Thoughts.
 

D Peter Maus wrote:

(many valid points clipped)

* The Democrats are the party that says government will make you
smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn.
Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then
they get elected and prove it.

* Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and
car keys to teenage boys.

* Term limits aren't enough. We need jail.



I also like H.L. Mencken. (1880-1956)

===================================
I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it
is largely a waste of time.

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American
public.

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it
would be if men died for ideas that were true!

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying
to prove that the other party is unfit to rule -
and both commonly succeed, and are right.

There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat,
plausible, and wrong.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and
hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

It is inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of
common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever
ineligible for public office.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious
day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last
and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

A church is a place in which gentlemen who have never been to heaven
brag about it to persons who will never get there.

“The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They
have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of
government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.
Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and
pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them.
Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is
made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a
broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale
of stolen goods.”

H. L. Mencken

================================================== ==
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Thoughts.
 

Dave wrote:

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.


Reporters are supposed to report. Report without fear, favouritism or
prejudice. Report without injecting editorial style commentary or
interpretation. Just report.

They aren't there to speak the truth to anyone. They are there to ASK
the truth and to ask it from as many sources as they can.

If the reporters do their part honestly and properly, the 'common
person' should handle the rest. Fear of death and retaliation sometimes
prevents that handling.

Fact belongs on the first page. Editorial comment belongs on a clearly
labelled page four.



mike



--
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/ /\ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /
/ /\ \ /'Think Tanks Cleaned Cheap'/ /\ \/ /
/_/ \/_/ \/_/ \/_/ \/_/ \/_/ \/_/ \/_/

Densa International©
For the OTHER two percent.



Due to the insane amount of spam and garbage,
I block all postings with a Gmail, Google Mail,
Google Groups or HOTMAIL address.
I also filter everything from a .cn server.


For solutions which may work for you, please check:
http://improve-usenet.org/

Thoughts.
 

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:49:06 +0000, D Peter Maus wrote:

Dave wrote:
D Peter Maus wrote:


* Many reporters, when they go to work in the nation’s capital,
begin thinking of themselves as participants in the political process
instead of glorified stenographers.

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.


They're supposed to report facts, nothing more.

They are observers. Not participants.

Your ignorance regarding how our government works is typical of a WLS
hate junkie.

"Whether Web logs (known as blogs) or printed books, the media in a
democracy have a number of overlapping but distinctive functions that
remain fundamentally unchanged. One is to inform and educate. To make
intelligent decisions about public policy, people need accurate, timely,
unbiased information. However, another media function may be to advocate,
even without pretense of objectivity. Media audiences may benefit from
various, conflicting opinions, in order to obtain a wide range of
viewpoints. This role is especially important during election campaigns,
when few voters will have the opportunity to see, much less talk with,
candidates in person.

A second function of the media is to serve as a watchdog over government
and other powerful institutions in the society. By holding to a standard
of independence and objectivity, however imperfectly, the news media can
expose the truth behind the claims of governments and hold public
officials accountable for their actions."

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pub...rief/media.htm

I am disappointed but not surprised.

Thoughts.
 

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:21 +0000, m II wrote:

Dave wrote:

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.


Reporters are supposed to report. Report without fear, favouritism or
prejudice. Report without injecting editorial style commentary or
interpretation. Just report.

They aren't there to speak the truth to anyone. They are there to ASK
the truth and to ask it from as many sources as they can.

If the reporters do their part honestly and properly, the 'common
person' should handle the rest. Fear of death and retaliation sometimes
prevents that handling.

Fact belongs on the first page. Editorial comment belongs on a clearly
labelled page four.

"Facts have a liberal bias."

Deciding what goes on page 1 is a subjective process. The press is
supposed to be skeptical and is supposed to mock the absurd. This is why
Jon Stewart has more credibility than anybody else. He gets it.

Thoughts.
 

Dave wrote:
On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:49:06 +0000, D Peter Maus wrote:

Dave wrote:
D Peter Maus wrote:

* Many reporters, when they go to work in the nation’s capital,
begin thinking of themselves as participants in the political process
instead of glorified stenographers.

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.

They're supposed to report facts, nothing more.

They are observers. Not participants.

Your ignorance regarding how our government works is typical of a WLS
hate junkie.



Your ability to reduce a civil discussion into name calling is
also typical of the socialist mentality.

Have a nice day, David.

Thoughts.
 

Dave wrote:
On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:21 +0000, m II wrote:

Dave wrote:

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.

Reporters are supposed to report. Report without fear, favouritism or
prejudice. Report without injecting editorial style commentary or
interpretation. Just report.

They aren't there to speak the truth to anyone. They are there to ASK
the truth and to ask it from as many sources as they can.

If the reporters do their part honestly and properly, the 'common
person' should handle the rest. Fear of death and retaliation sometimes
prevents that handling.

Fact belongs on the first page. Editorial comment belongs on a clearly
labelled page four.

"Facts have a liberal bias."

Deciding what goes on page 1 is a subjective process. The press is
supposed to be skeptical and is supposed to mock the absurd. This is why
Jon Stewart has more credibility than anybody else. He gets it.


By that logic, National Lampoon is a News Magazine.

Thoughts.
 

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:21 +0000, m II wrote:

Dave wrote:

I don't have time for your entire screed, but reporters ARE supposed to
be part of the process. They are supposed to speak truth to power and
stick up for the common person.


Reporters are supposed to report. Report without fear, favouritism or
prejudice. Report without injecting editorial style commentary or
interpretation. Just report.

They aren't there to speak the truth to anyone. They are there to ASK
the truth and to ask it from as many sources as they can.

If the reporters do their part honestly and properly, the 'common
person' should handle the rest. Fear of death and retaliation sometimes
prevents that handling.

Fact belongs on the first page. Editorial comment belongs on a clearly
labelled page four.



mike

People thinking there is such a thing as unbiased news is very
dangerous. The media should not trust government completely and the
people should not trust the media completely. It is up to the end-user
to decide what is real. Anything else is Big Brother.

Thoughts.
 

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:20:05 +0000, D Peter Maus wrote:


"Facts have a liberal bias."

Deciding what goes on page 1 is a subjective process. The press is
supposed to be skeptical and is supposed to mock the absurd. This is
why Jon Stewart has more credibility than anybody else. He gets it.


By that logic, National Lampoon is a News Magazine.

As valid as Time or Newsweek.

Thoughts.
 

Dave wrote:
On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:20:05 +0000, D Peter Maus wrote:

"Facts have a liberal bias."

Deciding what goes on page 1 is a subjective process. The press is
supposed to be skeptical and is supposed to mock the absurd. This is
why Jon Stewart has more credibility than anybody else. He gets it.

By that logic, National Lampoon is a News Magazine.

As valid as Time or Newsweek.



Yes, because National Lampoon is a bastion of factual accuracy
and journalistic commitment.

Citing Jon Stewart as a source of credibility is sign of a rather
slender contact on reality.

Thoughts.
 

On Aug 27, 1:26*pm, D Peter Maus wrote:
Dave wrote:
On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:20:05 +0000, D Peter Maus wrote:

"Facts have a liberal bias."

Deciding what goes on page 1 is a subjective process. *The press is
supposed to be skeptical and is supposed to mock the absurd. *This is
why Jon Stewart has more credibility than anybody else. *He gets it..

- - -*By that logic, National Lampoon is a News Magazine.

- - As valid as Time or Newsweek.

-*Yes, because National Lampoon is a bastion of
- factual accuracy and journalistic commitment.

An often more entertaining

Citing Jon Stewart as a source of credibility
is sign of a rather slender contact on reality.