In the Midst of a Storm?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
1

The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last?

2

[quote]ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last? [/quote]

AIG.

3

[quote]ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last? [/quote]

Me. Being in a business which depends on disposable income can be tough at times.

I’m not making excuses though, I know I will get my schedule booked up again soon enough.

4

[quote]ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last? [/quote]

Every single election the message in the news is that EVERYTHING is in crisis and only the big government democrats have the answers. Now this election there are some legit issues that lend some credibility to that strategy.

Remember Al Gore:

EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE DOWN IS UP AND EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE UP IS DOWN.

The point is big media has been campaigning for liberal democrats for decades and crisis and panic are their stock in trade so even though it is bad at the moment you can expect it to be reported as if North America is falling off the face the planet and the sooner we get Obama into office the sooner his majesty can fix it all.

5

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last?

Every single election the message in the news is that EVERYTHING is in crisis and only the big government democrats have the answers. Now this election there are some legit issues that lend some credibility to that strategy.

Remember Al Gore:

EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE DOWN IS UP AND EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE UP IS DOWN.

The point is big media has been campaigning for liberal democrats for decades and crisis and panic are their stock in trade so even though it is bad at the moment you can expect it to be reported as if North America is falling off the face the planet and the sooner we get Obama into office the sooner his majesty can fix it all.[/quote]

That’s ridiculous. I’m in the “liberal media”, and let me tell you- the liberal media is hurting just as bad as everyone else.

The liberal media has their money invested in shit too, and have mortgages and car payments just the same. The liberal media is trying to save money to put their kids through colllege, and is just as worried about AIG, Merrill, and all the other companies failing.

Not to mention, most of the people who bitch about the media have no idea how the media, or at least newspapers, work. We can’t ignore everything that happens that looks bad for Democrats, and focus on everything the Republicans do. 98 percent of the time, the bias stops once you leave the editorial pages… and even then, there’s a shit ton of conservatives.

This is not some cooked up bullshit thing- this country, economically, is in horrific shape.

You need to come out from under your fuckin rock and realize that CNN hasn’t destroyed the fucking economy.

6

[quote]ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last? [/quote]

Not me. Every time I turn on the news, it’s some calamity or another, except that the news can’t seem to cover the global jihad. I just don’t watch the news. Those people are idiots.

7

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last?

Every single election the message in the news is that EVERYTHING is in crisis and only the big government democrats have the answers. Now this election there are some legit issues that lend some credibility to that strategy.

Remember Al Gore:

EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE DOWN IS UP AND EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE UP IS DOWN.

The point is big media has been campaigning for liberal democrats for decades and crisis and panic are their stock in trade so even though it is bad at the moment you can expect it to be reported as if North America is falling off the face the planet and the sooner we get Obama into office the sooner his majesty can fix it all.[/quote]
This is absolutely ridiculous.

8

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Tiribulus wrote:
ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last?

Every single election the message in the news is that EVERYTHING is in crisis and only the big government democrats have the answers. Now this election there are some legit issues that lend some credibility to that strategy.

Remember Al Gore:

EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE DOWN IS UP AND EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE UP IS DOWN.

The point is big media has been campaigning for liberal democrats for decades and crisis and panic are their stock in trade so even though it is bad at the moment you can expect it to be reported as if North America is falling off the face the planet and the sooner we get Obama into office the sooner his majesty can fix it all.

That’s ridiculous. I’m in the “liberal media”, and let me tell you- the liberal media is hurting just as bad as everyone else.

The liberal media has their money invested in shit too, and have mortgages and car payments just the same. The liberal media is trying to save money to put their kids through colllege, and is just as worried about AIG, Merrill, and all the other companies failing.

Not to mention, most of the people who bitch about the media have no idea how the media, or at least newspapers, work. We can’t ignore everything that happens that looks bad for Democrats, and focus on everything the Republicans do. 98 percent of the time, the bias stops once you leave the editorial pages… and even then, there’s a shit ton of conservatives.

This is not some cooked up bullshit thing- this country, economically, is in horrific shape.

You need to come out from under your fuckin rock and realize that CNN hasn’t destroyed the fucking economy.
[/quote]

I have doubled my income over last year.

If you really are investing, you know that the talk is way bigger than the reality.

Weak people love to be scared. The press loves to help those fears along. Weak people long to have a parental figure come in and tell them everything will be alright.

The press loves weak people.

No one crying about how horrible it is now ever lived through the 70’s and early 80’s.

Triple the interest rates, and double the unemployment numbers, and you might be getting close.

