Listening to retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, you sense his intense loyalty to the military. He commanded the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, capping a 31-year Army career. So why did CBS News fire him as a paid news consultant? A straight answer from CBS seems as elusive as those Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
The short answer: Batiste appeared in a television advertisement sponsored by VoteVets.org, a nonpartisan group that advocates for veterans. In the 30-second spot, he said, in part: “Mr. President, you did not listen. You continue to pursue a failed strategy that is breaking our great Army and Marine Corps. I left the Army in protest in order to speak out. Mr. President, you have placed our nation in peril.”
Batiste is one of the six retired generals who called for the resignation of then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the spring of 2006. Of those generals, he alone both served at a high level in the Pentagon and commanded 22,000 troops in Iraq. Despite a promised promotion to three-star general, which would have made him the second-highest-ranking officer in Iraq, Batiste made the difficult decision to retire and speak out.
In his book and documentary “War Made Easy,” media critic Norman Solomon explains the impact these retired TV generals have on the national debate:
“In the run-up to the war in Iraq, the failure of mainstream news organizations to raise legitimate questions about the government’s rush to war was compounded by the networks’ deliberate decision to stress military perspectives before any fighting had even begun. CNN’s use of retired generals as supposedly independent experts reinforced the decidedly military mind-set even as serious questions remained about the wisdom and necessity about going to war.”
In 1999, when the U.S. was bombing Yugoslavia, I asked Frank Sesno, vice president of CNN: “Why pay these generals? And have you ever considered putting peace activists on the payroll? Or inviting them into the studio to respond to the drumbeat for war?” He replied: “We’ve talked about this. But no, we wouldn’t do that. Because generals are analysts, and peace activists are advocates.”
That’s not far from the reason CBS gave for firing Batiste. According to a cbsnews.com blog, CBS News Vice President Linda Mason explained, “We ask that people not be involved in advocacy.” Generals, it seems, are analysts when they agree with the war plan, and advocates when they oppose it. Political blog the Horse’s Mouth reported that CBS News consultant Michael O’Hanlon clearly advocated for President Bush’s troop surge but didn’t get tossed. O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, told the Horse’s Mouth he “would be personally gratified to see Batiste back on CBS.”
CBS is not alone in icing out perspectives critical of the Iraq war, especially when it mattered. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a media watchdog group, did a study analyzing the major nightly newscasts for the two weeks surrounding then-Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech for war before the United Nations on Feb. 5, 2003. On the major evening newscasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS, FAIR found 393 interviews on the issue of war, of which only three were with antiwar leaders. This when a majority in the U.S. either opposed war or supported more time for inspections. This is not a mainstream media, but an extreme media, beating the drums for war.
When I spoke with Batiste, he shied away from political commentary. He was focused on the issues: the safety of the troops, the situation in Iraq. He says we need “a comprehensive national strategy,” including “the tough diplomatic, political and economic measures.” Instead, he says, the U.S. is “depending on our military almost entirely to accomplish this ill-fated mission in Iraq.”
Batiste is a lifelong Republican. His father and both his grandfathers were in the military. “You see, we got this war terribly wrong. I’m not antiwar at all.” Moveon.org circulated an online petition demanding CBS restore Batiste, which more than 230,000 people signed.
Batiste’s crime is obvious: He dared to dissent, directly contradicting the endlessly repeated assurances reported by the network news that Bush takes his military advice from his generals on the ground, not from Congress or public-opinion polls.
CBS News has reached a new low when it censors even a pro-war Republican retired general merely for criticizing the president. The power that the broadcasters have amassed, their craven servility to the Bush administration and its failed wars, and their refusal to offer airtime to dissenters all amount to a direct threat to our democracy, a far greater threat than Saddam’s imagined WMDs.
Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 500 stations in North America.
© 2007 Amy Goodman; Distributed by King Features Syndicate
See-BS
SEE!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS BS!
Turn your TVS off and LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR OWN HEARTS ARE TELLING YOU!
Luna May - Not so easy, as so many Americans suffer from heart disease.
CBS: “…generals are analysts, and peace activists are advocates.”
Amy, you have expressed the problem succinctly. Media corporations today shy away from dissent.
The distinction between an activist and an advocate is a matter of semantics and framing. For instance, CBS can present a peace advocate’s views as “anti-war analysis.”
Advocacy is inherent in a democracy, and the media as the “fourth estate” has an obligation to present differing views on topics. The obligation is even greater when it appears that the government has decided on an outcome and is working to justify the decision as in the case of going to war with Iraq.
The scientific method of inquiry, wherein people gather evidence *against* the stated hypothesis, ought to become the default, even in political discourse.
The media companies wield enough power to change the way people analyze, discuss, and debate social and political issues. Al Gore points out a few things that they can do in his new book “Assault on reason.” However, the basic question remains “Do they really care about democracy, or are people just product consumers?”
