Scott Yee posted something that was pretty interesting.

Fox use of the time slot prior to the Superbowl to interview President Obama and then it is followed up with a reading of the Consitution.

Totally Right Wing Agenda ?

Just a thought....

Hi Dan.
Yep, Fox News' imo is totally 'right' wing, and I believe it was totally 'wrong' for them to use that venue to promote it,
especially on our special day when all Americans should come together as one to celebrate the Superbowl!
Shame on Fox (Rupert Murdock) and shame on Bill O'Reilly!
All things considered, I think Obama handled that interview well.

I agree with you Scott. I'm really glad you brought that up.

One thing I like about Obama is the fact is he'll sit down and talk to any body completely
unscripted.


If you are late to the party. Here is the comment made on a different thread.

Scott " Interestingly enough, the Superbowl was broadcast on the right leaning "Fox Channel" beginning with the highly politicized pre-game interview with President Obama by Bill O'Reilly!
I personally didn't think that was an appropriate venue for such a right vs left politicized interview."

Its becoming a tradition for the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl to have a short lead-in interview with the POTUS.

I thought he handled it pretty well.

Therein lies the problem.
Fox News, fair and balanced . . . not!

Interesting info on federal Taxes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110207/ap_on_re_us/us_lower_tax_bills

Walter Cronkite ... We miss you!! Dam ... I'm getting old!!!

Whatever happened to those articulate, often brilliant, voices of the Right? Guys like William F. Buckley. We on the Left didn't hate or revile him; rather, we were somewhat jealous of the fact that we had few, if any, spokesmen on the Left that could match his eloquence and intellect. Boy, how times change. Now we have Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Bachmann, Angle. I guess you COULD say that these people ARE articulate....to that segment of the populace freed " from the restraints of education, literacy, science, responsibility, equity, kindness and humility".

Yeah JC, where is Walter Cronkite when you need him?

chas

chas...agree, but where are ANY voices on the Left?

Big Corporations (like Clear Channel) have bought out all the little guys, so there is no longer an equal balance of talk radio here in the USA.(Reagan made sure of that) I live in an area of the Country that has ZERO radio stations broadcasting ANYTHING Left wing. It's 24/7 Right Wing, and many of those shows are pure hate. It is unbelievable that a city like Philadelphia, which btw is a very Progressive Democrat left leaning city, and I can't find one Progressive radio stations. Why? Because Republicans are pro BIG business, Big Business now controls the airways, and thus the GOP has a huge edge in the way our Country 'hears' the 'news'. News? Well that's a whole new topic of what they call "news".

That being said, I do give the Right credit, they were, and continue to more aggressive in getting their message out. Those on the Progressive side let these changes happen, and have no one to blame but themselves. I'm a registered Democrat, but it sickens me that they have this "Thank-You May I Have Another" smack-down they constantly and willingly receive from the Right.

Thank God for the Daily Show. It makes me feel better at the end of a day.

\
Scott ... I would appreciate it if you could give me a radio or tv station that IS fair and balanced ?!?!?

The Super Bowl is broadcast over a different network each year ... do you think ABC, CBS, or NBC give fair and balanced interviews/newscasts, etc.? ... and I won't even begin to talk about any of the 'cable' news stations ... each and all has their own agenda ... the are "fair and balanced" depending on the listener's viewpoint ...

Tony, I will agree with you up to the point that there probably is a slightly 'liberal' bias in most of the mainstream media, including the cable channels. I don't believe, however, that there is the kind of hate-mongering and extremism that we have seen on the Right since the election of President Obama. Have you listened to guys like Micheal Savage recently? Have you listened to the responses of the people who listen to these guys? They are as extreme (and dangerous) as anyone walking the streets of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. What Fox does is give people like Glen Beck a platform with little or no restraints. Their audiences are relatively small but still significant. The people who blow up federal buildings, murder doctors who legally provide abortion services, and show up at presidential political rallies armed with AK47's, come from these ranks. True, this is the lunatic fringe, but look at who they align themselves with.

I don't believe the problem is with fiscal conservatives; I think the problem (the one we all pretend doesn't exist) lies with so-called social conservatives. These are the people who would have us turn the clock back 50 years when ...........well, you know when.

Still, I think this is, or has the potential to be, the greatest country in the world. I base this on it's generosity (which, admittedly sometimes comes with a price), it's ingenuity and creativity in science and technology, it's willingness to 'step up to the plate' (sometimes taking longer than we'd like) on the great moral issues of the day; in other words, when push comes to shove, we can usually depend on the MAJORITY of Americans to 'do the right thing'. Oh, did I mention religious freedom. It ain't perfect but I'd rather be here than anyplace else. I'm sure others feel the same about their respective countries. The image of the 'ugly American' (some of it well deserved) has caused us much grief in recent years, but I truly think we're making progress in learning to respect other countries and other cultures. Of course, some of us are slower to learn than others.

chas

chas, well said, although I'm not sure if we have a so called Liberal Mainstream Media.

