By-Tor.com

ElfDude wrote:"When a true genius appears in this world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-- Jonathan Swift

Swift is an excellent satirist. His essay A Modest Proposal is a personal favourite.

Things I Learned in 2008
by Bill O'Reilly

Tough year, 2008.

Many Americans got badly hurt by the economic chaos, which hit them
like a back alley mugger.

What a disgrace.

Wall Street hustlers gamed the system by trafficking in bad loans, while
Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission looked the other
way.

Awful.

So, I learned a painful lesson from all that:

Big Brother is not watching out for us. Orwell had it wrong. We are
pretty much on our own.

Never again will I assume the feds are looking out for me.

I understand that sounds cynical. And I do believe that the Bush
administration did apply very tough policies that made it much more
difficult for terrorists to attack us. But on the homefront, the federal and
state governments continue to tax workers to the max while wasting
much of the revenue on foolish projects designed to get politicians votes.
If this continues, it is only a matter of time before America's economy
completely tanks.

But many Americans, perhaps most, have not learned that lesson. They
still believe the federal government should "provide" for them. President
Obama has promised many things, most of them expensive. Of course,
the United States does not have the money to pay for those things. (Just
like many homebuyers did not have the money to pay their mortgages.)

I hope Obama has learned from that. If he has not, duck.

The past year also taught me that the media can no longer be trusted.

This has been developing for a long time, but media bias reached critical
mass during the presidential campaign. Many in the press slanted their
reporting to help Barack Obama, and every independent study shows
that.

And all you have to do is compare the treatment Obama received to how
the media portrayed Sarah Palin. That's all you have to do.

So, the lesson here is clear: No longer can the American media be relied
upon to bring us fact-based information.

The news media has entered the ideology business much like talk radio.
This will greatly harm the nation, as unbiased information is critical for an
informed citizenry. The collapse of journalistic standards was a huge but
largely untold story in 2008.

Finally, I learned last year that despite the terrible economy, Americans
continue to be a generous people.

My website has been able to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to
help poor children, wounded vets and their families, and the homeless.
We were able to do this because folks bought stuff on the site knowing
the money they spent would flow to the less fortunate.

That's a big positive story of 2008.

Despite the cruel economic blows, the generous spirit of Americans
remains intact.

CygnusX1 wrote: Despite the cruel economic blows, the generous spirit of Americans
remains intact.

And may that always be!

CygnusX1 wrote:
So, the lesson here is clear: No longer can the American media be relied
upon to bring us fact-based information.

Sex and violence sells- facts do not.

If you need me, I will be listening to BBC on the shortwave.

YYZ30 wrote:
Sex and violence sells- facts do not.

Wish I could argue this and win.

YYZ30 wrote:

CygnusX1 wrote:
So, the lesson here is clear: No longer can the American media be relied
upon to bring us fact-based information.

Sex and violence sells- facts do not.

If you need me, I will be listening to BBC on the shortwave.

Dunno if the lies sell very well either. New York Times sales are tanking. Muahahahahaaaa.

Yes, well....Peace Sells...

Yeah, I know . . . who's buying?

ElfDude wrote:

YYZ30 wrote:

CygnusX1 wrote:
So, the lesson here is clear: No longer can the American media be relied
upon to bring us fact-based information.

Sex and violence sells- facts do not.

If you need me, I will be listening to BBC on the shortwave.

Dunno if the lies sell very well either. New York Times sales are tanking. Muahahahahaaaa.

My own hometown newspaper is also tanking, but not necessarily because of lies and deceit. I find it ironic and just plain dumb that a newspaper or like-publication would loudly express their political leanings when they will surely turn off at least half of their possible audience, especially in this age of internet and cable news. The Dispatch came out, stating that they were biased for McCain/Palin and immediately lost all credibility. The articles and features were all blatantly right-favoring and in the climate of the election campaign it destroyed their once respected and revered reputation. So go ahead, news providers. Be all opinionated and closed-minded. You won't exist in 5 years anyway. No bail-out for you because nobody cares.

Big Blue Owl wrote: Be all opinionated and closed-minded. You won't exist in 5 years anyway.

I'm feelin that BBO.

If this crap occurred during WWII, half of today's media would have been
accused of Treason.

awip2062 wrote:Yes, well....Peace Sells...

Yeah, but who's buying?

T4EFAN wrote:

awip2062 wrote:Yes, well....Peace Sells...

Yeah, but who's buying?

*bursts into a chorus of Nobody's Hero*

People get the Megadeth references and sing the Rush here. Any wonder I love this place?

awip2062 wrote:People get the Megadeth references and sing the Rush here. Any wonder I love this place?

I never get the Megadeath references.

ElfDude wrote:

awip2062 wrote:People get the Megadeth references and sing the Rush here. Any wonder I love this place?

I never get the Megadeath references.

Megadeth's second album is called Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?