Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
Do you wonder how American politics has gotten so crazy in the last five decades? As someone who has lived through them as an adult I have often been amazed by our evolving political scene. This week the PBS documentary series “The American Experience” focused on the life and the two terms of Bill Clinton. It was a typical PBS historical documentary in that it made sure to present all sides of the issues and of course it dealt with “Whitewater”, Monica Lewinsky and the Impeachment proceedings. While we all lived through this bizarre political period in the 90’s, time and personal matters no doubt has dimmed its memory for most of us who were not directly involved. What fascinated me about this four hour documentary was that even in its non-partisan fairness, it delved into the massive effort made to discredit Bill Clinton begun from even before the inception of his first term. Though he won his election fairly, Republican’s and Conservatives never accepted his legitimacy as a duly elected President. It was this perceived “illegitimacy” that undermined his efforts as President and was the focus of constant attacks from his enemies. I’m not writing this as someone who felt that Bill Clinton was a great President and there were many concessions he made like “Welfare Reform” and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that I still hold against him. My question is that given his legitimate electoral mandate, did he ever get a chance to actually put his programs into effect and be President?
Bill Clinton entered his Presidency at the end of the first Iraq War. His inaugural speech talked of healing and bi-partisanship, as he would work together with Republicans to create a bridge to the Twenty First Century. The country was in a recession, partly caused by the excesses of military overspending by Reagan and G.H.W. Bush and by their tax cuts for the wealthy. There was a shrinking middle class due to the outsourcing of our manufacturing base and also because the Reagan Social Security “Reform” was actually a massive, regressive tax raise on those of middle income. The Reagan and G.H.W. Bush years burdened the Country with massive budget deficits and in Clinton’s first years the clamoring of the Republicans, Wall Street and the “Chattering Classes” for “Deficit Reduction” was at a fever pitch. We had also seen an illegal involvement in trying to topple the government of Nicaragua, despite a strong Congressional ban and its’ direct perpetrators falling on their swords to protect President Reagan and Vice President Bush. The din of budget deficits was so loud, with predictions so dire, that this newly elected President, with no Washington experience, was forced to accept the specious merits of this argument. Forgotten of course was that it was these selfsame groups, had blithely ignored rising deficits during the twelve years past of Republican governance. Perhaps, in my re-visiting what you already probably knew, a sense of Deja’ Vu might be occurring when thinking of American politics and political issues today?
Direct parallels can be drawn between the treatment of Barack Obama in office, the specific problems he faced and Bill Clinton’s Presidency, I’m not writing this as a paean to our current President, since I believe he traveled down the same road Bill Clinton did. It was the wrong road of trying to appease, the unappeasable, based on an overestimation of his personal powers of persuasion and overlooking the fact that his “reaching out” was viewed as weakness by both the Republicans and the country. What got lost in the process for both men were the supposed principles that they ran on, which obviously had resonated enough with the public to get them elected in the first place.
The point I’m trying to make is that our current democratic system is irreparably broken as it stands and until some change is made, the interests of the general public will be of no account. Why is this so? In early January I did a blog entitled “America’s Transcendent Issue”. http://jonathanturley.org/2012/01/07/americas-transcendent-issue/ . My point was that money controlled our election process and until we dealt with the money issue none of America’s other problems could be solved, nor could we have a democratic electoral process. I still think this was a correct analysis, but it didn’t deal fully with the other factors that allow the 1% to control the 99% and lead directly to the inequality of resources among our citizenry.
How is it that Ronald Reagan and George Bush could on the day of their inauguration welcome home the Iran Embassy Hostages that probably got them elected in the first place? Had some backdoor negotiation gone on that may have delayed the “Hostage Crisis” past election day, in order to ensure
a Republican victory? We know that the hated Iranian’s received some missiles to sweeten their part of the deal. Surely there should have been wide media speculation on how this fortuitous happenstance occurred? Yet there wasn’t. From the outset of his term Ronald Reagan received generally adoring attention from the entire mainstream media and although some few raised objections and questions, these were drowned out by the indulgent, supposedly, “left wing” media.
Arguably the worst crisis of the Reagan terms was “Contra-Gate”, or the “Iran-Contra Scandal”. Nine high ranking members of the Reagan Administration were adjudged to have taken part in this illegal activity, yet they were all either pardoned, or in Ollie North’s case, “mistakenly” granted immunity for his testimony before the Senate where he admitted breaking the law. The following high officials’ guilt was established:
- Caspar Weinberger (R) Secretary of Defense, was indicted on two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice on June 16, 1992. Weinberger received a pardon from George H. W. Bush on December 24, 1992 before he was tried.
