Category Archives: Politics
ANONYMOUS VS. WESTBORO
ANONYMOUS VS. WESTBORO
The Westboro IDIOTS are at it again… just hours after the bombing , Westboro tweeted their plan to protest the funerals of those killed in the Boston blast.
“WestboroBaptist Church to picket funerals of those dead by Boston Bombs! GOD SENT THE BOMBS IN FURY OVER FAG MARRIAGE! #PraiseGod,” the group tweeted at 5:20 p.m. Monday, two hours after news of the first explosion.” (full story here)
ANONYMOUS, rallies the nameless to avenge the dead. Look out Westboro…
However, hacktivist group Anonymous made it very clear that if the WBC tried anything in Boston, they would feel the full fury of the online community. (Huff Po)
My money is on Anonymous.
“I’d Like to Buy the World” (says) KOCH
“Media bias has been a favorite theme of the Right for decades, of course.-”Thomas Frank
The political activities of the Koch brothers have been influencing policy for decades. The grand puppet masters sit atop their corporate throne pulling the strings of their sponsored politicians, while Americans suffer the consequences.
The Koch Brothers first began with influencing (Bankrolling) grassroots organizations.
Three years ago, Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists and supporters of libertarian causes, held a seminar of like-minded, wealthy political donors at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo. They laid out a three-pronged, 10-year strategy to shift the country toward a smaller government with less regulation and taxes.
The first two pieces of the strategy — educating grass-roots activists and influencing politics — were not surprising, given the money they have given to policy institutes and political action groups. But the third one was: media.
Other than financing a few fringe libertarian publications, the Kochs have mostly avoided media investments.
Today NYT Headline: Conservative Koch Brothers Turning Focus to Newspapers
Politically (…) the papers could serve as a broader platform for the Kochs’ laissez-faire ideas. The Los Angeles Times is the fourth-largest paper in the country, and The Tribune is No. 9, and others are in several battleground states, including two of the largest newspapers in Florida, The Orlando Sentinel and The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. A deal could include Hoy, the second-largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, which speaks to the pivotal Hispanic demographic.
Bottom line: The Koch brothers grassroots efforts have been exposed, attacked, and challenged by several progressive organizations (most notably Brave New Foundation’s Koch Brothers Exposed). The Koch brothers’ fear of losing their influential grasp has them looking at new avenues to indoctrinate the masses.
“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear
Who Controls the Media?
Corporate interests influencing politics, cable entertainment masquerading as news, and left or right leaning journalists are the single most destructive force in society.
How difficult is it to report facts, not opinions or speculative drivel . The polarization of this NATION is a by product of Corporate involvement in policy decisions.
Remember, the most influential cable networks, newspapers, etc. are controlled by the same recycled corporate interests.
The next time you turn on the television, be mindful of who is bankrolling the information.
Who Controls the Media?
| Parent Company | Networks Owned | Cable Interests |
| General Electric $100.5 billion 1998 revenuesBackground: GE/NBC’s ranks No. 1 on the Forbes 500. Prior to its merger with NBC and an alliance with Microsoft, GE specialized in electronics. The peacock owns many New York sports team. It also owns or has equity stakes in many popular websites, including Snap.com and iVillage. |
NBC includes programming, news and more than 13 TV and radio stations |
Owns 25-50% of the following:
|
| Time Warner $26.8 billion 1998 revenuesBackground: The largest media corporation in the world, Time Warner owns film and music production companies, theme parks, sports teams, magazines, websites and book publishers as well as Turner Broadcasting |
TURNER BROAD-CASTING includes sports teams, programming, production, retail, book publishing and multimediaWB Television Network |
|
| The Walt Disney Co. $23 billion 1998 revenuesBackground: With its 1995 merger with Capital Cities/ABC, Disney has become a fully-integrated media giant. In addition to its theme parks, the company profits from retail outlets, magazines, book publishers, websites, motion pictures, sports teams, TV, cable, radio, music and newspapers. |
ABC includes ABC Radio, ABC Video and ABC Network News |
|
| Viacom $18.9 billion 1998 revenuesBackground: Viacom’s purchase of Paramount, CBS and Blockbuster Video enables them to use cable, television, movies, comic books, theme parks, music publishing and book publishing to cross-market their products. Broadcasting alone brings in over $6 billion in revenues. |
CBS includes stations, CBS Radio, CBS Telenoticias and CBS Network NewsUPN includes programming and TV stations (50%) |
|
| News Corporation $13 billion 1998 revenuesBackground: CEO Rupert Murdoch’s style has inspired respect and fear, and it has also made his multinational ventures in publishing, television and satellite services very successful. The company owns 20th Century Fox, the New York Post, the London Times, TV Guide, many stadiums, the LA Dodgers and five New York sports teams. |
FOX includes programming and stations |
|
Other Major Players:
AT&T (TCI) – Recently acquired by AT&T, TCI’s hold on cable, internet and local phone services contributed to $7.6 billion in 1997 revenues. TCI is the second-largest US cable television system provider, and it has 10% ownership of Time-Warner/Turner. The company owns all or part of USA Network, Sci-Fi Network, E!, Court TV, Starz! and Starz! 2, Black Entertainment Television, BET on Jazz, BET Movies/Starz! 3, CNN, TNT, Headline News, Prime Sports Channel, The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, QVC, Q2, Fox Sports Net, The Travel Channel, Prevue Channel, Animal Planet, The Box, Telemundo, International Channel, Encore, MSG Network, Action Pay-per-view, and the Home Shopping Network.
