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The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

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Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#91

One thing I've always wondered about when it comes to the temporary nature of US presidential terms and their respective administrations - why does it seem like it's so much easier to dismantle things than to create them in the first place? Especially for things that took a substantial amount of time and effort to build, shouldn't we require much more scrutiny before considering an action that effectively dismantles/…

> why does it seem like it's so much easier to dismantle things than to create them in the first place?

it's because it's incredibly difficult to get anything passed, the US legislative system has too many checks and balances. Every "check and balance" is another group that has to reach consensus for a proposed action and another point for an adversarial opponent to grind everything to a halt.

I contend that it is better to have a government that can reach consensus easily and act, and that is easy to change if they no longer reflect public consensus, than to have "checks and balances" where absolutely 100% of the government needs to be in consensus to do anything. Gridlock should not be a design feature of a government but that's how the system was engineered (deliberately - it dates from a time when states didn't view themselves as federal subjects but independent states, and this was supposed to help get everyone on board that "no, really, we're just going to do the things that absolutely everyone agrees on", there were many groups who were afraid of being steamrollered without their own special little body and checks on other authorities).

Unicameral parliamentary systems are better - one house to pass legislation, one PM who is a member of the majority in parliament, so everyone is on the same page. Snap elections if they do something that nobody likes, if they don't want to listen to the public then the queen can dissolve parliament and call for new elections.

(the queen actually is a very interesting role in the UK, she is kind of an "oracle" that decides deadlocks between the public and the parliament. When the two are in disagreement about whether to call elections she can resolve the stalemate. She really doesn't do much normally but in times of constitutional crisis can serve as a trusted independent authority - a very interesting safety mechanism that evolved almost by accident.)

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#92

"Stars and Stripes embodies that most American of values: the right to speak truth to power." Which is the last the thing current administration wants anyone to be able to do.

Said the poster who mostly likely never served a day in the military or read one word from S&S. I've done both. More than once, actually. Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM. One down, potentially, and one to go in my mind. I also don't think taxpayer money should be going to VOA or PBS or NPR for the very same reasons. And don't think most of the military doesn't feel the same way. Most…

What would you consider an unbiased/bs-free source of news? Or where do you prefer to get your news from?

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#93
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said the poster who mostly likely never served a day in the military or read one word from S&S. I've done both. More than once, actually. Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM. One down, potentially, and one to go in my mind. I also don't think taxpayer money should be going to VOA or PBS or NPR for the very same reasons. And don't think most of the military doesn't feel the same way. Most…

Thanks for your service. Out of curiosity, where do you get your news?

Out of curiosity? Sounds like you've got your own opinion. A leading question is what they call that, lol.

I get my news from MSM, social, and a host of blogs and YouTube channels. Just like everyone else, I imagine. Only difference is I don't limit my sources by their viewpoint or bias. It's rare you find any source of news/information that's not slanted in one way or another. Knowing what everyone has to say about something is how you come to your own conclusions/beliefs. Critical thinking is the most essential skill one needs to read the "news" today.

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#94
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your service. Out of curiosity, where do you get your news?

Out of curiosity? Sounds like you've got your own opinion. A leading question is what they call that, lol. I get my news from MSM, social, and a host of blogs and YouTube channels. Just like everyone else, I imagine. Only difference is I don't limit my sources by their viewpoint or bias. It's rare you find any source of news/information that's not slanted in one way or another. Knowing what everyone has to say about…

I agree: bias is part of human nature, and cannot be fully removed from news. Given that, what's wrong with Stars & Stripes?

Also, I think GP question was pretty reasonable. Why are you trying to infer an "agenda"? It makes you look unreasonable. Everyone has their own opinion. It's not a leading question.

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#95
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said the poster who mostly likely never served a day in the military or read one word from S&S. I've done both. More than once, actually. Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM. One down, potentially, and one to go in my mind. I also don't think taxpayer money should be going to VOA or PBS or NPR for the very same reasons. And don't think most of the military doesn't feel the same way. Most…

What would you consider an unbiased/bs-free source of news? Or where do you prefer to get your news from?

Unbiased news sources don't exist in today's world. It's up to you and your critical thinking to digest all this bs and come up with your own conclusions. What I'm saying is journalism shouldn't be about convincing you or reinforcing a point of view. It's about presenting facts without bias to let the consumer make up their own mind. That doesn't exist in today's over-charged political environment, which is a whole other discussion.

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#97
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your service. Out of curiosity, where do you get your news?

Out of curiosity? Sounds like you've got your own opinion. A leading question is what they call that, lol. I get my news from MSM, social, and a host of blogs and YouTube channels. Just like everyone else, I imagine. Only difference is I don't limit my sources by their viewpoint or bias. It's rare you find any source of news/information that's not slanted in one way or another. Knowing what everyone has to say about…

Your comments make it seem like you're skeptical of narratives often seen in mainstream media. With that in mind, do you believe:

1. That man-made climate change is not a real phenomenon, or that, if it is, it is not a threat to humankind?

2. That COVID-19 was deliberately released by the Chinese government, possibly with the help of Bill Gates and other powerful people?

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said the poster who mostly likely never served a day in the military or read one word from S&S. I've done both. More than once, actually. Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM. One down, potentially, and one to go in my mind. I also don't think taxpayer money should be going to VOA or PBS or NPR for the very same reasons. And don't think most of the military doesn't feel the same way. Most…

Out of curiosity, do you think that taxpayer money should go towards campaign events for the President?

Are you a White House correspondent? Your line of questions sounds familiar.

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#99

"Stars and Stripes embodies that most American of values: the right to speak truth to power." Which is the last the thing current administration wants anyone to be able to do.

Said the poster who mostly likely never served a day in the military or read one word from S&S. I've done both. More than once, actually. Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM. One down, potentially, and one to go in my mind. I also don't think taxpayer money should be going to VOA or PBS or NPR for the very same reasons. And don't think most of the military doesn't feel the same way. Most…

"Bias" in terms of reporting (as opposed to journalism) isn't even a thing. When you do reporting right, you tell what happened. Who, What, Where, When, How. These are observable facts. You don't choose to report whether an explosion happened in Beirut or whether the President of the United States said X or Y in front of cameras. These are observable facts. You report all of it. "X number of people marched in Portland." That's a fact, report it. "X number of police killed people they were arresting in 2019." Another fact.

VOA & S&S did a fine job of this, as well as NPR, CBS, NBC, and the smaller parts of Fox News and CNN that report things versus get talking heads in boxes to talk about things.

"Both the Military Times and S&S suffer from the same bias as MSM" "Most people that serve are conservative leaning." "Orange man bad" <- ALSO not an observable fact, although reports of his criminal acts in and out of office may very well be. You get to make that judgement. The health of our society REQUIRES a free press to get those facts in front of all of our eyes so we can vote in an informed way.

Re: The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down

#100
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in the service, Stars and Stripes was so censored that to call it journalism would be an overreach. It's not 1945 anymore. Being represented in print isn't worth much these days - especially by a propaganda rag.

You could write a thing and send it to someone. Now what do you have?

You could write a thing and send it to someone.

I'm pretty sure that's part of the reason they want to shut it down.

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