I’m watching Hardball on MSNBC and guest host Mike Barnicle has Melanie Morgan (right wing nutzoid radio host) and Naomi Wolf (author) on to discuss the importance of Hillary Clinton showing cleavage in the Senate. I’m serious, this was the topic on a major political news show. Right off the bat Mike blows Ms. Wolf’s introduction and has to be corrected. The the discussion wandered a bit and Morgan had the opportunity to repeat her opinion that the New York Times had committed treason for “revealing” that SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) was reporting to the CIA monetary transactions involving known terror organizations. She basically wants to execute the entire editorial staff and all their reporters. The problem is that before the NYT reported on this in 2006 George Bush broadcast it to the world in 2001 when he said, “Today, we are taking another step in our fight against evil. We are setting down two major elements of the terrorist’s international financial network, both at home and abroad. Ours is not a war just of soldiers and aircraft. It's a war fought . . . by the investigations of law enforcement (and) by gathering intelligence and by cutting off the terrorists' money,” and SWIFT had details of the program on their website (
http://www.swift.com/). Did the host correct her? No. Did the 20 year veteran “journalist” even have an effin’ clue? No. He just let her run off at the mouth spreading incredible disinformation.
Then I see headlines like "Senate Rejects Iraq Pullout" in the Washington Times when the votes were 52-47 in favor of the pullout. The “rejection” was to actually cast that vote. The Washington Post reported that it was the Democrats who blocked the initiative when they are the authors of it. Then the St. Louis Post-Dispatch proclaimed that the Democratic filibuster failed to force a vote when the Republican filibuster was blocking the vote. The majority party doesn’t filibuster but apparently nobody in the “news” media knows that.
This is where voting Americans get their information. From people who are so uniformed about the things they are supposed to report on that they can’t get even the most basic facts right. Then there’s the “fair and balanced” FOX nuts network. Rupert Murdock has said of his female news readers “same pole, different girl”. No wonder so many people vote against their own interests.
I get really tired of knowing more about the topics discussed in the Main Stream Media (MSM) than the people in it do. These are supposed to be professional journalists who know their craft. The thing is, we really don’t have a PRESS anymore, we have MEDIA. How the heck did we get here from the days of Huntley-Brinkley and Edward R. Murrow? Don’t know who they are? Google is your friend, but a clue is that Murrow put his job on the line and risked jail to expose Senator Joe McCarthy for the paranoid power hungry fascist he was. Walter Chronkite, after 45 years in news, was considered the most trusted man in America. Today that slot is held by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. A comedy show about fake news is now more accurate than the major networks.
Once upon a time the airwaves belonged to the People and those using them to make money were required to serve the People by giving over a certain amount of time to Public Service and to provide both points of view on controversial topics. The 1934 Communications Act governing the broadcast and telephone industry required this and limited ownership of media outlets to insure a varied voice speaking to the People. In 1980 Ronald Reagan stuffed the FCC and killed the Fairness Doctrine which gave rise to Talk Radio, a medium in which entertainment masquerades as information. 30% of the “facts” Rush Limbaugh presents are pure fabrication. Then congress passed and Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Telecom Act, which amended the 1934 law. Under this new law up to 45% of the media outlets in a market can be owned by a single entity. As long as there are outlets like the History Channel and Home shopping Network two media conglomerates can own 90% of all the voices communicating with the public. As we see with Rupert Murdock and Clear Channel those media outlets have agendas. The first is profit above all else and the second is using political clout to achieve more profit. Speak critically of the company line and bear the wrath of censorship. The Dixie Chicks made the mistake of criticizing George Bush and Clear Channel black listed them from more that 1500 radio stations. Had it not been for the incredible talent of those young women their voices would have been silenced forever. If you have the chance to watch Shut Up and Sing, you’ll see the power of corporate media. You will hear what the corporate media wants you to hear.
That is how an Administration can lie the American people into an illegal and unjust war. That is how an Administration can frighten the public into surrendering their right to privacy, free speech, equal protection under the law and access to a free press. Knowledge is power and the Corporatocracy doesn’t want you to have it.
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