We Are Being Lied To. All the Time.

There's no other way to put it. Constantly, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty five days a year (three sixty six in leap years), we are lied to, jacked with, conned or otherwise manipulated by those who are supposed to be informing us.

Where do we get our news, information and/or opinion? Is it not from multi-millionaires speaking from multi-billion dollar corporate microphones? Are they representing our interests and reporting to us information that is to our advantage?

The right wing blowhards would have us believe that the media is dominated by a liberal worldview. As a proud liberal, I don't know what they are talking about. The country has always been predominantly conservative. It seems to me the highest point of liberalism was in the sixties. Since then, we have had an extreme move to what is commonly called the right. It began unabated with the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, even though old Tricky Dick would be considered a flaming liberal by today's standards.

On top of that, the news is brought to us primarily by corporate controlled media. The sole function of corporate anything, let alone corporate media, is to make money. It is not to bring us news to keep the citizens of this country informed. The business model of all media is based in selling advertising. That's where their money comes from. Everything they then do is designed to attract an audience to bring in the cash. That is the media Prime Directive. It is not to inform us, but to attract our attention long enough to sell us something. Do you really think any sort of thought would be tolerated that shook that money tree?

Thank God or our lucky stars we still have the internet, at least for a little while longer. It's a given there is much misinformation and disinformation, but if one learns how to sift through the bs there is good information out there that cannot be gotten any other way, at least as quickly. There is solid information out there but it is not getting channeled to the citizens of this so they can make informed decisions. The question then becomes how to get this information to the people.

It's my belief that local, small scale media is the solution. David didn't bring down Goliath fighting on Goliath's terms and turf.

Georgia Reps Stab Constituents in the Back

The Democratic Party in south Georgia has been proud for years to have its entire delegation Democratic. Immediately following their reelection in November as Democrats, the entire delegation jumped ship to the Republican Party: Senator Tim Golden, and Representatives Amy Carter and Ellis Black.

Never in my life have I seen such a thing. Even though they issued their own statements, they almost sounded identical. I see Amy has been rewarded with being some kind of a gofer girl for the new governor. They all proclaim how they can better serve their constituents. When I heard of Tim Golden's defection, my immediate thought was, well, his business is that of financial advisor, he knows where his bread is buttered, he knows who his real constituents are.

I'm a constituent. I'm a hard-working, elderly fellow, that has been waiting ten years for things to change for the better while two of them have been in office. It hasn't and now I know why. These people have been conservatives all along, and as shown by their defections, DINOs, Democrats In Name Only. They were, in reality, Republicans all along.

I campaigned for these people. I made calls and encouraged people and friends to vote for them, believing they represented our interests and values. The Republican Party does not represent my values or that of most people I know. This constituent feels quite stabbed in the back by this.

Where are the jobs all you Republicans?

Here's what Bob Corker has to say about job creation: screw the jobs, what's important is "price stability." Perhaps he should talk to his friends in the health care industry, since that's where a lot of the inflation for the last thirty years has come from. Not to mention the tech and housing bubbles.

Seems that Republicans could not care less about putting America back to work. All you unemployed and under employed, go get a job that doesn't exist.

Also, Sara Palin accuses the Fed of causing food prices to rise this past year, when food had the lowest rise in price in years:

A broad measure of food prices from the Labor Department shows prices rose at an average annual rate of less than 0.6% in the first nine months of the year. September’s increase in food prices — 1.4% for food and beverages at an annual rate — was low by historical standards.(In fact, the lowest average annual inflation rate on record was 1.4%, in 1992.) Commerce Department inflation data show a similarly slow year-over-year increase for food prices, 1.3%.

Truth is food prices rose dramatically in 2008 when Wall Street fled the housing market and bought into commodities distorting the markets. People even starved because of it.

I truly resent that ignorant woman.

The Real Face of Fox News

Is there anyone more repugnant than Roger Ailes?

This is the man responsible for the likes of O'Reilly, Hannity and Beck, not to mention Steve Doocy and the other blond bimbos at Fox (btw, I know they're not bimbos, but only play one for TV). Is it any wonder the regular Fox News watchers are the most dumbed down audience in history. Worse, he pushes extreme divisiveness. He revels in dividing the country and getting people all riled up against the "socialists." He knows damn well Obama is no socialist, but that's the line and he's sticking to it, purposefully deceiving the audience.

