In this video, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) suggests that he would like to see both FOX and MSNBC taken off the air so that people felt better about Congress and their government. This is coming from a Senator who led the effort to kill dozens of public interest lawsuits suing telecommunication companies for violations of their privacy and supported the effort to bar any investigation into the torture program. The problem, it seems, is the new coverage.
Here is what Rockefeller said:
“There’s a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: ‘Out. Off. End. Goodbye.’ It would be a big favor to political discourse; our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future.”
When you have successfully killed dozens of public interest lawsuits, one can understand why you would believe that this is within your power. The premise appears to be that, without criticism and commentary on these cable programs, people would have more “faith in their government and more importantly, in their future.”
Buddha –
(jokes as a weapon by the British forces)
“We soon had the jokes . . . in a form, which our troops couldn’t understand, but the Germans could.” (and thus, they would die laughing)
Thank you for that. Maybe we should all brush up on our (full) Monte, just to better understand our world.
Patric,
“not one of them ever said the anti-Christ couldn’t be a comic in disguise”
Yeah, but I’d have to say the odds are pretty slim. Despite the following sketch, jokes are almost never fatal.
“Personally, I’m more worried about the weak minded being led by the Evil rather than being influenced by the Funny.”
Excellent observation, to be sure. But I don’t believe the wise of us would disagree that “funny” and “evil” are mutually exclusive.
Prophets notwithstanding, not one of them ever said the anti-Christ couldn’t be a comic in disguise.
Fox would have a difficult time meeting the broadcast standards that all local stations had to meet in the 1950s and 1960s, that of broadcasting in the public interest.
Had Congress not intervened on behalf of crappy news, to promote anti-news, Fox could not exist in its current formats.
I don’t see any threat of new government action. I see a come-to-James-Madison speech.
Certainly Foxistas will see it differently.
We would be better off without any Rockefellers
SB (about Fox, especially)
Somehow when Stewart and Colbert complained about the same thing as Sen. Rockefeller it was funnier.
Of course they didn’t want to remove the two channels, but neither does Rockefeller. He just has the same bug inside that I do (about Fox, anyway) that wish they’d either tone it down or stop compeletely. He’s completely right about their making it harder for both people and politicians to talk to each other in a civil and productive manner.
Criticism is instructive. Cynicism is destructive.
Patrick,
“Comedy disguised as news sinks right into the cerebral cortex of the weakest minds in America.”
Herein lies our difference. I too have a problem with fake news, however, the word “disguised” is key to our difference. TDS is fake news in that they 1) don’t do investigative reporting and 2) they play what they present manifestly as humor.
FAUXNews, known for making shit up and presenting it as real> news, is far more problematic and damaging as propaganda because it’s inherently dishonest in both research and presentation and presenting itself as something to be taken on par with actual investigative journalism and news when if fact it is as much “infotainment” as TDS and far less honest about their content and agenda.
I have never heard anyone associated with TDS say it was anything other than a comedy show, yet I hear that rotund prick Roger Ailes or his master Mephistopheles Murdoch talking all the time about FOXNews like it was real journalism when actually it is real Neocon propaganda and nothing more. Propaganda with an evil fascist agenda I might add.
Personally, I’m more worried about the weak minded being led by the Evil rather than being influenced by the Funny.
Buddha – You are of course right about the comedy aspect of people like Stewart. I sometimes find him hilarious myself. But you’ll notice how these types of shows are proliferating.
And the scary aspect of the whole thing – it seems to me – is that all of these “newsy-infotainment” programs find their way into homes of people who can’t find the U.S. on a blank world map. How many of them can separate parody from reality? And pity, there is no IQ meter at the voting booth.
Comedy disguised as news sinks right into the cerebral cortex of the weakest minds in America. And their ability to separate fact from funny is hardly their strong point. In my particular town 20 years ago, it resulted in a shoo-in victory in the “Sonny Bono for Mayor” race. Voters bought into the theater of the event, loved the whole idea of “cool” sound-bites, and really couldn’t have cared less how truly inept he would be.
Kinda like Bristol Palin. Her voters keep her in the game and to hell with reality.
HenMan,
Of course. It’s Hell. It’s all showers.
Buddha said: “If there is a Hell, Rupert(Murdoch)isn’t just going there. Satan(along with Halliburton)have built him his own wing.”
