.

Fox did have a great polling team, but they took care of that little issue after 2020.

 

[Recording Engineer]

I’ve still yet to see anyone here clearly on the far-right ever mention concern of Trump’s mental state while always being concerned for Biden’s or address that fact. Anyone care to?

 

[Matador]

I’ve still yet to see anyone here clearly on the far-right ever mention concern of Trump’s mental state while always being concerned for Biden’s or address that fact. Anyone care to?

No, BDS takes many years to get over.

Look, having nuclear—my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart —you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world—it’s true!—but when you’re a conservative Republican they try—oh, do they do a number—that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune—you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged—but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me—it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are (nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right—who would have thought?), but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners—now it used to be three, now it’s four—but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about
another 150 years—but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

What's the false narrative the Dems are peddling? Genuine question... Or you mean in general rather than any specific one.

Where do I start? How about the Covington Catholic students in DC a few years back. The media and the Democrats painted a narrative that they had surrounded and harrassed a Native American elder. But multiple videos (some hours long) taken and live-streamed by regular citizens clearly showed what had really happened, yet the media and the left continued repeating the false narrative for days (maybe weeks).

The Kavanaugh hearings are another. The whole story about Blasey-Ford having two doors in her house because she was traumatized by some fabricated assault decades past was also debunked. She'd lived in the house for some time and remodeled it to make a separate office area for her private counseling practice. After she stopped using that area for business she rented it out to Stanford students. It was never "an escape route due to her PTSD."

There are so many such stories that is difficult to list them all. Hunter's laptop, police are murdering hundreds of unarmed blacks every year, Ivermectin poisoned hundreds of people in rural OK, Jussie Smollett was MAGA mugged, Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed black people, etc.

Regardless, it seems to me that's not just a Democrat thing. There are plenty of Rep headbangers who're still screeching the stolen election line.

Yes, there are some on the right as well.

Pushing the party line is part of the deal. I'm not condoning it - I think it shows a gross lack of integrity. But it happens on all sides.

The extreme lockstep toe the line of the Democrats is well beyond anything you'll see in the GOP (at least since the Gingrich era).

In the UK, it's common for ex-politicians and ex-police chiefs to admit that the war on drugs is an abject failure. That it's widely known at all levels in politics and law enforcement that the *only* way that drug use can be tackled is to decriminalise users and treat addiction as a medical issue. But no one will admit this when they're in power - when they could actually effect some change - because they know how such a statement would go down with the voting public.

That's a tough one. I've drifted back and forth in my opinion of it over my adult life. I'm no longer convinced that the only way to solve it is decriminalization. CA tried that with pot and the cartels are still terrorizing rural areas with illegal grows on public and private land. They're usually armed and dangerous and leave a huge mess behind.

I lived in a rural area of the Santa Cruz Mountains for 22 years. Around 2015 while I was at work and my wife was home alone she spotted a guy 10' from our house stalking along looking in windows. He was wearing camo fatigues, a camo Camelback, boots, a camo boony hat, and a black bandana over his face. He kept his hands in his pockets the whole time. She knocked on an upstairs window and yelled at him. He stared her down then slowly moved to the front of the house. She moved to watch from a different window. He stopped and stared once more before heading into the woods.

She could only see his eyes and the skin around them. She said he appeared to be Hispanic or possibly Asian. It took the Sheriff's deputy 45 minutes to arrive after she called 911. They just took a report. We lived on a 37 acre rugged heavily forested parcel with a few neighbors mostly on larger parcels. Illegal grows are not uncommon around there. Our house was not visible from the road and our driveway was 600' long and curvy. You don't accidentally end up in my back yard. The guy was on foot.

We had a well and a 5000 gal water tank (like everyone else and required for fire protection). There was also a spring on one lower corner of our property. I suspect the guy was scouting for a grow site or had one staked out and was checking for water sources or to see what the neighborhood looked like (risk assessment).

This happened one ridge over (about two miles as the crow flies) back in 2005:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/LOS-GATOS-Man-killed-in-shootout-was-from-East-2617723.php
I had some meth heads shooting on my property twice in 2020. I confronted them once. They threatened to "burn you out." Sheriff took a report over the phone. Didn't even send a deputy out. I sent photos and they called back to tell me the two were known in the area for property and drug crimes.

Once you've had direct contact with the problem, it tends to affect your viewpoint. Many people are far beyond rehabilitation and others simply will not participate. What then?

 

[pucho812]

I’ve still yet to see anyone here clearly on the far-right ever mention concern of Trump’s mental state while always being concerned for Biden’s or address that fact. Anyone care to?

