Westboro Baptist Church is a left-wing group, says FoxNews

[Lysah]

As I stated before, the Patriot Guard Riders, the group that has time and again rode to funerals targeted by the WBC in order to protect the mourners, claim no political affiliations and its members come from both sides of the aisle. Fox News painting the group as "conservative" is basically trying to claim the heroes of the story for the GOP. It's every bit poor taste as it was to label the WBC a "Left Wing Cult" and serves nothing else than to continueto exacerbate the deep partisan divide that has existed for the last 13 years.

I'm simply arguing for what the article states, I have no idea who the patriot guard are and have no opinions about them as of this time. I don't find this issue pressing enough to do any research on it - as is typical of anything involving the WBC - I'm merely arguing against the ridiculous amount of hypocrisy I find in this thread. Most liberals consider themselves enlightened and constantly trash talk conservatives for being bigots and for stereotyping - something you can find a great deal of in this thread by liberal posters. I find this comical, though, of course, most of these posters will continue to think themselves enlightened and I have accomplished nothing, I did give myself a laugh tonight.

As far as the political rift in America, don't expect this to ever get better. The two parties actively attempt to be as polar opposite as they can be, which means that, no matter who is in power, half of America will be extremely pissed off at its government. It is the nature of politics itself. Remove yourself from your own political opinions during discussions and play devil's advocate, at least you will get some entertainment out of it.

[Kasierith]

As I stated before, the Patriot Guard Riders, the group that has time and again rode to funerals targeted by the WBC in order to protect the mourners, claim no political affiliations and its members come from both sides of the aisle. Fox News painting the group as "conservative" is basically trying to claim the heroes of the story for the GOP. It's every bit poor taste as it was to label the WBC a "Left Wing Cult" and serves nothing else than to continueto exacerbate the deep partisan divide that has existed for the last 13 years.

Well, it's been Fox News' primary calling card for some time now, so I'm not particularly surprised that even post-election they're going at it.

[McCulloch]

I'm simply arguing for what the article states, I have no idea who the patriot guard are and have no opinions about them as of this time. I don't find this issue pressing enough to do any research on it - as is typical of anything involving the WBC - I'm merely arguing against the ridiculous amount of hypocrisy I find in this thread. Most liberals consider themselves enlightened and constantly trash talk conservatives for being bigots and for stereotyping - something you can find a great deal of in this thread by liberal posters. I find this comical, though, of course, most of these posters will continue to think themselves enlightened and I have accomplished nothing, I did give myself a laugh tonight.

Oh the irony.

[Nero Duskwind]

Well, it's been Fox News' primary calling card for some time now, so I'm not particularly surprised that even post-election they're going at it.

MSNBC isn't exactly any better either. They're the Left's equivalent of Faux News and I find them to be equally abrasive and repulsive.

[Lysah]

Oh the irony.

I'm glad you noticed. We're having fun now, I hope.

[Kasierith]

MSNBC isn't exactly any better either. They're the Left's equivalent of Faux News and I find them to be equally abrasive and repulsive.

I never said otherwise; in general, I find all televised news to be highly biased due to a lack of accountability and the increased importance of personal perspective. That said, Fox News is the largest televised news station, and has also essentially swallowed up a host of other conservative views (ie Fox Nation and that lot), making it the biggest example of observable bias.

[Nero Duskwind]

I'm glad you noticed. We're having fun now, I hope.

Oodles of it.

---------- Post added 2012-12-25 at 05:51 AM ----------

I never said otherwise; in general, I find all televised news to be highly biased due to a lack of accountability and the increased importance of personal perspective. That said, Fox News is the largest televised news station, and has also essentially swallowed up a host of other conservative views (ie Fox Nation and that lot), making it the biggest example of observable bias.

American TV news outlets are just terrible in general. It depresses the hell out of me that news channels here are now more or less glorified tabloid journalism.

[skrump]

Could also be, that they want to push Westboro towards the Democrats. Some form of dicrediting them by connecting Westboro to them.

That would never work though as anybody with half a brain can clearly see that the WBC shares the ideals of the more conservative crowd which is represented by the GoP, though I will admit the WBC is a lot more fanatical than the average conservative as they reject rationalized thought and twist gods will for their own demented needs.

