Of course, instead of facing this and holding politicians accountable, our media will continue to play to the distractions, the nonsense and the irrelevant instead of asking the hard questions, demanding answers and informing voters.
The above quote is from a Questions and Observations post in which Bruce McQuain is talking about how much worse our so-called economic recovery is than we are being told. It is an excellent article which I highly recommend. Today, however, I am more interested in his rebuke of the media in the above quote. Please keep the rebuke in mind while watching the following video.
I first saw the video in a by Brian at Frankenstein Government. I must admit that at first I was aware that I was watching a clip from a TV series. Then it dawned on me that I was watching the actor, Jeff Daniels. A little time with Google and I learned that this is a clip from the TV series Newsroom. I’ve never seen an episode of Newsroom so I don’t know if it usually leans left or leans right
This has to be a quick post today because I’m off to my annual medical check up. I haven’t even had my coffee this morning. Even I don’t like myself when I have had my coffee.
I am curious to your reaction to what the Daniel charater said in this clip about America not being the greatest country any more. Did it strike a nerve or did it strike a chord that resonates? But, I was most struck by the comment that American was great before because it was well-informed. The great men he was referring to were old time journalist like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. We don’t have journalist any more. At least not in the maun stream media. Except for a few good journalist in the alternative media, what we have are a bunch of propagandist. It is shameful and I don’t know if there is anyway to change things.
Well, that’s what I’m thinking. What are your thoughts?
Asylum Watch 
It used to be the greatest country. But indolence, luxury, and the love of a free handout by the government ruined the last best hope for Earth.
But we can be a lot better than we are today: a lot better.
College students are shocked (SHOCKED!) to hear someone tell them that the US is not greatest country on Earth.
We are not the country we once were. But, we can be better thanwe are now.
It’s a lefty screed. Yeah, there’s some truth there, but as you say, the answer for the left is less free speech and more government.
I’m betting there are still enough good people to stop this trend and get back on a better track. It would help if we had journalist.
Best wishes for your checkup, and my prayers are with you.
The BP, the echo-cardiogram, and electro cardiogram were all good. I’ll get the bblood work-ups on Monday. Not expecting any surprises. Just the same I appreciate the prayers, Bunker.
“We were able to do all these things and be all these things because we were informed…!”
Give me a break. The guy is arrogant and condescending. He’s parroting the standard, leftist line: “If you were better informed, you’d be a leftist.”
When he says America “used to be” a great nation,” how far back do you think he’s going? To the Clinton years? To the Reagan years? to the Kennedy years? To the 19th century when the dollar was backed by gold, taxation was 1%, the federal government was miniscule, property was sacred and individuals were truly free?
My money is on JFK’s Camelot.
This guy wouldn’t recognize individual liberty if it slapped him in the face.
“If you were better informed, you’d be a leftist.”
They control the damn media. What more do they want?
Compared to today, I could live with JFK’s Camelot
To answer the question, the United States of America is the best country in the world.
The script writer was unbelievably ignorant, and the actor was doubly ignorant.
First of all, some of the statistics quoted in the scene are bogus, like the mortality figures of the USA being way down the list. Plus, the infant mortality numbers are not accurate, either. We are being compared to countries with no minority population, no significant number of illegal immigrants distorting the stats, and some countries don’t even count the death of people over 74 years old in the statistics because “they will die, anyway”.
I researched all those health statistics during the health care debate, and it is amazing how much we let the liberals lie about that situation. As an example, they have never figured out how many people did not have health insurance. The study claiming 45 million people without insurance was a statistical disaster, and most people believed it. Amazing.
When it comes to freedom, just ask some Canadians about free speech. Until recently, they had a law that you could not insult anyone, and it was subjective as to what an insult was. Australians can’t own guns, anymore, and are subject to a recently passed phony carbon tax. None of the countries mentioned have the freedoms we experience in the USA.
Yes, we have allowed some of our freedoms to be eroded, mainly by people like the loser portrayed in the scene.
If you think China or Cuba is a better place to live, the USA will not keep you here. If you are Chinese you will not be allowed to leave. Who is the nation most free?
You make excellent points, Bob. Thak you. However, I am sure you would agree that America has changed for the worse. The bought and paid for liberal media is part of the problem. How we change that I do not know.
It resonated in a nasty way. The main character, Will, is a “moderate” who on his power show never really says much, or proves a point. He did in this clip. Just like those this week who voted against term limits, the world was better for Will we had just a few telling us how it was and how it was supposed to be. That tidy little world is no more, thankfully. We have only one bottom line now. We have to fix it. We can point and blame, but we have to fix it. If we take the White House and the Senate, that’s when the hard lifting begins. Somehow we must banish complacency.