In my opinion, the emphasis should not be on the endless and repetitive critique of the fascist media conglomerates, but rather on the building and maintenance of alternatives. Things like the Net Neutrality issue demonstrate how perilous our alternatives are. Instead of pouring hundreds of millions of dollars every two years into the coffers of these deplorable institutions through campaign commercials, we should be investing in alternative media infrastructure and content development.
luna is right. Turn off the damn TV. Stop giving these corporations money. Why is this so difficult. Phone up your satellite or cable company and say enough is enough.
If a tenth of the people pissed off with Bush stop subscribing, it would put a serious dent in the quarterly profits of these companies. The media companies would not be able to charge as much for advertisements.
The only thing corporations understand is money. You need to hit them where it hurts.
Not only that, but the more we can depress TV viewership, the less effective TV advertising will be and the less campaign fundraising will be about raising funds for TV ads to reward the mainstream media for not doing their job and the more eyeballs and advertising dollars can be diverted to the new mainstream news organizations like CommonDreams (which, BTW, should be helping to funnel money from us readers back to the writers and progressive publications who provider the material here– instead of merely keeping themselves afloat).
Media power in today’s age, though, is like a paper tiger. Sure, they have money, networks, monopolies, a monopoly of content, etc. Censorship by the private sector seems less reprehensible than blatant government censorship, these fictional individuals (corporations) have the collective/anthropomorphized right to their own “free speech”. And, therefore, there’s a fundamental problem. But clearly the solution isn’t to expect them to do something they can’t or never will do. Only a sado-masochist would keep banging his head on that dream.
The ONLY thing that truly makes them powerful is their symbolic monopoly, that there’s still a viewing audience that takes them seriously. Unless Big Media can shut down the internet or find some means of criminalizing free speech, they’re rendering themselves irrelevant. The propaganda heydey of the Cold War era is coming to an end. I doubt they’ll have much of a viewing audience in the next 5, 10 or 20 years.
It’s like the Rush Limbaugh ads plastered all over Clear Channel owned billboards in St. Paul/Minneapolis. We don’t really listen to the guy, and it’s doubtful that they’re actually paying for themselves. Rather, it’s beginning to show its hand as a subsidized propaganda arm, which may even operate at a loss if it weren’t for money coming in the backdoor somehow. One wonders indeed.
I guess my only question is why haven’t Common Dreams, Democracy Now, Truth Out, Mother Jones, The Nation, and the many other progressive websites not figured this out? It’s not that difficult a concept. Why isn’t there a big notice on the front of all their websites? Perhaps something like “DON’T PAY THE LIARS”.
We shouldn’t be surprised that many of the retired senior military officers who are employed by news organizations as analysts are sympathetic to the military. That, after all, is their profession. It does not by definition make them pro-Bush, however. Some, like Gen. Barry McCaffery, are refreshingly candid in their honest appraisal of the effects of Administration policy decisions on the potential for success of the military strategies in Iraq.
There is a difference, however, between the partisan talking heads that the cable television pseudo-news channels use to over-simplify issues in the name of “balance” and the paid military analysts who are hired to explain military actions and provide context.
It wasn’t Gen. Batiste’s expression of anti-Bush sentiment that got him fired. It was the context in which he expressed those views.
When Gen. Batiste becomes a spokesperson for a partisan organization, he ceases to be an objective observer. He has crossed the line and is no longer involved in journalism. It doesn’t pass the perception test.
This in no way takes away from the value of Gen. Batiste’s opinions. He appeared as a guest on “Countdown” the day after his affiliation with CBS ended and provided valuable insights. But, make no mistake, NBC News is not about to hire him as a paid analyst.
Fox News, on the other hand, still employs Gen. Wesley Clark, who also has become a spokesperson for the Vote Vets Political Action Committee. But Fox News has always blurred the line between journalism and advocacy.
Even today there are few people speaking openly in opposition to the war. It seems the Cheney/Goering tactic is still at work…
“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders… All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and DENOUNCE THE PEACEMAKERS FOR EXPOSING THE COUNTRY TO DANGER.
It works the same in any country.” Herman Goering at the Nuremberg Trials.
“60 Minutes” has somehow dared to give voice to some dissent, but for the most part the networks are sticking with the pro-war attitudes… could it have something to do with CBS’s connection to G.E.’s jet engine manufacturing?
CBS, like the other MSM organizations, are gaming to become the Official Propaganda Tool when the time comes.
The Powers That Be only need one, and CBS frankly isn’t as loud and obnoxious as Faux News, the current front-runner for the job.
bring back the “fairness doctrine”. at least the public ( and i stress public) airwaves would be bound to a balanced debate. it’s long overdo……
reinstitute the “fairness doctrine”
Time for Batiste to take command of his 23 new divisions of dissenters for good of US all.
