Liars ....

I think it is amusing that, after years of listening to my conservative friends bemoan every news source other than Fox and AM talk radio as being hopelessly biased, their sources were not just biased... but deceptive.  Bias means you have a lean because of your starting point... Fox and company just lied... and the numbers show it.  Fair and Balanced is a lie.  We Report, You Decide is a lie.

O Reilly - Liar

Hannity - Liar

Limbaugh - Liar

Beck - Liar

Fox News - Liars

Drudge, Rove, Morris  - Liars

A Host of Conservative Web Sites - Liars!

I'll sift through some bias for the truth any day - over the conscious lies of the conservative newstainment behemoth.

Liars

Shared Sacrifices?

This morning, while driving to work, I listened to the Glen Beck show. He had a guest host who was crowing about the Winsconsin scenario. The host had nothing but contempt for unions; there was no good aspect to them. He made the oft heard argument that, if one is going to bargain for one's wages and working conditions, you need to to do this solo. It is unfair to an employer to have any kind of group bargaining.

Of course, this would be of extreme benefit for an employer. The host used his own situation as an example. When he argues his worth, he points to the amount of money he brings into to the company. In his situation however, there is a one for one corolation. In job positions that hire en masse, it is a different story. I, for example, cannot point to how much money I bring in to the company.

The host felt that collective bargaining puts the employer "over a barrel". While I don't think anyone should be put in a postion of powerlessness, it is clear in history that prior to Unions workers were regularly "put over a barrel."

To me, it is always about balance. Employers have a natural position of power that would allow them to abuse individual workers when the work force is hired en masse. Without a union, individual workers are often helpless.

This is just the natural tendency of those in power (whomever is holding the reigns). There is a story in the Old Testament that often gets missed. King David commits adultrey and the prophet Nathan comes to tell him a story to convict him. Because of the sex involved, we tend to get distracted from the economic tale. Basically Nathan tells of a rich man who owns countless flocks of sheep and a poor man who has only one. The rich man has a guest and, rather than killing a lamb from his own flock for dinner, he uses his power to take from the man who has only one lamb.

As the cartoon from Pat Bagley shows, it is often the case that if there is going to be someone dealing with less, it will be the person with little, not the person with plenty. The vast amount of our nation's wealth sits in comparitively few hands. The hundreds of millions who are left to divide the remaining amount are the ones who are being asked to function with less. Our lamb will be taken so the rich man does not need to touch his myriad of flocks.

Unfortunately, through the use of religion and politics, the rich in America have managed to get the middle class chaffing at each other.  The middle class is fighting over singular sheep, and during our squabbles, the rich take from ours to expand their oceans of flocks.  Do you think that is an unfair analogy?  Do a google search under cooperate profits, CEO wages and bonuses over the past 25 years.... then compare that to increases in worker wages and benefits.  While their's goes up, workers go down.  But don't mention this or talk about it - Rush and Sean will accuse you of class warfare - and that sends all the middle class dittoheads scurrying for cover.

The truth is, there is class warfare.  Like I said, I want balance.  I don't want anyone over a barrel; but the middle class better start protecting themselves.  As billionare Warren Buffet said:

"'There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

Conservative Personalities

Fox News blows away the competition. I remember seeing a statistic that showed it had more viewers than the next three cable news networks combined. When it comes to radio, the top three spots are held solidly by conservatives. No one else even comes close.

If you were to judge which way America leaned politically according to the viewership of cable news and radio, you would assume America was firmly in the hands of conservatives. Yet, elections tend to be close. Congress regularly passes power from one side to the other.

So what is up with those cable/radio numbers?

As I churned over the discussions I had over the past few days, and recalled some recent conversations and incidences, I came up with a theory - People on the Right tend to have more emotional investment in their "celebrities" than do people on the Left.  Therefore, they watch and listen more.

Here are some observations (this is still an idea in progress).

Last spring I had a conversation with a friend and at some point Fox News came up. I made some disparaging remark about Fox's quality of news. My friend paused and said, "Ya know... I am kind of insulted by that."

"Why?" I replied.

"Well, I watch Fox News and I like it," he said.

"So how does that translate to my insulting you?" I questioned.

"Well, how would you feel if I trash-talked MSNBC?" he responded.

I shrugged, "I gotta say, I honestly wouldn't care."

I realized in that moment that we didn't just hold different positions, the way in which we held them was completely different.

A similar event happened over the summer. I was with another friend and the discussion drifted to politics. My friend referenced something Hannity had said recently.

I grinned, looked at a passing car, and made some statement about Hannity and the other two telling so many lies over the years that they can no longer differentiate truth.

