The Liberal Media Strategy?

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: Train
oh noes not the conservative AM Radio monopoly!

I think its pretty clear conservatives dominate talk radio (people with jobs listen to news while people at home on the couch watch TV instead? just an idea.)

But liberals easily dominate TV, Print, and Online (an extension of print and TV)

heres some more studies, the link I posted above has DOZENS of studies from major universities, newspapers, research companies, etc, all pretty much come up with the same results.

Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: BMW540I6speed
Genx87 said:

Nearly every survey or study of the media in this country has the majority, sometimes as high as 80% of them claiming to be liberal and democrat. You'd have to be deaf, blind, and a fool to believe their own bias doesnt leak into the stories they cover or write. Or really naive to believe such a thing.

The "social" conservative agenda is and remains singularly unpopular with the population at large, as evidenced by the fact that the GOP can only win elections by hiding its true objectives and playing "moderate", running scorched-earth campaigns of personal destruction, smear and slander, intimidation of minority voters and other means of depressing voter turnout - and even then only barely.

You are catching up with Techs when it comes to detachment from reality.

Look at the coverage of the 08 candidates.
Everyone on the Republican side is trying to claim that they are the ?conservative? choice.
Meanwhile on the Democrats side you NEVER hear the world ?liberal.? Bill Clinton got elected by claiming to be a 'centrist Democrat' to young to remember that?

And yet you claim the conservative agenda is unpopular? If it was so unpopular then why is everyone trying to associate themselves with it?

Rush and his ?white male audience??
Why is it when Republicans took over congress in 1994 we heard all these stories about the ?angry white male.?
But when the Democrats took over last year we didn?t hear any stories about the country being ?angry??

Finally? you guys and the ?media is owned by conservatives? crap?
Look at the people who actually run the big 3.
Les Moonves, CEO of CBS
Robert Iger, CEO of Disney (ABC)
The NBC chairman doesn't seem to give anybody money.
But if you look at the first two links you will see that these guys donated almost exclusively to Democrats.
Tell me again how these networks are really run by conservatives?

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: Train
oh noes not the conservative AM Radio monopoly!

I think its pretty clear conservatives dominate talk radio (people with jobs listen to news while people at home on the couch watch TV instead? just an idea.)

But liberals easily dominate TV, Print, and Online (an extension of print and TV)

heres some more studies, the link I posted above has DOZENS of studies from major universities, newspapers, research companies, etc, all pretty much come up with the same results.

Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

Meanwhile the left lines up to see the latest movie by Al Gore, or Michael Moore...

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
We all know the Liberal Media.

Sorry, won't read anything past this tired out bullsh!t line.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

lol, obviously you dont read much, at all.

You are actualy quite right Train. I don't do much reading here since as of late, the freepers posting here can't make it through a post without blaming the "liberal media" for the failings of their leader and party.

what does that have to do with liberal media members being anywhere from 2 to 7 times as likely as in a cross section of america?

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: azazyel
...
Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

Only conservatives have editorials? or do you consider liberal, err i mean "mainstream" media editorials as real news? lol probably.

If anyone in here is unable to form thier own opinions, its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you) who no only fail to offer any "logical analysis" of thier own, or evidence, but completely ignore the evidence posted by opponents.

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Train

Among the prominent, or elite, media, 32.3 percent rated themselves as more liberal, compared to 11.8 percent who said they were more conservative. Eight percent rated themselves as solidly ?left,? but none of the media elite would place themselves squarely on the ?right.?

Thats more than TRIPLE the number of libs to conservatives

Nearly four in ten of all journalists surveyed (38.5%) described themselves as Democrats, compared to just 18.8 percent who said they were Republicans. Among the journalists working at prominent news organizations, just 6 percent would admit to being Republicans, compared to 43 percent who said they were Democrats.

Wow, over SEVEN TIMES as many dems as reps.

http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics.asp

Media Elite Attitudes (%Agree):

Woman has right to choose on abortion: 90%
Strong Affirmative action for blacks 80%

If thats not left leaning, I dont know what is.

They don't matter. The partisan affilitiation of the OWNERS matters.

And that's overwhelmingly right-wing.

There's the occassional Ted Turner, but far more common are the Rupert Murdoch politics.

And, of course, the corporatist agendas by the big corporate owners.

Has anyone here read the best book I've seen on the topic, "What Liberal Media?" by Eric Alterman? It demolished the myth of a liberal media.

 

[RightIsWrong]

Originally posted by: Train
oh noes not the conservative AM Radio monopoly!

