The Single Most Mystifying Mystery in the DU Phenomenon...

[WilliamPitt]

...cannot be fathomed...












...is beyond sense...












...is past rational explanation...









...beyond logic...









...and is...























...WHY SO MANY OF YOU CONTINUE TO WATCH CNN, MSNBC AND THE REST OF THAT DRECK.

I don't get it.

If you do it to stay informed, understand that I am in the news business, and I am perhaps as well-informed as anyone you know, and I never watch that crap. Ever.

If you do it to "keep an eye on the enemy," understand that my eyes are on that enemy foursquare, and I never watch that crap. Ever.

A little survey.

Raise your hand if you are depressed about the state of things.

Now, raise your other hand if you watch that crap.

Those of you with both hands in the air, follow these simple directions:

1. Ball those hands into fists;

2. Punch yourself in the face;

3. Repeat.

You might as well. You're doing the same thing by watching that crap.

I gave up on that crap almost four years ago, and I have to tell you that my mood lightened considerably. More than that, my will to fight expanded exponentially. That crap is designed to keep you down, designed to strip you of your will, designed to sit you down and make you despair.

If you insist on watching that crap, please also go find a ball-peen hammer and kneecap yourself. You are making yourself an emotional cripple by watching, so you might as well break your own legs and render yourself completely immobilized. Stick an awl through your prefrontal lobe while you're at it and complete the package.

Turn it the fuck off.

Click this instead:

www.cjr.org/owners

You want to patronize those asshats?

Go get that hammer.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. what he said

[Lochloosa]

83. "what he said"

don't even bother.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I've also stopped watching that crap (except for Countdown)

because it was making me angry all the time. You are absolutely right -- and thanks for the link. I will have to bookmark it.

[shenmue]

3. Well, you've got to know your enemy

And keep an eye on what kind of swill they are trying to sell the public.

[LeftyMom]

8. You'll hear the talking points that stick from people who watch that dreck

there's really no need to subject yourself to it first-hand.

[Mr_Spock]

9. LOL - there's that pat expression again

How many times do we have to hear that expression?

It's a crock - we are helping them to spew their crap by supporting it!

[Enraged_Ape]

13. Want to know your enemy? Read mediamatters.org, dailykos...

atrios, and the LBN right here. That will give you all the RW talking points you need without actually giving those maggots and their sponsors any viewership.

And it will give you a new outlook on life, believe me. Kill your cable.

[shenmue]

25. Guess I don't agree

I didn't say I support them. But then, you'd miss out on the fun of a punchline, I guess.

Your lines were just as trite to me.

[Mr_Spock]

31. You watch them, you are supporting them

plain and simple - that's how it works...

[shenmue]

37. No, I'm not

How do I, if I don't buy what's advertised and I don't take their stories at face value?

How can you say that about me, when you don't know what I think?

I don't like the holier-than-thou attitude.

[Mr_Spock]

41. They are supported by advertisers based on viewership

If you watch it, whether you buy the advertised products or not, you are supporting them. That's how it works - it's not an attitude, it's just a statement of fact.

[Garbo 2004]

69. Ratings, advert $ based on viewing by "Nielsen families" who participate

in Nielsen monitoring and surveys. One has to actually participate in the Nielsen monitoring/survey to be counted. Simply flipping on the TV and watching a show, if you're not a "Nielsen family," doesn't bump the ratings.

Check out the Wiki on Nielsen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Ratings or Nielsen's site: http://www.nielsenmedia.com/

[pagandem4justice]

101. Not just Nielsen anymore

Official ratings are still done by Nielsen, but according to my father-in-law (who works for DirecTV), satellite and (maybe) cable companies download viewership information and sell the data to networks. So, while Nielsen counts just a statistical sample of families at the first ten (?) minutes of each show, your provider logs every flip, and how long you stay ... just like ISPs do, to sell web advertising.

If you don't want to boost the M$M's viewership numbers, you have to keep them *off*.

I haven't watched those channels in over three years, and I don't miss anything. I have a daily routine that includes DU, Buzzflash, Bartcop, the AA boards, Kos, MediaMatters, and others. Plus, DirecTV knows that the only politics on TV in this house are the CSPAN channels and WorldLink TV!

:evilgrin:

[shenmue]

107. Well, still

I don't like your tone and I'm pretty sorry I bothered.

Guess I have to agree in order to finish saying what I want.

Shame, that...

[beam me up scottie]

110. Read post 88.

He's got a good point.
We risk becoming like the freepers if we insulate ourselves and let others decide what we should watch, read and listen to.

[shenmue]

114. Thank you

Right :7

[Mr_Spock]

120. Yes, so we are "reforming" them as we sit on our couches and "request"

not "demand" that a bad news source be eliminated. I dunno, it doesn't sound like a plan that has born much fruit to this point. I have "requested" hundreds of times that they "consider" the views of everyone, not just the zombies. I've never once received a response nor have they changed their programming. There are thousands of us in this effort too. Is this passive approach destined to succeed?

[beam me up scottie]

123. I'm not suggesting any approach.

Just that insulating ourselves is not a good alternative.

And I resented the op's inference that anyone who watched the tv news was an enabler.

Your point is valid as well.

