Hooked on Fox

Different times in my life have found me "hooked" on many different things. Hobbies, movies, pets, crafts, primetime tv shows, etc. I was never much of a broadcast news-watcher, though, until 9-11. Like most of the world, I was glued to the tv for days and weeks. Ever since then, I have kept one eye on the news headlines most all the time. "Disaster or Catastrophe Watch", if you will. First thing in the morning if Fred is whistling (his s's) about a purse-snatcher at Lenox Mall, or Karen is telling me to pack my umbrella, then I'm confident no major news broke while I slept. It's a comforting feeling. I've long been a fan of Good Morning America, and most of ABCs primetime shows like 20/20, and all the variants thereof. I also realized many years ago that the media is HUGE in how we view life in America and in the world. They pretty much run the place, actually. We believe what we see and hear from Charlie, Katie, Brian and the rest of the bunch. If they say we're in a recession, we believe them. If they say the president's popularity numbers are rising... who are we to question? We believe them. We believe what we are fed, unless we question what we are fed. Recently I've been watching the Fox News Network, and I have been amazed at the polar opposite spin on the news. Yes, I know that many people think those folks on FNN are a bunch of raving lunatics, spewers of untruths bent on discrediting the government. I must say that these raving lunatics have become some of my favorite folks!! I'll admit that the real Truth probably lies somewhere between the leftist liberal media and the far right-wing conservative media... but I'm leaning waaaaaaaay toward the right. The motto of Fox News is "We Report, You Decide". I like that. Sure, they are "planting" information... but more than information, they are planting questions. Questions that somebody needs to be asking. For too long we have simply not questioned what our government is doing. We sit around the dinner table or the cafeteria at work and complain, but we don't ask the right questions to the right people. Which is one reason we are in the mess we are in. For some reason, we have been of the mindset that our government is going to take care of us, and over the years, we have entrusted our freedom and liberty into their hands. Now we find ourselves in a stinker of a mess, and some very brave, angry people are heeding the call to action. Enter the "astroturf, the angry, terrorist mobs," who are asking questions. Asking questions, and demanding answers. When supporters rally a cause they believe in, the politicians eat it up and it's all over the network news. When the opposition shows up, they are presented in the media as anti-American. Wait just a minute. I'd be willing to propose that those folks are more American than I am. They've taken their time, energy, and passion to let their voices be heard, while I just sit here and write a blog that very few people will read. The network news (which I still watch, by the way) will have us believe that those crazy folks over at FNN are the anti-American ones, along with the town-hall protesters. Though perhaps a bit zealous in their approach at times, I'm impressed that those folks are willing to risk ridicule, persecution, and sometimes personal safety, to give us The Other Side Of The Story. Quick to tell you what is fact and what is opinion, they provide information that government officials would much prefer we didn't know. Recently a group tried to eliminate The O'Reilly Factor, because Bill is just "out there" and isn't afraid to say anything.. yet he delivers stories to make you think... they tried to eliminate him by manipulating sponsors to remove ads from his show. Didn't work. Another group is now trying the same thing with Glenn Beck. Ringleader of this latest attempt is none other than the FCC diversity "czar"... in other words, someone from WITHIN the White House administration. Kind of makes me think of something my Bible teacher told me once: Satan will leave you alone as long as you are passive in your relationship with God. You are no threat to him. Start moving closer to God, or doing His work, and he will be after you like white on rice. Well, maybe she didn't say it just like that, but that was the gist of it. So if the folks at FNN are just a bunch of raving lunatics, and if there is no truth in what they tell us, why are the liberals trying so hard to shut them down? I invite you to turn the channel and check out Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly, for starters. You may not believe what you see or hear, and that's okay, but for sure you'll be exposed to thoughts and questions that you won't see anywhere on the network news. And besides that, you'll probably learn some things you didn't know, like how the healthcare bill includes a section that funds up to 1.6 billion dollars for "community transformation grants" to build jungle gyms and walking trails in community parks. Read about it here . If I were an uninsured American, fighting to support the healthcare bill, I would be furious at such blatant pork-barrel spending that somebody (probably the father of the jungle-gym manufacturer) is trying to push through in the name of healthcare. As an opposer of the bill, I am appalled. Makes me wonder what else is hidden in those 1000 pages that nobody seems able to read and decipher! Anyway, give FNN a whirl. Whether or not you like what you see/hear, perhaps you'll be intrigued to do some research on your own, and you may learn that they are closer to the truth than you might think.

And lest I be labeled as single-minded, I still listen to both sides. I read Time and Newsweek when possible, and I still love Good Morning America. I just enjoy them from the other side of the (media) fence now.