People are Gullible

It's amazing how gullible people are. If spoken with authority, people will take almost ANYTHING at face-value. Maybe it's because we want to be efficient: if someone else has done the research, we are free to move on.

We also don't want to be constant-contrarians. But with today's media, it's better to "research twice; comment once (on the truth)", rather than "research once; comment twice (once on the falsehood, and then again when the truth is revealed)".

I guess a healthy bit of skepticism on EVERYTHING you hear, regardless of the "expert", is a good thing.

But people fall into the trap: "I heard it on TV/radio, so it must be true. They wouldn't be allowed to lie on the air for long, if they constantly lied."

Undue Corporate Influence - The challenge ahead

The Management of giant corporations own both parties in Washington. Corporations own the Executive and Legislative offices at the highest levels ... not so much at the local level. I like to call these washingtonians Corporate-Republicans and Corporate-Democrats. Outside Washington, it's just plain old Democrats and Republicans.

The Washington Media has also been captured by the same corporations that have bought the politicians. Collectively, the Washington politicians and media are The Village.

The thing is, it's the media that spins the story of "Republicans vs Democrats". In actuality, it's "Americans vs The Village". I think non-Village Rs and Ds have a lot more in common than they do with the Villagers.

Since we can't burn down the Village, we need to convince the Legislature to re-regulate itself and the media so they can't be bought by the Corporations. Maybe the Judiciary and Liberal Media can help with that.

In the meantime, if Obama is going to pull the same old bait-and-switch that others have used in the past (whereby they campaign on "change", but conform to the status quo once in office), it's up to the American people to poke and prod the The House and Senate to put legislation under Obama's pen which enact laws and programs we want. He won't veto a Democratic bill, but it looks like he's not pushing his promised social reform programs.

We can bitch and moan, but the framework is in place for government and media that work correctly. We just need to put people into office willing to cut themselves and the media off from corporate influence. This is a huge uphill battle, but it can be won.

Democratic Platform - Fairness in Media?

How can we get Ohio U.S. Senate candidates Brunner/Fisher to talk about getting some Fairness back to the Ohio airwaves? Will the idea of media re-regulation even show up on the respective Senate campaigns' radars? What about U.S. House or Ohio Governor races?

I know the idea of a "Fairness in Media" PAC was floated a few years ago. Maybe it's time to try and float that balloon again, what with all the unregulated Rush Limbaugh (and others') racist and anti-American jibber-jabber.

I think a vast majority in America are standing around saying, "Hey, these Right-Wing talkers on TV and radio are hurting the country. Who is going to put their foot down and start putting a stop to the lies-as-truth rabble-rousing?" We already have Color of Change, which is doing a great job of asking advertisers if they REALLY want to advertise on Glenn Beck's shows. We had Spocko's success in getting Melanie Morgan off the air in San Francisco. Now there needs to be a mass-exodus of advertisers from all right-wing radio/TV, because it is all lie-/innuendo-based.

After that, there's a need to turn all TV/radio news into fact-based reporting, as opposed to "he said / she said" yellow journalism, with the goal to make as much profit as possible, and hence kiss up to Corporate ad-buyers as much as possible.

At that point, once the corporations are out of the Media, ALL the media can - without restraint - expose the truth behind the Corporate-run Washington politicians.

There is a long struggle ahead. The Obama Administration and Senators are not going to give up that Corporate money without a fight.

One final tidbit for thought. If FOX/Hannity/Beck are going after people in the Obama administration, why pick on the low-hanging fruit like Van Johnson? Why not go after Tim Geithner or Rahm Emmanuel, for example? It's because they are doing what the Republicans and the Corporations want. Like the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, it may be more interesting to look at the ones who are un-accosted in their duties, rather than the ones who are being attacked. Maybe the ones *not* being attacked are the ones who should be under the tightest scrutiny.

America works from the bottom-up, not the top-down

Said a commenter at Eschaton: "I am advising the Democratic Party, that if you think you can ignore 70% of the people, you're wrong. I will tell my Democratic legislators to vote against any bill without a public option."

My response:

I did this like a month ago with my Senator and U.S. Representative. "I will vote for one of your Democratic challengers in the Primary, if you vote *for* a bill *without* a Public Option."

See, I was all mad at Obama when he seemed to be equivocating about supporting the Public Option. I wrote a few angry emails to him, in fact. But then I listened to one of his weekly radio addresses, and he clearly stated that We the People need to convince Congress to send the President a bill with the Public Option in it.

It's up to *us* to tell Congress to cut out the bullshit and do what we elected them to do. America is supposed to operate from the bottom-up, not the top-down.

If we really believe in this legislation - or *any* legislation, and if we believe in America, then we need to instruct our representatives in Washington what it is that we want them to do with our resources, blood, and treasure.

Sadly, our representatives are currently enamored of their campaign-coffer-fillers, and have little desire to do what we the constituency want. But that should change, if we Primary their asses.

And a reply: "I'm not taking the blame for Obama not twisting arms for a public option. He wanted to be the goddam leader. Fuck it up and the whole party will pay, and rightly so."