I think its pretty clear conservatives dominate talk radio (people with jobs listen to news while people at home on the couch watch TV instead? just an idea.)

But liberals easily dominate TV, Print, and Online (an extension of print and TV)

heres some more studies, the link I posted above has DOZENS of studies from major universities, newspapers, research companies, etc, all pretty much come up with the same results.

In May 2004, the Pew Research Center for The People and The Press (in association with the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Committee of Concerned Journalists) surveyed 547 journalists and media executives, including 247 at national-level media outlets. The poll was similar to ones conducted by the same group (previously known as the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press) in 1995 and 1999. The actual polling was done by the Princeton Survey Research Associates.

KEY FINDINGS:

Five times more national journalists identify themselves as ?liberal? (34 percent) than ?conservative? (just 7 percent). In contrast, a survey of the public taken in May 2004 found 20 percent saying they were liberal, and 33 percent saying they were conservative.
The percentage of national reporters saying they are liberal has increased, from 22 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 2004. The percentage of self-identified conservatives remains low, rising from a meager 4 percent in 1995 to a still-paltry 7 percent in 2004.

Liberals also outnumber conservatives in local newsrooms. Pew found that 23 percent of the local journalists they questioned say they are liberals, while about half as many (12 percent) call themselves conservative.

Most national journalists (55 percent) say the media are ?not critical enough? of President Bush, compared with only eight percent who believe the press has been ?too critical.? In 1995, the poll found just two percent thought journalists had given ?too much? coverage to then-President Clinton?s accomplishments, compared to 48 percent who complained of ?too little? coverage of Clinton?s achievements.

Reporters struggled to name a liberal news organization. According to Pew, ?The New York Times was most often mentioned as the national daily news organization that takes a decidedly liberal point of view, but only by 20% of the national sample.? Only two percent of reporters suggested CNN, ABC, CBS, or NPR were liberal; just one percent named NBC.

Journalists did see ideology at one outlet: ?The single news outlet that strikes most journalists as taking a particular ideological stance ? either liberal or conservative ? is Fox News Channel,? Pew reported. More than two-thirds of national journalists (69 percent) tagged FNC as a conservative news organization, followed by The Washington Times (9 percent) and The Wall Street Journal (8 percent).

You have still yet to prove anything with your strawman argument.

No one is disputing that reporters could be or even are predominantly liberal. What is up for debate is that the message that they present in their reporting is NOT liberal or conservative, but neutral for the most part (there are exceptions as there is in all things in life).

As for your laughable statement about liberals dominating TV....

I would hope that you and most others would agree that Meet the Press is the most watched political show. Now, if there truly were a liberal bias, you would think that it would clearly show through on the most watched political discussion show on the air. Right?

Let's take a look at some interesting stats:

As you can see, a small Democratic advantage during the second Clinton term became a large Republican advantage during the first Bush term. Overall, we see that Democrats held a 53-percent-to-46-percent advantage on Meet the Press during Clinton's second term (or a difference of 7 percentage points), not very different from the 56-percent-to-44-percent disparity you have cited from your own figures for his first term. But Republicans held a 62-percent-to-38-percent advantage during Bush's first term, a difference of 24 percentage points.

As for a total of all Sunday shows:

-- Republicans accounted for 58 percent of all guests on Sunday shows in President Bush's first term and Democrats accounted for 42% of appearances."

Not quite the liberal leaning slant that you are proclaiming. Can you remind me again...who gets to pick what guests are on the shows? The reporters/journalists or the producers/editors/mgmt?

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: Craig234
They don't matter. The partisan affilitiation of the OWNERS matters.

Really? Prove it.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Craig234

They don't matter.

The partisan affilitiation of the OWNERS matters.

And that's overwhelmingly right-wing.

There's the occassional Ted Turner, but far more common are the Rupert Murdoch politics.

And, of course, the corporatist agendas by the big corporate owners.

Has anyone here read the best book I've seen on the topic, "What Liberal Media?" by Eric Alterman? It demolished the myth of a liberal media.

I thought thread Title lies were being majorly clamped down by the Mods?

There hasn't been a "Liberal" Media in the U.S. for many years now.

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: Craig234
They don't matter. The partisan affilitiation of the OWNERS matters.

Really? Prove it.

Sure. Tell me any reasonable way to prove it to your satisfaction.

You think that the individual reporters' politics are what determine the messages at Fox rather than Rupert Murdoch's politics? Are you that ignorant of how the businesses function?

The owners select the CEOs, who select the rest of the management and editors, who set the agenda and tell the reporters what stories to cover and which reporters to use.