[Mr_Spock]

128. But if nobody watched Faux "news", wouldn't they cease to exist?

That's not insulating, it's using your brain to make a decision that some news sources are more fair that others. We know Faux is a right-wing news organization yet I see links/stories from their web site/TV station here all the time. What percentage of viewers to Faux "news" are people who are studying the enemy? ...and then become lazy and start soaking in the bullshit. My brother is not political but liberal and he automatically puts on the zombifying Faux "news". When I question him he simply says he wants to see what bullshit they're up to now. Then I see it on again and again and again. Citizens have duties in a Democracy - I boycott Faux News and WalMart - two causes that are popular on DU - yet very few of us actually persist in our boycotts. I think people who watch Faux "news" and shop at WalMart are enablers also. If they are welcome here, then they are welcome anywhere. Uggh :(

I am not necessarily arguing with you mind you - this just seemed like as good a place as any to express my opinion...

[beam me up scottie]

138. You don't need to explain boycotts to me...

heh heh.
I'm an animal rights advocate and vegetarian.
It takes me FOREVER to go grocery shopping.
All the damn labels...

If liberal boycotting was enough to finish off the news whores, then berating people for not joining in would be easier to justify.

I try to encourage people to boycott P&G because of animal testing, and I try not to judge the people who don't.

Like I said, your point is valid.

But shenmue's was too.

[mestup]

4. But who will find the missing white girls? n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Send Geraldo, I don't watch the dreck and still get it here

[stevedeshazer]

5. Cutting my cable bill at forty bucks a month ...

...was the best thing I ever did. That was five years ago.

I'm better informed now than ever.

I could not agree with you more.

[mcar]

29. Me too

We're saving a bundle and my blood pressure is lower. Now, I get my news from DU and other online sites, plus the daily newspaper and NPR (still better than anything else on the radio since i don't get AAR).

[stevedeshazer]

90. I quit my subscription to my newspaper for the same reason.

I live in one of the most progressive cities in Amerika, but my newspaper is crap.

That's another story. But, we have AAR. And the internets. :)

[Richard Steele]

6. I haven't watched Corporate News for years. Can't stand it.

A little "Weather Channel" now and then,
but that's as close as I get.

[Qanisqineq]

7. I willingly watch about 5 minutes a week

:puke:

[Enraged_Ape]

10. Man, you said it.

I haven't had cable television in over 14 years, and judging from what I see posted on this board, I haven't missed a thing.

I would think you'd have to be nuts to subject yourself to Hannity and O'Reilly and the like night after night. Why not just sear your private parts with a red-hot poker or drink Mr. Clean straight out of the bottle?

[bonzotex]

11. damn straight!

People seem oddly surprised that I'm so well informed yet never watch network or cable TV news of any kind. If I'm somewhere where it's on, people probably hate me because I immediately start pointing out what the talking head is not telling us, or in the case of Faux, why it's a distortion or lie.

[matcom]

12. with all due respect

you have to know what the sheeple are being fed in order to counter their inane ramblings.

if you don't know, you cannot educate.

call it a sacrifice. but i have to know what Wolfie is feeding those around me in order to research and provide the truth.

sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the MSM is just as dangerous IMHO

[WilliamPitt]

17. Heh

This coming from the fellow who has publicly and vociferously sworn off CNN at least twice. ;)

I know what people are being fed because I read about it.

[matcom]

24. ah yes but....

temporary and stated at the time.

i was off for about a month and a half.

then i went back. gotta do it. its a necessary evil. its all about the edumacation.

albeit a lousy one.

seriously, if we ALL turned it off, we would be worse off

[donheld]

97. "Know what the sheeple are being fed"

I'm gay. Does that mean I have to log onto Fred Phelps' website so i can see what he's up too. I think not.

[shenmue]

108. Thank you

Well said.

:D

[benburch]

14. Does The Weather Channel count, Will?

Literally it is all the TV I ever watch.

[Enraged_Ape]

15. The Weather Channel is the worst of them all

Its right-wing propaganda is SO subtle and well orchestrated that you can't even tell you're being indoctrinated.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

33. Example?

The weather channel? Right Wing? Tell more!

[Kingshakabobo]

119. They hypnotize you with the swirling storms to make you love W and jesus.

I think he was kidding.

[beam me up scottie]

124. I KNEW IT !!!

:rofl:

I hope he was kidding!

[Midlodemocrat]

16. "But, Will", she asks desperately.

"Where will I get information about the latest missing blonde girl?"

[berni_mccoy]

18. I'm Learning the RW Media Control Tactics

It's good to fight fire with fire.

It's also entertaining, especially when watched in the context of the Daily Show.

[helderheid]

20. LOL :) Recommended!

[Just Me]

21. TURN IT OFF,...has been my motto for several years. However,....

,...IF someone alerts me that one of my fave spokespersons is or will be on,...I will turn it back on as a both a supportive and hopeful gesture.

Yeah. The spin and bullshit will either drive you crazy or bring you down.

Please, don't do that to yourself. :hug:

[the other one]

22. MSM-free since October '04 nt

[highplainsdem]

23. I surf the news channels as well as lots of websites & make up my own mind

about what seems most valuable and reliable. But if you choose not to watch the news channels, ever, and that makes you feel better -- fine. Whatever works best for you.

[IndyOp]

26. I don't watch it, but I like DU'ers who post about what is

happening there. I only watch the segments that make Crooks & Liars.

:kick:

[tech3149]

27. I'm with ya

I haven't turned my TV on in the past three years for anything more than an hour of entertainment and pressure relief.

[magnolia]

28. I watch cable news...

...for the same reason guys watch football games...for the sport of it. It offers entertainment and amusement. I know it's not real and that it doesn't mean anything. I don't get upset or stressed out at all. I do wish that my team would win once in a while!

