Media Bias

I lean significantly to the political left. My posts make no effort to hide that bias. Quite possibly the largest contributor to my political bias (and yours) are where we go for our news and entertainment.

In the aftermath of the 2020 Election, those media biases are on full and stark display. Yesterday, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that an early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine trial was “robustly” effective in preventing COVID-19.

Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham ran clips of Dr. Anthony Fauci and another prominent physician making statements about the vaccine being six months to a year away. She then ran a clip of a post election celebration which she said indicated a double standard in media coverage of Republicans not wearing masks and Democrats wearing masks. In the clip, she was attempting to show that people participating in the Biden celebrations following the election call on Saturday morning were not wearing masks. The clip went by very quickly and was shot from some distance away that made it hard to see if people were wearing masks or not. Ingraham has a sarcastic delivery style. She was using the Pfizer announcement as a way to poke fun at the doctors saying that the vaccine was still six months to a year away. Ingraham also suggested that the timing of the Pfizer announcement was saved until after the election for political reasons. This was a clear example of media bias.

Pfizer’s early results are optimistic, but they don’t mean that the vaccine is ready right now. A corporate announcement doesn’t mean that the vaccine has been independently tested and evaluated for safety and long term effectiveness against the coronavirus. Nor does it mean that it can be produced in the quantities and delivered to the 328.2 million Americans that it needs to reach for 100% coverage of the population. Reality is that the vaccine, as stated by the doctors on MSNBC, is still several months to a year away from reaching people.

The media bias applied to this vaccine story can be easily discerned. But, to discern the bias, you need to listen to different reports of the same story to see that a story can be manipulated to communicate the desired message of the news source. In this case whether it was Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp/Fox News or NBCUniversal’s MSNBC.

So, my message for you is to look at different sources of news. Pick a story and make yourself leave the comfortable source that you agree with and examine the story as told by at least one other news source with a different point of view. This is not to say that one or the other source is right or wrong in this instance, but it will give you an idea where our division comes from.

I suggested in a previous post “From My Almost Daily Journal” of November 6, 2020, that what we need is a “Middle Media.” This Middle Media would be a hybridized news organization that combines these mega moguls into a trusted news source where information is scrutinized, analyzed and factually presented so that we all develop our opinions based on a common news source

Please do pay attention to the links. They help provide some visual perspective to where new organizations fall on the scale of partisanship and analysis of the news. Here are some other graphic representations of news organizations and how they compare with other news organizations in the areas of partisanship and analysis.

We Have Spoken

I’m a big fan of The News Hour on PBS. One of my favorite segments is the Friday interaction between New York Times Columnist David Brooks and Syndicated Columnist Mark Shields moderated by respected journalist Judy Woodruff.

Today, of course, they were talking about the November 3 Election. I have tremendous respect for the two journalists, the former leans to the right and the former to the left. Brooks was musing about how this race should have been a much easier election for the Democrats to win given the wide spread unpopularity of the sitting president.

Black, Latino, LGBTQ+ voters expressed themselves as individuals showing that they were not homogenous groups that would automatically vote Democrat. Non-college graduate White males voted heavily Republican. The clear message of repudiation that the Democrats were seeking did not materialize in the final vote count. We can debate the reasons why people voted the way they voted.

I want to write briefly about my concern for Brooks’ suggestion that the Republican Party may have found a way to re-define itself by becoming the party of the non-College educated working class. This is a dangerous way to run a country. Divide us on the grounds of education.

Just as I have characterized the Republican Party as the party of the rich, which I still believe is essentially accurate, the Democratic Party would then be characterized as the party of the educated? I certainly hope not. Yale educated, Conservative intellectual William F. Buckley must be shifting in his grave. Buckley was an author, commentator and founder of the magazine National Review that served as a stimulus for political conservatism in 1950’s-60’s before it gained large scale popularity. I think that he would take exception to this characterization of his party.

