Now I understand how otherwise sane, intelligent people support Romney and hate Obama

[nichomachus]

It all happened over the last two days.

Let me start by saying that I am intelligent -- I can count to 100 and know the whole alphabet -- and I'm sane (my mother had me tested) and, as further proof, I've already voted for Obama.

Also, I'm not a TV watcher. I have a TV -- a gift from a friend -- and I pretty much confine my TV viewing to Jeopardy, European soccer, baseball (although I'm getting pretty sick of the fascist turn the games have taken), and The Big Bang Theory. After Labor Day, I DVR everything -- except European soccer (Go Barça) -- so I can FF through the political ads. I never, ever watch news or talking head shows -- none of them, not even ones I might agree with.

Once in a great while, if I learn online that there is a breaking story -- plane crash, explosion, etc. -- I may tune into a news station to watch the developing story.

I live in Southern California, but previously lived in New England and spent a lot of time in NYC. I still have friends and relatives back there. So, Monday, I turned on The Weather Channel to keep track of the storm. I'd sit and watch from time to time to catch up, but mostly it was on in the background as I went about my business in the house.

Then, yesterday morning, I got up before dawn and was having my coffee -- again watching TWC. I began thinking, "Gee, I wish I could go for my walk, but the weather is so crappy out." Then, either reality or the caffeine kicked in and I realized it was 62 degrees and, although still dark, the skies were clear.

It hit me -- just that one day of watching TV had created a little piece of alternate reality in my head. Fortunately, it was something I was able to correct by just looking out the window.

But then, while on my walk, I began to think of what happens to someone who is exposed to that drum beat of television for hours a day, every day of the week, of the year.

And The Weather Channel wasn't even trying to make me believe something that wasn't true. There was no propaganda -- just straight reporting (although some of the people did seem to be rooting for the storm). It just happened. In one little part of my brain, that exposure to the constant talk of the storm, the wind, the rain, etc. has planted a little kernel of belief that wasn't true.

Imagine what happens to people who continuously subject themselves to Fox, especially when Fox has carefully crafted and delivered propaganda and talking points -- the first of which is to convince people that Fox is the only source of truth. I could look out the window to eliminate my alternate reality. Fox viewers don't have that option. For them, there is no other source than Fox.

It's really quite scary, but I see now how people come to these idiotic, false beliefs. Fox really is a danger to democracy.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That's an interesting train of thought that you have there...

You laid it out very simply and it makes sense.

Fox has a lot of power......and they are using it to do evil.

Not. Good.

K&R

[thereismore]

2. Murdoch knows this very well. nt

[SomethingFishy]

3. In the HBO movie Game Change

Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign advisor says to Sarah Palin "no news story lasts more than 48 hours it's just there for entertainment".

That comment sums up everything that is wrong with the media. News has become entertainment. There is almost no investigative reporting anymore, no allegiance to the facts, just blowhard pundits who no matter how many times they are WRONG never shut up.

Campaign finance reform and a vigilant media would go a long way towards solving this nations problems.

[abelenkpe]

4. FOX is evil

I wouldn't be upset if they went bankrupt and disappeared altogether.

[Iwasthere]

5. I agree

Much truth in your observation. One day soon Faux, so called, news will be history, along with Rush ... that idiot has caused sooooo much damage.

[SubgeniusHasSlack]

6. The whole of the corporate globalist mass mind control media

is a wholly owned propaganda subsidiary of oligarchs, inc.

You are correct. As Marshall McCluhan presciently theorized, "The medium is the message". And the insidious nature of television's interaction with the mind makes it the perfect vehicle for implanting propaganda in the weak minds of low information citizens.

[freshwest]

7. +1

[Tikki]

8. Like you, I don't watch TV news and I, also, live in So Cal...now I will tell you why I quit..

watching TV news completely.

Some years back, before 2008, I was watching a local LA news program, the night time local news
and in the teaser that is usually a few minutes before the news program starts, one of the
anchors could be heard laughing about a new haircut style that Hillary Clinton had gotten and this
woman newscaster spoke disparagingly about how she perceived Mrs. Clinton looked.

That in itself was inappropriate to speak of even if she wasn't aware she was still on the air..
BUT, this newscaster I am referring to has no room to talk. Her hair looks like Bozo the Clown.

So, I realized that these newscasters can't and won't keep their politics out of their job and will
either stealthily or overtly try to influence their audience. That's just who they are.

Thankfully DU is a news source along with commentary.

Tikki

[just1voice]

9. They are not "otherwise sane intelligent people", they support torture, perma-war...

and the very same massive propaganda network you identified. They want to be lied to and remain deluded in order to justify their pathetic existences as military/contractors, racists, morons and venal sell-outs. The propaganda networks (all of the MSMedia) are just a scary as you say and, they should all be put out of business as hate crime promoters but, that doesn't address the real problem.

The real problem is the people whom are so easily and willfully deluded by any lying corporate ad or (R)epuke misinformation. The United States has a huge chunk of it's population that are basically morons and add to that a corrupt health care system that doesn't even get close to addressing mental illnesses other than to throw masses of pills at "consumers" and what we've ended up with is a dysfunctional society overall. The entire financial system collapsed in 2008 and now the entire social fabric is collapsing.

How we rebuild ourselves is anyone's guess but part of that rebuilding is going to involve holding the corrupt segments of our society accountable for their actions, such as torture camp creators, propaganda networks, criminal banks and the perma-war segments of the entire defense/intelligence industry. It's a long, long road ahead.

[KT2000]

10. you are so correct

after watching a couple hours of storm coverage, from Washington State, I was driving through rain to an appointment actually expecting the streets to be flooded like the East coast. It was a weird sensation. Happened during Katrina too.

Murdoch has figured out the power of the media and has become influential beyond belief. Now competitors such as CNN has to conform to his reality.

[SalviaBlue]

11. The power of propaganda is underestimated.

I believe that there are very sophisticated techniques being used to influence us.

[Cha]

12. Oh yeah, nichomachus! I'd hate Pres Obama, too, if I got sucked

into thinking fox was the truth and everyone else was crazy. They need to step away from their programmed brainwashing ritual and take a walk outside.

[53tammy]

13. Its so bad you don't even have to watch fox.

to have your reality changed. My sweet mother has somehow fallen victim to the trash. For the last 2 years I have heard the dog whistles come from her mouth and I can't believe this is the same woman that raised me. She claims to get her news from the paper but I know the crap coming out of her mouth must be coming from her girl clubs like swim aerobics and garden club. It breaks our hearts to see her this way, she is an educated woman who has traveled the world. She was the more liberal parent but now we have seen her and my dad switch sides. At least his vote will cancel hers out but the real sadness is the pessimism in the way she sees the world. The joy we feel for the world and each other is something that should never robbed from a person.

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. Great Observation n/t