[Skittles]

30. I'm with you on this

I quit watching when I realized it was adversely affecting my health

[johannes1984]

32. amen to that

i watch a state run channel where they have smurfs being blown to smithereens . And where johny rotten joins a philosopher for a tour of european policy .Then i go on to have myself a little BBC 123 or 4 , always stuck in their lovely stories they are . And if i am in one of my tv addicted periods , i do ,...willingly admit ,...to watch al jazeera , not because i understand , or get a kick out of it ....but because it reasures me ...people are the same ....in every nook and cranny of the world .

and when i'm in the US , I buy a shitload of DVD's cheaply , and spend my nights watching them on my consumerist satisfying Ibook .....

and yeah ...overall i do feel pretty good .....

[Tactical Progressive]

34. No, it works well this way

Progressives in general have come to hold establishment journalism in very low and diminishing regard. There is alot of skepticism and I get the impression alot less attention paid to it. I know that about the only news I get out of the mainstream corporate media is the Nightly News on ABC-NBC-CBS and PBS NewsHour. They are still tolerable though not great or even very good.

Our viewership is way down with the ridiculous right-wing corruption of American journalism, which is quite a different phenomenon than right-wingers who simply don't like real news and never have. They want propaganda and will scream and sneer until they get it.

But even with our minimized viewership we still have enough people sporadically watching them such that we get reports and heads-up on their actions from DU and other internet references. I know more about what's being broadcast on CNN and MSNBC from HERE than I do from them directly. And that is the right way to get a handle on what they are up to without having to sit through their banality, cowardice and abdication of their professional responsibilities, which is sad, infuriating and demoralizing.

[madrchsod]

35. i agree-

the only time i watch any news program is at work during break.

[DemReadingDU]

36. But, but,

If it isn't on TV, it's not the news that people are talking about...
Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears

[TallahasseeGrannie]

38. Can't take a steady diet

but I watch the local news, the half hour We're All Going to Die News, and sometimes Hardball and/or Countdown.

Then I hit all the big right AND left blogs. I check up on online news a couple times a day for the headlines.

[whosinpower]

39. Up here we watch CBC

In Canuckland. That is MSM for us.....and I would have to say (tongue in cheek) that it is fairly impartial well balanced news.
Just the other night - on The Fifth Estate, they replayed a documentary about O'Reilly, Fox News, Ann Coulter and the right wing nuts.

I laughed at Ann Coulter when she was smacked down for insinuating that Canada had sent troops to fight in Vietnam......

But as for the others - it is a sort of masochistic self mutilation to watch the propeganda. Personally - I get more out of the Daily Show - which is fake news.

[progressive_realist]

40. Completely TV-free since about 1994.

Barring a few brief periods when I had a gf or roommate who watched it.

If I absolutely need to see video footage of some event, I can usually stream it through my computer.

I firmly believe the very nature of the television medium causes you to lose intelligence from watching it. The idea of educational TV is an oxymoron.

Try reading Four Arguments For the Elimination of Television, by Jerry Mander, if you want to know what watching it is doing to your mind.

[crispini]

42. One reason:

Keith :loveya: Olbermann.

[Mr_Spock]

44. Only show I'll watch - he's really the only one though

I wonder why people support the others...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[jbnow]

112. Thinking the same thing

but have to add John Stewart and the Daily show.

Like my news with a touch of sarcasm and humor.

[John Q. Citizen]

43. (There's no way to

delay that) Trouble Coming Everyday

Well I'm about to get sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is anybody's guess

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Wednesday I watched the riot . . .
Seen the cops out on the street
Watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff
And chokin' in the heat
Listened to reports
About the whisky passin' 'round
Seen the smoke and fire
And the market burnin' down
Watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn

And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Well, you can cool it,
You can heat it . . .
'Cause, baby, I don't need it . . .
Take your TV tube and eat it
'N all that phony stuff on sports
'N all the unconfirmed reports
You know I watched that rotten box
Until my head begin to hurt
From checkin' out the way
The newsman say they get the dirt
Before the guys on channel so-and-so

And further they assert
That any show they'll interrupt
To bring you news if it comes up
They say that if the place blows up
They will be the first to tell,
Because the boys they got downtown
Are workin' hard and doin' swell,
And if anybody gets the news
Before it hits the street,
They say that no one blabs it faster
Their coverage can't be beat

And if another woman driver
Gets machine-gunned from her seat
They'll send some joker with a brownie
And you'll see it all complete

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Hey, you know something people?
I'm not black
But there's a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I'm not white

Well, I seen the fires burnin'
And the local people turnin'
On the merchants and the shops
Who used to sell their brooms and mops
And every other household item
Watched the mob just turn and bite 'em
And they say it served 'em right
Because a few of them are white,
And it's the same across the nation
Black and white discrimination
Yellin' "You can't understand me!"
'N all that other jazz they hand me
In the papers and TV and
All that mass stupidity
That seems to grow more every day
Each time you hear some nitwit say
He wants to go and do you in
Because the color of your skin
Just don't appeal to him
(No matter if it's black or white)
Because he's out for blood tonight

You know we got to sit around at home
And watch this thing begin
But I bet there won't be many live
To see it really end
'Cause the fire in the street
Ain't like the fire in the heart
And in the eyes of all these people
Don't you know that this could start
On any street in any town
In any state if any clown
Decides that now's the time to fight
For some ideal he thinks is right
And if a million more agree
There ain't no Great Society
As it applies to you and me
Our country isn't free
And the law refuses to see
If all that you can ever be
Is just a lousy janitor
Unless your uncle owns a store
You know that five in every four
Just won't amount to nothin' more
Gonna watch the rats go across the floor
And make up songs about being poor

(Lyrics by Frank Zappa
From the Album Freak Out- June 27, 1966)

And it worse now than it was then-JQC

[La Coliniere]

46. You are so right when you say

that chronic TV news watching is detrimental to a person's mental health. I only watch small snippets now and then, or when I'm alerted here in the discussion forums to something that might be of significance or real value to witness. Democracy Now, Buzzflash, Truthout and a few mainstream dailies, these are my news sources. My wife frequently has TV news on, but she's weening herself off of it as well.

