There is no more “News” media: 100,000 people protested on Saturday, and we never heard about it.

[riqster]

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/there-is-no-more-news-media-100000-people-protested-on-saturday-and-we-never-heard-about-it/

"That is a picture of around one hundred-thousand people marching through Raleigh this past Saturday, protesting a whole raft of screw-everybody-but-rich-white-male-Repub laws that are being foisted upon the populace by North Carolina’s 100% Teapublican government. And here is a link to more such pictures. Oh, and here is another link to a local report.

And did you hear about this on the national “news” programs, Gentle Reader? No, you did not. You heard about the Olympics, various celebrity peccadillos, a politician’s 1990′s sex life, and lots of finger-pointing tripe from Congress.

It is apparently too much to expect our Infotainment industry to cover a huge grass-roots march by ordinary people, asking for ordinary things, in an ordinary way. You see, the “news” media is no longer about news, and hasn’t been since the 1970′s. The Reaganistas deregulated the media , making truth play second fiddle to profits. Second fiddle, Hell, they made truth a friggin’ understudy. Ratings and ad revenue determine what gets played on TeeVee “news” programs these days.

The only way for a citizen’s protest to get shown on national media would be to add a professional celebrity: have a Kardashian get a divorce during the march, or perhaps have Miley Cyrus twerking on a wrecking ball at the head of the march. Something shallow and meaningless to attract the “journalists”, and once they have taken the bait, the marchers force them to listen to, and then report on, something substantial, something that people actually need to know.

Because as of now, the lives and concerns of ordinary Americans are guaranteed not to be broadcast on the “news".

Source material at the link.

[elleng]

1. Hence, U.S. democracy is dead.

[riqster]

2. "Only mostly dead"

Cf Miracle Max

[demwing]

63. US democracy is not even close to dead

And the news business has changed, not disappeared..

Crying wolf just makes most folks think us overly excited, and less worthy of attention.

[elleng]

65. Without an informed electorate

democracy can't thrive, or even survive.

[riqster]

80. Yes, but that does not mean we are dead YET.

We can all do our part to fill in what the MSM leaves out.

[dixiegrrrrl]

98. Just think..if even ONE protestor had worn a Tea bag hat

it would have gotten coverage.

[demwing]

122. The Moral March got a great deal of coverage online

80,000 people protested in NC this weekend. Here’s why.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/10/why-tens-of-thousands-of-people-were-rallying-in-raleigh/

Moral March Rallies in Raleigh to Transform North Carolina
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-hickey/moral-march-rallies-in-ra_b_4757803.html

Groups take moral stand against GOP policies at march
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/08/moral-march-raleigh-naacp/5316017/

The Left Fights Back
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/02/moral_march_on_raleigh_how_the_moral_mondays_movement_is_redefining_the.html

North Carolina's Moral Mondays Are Back With Massive March
http://www.newsweek.com/n-carolina-progressive-group-kicks-2014-massive-march-228585

North Carolina’s Moral Monday Movement Kicks Off 2014 With a Massive Rally in Raleigh
http://www.thenation.com/blog/178291/north-carolinas-moral-monday-movement-kicks-2014-massive-rally-raleigh#

Barber leads "Moral March on Raleigh"
http://news.yahoo.com/video/barber-leads-moral-march-raleigh-160531736.html

Plus a dozen smaller websites, and who knows how many blogs? The fact that it landed positively on Yahoo News kinda blew me away.

Today get's its news online. Yesterday still watches the Tele

[Lucky Luciano]

131. You might be on to something there.... nt

[raven mad]

159. Information and education are anathema to Republicans.

Ask anyone who votes that way. I won't. They're icky.

[elleng]

191. Exactly

[Eleanors38]

161. "Democracy's not dead, it just smells that way."

I don't think MSM wants to make a Big Issue out of political dissent when that tacky phenomenon is so prevalent in less civilized countries; besides these marches are outside of the Corporate ComfortZone™. Relax, there's another SYG shooting, or Bieber Baby Blowup waiting to be nationalized, o.k.?

[Bandit]

3. That is why groups like Code Pink are so important

They use such dramatic street theatre that it makes the news. That is on purpose and if people like those in NC want to be heard they have to bring it. Something more than just a huge gathering.

[riqster]

6. I am not sure that even such tactics are enough.

I am all for we to act as conduits, spreading the information where it is blacked out by the Corporate beastie.

[marions ghost]

11. 950 people being arrested for civil disobedience

on last year's Moral Mondays is not dramatic enough for you?

-------------

Also-- I would say that these people are bringin' it:

--------------

Huge gatherings indicate a lot of work being done behind the scenes.

[Dalai_1]

32. Kick n/t

[reddread]

27. in denial?

Code Pink and others, use their gimmicks to get the public's attention.
The "media" is in lockdown, and if you think that crowd didnt have creative performers
and enough livewire action to make Code Pink look like Barney and Friends,
I believe you are mistaken.
I dont want to be the bearer of news this bad, but the OP is correct, and this has been the case
for far too long.
First they just undercount your numbers
then they ignore you
whats next?

[marions ghost]

33. thank you

[reddread]

41. you are not welcome!

I hate this abomination, this mockery of democracy and freedom.
The pretense that we choose a lying, stupifying deregulated corporate takeover of our airwaves.
At the root of all of our problems is a corrupt, stolen system of information that
is anything but the envy of the world.
We are raised to be cattle for the parasites who have stolen access to the taxpayer vaults.
You are not welcome at all!
But thank you.
peace.

[Eleanors38]

162. ^^^"Lockdown"^^^ Uuuuu got it...

I have for years advocated that demonstrations should target MSM, not just courthouses & capitols.

[reddread]

168. and ill raise you cable providers and telecoms

if its all about money, we should only have to threaten their income streams to see results.
paying exorbitant rates for cel service and low speed internet only to have our privacy violated?
really not much of a sacrifice to cancel that for a while. a little teamwork and todays protest could see actual results.
alas...

[BelgianMadCow]

177. "First they just undercount your numbers, then they ignore, you whats next?"

You take to the streets massively and the Awesome Apparatus is unleashed. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

[reddread]

180. you go after their money

boycotts, REAL boycotts, are conspicuous by their scarcity(absence).
Online petitions being the weapon of choice, having been proven effective.
wheres that sarcasm thingy at?

[jeff47]

34. Um, no.

Let's use an example. There was a massive protest in NYC before we invaded Iraq. What got on the media? The 3 young women wearing strap-on dildos painted like missiles, reciting a badly-written little song about being against the war.

Result? Entire protest was equated with those three women. Who were outrageous enough to be easily dismissed.

[reddread]

43. no way!

they were the best part!
how quickly you diminish the situation using them.
They were outstanding, and blaming them for anything is ridiculous.

[jeff47]

50. Well, if your goal was to minimize the entire event, they were great.

If your goal was to not slaughter millions, their entertainment value was not a good trade.

[reddread]

56. pinning the blame for the results on them? ridiculous

they are to be, and well should be congratulated for working so hard to demonstrate that well the degree of disgust decent Americans have for war criminals. there is absolutely nothing funny about the situation we are still in, but that doesnt stop Colbert and Stewart from making a fat living on cable.
You are drawing a connection and conclusion that resides solely in your head.
The Missile Dick Chicks and EVERYONE else who made the effort to be there and witness what the media would only under report are all heroes and part of history.
if anything was going to stop that illegal act of international mass murder and industrial malfeasance, it would have been the helpless 2nd Party.

[jeff47]

57. They are to be congratulated for undoing the efforts of tens of thousands.

Great idea.

The Missile Dick Chicks and EVERYONE else who made the effort to be there and witness what the media would only under report are all heroes and part of history.

Yes, they'll have a lovely story to tell their grandkids.

OTOH, the dead people won't have grandkids. Oh well.

[reddread]

59. tens of thousands? what tens of thousands are you talking about

there was about a million people there, and I dont even want to know what you would have considered a successful protest with
probably THE LARGEST assembly of law enforcement officers in the history of this country.
Maybe a big explosion rather than a simple burning of the dragon?
Maybe some deaths?
What exactly do you think could have happened to stop the crime we all watched our government commit?
Whatever it is, I feel sorry for you to be trapped with such unreasonable feelings and resentments.

[jeff47]

77. They made the story about themselves.

Not the protest. Not the war. Not the soon-to-be-dead. The story was women being outrageous so that TV would talk about them. But only talk about them being outrageous.

