Media in United Asylum States

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Nog een soortgelijk bericht over extremisme in de media, met de hoogst
scorende lezerscommentaren.
Waar is het mogelijk dat een 'journalist' (Sean Hannity van Fox News in
dit geval) meermalen zodanig snijdt in een filmverslag dat de boodschap
volledig vervormd wordt? (Svp niet allemaal tegelijk 'Buitenhof' beginnen
te roepen. Die doen niet aan filmverslagen ;)

Groet / Cees

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/opinion/12krugman.html
June 12, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
The Big Hate
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Back in April, there was a huge fuss over an internal report by the
Department of Homeland Security warning that current conditions resemble
those in the early 1990s — a time marked by an upsurge of right-wing
extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the Republican National
Committee denounced the report as an attempt to “segment out conservatives
in this country who have a different philosophy or view from this
administration” and label them as terrorists.

But with the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic,
closely followed by a shooting by a white supremacist at the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum, the analysis looks prescient.

There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say:
Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even
greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the
conservative media and political establishment.

Now, for the most part, the likes of Fox News and the R.N.C. haven’t
directly incited violence, despite Bill O’Reilly’s declarations that
“some” called Dr. Tiller “Tiller the Baby Killer,” that he had “blood on
his hands,” and that he was a “guy operating a death mill.” But they have
gone out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and
apocalyptic rhetoric, just as they did the last time a Democrat held the
White House.

And at this point, whatever dividing line there was between mainstream
conservatism and the black-helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually
erased.

Exhibit A for the mainstreaming of right-wing extremism is Fox News’s new
star, Glenn Beck. Here we have a network where, like it or not, millions
of Americans get their news — and it gives daily airtime to a commentator
who, among other things, warned viewers that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency might be building concentration camps as part of the
Obama administration’s “totalitarian” agenda (although he eventually
conceded that nothing of the kind was happening).

But let’s not neglect the print news media. In the Bush years, The
Washington Times became an important media player because it was widely
regarded as the Bush administration’s house organ. Earlier this week, the
newspaper saw fit to run an opinion piece declaring that President Obama
“not only identifies with Muslims, but actually may still be one himself,”
and that in any case he has “aligned himself” with the radical Muslim
Brotherhood.

And then there’s Rush Limbaugh. His rants today aren’t very different from
his rants in 1993. But he occupies a different position in the scheme of
things. Remember, during the Bush years Mr. Limbaugh became very much a
political insider. Indeed, according to a recent Gallup survey, 10 percent
of Republicans now consider him the “main person who speaks for the
Republican Party today,” putting him in a three-way tie with Dick Cheney
and Newt Gingrich. So when Mr. Limbaugh peddles conspiracy theories —
suggesting, for example, that fears over swine flu were being hyped “to
get people to respond to government orders” — that’s a case of the
conservative media establishment joining hands with the lunatic fringe.

It’s not surprising, then, that politicians are doing the same thing. The
R.N.C. says that “the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring
American society along socialist ideals.” And when Jon Voight, the actor,
told the audience at a Republican fund-raiser this week that the president
is a “false prophet” and that “we and we alone are the right frame of mind
to free this nation from this Obama oppression,” Mitch McConnell, the
Senate minority leader, thanked him, saying that he “really enjoyed” the
remarks.

Credit where credit is due. Some figures in the conservative media have
refused to go along with the big hate — people like Fox’s Shepard Smith
and Catherine Herridge, who debunked the attacks on that Homeland Security
report two months ago. But this doesn’t change the broad picture, which is
that supposedly respectable news organizations and political figures are
giving aid and comfort to dangerous extremism.

What will the consequences be? Nobody knows, of course, although the
analysts at Homeland Security fretted that things may turn out even worse
than in the 1990s — that thanks, in part, to the election of an
African-American president, “the threat posed by lone wolves and small
terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years.”

And that’s a threat to take seriously. Yes, the worst terrorist attack in
our history was perpetrated by a foreign conspiracy. But the second worst,
the Oklahoma City bombing, was perpetrated by an all-American lunatic.
Politicians and media organizations wind up such people at their, and our,
peril.

