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You Lie: Drudge Report and Huffington Post

There are many well documented divides between the left and the right wings.  Roe v. Wade, death penalty, more government v. less government, more religion in government v. less religion in government, to name just a few.  One of the most obvious divides in the two prevailing cultures is in online news sources.  This difference was exquisitely demonstrated today in the differing coverage of the now infamous “You lie!” outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson.  

Huffington Post predictably skewers him while the Drudge Report predictably underlines his point.  Here are the headlines from these respective news outlets:

 

Huffington Post

Picture:

Headline: Muzzle for Old Yeller

Sub-headlines: Watch: "You Lie!"... Rep. Joe Wilson Widely Denounced... Joe Biden: I Was Embarrassed For Congress... Rep. James Clyburn: Wilson's Apology "Cowardly"... Sen. Arlen Specter: He Needs To Do More... Wilson's Congressional Opponent Raises $100,000 From Outburst

 


Drudge Report

Picture:

 

Headline:  “You lie!”

Sub-headlines: Obama: Time for 'bickering' over on health care... WHIP COUNT: DEMS LACK THE VOTES... POLL HELL: Obama disapproval on health care up to 52%... WIll Plan Lead to Forced Unionization of Health Workers?... FLASHBACK: Dems booed Bush during State of Union Speech... FLASHBACK: Obama Accused Bill Clinton of Telling 'Bald-Faced Lies'...

 

So there you have it. An objective event covered as subjective as possible.   If you leftist and think this guy is a jackass, you will read Huffington Post and have your opinion confirmed.  If you are rightist and think this guy is a hero you will read Drudge Report and have your opinion confirmed.  

 

To this I ask the following questions:

Is the public really being served by this type of partisan reporting?

Is it the job of the media to confirm one’s own uninformed opinions?
Are either of these fair and balanced?

 

 

The left decries Fox News and the right decries everybody else ("The whole media is bias, wah!"), yet everybody eats up the partisan crap that's put out there by the partisan media.

 

Personally, I love to read the Drudge Report and other rightly stinted publications.  While I am generally left in my views I think it is important to challenge my own views on issues.  I would argue that anyone who is truly resolute in their views should do the same.  You should challenge your opinions to the scrutiny of the other side.  Otherwise you are just clicking on articles that tell you what you already know or want to know – and what’s the fun in that?  

Obama's statement that his proposal (or if you prefer, House bills) did not cover illegal aliens is simply a fact.  The statement "you lie" when spoken was itself a lie.  While I agree with your message that we need to read other media, and really talk to and not past each other, this is not exactly the poster child for that. 

And Drudge's submessage, apparently that Democrats also can be rude, does nothing to make Wilson's statement less patently untrue.  Too bad the rudeness kerfuffle is shouting over the substantive debate.

I get that he "you lie" was an actual lie, but I think that underlines my point and doesn't undermine it.  By reading the headlines on Huffington Post or Drudge Report, who the hell can tell that "you lie" was an actual lie?  A-man, you are obviously informed about the situation, but how many blind partisan-news-readers care to put that much effort into finding the truth out? 

That is kind of my point, no matter what the truth is on any issue, by reading only the Post or the Report (or any other given partisan hackery) you would not get the full picture of what's going on and will probably conclude what you want to conclude. 

OK, I'll play devil's (i.e., GOP's) advocate here.

Just because the bill doesn't claim to cover illegal aliens, it doesn't mean that it won't. After all, they're illegal, right? OK, it's a stretch, since the public option no doubt requires some paperwork, but, I'm trying!

Well, that's a long way from being an outright lie. The bill explicitly denies illegal aliens coverage. Now, if you want to make a case that the denial needs some enforcement teeth added, that's one thing. But to shout "lie!" is another.

Well, like your last post, my critique may be a form of agreement in part.  If your point is that the coverage is all about the shouty rudeness and we get more heat than light, then you and Robert Gibbs are right.  But I'm not sure how the heat-not-light idea means we should read all these overheated news sources.  I do not like either Drudge or HuffPo.

When sources on both sides are overheated, then what you get are snapshots of two angry camps, which isn't substantively balanced, really, it's just listening to insubstantial but opposed shouting.

As for me, I just read the New York Times, the Washington Post (both liberal and conservative opinion writers), and rely on my own powers of critical thinking.  I think the even-Steven thing with Wilson is one of those instances where balance is false.  It just was rude, and it just was false.  So if the marketplace of ideas is balanced on the subject today, the market needs to price in a bit more reality.

C',mon, A-man. You know that reality has a well-known liberal bias! ;)

If covering illegal aliens was in a loophole, why did the Democrats just move to close it?  Want to update your story so it is not spreading false LIES?

Democrats did not move to close it. Baucus and Conrad did.

