Tuning Out Obama~by Mike Whitney

[Crewleader]

Last edited Sat Feb 1, 2014, 10:29 AM - Edit history (1)

Weekend Edition Jan 31-Feb 02, 2014

Television Ratings for State of the Union Lowest In 14 Years
Tuning Out Obama


by MIKE WHITNEY

If you didn’t catch Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, you’re not alone. According to Nielsen ratings, Obama’s hour-long presentation garnered less than 34 million viewers, an all-time low for the president and the “second-lowest rated since Nielsen began recording viewership in 1993.”

Apparently, Americans would rather spend their time watching Simpsons reruns or fiddling with their iPhones than listening to the pompous pronouncements of the Dissembler in Chief. And good for them. It goes to show that no one really believes that a junior senator with a pedigree in community organizing is setting policy for the world’s only superpower. The idea is ridiculous. Obama is merely the mask that conceals the ruthless machinery of Empire. The real power lies beyond the veil, in the Deep State apparatus which decides everything from drone strikes to Gitmo, from NSA dragnets to habeas corpus, from deficit-slashing austerity to the “pivot to Asia”. Obama has no say-so in any of these decisions. He’s merely a public relations invention whose job is to look sincerely into the teleprompter while announcing the latest round of budget cuts or more of the deeply-regressive social policies his puppetmasters crave. That’s his job and everyone knows it.

Only now– judging by the SOTU ratings— he’s even failing at that task.

Why?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/01/31/tuning-out-obama/



Pink Slips






Tuning Out

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. counterpunch...go figure...

[Crewleader]

5. To You and All that read Mike's article

Last edited Sun Feb 2, 2014, 02:53 PM - Edit history (2)

I have been posting Mike Whitney's articles about the Economy for years, he's always a good read. I don't always agree with the politics but found this article matches how most working families are feeling along with the cartoon and just wanted to share it for the weekend edition in the Economy Group.

You all have a good weekend.

[VanillaRhapsody]

7. "How most people are feeling"?

I think you grossly overestimate how many people actually agree with this....

[Crewleader]

9. Thank You

I was very tired when posting last night, I meant to write working families and those unemployed.
We shouldn't underestimate how many are hurting and most would very much agree with this article.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Wow...Palinesque

Nice.

[upaloopa]

3. Ok what's the solution?

Don't vote? Vote Green. Play the latest video game until the sky stops falling?

[delrem]

4. Organize at the city/township level. Organize at the real grassroots level,

not the astroturf "grassroots" that "pundits" for the MSM promote as some kind of political "base" for one of the tweedledee-dum parties.

Go back to left-wing roots and develop on them.

Don't expect instant results. When nation-wide instant results are promoted by the MSM recognize that what's being promoted is an empty package, a shellgame *product* and that the talking heads are all totally embedded, from A to Z.

[golfguru]

12. Want prosperity at all cost? Follow world's biggest example...

China! Just a few decades ago, Mao ruled China. He did not allow the rich to exploit the poor. Then China changed. Currently over one million new millionaires live in China. Starting from near bottom, China is on track to
become the worlds largest economy in less than aanother decade! GDP is higher
by orders of magnitude than under Mao. But all that glitters is not gold.
Air quality is horrible in big cities. China is building one new coal powerplant
every week. Rich Chinese are emigrating. So what China has accomplished
is an example of path to prosperity if you are willing to ignore environment.

[westerebus]

6. K & R

[Crewleader]

10. westerebus

I was looking at the old postings in my journal from the housing bubble and bank bailouts way back with Mike Whitney's articles.

You have been so spot on. I just want to let you know that. And Thank You friend for your support.

[westerebus]

13. Well the whole gang is back with one or two exceptions.

Gang being the "doom-er's of DU" who laid out the who, the why, and what of the crash.

There is better information in this group on economics/politics then any where else. Thanks to you and others. Muchly appreciated.

SMW is an outstanding effort.

We will again be under the propaganda cloud of the naysayers when in truth we simply report or comment on what moves within our radar.

A suspicious lot are we(e).

By implication, my inner doomer reminds me of wolves calling to each other that something is just not right in the hills and dales.

You are welcome to any support I can bring my friend.

[Warpy]

8. The article is largely correct, sad to say

and it looks like more and more people are waking up to that fact.

With the rise of the new Gilded Age, our elected government is mere Kabuki theater, able to throw out the occasional trinket like the relaxation of restricted marriage laws and maybe even the long awaited legalization of pot, but the real power lies somewhere else.

[Crewleader]

11. I always appreciate what you have to say Warpy.

Many informative postings for many years you have given us in this group. Thank You!