Many people have asked me if the information I send to an email distribution list has changed anyone’s position on national and world politics issues. Sadly, the answer due to media bias, is very rarely. People read the articles but from their strong pre-existing bias – “I hate Trump; Biden is demented.” This is a shame since we can all learn from each other, provided we consider and analyze multiple sources of information. We cannot just accept news reports because we like a reporter on MSNBC, Fox or CNN.
Just today, (April 12, 2024), I heard on Bloomberg and CBS News that Iran is expected to launch a significant attack on Israel because Israel killed eight Iranian military leaders and one Hezbollah fighter in a bombing of Iran’s Embassy in Syria. Reuters also reported “Israel bombs Iran embassy in Syria, …” I hope each of you has thought about what the news organizations are saying. Their reporting enrages me because it is misleading and false. The building bombed was NOT an embassy. Even Iran no longer calls it an embassy building, but that does not stop news organizations from making inflammatory bias statements.
The building bombed was a multi-tenant office building that is next to, but not part of the Iranian Embassy. Think about it, if it was the Iranian Embassy, why were only military officers plus two bystanders killed? Why were no embassy employees killed? This building was used as a military planning site by the Iranian military. That sounds like a military target to me. 1, 2
Did media bias prevent the news organizations from reporting that Iran has attacked the British, Saudi, and United States embassies in Tehran and bombed the Israeli Embassy in Argentina? They also held 66 members of the US Embassy as prisoners for 444 days. Iran does not respect the sovereignty of foreign embassies.
I find the reporting on the number of civilian casualties in Gaza even worse. The news organizations say “30,000 (or a slightly larger number) of civilians have died in the conflict”. This is a misleading, inflammatory statement because they almost never mention:
- 15,000 are Hamas and other terrorists fighting to wipe out Israel.
- 2,000 +- were killed by misfired rockets made and launched by Hamas and other terrorist groups.
- 2,000 +- were shot by Hamas and other terrorists to prevent civilians from leaving for areas Israel had said they should go to for safety.
- The death count includes all natural deaths.
- The death count total comes from Hamas and has not been verified. A University of Pennsylvania professor has determined that the numbers are probably fabricated. How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers – Tablet Magazine
TikTok is another example. Information presented to Congress shows that TikTok responses to inquiries are seven times more likely to contain misinformation and anti-American and anti-Semitic information than Instagram inquiries. The Chinese government wants to sow mis and divisive information into America. Since most people aged 18-36 get almost all of their information from TikTok, China has a very powerful tool to destroy the American belief system. TikTok is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertisements, lawyers, lobbyists, etc., to keep control of this weapon. Please look further into this issue so that you are prepared to discuss it intelligently with people who use TikTok.
The Mexican Border is an area being used for political purposes. On one hand, immigration does wonders for our economy. As parents have become more educated and the cost of raising children has skyrocketed, the average number of children per family has fallen. Most countries in the world are facing falling populations. Immigration into the US eventually provides more workers and taxpayers. Our problem is not whether we should have immigration but how we process the people to keep out the bad ones and the drugs some of them bring into our country. Why not screen for people with higher education or significant financial assets (both of which they do in Canada) so they have positive impacts instead of drains on society?
The most likely presidential candidates for this November’s election are a tremendous disappointment. I don’t believe they are the best our country has to offer, but we are stuck with them. We also need to keep an open, analytical mind when we study and discuss their pros and cons with each other. For example, since each candidate is rather old, and people their age and younger are dying at a significant rate, we must think about their vice presidential candidate running mates. Who will Trump pick? He could pick someone terrible like Tucker Carlson or Vivek Ramaswamy, both of which scare me. Kamala Harris, Biden’s pick, also scares me. Do you think that Trump or Biden will serve a full four-year term? If not, how long do you think each will serve? This is a huge issue that too many people are overlooking.
I list these examples because we must challenge all the information we hear from the media. It is very difficult to think this deeply if our preconceived notions blind us and we only want to hear thoughts that reinforce our views.
I welcome educated and knowledgeable discussions on facts without emotion that cloud our judgment and prevent mutual understanding.
Footnotes
- Civilian Character: Embassies are primarily intended for diplomatic and civilian purposes. They serve as centers for communication, representation, and consular services.
- No Military Activities: While embassies can have security personnel (such as guards), they are not allowed to house military troops or weapons. Any military activity within an embassy would violate the principle of civilian character.