And my response:

It is true that he seems to have decided to bow to Harry Reid and let him and the Senate "take care of it", and to leak equivocating statements through Rahm. I suspect Reid is a lost cause, and Obama doesn't want to elbow him aside.

I just wonder if Obama is still ultra-cautious about being seen as an "angry black man", and just tries to play it real cool. Too cool.

But still, I doubt he vetoes a bill without the Public Option. It's up to us to put that piece of paper under his pen. Sorry!

What's the Deal with Howard Dean and Washington

Why isn't Howard Dean in President Obama's Cabinet as, for instance, Health and Human Services Secretry?

Because Rahm Emmanuel, Mr. Obama's Chief of Staff, hates Howard Dean with the passion of a thousand hot white suns.

Dean won big with his 50-state strategy in 2006 and 2008. Dean's strategy won back both houses of Congress for the Democrats in 2006. Rahm's strategy of staying away from "hopeless" states, like Virginia, would have lost Virginia and N. Carolina and Indiana in the 2008 General Election.

And if anyone is going to Primary Obama in 2012, Howard Dean will be the best one to do it. Seems to me, though, that the best way to neutralize a Dean threat, like a Hillary Clinton threat, would be to take that threat into the Cabinet.

Maybe Obama is just setting the stage for Dean to replace Joe Biden as VP in 2012, prepping him for the 2016 elections. A game of chess indeed.

Welcome to the Matrix, Americans

We are actually living in a kind of Matrix, here in America. We THINK that we're pursuing our daily lives, think that we hate the other political party, think that we must fill ourselves with prescription drugs and Miller Lite and Cheeseburgers.

Actually, we exist, here in America, so the Corporations can skim off our money and productivity. Add it all up and that's a lot of money and productivity Americans are giving away.

In the Matrix, the aliens used humans as heat sources, so they could power the alien cities, but kept their minds occupied in a virtual reality. Same goes for all the Americans plugged into TV and AM radio and the rest of the Old Media.

The Young Turks = The Best Liberal Talk Radio

The Young Turks:

http://theyoungturks.com/

They have 3+ hours per weekday of talk radio: 1 "pre-hour"; 1 hour on Sirius; 1 post-hour; 1/2 hour "after-show"

Their show loops 24 hours a day online at the above URL, and is available on podcast via subscription.

They are actually an internet TV show as well, where they show the MediaMatters and other videos posted on the Liberal blogs as well as at Wonkette. They interview lots of the same people interviewed by other Progressives, and some off-the wall people.

Their shows airs live 7-10 PM Eastern Time. They are based in L.A.

The head Young Turk, Cenk, was contending heavily for the "liberal" slot on MSNBC, against Sam Seder and others.

The Young Turks used to include co-hosts Ben Mankowitz and Jill Pike, but it is basically only Cenk now. It's better that way, because Cenk is very good, but does not like to share the microphone a lot. Sorry!

Americans vs the Corporations

The word 'conservative' is not a good description of those Republicans who call themselves 'Conservatives'.

I am 'conservative': I believe "a stitch in time saves nine", "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", etc. I'd rather pay a little in advance, rather than pray nothing bad happens and I have to pay down the road.

When something bad does happen, the Republicans want to blame the victim. I only blame myself, for not having foreseen - or nipped in the bud - these chronic problems.

Republicans of today want to profit from their lack of planning. Not only do they fail to pay for prevention, they also want to profit from the expensive "fix".

But the Democrats are also interested in changing nothing, to keep their Corporate campaign contributions and "perks". And they need the Corporate contributions because it costs so much to put ads in the Media.

The system in America is really screwed up. The top-level politicians and media have been captured by major corporations. The media doesn't want to report it, and the politicians don't want to regulate it. The Washington narrative is "Democrat vs Republican", but it should really be "Americans vs the Corporations".

An Ohioan's Image

AKA "batguano".

The FOX reaction to Chicago's bid to host the Olympics

*Any* Olympics outcome would/will be used by the FOX mouth-breathers as an excuse to bash Obama/Democrats:

Outcome #1: Chicago gets to host the 2016 Olympics

FOX Reactionary: How many rings did Obama have to kiss over in Denmark to get this deal? Some say he agreed to have an all-foreign construction, officiating, and vending crew, so there will be no American who benefits from this ... besides the "Change" President ... and Oprah Winfrey, who traveled to Copenhagen with the President and Mrs. Obama to make *her* case to bring the Olympics to her home town.

Outcome #2: Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics is turned down

FOX Reactionary: The international community turned a deaf ear to the President and Oprah Winfrey as they came asking to have their home town host the Olympics. I wonder what they're not telling us, about the back room dealings and concessions, and how high Mr. Obama and Ms. Winfrey went in their bidding. I guess this is one "Change" which will *not* be coming to America. Some say the Olympics would have employed over 100,000 out-of-work Americans for the next 10, 15, 20 years. Too bad the American Delegation failed to bring these much-needed jobs to *our* shores.