Tony,

I believe Scott was referring to Fox NEWS, a completly different animal than the Fox Broadcasting Company that aired the Super Bowl.

A fair and balanced news broadcast? BBC America. No cute blond talking heads, just the news.

Curious sidebar question...is it true MSNBC has been removed from the British TV Broadcast lineup

I've been enjoying Al Jezeera - English lately...

Seriously...

chas ... I am basically conservative in my thinking, my views, and somewhat in how I live my life ... I do not listen to extremists on either side, and when it comes time to vote, I just try to find individuals who think at least somewhat along the same lines as I do - regardless of party affiliation ...
While I do not believe in the TOTAL banning of private ownership of guns, I do believe there should be STRICT laws concerning the purchase of guns and ammo, requiring extensive background checks and time limits for availability ... I also believe that there is NO need for a private citizen to own any automatic weapon, let alone anything like an AK47 ... there should also be strict limits on the type of ammo a private citizen can purchase ...

I think you would have to admit to there being more than just a slight bias in mainstream media ... from the newscasts, to the late night comics, anti-conservatism runs rampant ...
As for extremists, let's not forget how some people were screaming for Bush to be assassinated when he was in office ... so the loud extremist voices come from those who oppose whomever is in office ...

There are some things I feel we are in total agreement on, such as the fact that this IS a great country - otherwise why are there more people trying to get IN than there are trying to get OUT - and that we have the ability to once again be the most respected country in the world ...

PLUS, we also agree on JAZZ !!!

My 'go to' television news programs for objective (fair and balanced) coverage are:

PBS News Hour and BBC World News.

Tony, that said, which television news show(s) do you watch for objective (fair and balanced) coverage?

Tony, I like you and we probably agree on more things than we disagree on.....BUT, I have to say.....people lose credibility with me when they try to point to a handful of leftist nutcases and try to pretend that the 24/7 barrage of hate speech (much of it from politicians and PAC's), the LEVEL of disrespect for Obama (and even his wife and children - heretofore unprecedented), the highest level of (presidential) death threats in history, the 100% block voting against every piece of proposed legislation out of the White House, the stated PRIMARY mission (as articulated my Mitch McConnell) of making sure Obama does not get reelected as opposed to doing the work of congress in the service of the people, and so many other things, from the threat of secession to a proposal to mandate arming every citizen in the state, to official pleas to parents to pull their children out of school rather than have them 'exposed' to an address by the president to school children on the value of staying in school. No, I don't believe the rhetoric on the left even begins to approach the vitriol coming from all quadrants of the right. As I said before, I have no problem with reasonable fiscal conservatism, but I have a BIG problem with what now passes for SOCIAL conservatism. I grew up in the 'good ol' days' that social conservatives would have us return to. Those days of unequal pay, unequal education, discrimination, and White privilege. No thanks, I'll pass. Been there, done that. Obviously we see the world through different cultural filters and I realize that what you may remember as the days of innocence, I may well remember as the days of repression and lost opportunity. The word 'Conservatism' has taken on a new meaning in recent years, a meaning that even old time traditional conservatives are uncomfortable with. Getting a little sleepy now so I have to cut this off, but I wish we had an opportunity to sit around a table and discuss these types of issues. I'm sure we could learn a lot from each other's life experiences.

chas

In my opinion Obama is the most intelligent president there has been since Carter. It is sad that he gets blocked from getting the job done for political reasons. The country needs him to succeed ... it just doesn't realize it. Previous leaders got the USA in the mess it is in now but people just won't admit it. As it is Obama pulled the country back from total economic disaster.

I totally agree with your Nigel.

Chas..

I love your explaination of how this President has undergone such scrutiny from day one. I think the Bill O'Reilly interview and the reading of the constitution was just another example of right side propaganda.

I like to think that I don't lean to the left or right, I just want to see progress. The Republicans have hindered every single idea & agenda the Obama administration has introduced.

It blew my mind to read the article about the federal tax being the lowest in 50 years. What more does the right want ?

Isn't the speaker of the house the guy who called him a liar in the State of the Union ?

No, actually that was Republican representative Joe Wilson from S.C. However, NO member of the Republican leadership would publicly reprimand or rebuke him for it. Also, it was during an address to the joint session of Congress on the Health Bill. No matter, never in history had there been a precedent for this, and clearly shows the lack of respect not only for the President but for the office of president. This 'act' triggered a massive fund raising effort for Wilson in the weeks following the incident.

Although I was very much opposed to Bush policy, it made my blood boil to hear some of the extreme rhetoric coming from the left and the personal attacks on Bush. Why? Because I believe in the sanctity of 'respect for the OFFICE' and by extension, the person who occupies it. To NOT do so undermines the whole concept of democracy, as the person occupying that office was duly elected by the people. Don't like him, vote his out next election. That's supposed to be 'the American way'.

chas

Long live AL FRANKEN (LOL)!

Seriously, like the guy, as a broadcaster, on SNL and as a politico.

How's that for right wing bias?

"Liberal" Russ