Wednesday, July 06, 2011

14 Propaganda Techniques Fox "News" Uses to Brainwash Americans | Truthout

Hi Rob,

This one caught my eye because we've talked about Fox news in our family before:

http://www.truth-out.org/14-propaganda-techniques-fox-news-uses-brainwash-americans/1309612678

I did not, however, scan much past the opening two or three paragraphs. The author has no sense of the history of American journalism. From the start – 1776 and before – we have had propaganda, innuendo, lies, appalling or laughable attacks, subjective analysis, distortion, defamation, and all manner of vicious material in our democratic journalism. That’s what you get with free speech. We’ve had good and bad journalism in our national conversation forever. The difference now, with the internet and digital communication in general, is that we have much more of each – good and bad. Citizens always had to sort out truth and falsehood in the nation’s collective consciousness. The job may be harder now because the quantity is greater, but for me it’s feels like the opposite. The more bad journalism I’m exposed to, the easier it becomes to recognize it.

I know we’ve differed on the general question of citizens’ abilities in this area, but I figured I’d make my contrarian case anyway!

Love,

Dad

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Michele Bachmann’s ‘Constitutional Conservatism': The Hidden Meaning | The New Republic

Michele Bachmann’s ‘Constitutional Conservatism': The Hidden Meaning | The New Republic:

"Bachmann’s own intimate connections to the more radical strains of conservative thinking, which long predate the Tea Party movement, are there for anyone to see. And there is only so much mileage she can gain from her so-far successful efforts to exceed the expectations of those who had the vague but erroneous impression that her extremist tendencies are the product of stupidity or indiscipline."