"gods will" of course being completely subjective but representing the basic christian teachings that it's gods job to judge your peers "not yours"
(most likely due to extenuating circumstances you wouldn't be knowledgeable of)

It should also be noted that I could be considered a right wing activist by traditional means as I support Dictators simply because unlike democracy Imperialism actually has a chance to be affective if the guy behind the wheel is a sensible person.

Not saying democracy can't work but until personal wealth no longer plays a role in the overexposure of certain candidates while minimizing the exposure of the less wealthy I don't believe democracy will ever function properly.

[Deleted]

Selling what your readers want to read, I'm afraid. All news sources do it, which is why reasonable people, like I would believe I am, will advise you to get your news sources from several different and opposing viewpoints. Considering Fox is the main, if only, conservative news source in America, any reasonable person should attempt to use their articles to cross reference other news sources to obtain something closer to reality. Believing anything you see only once is true madness.

Even if Fox News is truly the sole representative of conservative news sources in America, I wouldn't touch anything they report. Routinely dishonest and frequently bigoted - why should I give a shit about anything they say?

[semaphore]

It's sad that labels for political alignment is thrown around purely as an insult/compliment without regard to any truth. Just goes to show the level of animousity between political groupings in this nation.

[Sky High]

- I'm merely arguing against the ridiculous amount of hypocrisy I find in this thread. Most liberals consider themselves enlightened and constantly trash talk conservatives for being bigots and for stereotyping - something you can find a great deal of in this thread by liberal posters. I find this comical, though, of course, most of these posters will continue to think themselves enlightened and I have accomplished nothing, I did give myself a laugh tonight.

First off. This is the Internet fucking idiots of all shapes and sizes troll around the place yapping thier gums. Doesn't matter if they say thier conservative or liberal. To really give any height behind thier words is not healthy.

[McCulloch]

I'm glad you noticed. We're having fun now, I hope.

Now I feel like I'm playing a game I didn't even realize was going on...

[LilSaihah]

i knew entering this thread was a mistake

[Nero Duskwind]

I'm simply arguing for what the article states, I have no idea who the patriot guard are and have no opinions about them as of this time. I don't find this issue pressing enough to do any research on it - as is typical of anything involving the WBC - I'm merely arguing against the ridiculous amount of hypocrisy I find in this thread. Most liberals consider themselves enlightened and constantly trash talk conservatives for being bigots and for stereotyping - something you can find a great deal of in this thread by liberal posters. I find this comical, though, of course, most of these posters will continue to think themselves enlightened and I have accomplished nothing, I did give myself a laugh tonight.

As far as the political rift in America, don't expect this to ever get better. The two parties actively attempt to be as polar opposite as they can be, which means that, no matter who is in power, half of America will be extremely pissed off at its government. It is the nature of politics itself. Remove yourself from your own political opinions during discussions and play devil's advocate, at least you will get some entertainment out of it.

Welp, it looks like I was wrong. The biker group that stood in Connecticut was not the Patriot Guard Riders. That being said, my original points still stood. The story should be appreciated for those who stood for dignity and decency against hatred and bigotry and any sensible human being should just ignore the "left/right" spin being placed.

[Lysah]

American TV news outlets are just terrible in general. It depresses the hell out of me that news channels here are now more or less glorified tabloid journalism.

I agree, but I'm not sure it gets better anywhere else. I wrote a last post and refreshed to see if anything more got said while I was writing, I'll just post it then.

To close my main on topic and actual point for posting in the thread;
I'd like to ask anyone who actually reads this post to stop a second and consider that Fox is the conservative island in a sea of liberal media. Whether or not you, yourself, believe the other news sources are impartial, they are not. Don't believe it is possible for human beings to ever report something without some form of bias. It's not even in the way the report, or what they report, bias can simply be in what they DON'T report. Whether Fox News seems ridiculous to you, considering they are pretty much the only source of conservative opinions, a well-rounded person would do well to listen to what they have to say. You don't have to agree, but to ignore them is to ignore an opposing viewpoint that may very well be more logical some of the time.