I just don’t get all the little chicken shits out there worrying about how bad it is. But then again, I don’t want to get them. I’ve been as poor as a person can be in this country, and never stuck my hand out, or begged for the Gov’t to do something.

The best thing the government can do is get the fuck out of my life, and get the fuck out of my wallet.

9

Russia is collapsing, the market being closed…gold rises more in a day than the actual price was, in 1971…the Feds have to buy large companies so they won’t close and suction down the whole economy.

We are standing on Galveston watching Ike come calling.

10

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
<<< That’s ridiculous. I’m in the “liberal media”, and let me tell you- the liberal media is hurting just as bad as everyone else.

The liberal media has their money invested in shit too, and have mortgages and car payments just the same. The liberal media is trying to save money to put their kids through colllege, and is just as worried about AIG, Merrill, and all the other companies failing.

Not to mention, most of the people who bitch about the media have no idea how the media, or at least newspapers, work. We can’t ignore everything that happens that looks bad for Democrats, and focus on everything the Republicans do. 98 percent of the time, the bias stops once you leave the editorial pages… and even then, there’s a shit ton of conservatives.

This is not some cooked up bullshit thing- this country, economically, is in horrific shape.

You need to come out from under your fuckin rock and realize that CNN hasn’t destroyed the fucking economy.
[/quote]

I did expect more than this out of you.

To deny that the major media outlets in this country have not and are not actively campaigning for democrats, especially this time around defies intelligent response.

I never said the present economic issues are “cooked up bullshit” I did say, in essence, that as bad they are they will be reported as being worse because disaster is what the liberal democrats depend on to drive their campaigns.

I also didn’t say that CNN has destroyed the economy, you sad that.

The print media in many cases is just as bad as the broadcast media, even on (or not on) their front page. The NY Times is a prime example. It’s where stories are placed, how the headlines and pieces are worded etc. That is not even arguable.

Every poll of media personnel in this country has them at 90 plus percent self proclaimed democrats.

AM radio is the one and only exception.

If you actually can’t see the bias in loud beaming neon lights then you illustrate the very elitist blindness that I’m talking about.

The media and a large piece of the population here any more, including you apparently, truly believe that all these problems are simply a function of there not being enough socialistic government which explains both a Che Obama candidacy and the media’s fervent support.

11

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Every poll of media personnel in this country has them at 90 plus percent self proclaimed democrats.[/quote]
Source?

12

[quote]rainjack wrote:

I have doubled my income over last year.

[/quote]

Damn glad to hear this. While I’m sure you have done better than most, I actually believe that most non-housing businesses are doing better this year than last.

I mean if one actually wanted to look at this current situation as an opportunity one would see $3Trillion on the sidelines (which is in constant dollars 50% greater than long term trend), oil off its peak substantialy and no real talk of $200/barrel anywhere in sight, the dollar making gains against amost every other currency, and interest rates that are very conducive to business investment.

Like you said, the weak will cower and hide and wait for some parental figure to say it’s gonna be okay! And the strong will forge ahead and be better off.

Look at Buffet taking advantage right now. From an investment standpoint, isn’t he the ultimate T-Man? The guy’s got balls of steel.

13

[quote]rainjack wrote:
FightinIrish26 wrote:
Tiribulus wrote:
ajcook99 wrote:
The stock market is in turmoil, and the election is heating up. Turn on the news and it seems as if the sky is falling. Housing starts are at their lows in 17 years, and credit is supposedly tight. But here’s the rub, both of my businesses are doing better this year than last. Most of my clients, individuals and buisnesses, are doing better this year than last, from an income standpoint.

Admittedly this could be purely anecdotal, but it leads me to this question. How many people are actually doing worse (income) this year than last?

Every single election the message in the news is that EVERYTHING is in crisis and only the big government democrats have the answers. Now this election there are some legit issues that lend some credibility to that strategy.

Remember Al Gore:

EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE DOWN IS UP AND EVERYTHING THAT SHOULD BE UP IS DOWN.

The point is big media has been campaigning for liberal democrats for decades and crisis and panic are their stock in trade so even though it is bad at the moment you can expect it to be reported as if North America is falling off the face the planet and the sooner we get Obama into office the sooner his majesty can fix it all.

That’s ridiculous. I’m in the “liberal media”, and let me tell you- the liberal media is hurting just as bad as everyone else.

The liberal media has their money invested in shit too, and have mortgages and car payments just the same. The liberal media is trying to save money to put their kids through colllege, and is just as worried about AIG, Merrill, and all the other companies failing.

Not to mention, most of the people who bitch about the media have no idea how the media, or at least newspapers, work. We can’t ignore everything that happens that looks bad for Democrats, and focus on everything the Republicans do. 98 percent of the time, the bias stops once you leave the editorial pages… and even then, there’s a shit ton of conservatives.

