Read this -- it's important for the grassroots to know

[LTRS]

Digsby wrote a post today that has inspired me to to speak out with what I know. His post is linked below, and is basically a treatise on how the kool kidz in the media are in bed with the Bushies. Very insightful of Digsby, and I am here to tell you it is true, and go him one better. They are not just in bed with the media, but in bed with each other, meaning they are ALL in bed with each other (rethugs, the media and dems - yeah, all of them).

First the media -- in Feb of 2002 Andrea Mitchell and my partner and a few others had a chat (my partner worked at MSNBC at the time). She told them the Bushies would be gearing up to invade Iraq in Aug of 2002. She was off by a month. So, if you're waiting for the media to "break" the story that the Bushies had this planned from the get go, stop waiting. Why would they play that story when they and the Bushies know that they knew that when it was happening and declined to tell the public?

The kool kidz in the media flock to whoever is in power for access, so long as those in power will play the game. How would the kool kidz face their buddies at the Washington cocktail parties if they finked them out, all the while knowing that they (the media) knew the real deal long ago? Digsby is about as right on as he can be about the kool kidz.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_08_21_digbysblog_archive.html#112490885652988737

The rethugs and the dems in bed together? How can that be, you ask? Well it is. Yes, the dems are the loyal opposition (loyal to the beltway that is), but not the opposition the way you and I think of our republican adversaries. They are friends who agree to disagree. "Nothing personal, it's just politics. We can still get along and have drinks together at the A list party on Saturday night."

You saw Daschle hug Bush after 9/11, and you have seen Biden, Lieberman, and others find ways to support the Bushies on more than a few issues. Now you see Clinton diving into bed with every rethug talking point you can find. This is the way of DC.

To be fair, the rethugs also did a good bit of this when Clinton was in power. Gingrich and Dole were both criticized by the rethug grassroots for falling for the charms of Bill during his tenure. They didn't fall for his charms -- they wanted access to power, they wanted to be part of the A list, and going along to get along was how they did it.

This is how it works, folks. Consequently no dem pol on the A list or anyone in the media will stand up and shout the obvious given the current media climate -- that Bush is a major 'effin liar, nor will they speak the truth about his utter incompetence. That would not be cool. That would be rocking the beltway boat. Bushie jr and his crowd have been insiders for decades. That kind of impertinent behavior might get you disinvited to the next A list party. And that consequence, my dear friends, is apparently more scary than a public who doesn't seem to pay a damn bit of attention to what is really going on.

What is the solution? Let them know we ARE paying attention. They love their jobs and the power they perceive that comes from them. Power corrupts and so any pol who wants to be in office more than 2 terms ought not to be in office at all.

You can scare the shit out of them by letting them know you are on to it and as a result, refuse to support those in your party who won't put representing YOU first, before all the games and the insider beltway loyalties. And while you are at it, turn off your televisions and let those in the media know why.

You say you want a revolution -- that's the way to do it. Let the know you are on to it and that you get it. You do have the power. Threaten theirs and you will see that you REALLY do have it.

[wli]

1. threaten theirs and you will get a full-scale military assault

And that's regardless of whether you're carrying signs or weapons.

[LTRS]

2. That's an interesting thought

I have often wondered if the govt here could get away with such a thing. I tend to think not, but I have given my fellow citizens more credit for thinking than they deserved in the past.

Somone else here today posted that it would take a revolution to change things. I think that's right. But Reagan succeeded very well in convincing this country to adopt the "ME ME ME -- all I care about is ME" mentality long ago, so I am skeptical that we'd ever, as a country, have the collective principle it took to pull off such a thing. Those who stood up on principle during the 60's may have been the last true "greatest generation."

[wli]

3. whether we're greater than those during the 60's or not

They've got their kill ratios up far beyond anything rabble with sticks and stones can counter. A big riot will just get blasted apart with nailbombs. It's relatively old news. It's been true since before the 1960's.

The difference now is the lack of principle in those who command such forces. They have no trouble with mass imprisonment and haven't for some time, because they're already implementing it. They have no trouble with mass murder, because they're already doing it. And should their face-saving gestapo armed with "non-lethal weapons" fail, they will simply bomb us out of existence without flinching. They've nothing to fear of bad publicity, for the servile press, managed via Operation Mockingbird or some modern equivalent, will simply refuse to report it.

And this "administration" is far more unflinching than its predecessors. When being willing to die for one's principles, and to be branded a "terrorist" despite never having wielded a weapon or threatened anyone in one's life is at stake, almost anyone will at the very least hesitate, if not capitulate. And it's now an open question whether nonviolence is merely an invitation to massacre.

At best I can offer the tepid advice of sick-outs and and boycotts and buycotts and trying to come up with something to do to that expresses anything without presenting oneself up as a target, despite monopolies and "right to work" garbage that fires anyone who ever calls in sick. I'm feeble and fearful and infirm. And I have no idea anymore how it's remotely possible to resist this fascism which has already overwhelmed every facet of life, always threatening to crash down our doors at 3AM and kill us with no warning.