[Angry Girl]

47. TV news-free since years

All I watch on TV is low-brow stuff that makes me laugh -- Simpsons reruns, Arrested Development, Friends re-runs, They Call Me Earl (I don't have cable) -- and so-called "reality" shows (our pathetic little forum for sociological discussions).

But damn if the stuff I read doesn't sometimes get to me! *sigh*

[shanti]

48. since discovering DU in 2001

i haven't watched ANY teevee news OR read any newspapers except online, never miss it. i do watch bill maher tho. i get all the info i need from du! :applause: :yourock:

[patricia92243]

49. If and when I watch it, I do because that is what I want to do. No apology

to anybody. It is my house, my tv, and I'll watch what I want to - when I want to. If I feel like chocking them sometimes - so what. That is MY choice.

[sweetheart]

50. TV free since 2001

And before that, TV free from 1983 to 1993.

If you want to see a film, netflix, make a deliberate action to watch
a film, but to be serially entertained, is to be sat in a chair and
lapdanced over for hours and hours, that you don't know whether
you had intercourse or not, because what's the difference when it
gets to a certain point.

And all the propaganda sells the certainlty of authority, the absolute
power that is greater than the individual. It is the endemic frame of
all television media that the indivdiual is enslaved. I don't know
why anyone watches that crap except for MTV or on-demand cinema.

As much as ghandi's passive revolution against britain was to spin
cotton, perhaps the symbol of good people taking back america, the
red white and blue revolution is the TV set in the yard, painted
bright colours like a flowering shrub growing in the garden.

[Kablooie]

51. It is always worthwhile to be aware of what others know.

[Individualist]

52. Not quite

The most mystifying memory is why so many want to read posts on FR. :crazy: Never been there and won't go there because doing so would make me feel so filthy I'd never feel clean again.

[Disturbed]

58. Supporting the Corp. Media.

It should be kept in mind that when we watch them we support them.

Ever since I became aware of that I have cut back on watching. It is addictive though so I have not gone cold turkey on all of the programs. I watch KO, Daily Show and Democracy Now. I didn't have cable for 4 months and got along just fine but my older son wanted it back to tape entertainment shows that he likes and is paying for it.

I believe that the Net is enough to keep up with current events.

[Individualist]

61. Uh, where did I advocate supporting corporate media?

You made an erroneous assumption. For clarification on my post, I consider fascination with FR the most mystifying. Cable news viewing would be the second most mystifying; that's why I made the comment of "not quite".

[LincolnMcGrath]

53. It's as easy as 1. 2. 3.

1. Ball those hands into fists;

2. Punch yourself in the face;

3. Repeat.

:rofl:

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Batgirl]

55. I appreciate the efforts of those

who keep an eye on the presstitutes and "document their atrocitites".

Sometimes i really, really miss mediawhoresonline.

[Ron Green]

56. Give this DUer some credit...

for being able to take a couple of laps around my cable channels and not be mind-controlled. Like many others here, I want to know what the Big Feed is. I don't buy into any of the shit, and it depresses me only in the knowledge that great numbers of people DO buy it.

[Taxloss]

57. I'm surprised to hear this come from a journalist.

You can't credit your fellow DUers with a bit of intelligence? You think that DUers will be helplessly brainwashed by watching CNN and MSNBC?

And this ultimatum of your is so nicely dressed in overtones of extreme violence.

Well, to hell with your telling me what to do. I'll watch, listen to, or read whatever I please, and I don't give two shits what you think about it.

And, for the record, I don't watch MSNBC and CNN - I'm in the UK and only want the five terrestrial channels. I just don't like being told what to do in violent terms.

So, the next time to want to make DUers do your bidding, try asking rather than demanding.

[oblivious]

126. My goodness,it's just a rant, and the "extreme violence" a metaphor.Relax!

[WilliamPitt]

137. LOL

You have brought the DU Double Duh to a whole new level.

You can't credit your fellow DUers with a bit of intelligence? You think that DUers will be helplessly brainwashed by watching CNN and MSNBC?

I give DUers enormous credit...but I also see dozens of threads titled "OMG, Schneider just said X" and "OMG, Tweety just said Y" and "OMG, Wolfie just said Z" and so forth.

Put it this way: If you personally knew someone who lied to you with every breath, would you credit them with your continued attention or dismiss them out of hand? I know what I would do...so...

And this ultimatum of your is so nicely dressed in overtones of extreme violence.

...or humor...unless you really think I am demanding that DUers attack themselves physically. Take a breath and think.

Well, to hell with your telling me what to do. I'll watch, listen to, or read whatever I please, and I don't give two shits what you think about it.

AH HAH! There it is, the DU Double Duh: "Don't tell me what to do by offering an opinion I don't agree with!" It would be art if it wasn't so very, very sad.

"And, for the record, I don't watch MSNBC and CNN - I'm in the UK and only want the five terrestrial channels. I just don't like being told what to do in violent terms."