- William Casey (R) Head of the CIA. Thought to have conceived the plan, was stricken ill hours before he would testify. Reporter Bob Woodward records that Casey knew of and approved the plan.
- Robert C. McFarlane (R) National Security Adviser, convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only 2 years probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush
- Elliott Abrams (R) Assistant Secretary of State, convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only 2 years probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush
- Alan D. Fiers Chief of the CIA‘s Central American Task Force, convicted of withholding evidence and sentenced to one year probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush
- Clair George Chief of Covert Ops-CIA, convicted on 2 charges of perjury, but pardoned by President George H. W. Bush before sentencing.
- Oliver North (R) member of the National Security Council convicted of accepting an illegal gratuity, obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents, but the ruling was overturned since he had been granted immunity.
- John Poindexter National Security Advisor (R) convicted of 5 counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, defrauding the government, and the alteration and destruction of evidence. The Supreme Court overturned this ruling.
- Richard V. Secord Ex-major general in the Air Force who organized the Iran arms sales and Contra aid. He pleaded guilty in November 1989 to making false statements to Congress. Sentenced to two years of probation.
Bill Clinton was brought within seventeen votes of impeachment because of receiving oral sex from an intern and lying about it. The Supreme Court speciously ruled that a sitting President must take part in a minor civil lawsuit and from there Clinton made the mistake of lying about a legal act. Yet Ronald Reagan and G.H.W. Bush were allowed to be deposed at their convenience about Iran-Contra and stated they didn’t remember giving any order mobilizing it. The Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA and National Security Advisor were in on this illegal plan and two were pardoned by G.H.W. Bush. There was never a hint of a call for impeachment and the press in its coverage was curiously deferential in their dealings with both the President and his Vice-President.
In the early 1980’s there were fifty corporations that controlled most mainstream media, today there are only six corporations. These corporations are decidedly Republican/Conservative in management. I do believe that freedom of the press still hangs on by a fraying thread in this country due to the Internet. However, that “freedom” is limned by its’ corporate ownership. If a particular reporter, commentator or newscaster wants to keep their jobs they must perform within written and/or unwritten parameters.
MSNBC, for instance, got rid of Phil Donahue, Keith Obermann and Cenk Ungyar for perhaps straying outside of corporate political parameters. Of course MSNBC is perceived as the country’s most left leaning news source, even though their morning show is hosted by conservatives and they are controlled by a major corporation not known for its’ “liberalism”. NBC Universal is owned by Comcast and GE, which is America’s premier defense contractor. FOXNews and CNN are both right of center, with FOX of course veering off into radical territory. Media watchdogs have proven that male Republicans represent more than two thirds of the guests on the previously prestigious Sunday Morning news shows. Talk radio is predominantly owned by “Clear Channel”, which is a decidedly conservative corporation that presents overwhelmingly conservative talk show hosts like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck, with ties to the Bush Family constellation, presenting overwhelmingly conservative talk show hosts like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck.
My belief, backed factually below, is that part of the reason democracy is failing in this country is that the people are being kept seriously misinformed. Television has still been shown to be the place where most Americans get their news and television commentators and reporters help set our national agendas and priorities. In a Pew Poll referenced below 66% of Americans prefer TV as their news source, but 41% now prefer the Internet and that preference is ascending. This is why there are so many efforts being made to rein in the Internet so that corporate control of information can be solidified.
In my opinion neither Bill Clinton, nor Barack Obama were able to comprehend exactly what was facing them as they tried to govern. They were convinced through prior successes, that with their personal charisma, if they just kept repeating the old formulas of reaching out and making compromises they could achieve the goals of greatness each had set for himself. They were both unprepared for having the agenda-setting torn from their hands and instead having to deal with firestorms of made up controversy. They are to be blamed for their naivete/narcissism, but we citizens too must assume some of that blame. When 9/11 occurred we Americans allowed ourselves to be stampeded into two wars, costing many innocent lives and much money that could have been used for better purposes. There are ways, hard as they may be, to take money out of the political system, but what do we do to re-establish a free press that can give Americans the access to the information necessary to democratically govern ourselves? To answer my original question, “what’s going on” is that our media has become as phony as Pravda and Tass were to the people of the Soviet Union. The difference is that most Soviet citizens knew they were being lied to, while most Americans are only dimly aware of this truth and believe that it can’t happen here.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contragate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_controversy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_impeachment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Channel_Communications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBCUniversal
http://www.brafton.com/news/internet-rivals-television-as-americans-main-news-source-800325130
http://mediamatters.org/reports/sundayshowreport/
Good read Mike. I agree that the Internet must be kept “free” because it is and will be the lifeline for the 99%. I also agree that the dumbing down of America is part of the corporate take over of the government. Every day I receive emails from my conservative friends that lie about the current state of government or what Obama has or hasn’t done. These false and misleading emails are an example of the battle being fought by the Right to control the discussion and the terms of that discussion.
