It's Not the Right - It's Not the Left - It's the Media

An odd combination of incidents and noticed oddities have caused me to step back from my moratorium on political commentary.  I have been actively ducking mainstream media's attempt to fill me with fear and dread.  It seems all of them run everything through "Chicken Little" filters before they distribute the tripe they call the news.  Their only goal of late is to keep the fires of hate and discontent stoked.  It matters little which side they fire up as long as they keep folks on edge.  Do these clowns ever step back and try to evaluate their part in creating the messes they report on?

The mosque in NYC is a perfect example.  I cannot even remember which hired gun on the tube said it, but they blamed Obama for why this became such a big deal.   They contended that the mosque was but a local issue for New Yorkers until Obama turned it into a national debate.  The media completely ignores the fact that it was their insistent baiting of pols and others with questions like "How do you feel about a mosque being set up so close to Ground Zero" that fed the fire and built this molehill into something more resembling a mountain of shit.

The mouthpieces on the Right seized the story and have added it to their arsenal of stupid tricks to make Obama look as bad as possible.  And because the leadership of the Left has no balls, they are beginning to run scared.

One of the statements passed out by the big mouths on the Right is that Obama is turning his back on Middle America with stands like his support of "Freedom of Religion".  I find this ironical on several planes.

Much of the base of the Right is made up of conservative Christians who feel persecuted for their faith.  Yet, they allow their leadership to spew rhetoric that advocates restricting another religion's right to practice their own brand of idolatry. 

The Right is chock full of self proclaimed "Constitutionalists" and yet they allow their leadership to advocate practices and policies that blatantly run counter to many of the basic rights spelled out in their most sacred of documents.

And where is the media in all of this?  Does the media do anything more than throw softballs when when obvious contradictions scream for hardball questions?  No, they put the tough questions at the back of the bus and play both sides against the middle while facts and truth get tossed under the bus.

But let's look at what Obama said.  His statement made no mention of whether he thought it was a good idea to build a mosque so close to Ground Zero.  He correctly pointed out that it was a local matter.  What he said was he supported the right spelled out in the Constitution that allows us to pray to any god we want.  One of the true founding principles of this nation, Freedom of Religion does not mean only Christianity. 

It was the right thing to do.   How can we even pretend to own any moral highground if we begin spitting on our own Constitution?

And this claim that somehow the Right is the voice of Middle America really pisses me off.  This claim comes from guys in wingtips and power ties who gladly suck the toes of the rich and powerful and they somehow know what Middle America is.  Hell, I am a card carrying Middle American and I do not even know what the Hell "Middle America" is.  I certainly do not think Obama has turned his back on me.  But I am sure the leadership of the Right and Left have.  And for this I blame the Media.  They no longer report news, they create it.

Later..........................................