I demand that you punch yourself in the face and smash your knees with a ball-peen hammer. Do it. DO IT.

Nyah nyah, I just told you what to do. Now, apparently, you must do it...or you must not...or something. :P

Or you must get a grip.

So, the next time to want to make DUers do your bidding, try asking rather than demanding.

...pzzzzzcheeeezzzzz...

[beam me up scottie]

59. Thanks for telling us what to think and what to do, Herr Pitt.

But I'll make up my own mind, if that's all right with you.

No, actually, I don't fucking care if it's all right with you.

So, which asshat is trying to control what we see and hear?

"I am perhaps as well-informed as anyone you know"

Right.

What a fucking joke.

[WilliamPitt]

66. Hee hee hee

The ol' DU Double Duh.

Opinion you like = "Well said!"

Opinion you don't like = "Don't tell me what to think or do!" + whine + pule + insult.

It's only an opinion if you agree...or something.

Otherwise, the opinion is someone ordering you around.

Pretty funny, in a sad sort of way.

[highplainsdem]

67. "Turn it the fuck off" is "only an opinion"?

[WilliamPitt]

140. Indeed it is

What else would it be?

Has nothing of the sort ever been written here?

Spare me.

[beam me up scottie]

68. Hit a nerve, did I?

Good.

Someone needs to.

Your opinion of yourself needs deflating.

[Just Me]

77. And, naturally, you would be the one to deflate?

Interesting.

[Taxloss]

79. Why not?

You think it should stay inflated?

[Just Me]

80. What? You and yours egos or his?

:shrug:

It's not like he "can" dictate whatever behavior you choose to engage.

Y'all wanna' PLUG into teevee,...fine.

Will (and I and others) are actually concerned about the well-being of those who choose to PLUG into teevee,...not dictating choices,...as if we could dictate your choice.

I won't apologize on behalf of myself or Will or any others for attempting to FREE folks from the damaging exposure to darkness and spin and manipulation presented on the CM.

You seek to attack us,...so be it. Too bad, too sad, no apologies for actually caring.

[beam me up scottie]

85. What are you, a clone?

He DID dictate.

He told us to "Turn it the fuck off"

And since you know NOTHING about the viewing habits of either of us, I suggest you save the Willbot saviour complex meme for other posters.

[Just Me]

89. The trademark of a right-wing psycho is attacking the person,...

,...rather than the issue or idea.

As a caring human being, I would advise to TURN IT OFF, too. Why, because the CM is NOT informative, it is controlling. I want people to be empowered rather than exploited.

Why don't YOU GET BACK TO THE ISSUE OF THE CM AND EMPOWERMENT rather than attacking good folks,...HUH!!!

Or, do you have an agenda beyond empowering others? :shrug:

[beam me up scottie]

96. I didn't attack anyone.

However you just did by comparing me to a "right-wing psycho"

And again, you have no idea what my viewing habits or my opinion about the subject is so get off it.

[WilliamPitt]

142. "What a fucking joke"

Nah. You're simon-pure.

Tell the team I said hello.

[beam me up scottie]

148. Nice.

That was in reference to your stroking:

"I am perhaps as well-informed as anyone you know"

As if you didn't KNOW that.

[WilliamPitt]

149. Hm

I read between 20 and 30 newspapers a day as a matter of course.

Name for me please the people you know who do that.

The claim was well-grounded in truth. I put in the time. Given the point I was attempting to make about TV media distortion, the claim deserved to be stated.

So...?

[Name removed]

151. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Taxloss]

88. I care too.

Your country will never have civilised political discourse until its media system is reformed. The way to reform its media system is not to insulate left-wing Americans in a ghetto of left-wing news sources, just as the right has been insulated by its reliance for more than a decade (maybe two) on talk radio. You're not freeing people, you're restricting them. You should be educating them with the media skillsthat will allow them to discern truth from bullshit, not simply shutting down certain sources. And if you do feel you have to shut down certain sources, do it as a suggestions or request, not a demand.

[beam me up scottie]

81. Oh look.

I've irritated a fan.

Bad BMUS.

Too bad not everyone's a member of that club, eh?

[Just Me]

86. Nope. I object to having intentions mischaracterized.

Why you CHOOSE to do that,...I don't know. Why you take a compassionate plea and attack that,...which is so characteristic of the right-wing mental assasination machine,...it makes me sick and I have no clue why you choose to do so.

I don't know you or your intentions. Why don't you explain why you choose to twist a plea for independent and powerful and FREE thought into something else, into something bad, into something controlling?

Explain.

[beam me up scottie]

91. Explain "turn it the fuck off".

A plea my ass.

It was an egomaniacal rant that insulted the intelligence of other DUers and some of us don't appreciate it.

[Just Me]

99. I also plead that you "turn it the fuck off" because teevee fries your,...

,...brain, your will and your center and hope.

I CAN NOT MAKE YOU. WILL CAN NOT MAKE YOU.

But, we can advocate, without yield, that you turn that unhealthy shit off,...because we care about your well-being.

Why you choose to mischaracterize an unwavering appeal for emotional and psychological health as a dictate,...is just "strange" to me. Maybe, your own bitterness and resignation is dictating your interpretation of other's actions and motives. I dunno'. :shrug:

[beam me up scottie]

100. How often do I watch tv and what do I watch?

Since you're obviously psychic, tell me more about which of my favourite shows are good for me and which will kill me.

Please, I'm dying to know.

By all means, consult with will first, since he is the expert on everything "newsy".