Sony - Sony’s main media interests, earning $9 billion in 1997 sales, are in film and television production, movie theaters and music.
Universal (Seagram) – In addition to Universal Studios, with its production facilities and theme parks, the company owns the USA and Sci-Fi cable networks.
http://www.nowfoundation.org/issues/communications/tv/mediacontrol.html
Lawrence Lessig: We the People, and the Republic we must reclaim (via TED Talks)
Got Jobs? Not if Republicans Have Their Way…
On the heels of what is being chided as the best National Convention in history, the jobs numbers are out. Opponents would have people believe that less than expected jobs numbers are all Obama’s fault. On the contrary, Obama and Democratic members of congress have repeatedly tried to pass comprehensive job creation legislation. Republicans have repeatedly voted against them.
The method Republicans have used to block all jobs legislation in the past two years is the same. A jobs bill comes up, it is filled with positive things for the economy, Republicans filibuster debate, this shields them from having to make floor speeches on why they don’t want tax breaks for small businesses… etc.
Why? Well, if the economy recovers too strongly before an election, Republicans will lose power. If jobs numbers look too good, people will want to keep the same party. By Republicans blocking all jobs legislation and keeping jobs numbers from improving they believe this is their ticket to power.
In other words, if you and other Americans suffer just long enough it will pay off for Republicans.
They sacrifice the citizens’ jobs with the hopes that they will create more Republican jobs in Congress.(FULL STORY HERE AT Policy MIC).
Republicans tout their patriotism. Patriotism is defined as devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.
OH, I get it, this is how Republican’s show their love for this nation….
Cross Posted on All Things Democrat
Democratic National Convention 2012
I was fortunate to serve as a Democratic National Delegate for Texas. The still photo above was taken from a video of the President’s speech on the Here is the entire video. Te picture above was taken from the end of the video.
Wall Street vs. Main Street (Revisited)
Politicians have been selling out to the highest bidder for years. Who are the benefactors? It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to figure it out. The GOP represents Wall Street; Democrats represent Main Street. Republicans may reign supreme from time to time. But, for many, many years–Democrats controlled congress…
Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for 60 years between 1933-1995 (in all but four years); and, they controlled the Senate in all but ten years. If you wanted something done, you needed the support of the Democrats. Those were the good ol’ days- a time when Congressional leaders upheld public interest. Somewhere, along the way, things changed:
Republicans seized power in 1994 by raising massive amounts of campaign cash. Between 1994-1998, Republican candidates raised a record breaking $1 BILLION+ dollars (Kaiser, 2009. So Damn Much Money, p. 272).
In 1994 (for the first time since 1954), Republicans gained control of both houses. The power shift gave the Neo-Cons a taste of how much power they stood to lose, if they didn’t keep their sponsors happy. Perhaps, this could explain why the power hungry Neo-Cons turned their collective focus away from public interest, to their corporate bedfellows. After all, they had $1 billion+ favors to repay. But, the Democrats would not go quietly- between 1995 and 2010, congressional power shifted as many times in fifteen years as it had in the past forty-five years (Lessig,L. 2011. Republic Lost, p.94).
In 2008, Republicans were dumping campaign cash at any contender they thought could beat a Democrat (Hillary or Obama). It didn’t take long for Democrats to learn that in order to beat Republicans (and BIG MONEY), you’ve got to raise a lot of cash, too. Presidential Candidates – Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain – together spent more than $1 billion, an unprecedented figure. But, Obama didn’t win because of the massive amounts of campaign cash alone, he had a message. Of course, the cash helped Obama, no doubt, but he inspired Americans at a time when many of us had had a belly full of Bush, Cheney, the Industrial Military Complex, and failed Republican policies.
And, just when we thought we’d be able to loosen the Neo-Con stranglehold on humanity, enter the DRAGON: Citizens United.
