The Right State

Local Paper Opinion Comment: Fox News Distorts the Truth

2010 Midterm Election, Barak Obama, Democrats 1 Response »

Feb 252011

It is not very often that I write in response to a letter to my local newspaper, the Navasota Examiner, but this is one of those rare exceptions. You can usually tell when someone visits some of these extreme left wing websites for information their information or receive an email asking them to write a letter to the editor with faulty information which the writer buys, hook, line, and sinker. So I wonder why I am constantly surprised by the total lack of unawareness of others. Some people are so gullible. And this is one of those times when I am surprised.

Part of the letter is as follows:

The situation calls to mind a report I recently read: “Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed: Study.” It seems that the University of Maryland conducted the study, in order to determine “how likely consumers of various news outlets and publications were to believe misinformation about a wide range of political issues.” It was discovered that Fox News viewers were significantly more likely to believe NINE political falsehoods, compared to those who listened to newscasters on other networks or read newspapers or news magazines. The items below are four of the nine untruths (verbatim from the report):
(1) Most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit.
(2) The economy is getting worse.
(3) Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring.
(4) It is not clear that Obama was born in the United States.

Any person who reads a poll should do one thing first and foremost, find out who is financing the poll, who is conducting the poll, and if they are reliable. Second, a writer should READ the poll. All by myself in a careful study (five minutes total time, and two clicks of the mouse) I was able to determine the accuracy of the poll.

First, the poll was financed by George Soros, one of the most left wing people I have even heard of. So the poll fails the first test. Second, the people who are conducting the poll is the University of Maryland. No problem there. Though, the questions do tend to be leading the interviewees towards a conclusion they want. Question number 33 reads:

There is a system called “cap and trade” that is meant to reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Just based on what you know, do you favor or oppose the US adopting the cap and trade system?

The question is put out there as if there is no doubt to the accuracy of that statement, which is far from the truth. There are other leading questions as well.

And third, the answers given by the pollsters are misrepresented. For example, 59% of the respondents say that most scientists believe climate change is occurring. This is a direct contradiction to the writer of the letter. Secondly, 55% of respondents say that President Barack Obama was born in the US, a direct contradiction to what was written in the letter. These are all taken from the poll. As far as the economy is concerned, to many people, it is worse.

Then there is the kicker. The respondents are asked about how trustful they are of the news and where did they get their news. But nowhere in the poll were the respondents asked how they rated Fox News for the accuracy of its information. Any conclusion drawn that direction is pure fabrication as you can easily see for yourselves. (Follow the link)

If you were to draw any conclusions, it would be that broadcast news can not be trusted and is biased. Since 50% of respondents say they frequently encountered “information that seemed misleading or false?” and 32%, a majority, received their news from broadcast news, then it follows that it is the major news networks which can not be trusted to deliver true and unbiased information.

The writer concludes by saying:

It would be nice if all Americans and their news outlets aspired to the pursuit of truth, but that ideal doesn’t play on Fox. Places of business which routinely have the Fox News Channel playing should rethink their strategy. And all of us should step back and consider what our responsibilities are, before we speak or print hearsay as fact.

So I would like to respond. It would be nice if people who wrote letters to the editor knew what they were talking about instead of just receiving and accepting their information from sites which can not be trusted. In the future, do your research BEFORE you write. Turns out, Fox News is not the problem after all, its the Main Stream Media like CBS, NBC, and ABC.

I should not be surprised when I see a letter in my local paper which is full of such obvious distortions. And yet I wonder why do people fall for such nonsense? All they have to do is to conduct a little research. That is, unless the distortions were intentional. Maybe I have too much faith in people. When will I learn?

Barak Obama Flees the Country After His Rejection

2010 Midterm Election, Barak Obama, Democrats No Responses »

Nov 052010

The Campaigner/vacationer-in-Chief is fleeing the country in the wake of his huge rejection in the midterm election. Almost everywhere the President went in supporting his Democrat colleagues, they lost. Congressmen and Senators alike could not run away from him fast enough. Many of the Democrats who did win, won without the help of the top Democrat or by running against him. Campaigning by Barack Obama was the kiss of death. My own Congressman, Chet Edwards, received the kiss of death when Nancy Pelosi offered up his name on the short list of potential running mates with the President in 2008.