“…the world was better for Will we had just a few telling us how it was and how it was supposed to be. That tidy little world is no more, thankfully.”
A really excellent point that I mussed. Thank you Maggie. You are right. Only we can fix it. And, I plan to address that in my Monday post.
I think it’s interesting that liberals would say America isn’t the greatest country on Earth and then so often list things that we used to do well, but don’t anymore. The difference, GOVERNMENT has taken over in areas where private citizens, churches, and charities used to solve problems. Read Tocqueville, you moronic liberals! Liberals talk about “communities” while tearing down community and replacing it with bureaucracy. Does any on earth give less of a shit about actually helping someone than a government bureaucrat? “We used to wage war on poverty, not on the poor…” Really? First, who the hell is waging war on the poor? One could make a strong argument that government handouts are a war on the poor, enslaving people to the powerful politicians that promise more handouts, but never deliver real improvement in life’s circumstances. To have real improvement you’d have to fight the other constituency, the unions, and give poor parents choices about where they send their kids to school, for example. Liberals won’t do that! You’d have to have pro-growth policies that enabled and facilitated entrepreneurship and job creation. Instead you have liberals passing regulations and making it increasingly difficult to start a business, or to know the actual cost of a new employee.
What liberals decry is often a result of their own big government, anti-religion agenda. By the way, Bob is right. The stats the actor quotes are mostly bogus. For example, we have a high infant mortality rate, but we’re also the only country that counts premature births as live births, because we actually spend huge amounts of money and the talents of thousands of dedicated doctors and nurses trying to save babies. I wonder what the stat is comparing the USA to the rest of the world in saving premature infants, and bringing problem pregnancies to successful conclusion?
Bottom line, liberals live by tearing down what worked (you know, instead of CONSERVING it) and then complaining that it doesn’t work, and giving more big government (the source of the problem in the first place) as a solution.
“One could make a strong argument that government handouts are a war on the poor, enslaving people to the powerful politicians that promise more handouts, but never deliver real improvement in life’s circumstances.”
The so-called social safetybets have indeed enslaved the poor. The OWS morons have not figured that out yet.
Well, it seems like a lot of people on this blog are right. Yes Jim, we have lost a lot of our freedoms that otherwise should not have been surrendered. Yes, the federal government is responsible for most of the problems. Pat is right. Even at that, we are still the best country on earth,. When we get rid of Obama we can turn this ship around, I think. Much of this is perception, and Obama leads with negative perceptions about our country. So, the solution is to trash Obamacare, encourage drilling for oil and natural gas, and stop this insane EPA from being a separate taxing authority with their own carbon tax. Get rid of Obama, and most of our problems disappear. Remember, perception is everything, and once entrepreneurs perceive a friendly climate, we will be off to the races.
“Get rid of Obama, and most of our problems disappear.”
Things will definetly get much better. However, I am not hearing the Romney campaign talk about repealinthe Patrriot Act and doing away with Homeland Security and demilitarizing FEMA. I am not hearing that we will do away with the Department of Education and other useless agencies and stopping this Agenda 21 nonsense. I guess I’m saying that I want more, Bob.
Ah-ha! The US olympic team is the best in the world, and there is no government money involved. See what people can do without government? USA is the best.
Imagine that!!!
I enjoyed reading this thread.
The world health organization publishes it’s findings and unlike a commenter above claiming healthcare literacy…the US fares quite poorly worldwide incl. life expectancy. Odd since we spend more than 3x what our next closest competitor, Switzerland, spends on healthcare.
Our combined taxes are atrocious. Corporations have bought Congress, jerry rigged tax law, and left our shores for cheap labor.
The most salient point of all is the video’s last one. To solve a problem- you have to realize you have one in the first place.
Time and time again, I speak with people who are not informed. People in a state of complete denial. Who think somehow magically, that 16 trillion dollar debt and that 100 trillion debt in the pipeline are just going to go away.
I used to work for a guy just like that. Always in denial. They canned him.
In fact, I read a couple of them on here. Damn, I am going to hate to say that I am part of a generation of complacent, self absorbed idiots who being cowards- allowed greedy politicians and bankers- to hijack the best republic ever conceived. But thats how it always goes in history.
Good men doing nothing. Pretending there was nothing wrong when quite clearly there was. Then post facto- acting surprised.
I think it is a matter of pride, Brian. Like, I can gripe about my family; but woe be to anyone else that talks bad about my family. Some conservatives get up tight when a liberal talks bad about America when the liberals are the most responsiblee for the things that are wrong. I don’t think it is a case of them having their heads in the sand.
Yea maybe.
I don’t know that the guy is some liberal. I don’t see the issue as partisan anyway. In fact I get tired of one side blaming the other side. I think they both suck, but then you know that…