Being outrageous ends the discussion with the act. It does not advance an agenda.

What exactly do you think could have happened to stop the crime we all watched our government commit?

At that point, it could not have been stopped. At the same time, their actions sabotaged the efforts of those trying to do so.

[riqster]

74. They were not responsible for being used as distractions by the media.

I never heard of them until this exchange. I suggest you are giving their portrayal far greater weight and according it more impact than it actually had at the time.

[jeff47]

78. They knew that being outrageous would get themselves on TV.

And they knew that the discussion would end with their actions, not what they were supposedly protesting.

I suggest you are giving their portrayal far greater weight and according it more impact than it actually had at the time.

The impact it had was to help minimize and sabotage the anti-war movement. Their actions helped minimize the coverage - those anti-war people are all just crazy women with dildos. And so their acts, and many subsequent ones, were ignored by the media.

Being outrageous is a terrible strategy for political change. Discussion ends at the outrageous acts. If you'd prefer a more current subject, look at what's happening to Pussy Riot - nobody knows what they're actually protesting.

[riqster]

81. You do not know, and nobody knows, what would have happened had acted differently.

In the case referenced in the OP, there either were no such dramatic actors, or their presence was not reported.

And the story was buried.

Blaming three people for the criminal actions of media, industry, and government is wrong on two fronts: it is not fair to them, and it lets the real murderers off the hook.

Anybody who wants to give the Bushistas a free pass in favor of blaming a troika of liberals is really in need of a fact infusion.

[jeff47]

169. Yes, actually I do know.

Not being outrageous means "these people are outrageous" would not be the story.

Will that mean coverage of the actual issue? Maybe. Maybe not. But it will mean any coverage is about the issue and not the outrageous behavior.

The people who sat at Woolworth's lunch counter did not wave around dildos, or any other outrageous behavior. That's why the protest worked - they were doing something "normal" that was still forbidden. The coverage couldn't be about their outrageous behavior, it had to be about what was actually going on.

Pussy Riot has accomplished none of their goals. Code Pink has accomplished none of their goals. The dildo-waving women at that protest accomplished none of their goals.

Being outrageous doesn't cause change. It just causes marginalization.

[reddread]

179. Science is calling you

they want their really bad research methodology back.
What is it, your act in the parade didnt make the cut?
C-SPAN ran the whole thing, and you can probably still watch it.
The only marginalizing Im aware of is what you are attempting to do.
10 years later.
you must have been profoundly ignored.
Did you get arrested?
Spend a day or two in the pits of hell having your rights violated?
something tells me no.

[hfojvt]

184. I agree with that

many years back, Ann Coulter was gonna visit Lawrence, and I posted on DU that we should protest. And somebody mentioned "we should dress up in freakish costumes" and my reply was "hell no, if I go to protest, I am wearing a suit and tie". A protest by respectful citizens, I thought would be more powerful than a protest that could be written off as "a bunch of maladjusted freaks".

[father founding]

213. old school

The founding fathers were outrageous

[rhett o rick]

88. So how would you recommend that protests get the attention of the media? nm

[Eleanors38]

163. Put a hundred thousand outside MSM's door. nt

[rhett o rick]

178. I am not sure where exactly that would be but they would still ignore it. nm

[Eleanors38]

186. Maybe so. But it places MSM on notice their legitimacy is less than mass.

[rhett o rick]

196. Respectfully, putting the corporate-media on notice is like putting Exxon on notice.

They dont care enough to even laugh at us.

[Eleanors38]

197. I'm willing to try. Their profit margins are like the old gray mare.

[MindMover]

54. I would agree that there has to be a focused issue related march and ....

not just 100,000 people with a 100 different issues ...

YES, the system needs to change, ,,, but, but, to offer 100 different reasons in the march, it just looses its intensity ....

NOW, the civil rights movement, was strong because it has/had a focus ... on civil rights ...

[Berlum]

4. Corporate Media (R) sold out a long time ago

Cut the cable.
Save Money.
Starve the Beast.

[riqster]

5. Oh, agreed.

But the message bears repeating.

[ReRe]

28. Remember this ditty?

Blow up the TV,
Throw away the papers,
Move to the country,
Build you a home.

Plant a little garden,
Eat allot of peaches,
Try to find Jesus
On your own.

John Prine

(Don't ask me the name of the song, because I can't remember.)

[riqster]

35. "Spanish Pipedream" IIRC

Thanks for reminding me!

[bvar22]

51. Thanks for the great earworm.

My wife & I liked this song so much,
that we actually did it.
We are now living happily in the country and growing Peaches (among other things).

[ReRe]

55. Why, you're welcome!

I always loved that song. You did follow JP's instructions, didn't you? Do you live in Georgia? We don't live in the country, but we try to have a garden every year, propagate seeds (flower and vegies.) The only reason I get the paper is to work the crossword puzzles, read Mother Goose and Grimm, read my horriblescope and look at the sports page once in a while. Homegrown peaches and homemade ice cream. That sounds goooood!

[bvar22]

68. Not Georgia, though there are some good deals on rural property there.

In 2005, we decided to sell everything and move to The Woods.
We shopped around the nation looking for a place that would fulfill our list of requirements.
The best place we could find that we could afford, fit our requirements, and gave us the most for our money was in the very rural Ouachita Mountains of West/Central Arkansas.

In 2006, we bought a place outright, and moved there from Minneapolis/St Paul.
We live there now, and grow a good percentage of our food (including Peaches).
We also keep chickens and HoneyBees,
heat our cabin with a wood stove,
and get our drinking water from a spring in the back yard.

Our yearly goal is to Produce more, Consume Less,
reduce our Carbon Footprint,
make a difference in local Humanitarian issues,
and find new ways to keep our money from going into the pockets of Big Corporations.
Wall Street can live or die without our money or concern.

Life here has been good to us,
but is not for everyone.
My Wife & I are healthy, strong, enjoy working in the dirt,
have no dependents, enjoy isolation,
and have a compatible skill set that makes this fun (most of the time.)


bvar22 & Starkraven
living well on a LOW taxable income
and stuff we learned in the 60s,

[ReRe]

70. You will not believe this...

We have a copy of that Whole Earth Catalog around here somewhere, but I don't know if it was that year. (1968) Well, it's a small world after all, huh? Sounds like you guys have it made in the shade. Congratulations!

[riqster]

102. I had it too. And an early printing of Be Here Now.

Friends "borrowed" them.

[ReRe]

111. Booooo :-(

[riqster]

119. And a copy of Bored of the Rings.

I no longer loan out books.

[ReRe]

139. Hubby read...

... the trilogy to our sons when they were 4-5 years old. You can imagine how long it took him, as they stopped him to define words several times on each page. Also Watership Down, Huck Finn... the childhood classics.

[riqster]

140. Oh the trilogy was and is excellent.

And easy to find new copies.

But "Bored of the Rings " is very hard to find. I had to go all the way to Dorchester in the UK to replace mine.

[JDPriestly]

37. I'm with you. That one post is worth a star. Enjoy.

[randome]

7. Fewer and fewer are 'watching' the news.

We read about it on the Internet.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[colsohlibgal]

8. But.......

If 43 tea party types gather it's news.

[riqster]

12. Sad but true.

[arthritisR_US]

9. I know and it is so fecking frustrating...

excuse my language but this really has got my goat !

[G_j]

10. it's completely unacceptable

yet, here we are.. Something needs to be done.

[riqster]

14. All I can see to do is for all of us to bear witness.

I blog, and do AFK activism as well. A few Foxoids have seen the light so far.

If we all spread our message out to the non-progressive population, we can make a difference.

[G_j]

15. yes, for sure

even here in NC, Moral Monday is unknown to many. Reverend Barber has been wise to move the demonstrations around the state.

[snooper2]

13. I counted in that picture- it's 1743 people

News media still sucks ass though

[okaawhatever]

19. That was a small amount of the total who marched. They've been marching for months, and did so

last Monday. They have a pretty good idea of how many were there. The estimates were 80k to 100k.

[Lex]

123. So you think that was the sum total of people

at the march in that one shot?

[snooper2]

124. um, sure, LOL

of course I would think that...

You okay or you need me to buy you a round? :drink:

[jtuck004]

16. We have 316 million freakin' neighbors in this country. That we know of. This could just...

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2014, 05:27 PM - Edit history (1)

...be the line of people trying to get a job at Walmart.