Obama ran for president as a centrist, but governed as a true lefty. Obama ran as a man who was a post-partisan politician, but he was one of the most partisan presidents ever. Obama ran as a man who was above race, but threw race out at every opportunity. The candidate and the President turned out to be two different people. The American people voted with the first and got the second. The voters are tired of rhetoric. They are tired of partisanship, they are tired of the leftward turn of the country, and they are tired of the spending. They want a cure for our ailing economy, not the thing they received. With the love fest gone, with no more cheering fans, with no more girls fainting at his words, with the adoring fans gone, the President is trying to find a place where he is popular.

The honeymoon is over. Like Bill Clinton before him when he spent a lot of him trying to allow gays in the military, Obama wasted his honeymoon on healthcare. He is trying to find a place where the people do praise his name, where they faint upon hearing his words, where they do appreciate him. In short, Barack Obama’s ego needs stroking. His ego needs cheering crowds, needs the accolades, needs the love. If he gets ‘the love’ he desires, expect him to come back more energized than when he left.

I do not have much confidence in Barak Obama’s understanding the message the American people gave him. In the President’s speech the day after the election is telling for what he alluded to, not what he said. Parsed down, Obama said the reason for the big loss of Democrats was: 1) the voters did not understand what he was trying to do (people are dumb). 2) As President, he did not communicate well enough for the people to understand (he did not go on tv enough to explain himself?). 3) He expects the new Republican majority to come over to his way of thinking (the election was not a rejection of him). Still, Obama considers himself to be the smartest man on the planet. If we were smart enough, we would have voted for his Democrats. The President still does not understand the message he was sent by the voters.

The American people expect Barack Obama to govern. He needs to quit campaigning, he needs to quit vacationing, he needs to quit spending, and he needs to govern towards the middle. Obama’s trip to India with his entourage shows he has not gotten the message. Fleeing the country will not help. Receiving praises from the people from other countries will do him no good here in the states. If the President does not start governing as a centrist and try to solve our nation’s problems, the American people will give him a permanent vacation in 2012 along with even more of his fellow Democrats in Congress.

The Midterm Election IS About Obama and His Triumvirate

2010 Midterm Election, Barak Obama No Responses »

Oct 312010

Tuesday is the big day—midterm election cycle for 2010. Whether he wants it or not, President Obama has become the one everyone is running with, or against. He made a severe miscalculation and misread the American people. His election was NOT for his agenda, but for change–meaning not President Bush. The President thought that by ram-rodding his agenda through, Americans would eventually come around. They have not. He moved too far and too fast. His socialist agenda was more than people could stomach. Now the people are rebelling and this election is only the beginning. The insurrection has just started. Their war cry is ‘taxed enough already!’

The results of the election on November 3 will tell the tale. Will this election be more like the earthquake of 1994 when Republicans gained 54 seats or the tsunami of 1894 when Republicans gained 130 seats? In 1894, and less so in 1994, Democrats were blindsided by the mood in the country. This year, the Dems know they have stepped in it and want to talk about anything other than Obamacare, cap and trade, the failed stimulus bills, the takeover of the big three automakers, rising taxes, and out of control spending, all under the Democrat Triumvirate of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. The mob is mad and is not going to put up with their attempted ‘coup.’ (Okay, maybe it is not a coup attempt like in a third world country, but they are attempting to remake our country to fit their socialist ideas.)

One thing the Democrat Triumvirate is really scared of is the unruly mob. (meaning us) So they have attempted to belittle those actively standing up for their rights. We are ridiculed for not being smart enough to truly understand his accomplishments, accused of being racists (for not supporting the first black president), for being stupid, for being hicks, for being…(gasp)…Republicans. Blaming the former President will only help with the liberal base.

The American people have finally awakened. On Tuesday they will speak. They will vote for either the status quo (more government takeovers and outrageous spending) or to rebel (more freedom by kicking the socialists out). So how many seats will change. My guess is somewhere in between, say 65-75 seats changing hands in the House of Representatives. I would say the Senate has a 40% chance of changing hands. Either way, history will have been made.

