The unmentioned Charlottesville thugs

[Bob]

I guess my question is what are the options to reform the media? State run media? I don't think we want to go down that road. It seems as though the ship has sailed on returning to a time when the media had credibility and integrity, so I'm not sure there's an easy answer. I don't have cable at home so my interaction with cable news, which I believe is by far the worst form of media, is limited. Sometimes when I'm in a hotel lobby and both Fox News and CNN or MSNBC are on simultaneously, I find it amusing to watch the spin they each put on whatever the stories of the day are, knowing that reality probably lies somewhere in between. Unfortunately, I don't think most Americans are capable of critical thinking and they just choose whichever channel echoes their own bias. This only makes the problem worse. I guess I'm doing my part in a small way by not subscribing to cable and supporting channels that lack credibility; however it doesn't let me rest any easier at night.

[bill25]

Yeah, and when they are called out on the click bait and inaccurate content, they claim freedom of speech.

Agree, but everyone has heard the phrase "you can't yell fire in a movie theatre", or something to that effect. We have freedom of speech, but there are supposed to be safety limitations. When the news insights riots based on inflammation of facts, or even inaccuracies, they should be fined at a minimum.

There are also libel and slander that are supposed to protect people from written or spoken false statements that wrongfully ruin someone's reputation. It seems like this stuff happens all the time.

I guess my question is what are the options to reform the media? State run media?

No. Fine or prosecute the existing companies/journalists that broadcast or print inaccuracies.

[kevm14]

Ben Shapiro podcast on this, #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67zCG-KPWfQ

And #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWr8pUOUfQY

I guess this is the video form of the podcast I subscribed to.

[Bob]

When you start prosecuting media for printing something deemed to be inaccurate, that effectively becomes state run media because the media is only allowed to publish what would be considered acceptable by the Attorney General, or whoever is in charge of enforcement. Like I said, I don't think there's an easy solution.

[kevm14]

Ben Shapiro podcast on this, #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67zCG-KPWfQ

I just watched it. Pretty good.

[kevm14]

And #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWr8pUOUfQY

Watching now. Also good.

[Adam]

When you start prosecuting media for printing something deemed to be inaccurate, that effectively becomes state run media because the media is only allowed to publish what would be considered acceptable by the Attorney General, or whoever is in charge of enforcement. Like I said, I don't think there's an easy solution.

Yes,

Also, you can try they type of journalism that talks to people on camera rather than just tell you what to think about stuff (Not suitable for work or children):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P54sP0Nlngg

Maybe the statue had nothing to do with it.

[kevm14]

Ben continues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCkMENmab70

[kevm14]

Another article about free speech and protests.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/ ... id=prn_msn

[kevm14]

Best explanation yet about antifa vs alt-right.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/a ... ar-AAqgEpp

Pasting it because it is worth reading. I think more people need to understand this.

Alt-right's despicability doesn't make 'antifa' the good guys
Fighting Nazis is a good thing, but fighting Nazis doesn't necessarily make you or your cause good. By my lights this is simply an obvious fact.

The greatest Nazi-killer of the 20th century was Josef Stalin. He also killed millions of his own people and terrorized, oppressed, enslaved or brutalized tens of millions more. The fact that he killed Nazis during WWII (out of self-preservation, not principle) doesn't dilute his evil one bit.

This should settle the issue as far as I'm concerned. Nazism was evil. Soviet communism was evil. It's fine to believe that Nazism was more evil than communism. That doesn't make communism good.

Alas, it doesn't settle the issue. Confusion on this point poisoned politics in America and abroad for generations.

Part of the problem is psychological. There's a natural tendency to think that when people, or movements, hate each other, it must be because they're opposites. This assumption overlooks the fact that many -- indeed, most -- of the great conflicts and hatreds in human history are derived from what Sigmund Freud called the "narcissism of minor differences."

Most tribal hatreds are between very similar groups. The European wars of religion were between peoples who often shared the same language and culture but differed on the correct way to practice the Christian faith. The Sunni-Shia split in the Muslim world is the source of great animosity between very similar peoples.

The young communists and fascists fighting for power in the streets of 1920s Germany had far more in common with each other than they had with decent liberals or conservatives, as we understand those terms today. That's always true of violent radicals and would-be totalitarians.

The second part of the problem wasn't innocent confusion, but sinister propaganda. As Hitler solidified power and effectively outlawed the Communist Party of Germany, The Communist International (Comintern) abandoned its position that socialist and progressive groups that were disloyal to Moscow were "fascist" and instead encouraged communists everywhere to build "popular fronts" against the common enemy of Nazism.

These alliances of convenience with social democrats and other progressives were a great propaganda victory for communists around the world because they bolstered the myth that communists were just members of the left coalition in the fight against Hitler, bigotry, fascism, etc.

This obscured the fact that whenever the communists had a chance to seize power, they did so. And often, the first people they killed, jailed or exiled were their former allies. That's what happened in Eastern Europe, Cuba and other places where communists succeeded in taking over the government.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this seemingly ancient history is relevant today because of the depressingly idiotic argument about whether it's OK to equate "antifa" -- anti-fascist left-wing radicals -- with the neo-Nazi and white supremacist rabble that recently descended on Charlottesville, Virginia. The president wants to claim that there were "very fine people" on both sides of the protest and that the anti-fascist radicals are equally blameworthy. He borrowed from Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity the bogus term "alt-left" to describe the antifa radicals.

The term is bogus for the simple reason that, unlike the alt-right, nobody calls themselves "the alt-left." And that's too bad. One of the only nice things about the alt-right is that its leaders are honest about the fact that they want nothing to do with traditional American conservatism. Like the original Nazis, they seek to replace the traditional right with their racial hogwash.

The antifa crowd has a very similar agenda with regard to traditional American liberalism. These goons and thugs oppose free speech, celebrate violence, despise dissent and have little use for anything else in the American political tradition. But many liberals, particularly in the media, are victims of the same kind of confusion that vexed so much of American liberalism in the 20th century. Because antifa suddenly has the (alt-)right enemies, they must be the good guys. They're not.

And that's why this debate is so toxically stupid. Fine, antifa isn't as bad as the KKK. Who cares? Since when is being less bad than the Klan a major moral accomplishment?

In these tribal times, the impulse to support anyone who shares your enemies is powerful. But it is a morally stunted reflex. This is America. You're free to denounce totalitarians wherever you find them -- even if they might hate the right people.