[JDPriestly]

38. If all Californians traveled to North Carolina to attend one march, I think the earth might

shift on its access from the sheer weight of the crowd. 100,000 people is just enormous. Can't get any bigger than that without pushing climate change about 100 notches higher than it already is. The air traffic alone . . . .

[jtuck004]

72. We all have different standards. 100K is just a little larger than the crowd at the Super Bowl.

And, frankly, not too large to handle with police who usually work for the power you are fighting, in most any social change.

If there is an org that is trying to change something then it is their responsibility to make sure their efforts get on the proper media channels, assuming their mission is important. I've done that job, and having had that as one of my functions I would never point the finger at someone else. If it didn't get reported where I wanted it reported at, it's because I wasn't doing my job. I did my job and more, and I know a few other folks who do the same. Not all do, of course.

If it didn't get to the channels it needed to it might be because someone didn't disseminate in a way that got attention, or, worse, it was the wrong strategy for the moment. Or maybe they think they can just bring enough pressure locally and don't work that angle. That's up to the strategic planners in the org.

Lots of people out there trying lots of different things, but for some it's seems like they are trying to drive a car with a missing tire...lot of extra effort and damage, can maybe still get where they are going or not, may hurt innocent others along the way, and they tell their passengers "You have to be patient" a lot.

Effectiveness is easily measured if their mission is defined well. If one is not willing to entertain the idea that they aren't doing what they think they are doing, when the enemy is winning vs when they are, and then join in finding the strategy that will beat the bastards, if everything is relative and thus they can't measure, they are worthless to me. I learned that from some others who went before me, and work like that.

News media is just entertainment. If you want to bump the 11 people killed by a wrong-way drunk driver on the freeway your strategy might have to evolve from a bunch of people marching up and down with signs to some more direct inaction. Like taking up all the public toilets between the largest airport and the city, until you get a meeting with a mayor. A strategic something that moves you closer to your goal.

You have to be smarter than vigilante deer.



HEre.

Everyone has their opinion, but I tend to lean toward those that result in effective change, not "pie-in-the-sky", excuses, finger-pointing and drama.

But again, others have their own standards. I wish them well.

[Scott6113]

17. Ever Heard of PussyRiot?

Their name attracts attention and their antics, such as flashing their breasts, does so also. Women are painting messages on their bodies like the Dixie Chicks, or on tight-fitting clothes like Katy Perry.

It's horrible, it's a setback for human rights, for women's rights, but women have learned that they're too often ignored, so the use sex.

While the Kardashian/Cyrus ideas were facetious, the examples above aren't.

[hfojvt]

18. should national media cover something in NC?

How often does that happen?

Are people in Chicago, Kansas City, NYC and Boston gonna sit up and take notice that people in NC are protesting NC policies?

[G_j]

21. 80 to 100,000 people from 32 states?

I'd call that news.

[Enthusiast]

66. +1 a shit load...........nt

[Cleita]

22. Back in the sixties national media reported large protests that were local.

Why is this different?

[marions ghost]

24. This is why:

This is a press conference from Saturday post-march and I think Rev Barber answers your question--seems like it is a common one:

-----------

ALSO CONSIDER THIS:

NC is mobilizing to take back the state from the Koch-Pope hijackers and keep Kay Hagan in the US Senate:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hey-its-an-election-year-heres-what-2014-will-bring/2013/12/29/cfd99ab2-7095-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html

"The Senate majority will come down to North Carolina and Louisiana. If you assume that Republicans have takeovers in South Dakota, West Virginia and Montana strongly in hand (and, at the moment, they do) and that Arkansas and Alaska are going to be very tough holds for Democrats based on the underlying demographics of the two states, then the GOP stands at a five-seat pickup. Republicans need six to retake the Senate majority, which means that they must find a way to unseat Mary Landrieu (La.), Kay Hagan (N.C.) or both.

Try this one for a delicious possibility: Republicans gain five seats on election night while no one gets 50 percent in the open primary in Louisiana on that same night. That would mean the top two vote-getters — Landrieu and probably Rep. Bill Cassidy (R) would advance to a runoff Dec. 6. That means there would be a month-long race that would decide control of the Senate for the next two years. Yes, that could happen."
---------------------

[JDPriestly]

48. Rev. Barber is so right.

I get flak here because I insult the South so much based on my life during the years I lived there.

Hey. Southerners are responsible for most of the backwardness in our country. Southern states are headquarters for US Fascists Associated. If you live in the South, come to California and walk down any street outside of Orange County. We have our retrogrades, but what you will see is diversity and harmony. The South has a long way to go. And Southerners are holding the country back.

Liberal Southerners need to hold Moral Sundays and Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays and Fridays and Saturdays and then twice on the next Sunday and on and on until they get change. A change of heart. A change of opinion. A change of direction in favor of our one country living as a tolerant, sharing, healthy people.

This is no time for fear and excuses. Get out. Register people to vote. Talk about why you are a liberal. I believe that people will listen if they hear heartfelt voices defending those whose rights are being trampled on.

I agree with Rev. Barber. Change has to start in communities. That's where the people who need to change are.

[marions ghost]

76. OK...

but I think you need to include QUITE a few other states not in the South as being to blame for "holding the country back." I don't think I have to name them, do I?

The fact is, this is a country with pockets of blue surrounded by red in every state. Because the divide is more Rural vs Urban --than it is South vs Everybody Else.

North Carolina was a progressive Southern state before it got Koched. Do you know what has happened in NC? This is a well-written account of it:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all

I understand your frustration and anger with the South--but with all due respect, this is a national issue.
Each state has to address it in their own way. But the problems are systemic in the country.

We agree that this is a sick nation.

[G_j]

85. It's a nightmare, mountains of money

being used to dismantle what grassroots environmental groups (for example) have worked for decades to accomplish in NC. All these groups have operated almost solely on small donations. It's very hard to fight the kind of money we are talking about.

[marions ghost]

93. Right it's disheartening and disrespectful but

--"not to fight back is to be a participant in our own oppression"--Rev Barber

It's hard to fight this kind of big money power and influence, but there's really no choice. As more people join the movement it becomes a tsunami they underestimated...power comes from all these small advocacy groups realizing their common interests and banding together.

At some point people just get fed up and stop putting up.

[riqster]

96. This:

"It's hard to fight this kind of big money power and influence, but there's really no choice."

And
"At some point people just get fed up and stop putting up."

A-men!

[marions ghost]

143. NO choice

Because The Takers will take and take & leave the rest of us with NO political power, NO societal benefits, NO resources, NO nothing. There has to be resistance to their greed. Who wants to live in their world?

Anyone who thinks this is not their ultimate agenda needs to wake up out of the poppy field. They have given us evidence over and over. Not to see it is just dumb and uninformed-- or worse, denial.

[riqster]

149. One of my favorite Edward Abbey lines:

"When the situation is hopeless, there is nothing to worry about."

So let's not worry, and go open several cans of electoral whoop-ass on the Raging Righties in their Tightie Whities.

[JDPriestly]

113. California, Massachusetts, Vermont and a few other states are in the lead when it comes to

policy. I would agree that there are states outside the South like Indiana with big problems. The shocker is that Michigan is voting conservative. Still, the South leads and a lot of the ideas that have polluted the politics in other states comes from the South. Texas is way behind the times.

[marions ghost]

145. South-blaming is way off base these days...

One indicator of right wing control = States refusing medicaid:



I think PA is not expanding & I suspect Indiana also. Also AZ, NV, AR, TN, KY, WV, AK --while showing yes (green) to Medicaid expansion --are NOT progressive states.

------

Out of 50 states, only about 16 are what you might call progressive, and even in many of them, it's a struggle. Of course a handful of states that are more enlightened is all to the good, but America is basically conservative in temperament and policy. And the business sector takes full advantage. I would argue that the most pernicious ideas we see in the Rethuglicon party today never originated in the South. The Kochs derive from Ayn Rand, based in Chicago, not from the South:

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/10/11/n-ayn-rand-paul-ryan-atlas-shrugged-fountainhead.cnnmoney/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_Institute

So I strongly disagree that with you that "ideas that have polluted politics in other states come from the South."

Non-Southern right wing controlled states are conservative in their own right and have NO one else to blame but themselves.

[hfojvt]

132. makes me sick to read that SD is a lock

but then I wondered, who is the Republican candidate?

Well, first of all it seems like they have a primary. Perhaps Mike Rounds will win it, maybe handily, being a former Governor and all.

But then I also note that former Senator Larry Pressler, a Republican, is planning to run as an independent.

