No Media Bias?
For those of you who disbelieve the evidence that the mainstream media slants leftward, please explain to me what exactly is being “reported” here:
“It’s turning into our Vietnam” (USAT)
Aaron McGonigal knows all about patriotism and fighting terrorism.
He was in the Illinois National Guard on Sept. 11, 2001. Soon after the attacks, he volunteered for active duty in the Army and ended up on a security force in Germany.
McGonigal, 25, now a sales manager for a medical-technology company here, doesn’t believe the war in Iraq has anything to do with battling terrorism. He also doesn’t think his opposition to the war makes him less patriotic.
“I don’t think we should be there,” he says. “It’s turning into our Vietnam.”
Read the whole thing. I can’t see how the article is anything other than an an anti-Iraq War editorial posing as news.
Hmm…what a nifty comment box!
What a great career you must have, it must be fascinating, the work you do. If only I’d been able to tolerate grad school!
Ah well, next life.
Also, I have a lot of respect for people in the military or ex-military.
So, media left, everyone else right?
In my opinion, it should be a commonplace(but isn’t), that left-right politics is not at all useful in describing well, politics. I would go so far as to say it’s completely useless, of course I could be wrong. But as an example, the so-called anti-war movement in the States and Europe is not really anti-war at all. If it was, where were they in 1999, when NATO bombed the Serbs? Where were the millions of protesters in massive demonstrations coordinated across time zones? Well, let’s see…they weren’t anywhere! They weren’t anywhere because they supported the attack by Nato. So they’re not anti-war or anti-intervention, they just disagree about where the West should intervene.
(These views are retailed at http://www.spiked-online.com).
Cheers.
P.S. I’m coming in from a link at http://www.aldaily.com
Oh dear, I see you have an ad about the “true” story of 9/11. You’re not one of those nutters who thinks there was some kind of conspiracy by the U.S. government about 9/11? Are you?
I would agree that this article has a left-wing bias to it. So what? To prove that the media leans to the left, you must show a consistent pattern. I’m not saying that you couldn’t do it, but this ONE article gives no insight into the situation.
In all of the media stories of today, couldn’t a liberal pull out an example of right-wing bias? Would this prove the media leans right? I would expect a much better post from a political science professor. Wouldn’t you fail a student who made such a sweeping generalization?
The point of the post (not the headline) is that this is an editorial masquerading as a news story. And it certainly is. Citing only one individual who has served in the Army Reserve in Germany (not Iraq), who is no longer in the service, who never trusted Bush, who has nothing much of substance to say, and whose conclusion, that Iraq is “turning into our Vietnam” is bogus, scarcely makes for a compelling news article.
Jim Rhoads:
It’s no use to pay any attention to some lefty that is as bad as the lefty media they defend. The only consolation is that they to know full well that the media is an arm of the extremists left that has as leaders guys like Kerry, Kennedy and Dean. The thing to watch is for those same lefty media publications to see how they are going to handle their favorite Daughter, Cindy Sheehan.
Oh boy, more history lessons. Was it not the Founding fathers of what we now know as the elite liberal media, who’s sympathy for the N.V.C. (that we were in the prosess of crushing I might point out)started what we know today as the anti-war protest movement. I know some would like to believe a bunch of stoned freelovin’ hippies, and wasting their daddy’s money learning about evolution college students sudenly saw the light and droped the joints, acid, and fraternity spanking paddles and decided to do something about the evils of war. I say NO, it was the communists who had infiltrated our news services who incited them. I put it to you that this is what happened, this is where their bias started. Bias indeed, It is communism morphed into liberal socialism and it is not their bais, it is their religion whether they know it or not.
Mr. Phillips:
Are you saying that the Democrats who preach “Liberal Socialism” are communists?
Dear “everyone who has anything to do with this blog”,
You really are a bunch of nutters, you know that?
Sincerely,
George Balanchine
P.S. this is a blog, isn’t it?
I think the guy has every right to voice his opinion; after all, he did serve (unlike some of you) and that gives him the right to question whether or not the policies we are following are right or wrong.
For those of you who do not like his opinion or think it is wrong, I suggest you join the military and get a direct and personal view on the ground yourself.
Best way I could describe their religion and where it came from. so sorry. I could go into more detail but why. Wait I got it, it’s evolution, yes thats it;Communist to liberal socialist to p.c.naziunbornbabykillinIcamefromthemonkeyworspers. I hope this clears it up for you Herb, Buddy? p.s. George is that all you libs got left.(no pun intended).
