Something that I have very little patience for is bullshit. Sorry to be frank, but there it is.
Tim has taken to watching a news program that I cannot abide, mostly because it is NOT a news program, it is an opinion program. I debated it a few times with him, but as is his custom, he just looks at me and doesn't answer. I could fight with him about it, but I just leave the room and go find something else to do.
He was watching his program Wednesday night, when they were breathlessly "reporting" on the Rainbow Bridge explosion. I was in the office simultaneously reading news reports as their 'expert' sounded off.
Among other things, CBN stated emphatically that " 'they' are warning people not to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade."
I tapped in the question: 'People being warned away from Macy's Thanksgiving Parade?' The response yielded nothing. I wondered who 'they' were.
I listened to them telling people that this was the beginning of a new phase of terrorist activity. They tied it into events going on in the mideast. They had a lot to say about it and as far as I was seeing it was all unmitigated bullshit.
The car was NOT filled with explosives as reported by CBN. That was discounted very quickly, within hours. (The only other news agency calling it a terrorist attack was FOX, and they walked back their reports the following day.)
Virtually all the news outlets were reporting there was no evidence of a bomb or secondary device. It was not dismissed, it was acknowledged that it was an ongoing investigation, but based on the what they had now, it did not seem to be a terrorist attack.
It just made me angry to listen to the steady stream of unsubstantiated bullshit pouring into my livingroom..
I walked out of the office and I said, "I hate this program. It touts itself as faith based Christian news, but here they are reporting an event and they are flat out lying. Lying! People are not being warned against attending the parade, They are not being asked to stay away from NYC. I don't give a rat's behind whether they are labeling themselves as Christians or not. They are lying in real time. Come out to the computer and verify it for youself. Cross reference what they are saying against what every other news agency is saying. What is the point of watching news that you need to fact check?"
Tim looked surprised. I walked back out of the room.
(Sometimes I can get kind of pissy.)
It bothers me a lot that 'Christian' doesn't mean anything any more. In fact, it almost seems that if someone is stressing their Godliness, that fact alone should be raising some red flags.
I look around this world and see what is happening in the name of religion and it sickens me.
I think if there is a God, he's weeping.
Oh. Tim's not a dumb person. Neither am I. We let each other do their own thinking. I haven't talked to him about it, but I know that he was doing his own research. He hasn't watched CBN since.
I cannot understand how people can be so gullible. How can christians be so ready to jump on any band wagon?
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
DeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteSeems simple enough, doesn't it?
DeleteI had no idea what CBN was, I had to look it up, but I agree with you. Why is a christian broadcast, broadcasting lies? Isn't there a commandment against lying?
ReplyDeleteSome christians seem to believe that this commandment does not apply to them, personally. Just everyone else.
DeleteYuk, isn't that Pat Robertson's network? It's extreme right-wing bullshit and fear mongering, masquerading as Christian. I wonder if they're still endorsing Trump for president? They certainly did in 2016.
ReplyDeleteIt is, which I didn't realize until the whole Rainbow Bridge thing. I pretty much ignored it when I heard a man saying that we were required to support Israel because the Bible gave that land to the Jews.
DeletePat Robertson and Franklin Graham have done a great deal of damage in the name of God.
There is too much slewed information and it is wise to question and seek affirmation from other sources. CBN sounds disastrous.
ReplyDeleteRight there, Jabblog. You've nailed it. We have got to read from multiple sources. I watch the news and google right along with it. It's no more difficult to fact check your news than it is to look up funny cat videos or find out what kind of potato you are.
DeletePeople believe what they want to believe. News watching isn't good for us.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't if you haven't got the ability to think critically.
DeleteI can't stand to watch any 24 hours news channel for that very reason. So much of what they are "reporting" is just guesswork by so called experts in the field. Even the other channels that only have half hour slots for their day of news get caught up from time to time in "breathless reporting" on events that could have very rational and rather plain explanations for them. But I blame us more than them for that because we are the ones demanding quick answers so we can make hasty condemning judgments on social media.
ReplyDeletePeople do not wait on facts to make condemning judgments on social media, Ed.
DeleteYou are so right.
DeleteAnd Mike Johnson is trying to force Bible studies is public schools. That man is dangerous. It isn't right to try and delegate one religion's beliefs on everybody. It won't work!
ReplyDeleteYou're right on that. He will get some serious pushback on that, guaranteed. It will never happen.
DeleteThe day that Trump said he was Christian was the day I quit church.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much that he says it, to my thinking. It's that you've got all these evangelicals championing him as God's chosen. Nuts. They are all nuts.
