h a l f b a k e r yMay contain nuts.
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We need to recognize and root out the growing tendency to base political decisions and public policy on half-truths, lies, evasions, deception, and ignorance. The errorists--those who are willing to use errors or falsehoods in pursuit of their private agendas in spite of the harm this does to others--are
trying to destroy the best parts of our way of life.
A new office, the Department of Homeland Accuracy, can be charged with this task. All other government offices are responsible to it. It will require that the congressional record print *exactly* what is said on the floor, nothing added or taken out. It will widely publicize any discovery that government officials, including presidents, have made public statements they knew to be false, and be able to impose fines or restrictions on their campaigns or the campaign monies of any parties they were affiliated with at the time, unless the parties dump the candidates from the tickets within a week of discovering the error.
It will fund research into improving education, and attempt to stamp out faith-based policies or beliefs, replacing them with those based on the best available scientific knowledge. It will publicly mock, ridicule, and subvert entities like the creationist museum of Kentucky, and other institutions attempting to teach people errors.
Other tasks as assigned--I open the floor to your suggestions.
factcheck.org
http://www.factcheck.org/
The closest I have to a Department of Homeland Accuracy. [jutta, Oct 23 2007]
[link]
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//stamp out faith-based policies or beliefs// |
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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. |
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While I'm not atheist, I certianly don't think the government should in any way endorse a religious view. |
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i personally am very fond of [calum], and whereas religious government is not a good idea, religious-based platforms are here as long as there are constituents that have a religious leaning. buy, buy, sell, sell. get over it. |
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other than that bit of tartar on your self-righteous teeth, the idea of keeping people honest is great. neutral. |
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I wish it were otherwise, but ridicule relies on snap judgements that aren't all that helpful when it comes to getting in touch with reality; and "accuracy", like "truth", depends on the level you're at. Accurate in what way? |
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Consider the problem of context. Quoting something out of context distorts its meaning, but is still "accurate" in the sense that the words really were spoken - but what may have been clear to people in the original situation is lost. Worse, the audience can't detect the deception - the quote doesn't have little tear marks on the edges where something important was cut off. |
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That said, media and propaganda literacy is important and definitely deserves a curriculum, although that's probably not a halfbakery invention. ("Teach X in schools"?) |
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A lie is so much better when it is based on facts. |
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Isn't this the job of serious journalists? (That is, the ones who aren't chasing Paris and Britney around so they can show us up their skirts etc) |
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And in that vein, isn't an example of this in operation, 'The Daily Show' with whassisname in the US, or HIGNFY in the UK (call for list of satirical organs in the worldwide media) |
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Or to put it another way, this is the reason why democracy *requires* a free press to operate properly - even if (some would argue *especially* if) that press gets called 'unpatriotic' occasionally, it is required in order to maintain all of these important checks and balances. |
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