If there is any doubt as to why the townhall bullies believe healthcare reform will bring down the country it is found in the mainstream media which presents Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck as being misinformed about the issues rather than cynically manipulative.

Why is Palin "afraid" that health care reform will put a price on human life? She isn't! She is a demagogue. The argument that the current insurance system already rations health care is lost on a Palin. She is not listening -- nor are the loser tough guys and gals who scream "I don't believe you!" or "You're lying to me!" listening. They can't hear an opposing view. The sources that they do believe -- Palin, Limbaugh, et al, have already inoculated them from considering any facts that don't fit with what they have been told.

I met an educated guy recently who told me that the Pope was plotting to take over America and force every American citizen to convert to Catholicism. He became quite agitated when I appeared to believe he was kidding. He wanted to engage me in a conversation about whether or not this pope-plot was "outrageous." I told him that the first step in a debate was to establish a few common facts but he insisted there was no question about the Pope's intentions because he had learned it on talk radio. I thought his choice of words was important -- he didn't say he had "heard" it on talk radio -- he said he had "learned it on talk radio.

This conversation did not take place in an asylum. It took place in an upper middle class suburban living room. His wife was visibly embarrassed and the rest of the crowd seem to take it in stride. There is something amiss in the "learning" of facts by the American public.

The more I have thought about this and the health care debate's "death panels" and the rest -- the more I have wondered if the problem isn't Sarah Palin but the entire structure of the media she communicates through. Just as I can't sit through a Fox News program, neither could the birthers or death panelers sit through PBS's Newshour.

Most news reporters have been clearly debunking the factual myths that have been agititating the right wing base about health care care reform. But people don't have time to listen to more than 2 or 3 news sources. If you are a Limbaugh fan, you are probably also a Hannity fan and, if you have time, a Glenn Beck fan. You probably think that you have exposed yourself to an array of voices.

Since these commentators are spewing the same nonsense -- the inane opinion becomes fact. Just as Walter Cronkite provided factual credibility in his broadcasts in the old days, the angry fringe is convinced that the truth emanates from this small group of broadcasters.

Along comes Palin -- knowing that her crazy bunkum will be carried uncritically by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh -- and what sounds insane becomes fact to millions of low information citizens.

If the Pope ever visits here -- watch for some angry mobs. You heard it here first.

john adkisson:

If there is any doubt as to why the townhall bullies believe healthcare reform will bring down the country it is found in the mainstream media which presents Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck as being misinformed about the issues rather than cynically manipulative.

Why is Palin "afraid" that health care reform will put a price on human life? She isn't! She is a demagogue. The argument that the current insurance system already rations health care is lost on a Palin. She is not listening -- nor are the loser tough guys and gals who scream "I don't believe you!" or "You're lying to me!" listening. They can't hear an opposing view. The sources that they do believe -- Palin, Limbaugh, et al, have already inoculated them from considering any facts that don't fit with what they have been told.

I met an educated guy recently who told me that the Pope was plotting to take over America and force every American citizen to convert to Catholicism. He became quite agitated when I appeared to believe he was kidding. He wanted to engage me in a conversation about whether or not this pope-plot was "outrageous." I told him that the first step in a debate was to establish a few common facts but he insisted there was no question about the Pope's intentions because he had learned it on talk radio. I thought his choice of words was important -- he didn't say he had "heard" it on talk radio -- he said he had "learned it on talk radio.

This conversation did not take place in an asylum. It took place in an upper middle class suburban living room. His wife was visibly embarrassed and the rest of the crowd seem to take it in stride. There is something amiss in the "learning" of facts by the American public.

The more I have thought about this and the health care debate's "death panels" and the rest -- the more I have wondered if the problem isn't Sarah Palin but the entire structure of the media she communicates through. Just as I can't sit through a Fox News program, neither could the birthers or death panelers sit through PBS's Newshour.

Most news reporters have been clearly debunking the factual myths that have been agititating the right wing base about health care care reform. But people don't have time to listen to more than 2 or 3 news sources. If you are a Limbaugh fan, you are probably also a Hannity fan and, if you have time, a Glenn Beck fan. You probably think that you have exposed yourself to an array of voices.

Since these commentators are spewing the same nonsense -- the inane opinion becomes fact. Just as Walter Cronkite provided factual credibility in his broadcasts in the old days, the angry fringe is convinced that the truth emanates from this small group of broadcasters.

Along comes Palin -- knowing that her crazy bunkum will be carried uncritically by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh -- and what sounds insane becomes fact to millions of low information citizens.

If the Pope ever visits here -- watch for some angry mobs. You heard it here first.

Your post was like a York Peppermint Patty! A breath of fresh clean air. Thank you so much. If we could just find 200 million more clear thinkers and communicators like you, we could actually start to get things done (right) in this country!

And I keep saying that she isn't afraid of the Death Panel at all...she secretly, subconsciously longs for it, to take that "special needs" baby off her hands...against her will, of course. Haven't you noticed that she never looks at her "handsome little man"...she always carries him facing outwards, so she can't see his face, while most mothers carry their babies facing them.