Caught these little factoids about Fox News, courtesy of the Nielsen ratings:
The median age of a Fox News viewer is 68.
Only 1.1 percent of Fox News prime-time viewers are black.
How do you think this affects how they cover the news and what they report?
I don't think it does. I think, personally, that how they cover news and what they choose to report is what is responsible for their viewer demographics. Most people only watch what's comfortable for them, and something that doesn't challenge their established ideals. If that's what older folks find attractive about Fox news, that's what's keeping them there. Kind of a chicken/egg scenario.
More like a seduction by reason of ignorance is what I see. The Fox Snooze "newscasts" are full of innuendo and supposition and provoke a reaction that allows Fox to exploit even the smallest slur or slip of the tongue into millions in commercial revenue. I will admit that they have a willing audience and that is the most troubling part of it.
What's even more disturbing though is the willing audience that allows themselves to be bamboozled by the lamestream media. Fox "Snooze", as you call it, may be doling out its own brand of propaganda, but at least it isn't serving Kool Aid.
I love it when Fox News watchers use this term "mainstream media" as some sort of defense mechanism to defray the enormity of bad reporting. Its like saying someone is a little pregnant or I am not as bad that fat person because I am only 50 pounds overweight. Nobody is defending the bought media in any statement. CNN, CBS, NBC or any other news media that reports with bias, misleading or unfounded truths is horrible. One should read Bernie Goldberg's "Bias" to get a good look at the way the news is reported on network television.
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts." - Abraham Lincoln
The amusing thing about your reply is the way the media and our government are handling one of the situations you discussed. Now, instead of confirming a person's status as "overweight", our government is instead redefining the parameters of a "healthy" person, the same way that they determined it wasn't fair that some kids were getting failing grades in school. Instead of making people face up to their own failings and shortcomings, the government simply re-writes the rules so that everybody passes. I'm sorry. I know I'm thirty pounds overweight, but I'm working on that. I don't need the government to tell me that I'm actually the new normal weight or that my 3.6 college GPA was too good, so now I'm equal to everyone that got a 2.0. Sorry, just because government says it's right doesn't make it so. Just as if CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox report it doesn't make it true. People are just too lazy to fact check anything for themselves. I have, though, and it amazes me to see just how much Fox news gets right. Oh, and Miley Cyrus' twerking isn't news, people. The more attention we pay to her, the less likely it is that she'll simply go away.
Actually, Roger Ailes, the founder and CEO of Fox News, sets the news agenda every morning for what can and cannot be discussed on the programs. People have been fired for deviations, for instance, showing Obama in a good light.
Hmmm...there's something good to report about Obama? Really?
The best news about Obama is that he is far less industrious than most of his predecessors and therefore is less productive, thank God. Can you imagine if Obama had the work ethic of TR, the country would never recover from the hair brained lunacy all that leftist ideology wedded to all that boundless energy could produce. So I guess there really is some good Obama news, he is lazy.
Good point. Unfortunately he's changing the rules so that Americans can get a free ride for being lazy too. Once you eliminate work ethic from the marketplace, it'll be harder and harder to get people to go back to wrok when jobs are created, and even if they do become employed again, it will be even tougher to make them actually work for their paychecks since they've become accustomed to lying on a couch all day long and eating the free food our government has handed them over the years. You can't legislate prosperity out of laziness.
Reality is conservative, once someone's belly is empty long enough he will learn to work. The inevitable collapse of the American welfare economy will end lefty destruction of the work ethic, out of necessity. It will take generations, but Americans will learn to work again. Sadly the glory that is, oops was, America is now gone. The generations of Americans that built the greatest industrial, cultural, economic and military power in the history of humanity are long gone and their grand children are devouring the legacy of prosperity they inherited. It is an ancient story.
Those who argue that there is a culture of laziness ought to take a good look in the mirror.
That is so deep, thank you. The wisdom contained in that little nugget will keep me thinking for a very long time. How profound. Where do people come up with things so simple and yet so simple. It is as if all laziness was distilled into one bon mot unworthy of a fortune cookie.
Really, Billy? I look in the mirror everyday and see a man who never accepted a handout in his life and runs four successful businesses. Do I see a culture of laziness? Absolutely. And it honed itself in your response. Have a nice day.
Isn't a one line comment ample demonstration of lazi....
Isn't that sort of what I said, Retief? Basically, logic is a concept that escapes most liberals and their mental faculties. They think with their hearts. And they vote with them too. Unfortunately feelings won't fix the problems in this country. We need people with knowledge and experience to repair the damage that's been done over the last five years. We had the choice in 2012 of picking a business leader or re-electing the community activist to fix the economy. It's not rocket science to figure out who would do the better job.