Mainstream media networks have become a cancer in the heart of our society. Unfortunately, they are still the “news” source for the majority of our citizenry.
I can’t remember if it’s CBS or ABC, but if I recall correctly one of them owns stock in a major defense contractor. This is an obvious conflict of interest considering that they are supposed to represent a fair and balanced point of view.
I agree and have long “tuned out” to major media, but again the masses have not. When our media mates with the warmonger how can they ever again expect to regain our trust to represent the voice of the people?
Progressive’s challenge is to expose their slanted propaganda. Once that happens the masses will awaken.
nbc……..part of ge……top ten defense contractor
Who Owns the Airwaves Here: A Brief Look at NBC
A quick look at Stop Big Media’s website reveals that General Electric (GE) owns NBC and, interestingly enough, GE also has business interests in military production, including building engines for
F-16 fighter jets
Abrams tanks
Apache helicopters
U2 Bombers
Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV)
A-10 aircraft
Other planes, helicopters and tanks
A deeper excavation shows that GE’s board of directors includes members who also sit on the boards of Bechtel and the Chevron Corporation. (See Project Censored’s report on media interlocks with corporations).
And despite the sublime awe-inspiring effectiveness of American opinion manufacturing, Rumsfeld advocated many times for a propaganda department. And we have soldiers figthing supposed absolutists abroad. Go figure.
I want to compliment most everyone here when I say this:
I read some pretty thoughtful, insightful and witty comments in this site.
But I sure hope you all are not spending too much time complaining about things here. Let’s continue to inform the public in whatever way we can. People are listening more than ever, or at least those who are not total fanatics and totally closed-minded.
Go out into the public and explain how easy it is to follow these money trails, the corporate facades of propoganda, and how people power in action will bring truth and justice to this world. I hope we are all DOING something, not merely preaching to the progressive choirs.
Peace everyone, empowerment to the people…
I watched War Made Easy, big segment on DemocracyNow, and there’s the mass media playing with models of weapons. The slant on their reporting is more than disgusting. The big headlines, oh who can forget the card game of the wanted list, I can hardly stand the way the NEWS is presented, like FICTION or fantasy. News used to be serious Business, that informed people of what was going on. No SpIN, NO GAMES. Years ago, hardly anyone watched it because they thought it boring. But now it is new and improved with entertainment and spin and the people who watch don’t know what the fuck is really going on.
What I really have a problem with is that the mass media doesn’t correct itself when proven an incorrect source. The damage is done, perhaps they plan it that way. Sure does make it hard to try to explain your point of view that differs, because the masses didn’t see or read about it.
sharing: Absolutely. I’d encourage everyone to come out of the woodwork, no need to hide. There’s only one thing more heinous than political censorship, McCarthyism, etc. And that’s self-censorship.
We’re easily conquered & divided when we’re all keeping our traps shut, by our own doing.
I mean, what’s the greatest fear? Imprisonment for free speech? Unlikely. Losing your job? Perhaps, but who’d want to work for an employer that couldn’t stand progressives anyway?
“There’s only one thing more heinous than political censorship, McCarthyism, etc. And that’s self-censorship.”
Sounds nice but probably not true. It’s good to go sometimes
beyond one’s limited experience/understanding.
Slavery is pretty bad, and concentration or labor camps can be bad too.
Rathergate is principally responsible for getting Bush 4 more years.
“Years ago, hardly anyone watched it because they thought it boring. But now it is new and improved with entertainment and spin and the people who watch don’t know what the fuck is really going on.”
A serious question from a youngster…when would you say was the time when big buisness and capital started to corrupt the news? I ask this because I hear people refer to “a time when this was that ect..”..just want to get a sense of when this stuff started to happen,or was it always kind of like this but just not this magnitude?
A belligerent and arrogant populace will not stand for a namby pamby military man who questions the wisdom of the commander in chief. I don’t buy the notion that media shaped public opinion. It is the other way around, public opinion shapes the media. Surely CBS is not blind to the adulation and hero worship accorded to media supernovas like Rush Limbough and Hannity during time of war.
To Perfect Flaw;
TV Journalistic standards were considerably higher until about 30 years ago. The news departments were not considered profit centers.Certainly MSM practices were not perfect-but all 3 major networks had superior newsmen in Cronkite-Huntley and Brinkley-and Howard K Smith among others.Cronkite’s reports from Vietnam had a lot do with turning public opinion against the war. I can’t remember any blowhards like O’Reilly or Hannity in those days. A return tomore balanced newscasts is possible-were the will there in Congress.
Combining stringent campaign finance reform with such efforts would seem to be a natural.
Corporate
Bull
Sh*t
news
And who is watching TV anyway. Turn it off once for all. I did it 10 yrs ago. Who cares about CBS and others, we have the internet, we have al jazera, and international news reports. Leave the TV for the general…public.