DeleteThese channels really ought to be regulated to ensure they comply with some sort of licensing requirements that prevent them from disseminating lies and inflammatory ideas.
ReplyDeleteWe have the FCC for that. I am not sure what they are up to these days, because the world has gone nuts. FOX news labels themselves as entertainment not news, and has used the defense that "any reasonable viewer arrives with a certain amount of skepticism' to defend themselves in legal challenges.
DeleteI feel your frustration and wonder when this "christian" madness will end.
ReplyDeleteI hate this. It has really gotten out of hand. Your faith defines your life. It was not mean to be a tool to define everyone else's life.
DeleteA recurring theme is Christians lying for Jesus. That is not how I was brought up, but apparently it is now a very fine thing.
ReplyDeleteEvidently.
DeletePretty sure Jesus would not approve!
DeleteReal news reporting died when these 24 hour "news" channels came along. They have all of those hours to fill. When we were younger, the news was reported and then a couple of times a week there might be an opinion on an issue given. It was made clear it was an opinion. Now it's ALL opinion.
ReplyDeleteSomething that makes me crazy is when on one of the big 3 national networks will breathlessly report something and then say "NBC has not been able to verify this information". WHAT? Isn't that your job to verify information before you go on air to "report" to millions of people?
I agree with this, 100%
DeleteFree speech comes to mind. We sure don't want someone (aren't they already?) dictating the news we see. We never hear about the wars in Africa on the evening news. At least earthquakes and volcanoes around the world are covered. But an opinionated network is a choice for those who agree with those opinions to watch. So there are still some news coverages that are less "managed" than others.
ReplyDeleteFree speech should not cover disseminating demonstrably false information, presenting it as fact.
DeleteSadly there is no real journalism in this country anymore, it is all about clickbait, facts be damned. This bullshit regarding the accident on the Rainbow Bridge is a prime example of this. No vetting, no fact-checking, just the spewing of garbage aided by so-called "experts" most of whom couldn't find their rear ends with both hands and a mirror. And one more thing, the fact that CBN is the product of Pat Robertson says it all.
ReplyDeleteTim Miller would respond but he is a bit busy. He seems to have lost his behind.
DeleteAs it worked out, MSNBC was reporting the truth about the explosion! MSNBC and PBS are the only two I watch for any News reports!
ReplyDeleteI am also a fan of PBS. We are contributing members. Before you and I are beset upon by those who will cry that PBS is leftist, according to the ratings systems of at least two different sources, their news is considered to be reliably reported. Their panelists and programs tend to lean left but this may be because the stories they present do not appeal to the right. To be honest, since we've begun streaming our television, we generally watch the news and I follow along on my phone gathering the same story from different sources. You simply type in the topic and it is covered from a variety of networks and agencies. You get a broader sense of what is going on, in my opinion, and that makes it much easier to separate the wheat from the chaff.
DeleteI have a devout Christian cousin who likes Trump and loves guns, lots of guns. He's a wonderful fellow otherwise. I just don't understand it. When we were having the horrible COVID outbreak here in Hawaii, Kings Cathedral was one of the places that just wouldn't follow the advice of health officials. The misinformation is rife everywhere and it's frustrating.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating. I shake my head. In the Bible, these people were called the Pharisees. Jesus wasn't all that fond of them.
DeleteOuch! I posted the following comment on the wrong post, sorry!
ReplyDeleteIt’s enough to make you lose your mind, isn’t it? I’m finding myself pretty depressed about the state of this country for quite a while now.. not just this country, but the whole world! To end this on a good note: I’m so grateful to have a roof over my head, and a safe place to live. Sending you good wishes! -Ricki
Forgiven! We are very lucky too. I know this. I wish that I could wrap our good fortune up and present it to every person on this planet.
DeleteWhen one of my table mates spouted the "packed with explosives" crap, I asked her had she substantiated that. Well, it was on "the news." The next night I brought it up again, and her defense was she doesn't hear well.
ReplyDeleteSadly, based on what news she watches, she may have heard just that.
DeleteI've been wondering why this car crash was such big news. From my distant remove, it sounded like a severe but otherwise fairly routine wreck, made interesting only because it occurred near the border. But if there's all this alternate-reality stuff floating around out there, maybe that's why the mainstream news outlets have covered it so intently.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why "Christian" news feels the need to report this in this way? What's Christian about disinformation? Is it just because it feeds people's fear, which they see as fundamental to electing a right-wing government next November?
There has been increased 'chatter' nd the FBI is telling people to be alert. Unfortunately there are people who are going to exploit this and use it for political gain.
ReplyDelete