News, Spin, or a Lie??

I visit both conservative and liberal sites. I read the articles posted by those on the right and the left to prove thier points and one thing has struck me and its not good. Anyone can pretty much find an article from a "reputable news source" to back whatever they wish to say. Who can we trust now with "just the facts?" This bothers me alot.

Take the recent AP story about the "boos" that occurred when Bush wished Clinton well, and was proven totally false and later taken off the AP wire. We aren't just talking spin here, we are talking a LIE. I am sure the left can come up with their own as well. And thats the problem. Legitimate news should be just the facts. But now it seems that what we refer to as mainstream news has their own agenda and sometimes not only spin the news their way, but make up things as well. This is disturbing and wrong. It seems to have gotten worse in the last few years.

I think this is why. With the advent of talk radio, the internet, and Fox news, the conservative side was out there in a much more public way reaching a wider audience than ever before. The mainstream media, use to spinning things to the left because that is the belief base of 90% of journalists, were not happy with this and have chosen to spin things as they see it. Recently I think there has been an effort in the mainstream media to offer a more fair balance in order to compete with Fox news. This has caused the liberals to insist on bias in the media. They have been so used to things being spun in their direction, that any spin to the right is considered bias. I say "welcome to our world." This is what conservatives lived with for DECADES.

I truly don't feel I can trust what I read anymore. Conspiracy theorists are given the same credit as respected pundits. Leftwingers read their news sites and totally believe what is there, rightwingers do the same. Leftys read Freepers comments and think all conservatives are like that. Rightwingers read rants from Michael Moore and think all liberals are like that. And we wonder why we are so divided in this country? This is just wrong. We all have our indivual beliefs, almost none of us have exactly the same way of thinking or believing, which is one of the great things about America.

Another example of misinformation that appalled me. When the swiftboat ads came out the Kerry campaign immediately announced that it was backed by the Bush campaign and was nothing but disgruntled Republicans. The President said he had nothing to do with it and went on to praise Kerry's service. Since I didn't hear different I assumed that the ads were put on by partisan men. Only recently did I find out that John O'Neil is a independent and voted for Gore in 2000 and that the 250 men involved are of all political persuasions. This is kinda important to know when evaluating the truth of something. The press just let that part of the story slide. Yes, I know a wealthy Republican gave them funds to make the ads, but who else would do that? I mean come on! I am sure there are the same kind of examples on the left. But my point is that the press needs to start doing its job and giving us the FACTS and not leave out vital information just because it makes a better story.

The democrats kept complaining about the speakers at the convention not representing the "real" Republican party. I guess they were talking about me because I don't believe in most things that Rudy or Arnold believe, but I have found that most conservative bloggers do. Yet the democrats put Republicans in one box and anyone who doesn't fit that box isn't really a Republican. Sad, really.

The civil discourse on the net is truly awful. Just look at the comments on my blog to see how most seem to want to act like 5th graders and call names and make childish remarks instead of having a real debate about the issues. One commenter remarked that adults need to be in charge. Well, maybe adults need to be on the internet and act like adults as well.