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The longer I pay attention to politics, the more I feel like we're closing in on a breaking point.

Something's going to have to give.

Misinformation. Fox News at work.

Between this and Neocons demanding to hear what they like, rather than what's true, I despair for American politics and by extension, Western politics and beyond.

How do you debate with people who just plain don't care about reality? How can a country elect any kind of worthwhile politicians when a section of the voters, too large to be ignored, seem to have no idea about how things are now and have no idea about what either party stands for?

They want another Reagan, yet what they want is nothing like what Reagan did. They want tax cuts, but no cuts on defence, medical aid or the other big federal expenses. They demand the government stay out of health care, yet demand that Medicare and Medicaid aren't cut. They want the government to bring in less money, spent about as much (cutting insignificantly small bits here and there) - yet somehow stop operating on a deficit.

There are so many contradictory demands and demands made on fantasy. And they won't compromise, no, because compromise is for people who are wrong.

I'm starting to think that the answer is Glenn Beck and his ilk. The solution may be for people like Glenn Beck who, intentionally or otherwise, radicalise and mislead these nutters so much that they become more isolated and increasingly irrelevant. Then this lunatic fringe might see their numbers dwindle from just being so ridiculous. When they won't listen to anyone who speaks about reality, what else is there?

You know a situation is FUBAR when Glenn Beck is the answer!

Or have I got this really, really screwed up and actually I'm the one buying lies about how terrible Neocons are? Unable to see that the liberal media has got me believing that the top 1% (or 0.1% as this guy points out) have it so easy? I really, really don't think this is the case. But then I would, because Huff Post told me what to think, right?

The single greatest accomplishment of Fox News is they've managed to convince a large number of people that the "facts" and "information" being presented by the mainstream media are just as biased as they are, so you have your liberal facts, and I have my conservative facts. My conservative facts are better because they're conservative, not because they're more truthful.

Facts are facts though. And that's the issue. There is such a thing as the country going too far to the left, and too far to the right. But with an ever increasing number of media outlets and Americans becoming recalcitrant in their respective camps, and media outlets, social groups, etc. are becoming more monolithic to reinforce already held beliefs, the true loser here is objective truth.

Some incorrect information near the start where he says "the vast majority of expenditure goes to medicare, medicaid" etc.. More than half of each tax dollar is going to the military/defence, certainly far and away more than health expenditure.

http://videosift.com/video/53-of-each-American-tax-dollar-going-to-the-military

After watching and understanding this fabulous interview, it's probably worth checking this one out, too... just fyi.

>> ^ghark:

Some incorrect information near the start where he says "the vast majority of expenditure goes to medicare, medicaid" etc.. More than half of each tax dollar is going to the military/defence, certainly far and away more than health expenditure.
http://videosift.com/video/53-of-each-American-tax-dollar-going
-to-the-military


Not to totally sidetrack things, but that number requires a lot of dubious decisions about what "counts" as spending.

Since I had this argument not all that long ago with blankfist, here's the thread where I did all the research & response to it.

Basically the short version is to get military spending above 50% you have to a) not count social security, medicare, or medicaid outlays as "spending" and b) count the entire interest payment on the national debt as "military" even though our present debt mostly comes from Reagan & Bush tax cuts.

Too much of our taxes goes to defense & war, but it's more like 20% than 50%.

>> ^NetRunner:

>> ^ghark:
Some incorrect information near the start where he says "the vast majority of expenditure goes to medicare, medicaid" etc.. More than half of each tax dollar is going to the military/defence, certainly far and away more than health expenditure.
http://videosift.com/video/53-of-each-American-tax-dollar-going
-to-the-military

Not to totally sidetrack things, but that number requires a lot of dubious decisions about what "counts" as spending.
Since I had this argument not all that long ago with blankfist, here's the thread where I did all the research & response to it.
Basically the short version is to get military spending above 50% you have to a) not count social security, medicare, or medicaid outlays as "spending" and b) count the entire interest payment on the national debt as "military" even though our present debt mostly comes from Reagan & Bush tax cuts.
Too much of our taxes goes to defense & war, but it's more like 20% than 50%.


i'll check that out when I get some time, cheers.