[welshTerrier2]

7. protest and revolution

i wrote a thread yesterday about revolution ... it seems to me from the discussion here, that points i raised in that thread are not being addressed here ...

the revolution i called for was NOT one of militant confrontation against the entrenched power structure ... the revolution was one of waking up our fellow countrymen and educating and getting them to understand that if they don't participate in their democracy, we're at great risk of losing it ...

it called on our "leaders" to shine the brighest spotlights they can on how bad things have gotten ...

the revolution i envision puts faith in the power of people to change their government and their lives ... perhaps, in some unimagined future, this awakened populace would be left with no alternative to violent confrontation ... perhaps the corporate regime would no longer honor our right to have elections ... but i think they still greatly depend on the pretense of democracy ... education is the way to shatter that vail ...

so, from my point of view, anti-demonstrator repression is not even in the cards ... at least not anytime soon ... the name of the game is education and that is going to take an unfortunately long time before it starts building the kind of "wave of people power" we need ...

[wli]

9. anti-demonstrator repression is already happening

For instance, counterpunch has a relatively tame article on it.

Also, witness such abominations as the RNC 2004 police brutality and mass arrest incident, the Miami FTAA incident, and raids on activist groups who recount being tortured and raped after mass arrests which already included severe beatings, severe injuries, and the use of chemical weapons against them (don't want to mention the name of the group lest the Homeland Offense Gestapo send death squads after me).

Also, Abu Ghraib is not a unique phenomenon. It is merely exporting a sanitized version of our own prison system (which cages vastly more of its population than any country of the world ever in the largest and longest-running act of mass rape and mass mutilation in history) to Iraq.

This is not a democracy. This is not even close. There are little Potemkin villages of sham democratic processes, like rigged elections, and occasional trials on TV (a privilege reserved only for multimillionaires) instead of "plea bargaining," and so on. But it's all for show, and the reality is a unique blend of Hitler and Stalin as opposed to any "vision of the founding fathers." Bush has merely injected more of Hitler into the mix. Run while you still can, if you still can.

[welshTerrier2]

8. "the collective principle"

i think Americans, as a people, have "collective principles" ... i think if you asked most people in this country whether power, and the direction of government policy, should rest in the hands of the people they would agree ...

and i think they would further agree that allowing our government to be bought and controlled by powerful trans-national corporate interests is also unacceptable ...

so, at least on the important issue of democracy, i think the American people are highly principled ...

we're they're weak is on both knowledge and commitment ...

Americans are badly uninformed about their own government, their own country and the rest of the world ... and i fear we could hardly get most people to even read a pamphlet much less actively participate in reforming a corrupt system ... so, i don't believe there's much interest or commitment there ...

the starting point, and the ultimate mission for our Party, is to tell the American people the TRUTH about what has gone wrong with our system of government ... it's to tell them the truth that government decisions are now made for a privileged few rather than the best interests of society ... right now, we have elected "leaders" who are too fearful to tell the truth and we have a public who is too disinterested to educate themselves ...

that is what has to change ... the principles are there but the knowledge and passion for safeguarding our democracy are not ...

[jokerman93]

17. The ME ME ME mentality

Yeah. In fact the ME meme has now been re-framed in religious terms. Check out the popular new Pat Robertson style of homicidal christianity. Check out the fundie mentality of unquestioning acceptance that seems to pervade. It's become American canon.

The New American State Religion:
Me first.
The strong succeed.
The weak suffer.
Law of the Jungle.
Praise Jesus.

These days, questioning the status quo is for heretics...er...I mean America-hating traitors.

What utter nonsense. What utterly dangerous nonsense.

[bananas]

4. lizard jokes

That digby article links to another page,
where someone posted this bit of humor:

"The funny thing in my experience is that many of the people who embody what Chomsky and Herman write about are vaguely aware of Manufacturing Consent—and they think it's completely insane. They're like lizards reading a rigorous, academic, accurate analysis of lizard behavior and then saying it's crazy because it claims they're not mammals."
http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/000596.html

[democrank]

5. "Loyal to the beltway" indeed.

The longer Democrats support the same, recycled insiders the party offers up, the longer we`re going to suffer the consequences of not having a voice.

All one has to do to understand the disastrous results of D/R inbreeding is watch a few clips of our party "leaders" scrambling to support George Bush`s invasion and occupation of Iraq or reread the anti-base memos from the DLC.

We can continue to pretend everything is beautiful or we can take a cue from Cindy Sheehan, muster up some courage and take to the streets. When a herd of non-violent protestors greet Bush at every stop, the pathetic media might be shamed into telling the truth and the spineless representatives in Washington might sit up and take notice.

[mmonk]

6. Like I've said

I will not vote for ANY dem that has no problem with the neocon approach or the elimination of constitutional liberties. NOT ANY. All the letters from them asking for money will go UNANSWERED. I will only contribute to a truthful campaign or cause.

[mom cat]

12. I have adopted the same tactic...no money for couards or turncoats!

We have pleanty of courageous and insightful people who can lead the way....for example..Hackett for Senate. Many, many others.