I watch Amy Goodman on Free Speech TV. Also watch CSpan, and Southern Oregon Public TV. I know you can get a lot of stuff on the internet, but I am grateful for and support the few good options that are available.
It’s not CBS, it’s Viacom who makes the decisions, one of the big “five families” of the Media Mafia. CBS does what it’s told by Viacom, just as ABC answers to Disney, NBC to GE, et al. Bitching about CBS is exactly what they want us to do, so as not to pay attention to what the “godfathers” are plotting and planning - you know, like destroying community programming, crushing dissent, controlling the Net, and, of course, selling us even more crap we can’t afford and do not need while insuring our attention is not on their real machinations. Listen to Aldo above and send the only signal they understand: Turn off the TV and do not patronize advertisers who continue to support the continued dumbing down and brainwashing of “we the people.”
Anyone notice that Batiste had no problem with the concept of attacking a sovereign country; destroying what was left of its infrastructure and then occupying it for well over four years? The other generals who were “just following orders” until retirement then squeek a bit but not about international criminal behavior like attacking foreign countries and killing however many hundreds of thousands of people, men, women and children in those countries. Folks: There is great profit in war and very little in peace. Our defense (offense, really) economy is geared to making war; war materiel is our greatest export. It’s what we do. Do you expect the Corporate Establishment to stop doing what it does for a kookie idea like peace when around 60,000,000 Americans are connected with the “defense” dollar? Our unofficial slogan is “War is Us”. If 9/11 was an “outside job”, it was a feeble effort by those we’ve screwed over internationally to tell us “STOP KILLING FOREIGNERS IN THEIR COUNTRIES”. Further, they don’t care all that much how many million of our fellow Americans we keep in prison and spy on but they’ve about had it with what we’ve been doing to them in other countries. Their efforts against us are only going to get worse until we stop. We could start immediately by closing one foreign military installation a week, or even a month. It would still take years but it would be a start and it would bear fruit very soon.
What is at the core of problem in the U.S., was summed up by Albert Einstein in this quote that as been attributed to him:
“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
The whole mindset of militarism and it’s results, “war”, are insane.Now don’t get me wrong, I condemned the general for coming against this war, but he still embraces the idea of war in “general”.
The idea of war is insane.
But to try and get military men like Batiste to admit this, is impossible. They have been so indoctrinated by the idea that war is necessary for the defense of peace that they will not even consider another way of thinking. You could not even begin to get them to come around to the concept that war is war and peace is peace. “And that real peace needs no defense”. It is the idea of war that needs defending.
Think about it for moment.. We live in world were people who advocate death and destruction are commended and called heroes.. People who advocate peace are called “anti-war” and marginalized. And they make pacifism sound like a dirty word.
George Orwell, rolls in is grave.
Corporate
Bull
Sh*t
news…..
Alternatively,
CBS=Corporate Bastardization Service
Rick, what you said is true:
“The idea of war is insane.
But to try and get military men like Batiste to admit this, is impossible.”
It reminds me of the Upton Sinclair quote:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Bastiste’s entire life, not just his salary, has been tied to the military. Still, I’ve met some career military men who have said privately that they think war is an outmoded concept these days, and they hate the fact that it is less and less a ‘human event,’ if that makes sense. What they mean is it’s more likely in today’s warfare to have missiles fired from miles away or bombs dropped from thousands of feet in the air, killing more civilians than the enemy. Many in the military are not ogres; many joined in the sincere willingness to help defend their country honorably, and they never imagined we’d have someone in the White House who would lie to start wars for oil or to avenge an empty threat against their father.
One of them, a veteran of Korea and Vietnam, told me he’d rather have the diplomats talk themselves to death than see one more American kid blown to pieces in combat.
Another, who did two tours of ‘Nam, sounded like Gen. Smedley Butler when he said every war since WWII has been nothing but pure bullshit; a total waste except for the war profiteers.
Those are opinions you won’t see on any network as they sanitize modern war and try to ‘Hollywoodize’ the horrors of combat where the blood and severed limbs are never seen.
One thing: Why is it never mentioned how abysmally wrong all of the Bush-supporting network military analysts have been? If all of these generals had this kind of track record in the service they would have been busted to second lieutenant.