College educated indicates to me a group of people who, despite their many and varied areas of study, have been trained to think about issues critically, to question and be skeptical of claims made by people and parties. This division along educational lines just simply cannot be allowed to happen in this great country where opportunities exist for every American to advance to the highest levels of their potential and drives.

We will need to put more emphasis on critical thinking skills in K-12 education. This will help foster a more independent thinking and discerning group of American voters without requiring a college education to develop those skills.

Thanks to David Brooks for bringing up this point. It has had a big impact on me. That is a microcosm of what we need in our country right now. The ability to listen to each other and learn from each other. Things that divide us need to discouraged and things that unite us need to be encouraged.

Post Script:

MSNBC called the Presidential Election for Joe Biden at 8:24 a.m. PST. Fox and CNN a few minutes later. Now, we need to allow the legal challenges to go through the process. Then, we can start the hard work of once again becoming the United States of America. God Bless America.

Remaining Calm

We’re on the third full day after the 2020 Election and we’re still waiting for results. Despite not sleeping well from Tuesday night on this week, I have been able to maintain an almost surreal state of calm during this turbulent time.

I can’t explain it. Maybe that explains it.

From My (Almost) Daily Journal

Yesterday was great. I had three Zoom sessions and each one filled a totally different niche in my life. The first was a small group Lunch meeting with our Financial Advisor, Tom Vaughn followed by a 4:30 Yoga session for an hour and the “working” day finished with a church choir rehearsal at 7:00 p.m.

This was a well timed busy day to keep my mind occupied while the wait for the results of the 2020 Presidential Election to be finalized. I’m getting tired of hearing the words “battleground” states. It makes it sound like we are at war. I for one am not at war. I want the Election to be conducted as elections are supposed to be conducted in this country and then let’s get on with the business of making the country great. So much rides on this presidential race. So much rides on this election.

I don’t think that many folks on the Republican/Conservative side have a grip on the true nature of the horse they are riding. My hope is that Biden-Harris can garner the Electoral votes that they need and start bringing us all back in the direction of together. It’s going to take a long time and lots of sincere, focused positive energy to get this country back on track.

The White Supremacist culture must be addressed before this country can be linked to the word great. President Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is simply not a true statement. Greatness has not yet been achieved. It will begin to be achieved as soon as we acknowledge our national problem of race.

My feeling is that we can begin to address the issue of race by creating a process similar to the one used in South Africa after the collapse of Apartheid. South Africans began a dialogue on race through a Truth and Reconciliation Commission which gave people a chance to hear the experiences of others and begin to reconcile their differences. We simply need to start communicating with each other again. This division stuff must come to an end.

Along with a Truth and reconciliation Commission, we need a common media outlet that every feels comfortable watching and listening to with each other. When we have the same basic information, we then have a common foundation on which to debate our differences because we will know what our differences are. I don’t think that we have that now.

My passionate fear of “The Right” is undoubtedly matched by a passionate fear of “The Left.” The way to start addressing these largely unfounded fears is get rid of “Right Wing” media and “Left Wing” media and replace them with a “Middle Media.” It will need to be a place where people all along the political spectrum can gather, listen to, think about and converse about the issues of the day. In the media market we have today, common ground is nearly impossible to find.

We need dialect on guns, immigration, reproductive rights, health care, regulations, law enforcement and so much more. It’s time to get busy. Let’s use this moment in time to get it done.

Still Calm

Still feeling calm. Thanks to MSNBC Journalists for preparing me to be patient in waiting for 2020 Election results.

W.W.J.D.

Some of you know that this is shorthand for “What Would Jesus Do?”

My political belief system, in fact my entire belief system is based on the Biblical New Testament teachings of the man known as Jesus of Nazareth. These teachings can be found in the books of Mathew and Luke in the Bible. These teachings are attributed to Jesus. This is important because the teachings of Jesus are the foundation of the Christian religion.

I bring this up right now to make a point about how many Christian denominations have strayed from the core message of Jesus as expressed in the Beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount and The Sermon on the Plain. The link above goes into some detail on the 10 Beatitudes.

