Goodbye Fox News

I will admit it, I'm addicted. I'm addicted to watching Fox News and listening to right-wing radio. Is it because I secretly have my Ronald Reagan poster up on the wall behind the bookcase, or that I'm hiding my collection of autographed works by William F Buckley? No, it is because I like how angry it gets me. Why admit this now, after a long silence? It's time to kick the habit.

Yes I know, this isn't good for me. Like every sinful addiction, this one has its downside as well. I feel it definitely makes me want to play dirty, and helps me to justify being judgmental towards others. I sink to the level of John Gibson when I refer to his poofy hair and face instead of his ideas. I have a hard time not ripping on The entire Fox & Friends cast, especially for being so unqualified (a weatherman, miss America 1989, and a sports guy doing political commentary and news.) When it comes to Hannity, well, there is so much....the fact he dropped out of a junior college, his inability to respect people, etc. Then there is Bill-O....The man, the Myth, The Falaffel. I can't stand his lies, which may not be a personal attack, but it still makes me incredibly angry. His claim to be an independent? His claim that he did not sexually harass an employee, or make phone-sex calls to her(which she taped haha)? His claim to have won a Peabody award? I also about throw things at the TV when O'Reilly bullies guests, tells people to shut up, or cuts their mic. This man lies, intimidates and distorts, with nobody there to challenge him on it. With all this to go on, you can see why I have a lot to be angry about.

Why get angry about this? Why let it get to me? Because to me, this is about peoples lives. The men and women of fox news are responsible for spreading a message that is in the best interests of wealthy conservatives. This is disguised by spinning "moral values" around the core issue, then convincing Americans that these are the important issues, and if you don't focus on them, your way of life will be destroyed. People buy the message, and vote against their own best interests. Poverty, Global Warming, Gay Rights, Peace, War, Terrorism, Taxes, Health care and other issues are spun under the watchful eyes of Fox Execs, and Rupert Murdoch (Yes, for everyone out there who hates the UN telling us what to do, He's an Australian telling us what to do!). the effect here is devastating, helping to secure the Bush "victories" in 2000 and 2004, and keeping Democrats reeling from the republican talking points that you hear so often on the network. Yes it's brilliant, but evil and disgusting.

What can we do though? Well, I've learned you can try to sneak a snide comment in on email, but it doesn't work. There are plenty of great sites out there who deal with calling Fox out on their lies and distortions, making my watching kind of pointless. By watching, I do get angry, which builds up, helping me to keep anger bottled up until it overflows, on email or to people around me. The network is swamp of decaying morals and toxic talking points. I have decided to thus stop watching it. I don;t want to become those people I see, bashing others for their views, then going after anything they have ever done. So, here we go...click...its off......and I will use my extra time to actually working at making the world a better place.