The Citizens United ruling in 2010, was the proverbial nail in the coffin of public interest. All hail BIG BUSINESS. The landmark decision allows corporations and unions to throw endless amounts of cash at politicians. (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S.08-205 (2010), 558 U.S., 130 S. Ct. 876 (January 21, 2010)).
As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” Therefore, I am duty bound to open up my checkbook and throw as much cash as possible toward QUALIFIED Democrats who do not worship at the altar of Wall Street, but work with us folks down here on Main Street. Please feel free to do the same, Main Street depends on it.
Cross posted on: www.definedontdefend.com and www.allthingsdemocrat.com
A VERY POWERFUL MESSAGE: About Four People.
Matthew Modine’s very short film with a VERY POWERFUL MESSAGE.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. The best way to create hope is to create opportunity.It’s easy to bemoan our political leaders and we no doubt expect way too much from them. They are, after all, no more than elected public officials. We vote them into office to represent us. When they fail to represent the will of the people and the nation, we need to replace them and find those that will. This democratic process is but one of the goals of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. OWS can now be found in 951 cities in 83 countries including Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. OWS is a people-powered movement that began in the financial district of New York City and has grown into a global occupation. It’s people from all over the world asking for better management. People asking this from their leaders and nations. People recognizing that governments commitment to the future is short-sighted. People exercising their right to demonstrate — which is the most basic emblem of democracy. Everybody is each of us. If you think you’re too small to make an impact, remember how annoying it is to try and sleep with a mosquito in your bedroom. I made this film to demonstrate.
EXCLUSIVE: WWW.OWSPR.COM
WWW.WORKHOUSEPR.COM
Media Contact Workhouse, CEO Adam Nelson via nelson@workhousepr.com
ACA Ruling Got You Down? There’s an APP for that.
By now, we’ve all been inundated with glowing and scathing op-eds in reaction to the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act; some even vilifying Justice Roberts for his position. Moreover, the observation that America is experiencing civil war-time polarization is astonishingly accurate in this regard; as expected, the overall sentiment to the decision is seemingly divided sharply along party lines. And, the divisiveness, without regard for the human condition, can only be chalked up to the Belief Perseverance Phenomenon.
Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to one’s initial belief even after receiving new information that contradicts or disconfirms the basis of that belief. This simply put, a person will not change his/her mind even when they are given information that supports or disproves the basis of their position; even when the basis of a specific belief is totally discredited [emphasis added] (Anderson, 2007). It is certainly a phenomenon that people tend to hold on to their beliefs even when it appears that they shouldn’t.
Belief perseverance can create chaotic messages, especially in the political realm. It can also lead to cognitive dissonance, which is the confusion that results from holding two conflicting beliefs. For example, Democrats, Conservatives, and Libertarians may admit they believe in personal responsibility. However, some admittedly oppose a law that imposes personal responsibility (such as the individual mandate), hence the repeal campaign. When there is a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance.
Under the current system, hospitals are required to treat patients who show up at the emergency entrance with a heart attack – even if their condition is partly their fault…The hospitals have to pass the costs on, and the rest of us end up footing the bill. The universal mandate is designed to fix that, by making everyone pay for the health care they get …Establishing personal responsibility, not socialized medicine, is the reason why conservative think tanks proposed the idea of the universal mandate in the first place, and why Mitt Romney enacted it in Massachusettts. But most people seem still unaware of this. When people do not understand their economic interests the voting patterns do not line up correspondingly (Frankel, 2012).
Changes must occur, to eliminate the confusion, psychological torment, and discomfort associated with discord (dissonance). Most people don’t know what Obama’s bill does. Many think that it reduces personal responsibility for health care. But the truth is the opposite.
It is the author’s hope that the masses will seek the truth before concluding that the ACA is a good or bad thing. The idea that many of the provisions did not receive bi-partisan support is astounding.
Are you suffering from misinformation? There’s an APP for that.
Cross posted on Define Don’t Defend and All things Democrat
References:
Read the full text of SCOTUS’ decision here.
Read the full text of the Affordable Care Act Law here.
Key provisions that everyone should appreciate, such as the Patient’s Bill of Rights
Ref: Anderson, C.A. (2007). Belief perseverance (pp. 109-110). In R. F. Baumeister & K. D.
Vohs (Eds.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Encyclopedia of Social Psychology.
Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/mobile/research/201206280013
Mitt Romney APPROVES the Mandate:
Jeff Frankel:
http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/blog/jeff_frankels_weblog/2012/06/28/look-who-opposes-obamacare-by-fat-margins/
#p2 #connect the left #ctl #TXDNC2012 #DNC2012 #ACA #TCOT
