[Genuine Realist]

....He was quite an idiosyncratic poster...

teejers1, Snorflax, Genuine Realist, akidcoc, you might be mistaken about me.  Thank you for your response JustAnotherFan.  I will try to live up to the definition given below for idiosyncratic as used as an adjective (and hope this will suffice to keep me from being disappeared from here):

1. pertaining to the nature of idiosyncrasy, or something peculiar to an individual: The best minds are idiosyncratic and unpredictable as they follow the course of scientific discovery... 
   
   Now, back to the topic I hope you might find interesting to discuss:
   
   

“The First Amendment is the safety valve of our democracy,” says US free press advocate Trevor Timm (TED Talk: How free is our freedom of the press?). “It has always been the bulwark against secret government, against authoritarianism and against tyranny.”



If we need the press to be free and independent, is the press or to what degree is the press of today free and independent in how it is covering and investigating matters related to Covid-19?  What is your take?  Thoughts?

Perhaps you could start by answering the question I posed: "Do you or your contact believe that the government has been preventing the press from reporting even the most absurd claims regarding Covid?"



Fox News is the most popular source of TV news in the country. It has been free to peddle lies and disinformation that has most likely led to a worsening of the pandemic, and has undermined public health efforts. There is lots of money to be made selling snake oil so places like OAN and the Washington Examiner are also in on it. The government has not infringed on their "right" to package lies as journalism. In fact, the chief executive has amplified them. So what are you getting at?

Hi Just Another Fan, I don't know if or to what extent the government has been preventing the press from reporting even the most absurd claims regarding Covid-19.  What do you know on this?  Just as an example, but do you remember the push to "ban" HCQ and the push for Remdesivir in the reporting on treatments for Covid19?  For me it raised concerns about politics and/or the a little too much influence by Big Pharma over what is and was being reported.  How about you?  Some of the protocols, treatments, and even the way the new vaccines are being developed need a free and independent press to investigate and report on if we are to be well informed.  Don't you agree?  I am concerned if we have or don't have a free press and to what degree we can rely upon and trust what and how things are being reported on Covid-19.  And when I speak of freedom, it is the freedom to report the truth or what is thought to be the truth in good faith, not lies.  That is why I asked the question.  I don't like lies.

You do realize that Hydroxychloroquine is produced by Big Pharma, right? And you do realize that Big Pharma is not the same thing as the government (although they certainly have their hands in each other's pockets)? The media did lots of pushing HCQ, especially right wing media such as Fox News and OAN. It seems you have a lot of concern without a scintilla of evidence that the government has done anything to infringe upon the media's right to free speech. You don't seem to actually care about the First Amendment, you just want to push nonsense. I don't have time for it. You're now the third person on my ignore list.

'Idiosyncratic' was somewhat euphemistic, as you may discover shortly.

[Genuine Realist]

....He was quite an idiosyncratic poster...

teejers1, Snorflax, Genuine Realist, akidcoc, you might be mistaken about me.  Thank you for your response JustAnotherFan.  I will try to live up to the definition given below for idiosyncratic as used as an adjective (and hope this will suffice to keep me from being disappeared from here):

1. pertaining to the nature of idiosyncrasy, or something peculiar to an individual: The best minds are idiosyncratic and unpredictable as they follow the course of scientific discovery... 
   
   Now, back to the topic I hope you might find interesting to discuss:
   
   

“The First Amendment is the safety valve of our democracy,” says US free press advocate Trevor Timm (TED Talk: How free is our freedom of the press?). “It has always been the bulwark against secret government, against authoritarianism and against tyranny.”



If we need the press to be free and independent, is the press or to what degree is the press of today free and independent in how it is covering and investigating matters related to Covid-19?  What is your take?  Thoughts?

Perhaps you could start by answering the question I posed: "Do you or your contact believe that the government has been preventing the press from reporting even the most absurd claims regarding Covid?"



Fox News is the most popular source of TV news in the country. It has been free to peddle lies and disinformation that has most likely led to a worsening of the pandemic, and has undermined public health efforts. There is lots of money to be made selling snake oil so places like OAN and the Washington Examiner are also in on it. The government has not infringed on their "right" to package lies as journalism. In fact, the chief executive has amplified them. So what are you getting at?

Hi Just Another Fan, I don't know if or to what extent the government has been preventing the press from reporting even the most absurd claims regarding Covid-19.  What do you know on this?  Just as an example, but do you remember the push to "ban" HCQ and the push for Remdesivir in the reporting on treatments for Covid19?  For me it raised concerns about politics and/or the a little too much influence by Big Pharma over what is and was being reported.  How about you?  Some of the protocols, treatments, and even the way the new vaccines are being developed need a free and independent press to investigate and report on if we are to be well informed.  Don't you agree?  I am concerned if we have or don't have a free press and to what degree we can rely upon and trust what and how things are being reported on Covid-19.  And when I speak of freedom, it is the freedom to report the truth or what is thought to be the truth in good faith, not lies.  That is why I asked the question.  I don't like lies.

You do realize that Hydroxychloroquine is produced by Big Pharma, right? And you do realize that Big Pharma is not the same thing as the government (although they certainly have their hands in each other's pockets)? The media did lots of pushing HCQ, especially right wing media such as Fox News and OAN. It seems you have a lot of concern without a scintilla of evidence that the government has done anything to infringe upon the media's right to free speech. You don't seem to actually care about the First Amendment, you just want to push nonsense. I don't have time for it. You're now the third person on my ignore list.

'Idiosyncratic' was somewhat euphemistic, as you may discover shortly.