Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The Senate and the Filibuster


For John, BLUFDifferent words for the same thing, based on Party?  Nothing to see here; just move along.



Bloomberg takes The New York Times to task for sloppy reporting on the new Senate.

Rather than use the normal term, filibuster, in this article it used the term “procedural obstacles”.  What, is it only a filibuster when Senator Ted Cruz does it?

Ever wonder why some folks don't trust the MSM and wander over to Fox News?

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

9 comments:

  1. I always took the term MSM at face value, but, apparently, it's Republican code-speak for "Liberal Media". Fox (at least until it picked its idiotic fight with the Dish people recently) dominates the news ratings, making it, to any reasonable, which is to say unbiased, observer, the Main-est of the Main Stream Media.

    It's insulting that you'd feel your readership so unable to parse the bias in wordsmanship between the left and the right that you'd attempt to refer to Fox by comparison as any reasonable alternative.

    Some of us pay closer attention than that. Your streak of "not your best" entries is lengthening...

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  2. I think the point about Fox News is that the bien-pensant view Fox News as out of the "main stream".  Ask any of your friends, especially your Progressive friends.  Then come back and tell us what they say.

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  3. It's taking me by surprise today, but I guess it shouldn't, that you would presume that my "progressive" friends would be liberal dupes drinking MSNBC straight from the bottle. My friends tend, like me, to view Fox as the ultimate in "main stream", especially given that their viewership ratings exceed all the others by such a wide margin. (Again, excepting the current set that are corrupted by Fox's windmill tilt against Dish).

    Your only solace will have to be that my friends (as do I) regard MSNBC and others better liked by your political rivals over in the donkey camp as little different.

    See, what you and the D's and the rest of the R's can never seem to understand is that we (my friends and I, and many/most of the others in the proverbial middle) correctly recognize major political parties as sides of a single coin, and Fox's Coke to MSNBC's Pepsi merely an extension of the plot to ensure none of us can find healthy alternatives in the soda aisle.

    Apparently it's my bad for hoping better of you. I hope you and your Fox News are very happy together missing all the news from Mexico and elsewhere while you flog your various partisan stalking horses.

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  4. Actually, this makes me feel better about the middle, which I would not describe as Progressive, but as Middle.

    Although the Coke/Pepsi thing falls through.  My second choice is root beer or ice tea or water.  Options are good.

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  5. Check the corporate small print on your root beer, ice tea and water bottles. Coke owns Barq's, Ramblin', Nestea, Dasani, Smart Water, Vitamin Water, etc. Pepsi owns Mug, Lipton, Aquafina, etc. Add Gatorade, Powerade and everything else, and there is precious little choice in the supermarket at all, even though most shoppers have no idea.

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  6. I was talking taste, not quarterly dividends.

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  7. Right. And if you like illegal (non-Congressionally-declared) wars, and dumping of the Bill of Rights (targeted assassination of citizens without due process, etc.), and direct welfare handouts for citizens, and coincidentally drink your political Kool Aid from the MSNBC bottle where they all believe the same thing, then we'll say you're drinking the "main stream media" flavor. Meanwhile, if you like illegal wars, dumpting of the Bill of Rights, and welfare for corporations, and coincidentally guzzle from the Fox bottle where they all believe the same thing, we'll say you're enjoying the "fair and balanced" flavor. And all the while we'll be telling both sets of folks that the best part is that everybody has a CHOICE!

    Oh, don't like any of those flavors? Too bad. The Presidential Debate Commission says those are the only flavors in the store right now. But that's ok, because we've already given you a choice--you don't need another one.

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  8. I actually don't like illegal wars and think the FBI and its fake cell towers are a threat to my privacy.  Thus, I take it upon myself to look around.  I just recently finished Sen E Warren's book and will blog about it.  I admit to often going to Channel 6 (NECN) for my news and weather.  And have links to various on-line news sources.  There is always The Keystone Report—e.g., "Game Commission:  Woman Shot While Poaching Deer" (shooter, not woman).  Schuylkill County, out near Tamaqua.

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  9. I depend inordinately on the Brits--The Economist, the BBC World Service, and even The Guardian--for most of my news. Locally I'll give NECN some love though usually just for when I'm seeking something specific. For US coverage I try to live directly off the Reuters and AP feeds. Everything else is opportunistic, and I specifically avoid TV-branded news of every flavor for all the reasons cited above.

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Please be forthright, but please consider that this is not a barracks.