Kalia: If you’ve read your George Orwell and/or Noam Chomsky you’d recognize that indeed tastes & perceptions are shaped by media. Advertisers (and face it, today war IS product as the not-so-polite Andrew Card put it) seek out the brightest graduates with degrees in psychology. They study which buzz words generate consent and approval in the way that Hollywood screens film endings with “studio audiences.” John Dean explains adroitly the mindset of the authoritarians who have made tremendous inroads in population control via fundamentalist Christianity. And then there is the mesmerizing power of sports. People in America (especially many men) are so passionately identified with their team, and project an enormous amount of testosterone in the all important matter of who gets the ball(s). These are shaping mechanisms that do their part to make a population stupid and out of touch with things that matter. Add to this the fact that many are working overtime (or two jobs) to keep up with artificially driven rising costs of living. And then media itself has begun to simulate the Roman Arena where people are increasingly tortured, humiliated, killed, raped, etc as “entertainment.” There is a part of human nature that identifies with these lowest trends, but media can equally act as a “north star” to lift mass awareness, to shape it around higher ideals. Sadly, the merchants of more with their ethos Mammon have decided to aim for the lowest common denominator. When individuals learn that their overall quality of life is decreased when society dives into the dark side, perhaps we will see change. But please don’t blithely presume that the horse came before the cart, and that US citizens by in large like Rush. A segment DOES and as another poster recently cited the statistics, this ilk is VERY uneducated and like the movie JOE (30 years ago) feels powerless, and out of that state, wants to feel better than someone else, so identifies with the hate ranters who fulfill this “objective” for them and their empty psyches. They have been duped by the system, live lives of quiet desperation and thus in hate radio find an outlet that can project their rage.
a little late with this comment - this happened about 3 weeks ago. how can we develop a decent response when we cant even get the news out quickly. and the fairness doctrine should be re-instated.
Link tv which has amy goodman on with her democracyNow!, there’s the pacifica radio stations. there’s local college stations, c-span, even npr is better then commercial media. forget commercial media. just leave it behind. its just propaganda, lies, bullshit. its up to us to just walk away.
TURN OFF THE TV — !!!!
Thanks for the EINSTEIN quote — never heard it before!
It is the least intelligent among us who embrace violence and trust in violence.
The fight to make our airwaves work for us was never won.
Originally, radio — and this fight took place in the 1930’s — was supposed to dedicate more than one-third of its time to programming in the public interest.
And, now, we have lost the “Fairness Doctrine” and returned to MONOPOLY control.
If you go back to our founding, you will see that our nation was already in the hands of the elite and while they were threatened by “democracy” they understood they had time to take over government. And they have!
The attacks came into the open with JFK and since then a long line of violence against any leadership that arises.
Immediately after the coup on JFK things began to change.
We are at rapid stages of it now.
Global Warming is the biggest threat to humanity and the planet. It’s also a threat to the corporate/elites because in order to respond we have to change our “values.”
Electric cars !!!! egad!!!
Putting natural resources back in the hands of the “people” and away from the few private families who control them.
Pesticides Chemical — just go back to the JFK administration and see all that was happening –
human rights, Rachel Carson — questioning Monarchy.
annac: slavery and labor camps exist only due to two possibilities:
(1) An unchecked tyrant rose with sufficient support of a substantial percentage of the populace.
OR
(2) A critical mass of pissants kept their mouths shut, looked the other way, ignored it, were too afraid to speak out, use their real names, and stand up.
In 100 years someone will be doing a doctoral thesis on how the hell America descended into such an abyss, why people didn’t speak up. They’ll see my name in the digital archives as one who did. And I’ll answer the question for them: cowardice.
Can’t we assume that all of us who have spoken out against shrubco will be attacked if the feces hit the fan with sufficient force? They can pick out key words within phone conversations-basic research into usernames is easy by comparison.
Once it was understood that this bunch insisted on meting out widespread torture anyone critical should be considered courageous.
The fear/demoralizing is getting old. No need to be afraid of hypothetical scenarios, lists, spying, etc. Indeed, if the situation should warrant real courage, fear doesn’t enter into the picture then either. Really, it’s cowardice that’s wrecked this country, kept it from maturing. Too many people now in power got there due to birthright, never had to fight for it, stand up for what they believe in. We’ve got nothing to fear but a racket of illusory ghosts & bogeymen.
As for the internet, everything we do here is traceable anyway. Hiding behind an alias only keeps one hidden from his fellow citizen. Divided and conquered.
Did fear silence any of the great founders in our own tradition? Would fear have checked Thomas Jefferson?
And the sad thing is that most people at the very least disagree with those in power. They don’t represent us.
I don’t know if it’s just fear. I think a lot of people are just distracted or disillusioned or apathetic.
I have spoken out. I got called some names. the CIA’s not knocking on my door. Even after I have stated that Bush should be hung for treason.
iwarrior: There’s power in numbers. He’s hated by so many, how can they go after 40 plus million?
Siouxrose: (@ May 31st)
–Great post!
Personally speaking, it amazes me how much human time and energy is squandered in and through and around the activity of ’sports’.
If even a small proportion of all that human time, money and energy was diverted into helping put right the ills of our world, we would perhaps see huge and beneficial changes in our world?
~ Only then, (when we as a race had sorted out the more urgent problems which threaten our race), we could return to indulging ourselves with meaningless trifles such as addictions to soap operas and sports.