Mike S.
““what’s going on” is that our media has become as phony as Pravda and Tass were to the people of the Soviet Union. The difference is that most Soviet citizens knewthey were being lied to, while most Americans are only dimly aware of this truth and believe that it can’t happen here.”
You have hit the nail on the head,and I too have thought about this and the answer I came up with IMHO is true as petty as it may be.
If the news media starts asking the hard questions I feel the particular reporter assumes he will never be recognized again to ask another question.
Oh BTW,My old stand by is so evident with these debates we have been witnessing:
The Dumbing Down of America
By Manuel Valenzuela
10/12/06 “Information Clearing House”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15280.htm
Great job, Mike.
“What fascinated me about this four hour documentary was that even in its non-partisan fairness, it delved into the massive effort made to discredit Bill Clinton begun from even before the inception of his first term. Though he won his election fairly, Republican’s and Conservatives never accepted his legitimacy as a duly elected President.”
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regrding present day republican political (and social) behaviours rapidly becoming the norm in the political arena…
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is described by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition (DSM-IV-TR), as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by “…a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.”[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
sorry, make that republican and ultra-conservative….
Your posting provides a breath of fresh air this morning, Mike S. Thank you.
http://www.salon.com/2012/02/25/interview_with_sen_russ_feingold/singleton/ (Glenn Greewald interview, in three parts, with Russ Feingold)
Greenwald:
“He (Feingold) argues that whatever flaws plague the Democratic Party — and they are substantial, he will be the first to tell you — the GOP has become so extreme that their defeat is imperative.”
(This has been accurately pointed out by Swarthmore mom, Mike S. and others on this blog — I’m simply posting the interview… If only there were a viable alternative…)
AN,
If there was a viable alternative I would sign on. By viable though I mean electable and there lies the conundrum.
anon nurse, Thank you. Mike, thank you for the excellent post. I first started hearing the words “anti-christ” when Bill Clinton was elected. Now you can google Obama “anti-christ” and thousands of videos and articles pop up.
Good rant, almost a post-mortum, eh?
Gotta agree with you re Clinton and Obama, “They are to be blamed for their naivete/narcissism” and, too, “but we citizens too must assume some of that blame. When 9/11 occurred we Americans allowed ourselves to be stampeded into two wars”
Still, turning a laser on two intelligent presidents, and, assuming a degree of integrity, demanding they open their eyes, is a lot different than trying to turn a laser on “we Americans”.
The majority of Americans don’t trust the media. But, as you point out, with the consolidation of media, all information is skewed for the average Joe. And Americans don’t have a tradition of nasty, lying, authoritarian governments (read, also, corporations) to galvanize and legitimize our senseof outrage enough to vanquish the overlords. But we’re getting there, I hope.
Woosty’s still a Cat,
On the heels of your comment at 12:09 pm, the following article in today’s NY Times may be of some interest to you and others…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/us/a-military-diagnosis-personality-disorder-is-challenged.html?hpw
AN I would necessarily sign on. Once the “viable” becomes someone other than a generic everything changes.
Part of the recent Nielsen report is very interesting as it applies to this subject Mike is discussing. Young people, ages 12 through 35, are watching more TV but not watching television. They are using other devises and streaming programs through the internet.
The trend is becoming so evident that advertising agencies are giving serious consideration as to how their dollars should be spent since television “channels” are no longer getting the attention of the young … in fact, many of the very young (teenagers) give one a blank look when asked to identify the channels available on their televisions.
This also has a huge impact on news organizations who use television as their delivery system. They are also losing out and may soon find themselves going the way of newspapers and other print medias … down the tubes. As television loses control of the news market, corporations lose control of the content … and it happens very quickly.
The overnight success of OWS and the impotence of American corporations in the face of an organized 99% that ebbed and flowed like a raging river through the streets via their use of social media technology and instant video uploads seen in real time on devices like phones and iPads completely ignored and made obsolete traditional news coverage and corporate control of said coverage was made superfluous.
Oops I meant not necessarily sign on.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/jon-stewart-gop-obama-fear-mongering_n_1296123.html Stewart gets it again.
Mike Spindell 1, February 25, 2012 at 12:25 pm
AN,
If there was a viable alternative I would sign on. By viable though I mean electable and there lies the conundrum.