Humans have a tendency to surround themselves with people who agree with them. You only want to talk politics with another person of the same beliefs, why would you want to argue with idiots on the internet 100% of the time? Because of that, it is very easy for us to listen to news sources of the same political bias as ourselves and believe they must be correct, considering we agree with what they report. With that in mind, being self aware involves never getting your news from one source. Insane or not, Fox should be in the list of sources everyone should be reading regularly. If you think they are too ridiculous and biased to be legitimate, actively support a second (mainstream) conservative news source.

Take this news article, for example. Fox is going to try to make it look like conservatives are the heroes. Every other American news source is going to try to make it look like Fox is a bunch of insane bigots brainwashing idiots. The logical middle ground here is that the WBC represents nobody, no news source or political faction wants to be affiliated with them, likely because no one actually believes any of the insane things they stand for. If both political factions are trying to blame the other for the WBC you can safely assume that the WBC is a third, very hated party. That is the lesson here.

[ColbaneX]

Your post would make sense... if Fox WASN'T bat sh*t crazy. There is a difference between being conservative, and being Fox News. I can understand and agree with conservatives (even though I am liberal), can't say the same for the latter. Personally, I stick to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for my news. Both men are definitely liberal, but they make a better attempt at being moderate than MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and Fox.

[Lysah]

Your post would make sense... if Fox WASN'T bat sh*t crazy. There is a difference between being conservative, and being Fox News. I can understand and agree with conservatives (even though I am liberal), can't say the same for the latter. Personally, I stick to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for my news. Both men are definitely liberal, but they make a better attempt at being moderate than MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and Fox.

I have to wonder how much of their news you actually read, though. I very seldom see actually heavily biased/falsified news from their reports. Staying away from their talk shows should be a given. I believe many people (yourself included or not, I don't know) only believe Fox is insane because their only experience with Fox is from things posted on websites like MMOC. Again, I'm not suggesting anyone look at their flash media that is only intended to entertain viewers as informative. If you see an online article about the first lady's ugly shoes, it probably was not written with reason in mind. Of course, these are the decisions you make for yourself as you compare the things on Fox sites/channels with those of other news sources.

Maybe you have given Fox a legitimately fair chance and they have failed you, I won't say that isn't possible. If that is truly the case, I commend you for giving them a legitimately fair chance as I don't believe many of their haters have.

[Deleted]

I agree, but I'm not sure it gets better anywhere else. I wrote a last post and refreshed to see if anything more got said while I was writing, I'll just post it then.

To close my main on topic and actual point for posting in the thread;
I'd like to ask anyone who actually reads this post to stop a second and consider that Fox is the conservative island in a sea of liberal media. Whether or not you, yourself, believe the other news sources are impartial, they are not.

Sure, they're biased but that doesn't make Fox News, sole representation of conservative media in America or not any better. It would mean if anything that they'd have a bigger obligation to promote what is actually happening.

Don't believe it is possible for human beings to ever report something without some form of bias. It's not even in the way the report, or what they report, bias can simply be in what they DON'T report. Whether Fox News seems ridiculous to you, considering they are pretty much the only source of conservative opinions, a well-rounded person would do well to listen to what they have to say.

Fox News is, in my view a propaganda mill. A talking point for some of the most foul elements of the Republican Party and an organisation that thrives on drumming up faux controversy for views. It is designed to appeal to right-wingers in general. They do so also in some of the most contemptible ways, inviting people like Ann Coulter, Michelle Bachmann, Glenn Beck to talk on their shows and give shows to bigoted ignoramuses like Bill O'Reilly airtime. Their regulars also routinely slander and implicitly encourage religious persecution towards atheists when it comes up and being one myself, I can't just accept that I should consider their bigotry on that point.

You don't have to agree, but to ignore them is to ignore an opposing viewpoint that may very well be more logical some of the time.

Oh, no I'll pay attention to their bigotry when it comes up.

[Jazara]

I read somewhere that Hells Angels showed up to help with the wall, wether that's true or not I don't know, but if it is, it appears that it's not mentioned much. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Nero Duskwind]

I read somewhere that Hells Angels showed up to help with the wall, wether that's true or not I don't know, but if it is, it appears that it's not mentioned much. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

I'd LOL pretty hard if Hell's Angels, a "One Percenter" biker gang that has a long standing with the DOJ as an organized crime syndicate, were the ones being claimed by Fox news as conservative heroes in this story.