Category: Society

Academia, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

CNN Cruising Towards Inanity

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

200px-Cnn.svgI must admit that I gave up watching CNN years ago, even before they attempted to become FOX News lite. Originally, as they created the standard for Cable News, they were an informative leader in providing television journalism. Because of their devotion to the news alone, they became the preferred alternative to Broadcast Network News, which at each network had been put under the “Entertainment Division” and thus viewed as a profit center, rather than a public information service. At the beginning and “golden age” of Television Network News, the FCC had mandated that each network was to provide “news” as a public service, in exchange for their license to control a band on the airways. The leader in this was CBS, a network under the aegis of William Paley, who hired war tested Journalists such as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. CBS News was independent of the “Entertainment Division” and as a public service wasn’t expected to turn a profit. While it is true that there was an establishment bias on all news programming yet the coverage ranging from Joe McCarthy, to the Civil Rights Movement and to the Viet Nam War informed the public of great issues and brought home the realities through pictures indelibly imprinting horrific images on the public mind. Reactionary elements within the Corporate/Military Plutocracy viewed all of this with alarm. Their continued success depended upon an uninformed public, lulled by jingoistic propaganda and unaware of who really controlled our nation. There was a determination in these elite circles that the network news, the preferred means by which the public was informed on current affairs, must be reined in. William F. Buckley had already created the meme of a “liberal news bias” by this time as an explanation of why his philosophy of the supremacy of the elite was being bought by the general public. Building upon this meme networks were bought out by conservative corporations, news operations were put under the entertainment divisions and the FCC stop requiring news broadcasting as a condition of licensing.

Ted Turner realized that the traditional network news had been reduced in size and homogenized into a rather unpalatable product. He founded CNN under the paradigm of a 24 hour network dedicated solely to examining the news. Following CNN was the entry of Rupert Murdoch and the “tabloidization” of Cable News along with FOX News becoming a propaganda provider for his Conservative views and allies. This was nothing new for Murdoch who bought out the New Post and the Village Voice, turning them both into neo-conservative propaganda operations, sensationalized with gossip and racy pictures. Sadly, in terms of return on investment, it was a winning strategy for cable news as FOX shot to the top of the ratings. CNN the former ratings leader faltered and tried to become “a little” more like Fox News in order to regain their stature. In the process they became a failure as a serious news provider and have become every bit as inane as shows like “Entertainment Tonight”, even in their coverage of “hard” news stories. At this time in our country’s history with so many serious problems that need to be dealt with, CNN has proven not only incapable, but uninterested in providing coverage of issues that affect us all and of which we the public require more information.

Today, as with many Americans who try to be informed, almost all of the “news” I pay attention to comes from the internet. While I occasionally will watch Rachel Maddow and MSNBC coverage of important events, their coverage too seems lacking of content or even intelligent analysis. There are exceptions at MSNBC when they go away from their usual pundit crew to have on original thinkers undaunted by the need to parrot the establishment. Indeed, the first time I became familiar with Jonathan Turley’s work was seeing him on MSNBC. Since this is the case I had to discover something about CNN’s recent coverage from two articles I read in the Huffington Post, one of which made me snort with amusement, while the other just made me shake my head in disgust as to the current state of CNN, as a representative of mainstream Cable News Continue reading “CNN Cruising Towards Inanity” →

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Environment, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Politics, Science, Society, Supreme Court