This is not some cooked up bullshit thing- this country, economically, is in horrific shape.

You need to come out from under your fuckin rock and realize that CNN hasn’t destroyed the fucking economy.

I have doubled my income over last year.

If you really are investing, you know that the talk is way bigger than the reality.

Weak people love to be scared. The press loves to help those fears along. Weak people long to have a parental figure come in and tell them everything will be alright.

The press loves weak people.

No one crying about how horrible it is now ever lived through the 70’s and early 80’s.

Triple the interest rates, and double the unemployment numbers, and you might be getting close.

I just don’t get all the little chicken shits out there worrying about how bad it is. But then again, I don’t want to get them. I’ve been as poor as a person can be in this country, and never stuck my hand out, or begged for the Gov’t to do something.

The best thing the government can do is get the fuck out of my life, and get the fuck out of my wallet.
[/quote]

The media always exaggerates. This is not news. The economy IS in bad shape. It’s not in as bad shape as the media portrays. So? What has no basis in fact are these ludicrous assertions Tiribulus has made that it’s all some liberal media conspiracy. There is no doubt some unconscious tilt and it’s unavoidable that political ideology of reporters will color how the issues are reported somewhat. There is no active conspiracy. And there is a mostly successful attempt to be fair. Your philosophy on the government’s proper fiscal role also has no relevance to a discussion about what the media reports. The media’s not orchestrating all the bailouts. It’s just reporting on them. The media has also been prety harsh on Democrats and Democratic leaders whenever there is something of import to report too.

14

Let’s not forget about Fox news and other orgainizations with a conservative bias.

15

Sometimes it works the other way too. Reporters are on guard against accusations against liberal bias so sometimes they tend to take things at face value and not challenge conservatives.

Scott McClellan bragged about this in his book, confessing to regularly and routinely lying to the media. And he described the contempt he felt for reporters who regularly reported his lies instead of telling the truth and investiating the truth, because they were cowed by the fear of an accusation of ‘liberal bias.’

16

[quote]jsbrook wrote:
Sometimes it works the other way too. Reporters are on guard against accusations against liberal bias so sometimes they tend to take things at face value and not challenge conservatives.

Scott McClellan bragged about this in his book, confessing to regularly and routinely lying to the media. And he described the contempt he felt for reporters who regularly reported his lies instead of telling the truth and investiating the truth, because they were cowed by the fear of an accusation of ‘liberal bias.’[/quote]

Beat me to it.

17

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Every poll of media personnel in this country has them at 90 plus percent self proclaimed democrats.
Inner Hulk wrote:
Source?
[/quote]

Investor’s Business Daily:

[quote]journalists contributed so far this election cycle favors Democrats by a 15:1 ratio over Republicans, with $225,563 going to Democrats, only $16,298 to Republicans .

Two-hundred thirty-five journalists donated to Democrats, just 20 gave to Republicans �?? a margin greater than 10-to-1. An even greater disparity, 20-to-1, exists between the number of journalists who donated to Barack Obama and John McCain.

Searches for other newsroom categories (reporters, correspondents, news editors, anchors, newspaper editors and publishers) produces 311 donors to Democrats to 30 donors to Republicans, a ratio of just over 10-to-1. In terms of money, $279,266 went to Dems, $20,709 to Republicans, a 14-to-1 ratio.

[/quote]
Source:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=301702713742569

Personally, my income has gone up slightly over the past couple of years, but not nearly as quickly as the price of gas and food. So I’m officially doing worse.

Fortunately next year my wife will be working (god I hope!), and if need be I can get a part-time or weekend job to fill the gap. Alternatively, I guess I could quit and just wait for Obama to save me.

18

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:

I did expect more than this out of you.
[/quote]

Well I don’t expect anything other than bullshit from you, so get on my level then.

There’s a lot of that around here… get to the facts.

As would the Republicans had the Democrats had the Presidency for eight years.

Hell, you guys made a big deal out of a blowjob eight years ago in order to try and gain ground. It’s what the party Not-In-Power does.

C’mon. You know basic politics (I hope). Give me a break.

That must be the journalist in me exaggerating again. Oh damn, it came out…

Really? Have you ever desinged a page? Have you ever put columns in with pictures and sent it out? Again, you don’t know the process of doing this.

On top of this, let’s be honest. Reporters don’t place articles or write headlines. So your qualm is with the editors on that. Even then, it’s unjustified because of the above- the basic dynamics of setting up a paper.