Hard to find a Senate race that Republicans have won. Thune squeaked by Daschle in 2004 and then ran unopposed (WTF?) in 2010. But before that Daschle won 3 terms and Johnson won in 2008 and 2002 and perhaps also in 1996.

So Democrats can win Senate races there. So look at the Presidential vote. 58% Romney and 40% Obama. All we need is for Pressler to take 19% of the vote and to hold Democrats steady at 40%, and the result is Senator Rick Weiland with 40% Rounds with 39% and Pressler with 19%. Or say Pressler gets 5% of the Democratic vote and another 5% of the Republican vote. We could win 35% to 34% to 29%.

[marions ghost]

146. Too close for comfort

NC and LA have to hold onto their moderate Dem senators.

[riqster]

26. Two relevant points: volume and relevance.

100,000 people in Tahrir Square are considered newsworthy, so why not in NC?

And the policies are not limited to that state: these Repube policies are being pushed across the country, at all levels.

By either criterion, this is newsworthy. Much more so than, say, a rehashing of Bubba's having gotten a blowjob in the previous century.

[Demo_Chris]

120. For the same reason that King and Ghandi were successful...

The power elite eventually listened to King and Ghandi, not because they were persuasive, but because doing so was a better option than mass carnage. King might have had a dream, but the civil rights movement also had violent militants waiting in the wings.

Why would ANYONE in power care about proles marching in the streets -- particularly when said proles have been indoctrinated to believe that sit-ins and pacificism are the only effective mechanism for social change. Hell, these proles are going to turn right around and re-elect the people who have been fucking them, and they'll call it a win. If they obliterated fifty bank branches it would be world wide fucking news, every pol and talking head in America would be condemning them and discussing their demands, but until then it's basically feel-good masturbation.

I am no better. I am not about to get myself arrested or killed by the police. I have seen violence and carnage and I don't like it. So I will keep trying to effect a change at the poles and hold our leaders accountable.

[riqster]

136. There is something else for politicos to fear.

Losing their cushy jobs. That is why they pander to the Baggers.

And if another interest group seems a threat to their re-elections, that group's interests will appear on the agendas of those in power.

Bullets and bombs don't scare people in high places: but the loss of said high places, be it via violence or the polling place, DOES.

[paleotn]

106. ALEC. Coming to a state near you. (nt)

[UncleMuscles]

144. one answer:

JUSTIN BIEBER

[Cleita]

20. Thom Hartmann just reported this on his radio program

that nobody can get on ordinary airwaves around here. He said the same that it was totally ignored. I'm hoping Chris Hayes or Rachel Maddow might do so tonight.

[marions ghost]

25. Rachel should...

post if you see anything.

[JeaneRaye]

147. Coverage on MSNBC

Actually, this was covered either on Rachel Maddow or Chris Hayes' show last night. I don't remember which since I watched both. Rachel did a big story about North Carolina and the coal sludge spill so it may have been covered leading up to that story.

[marions ghost]

148. Lawrence O'Donnell did an excellent segment:

http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/ncs-moral-protests-return-in-a-big-way-146572867513

[liberal from boston]

158. NC Moral Protests

I agree --I saw Lawrence's segment last night when it aired. Quite revealing that polls showed Republicans are in big trouble in NC. Hopefully, these moral protests spread to other states w/Republican Governors.

[marions ghost]

160. Rethugs are in trouble in NC

because it's so painfully obvious what their piggy agenda really is...a lot of buyer's remorse in NC re. the last election. Many people didn't realize they were voting for the Kochs & Tea Party. Or what that even meant. Now they know.

Virginia is struggling to take it back (Go VA) , NC is struggling, and other states will have to also.

Thank you for the Moral (movement) Support!

[ConservativeDemocrat]

23. Well DUH...

Seriously, people. The media's job is to get people to watch things that are enjoyable to as many people as possible so they can stick advertisements next to them and hope people watch those too. A big controversial protest march isn't that.

If any of those 100k people wanted to be actually effective, they'd stop preaching to the choir, and instead be knocking doors of people who they might be able to change minds about.

But see, that takes work. And it isn't comfortable. You end up talking to a lot of Republicans. And hostile people, many who can be Democrats.

However it does work. It bypasses all the media filters. And it takes work. So Knock Doors if you want to change things. If you don't, just keep whining about conspiracy theories.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[marions ghost]

29. Seriously?

Dear Member of Reality Based Community...

You don't know that's exactly what all these people are doing when they get home--ie. WORKING THEIR BUTTS OFF??

This is a rally to get all the groups mobilized for the intense battle at the polls that is going to happen in NC this year.

And consider this implication for the US Senate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hey-its-an-election-year-heres-what-2014-will-bring/2013/12/29/cfd99ab2-7095-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html

"The Senate majority will come down to North Carolina and Louisiana." (Chris Cillizza)

[ConservativeDemocrat]

125. Seriously...

It's my experience that people who go to marches don't canvass. Sure, there are a handful that do both, but most protesters like to protest, not persuade.

If 100,000 people put in the four hours they'd wasted on this parade and did one canvass instead, that would be close to 2 MILLION voter contacts. Way more than even the most wonderful media treatment, which they're not going to get.

But they don't do that. Which is why Democrats have such a hard time.

- C.D. Proud member of the Reality Based Community

p.s. But please, be my guest. The next time you're out drinking a cold cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, ask the campaign coordinator how many people they've really been able to get to actually put in hours recruiting from this type of event. If you get an answer, you'll be shocked at how lot it is.

[marions ghost]

152. Don't know where y'are but in NC--

there is not a lot of slush factor that you speak of. Things are too critical now. Nobody needed to stand out in freezing temps with the threat of ice storms for hours on Saturday for fun and games. A sense of urgency was palpable.

FYI this was a big rally to get the troops juiced up --and to get more on board for the election push. A big need for people to help educate voters on the new laws BEFORE the actual GOTV time. Nine months of action on the ground. No time wasted--I can assure you of that. Commitment time--very clear to everyone.

This "Reality Based Community"-- I think they must be out of touch where NC is concerned.
Stay Tuned, RBC skeptics.

FYI--Larry ODonnell did a brief but excellent piece on NC Moral March last night:

http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/ncs-moral-protests-return-in-a-big-way-146572867513

[ConservativeDemocrat]

157. I'm in rural Oregon

...which is more classically doctrinaire Republican than the south.

But heck, if this "rally the troops" sort of thing actually works in the south, then great. My experience is that it doesn't. People feel they've "done their part" going to these kinds of events, while not persuading anyone who wasn't already persuaded.

I will be OVERJOYED if you prove me wrong, but check around a bit with your own candidate's campaign coordinators about recruitment rates before giving me the "roll-eyes" emote. And if the purpose is to just get people excited about volunteering, don't complain about the lack of coverage either.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[marions ghost]

165. The Moral March

accomplished many things. Obviously I can't sell you in the Reality Based Community on that. But stay tuned.

I have often thought how much Oregon is like NC. Make that "was." NC has been hijacked by the Kochs and their Rethuglicon buddies. But now because of their own over-reach, the Rethugs are in trouble in NC. Blood is in the water...

As Rev Barber has said, the South needs to take care of the southern strategy. But would the rest of y'all get on with the Rocky Mountain strategy, the Midwest strategy, the Southwest strategy, the Rust Belt strategy and the Rural NE strategy?

How about some solidarity?

[Duppers]

199. did MLK go door to door?

Just sayin'.

[marions ghost]

200. MLK was on the mountaintop...

His job was preacher & teacher

We on the ground can rally together for inspiration, for visibility, and for networking --AND we can also GOTV.

(duh)
----------
Canvassing voters is not really done to persuade anybody anyway. It's just to remind people to vote, to identify areas when support might be counted on, and throw leaflets around --especially where there are undecideds. I see it as kind of a hunt for undecideds and a folksy rah rah for supporters--I don't think that Dems canvassing changes the minds of Republicans one single bit LOL. It's a reasonable part of GOTV in some areas, but not a game-changer--about visibility and presence, but not persuasion. There are better methods for that.

[Duppers]

201. zactly!

Thanks!

[marions ghost]

204. We agree

hearts for you Duppers

[Duppers]

214. And to you!

[riqster]

36. I'd say traveling hundreds of miles, giving up a day off,

Marching, dealing with weather and cops, and having to work to pay for all of that...

All of that took work.