When I looked back at my friend his face had gone red and all of the muscles in his neck had tightened. It looked like his eyes were about to pop from his head.  I recalled what had happened last spring and I realized my pronouncement had been like a slap to him!

My friend was gracious enough to turn the other cheek, and we quickly moved on to other topics.

I have seen this play out in numerous Facebook conversations over the past two years. The largest spikes in harsh rhetoric tended to follow someone making a critical remark about Fox News, Palin, Beck, etc...

As I look back on my own past, back when I was a Dittohead, I had similar reactions. Someone could critique this or that policy.... but if someone put-down Rush? Yeah, I got defensive! I was proud that I had gone to the "Rush to Excellence" tour. There was emotional investment there.

Yet today, when I think about it, there is no "liberal" personality that I am that attached to. If someone critiqued Moore, or Maher, or the President, etc... I may think their critiques are wrong, but I wouldn't be insulted by it. In fact, there are issues that those personalities hold to that I could be equally critical of.

And so, my theory of why the ratings of these shows are so comparatively high. For some reason, many on the Right form a deeper emotional investment into their "celebrities" than those on the Left. Critiquing one of the Right's center-stage personalities is taken as a personal critique. On the Right, there is more of a "team" bonding occurring. Not that there aren't exceptions on both sides, but I think this is generally the case.

What do you think?

** I have to add this note.  I was just de-friended by another of my more staunch Right-wing friends on Facebook.  This kind of defriending  has happened a number of times in the past few years.  Though they make Right-wing pronouncements regularly, it would never occur to me to defriend them over it.  Yet my often left-leaning views become too much for them to tolerate, and once again I find myself voted off the island. :)

Deprogramming Takes A While

Growing up in my teens and early twenties with a steady, daily immersion in Rush Limbaugh gave me a definitive bias against NPR. I was told it was leftist, biased, liberal, etc. I had never even listened to it, but I would roll my eyes if I heard anything positive about National Public Radio. The very words NATIONAL and PUBLIC were dead giveaways to its deprivation.

What is interesting is that this bias remained with me even throughout the moderation of my politics, philosophy, and religion. I continued to listen to Right-Wing talk on the radio, because there just wasn't anything else to listen to.

Over time though, and with the ease of technology, I started to listen to lectures and books in the car that I had burnt to CD. I was unknowingly de-toxing from AM talk radio. On occasion, when I tuned back to Rush, Hannity, or Beck.... I started to notice how BORING they were. They repeated the same thing, endlessly, over and over. I would switch over to another station and come back 15 minutes later only to find they were STILL ranting about the same thing.

It was during one of these times over the past two years that I clicked over to NPR. They were discussing the struggles of the Mexican towns along the US boarder. Drug cartels practically own these cities and the violence and corruption there was pitiful to hear about. Over the next hour, I heard statements made by our Secretary of State in France, a story on Islamic and Christian relations in various middle-eastern countries, and a piece on issues presently being looked at in the British Parliament.

I had a strange feeling as I stepped out of the car. It wasn't a feeling I usually got when I listened to AM radio. I felt..... educated!

I hadn't expected this from NPR. Why did conservatives hate it so much? I continued to listen. When issues were addressed, there didn't seem to be any bias. If the president spoke, or an issue was presented, you heard from supporters and detractors. Where was the bias?

I did an experiment. I tuned to AM talk radio every 10 minutes and listened for 30 seconds. What I found was that there is actually very little said about conservative politics. What you get is a steady stream of Left bashing and ridicule.

I discovered why NPR is thought to be liberal by dittoheads- because NPR does not bash the Left. For an AM talk listener (who hears a steady stream of Left bashing), a Left-leaning view, presented side by side with a Right-leaning view in a calm manner, would sound PRO-Left. It is like stepping into a tepid swimming pool after being in the hot tub for twenty minutes..... it feels like it is freezing!

I am happy to say that, having purged the rancid rhetoric of Right radio, I can now enjoy and be educated by NPR.

A Lesson I Would Never Have Learned From Rush Limbaugh

"For years, I never doubted the truthfulness of what I was taught. This is not surprising considering that virtually anything will make sense if it's all you know." ~ Robert Kirby

Jay Leno recently interviewed Rush Limbaugh. It was a very good interview and I was reminded of how generally likable Rush can be.

As Rush spoke, I began to listen critically in ways I would never have thought to do 15 years ago when I was a Dittohead. It is not that I completely disagree with him, but it is clear to me now that he only tells half a story. This is something I never caught when he, and those who share his views, were all I listened to.

