Conservative Bias
February 14, 2012
January 19, 2012
Vulture vs. Crony Capitalism in 2012: Right-Wing vs. Right-Wing; Right-Wing vs. Slightly-Right-of-Center
Here's Rick Perry defending his "vulture capitalism" of Romney.
Newt did the same thing and folks on the right criticized him for it too. Apparently, all business practices are beyond reproach. Here's Romney defending himself against the vulture charge. Now, here's Romney criticizing Obama for "crony capitalism."
Is Romney's charge gonna stick with people on the Right? It presumes Obama is a capitalist, and they've been calling him a socialist for what seems like forever.
January 16, 2012
The Simpsons, "The Liberal Straw Man Song"
On a recent episode of The Simpsons the show took issue with how Fox News characterizes liberals.
If you're not familiar with the straw man fallacy see here. The basic idea of a straw man fallacy is that a position is (mis)characterized so at to make it look absurd or easily refutable, criticize this distorted mischaracterization showing its flaws, then suppose to have shown that the actual position has been defeated. It's attacking a "straw man" of the position rather than the strongest case for the rival view. In "Politically Inept with Homer Simpson," Homer gets a job as a pundit on a conservative infotainment network. The network execs readily acknowledge that they present a straw man of the liberal position by suggesting it's based on envy of the rich and turning kids into homosexuals. Of course, there are reasonable, principled arguments for the liberal positions on taxation and tolerance of homosexuality or even same-sex marriage that have nothing to do with envy or making kids gay.
January 10, 2012
The Government Take Over of Health Care, Anti-Abortion Style?
A Texas law requiring abortion providers to show or describe an ultrasound image to a pregnant woman and to play sounds of the fetal heartbeat does not violate the U.S. Constitution, according to a federal appeals court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Tuesday overturned a federal judge's decision to block the law, ruling that the ultrasound requirements do not infringe on abortion providers' free speech rights.
"The required disclosures of a sonogram, the fetal heartbeat, and their medical descriptions are the epitome of truthful, non-misleading information," Chief Judge Edith Jones wrote for the three-judge panel.
The Texas law, enacted in 2011, requires abortion providers to display the ultrasound images and describe them in detail. Women cannot decline to hear the physician's description of the image unless they qualify for an exception under the statute. Exceptions include if the woman suffered rape or incest or if the fetus has abnormalities.
A coalition of medical providers sued to block the law in June 2011, arguing that the law made doctors a "mouthpiece" for the state's ideological message. The First Amendment includes protections against compelled speech.
Does that count as a government take over of health care? What if somebody doesn't want a sonogram?
December 14, 2011
Jon Stewart Mocks the "Normal Muslims Shock Our Worldview" Crowd Over TV Shows
If the representation of Muslims as normal people is a shock to your worldview, it's because you're probably prejudiced against Muslims. If merely being exposed to ideas that are inconsistent with your worldview is troubling to you, then you are the product of a successful indoctrination program. Beavis and Butthead made fun of this attitude about being exposed to different ideas in "Dumb Design."
December 12, 2011
Jon Stewart on Fox News' War on Christmas
Jon Stewart illustrates what's wrong with Fox News' reasoning about their phony "War on Christmas."
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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The conservative religious types that complain about the "war on Christmas" are, of course, the same ones that often complain about political correctness. But, the "war on Christmas" is just their version of it.
July 28, 2011
Jon Stewart Rips Fox News Religious Hypocrisy
July 27, 2011
When Muslims Attack, It's Because of Religion. When Christians Attack, It's Because of Politics
Breivik claimed that he is a Christian in various forums, but most explicitly and in greatest detail in the 1,500-page manifesto he compiled over several months and posted on the Internet.
"At the age of 15 I chose to be baptised [sic] and confirmed in the Norwegian State Church," the 32-year-old Breivik wrote. "I consider myself to be 100 percent Christian."
But he also fiercely disagrees with the politics of most Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
"Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man," he writes. "I am first and foremost a man of logic. However, I am a supporter of a monocultural Christian Europe."
Breivik fashions himself a "cultural Christian" and a modern-day crusader in a resurrected order of the medieval Knights Templar, riding out to do battle against squishy "multiculturalism" and the onslaught of "Islamization" -- and to suffer the glory of Christian martyrdom in the process.
Not surprisingly, conservative pundits who share some of Breivik's views and also consider themselves Christians quickly sought to distance themselves from Breivik by declaring, as Bill O'Reilly did on Fox News, that "Breivik is not a Christian."
"That's impossible," O'Reilly said Tuesday. "No one believing in Jesus commits mass murder. The man might have called himself a Christian on the 'net, but he is certainly not of that faith."
O'Reilly blamed the "liberal media" for "pushing the Christian angle" in order to demean Christians like himself. But O'Reilly's point was taken up by any number of commentators and religion scholars.
Mathew N. Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, wrote in a Washington Post column that Breivik's vision "is a Christianity without Christ" because the attacker rejected a personal relationship with Jesus.
Writing in The Guardian, Andrew Brown wrote that "even in his saner moments (Breivik's) ideology had nothing to do with Christianity but was based on an atavistic horror of Muslims and a loathing of 'Marxists,' by which he meant anyone to the left of Genghis Khan."
Arne H. Fjeldstad, a longtime Norwegian journalist and Lutheran minister of the Church of Norway, wrote a lengthy analysis of Breivik's references to Christianity and also concluded that "his view is framed entirely by politics, with strong political and cultural opinions, which also include religious views."
"Breivik's religious position is rather distant from any Christian faith commitment," Fjeldstad wrote.
Pathetic.
July 26, 2011
Stephen Colbert on Gut Reporting and Accuracy about Norway Attacks
June 28, 2011
Jon Stewart Deconconstructs Fox News
On last night's episode of The Daily Show Jon Stewart deconstructs (in the technical sense of the term) Fox News' pretention to journalistic impartiality and balance to expose the channel's conservative bias.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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Fox News is a conservative political correctness machine.
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