We absolutely NEED to put people back to work and reduce the number of social services recipients or this country is doomed. The only way to do that, though, is to stop putting onerous regulations on business to help them expand. Obamacare and raising the minimum wage are both feel good ideas and the reason liberals voted for the POtuS, but they are both job killing mandates. It's time we took a step back and fixed the problems a different way. We're heading toward an abyss.
I think you should repeatedly tell that to your capitalist masters.
They already understand it quite well. It is the liberal, socialist, ones that don't get it, and they are in power for the nonce. One day the capitalists will regain some control and can perhaps straighten out part of the damage done.
Then why don't they fix it?
The capitalists are in power as always. You have no socialists in power in the USA.
And yet...Obama is the most socialist "leader" we've ever had in power. He has succeeded in giving away our future to a health care lie - something no other president ever managed to do, whether liberal and socialist or conservative and capitalist.
Most socialist! He's managed to tie most of the population into a healthcare plan that will benefit only the capitalists. You've said yourself how expensive the plan is and how you won't be able to afford it.
Some socialism.
Who knew you would be such a wide eyed optimist. Here I am willing to admit that America has been consigned to the ash heap of history because it is the culture of American Liberty that has been expunged and you muck it all up.
Unfortunately, there was a pretty big "perhaps" in those words. I don't actually hold out much hope as it has become the people in general crying for their entitlements that are causing the problem. They have traded liberty and freedom for a few geegaws and a life of leisure.
They have traded the freedom of the Veldt for the security of the zoo keepers cage. Well fed and well tended to until there is no more money coming in and then shot, chopped up and fed to the lions. It is an old story. The problem arises when one wishes to return to the Veldt and the ones comfortable with captivity block the door. That is where we have been since the institution of Social Security. It is now that we are facing the butcher's block.
Good analogy - the free ones feed themselves while the rest of them are fed by their masters in Washington.
The free ones feed themselves and the kept ones are fed on the confiscated catch of the free ones.
I had to re-read that a couple of times before I realized that it was a serious comment. Once that realization struck, I found there was little left to say.
Put you hand on top of your head and you may discover it, too.
Oh very clever. The wit and the humour of you righties astounds me.
You're an idiot, John. The only people who are slaves in this country are those who allow themselves to be. Those who allow themselves to be led by the nose via the lamestream media. Those who allow themselves to be fed and clothed via welfare and the government. Those who think that capitalists, like the Jews in World War II, are the source of all the problems. The Nazis tried that once before by forcing the willing sheeple to accept the righteousness of government by surrendering their firearms and praising the incompetence of their leaders. Sorry, Johnny, I'm not willing to be "led by the nose", but you are more than welcome to have the ring installed. It will look quite good on you, actually.
Ignoring the obvious personal insults (I don't believe in getting posters suspended just because their manner go on holiday) I will say then that there are an awful lot of slaves in both our countries that not only allow themselves to be enslaved but welcome it and back their slave masters to the hilt.
And what have the Nazis to do with any of this? Resorting to nazis/Hitler is generally a sign that you have no argument at all.
You are being led by the nose.
Says the man who obviously believes that socialist government is good and capitalism and self reliance is evil. Who is the one being 'led by the nose' really? 'nuff said.
By the way, the German people shut their eyes to the socialist overtures of the Nazi regime. That's where the parallel lies, bud. Remember the old adage that those who fail to remember history will be doomed to repeat it? I am not likely to forget the lessons in history while your masters are content to simply rewrite it ao the ignorant will ignore it.
You do realise (probably not) that reliance on government is a capitalist thing!
Socialism does not either allow for or welcome unemployment and actually promotes self reliance, unlike the capitalist system that takes the profits for themselves but leaves the government (you) to pick up the tab for their losses and their unwanted labour.
Sure! It's the capitalists that hand out free food, free homes, free cell phones, free school lunches, free health care, free this and free that. They don't ask money for their products; they just hand everything out for free.
You have a very odd idea of what capitalism is.
Nothing like as odd as your idea of socialism.
True - I get most of my thoughts there from you and one other person on the forums, and most of it doesn't make much sense. It's really hard to keep things straight when the basic concepts change daily, like going from no one sets labor prices to government to committee and back to no one. Or the idea that paying double to produce a product what it can be sold for is economically sound, just to keep people working. Or that factories spring from the ground fully formed with all machinery already installed - no capital needed.
It isn't economically sound under a capitalist system, but we weren't discussing capitalism, we were discussing socialism.
The difficulty in describing socialism to you is that you only seem capable of viewing everything from a capitalist view point. You know, where does the capital come from, how can you sell something for less than it costs to produce, who sets the wages, all of which are important to capitalism but irrelevant to socialism.
You are mistaken. If your products (every one in the country) costs 5 man hours to produce and are sold for 1 man hour you will very quickly run out of man hours to buy them with. Now you can multiply those man hours by 20 to get money, but it still runs out. Socialism, capitalism or any other "ism" cannot simply print more money to hand out; we've all seen what happens when they do (think Germany after WWII).