[Rex]

44. So you are against/don't believe in protesting, keep racking up those points CD!

[Enthusiast]

69. You are wrong again.

That is all.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

129. My!

How can anyone failed to be persuaded by your eloquent use of referenced fact and airtight reasoning!

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[Enthusiast]

134. Thank you for acknowledging my airtight reasoning.

I have never thought of you as objective. I will have to reevaluate my thinking in the future.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

121. "Conspiracy theories"? Like voter suppression, fracking...

tax cuts for the wealthy, low teacher pay, attacks on womens' rights, no Medicaid expansion, elimination of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed? You mean *those* conspiracy theories?

I'll spend my time and money however I damn well please -- GOTV, marching in the streets with like-minded folks, venting on a message board. Being out there with "my people" is uplifting, and if you don't approve, too fucking bad.

I gotta hand it to you, your track record of being perpetually WRONG is truly impressive.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

130. Nice strawman arguments you set up there...

...and your use of smilies in the place of any use of reason or fact.

And really, I'm not even attacking you for being ineffective. I'm just saying that you are ineffective, so you have only yourself to blame if you end up being disappointed at the poor result.

Really, we are mostly on the same side. As someone who is on the conservative side of the Democratic spectrum, I'm completely in agreement with my liberal brethren that the GOP is batshit insane. Maybe I don't want to go so far as to be part of the "US out of North America", "Get rid of the military", and "Get rid of capitalism" wings of the party, but I'm really none too concerned with that, since they're such a small subgroup anyway. I doubt my voter card and yours would be measurably different (although I might be voting for Obama rather than the Green protest candidate).

But still, let me categorically say that I have almost certainly caused more liberals to be elected than half of the nutcase whiners on this board. I know what I'm talking about. You want to actually get that Democrat elected? Volunteer with campaigns. Knock doors. Drop lit. Give tens of thousands of dollars (if you can afford it). These protests do nothing. They're actually worse than nothing - the only time the media will ever pay attention to them is if they turn into a riot.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[WorseBeforeBetter]

150. "nutcase whiners on this board"

We're done.

[whatchamacallit]

176. Wow, trolling with impunity!

[ConservativeDemocrat]

195. Just remember, when you're with most Democrats, YOU'RE the troll...

The Hatred of Obama is strong here. "I Hate The Democratic President" posts are usually first to jump to the top; there is one right now dumping on Hillary and Obama. Meanwhile, the President's approval with all Democrats sits at 85%.

So who are the real trolls? This isn't revleft.com

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[whatchamacallit]

198. Any dissatisfaction with the president's policies = "hate"

(to the intellectually challenged). Thanks for your nuanced opinion, Conservative.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

206. P.S. Put your money where your mouth is...

Mr. or Ms. Tens of Thousands:

POLITICO LOOKS AT AFP V. HAGAN IN NORTH CAROLINA: From today’s story: The Koch brothers have a seemingly bottomless pot of cash this election year — and no one knows it better than Sen. Kay Hagan.

Americans for Prosperity, a group co-founded by the conservative billionaires, has already dropped $8.2 million on TV, radio and digital ads in an effort to defeat the North Carolina Democrat. According to sources tracking media buys, the group has so far spent more in North Carolina than all Democratic outside groups in every Senate race in the country — combined. ...

“The people of North Carolina need to know what their agenda is,” Hagan said in an interview of David and Charles Koch, the owners of the multinational manufacturing firm Koch Industries. “They want to have tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and, at the same time, put that burden on the middle class and the poor. They want to cut Medicare, Social Security. All of these issues are so, so important to the middle class.” Read more here.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/12/3614885/morning-memo-north-carolina-not.html#storylink=cpy

A majority in North Carolina HATE Obamacare and they're going to take it out on Hagan. Pony up.

Lucky us, no Medicaid expansion, few companies participating in the ACA, and we *may* lose a Democratic senator!

[raouldukelives]

128. And of course detach from corporate investments. The single, most effective thing you can do.

Even more so than voting. Every dollar in the corporate coffers is a vote against everything we stand for and they are putting it to good use stomping our heads in. From corporate controlled media to corporate owned politicians, its all the fine work of the folks of Wall St and the deluded minions who finance them.

[bkanderson76]

30. Don't Need Any Damn Propogandist Media.....Keep Rollin Folks

[reddread]

94. thats RIGHT! +++++++++++1111111111111!

the BIGGEST mistake people make is thinking they can get some coverage, or if they can only stage the most enticing event, that will do the trick. then, when they dont get the coverage (situation normal these days in Fresno, especially if you are an organization or issue in contravention to the local city crook government) people feel like they did something wrong.
The only thing wrong anyone does is expecting the media to be there, to do the rest of the job for them, or to think they failed when the media blows them off because their boss/owner will NOT abide/allow coverage.
the best results for Peace Fresno came from the local Fox affiliate, who provided good coverage. The worst came from network affiliates who NEVER covered media events.
When makeshift organizations formed around issues of importance like the homeless crisis the city caused, they did their best to have an impressive press event. NO ONE CAME, except possibly the spanish TV station and the paper (who may not have uttered a word).
To think they didnt have their own cameraman producing a Youtube video was a sad realization.
Actually a result of a local artists passing. He would have been there, doing what they failed to consider in his absence.
DIY.
DIY.
Dont let the rat bastards frame your story or ignore it.
PUT IT OUT THERE the way it should be told.

[riqster]

99. We will be the only ones to televise the revolution.

Excellent post. We can't wait for someone else to save us. It's on us...all of us.

[Laelth]

31. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. "foisted upon the populace by North Carolina’s 100% Teapublican government. "

disgusting.

[LynneSin]

40. If 20 Tea Party members had a protest it would be all over the Major News Outlets

go figure

[riqster]

46. It always is.

The trucker protest? Covered.

The biker protest? Covered

Ted and Sarah's not-so-excellently attended adventures? Covered.

None of these had more than a few dozen.

But then, Repubs own the media, so it is predictable.

[Rex]

42. Well in all fairness, that was the point of the M$M in 2003.

Protests, NOT talking about all the wrong reasons to go to war, covering up for the BFEE. The M$M is NOT in the business of informing American citizens of the news...NO, they are in the business of keeping us 'entertained' and keeping the 1% free from worry.

Corporate media is owned by the 1%...they love war and poverty since it is so good for their bottom line!

[hvn_nbr_2]

45. "The only way for a citizen’s protest to get shown on national media would be..."

"The only way for a citizen’s protest to get shown on national media would be to add a professional celebrity:..."

Actually there's another way: Any five people can get breathless fawning coverage from all national media for weeks at a time. How? Wear a tea bag and carry a misspelled sign with delusional wingnut falsehoods. Every "librul media" in the country will be there; they'll help out by ignoring the signs and using camera angles that make it look like there are thousands.

[riqster]

47. S'truth.

Sadly so.

[Cleita]

49. I think they had some celebrities and that didn't even to it. n/t

[abq e streeter]

52. But what do they waaaant? They have no message ...blah blah blah

And hell we didn't even get that crap about OWS which was right down the street from them till it had been going on for weeks.And then when they couldn't simply ignore it any more they hit us with that BS... The decline and death of real news from the networks is a national tragedy and disgrace .

[spanone]

53. meanwhile if 20 teafuckers gather, it's the conscience of america

[Arugula Latte]

79. ^Spot on.^

[progressoid]

58. Perhaps next time we take the protest into the local TV studios.

It they don't want to come to us, we go to them.

[stillwaiting]

62. I think protesting the media is a very good idea, and it's time has come.

Hopefully we will see some action on this front in the near future!

[RoccoR5955]

60. Over the past 30 or so years

I have been to numerous anti-war, environmental, and pro human rights marches that NEVER get covered.
I remember before Dumbya went to war in Iraq, there was a huge march in DC. Never got to the news. Then later after the Bush Crime Syndicate went to war, we went back to DC. More people, bigger march, still no press.

To tell you the truth, I am surprised that they covered Occupy Wall St for so long. And now that those people have been taken away from Zuccotti Park, and gone underground, many people say that Occupy is dead. It's not dead, it's just not on the news. Things only get on the news because the corporate keepers want them to be on the news.

Meanwhile, Occupy has bought up millions of dollars worth of people's debt, to eliminate the debt, and helped out more than the City, State, and Feds after Sandy. You just don't know about it, because the corporate masters don't want you to know about it.

This is one of the reasons why forums like this are so important. We can mobilize from here, or facebook, or google plus, or whatever. They will still infiltrate our organizations, as they have been doing for as long as I have been an activist (Viet Nam War era). This can only change if we spread the word, and help take actions together on a one to one basis. Small steps, over a long time will eventually break them.

