mgeorge on 2/8/2012 at 22:11
I’m not a very political person but every four years I do pay some attention to the upcoming presidential election.
This year I decided to start researching the candidates a bit earlier than I normally do so I could make an informed decision about who to vote for. So for the first time in my long life, I’ve started watching MSNBC and Fox News to get a head start to help me in this tough choice.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
According to MSNBC, Mitt Romney is an arrogant millionaire asswipe who’s out to fuck over the middle class and the poor, while giving fat cat rich bastards tax breaks so they can live even larger. He’s totally out of touch with the “average” American. If this guy gets in, the country’s doomed.
According to Fox News, Obama’s big government socialist policies will have this country going bankrupt in a matter of just a few years. He’s even more arrogant than Romney thinking the American people will fall for his rhetoric. If this guy gets in, the country’s doomed.
So all in all I’ve learned nothing at all about either candidate!
But there is an upside to all this. Watching these “informative”, “accurate” “news” programs have given me a shitload of entertainment. Try what I’ve done. Watch MSNBC until a commercial comes on, and then switch over to Fox News. Next commercial, switch again and so on and so forth. It’s hilarious!
Personally I think ALL politician’s are a bunch of self-righteous dickwads and find it sad that these fools can’t get together, JUST FOR ONCE, and do something for the American people rather than for themselves. But will it happen? Haha.
june gloom on 3/8/2012 at 01:55
and of course the Onion also says "Obama declares war on Coke"
Azaran on 3/8/2012 at 02:17
It's funny, when Obama first passed his healthcare law a couple years back, most news outlets simply stated the facts. Whereas the headline on the Faux news website was "Obama tells America: 'I win, you lose'" :cheeky:
To the OP: Fox news is good for a laugh once in a while, but it's not news just keep that in mind, most of it is bs
Thief13x on 3/8/2012 at 03:12
Quote:
Personally I think ALL politician’s are a bunch of self-righteous dickwads and find it sad that these fools can’t get together, JUST FOR ONCE, and do something for the American people rather than for themselves. But will it happen? Haha.
The irony is...they've ALL been voted in by people who would agree with you.
scumble on 3/8/2012 at 14:09
You just don't watch TV news if you want to approach a state of being "informed" about what is actually important.
That said I'm not sure how being informed about some policies helps you make a decision, as typically there is no way of knowing until some people get to be "the government".
faetal on 3/8/2012 at 16:25
What Scumble said. Watching the news isn't research. You are better off giving wikipedia a look. While it is far from perfect and prone to edit wars etc.. it is referenced (should be anyway) and the edit wars come with discussions which can be analysed.
Jason Moyer on 3/8/2012 at 22:34
Quote Posted by dethtoll
and of course the Onion also says "Obama declares war on Coke"
The onion would say "HOLY FUCKING SHIT! OBAMA FLIES COKE JET INTO PEPSI TOWER"
LarryG on 3/8/2012 at 23:21
According to a personally known political insider, Coke vs. Pepsi has been a traditional battle ground for Dems vs. Pubs. With each change of party in the White House, the vending machines in the inner sanctums always change. Why? It's not, as you might guess, because because of what the presidents actually drink. No. It's because one is traditionally a major campaign contributor to one party and the other is traditionally a major campaign contributor to the other. Which give more to which, you ask? Sorry to burst any news orgs' bubble, but historically Coke is Democratic and Pepsi is Republican.
As to TV News, you are generally better off reading the NY Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and the LA Times on alternate weeks and forming your own opinions. MSNBC and FOX are both biased, FOX seriously more so IMHO, but both are to one extent or another. And the "major" network news outlets (CBS, NBC, ABC) are only a single sound bite deep. If you want to be informed, I'm afraid there is no substitute for hard work. If you insist on getting your news read to you, then your best TV news source is PBS, and on radio, NPR. There, they are still committed to reporting the facts as facts and opinions as opinions.
Edit:
As to the issue of politicians working together for the sake of the country, don't hold your breath. Sadly getting elected is more important to them all than actually serving the nation. So that means deals with the the dollared devils of one stripe or another. Until we get serious about election reform, I think we are stuck. And those elected by the current system have no interest in changing what is in place: it's how they got elected! I'm afraid it would take a populist non-partisan movement for a constitutional amendment, and that ain't gonna happen. Most people are too turned off to bother to vote, let alone force something like that down Congress' throat.