Here is an example of when he presents half a story:

RUSH: The economic pie is growing. It's not a zero-sum game. Just because somebody has $800 million doesn't mean somebody lost it. It means the market produced it. It's none of my business what they make, Jay. It's certainly none of yours, and it's certainly not Barack Obama's what anybody makes.

To me, this is how one would fail to get a true perspective. Rush presents a true statement... to a degree. He wants capitalism to be viewed favorably, so the example he gives is when capitalism is working at it's best. But corporations and shareholders pockets are not lined ONLY when the pie grows. They are also lined when they use their positions of power to strong arm workers into sweatshops. They are lined when perfectly healthy companies are gutted to make a quick buck. They are lined when they use their bank of lawyers to avoid paying their obligations.

Leno attempted to bring this up, stating that HOW one makes money is important.

RUSH: No, no, it's not. If you believe in the capitalist system, then you have to erase from your whole worldview what does somebody need. It's not about need. Capitalism is not about need. It's about providing; it's about growing; it's about opportunity; it is about doing whatever you want to do.

Rush accurately points out here that capitalism has no conscience... and it doesn't want you to have one either. This is where I agree with Leno. How we make money does matter.

I was in my late teens when I went with my parents to visit my cousins in California. We decided one evening to go over the boarder to Tijuana, Mexico. There are street vendors everywhere in Tijuana in addition to the stores. Many items were to be haggled over, rather than having a set price.

Toward the end of the evening, I had some money burning a hole in my pocket and there were some necklaces I had been eyeing. An old lady was sitting on a blanket stringing such necklaces by the side of the road. I asked her how much she wanted for two. I don't remember how much they were, but I remember that it was a decent price. However, never wanting to miss a potential bargain, I offered her half. She shook her head, but I knew it was late and I figured I could get her to realize that some money was better than no money. After some haggling and my threatening to walk away, she sighed and took my money. I strutted away, jewelry in hand ... victorious.

Amidst the noise and bustle as I looked for my family, a small voice spoke in my heart:

"To you it was a game, to her it was food for her family."

My heart froze as this insight grew. It was as if the breath were being taken from me. I ran back to where the old lady had been, but she had already packed up for the night. I stood there starting at the empty spot by the side of the road. Shame washed over me.

To me, the few dollars here or there were less than nothing. To her, it was her lifeblood.

It matters Rush.... it matters.

Two Points for Pat Robertson

I usually don't agree with Pat Robertson (or any TV Christian personality) but he was spot on today - and I like to give credit when I can. In an interview Pat Robertson said of President Obama:

It's not over, but I still want to give him the benefit of every doubt, and I definitely hope he succeeds. It wouldn't be good for Americans for him not to. We don't want a president who fails at domestic and foreign policy.

So you don't subscribe to Rush Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" school of thought?

That was a terrible thing to say. I mean, he's the president of all the country. If he succeeds, the country succeeds. And if he doesn't, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally.

Pat's perspective, in this regard, should be self evident.... but it isn't. Thank you Pat for speaking wisdom to those in your circles.

HT: Bruce

Putting someone in a lose-lose situation

Growing up, I was a steadfast republican. I was certain that democrats were demonic liberals out to destroy the foundations of our society. The Rush Limbaugh program had told me so.

Some chinks started to form in my secure armor during my early 20's. I started to notice the lose-lose position we always put the opposition in. If they went up, they should have gone down. Forward? It should have been backward.

It really struck home one night with a reaction Bob Dole had to Clinton during the primaries. Kim Jung Il's father had died and President Clinton sent his condolences. Dole lashed out, stating that Clinton had no business offering condolences given the history of North Korea. It occurred to me that I had formed my judgment of Clinton based on the opinions of people for whom he could do no right. Though I was backing Dole, I realized that his view of the proper response was conditional - based on which path Clinton selected.

I knew then that what I was observing was a game about winning, not being truthful. All is fair in politics.

This revelation affected my religious views as well. All is fair in religion it seemed. I began to notice how often certain religious persuasions would put the "opposing" camp in lose-lose scenarios. It is ironic that those who put others in lose-lose situations the most often also happened to be the ones who crowed loudest about "truth".

I was reminded of this yesterday as I read an article over at Mormon Coffee. Though this was not the main point of the article, the argument below is regularly made by folks who have made converting Mormons a focus of their lives.

Basically, Mormons are chastised for certain temple ceremonies in their history where Protestant/Catholic priests are depicted as servants of Satan. Admittedly, probably not the best thing to be teaching if you have any hope for inter-faith relations (but given the history between Mormons and other churches that was probably not a high priority at the time).