The ‘Opium of the people’ comes in different flavours methinks…
And surely it’s no coincidence that rightwing broadcasters the world over are so keen to keep spewing out sports and soaps (etc) to keep the plebs distracted and amused? -even as those same rightwing scorpions are, -behind the scenes, fostering ever more harm to our race…
Sorry the below is long-winded. Thought about re-writing and taking out some. I usually don’t like mostly reactionary responses as I give here.
~~~~
Re: “….networks had superior newsmen in Cronkite-Huntley and Brinkley-and Howard K Smith among others. Cronkite’s reports from Vietnam had a lot do with turning public opinion against the war. ….”
Like many in cultures of entertainment (Over content) what makes things get messed up, is ego and those that take advantage of ego or blind endeavor (Including those who are not in the spotlight, ie $$$‘s and power often behind the people in the spotlight or on battle or mission front).
Some of Cronkite’s longest lasting (From my perspective) legacy was built in being a bit lost in space for some length of time in his days in the news. This helped feed the early space based / often militarized attitudes (Not done in newsprint, radio, and TV alone; yet, helped give corporate and fear influenced government initiatives “basis” towards heavily subsidized research and labor force training for military infrastructural foundations of today’s vast military payrolls, yes the “cold war” existed; yet, we can evolve much of those efforts, can’t we?). To pin-point ill-will within only one place is wrong, TV / military, etc. Even one of the U.S.A.’s first non-military based engineering college’s history is marred as having strong interests in fascist based eugenics. I should state, “marred,” according to most people‘s perspectives on the subject; yet, we have since embraced a sort of corporative acceptance of eugenics in favoring a blind consumerist based populace which has made extinct much of life diversity (See any recent in-depth report on genetic engineering).
I think digging back to the day of Cronkite for a strong willed high percentage of general audiences listening to non-biased reporting (Being non-biased against logic and true scientific process) is a recurring myth that people were generally better at staying away from non-logical propaganda. Look at the years that hydrogenated margarine was said to be good for you (Not certain, but I think that misinformation was based in support the “war effort” rations as if the machinery and all of margarine wasn’t costing anything; or, making centralized food conglomerate companies some extra money?). The want for miracle cures has long been taken advantage of by commercialized efforts to make money. Our military machines and highly subsidized engines of commerce (That employ many salaried people and many pork barrel projects and factories to allow wages for the masses) protect us in fear of the hyped menace of the day, be it red-scare communism, or generalized term of terrorism. Why does this continue through the cycles and aging process of a nation or ideal? The sheer extreme amount waste allows for basic needs to be taken care of for a while. For a while, until unsustainable practices catch up with physics. Well, all our mining and general plundering is catching up with us. Yes, we are at the rapids. And, generally feeling an unease at the potential for unseen waterfall just past the sight of the rapids, we are starting to scramble. A few say “Maybe we need to paddle slower or head for bank (shore) while taking a moment to consider how we got here and where we want things to go.” More of us tend to say (At least at first) “Paddle faster (never mind the direction), were doing okay” while the contractors sell us more paddles or introduce more profit centralizing machines to do the paddling for us. When we figure out we definitely need to paddle in a different direction, we find out the paddles and motors won’t take the pressures of going against the current we have set as a steady (and initially blind) course. As the paddles (And “allies” in boats behind us) start to break apart, the people we blindly looked to for paddles and such have headed toward high ground after their distraction tactics have started to fail (Their profits drop) and the patriotic flag flowing against the pretty and proud scenery has noticeably gotten heavy with water of the near torrent rapids. The allied, having in the past looked (In some ways, to some degree) to the beacon of our idealism and some efforts of the lead ship (The USA) in private trade and in genuine outreach; are, for a length of time, patient in working with us. Our feeling of invincibility has blinded us from seeing (For much longer than what seems to be at hand) that we were not the only boat in the water and that our boat, while big, does not seem so impressive.
Oh, we have quite a lot of green spaces as reserves and all, we are a relatively young country and some educated (Taught through observations of nature and schooling) reasoning has restrained some efforts of the prevalent manifest destiny attitude long afflicting nature’s ways. And we have (Via our corporate efforts) sent a lot of our drill bits, bull dozers, and toxic manufacturing overseas. Yet, we continue to saddle the nature of our country, waters, and atmosphere with heavy burdens that; alongside what we consume from overseas, can only spoil our course given our distraction to get blindly involved as we have through this country’s “leaders.” While all this must seem off the subject at hand, it has every thing to do with the CBS’s and our acceptance of preconceived and fashioned attitudes towards most any dissension. For a relatively young country that aspires and is titled with so much more, we have a long track record of hiding if not misplacing biased concepts above truth. Not to say we have not accomplished some great things; yet, so much opportunity we have paddled past as the many distractions are tuned into.
