‘I only know what I hear on Fox News’ says

[rashore]

Geez, I don't care how misinformed you are, that does not mean you go out and do something really bad because of it. He could have been as hateful in his heart, even mouthing off.. But he chose to get smashed and drive himself off to start a fire.

[glorybebe]

I don't think he cared one bit about the rules Odas, I mean he gets his news from Fox; why do you think it's called Faux news channel in the first place. I mainly watch foreign news channels that can be found in English, since I find them more truthful than let say the American News Channels. Thought this man is a total idiot again since he believes everything on the 24/7 news is nothing but the Truth. RedHen, I do agree that all of the American News stations are guilty of this type of thing, but I do find foreign news much more truthful and less of that type of spin because of the fact they have laws that guide the media.

When 9/11 hhappend, I was on a message board with some Americans and our Canadian news was reporting totally different, and from what the Americans said, more informed info.

Uneducated people who have 100% faith in a news show- that really scares me. Opinions can really warp the facts. Just like a couple I knew who believed the World Weekly News was all real-it was in print, they can't lie.

Edited January 24, 2013 by glorybebe

[Dr. Mirdad]

View: An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that “most Muslims are terrorists.” Randolph Linn, 52, accepted a plea deal in which he pled guilty to all charges in connection to setting a fire in the prayer room at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo on Sept. 30. Under the deal, Linn is expected to serve 20 years in prison instead of 40. Linn explained to the court that he had gotten “riled up” after watching Fox News. “And I was more sad when Judge [Jack] Zouhary asked him that, ‘Do you know any Muslims or do you know what Islam is?’” one mosque member who attended the hearing recalled to WNWO. “And he said, ‘No, I only know what I hear on Fox News and what I hear on radio.’” “Muslims are killing Americans and trying to blow stuff up,” Linn also reportedly told the judge. “Most Muslims are terrorists and don’t believe in Jesus Christ.” Linn claimed that he had consumed 45 beers in the 6 hours before leaving his Indiana home to set fire to the mosque, which he had discovered while working as a truck driver. Raw Story (http://s.tt/1xuMg)

Fox News does not inform you they give you fear. They do in fact believe in Jesuse Chirst in since they think he is a prophet. This man is a total idiot.

This man is not an idiot but a classic example of someone who has been brainwashed by the media. People believe what they hear and see...

[F3SS]

This man is not an idiot but a classic example of someone who has been brainwashed by the media. People believe what they hear and see...

No. He is an idiot. No media told this guy to start a fire. And FOX plays the fear card as much as any station but they certainly don't preach violence. They at least call out our enemies but that's not hate speech. It's true. And not calling this guy an idiot is just as bad. Blame the criminal. He's not a victim.

Argue anything you like but calling terrorists Islamic is truth. Calling all Islamist terrorists and you have an arguement and I've never heard that said.

[F3SS]

It's called being crazy. Plain and simple. Crazy people do crazy things.

[Dr. Mirdad]

Argue anything you like but calling terrorists Islamic is truth. Calling all Islamist terrorists and you have an arguement and I've never heard that said.

??

So your calling all terrorists Islamist?

[Knight Of Shadows]

does any one knows what kind of reaction the world and media would have had

should a muslim man set a church on fire ??

would be the same reaction ?

why muslims have to suffer as group for actions of individuals

and why other religious group do not suffer from the action of one person

if that's not racisim . i don't know what is racisim anymore

[Frank Merton]

45 beers and got in a car and drove to a Mosque. It is a wonder he didn't kill somebody on the way there. I don't think 20 years is enough. You can't get Fox news in Canada, so I am told, because they have laws about lieing on the news.

That would indicate to me that Canada is engaging in censorship.

[Frank Merton]

We get about a dozen English TV channels here, mainly cable networks -- not the American broadcast networks -- so I miss PBS and Fox and MSNBC. We do get CNBC and BBC for news (as well as an all news English channel originating in Singapore).

This is a pretty good political balance I think, but I make it a point to read the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the two Washington papers (Times and Post) to get balance. I of course can't read them entirely but I scan the headlines and do read most of the editorials. (This plus two British papers, the Times and the Guardian).

I think people should discipline themselves to watch and read things they disagree with. There are usually several good arguments on every side of every issue, and if one reads only one side of things, one progressively gets more and more ideologically ossified.

[Mantis914]

45 beers and got in a car and drove to a Mosque. It is a wonder he didn't kill somebody on the way there. I don't think 20 years is enough. You can't get Fox news in Canada, so I am told, because they have laws about lieing on the news.

If that's the case, you couldn't get a politician in front of a news camera...

[Bendy Demon]

So..let's see if I understand this.

A man gets stupefyingly drunk then goes and commits vandalism then blames tv for making him do these things?

He is stupid, gullible and easily manipulated.

Just how stupid does society plan on becoming anyways?

