White Lives Don't Matter - apparently

[Steve R.]

Where you do quote from what you describe as left wing media e.g. CNN, it is done only to criticize for its supposed bias.

Sorry, not true in this very recent example. Biden: 'If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black'

Here is one recent post I made concerning an article from "The Atlantic".

The Atlantic, which I normally find too radical, had this article: 1776 Honors America’s Diversity in a Way 1619 Does Not. From that article, I have cherry picked some quotes that seemingly affirm that the current anti-white hysteria currently sweeping this nation may have originated, in part, with the 1619 project. I would of course recommend reading it, as my interpretation may not match yours.

I don't know the real balance in views in the US media but, in the UK. almost all of our national media is right wing.

The two "premier" newspapers here are the New York Times and the Washington Post. Both are openly very left wing. Then there is the Bloomberg media outlet where the owner, Michael Bloomberg, stated that he would only run negative stories concerning Trump. I have no idea on whether Bloomberg has any effect on the public. Continue to feel free to respond to my posts. Dialog is important. I'm not always right.

 

[isladogs]

OK so you can cherry pick from your numerous posts to find some things you agree with from media that aren't identifiably on .the right. Fair enough.
However the vast majority of your posts do fit my original points.

As for Biden, he is indeed a very poor candidate and that particular quote "...you ain't black" was dire.
Yet if I had a vote he would be the one that I would choose as the least bad option, even though I'd have to 'hold my nose' whilst voting (to quote @The_Doc_Man.

Your other quote (possibly not in this thread) where Biden claimed Trump was the first racist president was new to me.
Clearly it is untrue. He is certainly not the first. Lets hope he's the last

 

[Isaac]

@isladogs
Been reading this back and forth and was wondering if you don't mind me asking you a direct question.
Can you point to any post of yours that involves a sort of "left wing vs. right wing" discussion, where you haven't been either expressing the more left wing viewpoint or else challenging the right wing one?

 

[isladogs]

@Isaac
There are very few posts where a left wing viewpoint is expressed so I rarely have an opportunity to counter such views where I disagree with them.
Offhand I cannot think of any current AWF member who does express left wing views. Can you?

If you read my posts in numerous threads, it is unlikely that you will find me expressing a viewpoint that is left wing.
However I do occasionally challenge some of the right wing posts ...in an attempt at balance and at times for fact checking.
If I were to try and argue against all the right wing posts here, I would have little time to do anything else.

I'm certainly not happy about either of the two candidates the US population have to choose from for president in November.

 

[Isaac]

@Isaac
There are very few posts where a left wing viewpoint is expressed so I rarely have an opportunity to counter such views where I disagree with them.
Offhand I cannot think of any current AWF member who does express left wing views. Can you?

If you read my posts in numerous threads, it is unlikely that you will often find me expressing a viewpoint that is left wing.
However I do occasionally challenge some of the right wing posts ...in an attempt at balance and at times for fact checking.
If I were to try and argue against all the right wing posts here, I would have little time to do anything else.

I'm certainly not happy about either of the two candidates the US population have to choose from for president in November.

I guess I was coming at it more from an issues standpoint. In other words, out of the frequent "issues" that are discussed, how often do you do anything other than either, 1) express left wing views, or, 2) challenge right wing views. As almost every issue has a potential left/right side available for the taking.
It was just to point out that almost everyone seems to be mostly on one side or the other. In other words, Steve (for example) might be "all right wing", but you (for example), are pretty much all "challenging right wing", which I'm kind of equating the two as being equally singular in focus.

Then again, the point you are making is well taken...as in, there is so much (90%) right wing views expressed, that it might make sense on balance to challenge them and do nothing but.
Your and moke's challenges certainly have made me stop and think about things - not a bad effect.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Whilst I agree that some on the left can be intolerant, I also see a lot of intolerance from the right.
In my opinion, that includes several of the regular contributors to this forum who identify themselves as being on the right.

@Colin,
Can you please be specific. You don't have to mention names unless you can't avoid it. As the statement stands, it is your opinion. It is not a fact and you haven't provided any examples that might prove your point. Someone gave a good response regarding intolerance which I agree with. Personally, I am intolerance of hypocrisy and bigotry and intolerance. I don't expect every one to have the same opinion as I do but I am quite willing to listen to their views. We can frequently learn from each other. I spent most of my life leaning more left than right. The Democrat party left me. I did not leave them.