So no, you cannot sell everything for less than it costs, given that costs and prices are from the real world and not some imagined game where you get to make more when you run low or change what it is worth at will.
Who sets wages is extremely important; when it is government it takes the freedom to negotiate and improve your status away. Socialists are happy with that (gives more power to government) but free men are not.
So, if something costs five man hours to produce why can't you sell it for five man hours? Not to do so would be ridiculous in the extreme.
Why do you always insist that socialists are happy with government intervention when all the socialists that I know (and that is many more than you do) insist that government should be smaller, less centralised and less intrusive?
Very good! You're getting it now - capitalism at it's best!
Of course, one must include cost of capital, management and ownership - all an anathema to the socialist as those things aren't supposed to exist.
Maybe I say that about big government because the socialists I know continually sidestep and pretend the government they want isn't what they want. Somebody sets prices, for every product and job - if it isn't the free market it is government, but you pretend it won't happen. Somebody decides how many workers are changed to half time while maintaining full salary, and it isn't the market. It's government. It's always government to the socialist, while pretending government isn't doing any of it. Pretending that requiring you NOT negotiate your own salary isn't intrusive, pretending that taking most of your income for taxes isn't intrusive, pretending that not allowing you to build a business and earn from it isn't intrusive. Always pretending government isn't there and isn't making requirements.
Why must you include the cost of capital in a none capitalist system? Or indeed ownership?
The free market doesn't set wages and prices, the capitalists do.
The concept of half time is another capitalist concept, along with the concept of zero hour contracts. Along with low wages, along with most everything else you blame on socialism.
How about the workers deciding how much they are worth?
As for taxes, I didn't notice my tax bill changing when we were stuck with a capitalist conservative government but I did notice most of my other costs going up as prices were increased to feed the capitalists.
Because factories and equipment don't spring from the ground with the wave of a wand. Someone works to make it all, to put it together, and that someone needs paid.
Only if you call both workers and business capitalists. Because, though you will claim differently, both play a part in setting prices.
Choose whatever you like for "full time"; it makes no difference. When a living wage is paid for less than that, just to provide employment but no additional production, the company/country is in trouble.
Never met an employee that thought he was paid what he was worth. Because of that, can't see it working; greed will always win out, which is why it takes one from each side of the table to set a fair price. When only one side is represented, or has overwhelming power, the system (any system) fails. When govt. sets the prices, it fails. When labor unions set the price it fails (Detroit, once a thriving city of industry, has died because unions were too strong). When Supply is too great (unemployment too high) the system fails, though it is always only temporary. When business is too strong (late 1800's, early 1900's) the system fails and we get mining towns, sweatshops and all the other horrors of virtual slavery.
Only when both sides of the equation are fairly equal in power, and both are well represented, does it come together into a viable, maintainable system. Which is why pure capitalism (no labor representation) works, and why socialism (only government represented) can work.
Fine until we reach the part where you say "Which is why capitalism works" and "only government represented" and then it all falls apart. Capitalism clearly isn't working for the mass of people, not for the unemployed and the under employed. It isn't working to keep our creaking infrastructure working,
Fine until we reach your fixation that socialism means big government controlling everything (unlike the capitalist government which controls everything).
But capitalism IS working for the vast majority of people. And the large majority of those unemployed/underemployed will find themselves the "winners" down the road if they choose to do so. The pendulum, while far to the business side right now, WILL swing back if allowed to. (Interestingly, it was the socialists that caused the swing in the first place, with the "everyone deserves a home whether they can afford it or not" concept)
Or, we can interfere again (by artificially setting prices or other means) and bring the pendulum back by force, whereupon the system will fail permanently.
Can't speak to your infrastructure, but ours is failing because the socialists give the money to individuals instead of to repairing/improving the infrastructure of the nation. Take 100,000 off the welfare rolls and put them to work re-building bridges and roads and it would do wonders for the country, but of course that would be "demeaning" and require workers to actually learn something new.
Millions are unemployed, many millions more are underemployed. Wages are falling whilst company profits are at a record high.
Meanwhile around the world thousands die everyday for want of food while rich capitalist countries stockpile grain to keep the price high.
Your concept of working and mine are obviously miles apart.
Take 100,000 off welfare to rebuild the infrastructure and how many real jobs would that destroy? We've already seen many real jobs lost in this country to tricks like that.
Yep, about 1 out of 10 are unemployed, but at a guess half could find work if they wanted to and, given there are 10 million illegal aliens in the country, it does not seem to be a priority to fix anyway.
There are more that are underemployed as well, and those are truly hurting. Enough to live on, not enough to maintain their lifestyle or loans so they are gradually going under.
As the infrastructure work isn't being done, can't see it would cost any jobs to do some. Should help a lot, but of course most people aren't qualified to dig a ditch, flag traffic or rake asphalt. Or maybe they just don't want to...
