Here is an excellent message I received after our show on media bias this morning…

“One point that I think should be mentioned with regard to the media is that nobody should expect to have a media source they can trust.  Skepticism is the most important tool that a citizen of this country can have.  Throwing away media sources serves little purpose; if a clear cut bias is apparent, as with Fox or Newsweek, then take it with a grain or spoonful of salt and extract what information from the source that you can.  Even in a biased article it is possible to get some idea of what the actual story is, and seek more truth elsewhere.

In my opinion the most dangerous scenario is being demonstrated currently by political commentators of all ideologies who constantly assault the integrity of the media and try to draw people away from a source of news that is biased in a way they don’t agree with.  This has the effect of focussing groups of people only on media with a bias that they appreciate.  If we don’t agree with a media source that’s not a bad thing, it’s a bad thing if we begin saying “I don’t agree with that source so I will ignore it.”  That makes for isolated and subsequently ignorant, easily riled masses of people.  Exactly what we’re seeing today.” – Perry

I agree that we do need to check out media we see as biased against our views.  I would never have looked into Van Jones’ background without all the noise about him from right wing talk radio.  When I did research him I found him to be a smart and worthy guy who looks to have some answers about how a green economy can preserve our standard of living and help preserve the environment.  I know I was supposed to come away believing he is just a died-in-the-wool marxist, but, hey, I’ve got a brain.  I’m not a Glenn Beck robot.

I guess I knew that the whole “socialist” thing wouldn’t end with the campaign and the right would try to hang it around Obama’s neck at every perceived opportunity.  But it’s escalated to a level of hysteria (and I don’t mean that in a sexist way) that I don’t think anybody expected.

Obama is being equated with Hitler and Stalin and any other brutal dictator that can be grabbed off the rhetorical shelf.  Those comparisons are not only indecent and wrong, but plain stupid and, yes, childish.  Calls to the program today likening Obama’s planned speech to American school children - about the importance of hard work and a good education - to the indoctrination of the Hitler Youth would be laughable if they weren’t made with such seriousness.  And that’s what’s scary. 

And we hear non-stop about the scary communists who are part of Obama’s administration.  Glenn Beck carries on about Van Jones, a man who has worked his whole life to better things for people and the planet.  As a young man he saw injustice in this system - and yes, there is injustice in this system - and rebelled against it by professing his adherence to a system - communism - that was at complete odds with one in which he saw much inequality.  His views tempered over time and he turned to contemplating how society and the environment can coexist in a mutually benefitial way.  We’ve heard much about “Van Jones in his own words.”  But here are some words of his that Fox News can’t seem to find…

“[W]e are entering an era during which our very survival will demand invention and innovation on a scale never before seen in the history of human civilization. Only the business community has the requisite skills, experience, and capital to meet that need. On that score, neither government nor the nonprofit and voluntary sectors can compete, not even remotely.

So in the end, our success and survival as a species are largely and directly tied to the new eco-entrepreneurs — and the success and survival of their enterprises. Since almost all of the needed eco-technologies are likely to come from the private sector, civic leaders and voters should do all that can be done to help green business leaders succeed. That means, in large part, electing leaders who will pass bills to aid them. We cannot realistically proceed without a strong alliance between the best of the business world —and everyone else.”

Those are words from his 2008 best seller The Green Collar Economy, and are hardly the words of a committed communist.  He’s a smart man who’s dedicated himself to coming up with ways to make our economy more sustainable.  He’s the right guy for the job. 

The ridiculous charges being made against Obama and his appointees are nonsense and discredit those who bring them much more than they do the president.  The truly sad thing is that we can’t have an honest argument in America anymore.  As we’ve seen with health care, we can’t debate the issues or legislation honestly.  It’s just smear smear smear.