[G_j]

64. +1000

[Enthusiast]

61. The media is a masquerade and democracy too.

And many people are not even aware of it.

[swilton]

67. Keep in mind that

it was the 1996 Telecommunications Act (signed by President Bill Clinton) that allowed for cross ownership of media - essentially media consolidation into fewer providers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

[Enthusiast]

71. And that is just one of the reasons

I will not be supporting a Hillary candidacy. If she wins the nomination I'll vote for someone else.

[riqster]

101. And the Repubs will thank you. Nt

[Enthusiast]

135. Suppose they are behind the Hillary candidacy?

Stranger things have happened.

[riqster]

137. It was Nader's documented cooperation with the Repubes that turned me against him, so maybe.

If somebody comes up with similar proof of RNC financing and aid-in-kind to Ms. Clinton, I'll consider wasting my vote on a third-party, thus enabling a Reep win.

Until then? Oh hell no.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

73. The regular media is OWNED by the Party of Wall Street.

[Puzzledtraveller]

164. And it's color is purple

[theHandpuppet]

75. They sold out long ago

Most of the issues of which we really need to stay informed won't make it on the air, even as a passing mention.

[Marr]

82. If 100 Tea Party stooges gathered to demand cuts to social programs, it would be a front page story.

Funny how that works.

[DemocraticWing]

83. I heard that 100,000 people gathered just outside LA on New Years Day.

They were apparently rallying in support of collegiate football.

[riqster]

87. And they got lots of coverage, didn't they?

[spanone]

84. can democracy work without an honest media????

dunno....

[paleotn]

97. In a word....no. (nt)

[spanone]

100. agreed. you can't have an opinion on anything if it's not honestly reported.

or reported at all.

[reddread]

103. "informed" "functionally literate" "reasonable"

im pretty sure that is the point of our predicament.
our airwaves have been weaponized and turned against us.

[paleotn]

108. I suppose I'm an old fart....

...but I very well remember a time when the last thing a corporatist wanted was Mike Wallace or Dan Rather showing up at their door with a camera crew in tow. There was once a time when real journalists struck fear in the hearts of the Koch brother types.

Use to be an old saying in politics.... never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel and paper by the roll. The corporatists fixed that. They bought the newspaper and can now do whatever the hell they want and spin it in their wholly owned news outlets however they want.

[reddread]

110. busting out the nostalgia!

yeah, I remember when 60 Minutes was something to watch.
Then a number of things happened.
General Westmoreland, was it? Threatened to buy CBS and their news division?
something like that, in the aftermath of some post Vietnam blame laying.
The fairness protections, news division firewalls and public interest service requirements mutated into nothing.
Operation Tailwind got shut down hard, and not on the basis of factual issues, I suspect.
Many similar stories shut down and distorted, denied and disinformation galore.
Those TANG papers.
Dan Rather was a fat target for the Bush Familia, and they got what they wanted there.
It got somewhat dizzying watching the networks change hands from one military contractor to another,
Reagan/Bush CIA heads forming consortiums to purchase ABC (all very innocently, of course)
Telecom giants forming and morphing into the public service minded tax dodging regulation shedding politically involved
slime monsters they are today.
Aint America something?

[ck4829]

86. K&R

[Jamaal510]

89. Rev. Al has been covering it, but that's all

as far as I've seen.

[RainDog]

90. k&r n/t

[blkmusclmachine]

91. Damn "lib'rul" media!!!

"The bottom 99% DON'T MATTER, says Mr. Moneybags ->

[Coyotl]

92. Let the M$M commit suicide by ignoring the real news. WE are the media now!

While the M$M is ignoring these events, everyone in the connected universe can be the media plus we all get our "news" from out friends on Facebook, discussion forums like this, Twitter posts, etc.

[Android3.14]

95. Oh come on...

http://www.thenation.com/blog/178291/north-carolinas-moral-monday-movement-kicks-2014-massive-rally-raleigh
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/8/annual-march-rally-builds-upon-nc-moral-mondays/
http://www.newsweek.com/n-carolina-progressive-group-kicks-2014-massive-march-228585

If people aren't complaining about what journalists are reporting and how fast they get the news in front of people, they are complaining about the exact opposite.

Took two seconds to find this, and that's because my mouse button is stuck.

[paleotn]

105. But on the major networks?.....

....not a peep.

http://www.cbsnews.com/

Hmmm, let's see. An Obamacare hack piece, front and center. Some Monica Lewinsky tripe. Oh! Giant rats will take over the earth after the next mass extinction. Pooches prep for Westminster.

http://www.nbcnews.com/

Tragic story about a drunk driving accident. Michael Sams. Slut mail? WTF? Justin Bieber? Who the hell is that? Flappy bird dies. Tragic, I'm sure.

http://abcnews.go.com/

Governorsaurus Christykas. Newlywed base jumper dies. Speed skating twins. Some "bachelor" chick miscarries. Miley Cyrus? Oh, I know. She's that no talent daughter of a one hit wonder.

http://www.msnbc.com/

Governorsaurus again. AOL's Chief Executive Asshole, Tim Armstrong. Does AOL actually exist anymore. Guess so. A more accurate piece about Obamacare. Rand "tribble head" Paul. West Virginia's poor excuse for municipal water.

http://www.cnn.com/

Terror suspects capture...be afraid. Be very afraid. Hillary and Monica again. Not all Mizzou teammates backed Sams. Homophobes everywhere I guess. Julia Robert's half sister found dead. Why Iran's navy may come near the US? Wha!? ...be afraid. Be very afraid.

And last, but not least....

http://www.foxnews.com/

Drones using cell phone location for targeting. Note to self....."accidentally" forget to pickup iphone before I leave. Obamacare hack job. WI witch hunt? Obama rewarding backers with cushy diplomatic gigs....hmmm, put that one in the "no shit" or "what do you think diplomatic gigs are for" folder? Pilots often head to wrong airports? That would explain a lot.

But not word one about 100K people protesting the teaocracy that is my NC state government. I think you need a new mouse, android.

[MADem]

174. It's a local/state story...like it or not. These people aren't amorphously protesting, they are,

as you said, protesting the teaocracy that is your NC state government.

How much coverage do you get of Massachusetts or Maine politics down in NC? Not much?

CBS in NC:

http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/tag/moral-mondays/

ABC in NC:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/video?id=9425129

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/video?id=9424319

NC Public radio (with a link to Bill Moyers' coverage of this event):
http://wunc.org/term/moral-mondays


I don't think it is quite accurate to claim that no one covered this. With just a fast google I found a LOT of video and print coverage coming out of NC. As others have mentioned, MSNBC and CNN gave this some space. But it IS a local, state story. It may be a movement that spreads and grows, but it's early days yet.

I don't think the NC media is covering the social services issues following the suspected murder of a child here in MA (both parents jailed, kid missing, social workers dropped the ball), but that's really big news here and some folks want heads to roll. And of course, everyone is competing for space between the "coming storms" story and the Olympic results.

[marions ghost]

175. I follow stories from all over the country

if the topic interests me...don't you? Here's a comment to the point, about the Moral March on Saturday:

"Things like this give me hope for my home state."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017174943#post2

Also there have been several posts of solidarity from Wisconsin --they get it

Psssssst--the Teaocracy is spreading into many other state governments that are just as vulnerable as NC was... Have you heard of the Kochs and their billions? Does their wholesale takeover of states bother you--or is that information you'd rather not be bothered with?
-----
You seem to miss the larger implications of this movement. But I appreciate your posting your opinion because I think it's not uncommon.

[MADem]

182. Well, the OP is claiming that "the media" didn't cover this story, and it is just not true.

MSNBC carried it, on Sharpton, MHP, etc., during Olympics coverage, too, with another east coast winter storm bearing down on us.

Local outlets in the state covered it--all the links I have provided throughout this thread go to video coverage from the television networks. Bill Moyers covered it.

I am not missing any "larger implications" of the movement, and there was no need for you to snark at me like I don't know who the Koch Bros. are, but the bottom line is this--this happened in NC, not FL, not CA, not AZ, not TX...and it is still (though growing) a local/regional story. It is evolving in that it has spread to where, GA and SC...but it's not yet in NYC or Chicago; the "first tier" outlets. It's not even in the second tier outlets like Boston. Despite that, a number of (disparaged by some here) cable programs did cover it nationally.

