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#1
06-19-2007, 12:04 AM
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Quote:
I'm not for censorship and I understand full well the importance of the press, but I get tired of hearing of the 'experts' opinions on things of which they just have cursory information. If you and I watch a basketball game and have a disagreement about some segment of the game, I can respect your view even if I dont agree because we saw the same thing though perhaps in a different light. If you and I dont see the game then we probably aren't qualified to make decisions about the game being as we have only media reports to judge our opinions on. So any opinions that you have on the game I take with a grain of salt because I know that you are strictly basing your arguements on previous (old) information and the media's interperation. I have a hard time agreeing or disagreeing because I have no first hand info and I know you dont either, and because the media person reporting about the game may be a blithering idiot, I dont want to take too strong of a stance. That is pretty much how I feel about the war in Iraq. Downthestretch may not like it but unless he is CIA and has some kind of secret info that we dont know about, he knows as little about what is going on over there and the reasons behind it as the rest of us. 
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#2
06-19-2007, 12:32 AM
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We work in very diff. fields and have seen the abuses by the press.
We have had the press write some things about an incident in a bathroom at our school that never even occurred. It was flat out wrong. Our city paper never even retracted it. The incident report went away, and people asked to know more about the incident, and what was done to the students involved. The press never wrote another word about the incident. There were no names, no one involved, because the incident never happened. (I imagine some reporters got roundly scolded though; in fact one reporter is not a reporter for that paper anymore... dont know if this incident caused it.) But... The press is given our scores on certain standardized tests. They are given our ideas about how we plan to bring lower income students scores up. We are held accountable in the community by the students, parents and by the press. We have been rated as one of the top public schools in Texas, and also not even made a list of high performing schools that has one of the worst perfoming schools in our district on that very list. Our Principal is asked to explain the differences by the press. To explain the diff. in criteria used to rate the school. But this is not nearly as easy to judge as watching a game. The criteria must be explained and weighed. I cant visit courtrooms, China, etc... I dont know what I am trying to say anymore other than the press is part of what makes this country great. Places that do not have an active press, are not places I would want to live. Entertainment and abuses aside, the role is vital. When a country starts to shut down TV and radio stations... something is very wrong. Information, and possible explainations about what the information means are vital. I dont know all the nuiances of Supreme Court rulings, I need a little help besides just straight information.
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#3
06-19-2007, 09:34 AM
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"Downthestretch may not like it but unless he is CIA and has some kind of secret info that we dont know about, he knows as little about what is going on over there and the reasons behind it as the rest of us."
I do not work for the CIA nor do I have secret info. That said, the claim that I know little of what is going on over there and the reasons behind it is an assumption, not fact. I agree with Pgardn that a free press is vital to the functioning of our country. As voters and taxpayers, we not only have the right to know how our money is being spent, but also the requisite information regarding those that were put into office to represent the "people's" interests.
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#4
06-19-2007, 10:26 AM
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Speaking of the CIA, here is a decalssified document from 40 years ago.
The word Vietnam has been replaced with Iraq, and there are other minor revisions. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c...id=3866&page=0 "Those that ignore the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them."
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