4.
M.W.
New York
June 12th, 2009
6:32 am
The right wing has always fed on violence and xenophobia wrapped in the
American flag. I think that's a big part of why the majority of the
country has rejected them. Still, a cornered animal can be very dangerous.
It's a shame all they have to offer is hate.
 Recommend  Recommended by 1408 Readers
5.
Joe C.
New York
June 12th, 2009
6:32 am
Thank you Mr. Krugman.

If you want real a scare, take a look sometime at the "Fox Forum" pages on
the Fox News web site. It's got it all:

Paranoid rants about socialism. Smug certitudes about the existential
threat posed by every muslim in the world, with the corollary
disparagement for those of us in the so-called "kumbaya crowd." Crude
racial innuendo. And, occasionally, what appear to be veiled threats of,
or appeals for, assassinations.

This is all there for the viewing on the (apparently unmoderated) viewer
message boards of a powerful media giant. It's deeply, deeply frightening.
 Recommend  Recommended by 1360 Readers
21.
martin
New York
June 12th, 2009
6:59 am
At what point does free speech cross the line into incitement for criminal
acts. I heard a clip today of Glen Beck asking himself out loud how he
would kill Michael Moore or would he have someone do it for him.
Is the something to be allowed over the airwaves? Where is the FCC now.
The country was in an uproar over the sight Janet Jackson's breast for a
couple of seconds, and Howard Stern saying slang words for genitals, but
this kind of reprehensible garbage coming from the mouth of a hateful
lunatic is protected under free speech?
Rush Limbaugh is a demagogue, and is riddled with hate and negative
energy, but he is far from stupid and goes right up to the line, but does
not cross it. The same cannot be said for Beck, whose network, CNN, should
be fined by the FCC and pressured to take him off the air.

We owe a debt of thanks to Keith Oberman of MSNBC who nightly not only
ridicules the likes of Beck, O'Reilly and Limbaugh, but actually
discredits their lies and distortions, point by point. If not for him, no
one would be doing so.

We can no longer dismiss these people as blowhards or "entertainers" to
laugh at,as Chris Matthews,who should better,too often does. Not when
politicians are starting to mirror their irresponsible rhetoric.
If we can think of the deranged lunatic fringe out there as guns,then the
ideas and rhetoric of people like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck and certain
politicians are the bullets making then fully loaded and ready to shoot.

The scare tactics developed by Lee Atwater, perfected by Karl Rove and
raised to Orwellian levels by Frank Luntz and carried to the masses by
right wing hate radio and other media outlets have created divisions and
poisoned political discourse in this country to dangerous levels. They
have shaped the ideas of opportunistic and simple minded politicians whose
only goal is to get elected by increasing the divisions in our society.

I am not sure if these politicians and media demagogues can any longer
distinguish between their rhetoric and reality. I think the same is true
for the millions who follow them. This is a dangerous situation.

I think it is time for the government to push back. Why was the lunatic
who killed Dr. Tiller not jailed for all the threats, vandalism and
harassment that he committed in the past? Why are "pro life" fanatics at
abortion clinics allowed to intimidate, harass and threaten staff and
patients? Aren't these federal crimes? Why are people like Glenn Beck
allowed on the airwaves when he is blatantly inciting people to violence?

I hope these hate groups are being monitored and infiltrated. I hope it
leads to arrests. It is sad that we now have to spend manpower and
treasure on domestic terrorists. Maybe another little noted reason why
Al-Qaeda hasn't attacked us yet is that they are laying in wait patiently
watching us slowly destroy ourselves.

 Recommend  Recommended by 1090 Readers
1.
Michelle
Nevada
June 12th, 2009
6:21 am
Well -- not to sound like a right-wing whacko myself, but, if parenting
were restricted to people with IQs over 100, we could free ourselves of
"white supremacists," Fox News, and the GOP in one generation.
 Recommend  Recommended by 992 Readers
7.
Clint0
California
June 12th, 2009
6:32 am
I'm not at all sure that the lunatics represent a right wing "fringe"
movement. There are only a few voices from the right speaking out against
them.
 Recommend  Recommended by 858 Readers
23.
MJC
NY, NY
June 12th, 2009
6:59 am
Sadly, people on the fringes (right and left) prefer to live in a private
shell of ignorance to vindicate their own views or shield themselves from
the world's uncertainty. We live in a world where information is so
readily attainable, but most choose to puppet the opinions of people such
as Sean Hannity who merely rile up a mob for the sake of ratings.

