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Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

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Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#291

Post by katmannthree »

Clubber wrote: post #270
ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article doesn't disprove much. Being "pro-trump" doesn't make the death not count. 3 of the five died because of the protests - it doesn't matter which side. You can argue that a stroke/heart attack may not have happened in a non-high pressure environment. We don't need any more evidence than the mountains of video of people storming the capital. It's bad enough as is, it could have been far, far worse.

The difference between someone dying because of a stroke and someone dying because they were bludgeoned to death with a blunt object over the course of several minutes while thousands of people stood idly by is stark.

Getting bludgeoned can cause strokes, among various other more and less pressing medical issues.

It's still murder when the victim dies in the hospital instead of at the scene.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#292

Post by JamisonM »

Clubber wrote: post #270
ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article doesn't disprove much. Being "pro-trump" doesn't make the death not count. 3 of the five died because of the protests - it doesn't matter which side. You can argue that a stroke/heart attack may not have happened in a non-high pressure environment. We don't need any more evidence than the mountains of video of people storming the capital. It's bad enough as is, it could have been far, far worse.

The difference between someone dying because of a stroke and someone dying because they were bludgeoned to death with a blunt object over the course of several minutes while thousands of people stood idly by is stark.

We've got lots of video of people being bludgeoned that day while thousands of people either stood by or encouraged it. It seems like the specifics of the injuries and their consequences is actually the silly thing to be arguing about.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#293

Post by rayiner »

ardy42 wrote: post #258
kryogen1c wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Things in the past which were labeled misinformation I know that item-level thinking like this is necessary to gain emotional traction with people, but this issue is just so obvious at a systems-level. the idea that we, right now the instant youre reading this, have discovered 100% of what there is to learn and 0% of what we know is wrong is so painfully, horrifically, obviously stupid (we've had computers for thir…

> misinformation is combat with MORE discussion, not less! The problem with that idea is that it takes more effort to debunk a lie than to tell one. It also takes more effort to absorb a debunking than a lie. That's why disinformation works. Here's an example: JFK ate babies occasionally, and the media hushed it up. Oswald was actually a secret high-level CIA operative, and was so outraged by this that he assassinate…

> Scientific consensus also not arrived at by publishing literally every crackpot idea, and answering each with "more discussion." Science has several mechanisms for "censoring" bullshit and misinformation (e.g. peer review), and it couldn't function without it.

What counts as a "crackpot idea?" We don't have to dabble in hypotheticals about JFK eating babies. We have real examples from current political events that show we're not talking about "slippery slopes" here. We have rolled down the slope with stunning speed.

In March 2020, the Surgeon General suggested that wearing masks was effective to prevent spread of COVID was a crackpot idea: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/485332-surgeon-general... ("Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus[.]").

10 months later, the Surgeon General is calling that same assertion a "myth": https://twitter.com/surgeon_general/status/13189727242078986... ("There is a currently circulating MYTH suggesting masks don’t work to prevent spread of COVID-19.").

I have a degree in aerospace engineering--I totally get that scientific understanding evolves. But it doesn't evolve like that. The truth is that the Surgeon General's March 2020 statement was ill-advised and overly-certain, and so was the October 2020 statement. Whether masks are effective at limiting the spread of COVID is quite uncertain. Mask-wearing rates vary quite dramatically between countries with similar COVID death rates: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/08/face-off.... By June 2020, the U.S. had mask-wearing rates of 75%. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were under 20%. Out of those, Sweden and the U.S. have death rates (per population) 5-10 times higher than Denmark and Norway.

Despite that uncertainty, I think most people worried about "misinformation" would use mask-denialism as a motivating example for why restrictions are needed. So what are the restrictionists really advocating for here?