Christianity is at the core of my beliefs, although my religious affiliation has broadened over time. I found that the Christianity of my youth was becoming more dogmatic and less in line with my liberal religious upbringing. Christianity now is a part of my Unitarian Universalist faith.

I urge you to read about the Beatitudes in more detail in the second paragraph link above. As you read them, I encourage you to judge yourself and your political views with them. If you are a Christian, do your current views and political leanings align with the teachings of Jesus? Here is a list of the Beatitudes:

  1. Blessed Are the Hungry
  2. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
  3. Blessed Are the Truly Poor (money and physical resources)
  4. Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst for Justice
  5. Blessed Are Those Persecuted for the Sake of Justice
  6. Blessed Are Those Who Weep
  7. Blessed Are Those That Show Mercy (the Meek)
  8. Blessed Are the Single Hearted
  9. Blessed Are the Peacemakers
  10. Blessed Are the Pure in Heart for They Shall See God

As Mr. Spock says, Live Long and prosper.

Open Letter to President Trump

Dear Mr. President,

Let me take this opportunity to wish you the best on your upcoming retirement. The country and you are very deserving of this unselfish service that you are giving your country.

You have been of great service to the United States of America. You have shown us how we can “Make America Great.” Notice that the word “Again” isn’t included. Sir, that’s because “Great” hasn’t happened yet. We as a country will be “Great” when we live up to the words of our founding Fathers and the living document called the Constitution of the United States that they wrote over 250 years ago. But, thank you for bringing greatness to our attention. We needed that.

Great” will happen when all citizens of this marvelous country are treated equally and have the same access to life, liberty and and the pursuit of happiness as those with white skin. You have taught us to face up to our collective national ignorance about race.

Great” will happen when Americans see government at all levels as a tool for bringing the Constitution to life for all Americans. Thank you for alerting us to the value of a government that works by showing us what it looks like when it doesn’t work.

Great” will happen when Americans learn what is in the Constitution and how it translates into everyday life. Thank you for putting a spotlight on the Second Amendment. By doing so, you put the light on the entire Constitution. I have not been this attentive to the Constitution since my high school Civics class.

Sir, I need to list a few things on my mind before I continue:

  • Re-unite immigrant children at the Mexican border with their parents
  • Apologize for your Access Hollywood comments about women
  • Create a fair tax policy for all (the rich pay their fair share)
  • Release your income taxes.  The American people deserve to know where your money is coming from and how it might affect your decision making when it involves foreign countries.
  • Stop the rapid spread of COVID.  Too many people have died unnecessarily (more or this later).
  • Treat the Press with respect.  They aren’t “fake news.” You’ve done us all a great disservice by eliminating the word “Truth” from public discourse.
  • Be honest and make it a habit to tell the truth
  • Allow the Justice Department to do it’s job without interference (aka find an Attorney General that enforces the Constitutional laws of our great country).
  • Keep your hands off of Democracy.  Don’t badmouth the voting process. It is fair and it is working.  Leave it alone.  Win or lose, the process is more important than the person.
  • Leave foreign governments out of American sovereignty. We can make our own decisions without outside interference.
  • Remember that you were Impeached for trying to tamper with a US election by enlisting information from a foreign government.
  • Be humble.  To deny humility is a Faustian bargain.
  • If you lose the election, step aside for the next president.  That’s how it is done in a Democracy.
  • If you are re-elected, really drain the swamp this time.
  • Protest is a Positive.
  • There’s more to the Constitution than the Second Amendment.  You might want to consider that as the person who took an oath to protect and defend the Entire Constitution. 
  • What’s this about the Turkish President asking you to drop charges against a Turkish Bank? And our own Attorney General willing to do it?
  • And, let’s be honest. You never really had COVID did you?
  • Don’t take any more photos with Red, White and Blue in them. They just don’t go with Orange.

COVID. I have been trying to figure out how to say this without being too blunt about it. But, I can’t believe that all of the mistakes that your administration has made on the handling of the Coronavirus have been done out of ineptitude.

