Both Sides Don’t 0

Methinks she has a point. And I think that the female commentator’s (I don’t know her name) comment at the end of the clip that AOC’s comments were “interesting” were (looking for words) appallingly stupid.

It’s quite clear that one thing is not like the other thing.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The flaw in the bothsiderism that characterizes much of our political reporting, especially on television and most especially on cable news (don’t get me started on AM talk radio), is quite simple.

It ignores facts.

It equates minor misdemeanors with felonies, missteps with malevolence, unintentional and quite human gaffes with poisonous perfidy. It pretends that our home-grown fascists are merely dissatisfied dissidents and ignores their inimical intent. It values ratings over rights, and it values ratings over right.

Facts can be dull and convoluted; they can seem boring; and they don’t get ratings. In contrast, the horse race can be (portrayed as) exciting. The fact of the matter (ahem!), though, is that reporting should be about facts, not about what-ifs and horse races (unless they are real horse races with real horses, but that’s what racing forms are for, which reminds me that I once hit an exacta at Delaware Park–but that’s another story).

We should value the news providers that focus on facts and disdain contemn those who do not, because they are contemptible.

I could go on, but I won’t. But there’s a reason I stopped watching television news (mumble) years ago. When it stopped being a loss leader and a public service and became a profit center, it–er–descended into Hades.

Video via C&L, which has commentary.