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#294

Post by xster »

citilife wrote: post #85

This is such a dangerous game to play. CNN knowingly misleads the public every single day. It's effectively public knowledge if anyone cares to investigate themselves. Going after FOX because the ruling party disagrees with them, but leaving CNN alone is the definition of authoritarian, regardless of your views. You can't single out voices. Further, who owns CNN? (Turner Broadcasting System) Who owns Turner Broadcast…

It's also funny looking at sources that they're referencing Comcast (vox.com/NBCUniversal) to tell Comcast (Xfinity TV) to censor certain contents. There is no government.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#295

Post by jaywalk »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #287
ineptech wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is asking Fox for viewership numbers, "a chilling attempt at limiting speech"?

Look at the list. It's pretty much a right-wing only list.

Pretty much? The farthest left that list goes is Fox News.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#296

Post by statstutor »

offby37years wrote: post #239
trey-jones wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this: > Never the hands of authorities whether those be government or corporate. But I'm not sure about this: > Judging what is and is not misinformation must always be in the hands of the people. It's definitely a very difficult problem. I like to think that I personally can distinguish decently well between information and mis/dis-information, but I look around and see plenty of people who simply canno…

If you don't trust your fellow citizens to discern misinformation from truth, you don't trust them to vote.

That doesn't follow.

I would still rather have voting citizens trying to discern the truth (and hope for some wisdom of the crowds), rather than have the agents of misinformation permanently in charge.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#297

Post by axaxs »

r00fus wrote: post #267
axaxs wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is -very- partisan, and equivalent to poking a wasp nest with a stick. The country is very, very divided, not just between D vs R but also progressive vs...everyone else. I wish I had the answers(surprise, I don't), but I feel we should find some commonality, some give and take, and get on a path toward a semblance of unity. Trying to silence your opposition is what I'd call the complete opposite of that approach.

Hmm - 4 years of an administration doing exactly what you're describing (silencing opposition viewpoints) and now it's all unity and kumbayah? Your post is quite ironic.

Why do people get so defensive when 'their side' is questioned? Is your solution to forever go back and forth silencing each other because the other guys did it first?

I am not picking sides. I think it's unprofessional for the president to constantly call things like 'Fake News', but I don't remember them going to cable companies to try and get them canceled. And if they did, I oppose that just the same.

Personally, I got so sick of all news being all Trump all the time, I question any claim that media was in any way silenced.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#298

Post by whydoibother »

linuxftw wrote: post #164
protonfish wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The People" believe whatever information has been promoted the most. To claim that we should do nothing to stop malevolent organizations from radicalizing vulnerable citizens is reckless. To lay the blame on individuals to fight this is victim-blaming. We need to battle this industrialized con artistry with whatever power we have - including police, courts, and laws. Throwing up our hands because "censorship bad!" i…

Who is 'we'? I don't wish to be included in 'we' and I prefer that the group of 'we' not be in charge of much of anything.

Does the concept of a collective confuse you?

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#299

Post by citilife »

ak217 wrote: post #271
citilife wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's actually a lot of clips of CNN & other reporters helping and pushing protesters into the Capital Building... https://twitter.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/134990457311734169... Also, only two persons died of wounds confirmed at the Capital (both protestors). The only person who was shot, was recorded by the "reporter" in the video above was egging on the police & protestors at the time. https://www.washingtonpost…

Please don't post disinformation here. https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-9906367046

I agree, you should stop posting fact checkers and instead look at the government report linked in the post I linked.

The man recording the video was repeatedly on CNN/NBC/etc sharing his story... also Jade was an independent photo journalist who's clients include: CNN, NBC, etc.

https://www.jadesacker.com/about

This "fact checker" appears to be a bias journalist, I recommend checking the facts yourself. You don't need someone telling you what is real vs not, they dont' provide links in the AP article.

While I think it's fair to say they aren't "CNN journalists", they are employed by CNN as effectively contract workers.

Re: Letters from House members to cable providers [pdf]

#300

Post by tgflynn »

As far as I can tell these letters were signed by only 2 members of Congress. As such the title "Letters from House Democrats" seems misleading. That title suggests to me that some substantially representative fraction of the House Democratic delegation is behind these letters. That does not appear to be the case.
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