——————-
“If there was a viable alternative I would sign on.”
As would I…
And I agree that it boils down to electability.
I’m still hoping for a game-changer of some sort — a leak of some kind, perhaps, that will force some of the changes that many of us desire…
“And Americans don’t have a tradition of nasty, lying, authoritarian governments (read, also, corporations) to galvanize and legitimize our senseof outrage enough to vanquish the overlords. But we’re getting there, I hope.” –DonS
About “getting there” (from “where we are” to “outrage”), I hope so, too…
There are some terrible things going on that aren’t yet known to many or most… Once exposed, I’d like to believe that we’ll see some outrage…
Bravo Mike. Spot on old chap. No blarney here. You got r dun!
SwM,
Thanks for the Stewart clip
Anon nurse;
Thanks for that article, this para made me snort,-
‘Since 2001, the military has discharged at least 31,000 service members because of personality disorder, a family of disorders broadly characterized by inflexible “maladaptive” behavior that can impair performance and relationships.”
The armed services are hierarchal, so this basically says ‘anyone who doesn’t do whatever they are told’……..the military using a medically determined diagnoses to thier own ends and not the benefit of the person they are evaluating. Currently we ‘sanction’ and encourage that behaviour by the corporate and private profteering of medicine rather than good practice for the patients benefit. It is a sick dynamic and it has come full circle to weaken the country and bite us in the butt.
Yet ANOTHER imperative to single payer healthcare…
‘Since 2001, the military has discharged at least 31,000 service members ….’
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rapidly we descend to the 99.999999999% vs. the most anti-social elite…..
Anon Nurse posted this, thanks.
Bill Hicks gives words to my suspicions.
It gives besides other things, a basis for seeing fear and discomfort in Cllinton’s eyes as what’s-his-name sat in the Speaker chair and smirked into the camera. He’d gotten the word from the “group”. That’s why Michael Moore could later list all his achievements as a GOP president.
It also explains Barak’s and Michelle’s visible anguish walking the walk to the post-inaugural reviewing stand. Now they show the Hickian film from the knoll before inauguration—–but walking there one can be assailed with doubts even so.
Thanks Mike S. for bringing up the ultimate question. No question is more important for this planet.
Woosty’s still a Cat,
That was quite an article wasn’t it… The old psychiatric reprisal — a pathological process engaged in by sociopaths…
PS I can’t buy the naiveté of new Presidents regardless of their previous methods. Being in politics, even so short as a one-term senator, certainly must make the rules of the game clear. You don’t become elected for being an ingenue, however charming your smile.
idealist707, I think one could be naive about how entrenched some institutions are and how incredibly powerful K Street is. One might imagine it could be easier to change things than it actually is.
Oswald acted alone as we have all been told. Do not question the government. They can do no wrong.
Blouise, SwM, et al,
Who said we must protect the internet as our last free channel?
Well, HULU says those outside the USA can’t access the HUFF Jon Stewart thingy about crazy GOP.
Whose fault is that? And what the hell do we do about it?
Your (USA) fights are whats keeping the rest of the world inspired.
It isn’t French student riots or Greek unions. It’s you.
So we need spokesmen like Jon.
Is it available some other place? Maybe if the gods are kind, somebody there will put it on YOOBYTUBEY if HULU does not stop that also.
Jessie
So true. RWA all the way. Yeah team yeah!
anon nurse, in these days where every there is such heavy handed and misplaced scrutiny by government, law enforcement, employers etc. on those whose rights they easily dismiss and forget, the ability to swap info between government, law enforcement, insurance companies, healthcare corporations, banks (and more…) and blanket permissions for drug testing etc…all these elements used to be ‘protected’ ….now, no human being is safe from any mistaken, misguided or mis-applied label that can deal devastating consequences to a life. We are manifestly able now to ‘kill’ a person with words…whether the words are correct or not has little say … intention means more than truth…there is no wonder that people are chilled with fear or burning with anger in this weird new world….
Great piece Mike.
SwM
There are those indications. The incredibly fresh-face Clinton who stood on the stoop of the Churchill Harriman lady who got him nominated/elected and was thanking her before the cameras.
And Bill reportedly saying as new President: “You mean these guys can stop……! Whether it was the FED, the market, the rating bureaus, or the bankers and or purchasers of T-note he was talking about is unclear to me.
But a rude awakening as to limitations of power was it anyway.