Your position is like saying that the auto workers have more to do with what kind of cars GM makes than GM's owners.

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: azazyel
...
Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

Only conservatives have editorials? or do you consider liberal, err i mean "mainstream" media editorials as real news? lol probably.

If anyone in here is unable to form thier own opinions, its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you) who no only fail to offer any "logical analysis" of thier own, or evidence, but completely ignore the evidence posted by opponents.

And with what evidence do you have to lump me with the, "its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you)"? I'm really curious because I haven't posted here is quite some time. Most of the talking heads that I hear quoted verbatim tend to be Rush, Bill, Coulter, Malken, etc. Which their shows/columns tend to be 90% rant to 10% fact. You see with news stories it's quite easy to pick out the facts because as they're stated rather plainly. I look for the 4Ws and the H when I hear the news.

 

[Train]

You have still yet to prove anything with your strawman argument.

umm, strawman? Do you even know what that means?

So you completely ignore research from:
-George Washington University
-Indiana University
-Los Angeles Times
-American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE)
-Stanley Rothman and Amy Black (2001 issue of The Public Interest)
-Washington Post, Kaiser Family Foundation
-Pew Research Center for The People and The Press
-Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Committee of Concerned Journalists
-Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands
-New York-based newsletter, Journalist and Financial Reporting

...in the link I posted, or label it a "strawman"

....and reply with a SINGLE STATISTIC from a SINGLE SHOW, shown on a SINGLE NIGHT, from a SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD? Oh thats funny...

And did you ever notice most guests on these shows get attacked? Gee no wonder they want more republicans, they get to make them look bad.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: azazyel
...
Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

Only conservatives have editorials? or do you consider liberal, err i mean "mainstream" media editorials as real news? lol probably.

If anyone in here is unable to form thier own opinions, its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you) who no only fail to offer any "logical analysis" of thier own, or evidence, but completely ignore the evidence posted by opponents.

And with what evidence do you have to lump me with the, "its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you)"? ...

Because you, umm ignored all the facts posted by me (follow the link, lots of good studies)

See how ironic your post is now?

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: Craig234

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: Craig234
They don't matter. The partisan affilitiation of the OWNERS matters.

Really? Prove it.

Sure. Tell me any reasonable way to prove it to your satisfaction.

I would tell you to find me a study that supports your claim. I would then disregard it in a similar fashion to what you have done.

You think that the individual reporters' politics are what determine the messages at Fox rather than Rupert Murdoch's politics? Are you that ignorant of how the businesses function?

Well since Fox news has a quantifiable right slant as is shown by the many, many studies which you choose to disregard, I don't see how your comment matters.

What about publicly owned companies? Do they take a poll at every shareholder's meeting to determine which way the company is going to lean on any given year?

It doesn't occur to you that if you have a news room with 90 liberals and 10 conservatives, that on any given day the stories they report are going to have a liberal slant? You say I am ignorant of business, I say you are ignorant of reality and human behavior, and as you've shown consistently, devoid of common sense.

Your position is like saying that the auto workers have more to do with what kind of cars GM makes than GM's owners.

That's the most flawed analogy I've seen in here. Are you saying that assembling a car is akin to reporting the news?

 

[First]

Liberal media bias is a joke, it doesn't exist in any substantial form. What exists is people who will skew information to get the truth. Though, I suppose we might get a few resident neocons telling us that the truth has a liberal bias, too.

And I'd vote for Ron Paul before most Dems right now, that's for sure.

 

[ProfJohn]

Train? don?t forget the fact that his single show is considered by many to be the most balanced of the Sunday shows.

Why doesn?t he run out the stats from This Week over on ABC? You know the one hosted by the de facto press secretary of the Clinton White House.

Andy Rooney:"I thought [Goldberg] made some very good points. There is just no question that I, among others, have a liberal bias. I mean, I'm consistently liberal in my opinions. And I think some of the -- I think Dan [Rather] is transparently liberal. Now, he may not like to hear me say that. I always agree with him, too. But I think he should be more careful."
Wow... no media bias... right, tell that to Andy Rooney.

 

[First]

^ And as we all know, individual testimony accurately generalizes the millions of media individuals in the United States. Hooray for sample sizes and science!

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
^ And as we all know, individual testimony accurately generalizes the millions of media individuals in the United States. Hooray for sample sizes and science!

Did YOU read the studies I linked to? Or are you also a card carrying member of the knee jerk respondents?

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: azazyel
...
Actually I would think that the right is unable to form opinions based on logical analysis thus are forced to have people feed them opinions. Just an idea though.