The only thing this man cares about is money. He serves it. Everything he does is in the interest of money, especially his own. He obviously has led the High Life and will protect that at all costs. He knows where his bread is buttered, and he will defend it by hook or crook, if necessary.

And his bread is buttered by Rupert Murdoch, the highest salaried CEO in the world.

Tough Times Ahead, IMHO

I know I can get into a negative vein, but I think I'm mostly an optimist, so I hope you understand that it's not that I'm naturally a doomsayer, and the truth is I've been surprised before.

One of my greatest surprises was when the US emerged from the oil shocks and inflation of the seventies seemingly unscathed. I had expected some serious repercussions that didn't materialize. I wonder if there isn't a similarity to today, in that, business and the economy went on as if nothing was really wrong. With this latest bust of '08, it was the new Obama administration's allowing the banks to say the value of the properties on their books was whatever the banks said it was. They did not have to "mark to market", or value the properties at the actual market price. When this was announced the Dow stopped it's descent toward below 7000 and went back to over 11,000. And tens of millions of 401(k) owners heaved a sigh of relief that they regained fifty percent of what they'd lost. Question: where'd the other fifty percent go? is it important?

This "stabilized" the banking industry. They'd been infused with $750B from the Treasury (borrowed by the government, mind you). This is well known, the infamous "bailouts." What's not as well known is that the Fed infused the banks with around six trillion dollars, according to some. The whole exercise was so the banks had cash to lend to business (there's a valid need for this.) The problem of the last year and a half was that the banks tightened their lending, contrary to the stated purpose of the bailout. Yet, over that period commercial banks have bought $1.5 trillion in Treasury bonds. It's a matter of where they chose to put the money. At the same time, it is reported that companies are sitting on about $1.8 trillion dollars in cash on hand and are not spending it or growing their business and adding new jobs. Meanwhile, unemployment hovers around ten percent (officially, unoffically around twenty). Honestly, given these facts, one could make a case that business leaders are deliberately negatively affecting the economy. At a minimum, given the horrendous state of the economy for most people, it absolutely shows how what is called supply side economics, or neoconservatism or Reaganism is absolutely wrong. It's not even, in the words of a President of the United States, voodoo economics, it's just wrong.

Yet this idea is what drives economic discussion today. While the Neo-cons, and Randians, and other conservative ilk debate their ivory tower folderol, Rome burns. And the fire is in our part of town.

Modern Civilization

Last night as I was getting home from work, I was thinking how much I disliked modern civilization. It's a long story that I won't get into now. Then I thought how MyBetterHalf was in the hospital getting ready to have surgery to remove her gall bladder, and how two and a half years ago I had surgery to remove a concerous tumor the size of an orange from my colon. If it hadn't been for modern civilization, we'd both probably have died a painful death. So yeah, I'm very thankful. I think that's the definition of ambivalence.

Healthcare Passes in the House

Healthcare reform has passed the House 219-210. Thirty four Democrats voted against the bill. Two Republicans voted against the bill, and NOT ONE voted for it, yet they blame the Democrats for the lack of bipartisanship. Damn hypocrites all! Not one Republican ever wanted to change the way things are - they are quite down with it. It's what makes them conservative and protectors of the status quo and the powers that be. Most of them owe a LOT of campaign funds to the health care industry. Most of them probably have health care stocks in their portfolios and they are making their profits and capital gains from it. How many will leave Congress and go on to lucrative jobs in the "private sector," getting their reward?

Coming Back

It's been six months since my last post. I've had to figure out just what kind of voice I would have. Not so sure. but I wanted to liveblog this so-called debate in the House regarding healthcare. The Republicans are shameless liars or cult members. They are bought and sold by their corporate overlords and yet posture themselves as if they are so patriotically righteous and concerned with the Republic. Maybe some of them truly believe what they are saying, but in that they are like cult members spouting platitudes from their faith. IMHO that cult is the cult of Mammon.