This is a verrrry goood article. One of the best I have read on this over all topic. I am reading The Brethern by Woodward and the other guy. The thread from Nixon politics and employed as the ploy of the RepubliCon Party to this date is the Southern Strategy. That strategy has evolved into specific targeted voter blocs such as Baby Boomers who were Democrats back when they were good card carrying union plumbers but now are retired in Florida and can be appealed to on race grounds.
This is a well thought out article and I will stay with this blog even as a dog.
Anon Nurse, re the linked story on psychiatric discharge:
Giving a personality disorder diagnosis to get rid of someone without financial liability; sort of the reverse of what private shrinks will sometimes do in “upgrading” a diagnosis from pers d/o to some mood disorder (e.g., depression), or thought disorder (e.g., schizophrenia) to be able to bill insurance. Most insurance has limited or no coverage for personality disorder.
“No commander may order a credentialed clinician to make a particular diagnosis. Dr. Navarro did not feel he was being ordered by the service member’s command to make a particular diagnosis. The sentence referenced was written in terms of the commander asking to evaluate for a personality disorder, i.e. asking if one existed, not ordering to diagnose a personality disorder.”” (from NYT story) Such a ‘request’ in itself is highly improper, unprofessional, and baseless coming from a ‘layman’; certainly wouldn’t put it in writing.
idealist707
1, February 25, 2012 at 1:33 pm
——————————
oh I agree!
id707,
Hulu is part of Rupert Murdoch’s empire which explains everything.
From what I understand Netflix has expanded out of North and South America into the European market … see if you can access things through Netflix. Right now they are running a new series, which they own, called Lilyhammer. The series was created for Norway subscribers. Steven Van Zandt stars and is also one of the producers. It’s an 8 part series presently running in Norway but all 8 parts are available to subscribers on Netflix. I’ve watched them all and its pretty good.
The Daily Show and Colbert are available on Netflix.
On the internet … there is always a way
You see why each party has its own dedication to power. Nothing really changes since we are not a nation of voters, but controlled into individual action.
I have a ranch in Montana where it is relatively safe. I have a house in Dallas which is all the more reason to be concerned where this nation is headed. The propert values have plummented.
When we have single issue platforms dividing the nation, yet while joining at the hip to vote for a single candidate, that is the lesser of the evils, this has become a sick parody to call a democratic nation we call home.
With the fourth estate bought, congress corrupt since the civil war, and administrations in the hands of corporations (and employing them too) and SCOTUS sold in part—–what the hell chance do we have.
And the gun holders are just lynch gangs watching “radicals” etc etc.
Mike S, please expand on your hopes.
FDVoter,
“……I have a ranch in Montana where it is relatively safe”
Haven’t you seen some suspicious elks lately, moving kind of funny.
And the drones come more often now, don’t they?
Property values have gone down very little in Dallas because they never went up that much to begin with, Former.
“Such a ‘request’ in itself is highly improper, unprofessional, and baseless coming from a ‘layman’; certainly wouldn’t put it in writing.” -DonS
I’m happy that you commented on that… These folks seem to think that they’re helping themselves when they make these kinds of statements. Rather, they further reveal their agenda, if you will, IMO.
Former Democrat Voter
1, February 25, 2012 at 2:04 pm
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I used to live in Montana….a place as much like a dream as today is a nightmare. I saw my ‘Elk in Velvet’, shot (disintegrated) my first grouse, saw my first UFO, rode horses in the snow and ate really nice steaks… I would go back except that I’m terrified to see what developement has done to the place….plus I remember people there getting really excited about getting chits to shoot the corralled antelope….
Lilyhammer….hysterically funny…’ Sopranos lite’ with a conscience (I couldn’t watch it otherwise….)
I miss the mountains…
I think going down 550,000 in taxable value is quite a decrease in relative relationship.
Wootsty,
I do not know about the sport shooting. I do know it is very peaceful. I try and stay away during the winters.
A huge mistake (but it wasn’t ever going to be otherwise) was in not taking a good, long, hard look back at the Bush/Cheney years, in particular… Towards that end, here’s another article that sheds significant light on where we are today, IMO:
Jun 11, 2009
The CIA’s secret history of psychological torture
By Alfred W. McCoy
“Throughout the Cold War, the agency outsourced abuse to other nations. Will Obama put us back on this path?”
http://www.salon.com/2009/06/11/mccoy/singleton/
Excerpts:
If, like me, you’ve been following America’s torture policies not just for the last few years but for decades, you can’t help but experience that eerie feeling of déjà vu these days. With the departure of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from Washington and the arrival of Barack Obama, it may just be back to the future when it comes to torture policy, a turn away from a dark, do-it-yourself ethos and a return to the outsourcing of torture that went on, with the support of both Democrats and Republicans, in the Cold War years.
