Without a Free Press, democracy cannot exist.
America's media is now owned by conglomerates -- which used to number 8, may be lower now. Conglomerates = corporations=business=Republicans. You expect Conglomerates to give you the `news'? They're happy taking your dollars and shaping the news, thank you very much.
Did you watch the Sunday talking heads yesterday? Why? Anything changed since the last time you watched? Republicans still outnumber Democrats (I'm talking REAL Democrats here, not Republican Lite)... there's one opinion, then the opposite -- separated by a `moderator'... no journalism there. How `bout the newspaper? Did you read the economy sucks, the Treasury is empty, more troops died last week? No?
What are you going to do about it? Talk about it... some more? Haven't we been doing that long enough? Did you hear plans have been completed, signed off, for US to attack Iran in June?
"Scott Ritter, appearing with journalist Dahr Jamail yesterday in Washington State, dropped two shocking bombshells in a talk delivered to a packed house in Olympia's Capitol Theater. The ex-Marine turned UNSCOM weapons inspector said that George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and claimed the U.S. manipulated the results of the recent Jan. 30 elections in Iraq."
"Asked by UFPPC's Ted Nation about this shocker, Ritter said an official involved in the manipulation was the source, and that this would soon be reported by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in a major metropolitan magazine -- an obvious allusion to New Yorker reporter Seymour M. Hersh." http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=iraq_war&Number=293393206
Well, don't take my word for it. Or Scott's. Think about it until you hear from Sy Hersh. In the meantime, I have a few things to say.
All this looking for a `leader' to oppose these Neocons is futile. Sort of like Cinderella waiting for her Prince. Besides, if ALL 100 members of the Senate and ALL the 450+, whatever (I can't keep up anymore) opposed GWB it would not do a bit of good. Remember the runup to Iraq? `Course you do. Who could forget. Well hundreds of thousands in the streets did not sway his determination one whit. Even polls suggesting that 85% of the planet opposed the invasion didn't influence. We all should simply get used to it, right? If GWB wants to invade a country, he will. Well, yes he will, as long as we sit at our keyboards and moan and groan.
Time to fire up those high-priced journalists... time to tell Corporate America that more than 60% of Americans want Democrats to oppose GWB, `before he goes too far'... well, he's gone TOO FAR, but that's moot now. They only listen to $$$... the ching ching of the register.
Cancel your newspaper and `news' magazine subscriptions. Find something else to wrap yesterday's garbage in. Cancel the cable. Turn the television OFF. There's no `news' there... simply infoentertainment... not sure about that either, as the info is worthless and the entertainment is... well, not very entertaining. Forget shop `til you drop... don't shop. Right. You probably have things you haven't seen in a year anyway... what do you need with new `stuff'... Cut back on your consumption. Going to have to anyway, at the rate things are going. Do a dress rehearsal. Practice. Forget Wal-Mart. (If you HAVE to buy, go to Target, they're blue.)
Tell Corporate America we're not buying what they're selling. When and if news departments ever stand on their own again, we'll buy the newspapers and turn the television on (though why I don't know... mine's been off for six months. Find all the information I need on the internet --- `blogs').
Speaking of blogs. Zapata's diary has a clever idea. STOP calling the MSM `mainstream'. How `bout CORPORATE Media. You know remind folks that it is CORPORATE. And how `bout we get the White House Communications Office to give press passes to some of the blogs. They attended the Conventions. Why not give them access to the gaggles. Heck, anybody can get in there anyway, so why not the blogs? And how `bout we give the blogs a more dignified name... ?
Oh yeah, we have to STOP this attack on Iran. It won't be a `walk in the park' any more than Iraq was a `cakewalk'. Think Russia and China are simply going to sit and watch. Think again. Throw away the labels. This is not about Arabs or Jews or Blacks or Whites or old or young... rich or poor... Fundies or Evangelicals or Liberals or Conservatives ("they" like labels -- they divide and conquer). This is about homo sapiens and our planet... the one we all live on together.
For ourselves, our children and grandchildren, we must DO SOMETHING. Enough with the talk.
It's way past my bedtime on the East Coast. Think about it. Let's DO something. Namaste. Peace. Shalom.