10 million do a very good job of pulling wages down doesn't it?
I can't find anymore recent figure (that doesn't say there aren't more recent figures) but these sure prove that capitalism is working, not.
Industry Sales% 1993-1997 Jobs% 1993-1997
Electronics/computers +16.5 -4.3
Automobile +25 -6.8
Oil +18.8 -24.4
Food/drink +8 +1
Chemicals +16.5 -15.4
Pharma +5.2 -14.8
So just about every sector of industry is growing in sales but shrinking in man power except for traditionally low paid food and drink.
Where are the rest supposed to find work?
BTW I thought you didn't like the state employing anybody. How would you get around the state using the unemployed to rebuild infrastructure? Oh I get it, they wouldn't actually be paid and you have no problem with the state using slave labour!
And as some aren't qualified to dig ditches, flag traffic and rake asphalt, many more are not qualified as steel fixers, shuttering carpenters, and concreters.
oh not another "the Nazis were socialists" do some reading if you are going to spout such nonsense.
I was going for a humorous response, please do not let the narrow minds and hate filled hearts of lefties suck the humor from you. We live, we die - most of what is in between is crap.
Narrow minds and hate filled hearts of lefties!
You're trying to tell me that that hate filled rant recently directed against me was by a leftie?
Don't worry, my friend. I too go for the humor in the response, although my humor tends to be of the sharper "stick in the eye" sarcastic variety. I've reached a point in my life where I subscribe to the Teddy Roosevelt school of liberal education. I speak softly until liberals open their mouths to spout their ignorant rhetoric, then I hit them with a REALLY BIG STICK. They usually yelp and limp off into the woods to lick their wounds, then gang up and return like pack animals grasping at illogical straws with their overactive imaginations of indignation. The good news is, indignation in numbers can never overcome or overwhelm intelligent thought and insight. Yet they will continue to try, unsuccessfully, to wear me down with bs.
I'll just say this. More people need to open their eyes to the damage that's being done to the freedoms and integrity of this country. The US was founded to create opportunity through perseverance and effort and hard work. The left would rather have the sheeple on leashes, eating from the scraps of their handouts. To put it in an analogy that anyone should be able to understand, Conservatives are the hunters in society, fending for and living of themselves while liberals are the gatherers, content to live off the scraps provided by the people who actually do the heavy lifting. At some point, the scraps will run out, though, and the have nots will try to overwhelm those who have. Good thing hunters never surrender their spears.
Fox covers the news? Since when?
Fox creates propaganda and not much else.
At least they don't serve Kool Aid like the rest of the lamestream media.
It says absolutely nothing about Fox News. These same statistics are true for CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, ABC, and every other broadcast news.
"Americans aged 65 and older are still the largest segment of nightly news viewers, but their viewership has declined dramatically since 1993 'from 75% down to 40% in 2012,' the Pew study said."
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/bar … PPBhl.dpuf
Top 25 Broadcast Shows in Black Households (Source: The Nielsen Co.):
http://targetmarketnews.com/storyid12061301.htm
Obama is lazy? If that isn't a classic, racist, "those black people don't understand hard work" sort of response, I don't know what is. It's fairly easy to come up with statistics for the number of vacation days various presidents have taken. Despite the Fox News/Drudge Report/craptastic conservative bs news sources assertions that Obama golfs too much and takes too many vacations, the facts show that he has taken less vacations than both Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
http://www.ibtimes.com/fighting-words/l … us-1388659
Having said that, anybody with half a brain understands that presidents don't really take vacations, they just travel. They're basically always working, always tied into what's going on.
And there it is, the narrow, hate filled lefty mind finds its way to one of two explanations for anyone objecting to lefty politicians, racism and sexism. Interesting how when lefties look at Obama they see his skin color and yet it is everyone else that is racist.
Hardly. The "lazy" moniker has a long history of being used against black people and is frequently code for the n-word. It is particularly offensive when the charge is made when facts contradict it.
I love it. Typical racist reverse racism/hatred tactic. Call out hatred and racism and be charged with hatred and racism. Beautiful GOP strategy.
Vomit your hatred on someone else. Call me racist again and I will flag your response.
People who receive government assistance for food are lazy and refuse to work, is that what you're claiming?
94 percent increase in unemployment from 2007 to 2011. Your job goes away and you get lazy, is that it?
Check out these nuggets on myths and realities of the SNAP program. Including incentives to work.
Poor people are not all lazy. Not all rich people are industrious. But Fox reporters are lazy pseudo journalists with no regard for the veracity of what they say. Excerpt and link to story:
"This laziness, partisan hackery and lack of regard for basic accuracy is what separates Fox News from outlets that merely have opinions."