Like Chile after the regime of General Augusto Pinochet or the Philippines after the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Washington after Bush is now trapped in the painful politics of impunity. Unlike anything our allies have experienced, however, for Washington, and so for the rest of us, this may prove a political crisis without end or exit.
…
The price of impunity
This time around, however, a long-distance torture policy may not provide the same insulation as in the past for Washington. Any retreat into torture by remote control is, in fact, only likely to produce the next scandal that will do yet more damage to America’s international standing.
Over a 40-year period, Americans have found themselves mired in this same moral quagmire on six separate occasions: following exposés of CIA-sponsored torture in South Vietnam (1970), Brazil (1974), Iran (1978), Honduras (1988) and then throughout Latin America (1997). After each exposé, the public’s shock soon faded, allowing the Agency to resume its dirty work in the shadows.
Unless some formal inquiry is convened to look into a sordid history that reached its depths in the Bush era, and so begins to break this cycle of deceit, exposé and paralysis followed by more of the same, we’re likely, a few years hence, to find ourselves right back where we are now. We’ll be confronted with the next American torture scandal from some future iconic dungeon, part of a dismal, ever lengthening procession that has led from the tiger cages of South Vietnam through the Shah of Iran’s prison cells in Tehran to Abu Ghraib and the prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
The next time, however, the world will not have forgotten those photos from Abu Ghraib. The next time, the damage to this country will be nothing short of devastating. (end of excerpts)
“Every day I receive emails from my conservative friends that lie about the current state of government or what Obama has or hasn’t done.”
I usually hit “reply all” and send with a Snopes article de-bunking the lies. Knowing that the sender will be pissed at my replying to all his addressees with the truth, I again hit “reply all” and apologize for mistakenly hitting “reply all” instead of just “reply” the first time.
After a couple of go rounds like this, I find I don’t receive quite as many prevaricating emails.
http://blog.ebby.com/2011/10/10/dallas-home-prices-increase-while-u-s-prices-decline/ You must own an unusual piece of property.
The government of the Soviet Union had its own, official newspaper “Izvetsia,” which means “News.” The Communist party had its own, official newspaper “Pravda,” which means “Truth.” And the soviet people had their own saying: “There is no Izvetsia in Pravda, and no Pravda in Izvetsia.”
In America, we have our own saying: “Follow the money.”
Ain’t free market, corporate capitalism grand?
Thanks for the read, Mike.
Maybe they will go down in Keller if American goes under, Former.
Nope. Try again.
Former,
“I try and stay away during the winters.”
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But that’s the best part!
You are absolutely correct about most of our MSM. We don’t get all the important facts. In addition, we get two sides to every story–even when there is only one side that is factually correct. We certainly get a surfeit of propaganda and “disinformation.”
There are a lot of “talking heads” on TV. Sadly, many of those heads are empty.
“drowned out by the indulgent, supposedly, “left wing” media.”
I’m sure you’ve read or are at least aware of Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent” Mike. Our information, at least in my lifetime, has been increasingly filtered by the moneyed interests. There is a movement, growing every day over the last decade, to create new avenues of knowledge for people online, which is, of course, the reason why we see more and more attacks on net neutrality. We have to keep vigilant and keep loud. I am fairly certain no one on this thread is willing to be silenced.
I find this all bloody depressing. I’m pushing seventy-five and, in the last fifty years, this country has been sliding downhill at an ever increasing rate. Our democracy is one in name only and is no longer the envy of the World. And we the people let it all happen. We voted for the smiles and lies and that’s exactly what we got. I have no intention of voting in November. I wouldn’t give any of these babbling fools of either party the tiny bit of credibility that my singular vote would provide. On second thought, perhaps a write-in for Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel would be in order. I don’t think that either has ever taken PAC money.
‘Losing’ the world: American decline in perspective, part 1 by Noam Chomsky (Feb 14, 2012)
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175502/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_hegemony_and_its_dilemmas/
The Imperial Way
American Decline in Perspective, Part 2
By Noam Chomsky (Feb 15, 2012)
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175503/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_imperial_hegemony_and_its_discontents/
good post, Mike
as for news, i’ll watch rachel maddow or sometimes current but i can’t stand the drivel that passes for network news.
i can’t even get a laugh anymore from watching fox, all it does is raise my blood pressure.
Thanks for posting the Chomsky interview, Swarthmore mom.
