IAVA speech by Cpl. Mankin

[MithrilKnight]

Saw this clip on Rachel Maddow - a speech by a visibly scarred veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"Ask yourself... Is it any worse to leave a wounded man in battle, than to have him return home, and struggle alone?"
- Cpl. Aaron Mankin: "Our Story"

Worth watching...

[ms maggie]

This was wonderful, what a fine young man. Maddow does a nice job keeping on top of this issue.

[bmorepunk]

Too bad it's not enough to offset the nightly damage Maddow and Hannity inflict into the echo chamber.

[ms maggie]

Too bad it's not enough to offset the nightly damage Maddow and Hannity inflict into the echo chamber.

I wouldn't put Maddow in the same category as Hannity. You don't have to a moron to watch Maddow, she has in-depth coverage and analysis. You might not agree with her, but there's no screaming, so that's a big plus. You want the Hannity equivalent on MSNBC, look at the Ed Show or Lawrence O'Donnell.

[MithrilKnight]

I wouldn't put Maddow in the same category as Hannity. You don't have to a moron to watch Maddow, she has in-depth coverage and analysis. You might not agree with her, but there's no screaming, so that's a big plus. You want the Hannity equivalent on MSNBC, look at the Ed Show or Lawrence O'Donnell.

This is true.
I may agree with most of what Ed says on his show, but I cannot watch it. Too much screaming and self-serving commentary. Same with Lawrence O'Donnell - except he pontificates with faux gravity to his opinions.

bleh.

Maddow reviews the facts, then spins them into a debatable position. I think she really welcomes actual debate.

[Calamari]

That interferes with the "Both sides are the same" schtick people like to use to make themselves feel smarter without taking any risks.

[kudzu]

That interferes with the "Both sides are the same" schtick people like to use to make themselves feel smarter without taking any risks.

No kidding.

Because both sides are rarely, if ever, the same.

Right, squiddy ?

[bmorepunk]

This is true.
I may agree with most of what Ed says on his show, but I cannot watch it. Too much screaming and self-serving commentary. Same with Lawrence O'Donnell - except he pontificates with faux gravity to his opinions.

bleh.

Maddow reviews the facts, then spins them into a debatable position. I think she really welcomes actual debate.

I respect political discourse that isn't yelling and screaming. I don't support a supposed news entity that sustains itself heavily on people who stare into the camera at you and give opinion like you're a character in Fahrenheit 451. This while heavily ignoring actual news.

The presence of all of these people on news networks is a an enormous detriment. They exist because the networks are selling their product for highest market share.

Both MSNBC and Fox have about 4-6 hours of actual news shows over an 18 hour period (5 AM to 11 PM) on Monday - Friday. The rest of the coverage is almost exclusively opinion, most of which is part of the conservative v. liberal propaganda grind. They may have a couple of news shows, but MSNBC and FOX are not news networks.

Rachael Maddow is not a journalist. It doesn't make it okay that she sucks less than Sean Hannity. She still sucks. If they go do their thing like Beck and Olbermann on a non-news entity I am fine with that.

[MithrilKnight]

I respect political discourse that isn't yelling and screaming. I don't support a supposed news entity that sustains itself heavily on people who stare into the camera at you and give opinion like you're a character in Fahrenheit 451. This while heavily ignoring actual news.

The presence of all of these people on news networks is a an enormous detriment. They exist because the networks are selling their product for highest market share.

Both MSNBC and Fox have about 4-6 hours of actual news shows over an 18 hour period (5 AM to 11 PM) on Monday - Friday. The rest of the coverage is almost exclusively opinion, most of which is part of the conservative v. liberal propaganda grind. They may have a couple of news shows, but MSNBC and FOX are not news networks.

Rachael Maddow is not a journalist. It doesn't make it okay that she sucks less than Sean Hannity. She still sucks. If they go do their thing like Beck and Olbermann on a non-news entity I am fine with that.

I would like to point you toward the idea that MSNBC and FOX are not news entities, but entertainment entities that uses "current events" to generate entertainment. That entertainment can be watching less-suck debate or more-suck demagoguery - but it's still just entertainment.

Jon Stewart commonly mocks both outlets as trying to do his job.

Seems to me that NBC's and FOX's actual news programs are not on their "news" MSNBC or FOXNEWS outlets. haha.

[bmorepunk]

I see a lot of clips on the Daily Show and it's really funny, but it's disturbing at the same time that people take what they hear on those channels as a complete picture of every situation.

I do understand that they're basically entertainment channels, which is why I'm complaining that they call themselves news channels. It's bad that I can watch Al Jazeera English and even ignoring their bias they are showing an order of magnitude more news than either of these networks. They even have reporters that generate stories by going to the places where things are happening.

[MithrilKnight]

I see a lot of clips on the Daily Show and it's really funny, but it's disturbing at the same time that people take what they hear on those channels as a complete picture of every situation.

I do understand that they're basically entertainment channels, which is why I'm complaining that they call themselves news channels. It's bad that I can watch Al Jazeera English and even ignoring their bias they are showing an order of magnitude more news than either of these networks. They even have reporters that generate stories by going to the places where things are happening.

It's true.
A lot of USA news organizations cut overseas staff when they were bought by corporate tycoons who care more about profit than the integrity of journalism.
Overseas offices don't generate profit.