Imagine if we treated the politicians who lied about Iraq the way we treat journalists.

Al Sharpton is a journalist?

I thought it would be obvious that I was talking about Brian Williams.

Brian Williams is a Journalist?

Can you imagine if the politicians that lied about Iraq had to go through what the mob guys and there family's had to go through.The laws would change so fast there would not be time for war...

The original point, though. Brian Williams was suspended, and it was certainly justified. But Al Sharpton is a hundred times the liar that Williams is. Where's his suspension?

Al Sharpton and MSNBC opinion news - just like those jackasses on Fox who lie nonstop about Obama and the other jackasses on MSNBC who lie about conservatives. Brian Williams on the other hand was the number one news anchor reporting the national news - not his opinion - he was "reporting news." And therefore he's held to a higher standard.

That's why only idiots watch cable news - they don't hold those guys to the same standards whatsoever.

CNN is garbage.
MSNBC is garbage.
Fox news is garbage.

Sharpton was only given a platform because he's divisive enough to bring in ratings and MSNBC, which desperately wants to be as popular as Fox News yet has failed to draw in any liberals.

really the problem with news is that its geared towards sensationalism rather than providing information.

agree

The dumbing down of Americans via news outlets is one of the best versions of the 3 card monte ever.

Elected officials don't serve the public, they serve lobbyists and pacs. They understand our individual fears, desires, and biases and exploit those through the media. Average person can't tell you what either party is doing that benefits THEM but I bet they can tell you what "those liberals" or "those conservatives" are doing wrong. At that point the 3 card monte is working perfectly, and you've become distracted from what the issues are.

Basic but very effective con game.

Chicago-based Jesse Jackson is probably considered a competitor to Obama, definitely a competitor to Sharpton although they play nice when on stage together.

The problem isn't just that Sharpton gets away with lying, distorting and misleading on an almost daily basis on his MSNBC program, but that he's gotten away with it for so long. There's also the issue of his unpaid taxes that others go to jail for.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-fina...an-al-sharpton/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregi...uence.html?_r=0

Sharpton called the New York Times story biased against him and that people don't like Obama (apparently trying to link himself to Obama, but the New York Times is one of Obama's biggest supporters) and Bill De Blasio (how is that relevant?).

As for Sharpton being Obama's adviser, I doubt Obama gets that far away from him if he's gone to the White House at least SEVENTY-TWO TIMES! Some of those included one-to-one meetings with President Obama. David Axelrod, an official senior adviser, met with Obama in one-to-one meetings 14 times. Sharpton, who is/was not an official adviser, met with him one-on-one 5 times. There was an additional 20 times where he met Obama together with staff and/or advisers. In the end, Rudy Giuliani exaggerated when he called Sharpton a "close adviser," but someone with that many visits is an adviser.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact...up-to-85-times/

The Tawana Brawley Charlatan lost whatever credibility he had (if he ever had any) decades ago. The fact that people follow him, and MSNBC pays him, speaks volumes about their lack of intelligence.

I know this an engaging topic but why isn't this in the general section?