Alternative Universe

The 'news' is a weird alternate universe

Joe,

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of the news hallucination industry. Jennifer's assertions (Lies about 'failed terror attacks' in UK) will be proved correct or incorrect in a court of law -- well, that is, to the extent that even a simile of a criminal justice system exists in "civilized" western societies. At least in U.K. courts, a decent defense attorney is provided to those who are not wealthy. Here in the land of freedom and justice for all, you get a drunk or an incompetent and with no budget for good investigation, unless you have deep pockets (like a fellow named Abramoff).

The funny thing to me is that people are up in arms over current media antics as though they were something new. Throughout our history, the media has pretty much worked hand-in-glove with the government when push came to shove: Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish American War, both phases of the Thirty Years War of the Twentieth Century, Korea, Vietnam, Central America, Iraq I, Iraq II, etc. Nothing changes.

I stopped taking newspapers, except local ones for public notices, back in the early 90s. As a state fish biologist, I would read "news" stories in the press pertinent to issues I was dealing with on a daily basis. The inaccuracies, deliberate and politically driven, got me to thinking. I concluded that if publishers (and TV station owners) would deliberately foul up stories on these relatively innocuous issues, then they surely were doing an even bigger hatchet job on larger ones. About the same time I quit watching TV news.

Well, nearly 20 years have passed since making that decision. Guess what? I find that I am much better informed than people who watch the tube and read big papers regularly. I also find that on those rare occasions when I tune in to a news show, or read a paper in a cafe, I feel that I have been transported to some weird alternate universe, one populated by apparently receptive zombies. I can no longer tolerate the "news" for more than about two minutes at a time without erupting into a screaming rage -- an impotent response, I know, but at least it relieves my tension.

Best,

Harvey
Shoshoni, Wyoming

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The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.