As a contribution to this burgeoning discussion, read Al Franken's infamous
"Lying Liars....." I concur with his point that the mainstream media isn't
so much biased as it is lazy (not to mention pretty much owned by a few
major media corporations, all invested in maintaining the "stable order" of
things). They print all sort of information (or "misinformation") without
questioning or checking the source thoroughly. This leaves them vulnerable
to manipulation by right wing (and hypothetically left wing, I suppose)
media managers who send out distorted or blantantly false information. And
as Hermann Goering (sp?) knew quite well, if you read or hear something
enough, you believe it.

For example, did you know that the largest march on Washington in the
history of our nation occured this past Spring? It was a march in support of
women's rights (obviously not a pro-Bush type of event) and by the most
conservative estimates, 800,000 participants were there - larger than any
Viet Nam, Civil Rights, or Million Man marches. Reliable but less
conservative estimates put it at between 1 and 1.5 million. Most of the
people I present this to either know absolutely noting about this or "may
have heard something" about a march that weekend. It was the same weekend
that Michael Jackson fired his attorneys which received front page attention
nationwide. Also Jennifer Lopez or someone like that married, divorced, or
something like that, which also was "major news" that week. Most major
newspapers, if they mentioned the march it at all, put it roughly about page
7.

More recently, a wealthy and politically active supporter of social causes
and commentary (not so noted that I remember his name, however!) made some
statements about the Iraqi prison scandal and how it subverted the image of
the U.S. internationally. He compared the response and perception of the
international community to 911 and contrasted it with the message and
perception created by the prison abuses. The following week several of the
right wing commentators stated that he said the prison abuse was a worse
atrocity than the World Trade Center attack (I heard the audiotape of what
he said, and he clearly said no such thing). This circulated around,
however, until the mainstream media picked up on it and printed it as fact.

We Americans like things quick and simple. Too much information or
information that presents both sides takes too much work. So we will
continue to get the govt we deserve, ie: the one that is most effectively
marketed to us. We buy uncritically the ideas that Political Action
Committees are only exercising "Freedom of Speech" when they make campaign
contributions, but that a Constitutional Amendment is the morally correct
solution to flag-burning. Better to champion the "patriotic" course by
simplistically making the offensive illegal than to wrestle with the
complexities behind the larger moral questions reflected in the Bill of
Rights  (personally, if I was a combat veteran and someone wanted to
desecrate the flag I fought for by "protecting" it by such means, I would
feel insulted).

Two examples:
1. Not all those who support conservative economic policy are greedy,
racist, "fat cat" types.
2. Not all who believe in the war in Iraq is unjust and immoral are
unpatriotic, godless, haters of freedom.
(And neither will burn in Hell just because someone who says they understand
God's point of view and must tell us what it is say they will).

At least it gives us reason to value what we do at UTC, since education is
an antidote to ignorance and unwillingness to critically examine the "party
line," be that Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Communist, Whig,
Federalist, Michael Moorelian, or Jerry Falwellian (not to mention George
Orwellian, but I digress).

ED

P.S. But I'd better be careful lest someone take this lst comment to mean
"all who disagree with me are ignorant."

Original Message -----
From: "Tyson Land" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] Fahrenheit 9/11 - in response to Mr. Hyams


And NYT writers suffer such a penchant for "independent fact checking"
wherever accuracy is concerned.  [read with extreme sarcasm]

If "the mainstream press is very much behind Bush," then it is only because
it cannot figure out where, exactly, Kerry stands on anything.  Egad!  But
the mainstream press, save "Fox News," hasn't harbored conservatism, or its
proponents, for decades---if ever.

But let the theatric rubbish play, nevertheless!!  I'm all for it.  Everyone
deserves a voice, after all, right?

Best,
t.


-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Jarrod Whaley
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 1:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Fahrenheit 9/11 - in response to Mr. Hyams

It's certainly not premature for the NY TIMES writer who actually saw the
film and then did a little independent fact-checking to speak of the film's
merits.

I'd like to add that seeing this film is one of the VERY FEW ways to SEE
both sides of the issue. The mainstream press is very much behind Bush.

Furthermore, I am increasingly bewildered at the lack of understanding that
the real issue is is one of politically-motivated sponsorship. The film was
not originally scheduled to open here. That can not have been for economic
reasons. If so, I'd like to ask why a smaller market like Johnson City was
scheduled to see the film before we were, especially in light of the fact
that this film will obviously make a LOT of money for any theater that is
unafraid to screen it in the face of death threats like the one that
occurred in Illinois. I think we "owe it to our country," if I may be so
bold as to recycle your very loaded rhetoric, Mr. Hyams, to stand up for
those who have been silenced because they express views that do not serve
the interests of a very controversial administration.

-->jarrod whaley.
filmmaker. videographer.
web designer. educator.
www.oakstreetfilms.com
www.shakingray.com
www.freefilmclub.com