Tea Party: A Phony Movement Mantled as Legitimate

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

9.12_tea_party_in_DCIn August 2011 I wrote a guest blog titled: Tea Party and the Myth of a Grassroots Movement”.  Using various newspaper and internet sources I showed that the meme created about the “Tea Party” that it was a “grassroots uprising” of ordinary citizens to take back their country from the out of control liberals, was simply not true. The “Tea Party” is a movement fabricated by certain plutocratic corporate interests to maintain themselves as relatively tax free and maintain control over the fiscal state of our country. I’m revisiting it today because of the guest blog I’ve just submitted about CNN and the rest of the news media, in light of a post by Al Gore at Huffington Post, publicizing his new book which deals with the back-story of the creation of the “Tea Party” and its negative influence upon our country. Some of Al Gores’ evidence and that forming the basis of my original guest blog overlap, but the important difference is he’s Al Gore, former Vice President and a centrist. I on the other hand am merely an aging ex-hippy, who remains a political radical. The truth of the “Tea Party’s” inception is not hidden from view and the facts are blatantly out there. What is important though is that the cable news media, press and the Washington punditry continue to describe the “Tea Party” in terms of its meme and myth as a grassroots entity and thus are complacent in a deception of the American people.

Daily we see stories about these “Tea Party” legislators elected to office on all levels of our government. They are falsely portrayed as populists, who are “fed up” and ran for office to “change things” and return to our Constitution. Large percentages of “Tea Party people in polls still believe that Barack Obama was born in Africa and is a Muslim intent on destroying Christianity and America. They see him as a communist, socialist and fascist simultaneously intent on dismantling our capitalist way of life and crushing American exceptionalism. I understand that one can be a reasonable person an oppose Barack Obama’s activity as President. I oppose some of his positions strongly and I voted for him. However, if you believe the “birthers” and those who call him radical names, then I must say in my opinion you are delusional. He is a slightly right of center Democrat, hawkish on foreign policy and deferential to the Corporate Plutocracy. He may be a Constitutional Scholar, but he certainly hasn’t done enough to protect our Constitutional Freedoms. Yet we see this ultra right wing faction of the Republican Party thinking Obama as the anti-Christ and believing they are part of a spontaneous revolution performed in the interests of “protecting” America. Here’s why that isn’t true. Continue reading “Tea Party: A Phony Movement Mantled as Legitimate” →

International, Military, Politics, Society

Grace Under Pressure: Colette of the Congo

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Author’s Note: Grace Under Pressure is an on-going series of posts honoring everyday people who courageously and honorably make positive differences in their own lives and the lives of others. It is my own personal affirmation that unexpected heroes reside among us and serve as  quiet but unshakable proof that virtue really is its own reward  — and ours too.

Congo-rape-victim-shields-007Imagine a day where you are confronted by ten women who have been beaten and raped and are desperately seeking your help. Imagine those women have done nothing more than venture out to feed their families knowing full well that armed gangs are hunting them for sport. Then imagine you are confronted by ten more women the next day and then the next and so on in a horrific circulating daily struggle to survive. That is the world of Colette. Colette cannot give her last name for fear of reprisal from the same thugs who torment her fellow refugees at a camp just north of one of the Congo’s provincial capitals at Goma. Fifty thousand displaced men, women, and children are crowded in the camp which lies adjacent to the Virunga National Park.  They are just a fraction of the estimated 250,000 people displaced in East Congo by the civil war despite the presence of the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world.

Congress, Criminal law, Justice, Politics, Society

A Deal For Junior? Justice Department Will Reportedly Reduce Charges To Single Count For Jesse Jackson, Jr.

160px-Jesse_Jackson,_Jr.,_official_photo_portraitWe have been following the disgraceful tenure of Jesse Jackson Jr. who disappeared for months as federal investigators closed in on his corrupt practices. He then was inexplicably reelected despite not running or offering any demonstrable evidence of any effort beyond self-dealing for himself and his family. He then resigned costing Chicago millions to replace him. It was, as noted earlier, just the latest scandal involving the family of Jesse Jackson in Chicago. It will now apparently get worse. Jackson will take a plea that reportedly implicates his wife, Sandi, in criminal conduct. However, for those concerned about the Administration giving a sweet deal to the powerful family of Jesse Jackson, the plea will raise some legitimate concerns if public reports are accurate. [Update: As expected, both Jacksons were charged on one count each. He was charged with misuse of campaign funds and she was charged with tax fraud).