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167999/it … -stupider#
About SNAP Program and People Who Receive SNAP Benefits
]http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight … ities.aspx
The dramatic increase in SNAP participation and costs is a result of the recession, not categorical eligibility. Our nation has seen the highest unemployment rates in nearly 30 years.
SNAP participation historically follows unemployment with a slight lag. SNAP participation grew during the recession, responding quickly and effectively to increased need. As the number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011, SNAP responded with a 70% increase in participation over the same period.
Work Requirements
SNAP doesn’t do enough to encourage participants to get a job, and the program needs stronger work requirements.
SNAP already has strict time-limits for unemployed workers. Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) may only receive 3 months of SNAP benefits during any 3 year period, unless they are working in a qualifying job training program.
The SNAP benefit formula is structured to provide a strong work incentive – for every additional dollar a SNAP participant earns, their benefits decline by about 24 to 36 cents, not a full dollar, so participants have a strong incentive to find work, work longer hours, or seek better-paying employment.[xxxiii]
Guess your theory explains why the average SNAP recipient actually eats better than I do, given that I have always worked in some capacity or other throughout my life but can't afford the steaks and seafood that I see in the cart of virtually every food stamp user. It amuses me. I can spot them three lanes away and I'm never wrong about it.
By the way, I love how the racist argument rears its ugly head whenever someone dares to challenge the POtuS' incompetence. I'd vote for Ben Carson, Allen West or Herman Cain before the moron we currently have in the White House. At least those three understood the challenges of growing up black and didn't use it as a crutch or urge black people throughout the world to do the same. There's racial pride and then there's the incompetence of our POtuS and the Jesse Jacksons and the Al Sharptons of the world. You want to find the cause of modern racism? You don't need to look any farther than those three idiots.
People who receive government assistance for food are lazy and refuse to work, is that what you're claiming?
That is what you have decided to read.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167999/it … -stupider#
Interesting, using a magazine entirely populated with rabid leftists to criticize a television network not entirely populated by rabid anythings.
The dramatic increase in SNAP participation and costs is a result of the recession,
Didn't the recession officially end in mid-2009? Shouldn't that participation number be coming down?
I'm a white male, 68 and I despise Fox News, as well as the clowns like Rush Limblob, the NRA, the tea party, Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers, Citizens United, and Bush's wars of choice, and the mixing of religion and state. So not all of us children of the 60's have gone to seed.
Guess you just proved Churchill's adage. If you're under thirty and conservative, you have no heart. If you're over thirty and liberal, you have no brain. Proof positive.
The problem with conversations like this is there is no room to argue the middle. To talk about what we have in common and stop having to point a finger in the opposite direction to gain some sort of legitimacy in an argument if you will. All the while the problem continues and no agreement or change is met. Fox News is an aberration that was commercially set against the overwhelming liberal media. People who were looking for those arguing points suddenly had a competing television source to quote and refer too. And as we all know if it is written or published it must be true . So what is to be done? Can we put away our pride and start finding solutions instead of fault? What is so wrong with having a conservative approach to some problems and what is wrong with thinking a little progressively about what can be done to better the future? I myself get caught up in the fervor to prove a point and sometimes even offend my own principles. I hope we can at least begin to find some solutions rather than kicking the can down the road for others to solve even worse circumstances due to our inattentive wrangling of the issues.
Here's the problem with your argument, Rhamson. You have just taken a side just with your choice of words just now. You called Fox News an "aberration". This is by and large the way the left views the truth. The lamestream media continues to lie and twist the truth to make the left sound like the saviours of the universe when in reality, their policies are destroying the one pinnacle bastion of freedom left in the world.
As an example, whenever there is a mass shooting anywhere, the lame stream media will go on a rant about the disproportionate safety or lack thereof in communites where guns are allowed. This is, however, a false notion, given the total lack of credibility of that argument. In Texas, for instance, the freedom to carry guns there is legendary. Yet how often do you hear of mass shooting reports coming out of Texas? I'll tell you. Not often. Conversely, Chicago has the strictest gun laws of any city in the continental US. During one weekend in 2012, though, over 160 gun related crimes were committed, one third of them killings. Gun violence in Chicago is the norm rather than the exception, yet the lamestream media refuses to report on it or its direct correllation to the absence of legal guns in a city where cops refuse to get involved in crime fighting for fear of their own lives..
By the same token, there is the ongoing sordid lack of journalistic coverage of the Knock-Out game which the same lamestream media refuses to acknowledge or report. I myself know a victim of the game and have, at one point, been a potential target of it. As a proponant of, and a purveyor of a concealed carry permit (which are very tough to get in ultra-liberal New York), I was personally able to avoid what could have been a very messy confrontation. Guns, when used responsibly, are a deterrent to criminal activity, yet, according to the lamestream media and your liberal leaders, all guns are bad. I suppose that's why the Diane Feinsteins and Jim Carreys of the world refuse to travel without armed bodyguards while the rest of us can remain potential victims of crime since criminals will readily lay down their arms whenever a new gun control law is passed. I love, too, how our liberal elite also think that criminal masterminds will willingly adhere to the ammunition limitation and only rob banks at gun point with seven rounds in the magazine since carrying more is against the law.
