commentaries

How can one ever know what is true? Science figured it out long ago: Truth is known directly as experiment, and indirectly as convergences of multiple independent streams of information. If the streams aren't converging, aren't multiple, aren't independent, or aren't information, truth isn't established.

This one to me is simple. Clean it up with a media board that has to approve all media communications that has one goal; you can talk about YOUR candidates position and what his proposals are, but cannot talk about your opponents views where we see the half truths, distortions, slant, and quotes taken out of context. I am sick and tired of hearing a candidate bad mouth the other guys position, when he spends the entire ad doing it, and when it is over, ask yourself if he not only stated his position, but state HOW he was going to achieve this. And let's pass an amendment that PACs and lobbyists are illegal. Americans have had enough of this too.

It's sad but jail time for deliberate 'distortions' may be the only solution. I'm not sure we have enough jails though.

PS... Last night on TV, they showed a political ad from the 1960's. I was not sure what to think? Was it naive? It featured a jingle that was supposed to stick in your mind. It said the name of the candidate over and over and over but did not once mention his opponent's name. It stated absolutely no facts or positions that the candidate stood for. It was rudimentary and almost cartoon-like. As for information, it gave none; guess times have not changed that much after all except for, perhaps, the absolutely obscene amount of money we are spending on political campaigns these days.

but but but I can still have guns & butter & low taxes......right? :)

You know the old adage. How can you tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving. We live in a country where taxes are "investments", decreases in projected spending increases by government are "cuts", and corporations are people. Activist judges routinely reverse the will of the people. The "Department of Defense" routinely conducts aggressive operations and instigates brushfire wars around the globe. Gas prices go up independent of the will or any human being. Nothing is ever as it is presented. Should we blame our politicians? No. We must blame ourselves. It is one thing to be innocently credulous. It is quite another to be intentionally blind.

The "echo chamber" is a direct result of advertisement-driven media. When media outlets appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to attract the most reads/clicks/views, this is the result. I find the truth is much easier to locate in publicly paid for broadcasts. If you want the truth, turn off the TV and read between the lines.

"Should we blame our politicians? No. We must blame ourselves. It is one thing to be innocently credulous. It is quite another to be intentionally blind." - We should blame BOTH. Yes, we elected them, but we should hold them in line.

"...you will be more effective at lying to others if you are able to believe the lies you tell." I've seen a whole of that this election cycle.

It would be nice to focus on the issues at hand as opposed to spinning the content of the messenger. I long for a past news media that, more often than not, provided news based on investigative journalism. Today, we have 24 hour "news" pundits that provide biased opinion aimed at supporting the candidate of their choice. All politicians spin the truth and that will probably never change. What we need is the media to get back to the basics of journalism and report the news instead of twisting the news.