[highplainsdem]

93. I agree with much of what Will writes, much of the time. But I didn't

see his OP here as a "compassionate plea...for independent and powerful and FREE thought." As Taxloss pointed out earlier, the combination of violent wording and what seemed to be an assumption that those of us who watch the news channels can't avoid being either brainwashed or horribly depressed was insulting.

As I said when I first posted a reply here, I'll make up my own mind.

If Will chooses not to watch cable news, that's his choice.

[Name removed]

147. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WilliamPitt]

144. Ah

The easy out.

Attack the poster because others agree.

Wait...wait...soon the 'groupie' slur will come out.

You'll learn to argue, someday, without attacking the messenger.

Maybe.

[beam me up scottie]

150. Like you do?

Then follow with a seemingly endless simpering apology thread that hogs up even more room in GD?

No thanks.
One of you is enough.

[WilliamPitt]

153. I won't apologize

for calling out a poseur like you.

[beam me up scottie]

157. It seems I did the calling out.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have noticed a non fan like me.

[WilliamPitt]

159. Mmmmm

Enjoy the noteriety.

It will end when this thread gets archived.

Your 15 minutes are waning.

[beam me up scottie]

162. And your attempts to stretch yours out never ends.

Yawn.

[Terran]

109. Uh, no, no nerve hit, I daresay

If you don't like what the man has to say, ignore it. No one here can 'tell you what to do', for chrissakes. :eyes:

[beam me up scottie]

111. So am I allowed to post MY opinion of what I think of his order?

Or not?

It works both ways, you know.;)

[Terran]

133. Of course

But let's not characterize opinions as "telling people what to do", even if it *sounds* like telling people what to do. The key is to not get upset by what people who are on our side say.

[beam me up scottie]

158. Sorry, this is a political forum.

And I get upset by things I read here and elsewhere.
Arrogance offends me.
And I'm not the quiet type.

[WilliamPitt]

141. Ditto right back at 'cha

Cheeseball.

[Laurab]

175. Man, do you take him out of context

his "turn it the fuck off" or whatever, was preceded by ifs and ifs and qualifiers. It was also, obviously, an opinion. It's a bit of a stretch to turn it into whatever it is exactly you turned it into.

[Taxloss]

75. You know what's funny?

A guy apparently commited to the truth attempting to restrict people's access to information using violent language.

You could have made an argument for your case, Will. But no. You demanded it. This wasn't an opinion, it was a demand, one that comes across as imperious and petulant. Of course, your claque will help you out, but you insisted in the most violent terms that DUers persist from a certain activity.

And that is Not Cricket.

[WilliamPitt]

146. ...pzzzzcheeezzzz...

You lose.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

84. Will, I love ya' man, but the comment in the above post raised an eyebrow

here as well.

There are many well informed people here at DU and the comment "I am perhaps as well-informed as anyone you know, and I never watch that crap." could have as easily come from Limbaugh as it did from you.

Hubristic, arrogant and perhaps typed without a rewrite? Or do you actually believe that you are more "well-informed" than the all of us unwashed masses?

I read, I listen and I see. A vast variety of things and draw conclusions. Just like the majority of folks here at DU.

Peace.

[WilliamPitt]

132. *ahem*

Funny how *Herr Pitt* isn't considered an insult.

If you were attempting to equate me to a Nazi with that, I'd tell you what you could do with yourself if it was within the bounds of the rules.

But the rules may only be for those opinions you agree with...if you had your way...Herr Scottie.

_|_

[beam me up scottie]

143. Scheizekopf.

Guess who's 100% Kraut?

[WilliamPitt]

154. Are you 100% Nazi?

Or do you begin to understand the depth of that slur?

[beam me up scottie]

160. Why is addressing someone as Mister a slur?

Is this a new thing?

[WilliamPitt]

161. Yeah

Play dumb.

As a German on an American forum, you should know better.

I'm pretty sure you do.

[beam me up scottie]

163. We address all know it all's that way.

Do you have a problem with it?

[WilliamPitt]

165. I think the Yeagermeister has subsumed you

"We address all know it all's that way."

That's not intelligble writing.

Try harder.

[beam me up scottie]

166. Oh, Liebchen, you know exactly what I meant.

:P

[WilliamPitt]

167. Take another shot

of that vile stuff...and understand that calling someone 'Herr' anything in this country is an insult.

Playing dumb only makes you look dumb.

[beam me up scottie]

168. Calling someone Herr is NOT an insult.

Where the hell did you learn that?

Faking outrage to distract 101 ?

[Zynx]

169. In this country, calling someone "Herr" anything is akin to saying

"You're a dirty Nazi"

[beam me up scottie]

173. Uh, no it's not.

Wow, quite the drama.

I almost believe you're offended.

But then, someone who would use the search function to dig up dirt to throw at someone who disliked your insult wouldn't dare be offended by the German word for mister.

Would they?

[WilliamPitt]

174. LOL

You're cute when you're cornered.

No one used any search function...and anything on DU wouldn't be "dirt" anyway...right?

No search was used.

You're just predictable.

[NNN0LHI]

60. I still can't figure out why someone would pay 50 bucks for that...

...propaganda sheet written for the benefit of the Bush administration that the NYT puts out? But they do. Different strokes for different folks I guess Will?

Don

[geniph]

62. "Don't sleep in the subway, darling...

don't stand in the pouring rain,
don't wash your face with Clorox,
don't shave with a Ginsu knife..."

