Rational Nation USA

   By (O)CT(O)PUS If this title caught your attention, you have come to right place. The art of headline writing is a lesson learned in Journalism 101 and a convention of 'yellow journalism' born in the Gilded Age. Yellow journalism is a derisive term that has become synonymous with sensationalism, pandering, and journalistic misconduct. When discussing the failings of contemporary journalism, the era of the yellow press is likely to be invoked. The criticisms are valid because the conventions of yellow journalism continue to live and thrive in the age of cable TV news. My purpose in writing this post is to critique a column by Paul Janensch that appeared in the pages of our local newspaper: "Trump understands how to feed media to his advantage" [July 22, 2015]. Everyday we witness examples of cringe worthy headlines turned into newsworthy events. We understand how charlatans and shameless hacks play the media; but how many journalists ask the more pertinent qu...

Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth There actually exists nut jobs and publications that will publish their rubbish. Would anyone be surprised to see this headline in the spring or summer of 2016: “Obama orders U.S. military attack on Israel / blocks Israeli strike at Iran / Iran grateful“? Like it or not, there is an increasing likelihood we will see that kind of headline before Obama leaves office. Why should we worry about that? Does water flow downhill? President Obama’s treasonous sellout to the Iran nuclear program is only the latest chapter in his betrayals of America and our allies in the face of Iran’s Islamist ambitions. A U.S. military attack on Israel would have been unthinkable under any other president, but it is now quite conceivable. There are two reasons we need to take that possibility seriously. First, it is entirely consistent with Obama’s pattern of pro-Iran policies and actions. Secondly, there is no one standing in his way. SKIP Whatever Obama...