It would be easier to think that your Coronavirus policy was done out of ignorance. I don’t think that this is the truth. How do I say this without using the “G” word. Your administration intentionally has allowed the virus to spread non-stop because that is exactly what you wanted. Maybe not you, maybe it was someone in your Administration or with outside influence on your administration. This virus has hit our minority populations with the largest number of cases and deaths.

The Affordable Care Act or “Obama Care.” You seem to take some special satisfaction in referring to the Affordable Care Act as Obama Care. I’m sure that the former president is proud to have his name associated with a measure that provides health care to millions of Americans who would otherwise not have it.

Congratulations to you and the minority of Americans that you represent on getting three Supreme Court Justices onto the court during your Term in office. I’m sure that you are collectively quite pleased with yourselves. Now you can appease the large share of your base that supports you only because they want to see the Roe v. Wade decision overturned. You must be proud to have based your re-election campaign on taking away rights instead of granting them. I do hope that you understand that you took two of those Justices away from another president, not that this means anything to you.

There. Those are a few things I needed to get off my chest. I’m sure that I missed a few, but this is good enough for me. I feel better.

Sir, I’ll close by saying that as much unnecessary pain as Americans have suffered during the past three years and ten months, that the suffering has made us all stronger and appreciative of our Democracy. It looks like more people will vote this year than in any past Presidential election in American history. Thank you for that.

Sir, I will further close by sayings that I might sound a bit sarcastic, but I mean all of this sincerely.

Finally, thanks again for your service to this country and enjoy playing retirement golf on your own dime.

A Grateful American

Sports During COVID

More specifically, baseball during COVID. I grew up on baseball. When I was in elementary school in the 1960’s, baseball was the sport American boys had in common. I am pleased and proud that girls now enjoy “America’s Pass Time” as well.

Every single one of us dreamed of someday playing major league baseball and being a World Series hero. Maybe it was hitting the walk-off home run in a deciding game 7, making the game saving catch, striking out the last opposition batter. Whatever it was, we all shared that dream together. We didn’t always talk about it, but we all knew what we wanted to do when we grew up.

Well, it’s now 2020 and our playing days are over. For that matter our kids playing days are over, save for those slow pitch softball teams that some of us belong to. But, those dreams never go away. Today they are being lived by a new generation of young boys and girls. The dreams of playing in the “Big Leagues” are now theirs.

I’m inspired to write about this now because the American baseball season ended yesterday as the World Series (not the World Baseball Classic which really is the world series of baseball) of this difficult and trying year of 2020 was decided.

“My” team, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the series in six games over a young and exciting Tampa Bay Rays team. I watched the players, manager, coaches and families celebrate on the field as you would expect them to celebrate during a viral pandemic.

But, underneath those masks were those school boys who, 10-15 years ago, were like me in the 1960’s. Kids with a dream of one day being a hero on the biggest stage in baseball.

This World Series is special. We needed this. We needed this sense of connection to the normal. We needed to see these men go out and play this little boys game with the same joy and unbridled enthusiasm that they played with when they were little boys not that long ago.

They brought me joy. They brought me happiness. They brought me hope for next season. Yes, there will be a next season and next season will be better than ever.

One last thought. The post game celebration for the winning Dodgers and their fans (including me at home). I watched the celebration as braodcast by several different news organizations. Each one had it’s own take and angle on what it looks and sounds like to be a champion.

But, what stood out to me were the names of the backs of their uniforms. Hernandez, Urias, Jansen, Betts, Kelly, Floro, Rios, Gonzales, Kershaw, Roberts. They were a diverse community of human beings coming from many different countries, socio economic groups, races and beliefs. But there they were as a unified group. Smiling, laughing, hugging (yes, even hugging) and enjoying this common moment of celebration together reminding me that we are indeed more alike than we are different.

So, there are lessons to be learned from sports. Many of you probably don’t look at the Sports Pages (I date myself because you find those in newspapers although. I guess you’ll also find them on Web Sites). Sports offers us a chance to be those little kids again, all with a common dream and a color blind eye.