(apologies to Petula Clark and the comic I heard do that routine some years ago)

Basically, my point being that if you have to be told "If it hurts when you do that, then don't do that," then you probably aren't bright enough to be allowed out of the house unsupervised. Anyone who finds that watching MSM news adversely affects their mood, health, sanity, etc., and continues to watch it - well, keep your fetishes to yourself, okay?

I read the newspaper and a few progressive magazines. I find that they have less of a focus on the Terrifying Thing Of The Day That Will Surely Kill Us All and/or the Missing Pretty Blonde Girl of the Week. Maybe that focus is still there, but it's certainly easier to choose what I read than what's passively fed into my eyeballs by the television. I control which articles I read and in what order; the TV news presents what THEY think I should watch, in the order THEY choose. I find that aggravating, so I don't watch.

I actually quit watching TV news when Bobby Kennedy was shot. Never got into the habit, really. I prefer to read my news.

[VOX]

63. Cable is for Turner Classics, Deadwood, baseball, and ****that is it.****

Actually, da missus and I don't watch enough tube to justify the outrageous monthly tariff.

But we never even look at any broadcast news. :puke: It's BBC radio, TomPaine.com, and DU for us.

Seriously, I get physically ill if I see Chris Matthews bouncing up and down on his ass, or any other of the talking-head, corporate shit-puppets. I haven't watched any of that extreme-mainstream-junk since September 12, 2001.

I did, however, watch the presidential "debates" on C-SPAN in 2003, which is as close as I'm ever gonna get.

[KoKo]

64. Sometimes...those of us with "open minds" like to do the Channel Surf...

just to see what the "Media Whoredom" is up to when there's Breaking News they find a conflict with.

So, even though many of us have given up watching the Crap...we still are open minded enough to "surf it" so that we don't become "Preaching to Choir Clones." Sometimes we are surprised...and encouraged to come back another night and most times we are terribly disappointed and then go back to our Bunkers" in Tune Out phase.

But...for this DU'er I'm getting a "whiff of WATERGATE LOOMING." So, sadly, I've stuck a "toe in the water" of the cables to see what was up.

How are the Cable Media handling this turn of events.

:shrug:

[LittleClarkie]

65. I'm sorry, Mr. Pitt. That's an opinion. Hand it over.

You KNOW you're not allowed to have those on this site.

[Rex]

70. No one ever said you had to have good taste or class to post on DU.

They don't call it the 'idiot box' fer nothin. CNN might as well call itself Foxlight News. Anyone who employs a needs-to-be-investigated intern killer is just, well, evil and should never be watched on principle alone.

CBS/ABC/NBC - who watches these channels anymore? News? I get my news from LBN. IMO no one beats DU for up to the minute news.

[Arkham House]

71. Hear, Hear

Anyone who isn't "elitist" regarding cable "news" has something wrong with them. Indeed, this is true for *all* TV "news", except for C-Span. The rest is all BS. They've been invoking Murrow as their patron saint now for fifty years--a timely reference, right now...but in fact, CBS ultimately defeated Murrow, and he himself came to recognize the essentiual hollowness of this medium as an "educational" tool.
Having said that, I will concede that cable is worse than the networks. (Though not as much worse as it used to be.) Tweety is by far the worst. Others may be more "right-wing"--but there's something about him, his whiney tone, his constant interrupting and endless efforts to make certain that no one can ever say anything intelligent, his obsessions about the most useless Beltway trivia--his essential *silliness*--all this gives him a peculiar swinishness all his own...

[Celeborn Skywalker]

72. I don't watch Cable News.

I do, however, watch network news occasionally. I think CBS, ABC, and NBC are quite a bit less mind numbing than the cable channels.

[OxQQme]

73. Psst, Will, watch this uproar....

I continue subscribing to cable for the Speed channel and NASCAR.
woo hoo

[NashVegas]

74. But .. But .. But Anderson Cooper's So Cuuuuuuuute!

When lefty/indie journalism comes up with it's own sex bomb, get back to me.





:evilgrin:

[GOPisEvil]

76. I don't even know what those channels are on my cable system.

I learn all I need to know via the internets. I gave up on cable news years ago. I didn't even watch on 9/11. Thankfully American Movie Classics was on - I watched movies.

[smartvoter]

78. If you are in the trenches, and trying to educate people you know, you

have to watch so debunk it. NOT because you can't get it elsewhere, but because of arguments like "I saw this on CNN and they said XXX."

If you can't say "I saw that and they left out YYY" they think they're right.

I hate those places, but I personally have swayed a number of people to our side -- especially lately as the things I've been jumping up and down about have been (finally) put out in the open.

I think it sucks that we have to spend time debunking all that crap, however. I saw a thread Saturday wherein it was revealed that NBC claimed that Blanco never asked for troops when we all read the request ourselves a month ago.

[Seen the light]

82. Olbermann

I enjoy watching him and he's on MSNBC.

[applegrove]

87. As opposed to the play by play account of Fox News we get here all

day?

[Generator]

92. Unfortunately this sometimes applies to DU as well

Maybe because I've been coming here pretty much every day since I found this place-Monday-Friday. On weekends, it's family time and only if the weather is crap or there is big news do I come to DU. Well, it's only been a year and half but still. Sometimes the same old same old gets boring around here or can raise your blood pressure too. Schiavo month and Popelooza were those times for me. Sometimes, a person can't take another argument about the DLC. Or how rotten the Kerry campaign was... whatever that argument is that you've read every possible opinion on at least twelve times.

But, otherwise I agree with you completely. I was a news TV junkie until November 2nd, 2004. I swear to GOD I will never watch CNN again. I only watch Countdown occasionaly. I do NOT like being used as a propaganda wastebin. DU isn't like that though sometimes it's certainly as time wasting as any TV show.

:P

BUT for the rest of you propaganda news junkies-keep watching! I love reading about it. It makes one feel so superior that we aren't watching it. And frankly, that must be what at least a good portion of life is all about: feeling superior to others. Now watch watch watch but be careful!

[mopinko]

94. yeah, what he said.

[donheld]

95. I watched CNN for Katrina & Rita

That little bit made me glad as a rule I never watch any of it. There are plenty of places to get real news without MSM.

[Domitan]

98. I check in CNN from time to time

It's interesting to see the time lag between what's already been said on blogs and independent sites versus the MSM sites...as well as what is "permitted" to be revealed at that time. The Plamegate catching fire on MSNBC and CNN is a sure indicator that a long-buried story is soon to receive its dues.

I do enjoy seeing the likes of Anderson Cooper, Cafferty, and sometimes Aaron Brown. It's not all black and white.

[Beam Me Up]

102. No TV for me since the 2000 selection. Corp Media has no credibility.

[undeterred]

103. I can't afford cable anyway

so I guess I wasn't missing anything. :shrug:

[are_we_united_yet]

104. Hear , Hear!

what he said again.

[newscott]

105. I actually had to give them up for economic reasons

My cable company finally filtered out all the channels they were giving me for free and there's no way I can afford the upgrade, so.....

But I have been watching the local news and that drives me batshit too.

I've got to stop watching that crap!

[kevsand]

106. I was going to feed you a whole line about being

a student of media and popular culture and the need to keep a handle on what the masses are being fed, but the real truth is that I just can't help myself. I can't turn away. So much movement. And the colors. Such pretty colors...

[haydukelives]

113. LOL Will

I don't watch tv either. You are right

[Raksha]

115. I watch MSNBC and CNN mainly to see what they are NOT covering.

I already know from DU and my favorite blogs what the big stories are, so occasionally I turn on CNN or MSNBC to see if they are being covered, and I'm almost always disappointed because it's the same-old, same-old--either no coverage at all or very minimal and/or slanted coverage. Okay, there are a few exceptions like Keith Olberman or Anderson Cooper's coverage of Hurricane Katrina, but mostly it all reminds me how badly we need to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

[lectrobyte]

116. I'm with you.

[Ladyhawk]

117. Question: how can I get my physical therapist to turn off Faux News??

I learned today that he's a wingnut. Even CNN is too liberal for him.

[bluedawg12]

122. Tell him your therapy time is meant to be stress free

and the increased adrenergic output from being forced to listen Faux news is causing you pain and suffering and tight muscles.

[omega minimo]

118. So what you're saying is

it's crap










don't ferget to take yer Vitamin C, everbuddy! :hi: :bounce:

[FreedomAngel82]

121. I don't watch it

If there's any good clips or anything like that I know Crooksandliars.com will have it. So I don't need to watch it. I find out everything here or a few blogs I've learned to trust such as Crooksandliars.com and the Huffington Post.

[Bat Boy]

125. The Single Most Mystifying Mystery in the DU Phenomenon...

Is how you managed to get published writing like that.

"Mystifying Mystery?"

Why, that's ridiculously ridiculous.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

129. Now don't be rudely rudified!

Tsk!

[Bat Boy]

135. I apologetically apologize.

I was being snarkily snarky.

[muriel_volestrangler]

127. Define "the rest of that dreck"

Fox News Channel?

American broadcast TV news?

International TV news?

Video clips on the internet?

Sometimes, video tells you more than you can get from print, or radio. To define all TV news as worthless seems blinkered to me. So, where does the dreck stop, and news start?

[beam me up scottie]

152. He would but he's too busy trying to defend

his rep.
:rofl:

[WilliamPitt]

156. TV news in general

is worthwhile in a crisis. But any habit of daily consumption is a self-destructive habit.

[greatauntoftriplets]

130. Huh???

I don't watch any of that dreck.

No cable, no Tivo, satellite dish, anything.

Watch the local news, a bit of PBS.

Turn off the damn boob tube!!! I did long ago....

Antiques Roadshow is great!!!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

131. I like the Frontline the kids are watching these days.

[Susang]

134. I hear it's dope

}(

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

136. It's hypely hype!

[Zynx]

171. I haven't watched any TV in about three weeks and I feel great.

I've been watching movies and reading books.

[LynneSin]

139. If I'm watching, it's only because I meant to type in the channel for TBS

It happens but doesn't last for very long

[johnnie]

145. Weird

When I left work today I was thinking of coming home and posting the exact same thing. I just figured it wasn't worth mentioning.

I see people on here every day complaining about the MSM and I wonder why anyone here still watches that shit. CNN, FOX, MSNBC and the rest are entertainment period. It is all about numbers and money and people here still tune in to that crap. I don't get it.

[Ksec]

155. well, Im starting to hear announcers saying things like

"Is this the end of the Bush administration?" ;MSNBC

And "If Rove is indicted it will shake the foundations of the bush admin. and America" ;OREALLY

Its just gettin good.

[paineinthearse]

164. Better yet....

"If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own."

[miss_kitty]

170. Haven't watched that stuff in years

and then only when surfing before I found how to delete the channels. Hate that shit. Fuck MSM. It IS the Koolaid.

[Vektor]

172. SO. RIGHT.

Best to just kill your television, really.

[Gold Metal Flake]

176. Locking.

Thread fall down, go boom.