Conservative Corner; The Media: Fair and Balanced?

The youth of today may not remember the immense credibility of real journalism. There was a time when a reporter or news anchorperson could inform the public of an event without bias, influence, or personal opinion. The times when a family can turn on the TV or the radio and listen to men like Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow and trust them to tell the truth about an event or happening. Unfortunately, that is not happening today.  The days of real journalism are almost all but dead.

How many times have you turned on the television or radio to hear so some idiot give his opinion of a news story?  From O’Riely and Hannity on Fox News to Piers Morgan and Chris Matthews on CNN and MSNBC, the spin goes both ways. It’s a wonder we all don’t throw up. The media, unlike Fox Radio’s claim, is anything but fair and balanced.

It is well known that Fox News is moderate to right in their political and social views, while the rest of the major TV news outlets are pretty much moderate to far left.  Every TV news broadcast has an agenda. I have wondered why most of the young people of today will get their “news” from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central, however, they think Fox News is a joke. Unfortunately, even the old “tried-and-true” Networks like CBS, NBC and ABC have seem fallen to the popularity of the young liberal mind set.

For some reason the news programs of today seem to have pushed aside just reporting the facts and feel compelled to bring in people who claim to be experts on a given topic and analyze the story until it turns into an unorganized shouting match. The cable news networks are especially bad at “debating” on the air.

Most every news outlet endorses a candidate during an election, however, it appears that too many of these news sources who call themselves moderates do not endorse candidates who are moderates. Today CNN, MSNBC and others like to gleefully praise the re-election of Obama and seem to go out of their way to support his policies, even if they are unconstitutional. Even the printed word has jumped aboard the liberal/Obama worship bandwagon.  Both Time and Newsweek magazine has named Obama as “The Man of the Year”, and called his re-election “The Second Coming”. This was also made clear in the last political debates with the choice of moderators.

Fair and balanced news is where you chose to find it biased on your personal views, however, journalism is not. Journalism is reporting the facts and, if necessary, the unpleasant and ugly truth. Many believe that the liberal news media helped Barack Obama win the election. Not many news sources do this. The lack of reporting on the Benghazi scandal, Fast and Furious, voter fraud, The Secret Service prostitution scandal, Solyndra, the lack of positive Tea Party and 2^nd Amendment coverage are clear signs that most of the media have a clear bias and far from real journalism. For more evidence of media bias you can go to www.mrc.org, or if you have Netflix, look up the documentary, “Media Malpractice”.

I miss the days of Walter Cronkite telling me “And that’s the ways it is” and knowing that it is close to the true, like it or not. The journalists on both sides of the political and social news desks really need to step back and find the real news and not just crap they think we want or what their bosses tell us. So, the next time you turn on CNN, MSNBC or Fox News, ask yourself if it is real journalism or is some “talking head” trying to fill your ear with garbage in order to boost ratings. 

Coservative Corner: Setting Your Sights On Guns

Guns, the very mention of the objects can either give you a strong sense of security, or give you cold chills of fear. Whether you are for or against them, they are a part of the past, present, and future of our country. No matter what the average person thinks of the tool, they aren’t just a weapon, there are other uses for a pistol or rifle other than just taking someone’s life.

Because of the recent shootings around the country, many people are looking at firearms in a less than favorable light. To a conservative, it’s not about a mentally unstable person with a tool to do bodily harm; it is something else. It’s about freedom, sustenance, protection, security, investments, and sanity.

The position of gun ownership is protected by our Constitution. The 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. Gun ownership, however, goes beyond protection by law. To some, it is a life style.

Not everyone lives in urban or suburban areas. Hunting is necessary to some communities. This is an activity people take very seriously. Hunting for food is a basic need and guns play a key role. For those that do live in urban communities, the need for protection is important. In many cases waiting the police to get there in a timely fashion is not an option. Using a firearm to defend yourself against one who will do you harm, however, is an option. To some people guns are therapeutic. Hanging out with friends and family at the shooting range, discussing weaponry and challenging each other at marksman skills is a great way to “blow off steam” and bring people together.

One more reason, and probably the most conspiracy ridden is protection from governments, both ours and others. Every veteran has taken the oath, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, and depending on your view of the current administration, could be in defense of the Constitution.

A gun is a tool, and like any other tool, if not used properly, a person can and will hurt themselves or others. A gun cannot fire by itself. It requires someone to pull the trigger. Simply put, guns do not kill people; people kill people. More constrictions and tighter regulations on gun laws would be an attempt to erode away gun rights and the 2^nd Amendment, and therefore, would be illegal.

 

 

Conservative Corner: Lifting the Vail of Conservative Wonder

We all have had those family gatherings, whether it is Thanksgiving or Christmas, where topics come up and bring out some very interesting conversations.  Of course most every conversation will eventually morph itself into philosophy and politics. From the proverbial “Uncle Bob”, the right-wing, gun-toting, conservative, to “Cousin Louise”, the left-wing, feminist, liberal, and everyone in between, we have all been witness to some very spirited family debates.  It is true; everyone in the family has an opinion.

When you think of the term “Conservative” what comes to mind? The opinions are as varied as the term itself. According to dictionary.com, conservative is being traditional in style or manner, or who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc. It promotes the idea of traditional social and political ways of thinking. They are not necessarily rich, old, white men. As you may notice, there are many people who are old, rich, and white. Many of them are liberals. Many republicans are conservatives, but not all conservatives claim the Republican Party. It takes all kinds of people to be considered conservative.

 Mitchell L. is an accounting student at LBCC. He claimed he didn’t know a lot about the group and believed that they liked things a certain way and didn’t approve of change. Mellissa J., an auto-tech student, doesn’t know a lot about any kind of political group, but she does have conservative influences in her life. I have spoken to those who seemed convinced that conservatives are evil and need to be silenced at all costs.

Because of their traditional values, conservatives adhere to and have a strong connection to their faith, family, and country. They may be religious, but not necessarily considered “Bible-thumpers”. They may not have a large family, but deeply love those they care about. They may not be overly patriotic, but do have a solid love for the country. Many Veterans also have conservative values.

Because of their values, most have a strong connection to The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Bible. Conservatives staunchly support The Bill of Rights, especially the 1^st and 2^nd Amendments. Does that make them better Americans? In the coming weeks we will explore what makes a conservative person tick and attempt to show that the typical conservative is not just an old, rich, white man, or a conspiracy theorist, gun-toting, trailer-trash, redneck. The average conservative deserves just as much respect as anyone else.