For Example: I was talking to a right wing friend whose father was in
danger of losing his job. I overheard a conversation between her and her
dad where she said, "Now that the US is a socialist republic under Obama,
if you lose your job, you and mom will have more unemployment insurance
and COBRA benefits." That pretty much sums it up. Extremists like to throw
names and titles around that they probably can't define, but fail to see
how that which they demonize actually can help those in need- even if it
is themselves. Rather than seeing how there is no black and white to the
issues confronting us today, many right-wing extremists prefer to live in
a world of ignorance and intellectual non-curiosity.

Another example: a friend in the military recently complained to me how,
currently, his unit has no money for training because of Obama. I am a
veteran myself and know that the money currently being used by the
military is from the FY 09 budget passed last year by Bush, but I know
this simple fact of military budgeting from high school government rather
than my time in the service. Yet again, an example of right wing extremism
blinded by ignorance of how the world really works, but not letting that
stop him from proclaiming his views loudly.

Whether it be "tea parties" populated by those whose taxes will be cut
under Obama's plan or resistance to health care reform by the underinsured
red states that will benefit most from nation-wide health care subsidies,
people on the right take stances that they don't understand and are
encouraged to do so by demogogues on Fox and the blogs who feed off of
their ignorance for ratings.

That is the world we live in today. I have come to accept it. But, when
the rubber finally met the road, those on the fringes were left in the
cold during this past election and America rejected ignorance personified
by Sarah Palin. Agree or disagree with him, at least Obama makes decisions
based on reason and logic rather than ideology.

 Recommend  Recommended by 825 Readers
26.
jtapley
sacramento
June 12th, 2009
6:59 am
Mr. Krugman,

This posting is unfortunately very accurate. The right wing media is
moving in a direction which is fomenting violence against President Obama
and those that agree with his political policies. One has only to listen
to the foaming at the mouth rhetoric of talk show host Michael Savage to
understand that distortions, lies and hate have taken the place of
anything remotely rational. When Savage yells into the microphone, "Obama
must be stopped now!" "Obama is a communist and a Marxist, stop him now!"
he is literally encouraging violence against the President of the United
States.

The problem is not just that amazingly stupid rhetoric is filling the
airwaves, the rhetoric is compounded by actual distortion in the
television media. Sean Hannity has been caught several times this year
"editing" video footage of Obama so as to distort the actual message of
Obama. Just look at the clips he played from Obama's latest Cairo speech.

Were is just a few nuts on the fringe, addressing this issue would be
pointless. Unfortunately, you have the entire AM spectrum on the radio
gushing with pure nonsense and lies. I hope the American people are bright
enough to see through this haze of absolute hatred, but I fear much
violence ahead. I submit that most people don't realize that most of the
silver tongues on the conservative airwaves actually have no idea what
they are talking about. To wit: Glen Beck: high school graduate, not a
single class in economics or law. Rush Limbaugh: high school graduate,
flunked out of college the first year. Not a single class in economics or
law. Sean Hannity; high school graduate. Not a single class in economics
or law. Yet these self professed intellectuals of the airwaves arrogantly
proclaim that they understand legal policy, constitutional law and
economics far better than the Harvard Law graduate.

I do not posit these observations to divide intellect strictly along
educational lines; this would be foolish at best. But if you are going to
have the audacity to tell millions of viewers that the economic policies
and legal policies of a President are absurd, then it would make sense
that you had a basic understanding of law and or economics. As things
stand, I sincerely doubt if Adam Smith or John Maynard Keynes have been
read by anyone on the right wing airwaves.

In short, the village idiots have taken hold of the daily press and they
must be held to account for the rubbish they are printing.
 Recommend  Recommended by 704 Readers

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