May 26, 2006

Truth Telling

Once again, it is only Froomkin who doesn't participate in last night's little exercise in fiction:

Reality Check

Once again, Bush asserted that it's the incessant images of death on TV that are getting the country down. Can someone tell me what Bush is talking about? I don't think I've seen people in Iraq dying on my TV screen hardly ever, not to mention day in and day out.

Empirically, how often are the major network evening news shows actually showing footage of the carnage in Iraq? How often do they even mention the ceaseless American and civilian casualties?

I would suggest that, quite to the contrary, through a combination of circumstances, the vast, vast majority of the horror in Iraq is in fact being hidden from the American public -- certainly its television viewers.

Why do reporters endlessly quote this talking point in their news reports -- without any indication that it is fantasy?

What we get from TV is 24/7 coverage of missing white women and today's possible gunshots in the House Rayburn Office Building garage. Iraq doesn't exist today.

Posted by Melanie at May 26, 2006 01:31 PM
Comments

It turns out that Hastert was shooting it out with FBI agents who were trying his office.

Posted by: red_neck_repub on May 26, 2006 01:50 PM

It turns out that Hastert was shooting it out with FBI agents who were trying to search his office.

Posted by: red_neck_repub on May 26, 2006 01:51 PM

Sorry for the double post. The internets seem to be a bit slow today. Must be a problem with General Elmer Fudd's NSA (now CIA) computers.

Posted by: red_neck_repub on May 26, 2006 01:53 PM

The problem with TV isn't the content, it's the
fact that people are spending all their free
time watching TV.

Americans watch (on average) over 4 hours of TV a day.
That is about 2 hours a day for those working full time, and
6 to 8 hours for retirees, the unemployed school children, etc...

Democracy can't exist without social capital,
and social capital (at least enough of it)
doesn't exist when people are glued to the tube.

The only way America can truly be a reality-based
society is if Americans escape from their fantasy
TV-Land.

But what about information? Isn't TV a wonderful
source of info and late-breaking news? Whatever
news & info you can get from TV, you can just as
easily get from reading newspapers or the internet.
30 mins reading will give you much more info than
30 of watching the "News". Plus with reading you assess the info much more critically and rationally.
It was the printing press that brought about the age of reason.

For those of you who enjoy TV, I guarentee that if you gave it up you would not regret it.
It might be hard for the first week or two, but after that you would not miss it all.

http://www.tvsmarter.com
http://www.trashyourtv.com/node
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/
http://www.americanreview.us/putnmtv4.htm

Remember TV = Soma

Posted by: Terry on May 27, 2006 03:01 AM