Subject: 1. Fox News Must Die; 2. What To Kill a Mockingbird can
teach parents
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update April 10, 2015: You may have received some of this from me on June 15, 2014. Between June 15, 2014 and now, I have updated this writing previously to add two articles. Originally there were only the ones numbered "1" and "2." I am now adding yet more, this commentary here at the top.
The indented paragraphs are something I wrote to another friend earlier tonight, following up on the topic that had been brought up, of grieving over "the loss of our planet----the extinction of some 200 species per day and the possible extinction of humans perhaps even this century." Now it occurs to me that this has a lot to do with my advocating for avoiding Fox News like the plague. Partly I am doing this because it will modify the content under two major links with the above subject titles that are in the list down the right side of every page of the archives, and I would like you to know about that:
The idea that people will turn into friends after they've had American drones flying around over their heads and killing willy-nilly is insane. We know that much if only from the Iraq example.
The reason we think that violence is much greater than it really is is because of something called "the availability heuristic" [Wikipedia link]. The "availability heuristic refers to the fact that most of us have seen vastly more killing on TV than would ever compute to an accurate estimate of real-world rates of killing. Because of "the availability heuristic," we develop a false concept of the amount of violence and danger in the world.
Some sources are worse than others. If one cannot avoid watching some of the Fox News entertainment programs, one can at least turn away whenever the political propaganda comes on. Fox News pushes that misleading violence stuff to justify continually increasing spending on the military-related industries. Really, the spending is expected to increase profits for the fossil fuel industries as well as the military-related industries. That attempt at thievery did not work as expected in Iraq, we know, but hey, the Koch Brothers and others are hoping that it will work out someplace. So they constantly show important-looking people who make up excuse after excuse after excuse for the military budget increases. One can also turn off other channels when they show that stuff.
The original "Fox News Must Die" article linked below uses as a detailed example the lies Fox News has told about immigration. For me the facts about immigration were not the point, particularly. The point is that all their "news" is best considered false to begin with.
---end April 10, 2015 update---------------------
1. "Fox News Must Die," by karoli, Crooks and Liars, June 14, 2014
A new Brookings survey shows just how deeply Fox News influences conservatives, whether or not they call themselves Republicans.*
[adding July 2, 2014:
Robert Parry: The Right’s Power of Media Money 12/8/10
I sent this December 8, 2010. I think it's essentially current.]
2. "What To Kill a Mockingbird can teach parents," by David G. Allen, BBC, June 14, 2014. Great article. Five (5) lessons. I'm not so sure about the 4th one, "Have trust in your children." Maybe. The rest I know are right including the last one, "You don’t have to be tough to be brave." There are short video excerpts from the famous classic movie with Gregory Peck and Mary Badham (1962), (IMDB link), after the also famous classic book by Harper Lee (1960) (Wikipedia link). Do read the David G. Allen article for his take on "the five (5) major lessons," unless you've read the book and are sure that you remember them. It's a lot shorter than the book even if you were also to take time to watch the movie excerpt videos (recommended). :-)
I think I'm going to get the book To Kill a Mockingbird and read it again, after 50 years or so since the last time.
love,
Larry
* See also, "5 Ways Right-Wing Media Make Their Fans Fear Science" Alternet, August 6, 2013
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
You don’t have to be tough to be brave.--Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
[One way or another, raise yourself up I say; do not be afraid. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.]
----------------------------------------
update April 10, 2015: You may have received some of this from me on June 15, 2014. Between June 15, 2014 and now, I have updated this writing previously to add two articles. Originally there were only the ones numbered "1" and "2." I am now adding yet more, this commentary here at the top.
The indented paragraphs are something I wrote to another friend earlier tonight, following up on the topic that had been brought up, of grieving over "the loss of our planet----the extinction of some 200 species per day and the possible extinction of humans perhaps even this century." Now it occurs to me that this has a lot to do with my advocating for avoiding Fox News like the plague. Partly I am doing this because it will modify the content under two major links with the above subject titles that are in the list down the right side of every page of the archives, and I would like you to know about that:
"Me I seem to grieve more over being part of a country that finds all kinds of excuses to murder and steal from innocent people than I grieve over the end of civilized life and the ruination of existing species. I suggest not trying to make sense of that ordering. .....A major problem with Fox News is the totally false impressions that it gives that 1) if the United States and its allies of the moment kill enough people then the ones that are expected to be left, if any, will be our friends and 2) that violence in the world is much greater than it is.
"It has been pointed out to me seriously that murdering lots of people is a way of reducing the world's population, which is a good thing, or so it can certainly be argued. That just does not seem to do well at getting past my constant personal sense of what is and is not ethical."
The idea that people will turn into friends after they've had American drones flying around over their heads and killing willy-nilly is insane. We know that much if only from the Iraq example.
The reason we think that violence is much greater than it really is is because of something called "the availability heuristic" [Wikipedia link]. The "availability heuristic refers to the fact that most of us have seen vastly more killing on TV than would ever compute to an accurate estimate of real-world rates of killing. Because of "the availability heuristic," we develop a false concept of the amount of violence and danger in the world.
Some sources are worse than others. If one cannot avoid watching some of the Fox News entertainment programs, one can at least turn away whenever the political propaganda comes on. Fox News pushes that misleading violence stuff to justify continually increasing spending on the military-related industries. Really, the spending is expected to increase profits for the fossil fuel industries as well as the military-related industries. That attempt at thievery did not work as expected in Iraq, we know, but hey, the Koch Brothers and others are hoping that it will work out someplace. So they constantly show important-looking people who make up excuse after excuse after excuse for the military budget increases. One can also turn off other channels when they show that stuff.
The original "Fox News Must Die" article linked below uses as a detailed example the lies Fox News has told about immigration. For me the facts about immigration were not the point, particularly. The point is that all their "news" is best considered false to begin with.
---end April 10, 2015 update---------------------
1. "Fox News Must Die," by karoli, Crooks and Liars, June 14, 2014
A new Brookings survey shows just how deeply Fox News influences conservatives, whether or not they call themselves Republicans.*
[adding July 2, 2014:
Robert Parry: The Right’s Power of Media Money 12/8/10
I sent this December 8, 2010. I think it's essentially current.]
2. "What To Kill a Mockingbird can teach parents," by David G. Allen, BBC, June 14, 2014. Great article. Five (5) lessons. I'm not so sure about the 4th one, "Have trust in your children." Maybe. The rest I know are right including the last one, "You don’t have to be tough to be brave." There are short video excerpts from the famous classic movie with Gregory Peck and Mary Badham (1962), (IMDB link), after the also famous classic book by Harper Lee (1960) (Wikipedia link). Do read the David G. Allen article for his take on "the five (5) major lessons," unless you've read the book and are sure that you remember them. It's a lot shorter than the book even if you were also to take time to watch the movie excerpt videos (recommended). :-)
I think I'm going to get the book To Kill a Mockingbird and read it again, after 50 years or so since the last time.
love,
Larry
* See also, "5 Ways Right-Wing Media Make Their Fans Fear Science" Alternet, August 6, 2013
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
You don’t have to be tough to be brave.--Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
[One way or another, raise yourself up I say; do not be afraid. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.]
