Today turned out to be an unproductive mess too. But James Fallows had a good article about "false equivalence," the refusal of corporate ("mainstream") media to "take sides" -- that is, recognize and report who did what in certain conflicts. Aside from his discussion, he included this:
A reader with a political-literary-legal background suggests the way
our current mentality might apply to headlines from yesteryear:
JFK, Oswald Differences Lead to Violence
Fateful Lincoln, Booth Collision Repeated
Animosity Flares Between Jap Planes and Shore Batteries at Pearl Harbor
Both Sides Unleash Firepower [See photo]
Rights Marchers Clash with Fire Hoses and Dogs
Standoff as Marchers Doused and Canines are Photographed
Astronauts, Moon Meet at Last
Historic Moment as Lunar Soil Makes Contact with Human Boot
Which reminds me of the late Alexander Cockburn's
merciless parody of PBS' fair and balanced news analysis from 1982.
hunter-gault: A
few critics of slavery argue that it should be abolished outright. One
of them is Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Wilberforce, why abolish slavery?
wilberforce: It is immoral for one man .?.?.
macneil: Mr.
Wilberforce, we’re running out of time, I’m afraid. Let me very quickly
get some other points of view. Mr. Ginn, you think slavery is good?
ginn: Yes.
macneil: And you, Mr. Halfmeasure, think it should be regulated.
halfmeasure: Yes.
macneil: Well, I’ve got you to disagree, haven’t I? (Laughter) That’s all we’ve got time for tonight. Good night, Jim.
lehrer: Good night, Robin.