This country was well lost in space endeavor and unsustainable commercialism by “the days of JFK,” not to say the rapids were not rising at that time and that Cronkite did not strongly help our country start to see past the rapids of Vietnam. Even before those times, look at some previous ads that included the goofiest looking oil salesmen that, in there day, were the cogs of greed working in the then infant hi-tech and print media. Yes, cultures of elite and fairytales of rags to riches monopolistic happiness and the man-made (Such as never ending consuming of ever new appliances and stretches of highway) easy life for the common person have long existed. With a few vulnerabilities within the USA’s founding, the embracing of sales pitches for things like man-synthesized chemicals {See Scientific American, Nitrogen Cycle, July 1997} were inevitable as free market idealism eroded below its façade via private interests vying for public moneys for subsidy, often- biased research, scandals and corruption. I wonder if Cronkite ever stated or alluded to days when he felt his focus toward Vietnam woke him up from a sleepwalk in the space race. I think a good majority of this country are waking up to the efforts at hand, in which we earned much of our payrolls from. Mining industry, one big aspect of our huge amount of efforts to hide from the imbalances of give-and-take, the U.S. populace has generally long ignored. Living near Texas, I can remember the early days of bragging in how little on the dollar the middle-easterners got to keep in shipping the barrels of oil to the USA, and how most of that oil money was kept highly centralized in the host country.
“It is difficult to get people to understand something when their salary depends upon them not understanding it” - A thought long before “An Inconvenient Truth” (Not sure I have exactly quoted Upton Sinclair, I have seen a couple slight variations in print). Before that, in the 1800‘s (Not 1900’s), a Swedish or Swiss scientist was noted for saying that oil (Fossil fuel based energy) would have a notable affect on the climate.
Via an elusive corporate facade of free market where laws are ever-changing (And relentlessly added to the books) to favor or disfavor private corporate interest. These laws are most often based in short sightedness and or profit centralizing efforts thru market constraints and complex system of tax and subsidy. We have shifted to a highly centralized idea of what life is about, earning money, not a living. Most of us in the USA produce little. Our industry generally is to partake in the circulating of money and providing service. The money we earn is increasingly at risk of becoming worthless as we wake from slumber of a mostly a highly distracted life of being entertained and medicated. The heads of major “US” corporations are waking us up into a could-be nightmare by ever-use of entertainment, dumbing-down, and fear; which, the strategy is cycling towards ever more fear with entertaining side shows. There is little need for dumbing-down anymore, just keep from the truth, and there is plenty of sources to keep attention away from climbing out of ignorance. The Article Amy Goodman wrote tries to get at that ignorance and injustice. This is truth applied (Retroactively, yet proactively) at its best.
With respect for Cronkite, I suggest looking to some efforts of a buddy of his. Ask Bill Moyers about (See “In the Kingdom Of the Half-Blind” - published December, 2005) the efforts of people like James (Russell) Wiggins and the Freedom of Information Act and “media.” I am sure Walter Cronkite was involved with much effort on the Freedom of Information Act, it is just hard to have seen some of his reporting that seemed a bit lost in space. While, from what I saw, he seemed well-grounded in reporting the facts, I think his reporting on the “space race” may have helped give the next generation of would-be engineers and “proud young americans” a bit not so grounded perspective on our world.
Yes, the hope about this is in cancers’ reliance on the healthy part of a system to feed their voracious appetites. As they seem so readily apparent (I don’t pay much attention to written statistics since early 1990’s); yet, in reading part of Bu$h Agenda (A. Juhasz ?), page 100 shows that with this appetite, it won’t take much time for the power hungry giants to crumble, as long as we are not feeding the cancers what it needs. Yes, aspire to continually change 10, 20, and or possibly 40% of the spending habits of ourselves and those we know towards a better world, a better way, a sustainable way. And, while leaving TV to the “general public” is a great role model and sounds good; how about endeavoring with the likeable of the general public (The majority) to do something active that doesn’t have something to do with TV. Yes, there are many areas / mediums to approach. (I discontinued subscription of Nat’l Geographic in 1996 because of number of ads for SUV’s and because of the material chosen to publish the magazine with) - I wrote, saying the SUV ads are destroying the places photograph, I saw no response from the magazine.
One area I think would be good to ponder is the way we see democratically elected oversight of the world’s resources and attempts by “Movers and shakers” to distribute wealth in fashion far from balance. Too often we highly regard some monopolistic pillar of industry that gives back many big bills (Often after inbalance of many many years of wide spread plunder). And, acknowledging the imbalances and need fro oversight, help ensure and educate to give viable actions that secure a future with less strife and assure basic needs for life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; happiness is not bliss while destroying the planet. I ponder if we have been made to fear world-wide democratic oversight of commerce, as we have generally been fed fear of this oversight by huge global corporate aspirations to influence and control most all? (The not-so-kind side of manifest destiny). We might think about this, before more of the Hallburton’s of the world are allowed to worsen the state of the world (And the U.S.A.’s standing in it) and try to possibly hide in pockets far from where they got their start. {Reference to Haliburton moving much of its efforts and capital to Dubai, I think is what I read a few weeks ago}.