Only conservatives have editorials? or do you consider liberal, err i mean "mainstream" media editorials as real news? lol probably.

If anyone in here is unable to form thier own opinions, its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you) who no only fail to offer any "logical analysis" of thier own, or evidence, but completely ignore the evidence posted by opponents.

And with what evidence do you have to lump me with the, "its the knee-jerking, lock step rebuttals to the "liberal media" (which includes you)"? ...

Because you, umm ignored all the facts posted by me (follow the link, lots of good studies)

See how ironic your post is now?

1st up look up what Ironic means. You see if I said, "Train is really making some valid points" that would be ironic because most people would think the exact oppisite to be true.

2nd is that I would like to point out that there're no facts in this little conversation we are having. You see you made a slightly pointed quip about liberals must like TV because they sit at home and watch it instead of work. So I gave you one back to which you started name calling.

 

[First]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
^ And as we all know, individual testimony accurately generalizes the millions of media individuals in the United States. Hooray for sample sizes and science!

Did YOU read the studies I linked to? Or are you also a card carrying member of the knee jerk respondents?

I can't really help you if you honestly think that holding personal beliefs (be it left or right) automatically means there is a liberal bias, the defintion of which I've listed for your convenience below:

bias: systematic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging one outcome or answer over others

Do your studies suggest that media members admit to knowingly skewing articles to the left, because that would be the only thing that might prove your case of intent here. We all know there are no such studies that exist, because liberal media bias doesn't exist. More liberals in the media than conservatives? Sure, liberals in general have always been more active politically anyway. Welcome to 100 years ago.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: azazyel
...

you must have reading comprehension skill deficiencies.

You brought up "logic" and "reasoning", and only offered a factless opinion, but in fact it was me who posted links and quotes from legitimate studies, which you are STILL ignoring. If you really do want to get the 4W's and the H, read this link, http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics.asp

 

[Train]

While some may think the "liberal media is a joke", the media thinks otherwise:

?Of course it is....These are the social issues: gay rights, gun control, abortion and environmental regulation, among others. And if you think The Times plays it down the middle on any of them, you?ve been reading the paper with your eyes closed.?
? New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent in a July 25, 2004 column which appeared under a headline asking, ?Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper??

?There is, Hugh, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the media. One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying, and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I think that that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it?s very dangerous. That?s different from the media doing it?s job of challenging the exercise of power without fear or favor.?
? ABC News White House correspondent Terry Moran talking with Los Angeles-based national radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, May 17, 2005.

?Personally, I have a great affection for CBS News....But I stopped watching it some time ago. The unremitting liberal orientation finally became too much for me. I still check in, but less and less frequently. I increasingly drift to NBC News and Fox and MSNBC.?
? Former CBS News President Van Gordon Sauter in an op-ed published January 13, 2005 in the Los Angeles Times.

?I know a lot of you believe that most people in the news business are liberal. Let me tell you, I know a lot of them, and they were almost evenly divided this time. Half of them liked Senator Kerry; the other half hated President Bush.?
? CBS?s Andy Rooney on the November 7, 2004 60 Minutes.

?There?s one other base here: the media. Let?s talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win. And I think they?re going to portray Kerry and Edwards ? I?m talking about the establishment media, not Fox, but ? they?re going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic and all, there?s going to be this glow about them that some, is going to be worth, collectively, the two of them, that?s going to be worth maybe 15 points.?
? Newsweek?s Evan Thomas on Inside Washington, July 10, 2004.

?Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections. They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared sense that liberal political positions on social issues like gun control, homosexuality, abortion, and religion are the default, while more conservative positions are ?conservative positions.?...?
?The press, by and large, does not accept President Bush?s justifications for the Iraq war....It does not accept the proposition that the Bush tax cuts helped the economy....It remains fixated on the unemployment rate....The worldview of the dominant media can be seen in every frame of video and every print word choice that is currently being produced about the presidential race.?
? From the February 10, 2004 edition of ABCNews.com?s ?The Note,? a daily political memo assembled by ABC News political director Mark Halperin and his staff.

Jack Cafferty: ?Can you say liberal? And the liberal talk radio station Air America debuts today....The question is, does America need additional ?liberal? media outlets?...?
Bill Hemmer: ?I think it?s a good question....Why hasn?t a liberal radio station or TV network never taken off before??
Cafferty: ?We have them. Are you, did you just get off a vegetable truck from the South Bronx? They?re everywhere....What do they call this joint? The Clinton News Network??
? Exchange on CNN?s American Morning, March 31, 2004.

