A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

The American electorate: Two cats in a sack fighting

Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Dem pol boss to Rep pol boss: "Excellent, excellent. Divide-and-conquer really does work, it seems. Got 'em right where we want 'em. Will we be seeing you and the missus on the Riviera this year?"

;

The Internet not only enables more hateful spew - it amplifies it.

[ In Reply To ..]
Today I visited both liberal and conservative media sites where articles enabled comments. The experience was sad and even somewhat frightening. Some vulgar. Some vile. Some filled with misinformation, others with disinformation, hatred, prejudice, and ignorant stereotypes. Almost NOTHING in the way of informed, rational discourse.

On both sides, people. Both sides. The concrete blocks of partisan ignorance, bigotry and incivility weighing down that sack with the cats as it races to the bottom of the falls.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. There will be - no winners in this war. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

We used to have a common American culture. - Now we have so many subcultures

[ In Reply To ..]
and no fundamental principles.

With the solving of any conflict we also need reconciliation. That doesn't happen either.

Abraham Lincoln was right.

On the internet, no one knows you're a dog. - Spew - click! Bigotry - click!

[ In Reply To ..]
So easy. I can't say I'm proud of everything I've posted either, but I've been giving this a lot of serious thought lately as I've watched the direction that we're heading as a society, the bitter divisions that I believe have become much worse, and some of what's driving it.

Political and other leaders, certainly, but I think that the Internet is playing an important part as well, because it's broken down the social rules that usually exist when people communicate face-to-face.

Drive-by shootings. That's what a lot of online commentary now consists of, and it's just as deadly as the other kind.

Drive by headlines too, meant to get your attention - with the truth buried in the article

[ In Reply To ..]
if you're lucky.

Absolutely. The media play a huge role in this. Our clicks - on an article generate money for them.

[ In Reply To ..]
In my view, the media have sunk to a level never seen before - although certainly "yellow journalism" has existed since the first Bedrock Daily was carved in stone.

Most reprehensible (in terms of journalism) is the deliberate propagation of misinformation, whether outright or in the form of "selective reporting" (the deliberate omission of evidence contrary to the journalist's position).

And, as you say...casting headlines in misleading and/or sensationalistic terms solely for the purpose of garnering clicks...with software that counts the clicks and racks up charges to the advertisers on that page for each one (charge-per-view). In some cases you have to click on an ad for the advertiser to be charged, but it all adds up, and it's the headline that starts the ball rolling.

In some cases, I'm not even sure that the media don't deliberately post provocative "comments" - supposedly from readers - knowing that the urge to strike back will be almost irresistible...and that will lead to further retorts...etc., etc. It's a snowball rolling downhill, and they know how to milk it for everything it's worth.

Agreed. Look at the recent vile comments when - Judge Scalia passed. I

[ In Reply To ..]
don't mean to imply it's all one sided and I know not all Democrats are the same. Just a recent example. I don't even post on You Tube or Facebook anymore.

Similar Messages:

Jun 11, 2016
women hatin' on other women - no one wanting anyone to have more than they do, martyrdom to the max - "please, please let us work for nothing, and we will love it because we do not deserve anything good for ourselves." these posts seem more appropriate for high school. ...

Jan 22, 2013
November 15, 2012 The Tarnish of the Electoral College From the late-1960s through the ’80s, Republicans were convinced that they had a permanent lock on the Electoral College. The Sun Belt was rising, traditionally Democratic states were losing population, and Republicans won five of six presidential elections beginning in 1968. Democrats complained that this archaic system was a terrible and undemocratic way to choose the country’s executive. They were right, ...

Mar 02, 2016
I recently learned that the reason education through high school in our country was "free," (though obviously paid for by taxes) was because in order for democracy to work, you have to have a well-educated electorate, i.e., you can't turn over the decision-making process to people who are not well informed. Looking at the demographics of the Trump supporters, which reveal that so many are NOT well educated, and not well informed enough to see that a President of the United States ...

Oct 06, 2010
I find it interesting what people name their pets and how they selected a specific pet name. Mine are both pure black and litter mates. At first we were gravitating towards names that would fit black cats one of which was Amos and Andy just t o name one. They ended up with the names of JJ and Mojo. JJ was short for Jimmie Johnson (my husband is a NASCAR fan) and Mojo was named related to blues music, which we attend a blues festival every year in Main ...