Frankly, the media needs to get off its collective ass and start reporting the news instead of trying to hide it for the liberal agenda. Until that happens, news outlets like Fox are completely necessary. If you stick your head in the sand and pretend the world around you doesn't exist, it still won't go away even if the rest of the news outlets like CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC tell you it's gone. If you believe everything they tell you, you're just not paying attention. And that, my friend, is the biggest tragedy of all since it proves your utter and total ignorance of the truth.
Hello Bernie. It is nice to be able to chat with you here.
After brushing away the rhetoric and hyperbole, I hope you do not mind if I point to areas of your post that also suffer from false notions and a lack of credibility.
The harsh reality of facts seem to contradict your misperception that mass shooting reports coming out of Texas are “not often.” The number of mass shooting sprees in Texas actually ranks as the second highest in the nation. Texas has had 14 separate mass killings involving guns since 2006 compared to California’s 22. {1}
In addition, the number of deaths in Texas during 2010 due to injury by firearms is 11.0 per 100,000 population. This ratio is even greater than the 10.1 rate for the entire USA. {2}
Unfortunately, the credibility in your post sinks deeper with distorted and slanderous statements about Chicago and its police force. “Conversely, Chicago has the strictest gun laws of any city in the continental US… Gun violence in Chicago is the norm rather than the exception, yet the lamestream media refuses to report on it or its direct correllation [sic] to the absence of legal guns in a city where cops refuse to get involved in crime fighting for fear of their own lives.”
Following a misleading statement about mass killing in Texas, your post attempts to compare mass shooting incidents in Texas to individual criminal gun activity in Chicago. Such a comparison is hardly reasonable or rational. However, a more genuine comparison would be the 14 mass killings in Texas to the 3 in Chicago (resulting in 14 victims) during the same period. {3}
Your post goes on to slander an entire police force by saying Chicago “cops refuse to get involved in crime fighting for fear of their own lives.” Such an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof and you did not provide any.
If I may point out, since you mentioned how tough it is to get a carry permit in ultra-liberal New York, it is interesting to note that New York State had only 6 incidents (just one in NYC) resulting in mass shooting deaths compared with the 14 in gun toting Texas. {4}
Obviously, these observations are not about gun control or suggesting a need for more legislation. The shortcomings in your post are all about the presence of misleading rhetoric and hyperbole and the glaring absence of minimal fact checking.
How sad it is, in a post containing so many false notions and a persistent lack of credibility, the ultimate irony comes at the very end. “That, my friend, is the biggest tragedy of all since it proves your utter and total ignorance of the truth.” Unfortunately, such pompous statements reflect poorly on one’s own understanding of truth not to mention the size of their ego.
I really hope you enjoy a sun filled, fun filled day, Bernie.
{1}
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati … p/2820423/
{2} http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/fi … er-100000/
{3} Ibid.
{4} Ibid.
I wonder what other tid bits Bernie has to share from the Fox vault of "facts"?
Not sure what these numbers actually mean, but the murder rate for Texas in 2010 was 4.9 per 100,000, California was 4.8 and the US as a whole was also 4.8. {1} All of these are in line with recent years, as compiled by the UNODC by the small arms survey.{2}
I recognize that there will be a handful of firearm related deaths that were NOT murder, but accidental - it is very difficult to believe that the rate would be 6.1/100,000 - considerably higher than the murder rate.
I also have to wonder just why the title there was "Number of Deaths Due to Injury by Firearms..." instead of simply "homicide rate by guns" or something similar, as is usually the case. It's almost as if the authors are trying to hide something behind the statistics; to spin the numbers into something they aren't.
{1} http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder- … te#MRalpha
{2} http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sp … hip/table/
CDC placed accidental firearm death at around 0.3/100,000 in 2010
Hey there, Wilderness. I appreciate your taking time to comment on my post.
Without dissecting the methodology and data sources of both studies, I would venture to say the titles imply that the “murder rate” in the http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder- … te#MRalpha study is a subset of the “all deaths” rate used in the http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/fi … er-100000/ data set.
I must admit I was really surprised by this comment. “I also have to wonder just why the title there was "Number of Deaths Due to Injury by Firearms..." instead of simply "homicide rate by guns" or something similar, as is usually the case. It's almost as if the authors are trying to hide something behind the statistics; to spin the numbers into something they aren't.”
Your wondering about the differences between the titles of the reports causes me to wonder also. It come across as an attempt to cast doubt over the published results by implying without a good reason, “the authors are trying to hide something behind the statistics; to spin the numbers into something they aren't.” It is justification to wonder if you are trying to spin the differences in the two titles into a red herring to discredit data you can not otherwise challenge. It certainly is not productive to toss around unsupported accusations. It is just a thought.