Lucky, thats not what this post is about, and I’m to old to join up. So I must sit here at my typer and fight libs with my “hatespeach” and my dull wit and my bad spelling. But when the civil war in this country turns to a shooting war I will be one of the first on the front lines. that is if their are any guns left(no pun intended), I fear we will have to run out and through lawyers at each other. Oh, and lucky, don’t feel bad, not knowing what a post was about never slowed my typer down.
God my spelling sucks, must have been the liberal school I was forced to go to, then droped out of.
G A PHILLIPS – obviously you are too old (Altzheimer’s perhaps?) to have actually understood the point I was trying to make that he at least had a right to voice his opinion whether or not you or anyone else approved or agreed.
Sure, you go get your gun and be on the front lines when it comes, but until you actually served in the military (which by the way I did) you have no right to judge whether or not an ex-service member has the right/no right to voice his opinion.
You might be surprised that not everyone in the military is republican.
It is The Soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us Freedom of the press.
It is The Soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us Freedom of speech.
It is The Soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us Freedom to demonstrate.
It is The Soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is The Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves under the flag and
Whose coffin is draped by the flag
Who allows the protester to burn the flag
Yes, you all are truly a bunch of nutters, completely bonkers, the lot of you.
How is it that someone who was born long after our involvement in Viet Nam would declare that Iraq is becoming our Viet Nam? Since he is a sales manager it’s a safe bet he isn’t a historical scholar. While this one article may not be indicative of media bias, depending on your point of view, it sure is illustrative of piss-poor journalistic standards.
This is a classic example of the Murtha Syndrome. There are two characterisitics I can think of.
First, is that any one with a smidgen of military experience is an ‘authority’ on Iraq or terrorism (especially if their opinion is contrary).
Second, that we should be amazed that there are people in the military that have their own opinions and think for themselves.
So they found one guy with past military experience that feels this way. So what?
Here’s another angle:
‘Hey Soldier, we’ll give you five thousand bucks to say that Iraq is Viet Nam…’
Good heavens, the media runs a “soldier against war” story—the classic “man bites dog” that the press generally seeks—and OTB commenters get conniption fits.
My dad recalls being in Vietnam & a reporter’s coming to his unit & asking about the M-16, which had been getting a reputation for jamming.
“No, it’s a fine weapon, you just have to take care of it” was everyone’s response, until the reporter found one general malcontent who hated his rifle & everything else. “Oh, yeah, it’s a piece of crap,” etc.
Naturally, that guy ended up being quoted most prominently. “Rifle Working Just Great” isn’t a news headline.
If this kind of thing strikes you as “media bias,” get over it. Or go read the last couple of days’ posts at Eschaton, and see some right-wing media bias exposed.
Din’t jugde any body, and every one can say what they whant, and I would love this country to be run like starship troopers but it’s not. And i am not a rebub.
Please explain how a soldier that served in Germany is in any way an authority on Iraq?
Please explain how this one soldier’s opinion is any more or less relevant than any other
citizen of this countrysoldier?Anderson:
FYI, the M-16 was not a “piece of crap” the problem with the firing of the weapon was the powder in the ammunition it was using, Thanks to your liberal buddy Mac intire, he overroad the experts and insisted on using ball powder rather than the stick powder recommended by the experts. A lot of guys were killed by Macintires insistance.
Phillips:
You sound like you are still in the “starship” Beam me down scitty” I don’t want to be near Phillips any longer.
Lucky:
I agree with you that everyone has a right to express his/her opinion on the wisdom or not of this war. Veterans have as right to express their opinions, too. They have their own unique perspective.
I served four years in the Army and one in RVN as a young man. I have strong opinions about those experiences. I have no problems listening to colleagues with whom I served express opinions about that war that are different from mine.
But this post was about a news story which offered the reporter’s slanted opinion (that Iraq is like Vietnam) and supported it with what he intended to be an “authoritative” witness who had been in the military.
The witnesses point of view, while it lent total support to the story’s point of view, lent zero authority.
And that is the point. As stated in the post, this was an editorial/opinion piece disguised as a news story.
if only soldiers get to have an opinion, then many of them have died for nothing. most american soldiers fight for everyone’s right to speak, not just their own. to say otherwise is to insult their sacrifice.