AN
There are times I think you are channeling me, or vice-versa. Lately I’ve been reading an incredible book called “Family of Secrets”, by Russ Baker, who is a former NY Times investigative reporter. The book goes a long way towards describing what has been happening in the US since the end of WWII and its subject is the Bush family. I’m planning a blog on that book soon, but below you can get a taste of who Russ Baker is and where he is coming from. As a caveat I must say that he is providing the documentation for what I’ve long believed about this country, the 1960′s assassinations and the state of our “Democracy”, so I admit prejudice in favor of his investigations. Baker’s website is whowhatwhy.com.
http://whowhatwhy.com/2012/01/23/the-deaths-of-jfk-rfk%E2%80%94and-the-silence-of-the-lambs/
As a few may remember, I have been predicting that Jeb Bush will emerge as the Republican nominee during a brokered GOP convention, when no candidate has the majority. I’ve been doing that for about six months now. Part of my reasoning is confirmed by Baker’s book on the Bush Family. AS you can see from this link below I may not be entirely crazy in my surmise.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/jeb-bush-2012-gop-debate-republican-primary_n_1299190.html
SwM,
Thanks for Chomsky.
This is an interesting article.
Dodgy –
In my state, with electronic voting, it’s pretty hard to write in a choice; even then, only those who have filed to be a write-in candidate are the only available choices in the machine!
Also in my state, republicans run unopposed in a lot of local elections.
In the last paper ballot election held in the state, I wrote “yellow dog” opposite every unopposed republican; otherwise, it was all democrat.
I am the only Yellow Dog Democrat — in both sentiment and deed — that I know of.
I’m really not all that internet savvy so when I noticed this link appearing in the “trackback” section below the comments, I followed it. Must admit I never eve noticed “Trackbacks” before. Well it links to a rather flattering commentary on my article, that from my perspective in shorter, more elegant terms, describes exactly on what I was getting after. Thank you JP and Jim, I’m bookmarking your blog it looks like good stuff.
“Jim, this is another good take on the Clinton documentary (along with the Lanny Davis one I forwarded off blog), and widening to the Obama presidency and the media.The main point of it, which I agree with, I think is framed well and boils down a lot of what I say better than I have done. His main point, as I see it, is that our media is in large part to blame for the demise of our democracy (or at least our informed democracy) because no matter what the two parties say, the media will always treat it as simply two equal sides of the same coin. They see no objective truth or reality; they simply report he said/he said. So when one party goes completely off the rails and just makes stuff up, you’ll never know that from our (television) media, because they will simply continue to report the two sides as though both had equal validity, an equal claim to reality and objective fact. And since most Americans get their news (what little they may get) only from television, we end up where we are, with large parts of the country believing that, for example, Newt Gingrich really could magically make gasoline cost a mere two dollars a gallon as soon as he took office. Or that Obama has gone around apologizing for America. Or that there are death panels. Or that Obama really didn’t want to get Bin Laden. Or….well, you get the idea.”
anon nurse,
….These folks seem to think that they’re helping themselves when they make these kinds of statements. Rather, they further reveal their agenda, if you will, IMO.”
Sure do. But really a threat to all who live under them in some way.
But I mean do we need any more threats to understand where we are?
Oro Lee,
“Yellow Dog”? How many votes did you get? Remember, if YD wins by a landslide in November, you’ll have to take the job whether you like it or not. You have my endorsement.
Mike S.,
Well, if I’m channeling you, it’s indeed an honor…
“Family of Secrets” has been on my list for awhile — I know that you mentioned it a week or so ago… Perhaps you mentioned it earlier and were the reason reason that I put it on my reading list in the first place… I’ll look forward to the Russ Baker article. In the meantime, I’ll check out the whowhatwhy site and get started on the book…
This dog is not as negative as some of the commenters here. I like this article and the comments very much. I am voting for Democrats and taking Democrats who cant drive or walk to the polls like I did in 2008.
For those with the time, and Iran like it or not is timely now. try Robert Baers The enemy we know so well(?) which I’ve just started.
Published in 2008, it was prescient then, saying and showing how Iran has already won half the war with us already.
He also says that our taking down Iraq is the greatest strategic mistake in our history. And he shows why.
Iraq is essentially an ununifiable land, it was not and never will be a nation.
Saddam held together the Sunnis, the Shias, and the Kurds with terror.
BUT. again BUT, he was the armed bulwark that Iran could not defeat after 8 years war. He was the last defender of sunni power, something the Gulf Arabs and Saudi can not accomplish and are deathly fearful when he disappeared.
Let me close with two things: The iranians were there with their own and their own proxies in the government right after the 2 week americn victory parade. The other is, as Baer says, they think in terms of centurines, not next years budget or election.