That's the counterpoint to the first post in this thread--the gripe is that "no one" is reporting on this. It's not true. Plenty of people are reporting on it, and they are doing it during a cramped reporting timeframe, too.

I do follow news from all over the nation, but that's not the point either. I'm simply responding to this assertion, which is incorrect:

There is no more “News” media: 100,000 people protested on Saturday, and we never heard about it.


All "we" needed to do was turn on our televisions and watch.

Here: http://www.msnbc.com/disrupt/watch/how-moral-mondays-is-going-national-143145539517

‘The spirit of the movement has spread’
Thousands gathered at the North Carolina state capitol Saturday to kick off a new year for the “Moral Monday” movement with a “Moral March on Raleigh”. The movement’s leader, Rev. William Barber, speaks to Karen Finney about the spread of the protests to other states and what the focus will be for 2014.

This topic HAS been covered, plenty, on all the cable newsers and the talking head shows--not just this march, but since the movement got underway. If people aren't tuning in, of course they aren't going to see the coverage, but that's a different issue altogether.

https://www.google.com/webhp?ei=PZP6Uq-wGqPd0wH57oCQCw&ved=0CAYQqS4oBA#newwindow=1&q=cnn+moral+monday+march&tbm=vid

Even the local FAUX SNOOZE outlet carried it:

http://myfox8.com/2014/02/08/nc-naacp-president-william-barber-leads-march/

I'm just not a fan of these "Shame on (fill in the blank)" posts--in this case, it's "the media" who are the "bad" guys. They accomplish nothing .... particularly when they aren't really accurate. It is obvious to me from a rudimentary google that this story got intensive media saturation in North Carolina, and some "bleed" into the national news as well. Further, this ongoing story has been covered many times on national TV -- it's certainly not news to me and not the first I've heard of it. I've seen the Revererend on Chris Hayes, on Sharpton, and Maddow has covered the ongoing protests too. PBS has covered it, too.

[marions ghost]

192. Isn't the point of the OP

that the networks that most people watch--CNN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC--did not do much with this story? People here aren't disparaging the cable networks so much--just arguing that they are not where most people get their news.

Maybe Fox in MA picked it up--but not in other places, I'm willing to bet. You cite MSNBC a lot, but most people don't watch that. People in MA may be following this, but I would bet money that if you go to any one of 40 less liberal states and ask people if they knew there was such a gathering in Raleigh this week, they would have no idea. (Unlike when the tea party was being promoted--of course with the help of right wing radio).

I think it's fair to say that the mainstream media is heavily manipulated in this country. I don't mean to offend you but it seemed to me you aren't in agreement with that. I don't know how anyone can live through Booshcheney and not question the coverage by mainstream media of progressive politics.

[MADem]

193. Liberals who are interested in this story will go to MSNBC, where it is well-covered.

FuxSnooze (the national one, not the local channels) will only disparage the movement. The local networks in NC, which is where this is all taking place, and where this movement is addressing local issues and directing their demands towards the government of NC, are doing a great job covering this story. There are tons of stories over the past year and lots and lots of video.

This is NOT being covered by local news in MA. Why would they? NC doesn't carry local MA news either.

As I've said in other posts on this topic, finger wagging (which the OP is doing) isn't going to do any good--people should come to this "moral" effort with joy, not because someone has scolded them for not doing their homework.

This movement is local and organic. It's being well covered locally and regionally. It has spread to GA and SC, where it is also being covered by the local news media--not ignored. I think it will, eventually, morph into a more national undertaking, but as it grows on a local level, it is developing strong and deep roots. There's lots on the "news plate" this week of interest to the nation--this is NOT a slow news week. The big storm a-brewing and the Olympics leave little time for local or regional reports.

[G_j]

181. The largest civil rights rally in the south since Selma to Montgomery

of course it is national news!

http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/10/north-carolina%E2%80%99s-moral-monday-movement-kicks-off-2014-with-a-massive-rally-in-raleigh/

On February 1, 1960, four black students at North Carolina A&T kicked off the 1960s civil rights movement by trying to eat at a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro. Two months later, young activists founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at Shaw University in Raleigh, which would transform the South through sit-ins, Freedom Rides and voter registration drives.

So it was fitting that North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement held a massive “Moral March” in Raleigh today which began at Shaw University, exactly 54 years after North Carolina’s trailblazing role in the civil rights movement. Tens of thousands of activists — from all backgrounds, races and causes — marched from Shaw to the North Carolina State Capitol, where they held an exuberant rally protesting the right-wing policies of the North Carolina government and commemorating the eighth anniversary of the HKonJ coalition (the acronym stands for Historic Thousands on Jones Street, where the NC legislature sits).

..more..
------------
MON FEB 10, 2014 AT 12:24 PM PST
National Media Blackout Of Saturday's Huge Moral March In Raleigh

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/10/1276548/-National-Media-Blackout-Of-Saturday-s-Huge-Moral-March-In-Raleigh?detail=email

[MADem]

183. It's not national news yet....it will be, eventually. It's still a local/regional story.

IMO, anyway.

This is bigger than simple civil rights--it's a whole "social justice" imperative. It's about morality, how we treat one another, and how the government in NC treats its citizens.

[G_j]

185. are you aware that about 1000 people have been arrested in civil disobedience

Last edited Tue Feb 11, 2014, 10:32 PM - Edit history (1)

during the last year?

[MADem]

190. Yes, that has been covered, on the NC news outlets and in the regional pages of the newspapers.

I am a fan of "all politics is local." The people who are organizing this effort aren't trying to lead a national movement. They are focusing on THEIR problems in NC. They have their eyes on their particular prize. They are rallying THEIR community to address THEIR issues. I find their discipline admirable. I find their strategy smart.

This effort of theirs has been emulated in SC and GA--and that is good. FWIW, people have been arrested in GA that I know of, as well. But that emulation has been organic, it hasn't been propped up, pumped up with fake coverage beyond its sphere or level of interest, and for this reason it will likely acquire deep roots and grow.

No one needs that whole "finger wag" and "scolding" thing. People need to come to this effort with joy, interest and enthusiasm, not because they're shamed into it. And they will. They already are.

[G_j]

194. well said

I hear you. I think it is perhaps my enthusiasm from observing this grassroots energy building a powerful movement. And it is powerful.
I do want everyone to know about it.

And though I may be biased, I still think of it as real news. The only finger I point is at the media. I know they are, for the most part, beyond hope, but they should be held accountable, at least in the public forum.
It is what it is..

[G_j]

107. all internet. nt

[Th1onein]

104. Damn! That's some crowd. But you're right. We have no media anymore.

They are infotainment and propaganda outlets now. Corporatism, corporatism, corporatism.

Can fascism be far behind? I think it's already here, boys and girls.

[NorthCarolina]

109. Get a group of 10 Tea Partiers together though, and the media will

photoshop them in amongst 1000's from some other non-T.P. related event and run it 24 hours a day for a full week...at least.

[barbtries]

112. i live in Raleigh

and had to dig around the local news station's website for some time before i found a video of all of about a minute long.

really disgusting.

i posted it to fb and reminded people of the war protest prior to Iraq. media in this country is beyond pathetic.

[Curmudgeoness]

114. If that is what it takes,

getting a celebrity to pull in the media, so be it. I would stoop that low to get attention for something important.

Hate that we have to, but if that is how they want to play it.

[reddread]

115. but those are OUR airwaves

you sound like you want to grant them the power to continue abusing our airwaves, our interests.
I would suggest that is the wrong approach, and there is no reason you should have to guess at what it takes to be served.
We have to demand, not ask, that our interests are served and protected as promised from the get go via the FCC charter.
a bunch of post fascist takeover rule violating sons of bitches dont get to have the last word.
unless we surrender our rights.
nobody can take your inalienable and native rights.
but you can sure as hell hand them over if you arent diligent.
settling for public access cable channels is not an acceptable or effective substitute.
from my point of view.

[Curmudgeoness]

116. I don't disagree with anything you said.

But I also know that it is all a game, and there are times when you play along, at least for a while. I have seen too many times where anger and rage and demands have just alienated people. That is why I no longer believe in getting too indignant. You can fight without fists.

[reddread]

117. never said anything about fists

for the record.
and I dont suggest playing a rigged game hoping to win.
rig your own game. then you win.

[Loaded Liberal Dem]

118. Gov't and "News" Media are now OBIE

One Big, Incestuous Elite.