Trumps not in office, if he was then it would be a different discussion.

 

[pucho812]

From my perspective, mainstream media leans to the right. In general I think it's fair to say that mainstream media--media big business--is above all corporatist. Very few newspapers, magazines, or tv stations are not owned by rich people or large corporations, and even fewer are not supported by ad revenues or "donations" from these same folks. The wealthy and large corps will always have an outsize voice in our media, just as they do in our govt.


Might be the biggest problem, but it's not the only problem. I'm sure I made more than a few posts here years ago about their incredibly biased news coverage of the 2nd Iraq War. Every rumor of WMD was breathlessly reported, and nary a retraction was issued. And there have been other stories more recently that Fox has meticulously avoided reporting on for political reasons.

Fox did have a great polling team, but they took care of that little issue after 2020.

There is only so many hours in a day, can’t expect them to cover everything especially when the other networks are covering things. I could ask the same question to the other Networks about avoiding a story. But that would show bias that for many is obvious and left leaning.

 

[rob_gould]

Where do I start? How about the Covington Catholic students in DC a few years back. The media and the Democrats painted a narrative that they had surrounded and harrassed a Native American elder. But multiple videos (some hours long) taken and live-streamed by regular citizens clearly showed what had really happened, yet the media and the left continued repeating the false narrative for days (maybe weeks).

The Kavanaugh hearings are another. The whole story about Blasey-Ford having two doors in her house because she was traumatized by some fabricated assault decades past was also debunked. She'd lived in the house for some time and remodeled it to make a separate office area for her private counseling practice. After she stopped using that area for business she rented it out to Stanford students. It was never "an escape route due to her PTSD."

There are so many such stories that is difficult to list them all. Hunter's laptop, police are murdering hundreds of unarmed blacks every year, Ivermectin poisoned hundreds of people in rural OK, Jussie Smollett was MAGA mugged, Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed black people, etc.


Yes, there are some on the right as well.

Thanks for the examples.

The extreme lockstep toe the line of the Democrats is well beyond anything you'll see in the GOP (at least since the Gingrich era).


That's a tough one. I've drifted back and forth in my opinion of it over my adult life. I'm no longer convinced that the only way to solve it is decriminalization. CA tried that with pot and the cartels are still terrorizing rural areas with illegal grows on public and private land. They're usually armed and dangerous and leave a huge mess behind.

I lived in a rural area of the Santa Cruz Mountains for 22 years. Around 2015 while I was at work and my wife was home alone she spotted a guy 10' from our house stalking along looking in windows. He was wearing camo fatigues, a camo Camelback, boots, a camo boony hat, and a black bandana over his face. He kept his hands in his pockets the whole time. She knocked on an upstairs window and yelled at him. He stared her down then slowly moved to the front of the house. She moved to watch from a different window. He stopped and stared once more before heading into the woods.

She could only see his eyes and the skin around them. She said he appeared to be Hispanic or possibly Asian. It took the Sheriff's deputy 45 minutes to arrive after she called 911. They just took a report. We lived on a 37 acre rugged heavily forested parcel with a few neighbors mostly on larger parcels. Illegal grows are not uncommon around there. Our house was not visible from the road and our driveway was 600' long and curvy. You don't accidentally end up in my back yard. The guy was on foot.

We had a well and a 5000 gal water tank (like everyone else and required for fire protection). There was also a spring on one lower corner if our property. I suspect the guy was scouting for a grow site or had one staked out and was checking for water sources or to see what the neighborhood looked like (risk assessment).

This happened one ridge over (about two miles as the crow flies) back in 2005:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/LOS-GATOS-Man-killed-in-shootout-was-from-East-2617723.php
I had some meth heads shooting on my property twice in 2020. I confronted them once. They threatened to "burn you out." Sheriff took a report over the phone. Didn't even send a deputy out. I sent photos and they called back to tell me the two were known in the area for property and drug crimes.

Once you've had direct contact with the problem, it tends to affect your viewpoint. Many people are far beyond rehabilitation and others simply will not participate. What then?

Interesting stories. What a frightening experience for your wife (and you!) with the guy outside the house.

I didn't really post that observation regarding drug policy cos it was relevant to this discussion though - more just as an example of how toeing the party line happens at all levels, all the time, irrespective of political allegiance.

 

[john12ax7]

How is news in the rest of the world? I will occasionally watch BBC and DW.

