February 1, 2006

Today's media chooses political posturing over facts

I do not believe that our Founding Fathers had what passes as today's journalism in mind when they established the foundation for what we label "freedom of the press."

In today's media, if the Republicans and Democrats played a game of checkers and the Republicans won, it would be reported this way:

"The Democrats placed second in a checker tournament yesterday, after having lost only one game. The Republicans finished next to last after winning just a single game."

Then the malleable masses would cluck their collective tongues and say, "Dang, those Republicans can't do anything right."

Wouldn't it be refreshing to get something approaching an unbiased factual presentation from the media?

Like labeling someone whose goal is to inflict terror by using a bomb to kill people a "terrorist" instead of an "insurgent."

All the political posturing about eavesdropping has me really bemused.

If I want to communicate in private, I write a letter and send it in a sealed envelope--because I understand that if I choose to communicate using public airways, some enterprising individual can intercept my communication.

Whether it's via the Internet or the telephone, where towers or satellites are involved, interception is possible by people working for a government or for their own self-interest.

In any case, I believe my rights are violated only if someone uses my intercepted communications for some purpose detrimental to my well-being.

So my advice to the malleable masses is, read your newspapers and listen to the news reports with a bit more circumspection.

Rex A. Hoover
Sumerduck