What you’re failing to understand is that the people who own the papers really have very little control over what gets printed and what doesn’t. They handle the finances, the inevitable lawsuits, etc. However, at no time does an email arrive saying, “So and so says McCain gets the back page today.”

This is all the editors. Now, this relates to your, “How the piece is worded”. I have said before- the way a person is wired is going to have some effect on how they write it, but this at a subconcious level.

What’s more, a reporter cannot be blatantly biases, and editors cannot only print one side of the story. It doesn’t work, and goes against Journalistic ethics. So stop whining.

What’s a bigger story- Obama talking to 200,000 Germans at a time when Europe famously hates us? Or McCain stumping somewhere in else in the country?

Obviously the Europe one. If McCain had 200,000 Germans at a press conference, it would be covered just as much… but it’s known that Europe thinks that McCain will mean the same old nationalistc american bullshit.

Stop acting like this is a big conspiracy. The Illuminati doesn’t have guns to our heads to print the right things…get over yourselves.

Source?

And you represent drinking the damn republican kool aid about the media.

Watch out, the Jews fixed hollywood to influence your thoughts also. And if you play “Sabbath bloody sabbath” backwards while chanting “bloody mary” in a mirror the twin towers will reappear with a big W on them.

[quote]
The media and a large piece of the population here any more, including you apparently, truly believe that all these problems are simply a function of there not being enough socialistic government which explains both a Che Obama candidacy and the media’s fervent support.[/quote]

blah blah blah.

19

The fact is, if it’s a conservative company doing the study, then it’s a liberal bias.

If it’s a liberal one, then they have a conservative bias.

IF it’s neither, then it tends to land somewhere in the middle.

Look it up. There’s as much bullshit one way as the other way.

http://makethemaccountable.com/myth/LiberalMedia.htm

The reality

Price of the ‘Liberal Media’ Myth, Robert Parry, consortiumnews.com, January 1, 2003
[i]
[T]he larger fallacy of the liberal media argument is the idea that reporters and mid-level editors set the editorial agenda at their news organizations. In reality, most journalists have about as much say over what is presented by newspapers and TV news programs as factory workers and foremen have over what a factory manufactures…

News organizations are hierarchical institutions often run by strong-willed men who insist that their editorial vision be dominant within their news companies. Some concessions are made to the broader professional standards of journalism, such as the principles of objectivity and fairness.

But media owners historically have enforced their political views and other preferences by installing senior editors whose careers depend on delivering a news product that fits with the owners prejudices.

Mid-level editors and reporters who stray too far from the prescribed path can expect to be demoted or fired. Editorial employees intuitively understand the career risks of going beyond the boundaries.

These limitations were true a century ago when William Randolph Hearst famously studied every days paper from his publishing empire looking for signs of leftist attitudes among his staff. And it is still true in the days of Rupert Murdoch, Jack Welch and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.[/i]

The Rightward Press, E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, December 6, 2002
[i]
It took conservatives a lot of hard and steady work to push the media rightward. It dishonors that work to continue to presume that – except for a few liberal columnists – there is any such thing as the big liberal media.

The media world now includes (1) talk radio, (2) cable television and (3) the traditional news sources (newspapers, newsmagazines and the old broadcast networks). Two of these three major institutions tilt well to the right, and the third is under constant pressure to avoid even the pale hint of liberalism.

These institutions, in turn, influence the burgeoning world of online news and commentary.�??

[/i]
Big media pushes news to the far right, San Francisco Examiner, undated:
[i]
The biggest lie fed the American people by conservative pundits is that the United States is dominated by the �??liberal media.As if Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner, General Electric, Time-Warner AOL and Viacom are owned and operated by liberals.

Not only are these folks ultra-conservatives, but the people they hire to voice their opinions are so far to the right, they give independent journalism a dirty name.

No, my friends, the corporate media is in the hands of right-wing kooks parading as moderates and pushing the political envelope further and further to the right.[/i]

20

[quote]jsbrook wrote:

The media always exaggerates. This is not news. The economy IS in bad shape. It’s not in as bad shape as the media portrays. So? What has no basis in fact are these ludicrous assertions Tiribulus has made that it’s all some liberal media conspiracy.

There is no doubt some unconscious tilt and it’s unavoidable that political ideology of reporters will color how the issues are reported somewhat. There is no active conspiracy. And there is a mostly successful attempt to be fair.

Your philosophy on the government’s proper fiscal role also has no relevance to a discussion about what the media reports. The media’s not orchestrating all the bailouts. It’s just reporting on them. The media has also been prety harsh on Democrats and Democratic leaders whenever there is something of import to report too. [/quote]

Exactly.