Because unlike every other exercise in draftsmanship, this one's a best of seven series, in which No Benefits For Illegal Aliens holds a 2-0 lead.  Only two more prohibitions of benefits for illegal aliens, and it wins!

Real Americans won't rest under illegal aliens are on double-secret probation.

I would argue that anyone who is truly resolute in their views should do the same.

If you're truly resolute in your views, why bother? ;) But seriously, I agree completely. If you get all your news filtered by people who think like you, you're less likely to have your opinions challenged, which means you're more likely to be basing your views on flawed logic. Even if they're valid views, if you base them on flawed logic, then I hope you don't spend too much time defending them if they're the same views as mine. :)


Touche :P

I think both leftist and rightist have folks who they agree with but do them a diservice because they are uneducated.  For the left it's rabid dogmatic liberals for the right it's rabid dogmatic conservatives (Palin Girl, I'm looking in your direction). 

Quit looking at Palin Girl, it's unseemly.  She's just an intern here.

I was speaking figuratively, but now that you mention it, she does wear those low-cut tops all the time. 

Yeah, we got that you were speaking of her figure…

zing!

PERVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

go play with ur rabbit-dog-omatic u NERD!!!!!!!

hahahahaha!  What was the internet like before photoshop was ubiquitous?  Not nearly as hilarious.

Typical ignorant bs from the left (and by the way the right is f'ed up too), if you would actually read the bill you would realize that it is, in fact, a lie.

Yes, the bill does not excplicitly state that illegals will be covered.  However it does prevent care givers from asking or making any attempt to determin legal status, thus no one will be turned away.

Also, in section 242.a.2 the bill states that if one family memeber is considered to be eligable for coverage then all familiy members will be covered as well.

So when illegals come to this country and have a baby, which they all do, that baby is automatically an american citizen and will be covered, thus, so will the members of its family.  This contradicts an earlier definition in hr 3200 of family as dependants.  This bill like all others was written by lobbyists, the same groups this bill is suppose to "compete" with.  Sadly for you "Obama can do no wrong" people, you will actually have to think for yourselves and infer a little (I know its been a while). I mean serously, the democrats and the far left have spent decades bending over backwards for illegals, you somehow think now they will be left out, come on, you people are smarter than that.

The sooner you realize they are all crooks and that black, white, straight, gay, left, right the one thing we have in common is money; this is all about inflating the money supply and destroying our wealth.  They have us so busy fighting with each other that we do not focus on the real issues.  And I agree the healthcare industry needs to be fixed but the government is the abosulte wrong organization to take up that challenge, if you all really understood the way things work you would realize govt is why we are where we are.  And yes Bush was an idiot, but obama is the worst thing that has ever happened to this country.

I dont know about you but if the PRESIDENT SPEAKS FALSELY TO THE NATION LIVE then I am glad someone called him out on his bullshit.

And  I know many of you are just out there salivating thinking of how to reply.  Here is a tip, dont just regergitate what you hear in the media (ironically some of the largest bailout recepients from this administration, try to come up with something intelligent, I have read the bill, have you?) And you better be able to explain how our monetary system works.

How about posting some links to back up what you're saying? Here is a link to HR 3200. Check out section 246:

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

By the way, here's section 242.a.2:

TREATMENT OF FAMILY- Except as the Commissioner may otherwise provide, members of the same family who are affordable credit eligible individuals shall be treated as a single affordable credit individual eligible for the applicable credit for such a family under this subtitle.

Now, I'm no expert in legalese (see A-man for that one), but given section 246, I don't see how 242.a.2 does what you say it does. Want to explain it to me?

242.a.2 only does what it does for persons already eligible for affordability credits, which 246 says persons not legally in the U.S. are not.

The funny thing is that Bobby claims to have read the bill. If that's true, I'm still trying to figure out how he missed the word "eligible" in 242.a.2. 242.a.2 doesn't extend eligibility to anyone. It merely talks about how people already eligible will be grouped (which I assume makes sense for some other legalese reason). Even without section 246, I don't see how anyone could think section 242.a.2 extends coverage to those who would otherwise be ineligble.

If I've told you once, I've told you a million and a hlf times, it is RUDE, RUDE, RUDE to rebut with actual facts. Serously (sic), dude. What's wrong with you?

Speaking on behalf of your soon-to-be-alien-masters, I'd just like to say, "We (really) don't need your steenking healthcare." Venutian anatomy basically breaks down to 1/3 forebrain, 1/3 forearm and 1/3 foreskin anyway, which means we outmatch you in all 3 critical categories.

Now go away.

P.S. Huffington works for us.

And my axe!what-really-happened.jpg

I read DrudgeReport every day for the same reason Larry.  I also watch Bill O'Reilly because the guy is entertaining as fuck.  Hell, it's the same reason I watch The Daily Show or Colbert.

I can't bring myself to watch or listen to Glenn Beck though, that guy is fucking poison.

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