If Halliburton/KBR built it, I would recommend Rupert try out the shower as soon as possible.
Patrick,
It’s important to remember Stewart is a comedian, not a newsman. The reason that he has become news by default for many is that comedians have the “luxury” of being able to tell the truth. That, as a nation, many have resorted to “The Daily Show” for news is a two-edged blade: it’s less impressive that a comedy show is successful than it is shameful that the 4th Estate has become such sycophants and puppets of industry that they no longer seem to care about truth let alone justice and force people to look for truth and justice wherever they can find it.
Even out of the mouths of jokers.
What I find interesting is this new trend of, say, Bill O’Reilly going on Jon Stewart’s show; then Jon Stewart goes on “The Factor” and then they each talk about going on each other shows and playing clips of themselves. When O’Reilly, for example, had the little spat with the ladies on “The View” both shows got a ton of mileage out of playing clips of the tiff. Could they BE more self-important?
I can’t remember any time in my life when the “news” programs blurred the edges of reality, as they do now, trampling all over each other to preen for camera time. Walter Cronkite is rolling over in his grave.
But to stick to the subject here, if Rockefeller was really paying attention, he’d see that both sides are not only pandering by giving their “opponent” (read: comrade in arms) air-time, they’re manipulating viewers in their transparent “wow! look at how fair & balanced we are” scheme for ratings.
I never cared for Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw sounded like a fellow with a mouth full of tuna. But Lord, do I miss them now.
And I’d kill strangers for another 10 years of Peter Jennings.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Pleads Guilty to Possession of Controlled Substances and Conversion of Government Property
WASHINGTON Senior U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to possession of controlled substances and conversion of government property, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin of the FBIs Atlanta office and Director Vernon Keenan of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Camp, 67, a Senior U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of controlled substances and one count of conversion of government property. Camps guilty plea was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Hogan for the District of Columbia, who was sitting by designation in the Northern District of Georgia. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 4, 2011, at 11:00 a.m.
As part of his guilty plea, Camp admitted that between May 2010 and Oct. 1, 2010, he unlawfully possessed and used cocaine, marijuana and Roxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. Camp also admitted to giving an individual, whom he knew had a prior felony drug conviction, money to purchase cocaine, Roxycodone and marijuana. Camp admitted that he unlawfully gave the individual a U.S. District Court laptop computer for her personal use. Camp was arrested on Oct. 1, 2010, after attempting to purchase drugs from an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug dealer.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Deborah Sue Mayer and Tracee Joy Plowell of the Criminal Divisions Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI Atlantas Public Corruption Squad. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation provided substantial assistance in this case.
10-1328
Criminal Division
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/November/10-crm-1328.html
FOX and MSNBC are both directly supporting the current White House Coup. Even though there exists all this entertainment for us to wonder what is going on, the reality is they like to put on a big show to keep us guessing. This game has been going on for decades and now more than ever since the WH Coup is in trouble. But don’t discount any Rockefeller related to the Federal Reserve because that is truly where the core of the problem is. They like to offer us entertainment to keep us confused but over time they have shown us who they are. It’s important to keep things in perspective.
Marty Didier
Northbrook, IL
http://www.gazettedirect.com/fox-news-had-more-election-viewers-than-cnn-and-msnbc-combined
Time for the Senator to ride off into the sunset. Let the soiled brat take his toys with him. We will play on.
“I am quite serious about Fox News being taken off the air, and Rupert Murdoch deserving to be in prison.”
As am I, Gingerbaker. He should have his citizenship revoked too since the only reason he got it was to circumvent foreign ownership rules for media and to further his clearly fascist and unamerican agenda. Rupert Murdoch is one of the truly evil people on the planet (that is evil by choice) and it’s not to late to keep his line from breeding further if you ask me. If there is a Hell, Rupert isn’t just going there. Satan (along with Halliburton) have built him his own wing.
It’s amazing what those fools will do and they always seem to be trying to top one another … I think we should send them to a war zone to regain their sanity.
Blouise,
“There’s a hurricane coming.”
There are few sentences that the desperate to get famous in television love to hear more than that.
Suckers.
Mother Nature will kill you whether the cameras are rolling or not, but think of the ratings is she does kill you on camera! Nothing says success like, “I earned my Peabody Award the old fashioned way . . . by taking a wind driven two-by-four through the chest.”