Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Edumacation would do 'em some good
i know i mentioned this the other day, but i don't watch the news. and everyday i'm convinced of why. take the fox network. do these people even have to have an education to work there? or do they have to just look decent on camera? i mean really, the crap that i hear coming out of their mouths is just incredible (in the bad way - and if you work at Fox, yes there is a good and bad way of using the word incredible).
you know what comes to mind , the Wizard of Oz, "I wish i had a brain".
i was watching some clips about the wire tapping of civil society in america. and one Fox reporter said something to the effect of (this is not an exact quote but pretty close to it) - ITS BETTER FOR THEM (the government) TO COLLECT THE NUMBERS THAN IT IS TO COLLECT THE WRECKAGE.
i'm sorry. what?
did we just go from a to z? was that an illogical argument? was that a slippery slope conclusion? was that more emotional blackmail? more fear? more bullshit?
yes, i think it clearly was. its right up there with "if you smoke marijuana you'll end up doing heroin and become a hooker selling yourself for money and having a pimp beat you up, and you'll end up on the street and some guy will come along for a trick and he'll stab you and leave you dead in a ditch somewhere."
i mean, honestly, do people still believe this crap. spying on your own citizens is a break down in society, and it does not mean that if you don't do it, you can't prevent another 911 from happening.
the way to think this through (for those that believe the a to z story) is simple. Identify the proposition (P) being refuted and identify the final event in the series of events. Then show that this final event need not occur as a consequence of P.
we live in a society in which the government or the elite say - this is the problem X - then they say - this is how to solve it - A or B. they try to prevent you from thinking. and often they'll use any tragedy or fear that will make you emotional, and more likely to react quickly, and more likely to believe that these 2 limited options are really the only solution.
so Fox says, if you don't let the government monitor you, you or someone you love will die. what the hell happened to responsible credible intelligent journalism? how did we get to the point in which an anchor can say this? or even better, than if you don't live in one of the countries that is being monitored (the government said that it was monitoring calls coming into the country from certain other suspicious countries) the surveillance and wire tapping "will not affect you"? i'm sorry, what?
so really, i know what i'm not missing, and i'm not watching the news. its not about news, or providing information, or making the society aware of what is happening around them so they become more responsible citizens. its about MONEY. its about ratings. its about CRAP. if i want to find out what's happening, i do some research. i read and i form my own educated opinion about a topic. i don't believe what some undereducated halfwit says b/c he was told to say that and b/c i just don't have the time to invest in doing the research so i would prefer to see a five minute spot and believe that i am aware of the situation and the world around me. bahhhhh.
you know what comes to mind , the Wizard of Oz, "I wish i had a brain".
i was watching some clips about the wire tapping of civil society in america. and one Fox reporter said something to the effect of (this is not an exact quote but pretty close to it) - ITS BETTER FOR THEM (the government) TO COLLECT THE NUMBERS THAN IT IS TO COLLECT THE WRECKAGE.
i'm sorry. what?
did we just go from a to z? was that an illogical argument? was that a slippery slope conclusion? was that more emotional blackmail? more fear? more bullshit?
yes, i think it clearly was. its right up there with "if you smoke marijuana you'll end up doing heroin and become a hooker selling yourself for money and having a pimp beat you up, and you'll end up on the street and some guy will come along for a trick and he'll stab you and leave you dead in a ditch somewhere."
i mean, honestly, do people still believe this crap. spying on your own citizens is a break down in society, and it does not mean that if you don't do it, you can't prevent another 911 from happening.
the way to think this through (for those that believe the a to z story) is simple. Identify the proposition (P) being refuted and identify the final event in the series of events. Then show that this final event need not occur as a consequence of P.
we live in a society in which the government or the elite say - this is the problem X - then they say - this is how to solve it - A or B. they try to prevent you from thinking. and often they'll use any tragedy or fear that will make you emotional, and more likely to react quickly, and more likely to believe that these 2 limited options are really the only solution.
so Fox says, if you don't let the government monitor you, you or someone you love will die. what the hell happened to responsible credible intelligent journalism? how did we get to the point in which an anchor can say this? or even better, than if you don't live in one of the countries that is being monitored (the government said that it was monitoring calls coming into the country from certain other suspicious countries) the surveillance and wire tapping "will not affect you"? i'm sorry, what?
so really, i know what i'm not missing, and i'm not watching the news. its not about news, or providing information, or making the society aware of what is happening around them so they become more responsible citizens. its about MONEY. its about ratings. its about CRAP. if i want to find out what's happening, i do some research. i read and i form my own educated opinion about a topic. i don't believe what some undereducated halfwit says b/c he was told to say that and b/c i just don't have the time to invest in doing the research so i would prefer to see a five minute spot and believe that i am aware of the situation and the world around me. bahhhhh.
The End of Privacy - Whitaker