Granted Biden is not an appealing alternative but, if I had a vote, he would very much be the 'better' of two poor candidates

All you have to do to vote in Connecticut is to get a driver's license. You automatically get registered to vote since they don't even ask you. They just do it and that is pretty scary because many people have this view that Biden can't be as bad as Trump. But in reality, what short of your personal finickiness regarding some of his stupid tweets is your problem with him?
So you hate Trump so much that you're OK with a president who has enriched himself and his family during his tenure in the Senate and as the VP by allowing foreign governments to give his son and brother "jobs" for which they were not qualified anf for which they were paid millions of dollars? You're OK with a person who is on film shaking down the president of the Ukraine to benefit his son? You're OK with a person who is on film acting very inappropriately with children let alone being accused of sexually assaulting women? You're OK with a person who has been "chosen" by the Democrat Party because of his pliability and declining acuity? They're pretty sure they can control him if he wins. They've already gotten him to move so far to the left of his former moderate positions that his philosophy is not even recognizable any more?
I'm not sure what Trump has done to earn such hatred that it would force you down the path to Marxism. Maybe, you're already a Marxist but you just haven't told us. Trump certainly has some offensive tendencies but his accomplishments are actually very strong. He would have done even better if he hadn't alienated the Republicans by including them in his plan to drain the swamp. The RINO's (Republicans in Name Only) are so afraid of Trump that they would rather have the Democrats win the Presidency than have Trump win a second term. That doesn't make them right. It just makes it clear how dirty they actually are. I've been saying for years that we have the best Congress that money can buy and I don't distinguish between parties in that statement.

I don't know the real balance in views in the US media but, in the UK. almost all of our national media is right wing.

In the US, the media is overwhelmingly left leaning. In fact, they are so far in the tank for the Democrats that the Democrat candidates should have to record their media coverage as campaign contributions.

 

[isladogs]

As I've said on several occasions, whilst I do challenge some right wing views occasionally, I rarely see left wing views to either challenge or agree with.
I am centre-left. You won't find me expressing left wing views because those aren't my opinions

There have been many topics such as global warming that seem to polarise opinion in the US on political lines.
Outside the US such issues often do not tend to have the same political spin.

 

[Pat Hartman]

There have been many topics such as global warming that seem to polarize opinion in the US on political lines.

This is yet another believe the "science" issue. The science is most certainly not settled. There are "experts" supporting all positions. No one disputes that the climate is changing. The divide is over the cause. One side believes that the proximate cause is humans and the other side believes that although humans are responsible for pollution, climate change in general is a constant part of the evolution of the earth. Therefore, although they are not against preparation such as fortifying our coastlines or moving critical infrastructure inland, they aren't ready to give up on fossil fuels especially given that the rules are different for China and India than for the US. The US despite its withdrawal by Trump from the Paris agreement continues to year over year reduce carbon emissions. So, we are in effect, "moving in the right direction".

The question is, if the proximate cause of change today is humans, what caused all the cycles of change in the past? Humans have only existed for a very tiny span of the existence of the planet. Did dinosaur farts cause climate change during the age of the dinosaurs? What caused the other heat/cold cycles? We are actually coming out of a mini-ice age so the planet is and has been in a warming cycle for hundreds of years.

 

[Jon]

Coming from the UK, I would like to add that the largest media outlet, the BBC, is decidedly left-wing and riddled with political correctness. Many on the left would disagree with this, suggesting they are neutral, as is their mandate. However, maybe this is evidence in itself that they are left-wing. When one side thinks the BBC's position is reasonable while most on the other side think otherwise, this gives you a clue as to where the neutrality actually lies.

 

[isladogs]

@Pat Hartman
Re post #146 which I hadn't seen when I replied in #147...
I have no intention of being specific or naming individuals as doing so will likely provoke a slanging match which isn't what I want.
The quote of mine you used at the start of your post clearly stated...'In my opinion' ..so you stating 'it is your opinion not a fact' was superfluous.

I have stated on numerous occasions that there is fault on on all sides of the political spectrum. I have also made it clear several times that my political views are centre-left. Despite that you are now asking whether I'm a Marxist! Clearly your views are well to the right of mine though you say you were for much of your life 'left leaning'. Perhaps those words are a good indicator of my position which has remained much the same throughout my life..