As an added exercise, I looked to the data at the CDC. I used the following search Query Criteria if you would like to verify my results:
Title: Total Deaths from Firearms, Texas, 2010
Autopsy: All
Gender: All
Hispanic Origin: All
ICD-10 113 Cause List: Accidental discharge of firearms (W32-W34), Intentional self-harm (suicide) by discharge of firearms (X72-X74), Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms (*U01.4,X93-X95), Discharge of firearms, undetermined intent (Y22-Y24)
Place of Death: All
Race: All
States: Texas (48)
Ten-Year Age Groups: All
Urbanization: All
Weekday: All
Year/Month: 2010
Group By: Cause of death
Show Totals: True
Show Zero Values: False
Show Suppressed: False
Calculate Rates Per: 100,000
Rate Options: Default intercensal populations for years 2001-2009 (except Infant Age Groups)
{1}
Not too surprising, the results were remarkably similar to those I put into my earlier post. My search yielded a total rate of 10.7 deaths per 100,000 in Texas during 2010 from the designated gun related causes.
I have to tell you, Wilderness, I love following your provocative comments. Keep up the fine work.
{1} http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
The comment on the title was because I trust the UN figures, and they vary from yours by over 200%. That's not a discrepancy; that's a different data base being used. One that has something to do with the term "injury"? I don't know.
I can't seem to make heads nor tails of the link to the cdc; it all deals with illnesses, not gunshot wounds. For some reason I can't find gun wounds at all, let alone the near 11/100,000 you say is there. I'm being told that, for the title of "Total deaths by Firearms, Texas, 2010" that the age group of 85+ has a rate of 14,755.6 per 100,000. Somehow I doubt that - help me out?
In addition, if I'm reading the http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/fi … er-100000/ link correctly, it applies ONLY to medicaid cases. Their entire data collection comes from medicaid, and this makes the number even more suspect as that will not be even a majority of cases. Is it possible that a person, on Medicaid, that has been shot goes to the ER and gets treated and counted, a week later goes to a clinic to get stitches out and gets counted. A month later goes to a doctor and gets counted? A really stupid scenario, but I really am at a loss to explain what I'm seeing here.
Good evening, Wildernes. I am happy to help you out.
Confusion reigns supreme. The UNODC report only counts murders and the data I used includes ALL deaths from injuries caused by firearms.
First, the UNODC report printed in the Washington Post says that it only covers murders! The leading sentence makes this clear by stating “per capita rate of firearm-related murders.” The table indicates 3.2 homicides (murders) per 100,000 in the USA. {1}
Secondly, the data I provided encompass the rate of ALL Deaths Due to Injury by Firearms not just murders. The ratio reported for the entire USA is 10.1 per 100,000. {2}
Look at the notes at the bottom of the kff.org page. You will find, “Causes of death attributable to firearm mortality include ICD-10 Codes
W32-W34, Accidental discharge of firearm; Codes
X72-X74, Intentional self-harm by firearm;
X93-X95, Assault by firearm;
Y22-Y24, Firearm discharge, undetermined intent; and
Y35, Legal intervention involving firearm discharge. {3}
My comparison search Query Criteria used for the CDC Wonder database included…
ICD-10 113 Cause List:
W32-W34, Accidental discharge of firearms,
X72-X74, Intentional self-harm (suicide) by discharge of firearms,
*U01.4,X93-X95, Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms, and
Y22-Y24, Discharge of firearms, undetermined intent. {4}
Notice the latter does not include “Y35, Legal intervention involving firearm discharge.” This may explain the slightly lower death rate results. Furthermore, murders, as reported by the UNODC, are included in sub-categories X93-X95 in both searches.
Then we have the introduction of even more misleading and meaningless confusion about Medicare cases. You wrote, "In addition, if I'm reading the http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/fi…er-100000/ link correctly, it applies ONLY to medicaid cases. Their entire data collection comes from medicaid, and this makes the number even more suspect as that will not be even a majority of cases".
Just stick with the page containing the data. Ignore your imaginary, highly creative, totally misleading Medicare scenario. Do not wander off following clearly labeled side-bar links to other unrelated Medicare data bases. Instead, read the notes at the bottom of the data page that lists the sources of the data:
“Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Health Statistics.
Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2010 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2012.
Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2010, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on May 10, 2013.” {5}
How to navigate the CDC Wonder data base will make a good topic for another post tomorrow.
I hope all is going well for you, Wilderness.
{1} http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sp … hip/table/
{2} http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/fi … er-100000/
{3} Ibid.
{4} http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
{5} kff.org
Quilligrapher, maybe this is a good case for Fox viewers having a hard time unraveling data associated with the topic.
