As a person who is associated with progressive political groups and an information junkie intrigued with how we as a people create systems of meaning and belief, I sometimes notice patterns to which other people give little attention.
As a progressive who lives in Arizona, I see patterns of extremism all around me, and have reported on this for years. One of the trends that is particularly disturbing to me is the extremely conservative bias in national televised news.
This past week I heard about concern over “anarchists” descending on the RNC in Tampa on MSNBC. The only problem with this reporting is that in 2008 nearly all the people called anarchists at the RNC were not really anarchists, and there was a great deal of misrepresentation of what was going on there in the streets at the 2008 RNC. This sort of militarization of police continues today. 40 to 50 journalists were also arrested and their press credentials confiscated during coverage of protests in the streets of St. Paul. Amy Goodman, and two of her crew, recently received $100,000 settlement per those arrests. Settlements have also been awarded to individuals whose homes were raided without warrants two days before the 2008 RNC.
Is this sort of crap going to happen again? This week, the national news, supposedly left wing MSNBC, reports about anarchist warnings released by the FBI.
So as far as I can tell, MSNBC is covering the possibility of protests at the RNC while not reporting real acts of domestic terrorism. What gives? Two police officers were killed in Louisiana earlier this week and the individuals jailed and charged with these murders are very likely tied to “Sovereign Citizens.” This happens the same week that another “Sovereign Citizen” was in court in Phoenix for killing a Jewish couple in Paradise Valley, AZ earlier this year.
The FBI’s Law Enforcement Bulletin details the Sovereign Citizen group which really and truly is an anarchist group. The FBI is worried enough about this group to have informed notaries about them.
So possible threats, which are of dubious seriousness per previous experience with similar supposed threats from left leaning protesters, are reported, while actual terrorist related events and trials are not even mentioned by the same national networks. Have we forgotten Oklahoma City. Terry Nichols was associated with the Sovereign Citizens. From what I can tell from a simple google search these arrests are happening all over the U.S. Why are we not hearing about them?
Additional Ref: added afternoon of 8/26/2012. “Domestic Terrorism: A Persistent Threat in the United States“
“One of the trends that is particularly disturbing to me is the extremely conservative bias in national televised news.” (not that I am an extremely conservative–perhaps conservative) I see it just the other way. Isn’t it interesting that depending on our filter how we see the world. Your examples are excellent. I could give you examples to of my viewpoint–the super liberal views of the media which I believe are too far left. I like news that just tells the facts…hard to get to the truth though, right?
Fox is political. MSNBC is political. In fact I wrote a post about it. Others go with whatever sells. Because I’m progressive, I notice that Mrs. Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell, rarely asks questions from a progressive viewpoint but does ask from a conservative one. Joe Scarborough is conservative. And all this is on a purportedly left wing news channel. The false veil of impartiality is what maddens me. But when as a news wonk, when I see a total lack of reporting on a certain subject it bothers me.
I grow sadder each day that the ‘media’ is no longer a source for accurate information or at times, information at all. News stations and news papers are now owned by those that do not believe fair and unbiased are two words that belong in the same sentence with news. They are now coverup artists and fear mongers.
Wow, I knew nothing about this. Kind of scary. It is amazing how little we can trust the big news channels.