REAL "Gangs of New York" 1813

Here is where you are grossly misinformed. The ratings that Fox News brags about are based largely upon their prime-time lineup - O'Reilly, Hannity & Colmes, etc. - not their actual news broadcasts. In straight news, they fare about the same as everyone else - higher in some markets, lower in others. In straight news, I would agree that Fox is fairly balanced - but so is CNN in straight news. It's the commentary where the networks differ and this myth of the "liberal media" vs. the "conservative media" arises. Fox is decidedly right-leaning in its opinion-based programming. MSNBC is probably the most balanced in that regard with the left-leaning Chris Matthews, the cynical moderate Keith Olbermann, and the right-leaning Joe Scarborough. The problem with Fox News, and the overall "new media" is that the line between opinion and fact has become so blurred. I hear people spout of plabreastudes from Rush Limabugh (a proven liar) as if they were actual news. Ditto for O'Reilly, Hannity, and any number of others. Part of the problem lies within ourselves - we only want to hear things that we want to hear. therefore, if your views lean right, you will take the words of a Bill O'Reilly as unvarnished truth because he's only reinforcing what you already believe. The same goes for the left. We all tend to reject actual fact if it does not suit our pre-decided conclusions. The "new media" was best summed up by one of its pioneers, Matt Drudge, who once said something to the effect of "It's not my job to prove a story is true, it's their job to prove it's not." The debacle that brought down Dan Rather is a direct result of this mentality - even though many want to blame his bias. You say conservatives speak the truth - what a bunch of poo. They only "speak the truth" because they feed you what you want to hear. How about Limbaugh's decade-long railing about how drug abusers are the scum of the earth while hiding his own addiction to drugs? A bit hypocritical, don't you think? Is that an example of someone who always speaks the truth? If that doesn't make you ponder, how about his slamming Clinton as a "draft dodger" while never giving any clear answer as to how he managed to avoid service in Vietnam? Maybe that's old news, so let's try this - our President and his administration sold us a bill of goods that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States and possessed WMD. Two years later, they now admit "we were wrong..." Was it really just "bad intelligence" - which means they want us to believe they were so incompetent as to not confirm much of anything before going to war. Or was it an outright lie to justify a personal vendetta and benefit a few buddies? The list of conservative lies goes on and on - go back to Ulysses S. Grant, Warren Harding, Richard Nixon - the most corrupt administrations in our history have been Republican. Oliver North, conservative hero, lied UNDER OATH, at the Iran-Contra hearings. Yes, conservatives always tell the truth. The point is, neither side has a lock on the truth. They both tell the truth and they both lie - whatever suits their needs. Don't be duped by this kind of pablum Fox or anyone else is feeding you.