By 1990, this language was pretty much removed from the ceremony. Forward movement, right?? Wrong! Mormons are now charged by the same voices as being duplicitous and hiding how they really think. Lose-Lose. They are wrong for having it.... they are wrong for removing it.

I believe that every time we put someone in a lose-lose situation, kindness dies, a part of our soul withers, and the heart of God sighs - while looking forward to the day when his children will love each other.

25 Facts About Me

This little exercise is making its way across my corner of Facebook. It took a while to type, so I thought I would post it here too.

1. I spent 6 weeks backpacking around Israel when I was 16 (still amazed that my parents let me do that). While there I was baptized in the Jordan River and attended a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb Easter morning.

2. While in Israel, a Bedouin chief took me and a friend on a camel safari into the Negev desert. On the second day (we spent the night camped under the open sky around a fire), some army officials came in a jeep to get the chief because they needed his tracking skills (How they found us in the middle of the desert I have no idea). In broken English, the chief assured us that the camels knew the way home. I was pretty sure we were going to bake and die. However, about 6 hours later, we arrived back at the kibbutz.

3. I lived at Last Days Ministries (Keith Green's place) for 6 months when I was 18.

4. While at Last Days, the building I was in was hit by a tornado. I didn't realize it was a tornado at the time, I just knew the ceiling, walls, and floor were caving in and rattling like crazy. I was an invincible 18 year old who didn't know enough to be scared.

5. Due to years of bible quizzing as a teen, I can quote most of the New Testament. I have always found it interesting that over the years the epistles stayed with me whereas story books like Acts pretty much went bye-bye. Weird how the brain works.

6. I grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh and I was a dittohead. I saw him on his Rush to Excellence tour in Detroit. Now I can hardly listen to his rabid ideological shtick.

7. I shook hands with President Regan in 1984.

8. I am lucky to be here, I can think of at least 6 times in my life when I probably should have died.

9. I recently appeared in the play Peter Pan with my daughter. I have decided I really like community theater.

10. I moved out to Utah 5 years ago after living in Michigan for 35 years. I love living out West!!

11. If a movie has great dialogue, I do not think there is a limit to how many times I can happily enjoy watching it.

12. I believe good books need to be read multiple times.

13. I have probably read "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis at least a dozen times.

14. I believe most strong religious and political views are rooted in a need to be right. I believe there is amazing freedom in recognizing and uprooting this need.

15. I blog regularly, though in college I would drop and change classes if I could find a class that graded by tests rather than papers. I hated writing.

16. One of my favorite things to do is to sit in a coffee house with friends and discuss theology and philosophy.

17. I have over 6000 comic books bagged, boarded, and boxed in my basement.

18. My two children have been my greatest teachers.

19. Aside from the whole impending death thing, I am enjoying growing older.

20. I had an apartment and lived in Nashville for one day when I was in my early twenties. I wonder where my life would be now if I had stayed.

21. I hate watching televised sports. If am sure for me, hell would be a place where there was nothing on the TV and radio aside from sports coverage.

22. My favorite CD of all time is "Strength" by the Violet Burning. The best circumstance under which to listen to it is with my friends Brook, Lori, and Marianne, in an apartment lit with candles and incense. My twenties were great.

23. I think it is a shame that smoking is bad for you. There are few things I enjoy more than a clove. Moving to Utah has added years to my life since they don't sell cloves here.

24. I am a Universalist Christian. In short, that means I believe that everyone is/will be reconciled to God. I think 1 Cor. 13 is not a passage about romantic love... it is a passage about God. God is patient, God is Kind, God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.

25. Since becoming a Universalist, I find I enjoy people a lot more. I suspect this is because head counting who is and is not getting into heaven has the consequence of distancing oneself from people.

26. I think time with friends and family is the most important thing in the world. It is a shame that so many sacrifice this time because "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes - working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need." (Quote courtesy of Fight Club, one of the greatest movies of all time).

27. My longest stint of consciousness occurred during a party at my friend Brook's house. I believe that party lasted for days! He has been my best friend ever since!

28. I have difficulty with list numeration.

Why we need Unions and Government in the workplace

If you listen to conservative talk radio hosts, you will get a regular dose of union bashing and the bemoanings of government interfering in industry. Well it seems we have a great example here on planet earth of a place where unions and government do not pester big business. It seems Rush Limbaugh is right. With no union and government interference, everyone is prospering.

Um, not exactly. It seems the Right is wrong and, as many have indicated, - Big Business, left to its own devices, exploits workers.

Check out this article on the work conditions in China.

http://extras.sltrib.com/china/