Any man who affects the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.  -H.L. Mencken  That statement seems to be true today as it was before he died in the 50s and spoke  it.  One of the disturbing facts of our times is that it differs when a man stood on a soap box in the village or city square and spoke without amplification.  In today's world, the word of men and women is tweeted, networked, and distorted in is being repeated by the massive media systems.  We have radio which can be heard everywhere, hand held technology that gives instant news, and even apps to inform us that raindrops are about to fall.

Ed Schultz

Rachel Maddow

Today we live in a world where we are subjected to the opinions of people who have no constructive ideas.  As one show pointed out, about three times as many Republicans, most from the Bush administration, while only three Democrats, not especially close to the the killing of Osama bin Laden. were brought in to comment.  Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow both (MSNBC) questioned why the shows seem to be bringing on a lot of the Bush administration people.  This was unclear to them as it is to me. 

Christianne Amanpour

David Gregory

More importantly, I was a faithful viewer of This Week on ABC and admire Christianne Amanpour but whether by her choice or that of the producer of the show, the past few shows have lacked news and meaning for me as has Meet the Press, though I also don't believe it is the fault of David Gregory, either.  Who chooses the guests?  I'm afraid I have become a non-viewer on Sunday mornings though I cannot get desperate enough to think going to church would improve Sunday mornings.

Could we suggest better choices for guests and panelists in the future?

MEDIA IS BLATANTLY TRYING TO START A FEUD

While ABC's This Week featured the Bush VP, Dick Cheney, Meet the Press on NBC followed with Joe Biden, the current VP. Though they appeared on two different channels, NBC headlined on their site: "Joe Biden Tears Into Dick Cheney on Meet the Press" That was an interesting way to put it since Cheney was on This Week earlier than Biden. I would strongly urge the reader to check out this site, where you can watch all the videos discussing this today.

One commentator called it an unprecedented attack on Cheney! Biden was tactful, a gentleman throughout and only spoke the truth. If one would take the time to listen to all the video clips on this site, you will see the twisting (worse than the old parlor game of telephone) so that there is no longer an honest description of what was said by Biden. In fact, some of what he had said was cut out in one of the write-ups which indicated some pretty biased editing to me. As David Gregory worked to get Biden to blast back, Biden did not. He tactfully said that "Cheney is entitled to his opinion. He is not entitled to rewrite history. He is not entitled to his own 'facts'."

Cheney used the word 'credit' to the Obama administration for its current action in Afghanistan. Biden said he did not think they should be given 'credit', but that it was their 'responsibility'. Cheney wants waterboarding back in and Biden says no. Biden said Cheney was factually and substantively wrong. He questioned that he was either misinformed or uniformed. My own view is that neither is true...he just lies to say what suits him and will misinform the public who might be uninformed to that point...or Cheney sees the truth as misinformation since it is not what he wants people to think.

It is fascinating to see just how far the media will go to twist words and meanings and try to get a fight going. Both men have a history of losing their tempers and saying things they might later have regretted. Is that really what interviewers should be trying to have happen just for ratings? Whatever happened to journalists who wanted to help bring the truth before the citizen's eyes and help this democracy work like one? Shame on David Gregory. Tim Russert must be turning over in his grave.

ROGER AILES - OUT FOR RATINGS, NOT TRUTH

Every small child learns the safest course when you have done wrong is to deny your responsibility. Most mature adults out grow this childish tendency and face the consequences of their actions. In this world of technology, video, and fast news transmission it is even more amazing that there are still those who try to get away with this tactic.

Last Sunday, January 31, 2010,
Roger Ailes, CEO and American president of the Fox News Channel, was a guest on a talk show of another channel. During the Round Table discussion, he denied that Glenn Beck ever used the word slaughter. Today several shows had a field day play video tapes of Glenn Back doing just that. Ailes inaccurately said Beck was talking about Hitler and Stalin, patently wrong from the context in which it was said. He is quoted: "They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered.

Regarding Health Care which Ailes and Fox are clearly against. Ailes weaseled out of a reasonable explanation as to why they stopped showing the President 20 minutes before it was over when none of the other channels did.

Roger Ailes On "This Week": Defends Glenn Beck, Insists Fox Is No Longer At War With Obama

Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes insisted on Sunday that his network was no longer at war with the Obama White House and defended Fox's Glenn Beck over some of his more inflammatory statements.

Appearing for the first time on ABC's "This Week," Ailes said that Beck's often over-the-top rhetoric was politically legitimate, even if it ruffled a few feathers.

Reminded by HuffPost's Arianna Huffington that Beck has warned of "slaughter" and a "killing spree" for those not on board with the Obama administration's agenda, Ailes insisted that the reference wasn't to this president but rather to murderous dictators.

"Well, he was talking about Hitler and Stalin slaughtering people, so I think he was probably accurate," he said. "I think he speaks English, I don't know. But I don't misinterpret any of his words. He did say one unfortunate thing that he apologized for. But that happens in live television."

Ailes was wrong. Beck's reference was, indeed, to Obama. Here is the "killing spree" quote from October 2009:

Spread the wealth -- hello, Mao -- that is what this is all about. And anybody not on board, look out because you too could be the next victim of the killing spree. Is it far fetched to think that [pay] Czar [Kenneth] Feinberg could go into Walmart and argue it that it is just too important to the economy if Walmart fails? I mean it's the biggest store in the world. We feel you are being reckless in your pay structure Walmart. We have to bring the unions in to control your pay. What about Rupert Murdoch? if News Corp failed would it be harmful to the economic health of America?... Obama has repeated over and over again just how dangerous, old and unworkable our economy is.


And here is Beck warning of a possible impending "slaughter" in November 2009:

I told you yesterday, buckle up your seatbelt, America. Find the exit -- there's one here, here, and here. Find the exit closest to you and prepare for a crash landing. Because this plane is coming down, because the pilot is intentionally steering it into the trees!

Most likely, it'll happen sometime after Christmas. You're gonna see this economy come up -- we're already seeing it, and now it's gonna start coming back down again. And when you see the effects of what they're doing to the economy, remember these words: We will survive. No -- we'll do better than survive, we will thrive. As long as these people are not in control. They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered!


From the Huffington Post: "Lamenting what he felt was the "word police" nature of the questions being directed at him, Ailes tried to turn the tables by saying that he had been subjected to some ridicule on the pages of the Huffington Post. The remarks he cited, however, did not come from a Huffington Post employee, but were written by a blogger, longtime TV critic Bill Mann. What's more, Ailes misquoted what Mann had said about him. Mann did not, as Ailes claimed, describe him as "a malignant tumor." Here is what he wrote: "So, while Fox News, as the Times story stresses, may be a financial success story, it's also a malignant tumor on the body politic. For that you can thank Roger Ailes."