Has anyone heard of the term,  "The Fourth Branch of Government?"  I heard Schmuck Schumer (You know it can't be good) use it in reference to the media.  Your thoughts on this, and who elected these rat lickers to office anyway.  Forth branch of government my genitalia!

He is just trying to give the media authority and justification in what it does.  If he would remove his cranium from his colon, he would realize that this is totally false and stupid.
Ice

Obviously he had to modify it from the "Fourth Estate" which (and I'm really reaching back into the deleted files of my mind) I think was from the time around the French revolution where the Monarchy was the First Estate, The Church/Clergy, the Second Estate and Politicians were the Third Estate. In decades past the Media has always been refered to as the Fourth estate, But I guess Chimp Schoomer had to simplify and dumb it down because he probably assumes(unfortuneately correctly) that no one would get the historical reference.

NY, huh? Upstate or Lawn Giland?

In Schumer's Amerika, the media could very well be the 4th branch of the scam.  In the original USA the 4 branches of govt. are the people, the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.  I consider the people to be the first branch, and how you want to order the other three is up to you, they all suck.  The power of the people is exercised through elections and jury nullification.  If those don't work then the ultimate first branch power rests in force of arms (just ask Dianne "aack it can shoot through an armored limo" Feinstein).  The media don't qualify as any branch of goverment in spite of their socialist wet dreams to the contrary.

i would like to inject my opinion here...

i am of the mind that WE are the fourth branch of government...the 4th part of the system of checks and balances. all power is derived from the consent of the people, remember?

Ice,

I agree with you on that point.  The more credence the cretin creates, the more corruption, like an a$$ erruption.

sherm8404

I like your historical reference. I too have to access my file finder to remember that info.  Thanks for jogging it out.  And yes, I'm from Upstate NY.  "Lawn Giland," I like it.

Weiseguy & NailhedRaven

I'm in agreement that WE the PEOPLE, make up one of the four branches.  Not the media.  In fact, I remember hearing the media "pun/dits" refer to themselves as the fourth branch during the "Election that Wouldn't End," with generous pats on their backs for doing such a great job reporting it.  Pure unadulterated smoldering piles of Bovine Scatology.

Weiseguy,

Do you have any relatives in the Upstate NY area?  The Weise in Weiseguy has a very familiar ring to it.

I am going to have to agree with NailhedRaven. I have been saying this for years.

I can't wait to vote against chuckie

Usually the term "4th branch" refers to the administrative agencies, to which congress delegated powers. Though such beraucracies suck, it's not a big hidden conspiracy or anything.

There was a time in our nation's history that the press may have comprised a 'Fourth Estate' of a kind.  As when Jefferson stated that were he given the choice between government with no newspapers and newspapers with no government, he would always prefer the latter.

Now the press is more like a painted courtesan from those days.

Eric The(F***TheTimes/Post)Hun[>]:)]