I rarely state my actual opinions in this forum so please stop labelling me without justification.
I will continue to question both right wing or left wing views that I feel deserve being challenged.
However it is very rare that any left wing viewpoint is expressed in this forum so I rarely have the opportunity to challenge such views here.
By contrast there are a lot of posts from members who identify themselves as being on the right

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

This Guy Dave Rubin sums it up well:-

Google Podcasts

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podcasts.google.com

 

[isladogs]

@Jon
It isn't necessary to be left wing to disagree with your statement about the BBC being left leaning.
Indeed there are many in the Conservative party who think otherwise.
Conversely there are some on the left who believe the BBC has a right of centre agenda.

The reality is that it gives airtime to people on both the left and right as well as the centre as per its remit.
Programmes such as Any Questions, Question Time and indeed the Moral Maze always include a wide range of political views in their panels
Although presenters in news & current affairs are required to keep their political views to themselves. others such as Andrew Neil have always had a clear political agenda.

Like any large organisation the BBC is far from perfect. It makes mistakes and at time over-reacts in its responses to issues.
However, I feel it is as near to neutral as any large media organisation will ever be.

 

[Jon]

Colin, I largely agree with you. With regard to where its central compass is, I believe it is somewhat to the left. However, I also agree that compared to many media outlets, it takes a more moderated stance. The thing is, like with companies in Silicon Valley such as Facebook, where the whole region is very left wing, there is an echo chamber of thought. It makes it very difficult to then formulate a view of what constitutes a neutral stance. If you look at I think it was Twitter or Facebook, who did they hire to determine what gets moderated? Someone who worked at CNN for 20 odd years! If they really wanted to create a neutral platform, they would hire both a left and right winger.

It still puzzles me how people can legitimately think left wing.

For me personally, I can get more on board with a more moderate left wing position. I just feel in very recent times, it has lurched heavily to the far left. I do not know the reasons for this, but it ends up with anarchy, BLM wanting to abolish the police, councils cutting the police budget in half and so on. I am itching to know what happens to the crime rate in I think it was Seattle, where they voted to cut the police budget in half. Or was it Mineappolis. There are several places doing it so I am losing track. I want to be able to say, "I told you so", however childish that may sound. To me it is simple cause and effect. Police are already overstretched. Cut their budget in half and if you need them, you could find yourself in a spot of bother.

 

[Steve R.]

It still puzzles me how people can legitimately think left wing.

For those who are just entering adulthood, it is part of human nature to have a utopian outlook. This has given rise, to the paraphrased quote: "anyone who was not a liberal at 20 years of age had no heart, while anyone who was still a liberal at 40 had no head." Evidently this quote has originated at various times, in various countries, and in various renditions. A summary here.

There is a "new" sociological overlay. Today, the progressives, seem to believe that the government "owes them". It is the responsibility of government to guarantee them a job and a minimum wage. The government is to provide them with free tuition, free health care, and child care. Can't "afford" a house, the government is supposed to make housing "affordable". Given this expectation, it is easy to comprehend why those who are young (and are older) are attracted to voting for progressive politicians.

Additionally, there is this supposed quote by Tocqueville, while failing fact checking is still an excellent thought behind why many support getting government freebies: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” US citizens are being "bribed" by the politicians. There is no longer any pretense of rationale federal spending being limited to the federal revenues received. Perpetual deficit spending continues unabated. When that results in the demise of the American Republic is unknown.

PS: Should the Democrats win the presidential election, the last vestiges of the US as being a Republic may be eliminated. Democrats are pushing for all political decisions to be based solely on the popular vote, the elimination of the electoral college, the elimination of the filibusterer, and the appointment of openly liberal judges to the US Supreme Court.

 

[NauticalGent]

"anyone who was not a liberal at 20 years of age had no heart, while anyone who was still a liberal at 40 had no head."

Brilliant!

 

[Steve R.]

July 24, 2020, Rasmussen survey: Americans Say Blacks More Racist Than Whites, Hispanics, Asians

"Americans believe blacks are more racist than whites, Hispanics and Asians in this country."

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

July 24, 2020, Rasmussen survey: Americans Say Blacks More Racist

Exactly! We are ALL the same, to say any different would be racist!

 

[ColinEssex]

When people post here and refer to 'Colin', is there another one? If so, it's very confusing.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Hey, Col - our friend Isladogs is also a "Colin" and if you look at his signature block, you will see it.

 

[AccessBlaster]

When people post here and refer to 'Colin', is there another one? If so, it's very confusing.
Col

Someone's not getting enough attention.