Continue reading “A Deal For Junior? Justice Department Will Reportedly Reduce Charges To Single Count For Jesse Jackson, Jr.” →

Academia, Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Science, Society

Missouri Legislator Introduces Bill To Teach Creationism As A Scientific Theory And To Teach Evolution As A Philosophy

RickBrattinMissouri GOP Rep. Rick Brattin still doesn’t buy that whole evolution thing. Indeed, Brattin is the latest politician to seek to make science conform to religious beliefs by introducing bills that would force creationism into science classes and make “intelligent design” theories equivalent to evolution as a scientific subject. Brattin has proclaimed in this district that he would work to stop the “slow erosion of our God ordained liberties and freedoms.” That apparently begins by ordering “God-ordained” science for Missouri children. By the way, Missouri is already ranked 41st out of 50 states in school quality. Brattin appears committed to beating South Dakota for the distinction of the worst school system in the nation. Students will now receive education in the three rs: reading, ‘riting, and religion.

Continue reading “Missouri Legislator Introduces Bill To Teach Creationism As A Scientific Theory And To Teach Evolution As A Philosophy” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: GOP Indiana State Senator Moves To Make Undercover Videos A Crime At Farms And Businesses

100497Recently, the public was outraged by undercover videos taken in factory farms showing abuse of animals. While many legislators would see such videos and think of ways to force better conditions for animals, state Sen. Travis Holdman, a Republican from Markle, Ind., had a different reaction: make such videos by whistleblowers and journalists a crime.

Continue reading “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: GOP Indiana State Senator Moves To Make Undercover Videos A Crime At Farms And Businesses” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Brooklyn Prosecutor Given A Reduced Charge and Just 10 Days of Community Service After Strangling EMT Worker

100px-Seal_of_Brooklyn,_New_York.svg250px-Brooklyn_Bridge_PostdlfMany emergency medical workers were visibly upset after prosecutors reduced charges for Michael Jaccarino, a prosecutor in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, who attacked a female EMT in a drunken rage. Jaccarino was given just a 10 day community service sentence for his guilty plea to assaulting the ambulance worker while he was being taken to a hospital. Prosecutor Sherita Walton insisted that his drunkenness was a complete defense to intent since it was not clear if he actually intended to hurt the victim,Teresa Soler. EMT workers cried foul and suggested that prosecutors were being far more lenient on one of their own in the plea arrangement. We previously discussed the case.

Continue reading “Brooklyn Prosecutor Given A Reduced Charge and Just 10 Days of Community Service After Strangling EMT Worker” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society

Georgia Legislator Responds To Parody Of His Picture By Seeking To Criminalize Photoshopping Of Images

article-2278383-1790B181000005DC-624_306x443smithEarnestRep. Earnest Smith has a curious understanding of the First Amendment. Smith is upset that someone photoshopped his picture by placing his head on the body of a porn star. He has responded by seeking to make such photoshopping a crime and insisting that “No one has a right to make fun of anyone. It’s not a First Amendment right.” That is news to many of us.

Continue reading “Georgia Legislator Responds To Parody Of His Picture By Seeking To Criminalize Photoshopping Of Images” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Religion, Society

New Jersey Minister Represents Himself After Stabbing His Mistress and Fellow Minister

article-1362814-0D75ECC6000005DC-590_224x289article-1362814-0D75ECCA000005DC-68_224x289Rev. Edward Fairley, a New Jersey Minister, is representing himself in a bizarre murder case where he stands accused of the attempted murder of his long-time mistress and fellow minister the Koinonia and Christian Ministries. Fairley, 59, is not denying that he viciously stabbed Simone Shields, 52, while she was getting her hair done. He is arguing to the jury that he should only be convicted of aggravated assault rather than attempted murder because he lacked premeditation.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Torts

Obama Administration Sides With Music Industry In Seeking To Uphold Draconian Award Against Minnesota Mother For Sharing Songs

PresObamaWe have previously discussed how President Obama has repeatedly yielded to the “copyright hawks” who have steadily increased the penalties for copyright and trademark violations, including criminal penalties. Despite the abuse of average citizens by thuggish law firms and prosecutors, the Obama Administration continues to support draconian measures against citizens. Even after the abuse and death of Aaron Swartz by the Justice Department, the Obama Administration has decided to double down in a case of a young mother in Northern Minnesota who was hit with grotesque penalties for simply sharing 24 songs. She was told to pay $222,000 — over 100 times the actual damages for the songs. The Obama Administration has intervened before the Supreme Court to ask for it to allow the penalty to stand as lawful and correct.

