Antimedia speaks

Why another blog in an already crowded universe? Let's be frank. Blogs are ego strokers. Bloggers think their opinions matter, that someone cares what they say and wants to hear more. That's true in my case. I've pondered this step for a while and even created one the other day and then deleted it. Yet here I am, creating it again. So I'm egotistical enough to think that someone else will want to hear what I have to say. More than that, however, I think I have something worthwhile to say. My focus will be what the media says and what they don't say. Both are important. Finally, this blog will allow me to voice my frustration with the media without filtering or parsing of words, without interruption or argument, without hoping that the editor will accept my letter intact so that I can be heard. That, perhaps, will allow me to sleep better at night, knowing that at least I've said it, even if no one is listening.

Veteran bloggers and blog readers will probably wonder where I stand. I'm fiscally conservative and socially conflicted. I'm proud to be an American and tired of the polemics and hatred of the "left". Most of all, I'm tired of shoddy, so-called journalism, that uncritically regurgitates the "work" of others and sometimes even fraudulently alters it to fit the point they're trying to make. I intend to point out the inconsistencies and the outright falsehoods of the press and to call people to use their reasoning faculties to critically view everything they read or hear. I'm convinced that the Internet is the greatest invention ever, because anyone can post anything they like. Eventually (the eternal optimist in me thinks) this will force people to think for themselves. After all, how can you tell truth from fiction unless you've done the research? The greatest enemy of falsehood is light. Regardless of what side of whatever fence you happen to be on, someone on the other side will have an opinion different from yours. By putting the pieces together, it is possible to sift the facts from the fiction and determine, to one's own satisfaction, what "the truth" is.

I'm a "religious" reader of The Belmont Club, a voice of reason in a mass of confusion. I also enjoy reading what Andrew Sullivan has to say. I don't always agree with him, but I can't fault his reasoning. Most of the time my disagreements are nitpicking anyway. I started reading blogs where many did, by reading about the war on Salaam Pax's blog, eager to hear what he had to say. Sadly he has gone quiet since the al Sadr thugs began threatening Iraqis, but I hope he will return to blogging, perhaps after his movie is in the can. I also visit a number of Iraqi blogs regularly (where else can you find out anything about what's going on over there?), and I read news avidly, although I'm getting really tired of having to sift through the bs to get to the real story.

The first thing I'd like to say about the media's lies is - read All Right You Bastards! I'm Calling You Out!. If that doesn't piss you off, then don't bother coming back here. You won't find anything here that will raise your blood pressure. I don't mind media being biased. I can smell that (and so can you) from a mile away. What I do mind is media lying to promote their bias. Just give me the facts. I can sort through the opinion. But, if you distort the facts, or worse yet, outright lie about them, then you don't deserve my attention. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find any media that deserves my attention. (Whether that's a conspiracy or not, I'll leave to others. I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories much. Man is far too stupid and greedy to maintain a conspiracy for very long.)

More later.......