In the US corporatist is a good way to describe things. Somewhere along the way devious folks realized it was very profitable to control the narrative and rile up a portion of the population. Traditional news reporting with objective facts has gone by the wayside, not enough profit in that. Fox News is the OG. Seeing dollar signs places like Msnbc followed suit to target a different portion of the population. 90+% of Fox News viewers are Republican, 90+% of Msnbc viewers are Democrat. Social media has also joined the party. Divide, enrage, rake in the cash.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Trumps not in office, if he was then it would be a different discussion.

I’m asking about during the 2016 campaign and during his presidency; or prior. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to him prior! The parts I did know, never made me think: You know who’s not in the politics world and would make a great president?

 

[AnalogPackrat]

I’m asking about during the 2016 campaign and during his presidency; or prior. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to him prior!

Yes, Trump has narcissistic tendencies. He can't hide it. It's been apparent to me since his Apprentice series. I don't like that aspect of his personality in the least. Then there are the more dangerous types who are equally narcissistic, but who are adept at putting up a facade. Barack Obama is one of that type. Bill Clinton may be another. Nixon, Wilson, LBJ... Politics, like Hollywood, tends to attract narcissists and those who love to control others. It's nothing new. It's why our Constitution is the way it is.

Having said that, senile dementia or Alzheimer's are a completely different matter and much more serious. Who really believes Joe Biden is at full mental capacity and is actually running this administration? We elect a president and vice president in this country and they are expected to perform the duties of their offices. That clearly is not the case today (and that was apparent many months prior to the 2020 election).

 

[Recording Engineer]

No. Trump is different than all those mentioned. Not in a positive way. Nearly every paragraph from Trump’s mouth is nothing short of bizarre. How does anyone not address that but speak of Biden?

 

[AnalogPackrat]

No. Trump is different than all those mentioned. Not in a positive way. Nearly every paragraph from Trump’s mouth is nothing short of bizarre. How does anyone not address that but speak of Biden?

I never said he was "the same" as the other narcissists I listed. Despite his deep flaws he delivered on more of his campaign promises than any other POTUS during my adulthood. And under his administration the "magic wand" was working and there is no debating the results compared to feckless Obama and the current disaster. I'll take results any day.

 

[Recording Engineer]

An answer without an answer… What I’d expect from a politician. Otherwise. I’d normally expect acknowledgement of the double-standard but not caring and actually being pride of it.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

An answer without an answer… What I’d expect from a politician. Otherwise. I’d normally expect acknowledgement of the double-standard but not caring and being pride of it.

I said he was a narcissist and that I don't care for that aspect of his personality. He can't hide it unlike others. That is an observation, not a double standard. He produced results better than Obama or Biden. That is an objective fact. I don't have to like the man to see these things and compare him to other recent presidents. Your turn.

 

[Recording Engineer]

I highly acknowledge and agree that one must have a certain commonality of traits to others to get to the presidency; be it narcissism or otherwise. However, that is not all what we’re talking about; nor is it when people mention concern for Biden’s mental state from old age.

 

[JohnRoberts]

An answer without an answer… What I’d expect from a politician. Otherwise. I’d normally expect acknowledgement of the double-standard but not caring and actually being pride of it.

we have been arguing about this here for years, yes Trump is a blowhard... But he is also an outsider businessman willing to call out the swamp corruption.

Don't focus on his tweets, look at his policy accomplishment, that President Biden has been unwinding as fast as he can...

Of course opinions vary... but the results seem apparent.

JR

 

[Recording Engineer]

we have been arguing about this here for years, yes Trump is a blowhard... But he is also an outsider businessman willing to call out the swamp corruption.

Don't focus on his tweets, look at his policy accomplishment, that President Biden has been unwinding as fast as he can...

Of course opinions vary... but the results seem apparent.

JR be so, but that still conveniently doesn’t address what I’ve presented.

That may or may not be so, but that still conveniently doesn’t address what I’m asking if anyone here on the right would like to address. Instead, redirecting seems to be the only thing going on. Do it well and you too may become a great politician! Ha!

 

[scott2000]

That may or may not be so, but that still conveniently doesn’t address what I’m asking

What is it you are expecting to hear?
The narcissism thing was pretty good...

 

[Matador]

What is it you are expecting to hear?

He asking why Biden is characterized as having "dementia" and "Alzheimer's", whereas Trump can ramble incoherently for hours, unable to even complete sentences or make a point, but is instead "a business man" and a "narcissist, but it's ok because they all are".

 

[fallout]

He asking why Biden is characterized as having "dementia" and "Alzheimer's"

Because it couldn't be more obvious.