Let me know what you think. Can describe the writer with one story, he was there with his CIA team in Iraq Kurd territory for some two years, before the 2003 war. And came away with many contacts which he uses now. He knows Iran since 25 years or so. So within the security classification limits you’ll get the real info from someone who was there on the ground and had contacts as high as NSC, although not always pleasant ones.
OS,
I don’t think I707 missed your point…. It just loves ad homenian attacks… You just seemed the logical obvious target…. Most who have studied US history… Would understand…. Those looking for a reason to be offensive don’t really need one except a target… You seemed obvious….
I understood.. Very well…
I am with Oro Lee…follow the money.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/02/wikileaks-anonymous-partners/
Wikileaks Pairs with Anonymous to Publish Intelligence Firm’s Dirty Laundry
By Quinn Norton
February 26, 2012 |
In an unprecedented collaboration between Anonymous and WikiLeaks, the secret spilling site began leaking Sunday night portions of a massive trove of e-mails from the private intelligence firm Stratfor that Anonymous obtained by hacking the company in December.
WikiLeaks did not mention the source of the reported five gigabytes of e-mails in its press release, but did say it has been working for months with 25 media outlets from around the world to analyze the documents.
The first batch of leaked e-mails purport to show that Stratfor monitored the political prankster group known as The Yes Men on behalf of Dow Chemical, which has been targeted by The Yes Men over the company’s handling of the Bhopal disaster. The e-mails also purport to show Stratfor’s attempt to set up an investment fund with a Goldman Sachs director to trade on the intelligence Stratfor collects, as well as give insight into how the private intelligence firm acquires, and sometimes pays for, information.
Stratfor, Stratfor, which bills itself as a private intelligence organization, sells its analyses of global politics to major corporations and government agencies.
Members of Anonymous with direct knowledge of the hack and transfer of data to WikiLeaks told Wired that the group decided to turn the information over to WikiLeaks because the site was more capable of analyzing and spreading the leaked information than Anonymous would be.
“WikiLeaks has great means to publish and disclose,” the anon told Wired. “Also, they work together with media in a way we don’t.”
“Basically, WL is the ideal partner for such stuff,” the anon continued. “Antisec acquires the shit, WL gets it released in a proper manner.” Antisec is the arm of Anonymous that is known for hacking into servers.
According to Antisec participants, Stratfor was targeted not just for its poor security, but also because of its client list, which includes major companies and government entities.
“We believe police and employees who work for the most significant fortune 500 companies are the most responsible for perpetuating the machinery of capitalism and the state,” said one Antisec participant in December, “That there will be repercussions for when you choose to betray the people and side with the rich ruling classes.”
Anons also told Wired that future collaborations with WikiLeaks could involve a series of hacks that will be announced, one after another, every Friday for the foreseeable future. If that happens, the Stratfor e-mail release could be the first sign of a new, powerful alliance between the two groups, each of which has vexed and angered the world’s most powerful governments and corporations.
When WikiLeaks received the documents on a server it controlled, it acknowledged the successful transfer with a coded, public Tweet, according to an anon with direct knowledge of the collaboration.
A document provided to Wired that could not be authenticated indicated that the media partners of WikiLeaks agreed to parcel out stories on the leaks over the coming week and a half. Those media partners do not include previous partners such as the Guardian and U.S. partners The New York Times and the Washington Post.
According to the document, e-mails about WikiLeaks and Anonymous will be disclosed Wednesday, followed by separate disclosures on Italy, the Middle East and then Asian countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, among others. The project, code-named Rock Guitar, is officially named “The Global Intelligence Files.”
Stratfor had been aware that the e-mails would likely be published in some form by Anonymous, but said in January that the e-mails should not embarrass the company.
The collaboration between WikiLeaks and Anonymous is an odd couple pairing. WikiLeaks has largely crumbled over the last 18 months, due to internal disagreements over the management style and legal problems of its outspoken leader Julian Assange. By contrast, Anonymous is an amorphous group with no leadership structure.
If Anonymous continues feeding WikiLeaks with documents, the secret spilling site could return to a prominence that seemed lost due to technical difficulties, legal troubles, in-fighting and public fallings out with media partners in the wake of the site’s publication of a massive trove of U.S. documents in 2010 and 2011.
WikiLeaks’s alleged source for those documents, Pfc. Bradley Manning, is facing a U.S. army court martial and a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
As for how the collaboration between the two groups went, an anon with direct knowledge of it indicated that the new relationship had some tough moments.
“There were some natural tensions as usually can happen inside partnership,” the anon said. ”I hope this was only the beginning of a beautiful relationship.” (end of article)
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I seriously appreciate people like you! Take care!
!