Yes, I know the UNODC only counts homicides. That's the rub - suicides, accidents, unknown and law enforcement thus produces some 7 deaths per 100,000. A figure I find very difficult to swallow, but apparently you don't.
It's too late to look tonight, but I will give the site another shot, and see if I can get any actual numbers from it in the breakdown. You don't give them, and I can't seem to get them for some reason.
Wilderness, the CDC returns 6.3 deaths per 100,000 from suicides in the nation as a whole in 2010:
Deaths Population Rate Per
ICD-10 113 Cause List: 100,000
Accidental discharge
of firearms (W32-W34) 606 308,745,538 0.2
Intentional self-harm
(suicide) by discharge
of firearms (X72-X74) 19,392 308,745,538 6.3
Assault (homicide)
by discharge of firearms
(*U01.4,X93-X95) 11,078 308,745,538 3.6
Discharge of firearms,
undetermined intent
(Y22-Y24) 252 308,745,538 0.1
And there is the number that gives rise to why I said it was a different data base. The suicide (by firearm) rate of 6.3/100,000.
That, to me, is incredible; enough so that I looked for verification. The AFSP provides that verification, in that the suicide rate runs over 10 for most years in the US {1}.
So the inconsistency in the two reports (yours and mine) are found to be caused by the one figure of suicide by gun (the others are very minor and not of a great deal of interest). I did insinuate that I didn't believe such a huge suicide/accident/law enforcement rate; turns it out it was right and all because of the suicide rate.
Thank you for the figures; I was out most of the day today and did not get a chance to play with the site again. I still don't know what I was doing wrong, but you've provided the exact data needed to understand what was going on.
{1} http://www.afsp.org/understanding-suici … nd-figures
I'd have to add that if you think we should not inspect raw data or look at where it came from then you must be right. That would not be kosher, would it?
Wilderness, I see your point clearly. Since we are both seeking the truth, it does not matter who finds it.
Quilligrapher.
It's interesting that you quote USA Today as your source of statistics in your reply to mine from a while ago. USA Today is one of the lamestream media rags that are actually part of the problem. Reporting the statistics that you want to doesn't make them true. I prefer facts to back up my arguments.
The facts I used in my statements can be verified by visiting the state's law enforcement websites and national crime databases. They should be easy enough to find, if you have the intellect to look them up. As for the statement about cops refusing to answer calls, 911 incidents have become part of public record and you can actually hear officers say on 911 recordings that they will refuse to enter "hot zones" until situations have defused themselves. I take that to mean, "when the shooting stops".
By the way, I would have responded sooner, but some idiot (you know who you are) had me banned from posting since I evidently offended their sensibilities by refusing to venerate or genuflect to the liberal viewpoint. As I'm sure the same individual will do so again since I referred to him/her as an idiot.
The only person that can "have you banned" is you; everyone else can only draw the attention of the moderators, who will determine if you have violated the rules. Only you can violate the rules when you make a post.
Hi Bernie. Nice to see you back from your banning.
You can only diminish the force of facts with other facts. Their validity allows them to stand on their own merits independent of the reputation of the messenger that delivers them. Dismissing another’s facts because you disapprove of the editorial policies of the source is a common tactic of those who are unable to produce any facts of their own. Since you made the claim, the responsibility for providing supporting evidence falls on you.
You stated, “Yet how often do you hear of mass shooting reports coming out of Texas? I'll tell you. Not often.” Existing data indicates Texas ranks second highest in the nation for mass shooting. Your claim is untrue and you have yet to produce a single fact to prove otherwise.
“By the way,” you said, “I would have responded sooner, but some idiot (you know who you are) had me banned from posting since I evidently offended their sensibilities.”
The only person to blame for your time out is you. You earned it; you own it.
Nice to see you back in the game, Bernie.
You are absolutely correct here. Thank you for saying what needs to be said. Well put.
ahem... child of the 60s - born in 1946?
Limblob - name calling?
Despise? A bit strong doncha think? Especially since it appears from your list that it is conservative issues/symbols/icons that you despise.
as to the "not gone to seed" part, well.... perhaps I have just formed an incorrect first impression.
GA
Not gone to seed but still making sure the seeds are separated from the buds before rolling.
Well, it appears somebody has played the race card. It was only a matter of time. I wish we could just debate, minus the race card.
There are so many lefties whose minds are so twisted that the only things they can see is skin color and sex organs.
Of course nobody on the right are at all interested in skin colour and sex organs are they!
I will not be called a racist or a sexist.
But you're quite happy to apply blanket accusations!
Well define how many you meant by "so many".
Just because it isn't said does not make it untrue, however.
There are many truths left unspoken and left for others to discover for themselves because there is more power in discovery than telling.
That wouldn't happen to be the same way that Obama "owns" the affordable care act, would it? Oh yeah, that's right. It's Bush's fault.
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