Letters to the Editor
Westmiller
Published Letters: 74
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News - NOT News
[Read the article: Everything that is rancid and corrupt with modern journalism: The Nutshell]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]News is a new fact that reporters distribute.
Here's the problem:
What someone said is almost always new (unless they're reciting the same speech or line), but the fact that they said it is largely irrelevant ... unless they are powerful enough to act on it ... whether or not the statement itself is true or false.
So, if I say "Pakistan is part of NATO," it's just stupid; but if the President says "Pakistan is part of NATO," it's news because the President said it and he has power.
The problem for most reporters is that the statement is news, but it is also news that he made a very stupid statement. However, reporters can claim "objectivity" by simply noting that sombody else who is powerful said that the statement was false. Thus, a "fair and balanced" report of contrary bits of "new facts."
Many reporters feel no obligation whatever to report what is actually true or false in reality. Thus, Jon Swift believes that "The more people who say you are wrong, the more objective, and hence right, you are." There is no reality, no truth or falsehood, only a balance of opinions.
This Hegelian dispostion - that there aren't any facts - ought to disqualify anyone from the title of "news reporter," since there are no "new facts" in their view of the world.
Of course, Joe Klein only pretends to be reporting facts, because his fictions are just another opinion. He doesn't have any obligation to state the truth, because his view is inherently powerful, simply by virtue of the huge circulation of Time magazine. Thus, his fiction is "news," in the view of those who share his fantasies and respect his power.
Thankfully, we now have access to the facts via the internet (no, Pakistan is not part of NATO) and courageous reporters like Glenn, who still respect the truth and are willing to challenge powerful opinions that are simply false.
Now, if we only had one politician who was willing to speak "truth to power," we might have some hope for the future of this country. If I were to mention Ron Paul, that would just be my opinion. I'm not powerful, so that isn't news ... just fact.
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Hitting the nail on the head
[Read the article: Bad stenographers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Walter Pincus gets it exactly right:
"Well, that's objectivity if you think there are only two sides. And if you're not interested in the facts."
But, are reporters not interested because it isn't easy to get the facts, or are the facts just inconsistent with the story that the want to tell?
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Unreasonable Expectations
[Read the article: Time tries again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... So that was completely wrong, too ...
An innocent oversight?
Certainly, you can't expect reporters or columnists to actually read the Constitution, when three-quarters of those in Congress have no idea what it says. Is it really reasonable to expect legislators to uphold an oath to defend something that's just a "g-d damn piece of paper"?
Perhaps comedy is the only recourse. As Jay Leno cracked, "Why not just give Iraq our Constitution ... we haven't been using it for decades."
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Fossilized Brain Cells
[Read the article: John McCain's revisionist history]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]McCain only had cancer in his cheek, but his perception of reality has been grossly distorted by what he wishes were true.
Last debate, he corrected Romney's statement that "there appears to be progress" in Iraq. "No, no, no," said McCain, "We are winning in Iraq. There's no doubt about it."
This time, he claims to be the "only one" who spoke out against Rumsfield's strategy, standing right next to a candidate who criticized Rummy every other day: Ron Paul. But, McCain doesn't share Paul's conclusions about the right strategy, because he's just a "congressweenie.... er, um, congressman."
McCain is delusional, primarily because he can't admit in public that what he craves is a worldwide religious crusade against Islam. McCain is absolutely certain that he is right about everything, endowed by God with the fortitude and wisdom to be Emperor of the World's Greatest Superpower. He really believes that the height of diplomacy is "Bomb, bomb ... bomb bomb Iran."
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OK, I Give Up - Update II Please!
[Read the article: Court orders Bush administration to disclose telecom lobbying ties. What about senators?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Feinstein "has also reached out to legal experts for their views on alternatives to immunity, including substitution."
Does that mean that NSA Director Lt Gen Michael V. Hayden will be "substituted" as the defendant in these lawsuits?
All along, the NSA has wanted to assume the defense of the telecon's conduct ... with the benefit of "executive privilege" to hide all "national security" evidence.
Rather than "excusing" the telecons, the case would immediately be thrown out of court.
Sweet "compromise" for all the miscreants.