"I am really only interested in new information, not freelance opinion. I don't really care what you think off the top of your head."
- Tucker Carlson
Actually, that goes both ways. It’s a no-brainer that Wiccans and Pagans would be offended by the diatribe/mockery of them that aired on Fox News this week. But they’re not the only groups likely to take offense at this three-minute pastiche of bigotry, inaccuracy and character assassination. In this short span of time, the three people on this panel managed to insult midwives, rural residents, middle-aged women, divorcees, people who burn incense, individuals who enjoy celebrating holidays - especially Halloween - and folks who play Dungeons & Dragons. (Considering it’s Fox News, I doubt they’d ever speak with such disdain about that venerable symbol of free-market capitalism, Monopoly …

unless, of course, it was to criticize that new “witchy” playing piece, the dreaded cat.) As if all that bias isn’t bad enough, the entire piece is a flagrant insult to another group of individuals: journalists. Let me be clear about a couple of things. First, though I have a number of friends who consider themselves Wiccan, I do not personally practice Wicca. Second, I’ve worked my entire career - more than 25 years now - as a professional journalist. In that time, many things have changed. There has been a gradual, yet steady blurring of the lines between reporting and opinion. Between news and entertainment.

These days, it’s sometimes difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. As visual media sources have multiplied from the “Big Three” television networks to thousands of cable choices and a virtually limitless number of options online, news providers have been forced to target niches rather than try to serve a broad spectrum of consumers. This has meant that media outlets are increasingly targeting either liberals or conservatives (but not both). More specifically, they’re often aiming for narrowly focused and even single-issue audiences. This trend both reflects and contributes to the increased political polarization we see in the United States. Few liberals even watch Fox News anymore, so it feels it can operate in a cocoon and say pretty much whatever it wants. To be fair, few conservatives probably pay any attention to Bill Maher, for instance, and he says pretty much what he wants, too. One could argue that Maher is a comedian, but he’s also a political commentator and one of the best examples of someone who has blurred the lines between news and entertainment. But the crucial point is this: The more we hang out exclusively with like-minded individuals, the more our own opinions are reinforced and the less opportunity we have to be challenged by opinions we may not agree with. We become so isolated from one another that we adopt rigid ideologies that sometimes include laundry lists of dos and don’ts. Liberals are “encouraged” through peer pressure to adhere to a checklist of political positions, and all conservatives are similarly “encouraged” to do the same. Deviation from the norm opens the individual up to ridicule, derision or shocked holier-than-thou reactions.

Originally posted by baddmove
BTW..there are only 8 wiccan holidays...

not 20...

research my friends....