Jan 19, 2012
My daughter is 13, son is 10. They pick at each other constantly about the littlest thing! This afternoon I sent them out to shovel snow and my daughter came in crying and said she would go out after her brother was done because he called her an idiot. Told her she was not an idiot and called him in and told them both to not talk to each other while outside. Now it is not even 6 o'clock and they are in their rooms for the night because I am out of options for punishm ...

Mar 25, 2015
those employed by the IRS. Total disgrace. Soldiers in the sandbox can find a way to pay their taxes and government workers, in Washington DC where IRS offices are located, cannot? ...

Dec 12, 2012
the people who hold them are getting wage cuts instead of increases. We're ALL in trouble. From the Washington Post: "The stagnation of wages has become an accepted fact across the political spectrum; conservative columnists such as Michael Gerson and David Brooks have acknowledged that workers’ incomes seem to be stuck." "Defenders of right-to-work laws argue that they improve a state’s economy by creating more jobs. But an exhaustive study by economist Lo ...

Dec 23, 2010
I try to be the peacemaker and remain neutral, but this year my sister has taken to posting on facebook! Is that not the most juvenile thing you have every heard??!!?! Of course, she is slanting the facts to make her look like the victim. My mom will never see it because she never uses a computer, doesn't even have email. However, I'm a little aggravated because there are all these people on my sister's friends list commenting on it basically telling my sis ...

Jun 07, 2010
Here's the thing, I think they spend too much time together and ever since school let out for summer, they have been getting into fights. And I don't mean arguments. I mean I hearing screaming and yelling and things breaking in the basement. So I go in there and what is happening is my son's girlfriend loses her temper and she hits my son. When I say hit, I mean she punches him in the face, backhands him in the mouth. My son has a really bad temper, b ...

Jul 19, 2012
So much for hope and change! OMG - 2012 ...

Nov 07, 2012
Of course, if a dysfunctional do-nothing plan continues on the right, they will use their power to continue gridlock as before. ...

Jan 02, 2013
they're pursuing right now. There have never been so many determined people turning their attention to this, and 2012 may well be the year the whole country got mad. 80% of us of all parties and nonparties want big election finance reform. From Frontline: What’s the Future for Campaign Finance Reform? Follow @azmatzahraNovember 19, 2012, 5:39 pm ET by Azmat Khan In the lead up to the most expensive election in U.S. history, campaign finance reformers argued ...

Oct 02, 2012
This is another thing I find unbelievably disgusting...these soldiers were wounded and killed by a fellow soldier who admittedly was in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki. Obama should be ashamed of himself for this lack of consideration for our boys. Remember how he treated the incident at a speech (read last paragraph). On November 5, 2009, Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan while he was serving on-duty at Ft. Hood in Temple, Texas, in what becam ...

Dec 08, 2016
I think Jill should quit while she's still ahead with the $7.2 million in her pocket. WISCONSIN: MICHIGAN:Attorney General Bill Schuette, like the Trump campaign, argues that Green Party candidate Jill Stein cannot seek the recount because she was not "aggrieved" to the point at which a potential miscounting of votes could have cost her the election. She garnered 1 percent of Michigan's vote. A federal judge halted the presidential vote recount in Michigan on Wednesday, ...

Jun 17, 2010
It's so long, that I can't post it all here, so I'm just providing the link. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/06/tea_partyers_push_back_against.html ...

Sep 20, 2016
Please see link. I could not even finish reading this whole article right now it made me so sick. Just for your information. ...

Apr 18, 2017
I wonder if the greedy suits in the medical transcription industry will take heed. ...

Oct 20, 2009
No, I don't mean putting them in a sack with a brick and throwing them in a river... but how do you keep them from hanging around your home? My next door neighbor has started putting food out for strays and now there are 3 half grown kitten-cats that are hanging around not just her apartment, but mine too. Yesterday I sat down my groceries on my front step while I got my key out and they were nosing around my bags. Then when a few minutes later when I went to take out trash, they followed m ...

Nov 26, 2009
Hello all. Was wondering if anyone out there in MT land knows of an exotic shorthair cat breeder? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much and Happy Thanksgiving!!!! ...