?Where I work at ABC, people say ?conservative? the way people say ?child molester.??
? ABC 20/20 co-anchor John Stossel to CNSNews.com reporter Robert Bluey, in a story posted January 28, 2004.

?I thought he [former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg] made some very good points. There is just no question that I, among others, have a liberal bias. I mean, I?m consistently liberal in my opinions. And I think some of the, I think Dan [Rather] is transparently liberal. Now, he may not like to hear me say that. I always agree with him, too, but I think he should be more careful.?
? CBS?s 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney on Goldberg?s book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, on CNN?s Larry King Live, June 5, 2002.

?Most of the time I really think responsible journalists, of which I hope I?m counted as one, leave our bias at the side of the table. Now it is true, historically in the media, it has been more of a liberal persuasion for many years. It has taken us a long time, too long in my view, to have vigorous conservative voices heard as widely in the media as they now are. And so I think yes, on occasion, there is a liberal instinct in the media which we need to keep our eye on, if you will.?
? ABC anchor Peter Jennings appearing on CNN?s Larry King Live, April 10, 2002

?There is a liberal bias. It?s demonstrable. You look at some statistics. About 85 percent of the reporters who cover the White House vote Democratic, they have for a long time. There is a, particularly at the networks, at the lower levels, among the editors and the so-called infrastructure, there is a liberal bias. There is a liberal bias at Newsweek, the magazine I work for ? most of the people who work at Newsweek live on the upper West Side in New York and they have a liberal bias....[ABC White House reporter] Brit Hume?s bosses are liberal and they?re always quietly denouncing him as being a right-wing nut.?
? Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief Evan Thomas on Inside Washington, May 12, 1996.

?Everybody knows that there?s a liberal, that there?s a heavy liberal persuasion among correspondents.....Anybody who has to live with the people, who covers police stations, covers county courts, brought up that way, has to have a degree of humanity that people who do not have that exposure don?t have, and some people interpret that to be liberal. It?s not a liberal, it?s humanitarian and that?s a vastly different thing.?
? Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite at the March 21, 1996 Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner.

?There are lots of reasons fewer people are watching network news, and one of them, I?m more convinced than ever, is that our viewers simply don?t trust us. And for good reason. The old argument that the networks and other `media elites? have a liberal bias is so blatantly true that it?s hardly worth discussing anymore. No, we don?t sit around in dark corners and plan strategies on how we?re going to slant the news. We don?t have to. It comes naturally to most reporters.....Mr. Engberg?s report set new standards for bias....Can you imagine, in your wildest dreams, a network news reporter calling Hillary Clinton?s health care plan ?wacky??...
??Reality Check? suggests the viewers are going to get the facts. And then they can make up their mind. As Mr. Engberg might put it: ?Time Out!? You?d have a better chance of getting the facts someplace else ? like Albania.?
? CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg on an anti-flat tax story by CBS reporter Eric Engberg, February 13, 1996 Wall Street Journal op-ed.

?Coverage of the campaign vindicated exactly what conservatives have been saying for years about liberal bias in the media. In their defense, journalists say that though they may have their personal opinions, as professionals they are able to correct for them when they write. Sounds nice, but I?m not buying any.?
? Former Newsweek reporter Jacob Weisberg in The New Republic, November 23, 1992 issue.

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: azazyel
...

you must have reading comprehension skill deficiencies.

You brought up "logic" and "reasoning", and only offered a factless opinion, but in fact it was me who posted links and quotes from legitimate studies, which you are STILL ignoring. If you really do want to get the 4W's and the H, read this link, http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics.asp

No I read quite well thank you. Have I been speaking about whether the media has a bias or not? No, I haven't I was just responding to your assertion that liberals were jobless by stating that maybe the right needs to be told what to think. Then you started name calling. I then pointed out that I tend to read the news because I could more easily pick out the facts. Then you completely went off topic.

Please don't feel the need to respond, I think I'm remembering who you are from when I was more regular and would rather not waste either of our time.

 

[DangerAardvark]

This is dumb. The fact that CNN still goes out of their way to present both sides of issues which don't have 2 sides, just a right and a wrong side, should be evidence enough of their political objectivity. Gay marriage should be legal nation-wide, but they'll give you both sides of the debate. Falwell was a prick, but they refrained from dancing on his grave (they let Christopher Hitchens do that). They did have conservatives on to fellate him however.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: azazyel
...

so basically you read one line(which was in a response to a similar statement made by someone else), responded with something that could have been refuted by something I already posted, realized your foot was in your mouth, then quickly looked to dodge or escape the rest of the debate.