[sunnystarr]

14. You're so right on ...

We need to organize collectively to support the right candidates. Just because someone's a Dem doesn't mean I'd send a contribution. They've all sat up and taken notice of the power of web in getting money from the grassroots. I say let's support candidates that aren't tainted. We need to purge the ones who've betrayed us.

[existentialist]

16. purge?

I don't know that we can afford to purge them all--but we certainly can't afford to support them.

[sunnystarr]

20. Purge ... like in vote out. (nt)

[mom cat]

25. Absolutely...Don't buy Bush Lite!

[existentialist]

15. I have adopted the same tactics, except

that I do sometimes fill out their form surveys, and add my own irreverent comments to tell them what they really should do, and send them back without any donation.

Sometimes I make the comment that BEFORE I make any donation to them ever again I need to see that they are standing for something.

[hootinholler]

10. .

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. And to think that I didn't have to chat with Andrea to come to

the same conclusion.

The illusion has played well for over a century.

It'll still be playing when I die.

[snot]

13. So far so good. BUT

as long as they continue to control the election machinery and the media, will complaining to them that we know what they're up to have any effect?

I personally have sent hundreds of e-mail and letters to gov'l reps and media, most recently making clear not only that I know what they're up to but that I'm cutting off campaign contributions; and I believe many others here on DU have also written lots of e-mails and letters to similar effect.

But how much do my letters, or even the withholding of my paltry contributions, matter to them, compared to the payback they get from the big corps.?

One statement in the video posted at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4456103 took me by surprise: that there have already been more and larger demonstrations against the Iraq war than there were all throughout the Viet Nam war.

Yet at least until Sheehan, the media understated or completely ignored our protests. Even w.r.t. Sheehan, they make it seem like the counter-protesters are as numerous as the protesters.

I do NOT mean to be discouraging about this. I'm glad for your analysis and call for action. But I've actually had certain media outlets ask me to stop writing them (even though I assure you all my letters are perfectly courteous)--they literally don't want to know and don't care what I think.

I'm concerned that we've got to figure out strategies more effective than just writing letters, or even demonstrating.

And forgive me for emphasizing again: election reform. media reform.

[Mich Otter]

18. How to get the politicians to listen to you...

OK, I recognize they are only going to listen to you a teenie-weenie bit and listen to the big donors a lot but, give this a try: When they ask you for money, or to help them on a campaign, or for your vote, ask them what they are doing to help you? Be specific about issues that are important to you, such as; jobs, health care, education for yourself and your kids, child care, senior needs, etc...
If they ignore you, or bullshit you, call them on it and tell them you don't appreciate their answer.
This will work best with new candidates and it will work best on them early in their campaigns.
The entrenched politicians have their donors lined up and they feel like they can bullshit you.
The more of us who are pushing candidates early, the more we can get them to commit to doing good.

[Singular73]

19. Heh, Democrats have no balls.

They are so afraid not to please EVERYONE that they stand for nothing.

Its sick really. Thats where republicans have them beat. They know that they can get X% to vote for them by standing by their positions, unpopular or not. Its human tribalism at its best. People WANT leadership. And democrats don't lead right now.

Period.

And you know its true.

Which is THE reason Kerry lost. Had he stood up, he would have had 60% of the vote.

If there was a true third party movement, I would so join it.

Most of the Federal-level democrats (90%) are utterly useless pieces of shit, to be honest.

[bribri16]

21. The solution: A genuine "Third Party" I don't care if you call them

Independents, Greens, Blues, or Pinks. But we need a genuine progressive, for the people party with some financial backing and balls to stand up to the Facists and the oligarchy. Make the MSM irrelevant (as they truly are) and kick butt and take names. Organize some real grassroots opposition, get the fighting soldiers on our side (forget the military brass), organize some really tough boycotss, write-ins, call-ins, marches, demonstrations and be "in your face." It can happen. Cindy has shown us all what just one person can do. If anyone wants to play macho and give their lives for something truly worthwhile, taking back our nation for children and grandchildren so that American finally live up to her ideals is something worth sacrificing for.

[Orangepeel]

22. maybe. but the Andrea Mitchell conversation isn't indicative of anything

I'm not trying to argue that the media was/is doing its job, or that Andra Mitchell isn't in bed with the administation. But, I don't see why guessing the month shows anything. We all knew he was going to invade Iraq that summer. That's why we were marching in the street in a vain attempt to stop it.

[ClayZ]

23. Sept 24th! If the UKRAINE can do it so can We!

http://www.internationalanswer.org/

Mass March on
Saturday, September 24
in Washington D.C.

Regional demonstrations in:

San Francisco
Los Angeles
Seattle

Learn more & Get involved

Call for united mass action on Sept. 24
Thousands will march on Saturday, September 24. Join the National Mass March in Washington DC, and the regional demonstrations in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition urges the antiwar movement to come together for a united demonstration.

[GoBlue]

24. The revolution the dominionist capitalists will comprehend...

will be one that removes them from power.

:dilemma: Would it really be revolutionary for our military to fulfill their oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, domestic and foreign? :think: