Current Affairs General US politics (ie, not POTUS related)

[Ruairi77]

I think it's easy to point the finger at politicians. And perhaps that is where the blame lies.

But I also believe strongly that it's much deeper than that - our society is an absolute mess, and our elected officials feel like they can't risk (generally) speaking the truth about all this nonsense and risk alienating someone who might vote for him or her.

We live in a world where the media feels compelled to "both sides" issues lest they look partisan. When the reality is one side is so far gone it's not even a "political" debate any more.

There is no way to fix this because of the alternate reality right wing media has created over the past 35 years

Right wing media doesn't 'both sides' anything to avoid being partisan.
The only times they 'both sides' something is to take the heat off their preferred narrative. There's a lot of talk about when Rand Pauls neighbor beat the crap out of him going round.
With Fox, Spectrum, and now likely twitter, there's less and less effort being put in to even trying to feign partisan coverage.

 

[Pittsburgh Footy]

Right wing media doesn't 'both sides' anything to avoid being partisan.
The only times they 'both sides' something is to take the heat off their preferred narrative. There's a lot of talk about when Rand Pauls neighbor beat the crap out of him going round.
With Fox, Spectrum, and now likely twitter, there's less and less effort being put in to even trying to feign partisan coverage.

Exactly. Because they aren't real media. They're propoganda

The real media feels the need to both sides things. It's all about how the Dems are going to lose the house because of inflation, economy, blah blah blah blah because they can't tell it like it is - the GOP tells lies all day every day because they believe the rubes will buy it. It's nauseating

 

[Ruairi77]

Exactly. Because they aren't real media. They're propoganda

The real media feels the need to both sides things. It's all about how the Dems are going to lose the house because of inflation, economy, blah blah blah blah because they can't tell it like it is - the GOP tells lies all day every day because they believe the rubes will buy it. It's nauseating

ah right, I get you.
I was thinking about this last night.
I usually watch Sunday cartoons (christ, what am I like) on fox, Simpsons, Bobs burgers etc. Then I just leave the TV on and the local news comes on. They've rebranded from Fox 25 to Boston 25 but the content is still the same. It's subtle and it's more about what they don't report than what they do but I cant imagine how many people just keep fox turned on after Family Guy or what ever football they're showing instead. There's a good chance if you turn over, you're going to get some spectrum local garbage that's the same but has 'NBC' or 'CBS' in the title.

 

[Zezti]

This sounds pretty huge. Its getting a lot of coverage right now on small streams.

 

[Ruairi77]

I guess all Christians aren't crazy nationalists.
Fiery stuff out of Georgia here.
Also @Martin Alvito, it adds to my thinking that student loan debt forgiveness will play very well with African American voters

 

[Rook]

ah right, I get you.
I was thinking about this last night.
I usually watch Sunday cartoons (christ, what am I like) on fox, Simpsons, Bobs burgers etc. Then I just leave the TV on and the local news comes on. They've rebranded from Fox 25 to Boston 25 but the content is still the same. It's subtle and it's more about what they don't report than what they do but I cant imagine how many people just keep fox turned on after Family Guy or what ever football they're showing instead. There's a good chance if you turn over, you're going to get some spectrum local garbage that's the same but has 'NBC' or 'CBS' in the title.

Its a high bar to climb but local news is way more racist and damaging than Fox news.

There was supposedly gonna be a backlash in the newsrooms of local TV stations when Sinclair and others bought all the local TV stations. They assmiliated quick once they realized that there is no city you can go to and not have the same boss.

 

[Ruairi77]

Its a high bar to climb but local news is way more racist and damaging than Fox news.

There was supposedly gonna be a backlash in the newsrooms of local TV stations when Sinclair and others bought all the local TV stations. They assmiliated quick once they realized that there is no city you can go to and not have the same boss.

ha, oops, where ever I said Spectrum, I meant Sinclair.
My eighties computer clearly still lives strong in my mind!

 

[Amw79]

Justice department charges tell the story of the Pelosi attack. The guy intended to tie her up, ask her questions, and if she told a lie he’d break her kneecaps.

Another one who went down the online rabbit hole and ended up violent and unhinged.

All the while, republican politicians, the son of the former president and the richest guy in the world have been wilfully spreading disinformation, and muddying the waters.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1548106/download

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[LinekersLegs]

RIP

 

[TN Toffee]

ha, oops, where ever I said Spectrum, I meant Sinclair.
My eighties computer clearly still lives strong in my mind!

For those in here who may not know exactly what you’re talking about, John Oliver did a good segment on Sinclair several years ago.

 

[Martin Alvito]

I guess all Christians aren't crazy nationalists.
Fiery stuff out of Georgia here.
Also @Martin Alvito, it adds to my thinking that student loan debt forgiveness will play very well with African American voters

Pandering to the converted gains nothing at the ballot box.

If anything, I think the move probably hurt Biden among young voters, looking at what I've been seeing in the opinion numbers there. $10,000 isn't enough to make a dent for many young people, and the general complaint about Biden among that demographic is that he isn't doing enough. Failing to turn out young voters (notoriously a problem in the midterms) is the pathway to a loss for the Democrats.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

This sounds pretty huge. Its getting a lot of coverage right now on small streams.

 

[verreauxi]

Pandering to the converted gains nothing at the ballot box.

If anything, I think the move probably hurt Biden among young voters, looking at what I've been seeing in the opinion numbers there. $10,000 isn't enough to make a dent for many young people, and the general complaint about Biden among that demographic is that he isn't doing enough. Failing to turn out young voters (notoriously a problem in the midterms) is the pathway to a loss for the Democrats.

Yeah, the folks progressive-minded folks who have like 80K in debt are not inspired by Biden's small-move, and the folks who dislike debt-forgiveness aren't gonna vote blue anyways, so the 10K debt-forgiveness (while certainly useful to anyone with debt) isn't likely to do anything at the polls this election cycle.

 

[Martin Alvito]

Meet The Midterm Candidates Who Attended The Jan. 6 Rally

After then-President Donald Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, some of his supporters left his rally and smashed their way into the U.S. Capitol building, and now …

fivethirtyeight.com

This is a substantial public service. It will cause them problems, since at least one of those candidates is overwhelmingly likely to win. I applaud their courage.