No Difference Between Dems and Repubs? Check Them Out

2010 Midterm Election No Responses »

Oct 302010

The difference between the two parties can be boiled down to two words: protection and provision. Republicans believe the role of the federal government should focus primarily on protection while Democrats believe the federal government should focus on provision. The issue is: teach a man to fish versus give a man a fish. Take a look at the issues below and how the two sides view the issues affecting this country.
Who supports what! Republican Party Democratic Party

Separation of Church and State    N                                                 Y
Supports pay raises for teachers     Y                                                 Y
Supports smaller class sizes                                                                Y
Supports bilingual and multilingual ed.        N                                                 Y

Supports school vouchers Y N

Constitutional amendment against

Sales tax on food and meds                                                                Y    Y
Opposes a state Income Tax                                                             Y                                                   Y
Supports family values                                                           Y                                                   N
Supports the unionization of workers                                         N                                                   Y
Supports Social Security                                                                   Y                                                   Y
Supports Private Accounts along
With Social Security                                                                            Y                                                   N
Supports tax credits for Child Care                                                  Y                                                   Y
Supports Abortion                                                                             N                                                    Y
Supports Partial Birth Abortion                                                       N                                                    Y
Supports Parental Consent before an abortion                              Y                                                    N
Supports Spousal Consent before an abortion                                Y                                                    N
Supports Medicaid and WIC                                                            Y                                                    Y
Supports Union Right to Participate in the
Political Process w/o worker consent                                          N                                                     Y
Supports the Secret ballot process for workers
To decide when to form a union                                                Y                                                     N
Supports Tax Rebates for Cleaner
Burning Autos                                                                                                                                            Y
Ending early release program for prisoners                              Y                                                     Y
Supports State’s Rights                                                                  Y                                                      ?
Supports Judicial Restraint                                                          Y                                                     N
Support the Kyoto Treaty                                                               N                                                     Y
Supports to idea of global warming                                            N                                                     Y
Support Direct Election of Judges                                               Y                                                      Y
Support Motor Voter Law                                                          N                                                       Y
Supports the use of Photo-Id when voting                               Y                                                        N
Supports Campaign Finance Reform Bill                                   N                                                        Y
Supports English as the Official Language                            Y                                                         N
Supports the 2nd Amendment                                                Y                                                         ?
Supports Capital Punishment                                                  Y                                                         N
Supports reduction of Highway Speeds due
To environmental reasons                                                        N                                                         N
Supports DOMA                                                                             Y                                                         N
Supports Stem Cell Research                                                   N                                                         Y
Supports Human Cloning                                                          N                                                         Y
Supports steps to Reduce Welfare Rolls                                 Y                                                         N
Supports School Choice                                                            Y                                                         N
Supports schools teaching Sex Ed.                                         N                                                        Y
Supports Voluntary Multicultural Classes                            Y                                                         ?
Supports Mandatory Multicultural Classes                         N                                                        Y
Supports Social Promotion in schools                                  N                                                         ?
Supports Abolishing Property Taxes                                   Y                                                         N
Supports Tort Reform                                                              Y                                                          N
Supports Minimum Wage                                                            N                                                          Y
Supports Min. Wage based on Market Forces               Y                                                           N
Supposes Alternative Sources of Energy                            Y                                                          Y
Supports Drilling For Oil in ANWR                                         Y       N
Supports Drilling off of California Coast                              Y                                                          N
Supports Drilling off the Coast of Florida                       Y                                                          N
Supports Border Protection                                                 Y                                                         ?
Supports Amnesty for Illegal Aliens                                 N                                                         Y
Support the Patriot Act                                                          Y                                                         N
Support Truthful Textbooks                                                Y                                                          N
Supports Larger Government                                             N                                                          Y
Supports Cap and Trade                                                        N                                                          Y
Supports Obama-care                                                            N                                                          Y
Supports Giving Illegal Aliens the Right to Vote              N                                                          ?

Supports Cutting the Budget by Cutting the Military N Y

Wow! Turns out there is a huge difference between the two parties: protection versus provision. The 2010 midterm election is critical. How do we stop Barak Obama’s socialist agenda? How do we give moderate Democrats the backbone to stand up to him? How do we take back America? The answer starts with this election. (The above was taken from comparing the two political platforms and some of the more recent political issues.