[+Paranoid Android]

I think people should discipline themselves to watch and read things they disagree with. There are usually several good arguments on every side of every issue, and if one reads only one side of things, one progressively gets more and more ideologically ossified.

My Signature quote should sum this up quite nicely

Edit: It's not my signature, but it is another Hebrew Proverb - "The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him". (Proverbs 18:17). Basically, the first who speaks sounds convincing. And unless you look at alternative points of view which may be equally convincing, you haven't a hope of understanding.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Paranoid Android

[Indiogene]

The arsonist made up an excuse to try in getting away with the crime: I don't think FOX News encourages hatred against a religion or violent actions towards a group of people. They spout hysteria in the name of TV ratings and a cheap thrill in selling their conservative agenda. Also what on earth anyone had 45 beers...impossible, the man assumed he drank that many, so he was completely drunk not to know how many he had.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Tsa-La-Gie Oyate

[sam12six]

Also what on earth anyone had 45 beers...impossible, the man assumed he drank that many, so he was completely drunk not to know how many he had.

I can pretty easily drink about half that in a casual night out shooting pool. It shouldn't be that difficult for someone doing nothing but sitting drinking and being mad to down a couple of cases in the course of a long evening.

As far as the FOX vs everybody else media discussion, as always, it both amuses me and saddens me to watch the sides go back and forth. The media is like a debate team meet. The sides each have their talking points to defend and their goal isn't to be right or tell the truth, it's to sound more convincing. The only difference is that the sponsors of this particular debate team meet are using it as a distraction so no one will notice them circulating through the audience picking pockets.

As far as the actual subject of the thread, I really hope the FOX Defense wasn't actually a factor in his reduced sentence. It's as specious a defense as a kidnapper and rapist saying he watched Popeye cartoons and knew kidnapping was OK since Bluto kept grabbing Olive Oyl without ever ending up in prison.

The "hate speech needs to be banned" people frustrate me. First, what constitutes hate speech is purely subjective (barring situations where someone literally suggests that listeners commit crimes). Second, it's like the nuts who shoot up schools. There are crazy people who are ticking time bombs who will eventually go off. All they're looking for is something to point them in a given direction. Sure, certain political viewpoints give them a more clear direction, but in absence of those, they'll eventually hear God or Satan telling them what to do. Eliminating speech that might cause someone to dislike someone isn't the solution, the solution is finding a way to identify walking time bombs before they go off.

[+and-then]

if this poor guy learned, from Fox news that THE muslims don't believe in jesus, then that's one more thing they are both Wrong about. The Quran version is very similar to the Bible. ..including virgin birth.

.. i don't want "political views" from something claiming to be a news source.

Where, pray tell, do you find real news any longer? The big 3? CNN perhaps? And yes the Muslims believe in Issa. He will destroy the crosses (ban Christianity) and kill all those who do not convert to Islam. I'd say that's not quite the same Jesus I learned to love.

[F3SS]

??

So your calling all terrorists Islamist?

Are you trying to pull me into a strawman argument? Sure there are terrorists of all creeds but America's problem is with a particular type. Islamic. You can play technicalities all day but unless you've just awoken from a 12 year coma when you hear the word terrorist in an American news forum it will always mean Islamic unless specifically stated otherwise.

[Zaphod222]

Are you trying to pull me into a strawman argument? Sure there are terrorists of all creeds

No they are not.

Give us a list of all the Amish, Jain, or Zoroastrian terrorists if you want to claim that.

Fact is, there are different religions with different contents out there. Some spawn terrorists, others do not.

[F3SS]

No they are not.

Give us a list of all the Amish, Jain, or Zoroastrian terrorists if you want to claim that.

Fact is, there are different religions with different contents out there. Some spawn terrorists, others do not.

I'm not going to do that. All I was saying is that terrorists by definition are everywhere in the world. They don't have to have a religious drive.

Edited February 1, 2013 by -Mr_Fess-

[Zaphod222]

I'm not going to do that. All I was saying is that terrorists by definition are everywhere in the world. They don't have to have a religious drive.

Not all terrorists have to have "religious drive". But the islamic holy war against the USA is an entirely islamic undertaking.

It is absurd to try to claim that the islamic jihad is unrelated to religion.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Zaphod222

[F3SS]

Hey man I agree. I think you've got my words taken out of context.

[Zaphod222]

Hey man I agree. I think you've got my words taken out of context.

Sorry, my comment was directed at the guy you quoted ("and then"?)

[F3SS]

Sorry, my comment was directed at the guy you quoted ("and then"?)

No it was me. andthen would likely agree with us. What you were quoting from me is someone I was going back and forth with was saying the same things to me after I talked abut terrorism being an Islam thing. It wasn't politically correct enough for him so I got the usual talk about my insensitivity so I conceded that there are other types of terrorists too.

That's the deal...