Re: OT - For Bill O'Reilly fansOn May 13, 7:38 pm, "DGDevin" <dgde...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> js wrote:
> > But before you do, notice that I did NOT say, Michael Moore is RIGHT.
> > You can disagree with his assertions, you can quibble about his
> > penchant for inserting himself into his documentaries (which was cute
> > and novel in "Roger and Me", but more annoying with every subsequent
> > movie). You can even throw a shit fit because he's doing a voiceover
> > about ICBMs when a scene shows him standing next to a rocket that's
> > not an ICBM. But you'd be hard pressed to find anything he
> > fabricated out of whole cloth...
>
> Really, so that newspaper that complained over the doctored "headline" from
> their paper in F9/11, does claiming a newspaper ran a story they didn't in
> fact run not qualify as fabrication? The bank manager who said the scene in
> BFC where Moore walks in, fills out an application and walks out minutes
> later with a gun was staged for his camera and was not an accurate depiction
> of how they really ran that promotional gimmick, was she lying? Offering
> glowing praise to the Canadian health care system while somehow overlooking
> that just a couple of years ago the supreme court of Canada said in fact the
> system is messed up enough that life-threatening delays in treatment are
> widespread, is that just poetic license?
>
> I certainly enjoyed his 180-degree reversal over being booed when he
> accepted his Academy Award. At the time he claimed it was just a few
> right-wingers in the audience and a couple of stagehands. Yet today he
> tells a very different story, he recently claimed to have been booed off the
> stage. The reason for the revised story is now he gets 'I told you so'
> mileage out of it, he warned us about Iraq but we wouldn't listen. For
> those of us who remember the original version it suggests a willingness to
> rewrite the record as needed.
>
> I'll give you an example of classic Moore from outside his movies. In 2004
> he showed up at a vote counting center in Ohio on election night. He ranted
> and blustered and yelled at some poor security guard, demanding to be
> admitted to the building with his camera, 'What are you people hiding in
> there,?' that sort of thing. Of course there was no reason to believe
> anything was being hidden in there, Moore had no grounds to suspect the
> staff at this particular center were up to no good, Moore just wanted a nice
> photo op showing him as the people's hero. Once he got his video he packed
> up and left, his usual audience was no doubt thrilled at his courage, not
> being troubled much at all that Moore made no specific charges and found no
> evidence, that all he did was strike a dramatic pose.
>
> I suggest to you that his movies are full of similar rubbish, lots of sound
> and fury, lots of innuendo, lots of suggestion and quick editing so nobody
> is tempted to really think about what just flashed across the screen. So
> strictly speaking the usual range of propaganda film techniques don't have
> to involve outright lying, but when you lead people to believe what you want
> them to believe without actually proving your case the end result seems
> awfully similar. Moore is good at it too, leads a very comfy lifestyle as a
> result of his skill, for all the baggy-ass bluejeans and crumpled baseball
> cap he affects.
>
> > ...As opposed to say, Bill-O, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc. who say the most
> > outlandish, unsubstantiated lies day in and day out, and are allowed
> > to skate because their audience is stupid and the "liberals" can't or
> > won't get their own bully pulpit going.
>
> Based on the implosion of Air America it would seem "can't" is the correct
> explanation, not for lack of trying.
>
> > OTOH, you have a conservative like Tucker Carlson who backs up his
> > assertions with actual facts and generally refrains from the lowest
> > common denominator crap the other guys spew. But that's why he's
> > terminally between shows and can't get decent ratings anywhere. Ditto
> > for Air America. Rational arguments and reasoned opinions don't sell.
>
> You're kidding, if Carlson is the gold standard then we're in worse shape
> than I thought. His stupid remarks about the French govt's sinking of that
> Greenpeace ship were enough for me, it was okay because they didn't intend
> to kill anyone, that part was just an accident. Anybody who says planting a
> bomb amounts to just vandalism does not make my short list of reasonable
> commentators.
>
> Speaking of Air America, are we supposed to have forgotten about their slimy
> financial dealings yet?
>
> > The sad and scary part is that lies, divisiveness and hate DO sell.
> > THAT'S why you should care about the FAUX News crowd...There are a
> > WHOLE lot of people in this country who "think" like that, 3 share or
> > not.
>
> People have the right to choose to be misinformed, whether it's by watching
> Fox (something I do only for The Simpsons and similar fare) or reading
> Moveon.org or the Daily KOS like everything posted there is believable.
> [Pause for outraged defense of those websites by those who believe
> everything they see there]. Many of the most prominent newspapers in the
> country have a strong political affiliation, always have had, that shouldn't
> come as a surprise to anyone. That some news outlets are more successful at
> selling their line of bull than others only seems to be a problem for those
> who can't accomplish the same thing. I have to wonder if we'd hear much of
> this complaint if Air America had been a huge success?
>
> > I guess the point is that hating EVERY TV commentator is no better
> > than believing everything they say. Both ways only keep you from
> > having to think critically.
>
> I'd rather get the news than commentary, I like the BBC for that. How
> mistrusting all obvious spin-doctors prevents critical thinking is beyond me
> however. I enjoy politics-based comedy as much as anyone, but it seems like
> a lot of folks don't consider it comedy anymore, it's their primary source
> of insight, left or right. No wonder things are such a mess.
Why are rightards always pretending to be "independents" these days?
Oh...yeah...