Dec 01, 2009
Usually my 3 cats come running when I give them treats. This morning 2 showed up, where is the other one? I have looked all through the house. Where in the world do kitties go when they just want to be alone, a kittie retreat? If they do not want to be found, usually that is what happens. I have looked in every nook and cranny, behind TVs, behind furniture. I know that kitty was just here this morning. He sits outside my bedroom door each morning until I appear. Now poof! ...

Oct 28, 2010
I never liked them but got this one when my mother died and I love this cat now. She goes out the doggie door and pretty much acts like one of the dogs. There's a stray cat that keeps coming over the fence and I finally figured out it was coming in during the night and eating all the treats and food left in the kitchen for my cat. Last night I heard mind screaming, got downstairs and the stray cat had attacked her. Mine hid for a long time and finally came out of hiding. She has some s ...

Jan 21, 2012
Over the years my cats have been on different dry and canned foods: Science Diet, expensive stuff from the vet that I can't recall the name of right now, etc. One of my babies has some allergies, resulting in sneezing and some colon issues. But overall they are healthy cats. A new Pet Club opened next door to the Wal-Mart, and I have been buying dry food there in large (30 lb. or so) bags to save some money. Plus they have a $5 off coupon on the back of the Fry' ...

Jun 07, 2012
Has anyone else noticed that ever since they invented "Windows" keyboards, your cat can screw up your computer in all sorts of strange and wonderful ways? In the old days, the worst thing that Rocky Rhodes could do by strolling across my keyboard was to reboot my computer, and that took some doing (stepping on control, alt, delete at the same time). Now, Rocky can make my screen disappear, mute my headphone, etc. because Windows keyboards have all these extra function keys. Heck, for all ...

Jul 19, 2013
Any pet lover got some advice for me? I got a boxer pup when she was 10 weeks old and we have cats. She never really paid much attention to the cats. Well, now all of a sudden at 7 months old, she seriously tries to KILL the cats! She attacks them and will not stop, I have to restrain her and hold her and she STILL tries to get to them. I love her and don't want to have to get rid of her, but the cats are my kids' cats and they love their cats as well. &nb ...

Aug 20, 2013
Thread below was definitely best ever. I had forgotten about my drooling baby. She passed away December 2012 when she was 18 1/2 years old. After reading the post below, I remembered the day I woke up when she was 9 years old, she was sleeping on my chest, and there was not a puddle on my chest. So she learned to swallow when she was 9. I used to have kleenex boxes all over the house, and when I would pass her off to someone I would hand them a kleenex. Also u ...

Oct 14, 2013
Ok, maybe not shaving my cat but here is the rundown. I have 4 cats, 2 with extremely long furry coats and they shed so much that I am almost drowning in fur. Just kidding about this but it is a lot that my hubby tells me to use the commercial vacuum we have to get it up. I did have a company that would shave the cats down about once a year but now they do not have groomers there any longer. Some places will shave but they require for your cats to have shots including rabies and from what I r ...

Feb 25, 2012
My ole guy is 17. He is fine during the day, but when I go to work at night, he cries and cries and seems so needy. I have 2 desks together, he sits on one at my left arm and keeps grabbing me so I cannot work, until he finally gets to sleep. I know cats are nocturnal, but I thought they were supposed to sleep something like 20 hrs a day, especially older ones. ...

Jan 02, 2012
Soon I will be working 3 jobs, and my 2 house kitties are already bored (they can't stand each other so don't play together, etc.). They already have a TON of toys (both interactive and not) as well as a tall cat tree and multiple scratching posts, but I need something else to help alleviate their boredom. Artificial aquarium? Videos of birds, fish, etc.? Your ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks. ...

Sep 23, 2016
We've been taking care of a feral cat for 2 years. She finally trusts us enough that we can pet her. She surprised us with 4 kittens 9 weeks ago. They won't let us touch them yet, but they were getting closer to us, within inches, this past week. There are 4. My favorite is the deep dark gray runt. He/she is the only one we haven't been able to get near and is so timid. He/she wouldn't even play with the other kittens that much, just sit and watch.This morning when we went ou ...

Oct 26, 2009
Besides taking the vacuum cleaner and sucking these brats up in the cleaner, how can I do this. Every morning bright and early, around 6 or so, they stand outside my bedroom door and meow for their breakfast. I have tried sitting out food late of a night so maybe that will carry them over until I want to get up and it is not 6 in the morning. I do not start my work day until noon so I try to sleep until 8 or so because I watch TV so late of a night. The nights my husband is home there is no prob ...