[GReedDiamond]

126. KnR...thanks Rick...nt

[riqster]

142. Thanks back atcha.

[chillfactor]

127. sorry but I was home today..

and several of the broadcasters on MSNBC covered the march....

[riqster]

133. Better than nothing, even if it was late.

And how many minutes did it get, compared to the hours given to other topics? How many "breaking news" banners, how many teasers?

A few minutes here and there on a few networks is not sufficient. There is a whole nation to inform.

[gwheezie]

138. Oh geesh, I'm an old fart

So maybe I have some misplaced nostalgia for civil disobedience and protest but lack of coverage or deliberate misrepresentation of an event is typical, I remember it took years before the msm covered the vietnam protests accurately, the msm was mostly cheerleading the war and protesters were commie dope smoking hippies who wanted to destroy the country. The first vietnam war protest I went to was in 1965 and it was the progressive labor party who organized it {hey,maybe we were all commies!}. Anyway, I remember the civil rights marches were happening all over the south before they got coverage nationally. I hate to say this but when middle class kids got killed and arrested, it got more attention. And when it moved out of the rural south or in the case of vietnam off campuses.
So I am not giving up hope that protest still works, it worked in Virginia when we went to Richmond to fight the ultrasound abortion law, we didn't win that fight but I believe it cost the gop the executive branch in this last election
From what I saw and see now, it takes people with different tactics to carry the same message, there was massive voter registration that accompanied civil rights marches and sit ins.
I think ows was a good start, it's one way, working for a political party is another way, protesting is another way.

[Berlum]

141. k + r

nt

[HoosierCowboy]

151. Some things are just not as important....

....and newsworthy as Justin Beibers' ingrown toenail surgery.

[olegramps]

153. What can you expect for the Corporate owned media?

[riqster]

155. It's exactly what I'd expect.

But what one expects and what one accepts are not necessarily the same.

[KansDem]

154. But, when a dozen right-wingers protest with their portapotties...

It's "Rage in the Heartland!"

[riqster]

156. Perfect example!

OT, that's a nice-looking PA they had.

[valerief]

166. Just like we never heard the massive antiwar protests. Censorship, "democracy" style. nt

[riqster]

167. Orwell was an optimist. nt

[MADem]

170. This was a regional/state story, and it was covered BEFORE and AFTER on television.

Before (there's video at the link, they even provide the schedule of events):

http://wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_-saturday-moral-march-15036.shtml

And advance coverage of the plans from last month:

http://www.wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_moral-monday-plans-14847.shtml

Post-march coverage on the same day as the march:

http://wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_hundreds-wnc-attend-moral-march-15044.shtml

This is just the coverage from ONE station. I don't think this topic was ignored.

[JEFF9K]

171. Better marketing would have helped ...

Better marketing would have helped ... What if each marcher had released a balloon at a predetermined time? It would have made for a great viral video!

[BelgianMadCow]

172. True. But there is The Real News Network. Their coverage of Raleigh:

80,000+ Moral Monday Protesters Fight For Justice Regardless of Which Party Is In Power

[riqster]

173. We do get some coverage here and there, but

You could hardly take a breath over the weekend without hearing about Lewinsky, Bieber, or the Prexy's horrible oh-noes use of executive orders.

A few minutes is something. But this expression of rage against the Repub's agenda deserved more airtime than most of the topics that received it.

[Tx4obama]

187. Rachel Maddow did a segment last night on it, link below

Here: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

It is a 2/10/13 video - let the page load and then click on the right hand arrow over in the video to find it.

[reddread]

188. The problem is, the problem isnt with the "mainstream media"

its with the FCC. and until people can get their head wrapped around who let these things happen,
theyre safe.
I really love the idea of picketing and protesting outside media stations hoping to get coverage.
hahahahahahha.
good plan.
theyd love to publicize that idea!

[oshma]

189. Mass media presents the antics of the rich and mostly useless

as something that the masses are supposed to find deeply compelling. There are alternatives--underfunded and under-noticed, but they are there. I was pleased to find this here on DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/126912

My girlfriend is the progressive journalist whose site, www.leftvoices.net, is cited in the last post. She, like most of her colleagues, spends a lot of their time being depressed and/or angry at the state of mass media.

Those of us who really care have to step up and make some kind of financial commitment to keeping these alternatives running.

[TroglodyteScholar]

203. This should be news. But more important is...why DID the people of NC give the Tea Party such power?

You can skip the whole "throw the bums out" thing if you never vote for bums.

But then, I'm in Wisconsin...so I guess I can't be throwing stones.

[riqster]

205. I'm from Ohio, so I can't cast any rocks, either.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

207. A majority hate Obamacare.

And they voted with a vengeance in 2010 and 2012. And they're going to vote in 2014.

Gerrymandering screwed us in 2012 -- Democrats outvoted Republicans in straight-party voting, but Rs picked up more seats.

Governor McCrory ran as a moderate, but turned out to be anything but. I do know Democrats voted for him, because I read their comments and LTTEs to local papers. They thought the "moderate mayor from Charlotte" would be good for the economy. We had the fifth worst unemployment in the country, and folks wanted action. Now Republicans are fudging numbers and claiming their tax cuts have saved the day (the Great North Carolina Comeback!), so dummies will take that to the polls in 2014.

And this is a state in which Obama beat McCain by only +0.3. We may have *massive* protests comprised of decent, left-leaning voters, but the state is FULL of ObamaKenyanSocialistTerrorist whackos. We also have a lot of wealthy retirees pouring into the state, and I'm guessing they vote Republican.

That's my take on it. Perhaps someone else from North Carolina will weigh in...

[marions ghost]

208. Good points, but

you paint a picture of a red, red state. I see NC as a 50-50 purple state, much like Virginia, and I know both states well. With work, NC can swing back blue just like VA. Yes, NC has been hijacked by Tea-publiCons, but it was very cleverly done. There is much buyer's remorse.

Any discussion of this topic has to include the fact of the Koch/Pope master plan for North Carolina, launched in 2010. The following article is the most readable, most accessible story I've seen, of how it happened:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all

This long article begins this way:

"In the spring of 2010, the conservative political strategist Ed Gillespie flew from Washington, D.C., to Raleigh, North Carolina, to spend a day laying the groundwork for REDMAP, a new project aimed at engineering a Republican takeover of state legislatures. Gillespie hoped to help his party get control of statehouses where congressional redistricting was pending, thereby leveraging victories in cheap local races into a means of shifting the balance of power in Washington. It was an ingenious plan, and Gillespie is a skilled tactician—he once ran the Republican National Committee—but REDMAP seemed like a long shot in North Carolina. Barack Obama carried the state in 2008 and remained popular. The Republicans hadn’t controlled both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly for more than a century. (“Not since General Sherman,” a state politico joked to me.) That day in Raleigh, though, Gillespie had lunch with an ideal ally: James Arthur (Art) Pope, the chairman and C.E.O. of Variety Wholesalers, a discount-store conglomerate. The Raleigh News and Observer had called Pope, a conservative multimillionaire, the Knight of the Right. The REDMAP project offered Pope a new way to spend his money.

That fall, in the remote western corner of the state, John Snow, a retired Democratic judge who had represented the district in the State Senate for three terms, found himself subjected to one political attack after another. Snow, who often voted with the Republicans, was considered one of the most conservative Democrats in the General Assembly, and his record reflected the views of his constituents. His Republican opponent, Jim Davis—an orthodontist loosely allied with the Tea Party—had minimal political experience, and Snow, a former college football star, was expected to be reëlected easily. Yet somehow Davis seemed to have almost unlimited money with which to assail Snow.

Snow recalls, “I voted to help build a pier with an aquarium on the coast, as did every other member of the North Carolina House and Senate who voted.” But a television attack ad presented the “luxury pier” as Snow’s wasteful scheme. “We’ve lost jobs,” an actress said in the ad. “John Snow’s solution for our economy? ‘Go fish!’ ” A mass mailing, decorated with a cartoon pig, denounced the pier as one of Snow’s “pork projects.” It criticized Snow for “wasting our tax dollars,” citing his vote to “spend $218,000 on a Shakespeare festival,” but failing to note that this sum represented a budget cut for the program, which had been funded by the legislature since 1999..." (read on at link)

[Babel_17]

209. Thanks for the heads-up (nt)

[riqster]

211. No worries.

[hourglass1]

210. Blunt and Cranky

Like you wordpress page - good work. Keep posting and opinionating 'radical centrist'.

[riqster]

212. Thanks for the kind words.