Continue reading “Obama Administration Sides With Music Industry In Seeking To Uphold Draconian Award Against Minnesota Mother For Sharing Songs” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Chicago Red-Light Camera Company Accused of Giving Gifts To Officials

220px-RedlightcameraChicago has announced that it would not renew its contract with its red-light camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, part of an Australian company. The decision follows shocking disclosures of how the company showered a former city official with gifts and shared information with law enforcement.

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Bizarre, International, Politics, Religion, Society

When Diplomats Go Wild: Iran Hit With Major Scandal As U.N. Ambassador Shown Touching Hand Of A Woman

One would think that Iran would have its share of pressing social and political issues from the torture of prisoners to the denial of free speech to the development of nuclear weapons. However, Iran is aghast this week because of this video showing its U.N. ambassador, Ali Reza Sheik Attar, actually touching the hand of a woman. Yes, that is Attar giving a high five to Claudia Roth — a video that sent Muslim clerics in Iran scrambling to determine if he could be forgiven for such a public act of immorality. By the way, they are working on nuclear weapons.

Continue reading “When Diplomats Go Wild: Iran Hit With Major Scandal As U.N. Ambassador Shown Touching Hand Of A Woman” →

Bizarre, Society

Second Spokesman For Heart Attack Grill Dies . . . Of A Heart Attack

Heart_Attack_Grill_Retro_LogoWe previously discussed how a man recently died while eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass burger at the infamous Heart Attack Grill. That death followed the death of Blair River (a 572-pound obese 29-year-old man) as their spokesman. Now the restaurant’s second unofficial spokesman, John Alleman, has died of a heart attack in front of the restaurant.

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Academia, Science, Society

Happy Birthday Charles: A New Discovery Confirms Asteroid Theory For Dinosaur Extinction

170px-Charles_Darwin220px-Pasta-BrontosaurusToday is the birthday of Charles Darwin. Despite those intellectuals like Sarah Palin who believe that Earth is only a few thousand years old and deny evolution as a “theory,” Darwin continue to rack up proof of his work. With perfect timing for the great man’s 205th, American and European researchers have confirmed the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction during which roughly 75% of the planet’s species were killed, including almost every dinosaur, by an asteroid impact. The result was the evolution of species best suited to deal with the aftermath of the explosion 66 million years ago. Of course, for creationists, the dating of material from 66 million years ago may be rejected as simply biblically inaccurate (if not immoral), but for the rest of us it is an important new development. While Darwin did not know of the asteroid theory or the demise of the dinosaurs, he knew a lot about adaptation and survival of the fittest. Dinosaurs went from being the dominant creatures to the least competitive in the new environment.

Continue reading “Happy Birthday Charles: A New Discovery Confirms Asteroid Theory For Dinosaur Extinction” →

Bizarre, Society

Smithsonian Contractor Continues To Run Parking Concession Despite Massive Fraud By Employees

300px-StevenFUdvarHazyMany of us who love to visit the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Air and Space annex in Chantilly often complain about the high $15 parking fee required of visitors (who have no choice but to park at the site. Now, it appears that more than $1.5 million was skimmed off by the booth personnel working for PMI Corporation. Freweyni Mebrahtu, 46, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for her part in the conspiracy last week. Notably, Mebrahtu insisted that she never stole during the Muslim holy days of Ramadan. It appears that she considered that to be proof of being a moral person.

Continue reading “Smithsonian Contractor Continues To Run Parking Concession Despite Massive Fraud By Employees” →