Comments | danger03: Daniel weighs in on politics--Special Edition

danger03

Daniel weighs in on politics--Special Edition

Sep 12, 2004 03:11

Ordinarily, Daniel and politics don't mix. I've never participated in a protest. I never saw Fahrenheit: 9/11. On the war in Iraq I've said said next to nothing. And watching CSPAN is about as appealing to me as jumping in a volcano. Until about a month ago, I was completely apathetic about the political processes of our nation.

( Perhaps that's a good thing. )

Comments 13

havenli September 12 2004, 09:51:57 UTC

First of all, let me commend you on your decision to become aware of the importance this election and to cast your vote based on your beliefs and opinions. While I don't necessarily agree with you, I do appreciate that you are going out to the polls to voice your opinion. Good for you. :)

I do have one little thing I want to point out. News organizations such as the New York Times, Slate, NPR, and other public stations almost always lean to the left. And rather heavily to the left at that. I would tell you to watch FOX News instead, but general feeling there is that it leans to the right, and I don't want to be a hypocrite ;). But at the same time, if you were to watch FOX (and similar programs) as well as the stations you already watch/listen to/read, you would at least be hearing both sides of the story. I watch FOX mostly, but I do watch some of the other stations as well on a regular basis, because I want to give everyone an equal opportunity to state their case. You might even want to check out both liberal and conservatism. Now, due to my ( ... )

danger03 September 12 2004, 20:53:38 UTC

Perhaps you raise a valid point. What if the sources I depend on are in fact skewed toward the left? I take it on faith that big name networks and newspapers are dependable, accountable, and objective. As I said, it is my hope that if they are not the most objective sources, than at least they are among the least biased ones. The reason I don't watch Fox News is simple: I don't have cable. Sometimes I force myself to sit through a political analyst debate on PBS. I am unashamed to admit I rely heavily on PBS and NPR. I sincerely believe that PBS has my best interest in mind ( ... )

havenli September 14 2004, 14:19:41 UTC

Well, I'll give you my views as best I can ( ... )

pt. 1 danger03 September 15 2004, 21:39:10 UTC

I appreciate your taking the time to write out your views; now let me see if I can extend this discussion a bit:

First of all, just because I disagree with your choice for Bush doesn't mean I think you were were wrong about your whole reasoning. You said the large networks were skewed to the left. Guess what? You were right. It seems that Dan Rather's Vietnam reports are almost certainly bunk. This is a big shame, because it takes away credibility from CBS and the press in general, which most Americans depend on most to get accurate information about the world ( ... )

Thread 7

anonymous October 5 2004, 16:48:21 UTC

Wow, I feel bad posting this after such a serious discussion but...

I saw your post in NU's journal. 1) Is your user picture a picture of you? and 2) if it is, you are gorgeous!

Please don't take this as a creepy internet stalker thing. I just wanted to through a compliment your way. :)

anonymous October 5 2004, 19:00:02 UTC

*throw*

whoops...

yesiamlonely October 26 2004, 23:12:07 UTC

I like that you are interested in "Jesus as a person" and you write well. If that had not been that case, I wouldn't.

yesiamlonely October 26 2004, 23:13:50 UTC

Oh, and, you should really give C-Span a chance.

danger03 October 27 2004, 00:50:21 UTC

Thank you for the nice compliment.

I don't know about C-span though... I think I'd rather drink a bottle of ketchup.

Very well said, Dan tto October 28 2004, 23:00:33 UTC

I just happened upon this, because, well, I'm lazy and don't check my friends' journals as often as I should, and I had to take the opportunity to respond.

Kudos, Dan, for coming forward and saying what you believe. Too many people shy away, because 'no one will care' or 'my opinions just don't matter'. The reality is that everyone's opinion is important. To play off of your essay, I'd say it's incumbent upon those who write well to express their views, because they're out best and most reliable source. You always write so well, I should add.

As you know perfectly well, I'm opinionated, and while I agree with you generally here, I think there's two important points I'd like to disagree with, from your main entry and your comments:

1. This notion of a biased media is bunk. Say we first stipulate that all journalists have opinions. Surveys (for instance, this one, which is pretty scientific and was produced by a a statistician at VCU) have consistently indicated that journalists and media outlets have a bias only within a bipolar ( ... )