Good to see so much of all of your thoughts and feelings here. Bring them to others, let people have the chance to hear what you know and how you feel; the best way to make news by big corp’s irrelevant.
If my experience is like many people’s on such subjects, speak about these things with those you are closest to and not so close to, the in-between tend to be the ones who will be most likely not to hear and consider your thoughts (Though, on the ones closest to you, highly dependent on the relation, if this type of subject is “too” frequent, and timing). There are “teachable” moments; yet, it is never too late to discuss general topics — this has been a relatively long time coming. If one thing we as U.S. citizens need to give honor to, is that the wisdom of taking time and realizing that even hurried people that live in a flash-in-the-pan world of mostly empty headlines will sometimes be surprisingly patient and maybe even grateful for the discussion of important topics, whether a day or a year ago. We can all think of things that may have happened years ago and still be relevant if we feel personal interest. What is more personal than a way of life or a future? As long as one has a thought, a feeling, it is never too late. Maybe nearly the same feeling that made you read this article “3 weeks late” is felt by some of those around you; or, like me, maybe they didn’t even know of the occurrence that brought this article about even happened. {I once won awards & earned grades in knowledge of current events for being up to date on the latest; yet, truth matters and there {sadly} are many instances like this oppression}. If nothing else, print out this (Amy G’s) essay {On tree-free or recycled paper} and leave where others might likely read. Fairness Doctrine, and we should have a fair election process with public money to go toward a fair election, let’s make it. Maybe have candidates run with fully public funding. Decide what takes to be a candidate, how candidates communicate (Initially, maybe a required paper and web page essay; options for video / radio / internet; debates, etc). Some way of two way communications that are not controlled by largely unseen influence or stringent rules to fit within commercial TV time frames. With as much as our economy affords of spewing out junk mail, we can afford without new funding, to send every potential voter a packet or series of packets (With electronic option over mailed, but, preferably mailed so maybe have to return front page to be able to vote; only saying that we trust each citizen to educate their self on the election at hand). These ideas may not be developed well; yet, it is not as difficult a process as we are taught.
Do walk away from commercial media. And, at least until we have no need for anything above self-governance, do walk towards something.
Beyond a paycheck, people don’t trust violence. People that often felt oppressed or an outsider often sell fear in what appears to be an intelligent course of actions in (Where percentage of rags to power & riches stories come from) which can breed cycles of violence, submission, and violence. Ignorance creates misplaced trust which creates resentment which feeds fear and oppression which feeds submission for a while; then, often, violence.
Cowardice is why we are headed in the direction we are going, this is right.
Also we are cowards in listening to others (“Leaders“) without trusting what we may know (OR not know) inside and our ability to check things out before we kill, and before we bankrupt ourselves and nature. Not much outspoken words are needed by individuals to say more killing is not right; or that one man (Or even several) should decide what has been decide for millions. Yes, stand up and demand those who lied to sit down or work in the fields. Demand classified documents be very limited in number and, if allowed at all, say 1 year max. Again, look into history of James Wiggins when he took over as Washington Post editor or when he was appointed as a U.N. Ambassador. Look into account of Erwin Griswold’s case concerning freedom of information {Comments Griswold made in 1989, can check out on Wikipedia, search subject Howard Zinn}.
Yes, this country needs to mature. Write into law direct and educated elections that demand a mature country with a mature communications infrastructure to use it beyond entertainment qualities it has largely been degraded too.
Again, bring your thoughts to others, let people have the chance to hear what you know and how you feel; the best way to make “news” broadcasting via biased interests mostly irrelevant.
oops had a problem with edit function, a lot is hard to read. Such as, I should have written:
“Why does this continue through the cycles and aging process of a nation or ideal? Amongst the sheer amount of domestic public spending, their tends to be an amount that allows for most (Not all) basic needs to be taken care of, especially with inherently more directly available oversight in domestic (Not overseas) programs. The problem in domestic public spending is so much of the money is on programs that are way beyond basic needs of a healthy populace and economy, therefore contributing to some ill-health. The amount of public expenditure (Domestic and foreign) eventually will show that the current spending levels are not sustainable to physics of nature’s relating to economy {A more wholistic view of GDP}.”
Well, I should have kept the comment much more brief anyway.
on “Some of Cronkite’s longest lasting (From my perspective) legacy….”; I want to emphasize this is my belief and does not negate the importance of Walter Cronkite’s efforts in reporting, in being vocal on injustices, on being proactive, and on (Pre and post wars) efforts for better ways and understandings. He has continued efforts that are generally well received for their progressiveness; and, continued to do such efforts well beyond what most any of us do. I don’t imply my belief as a measure of professionalism; yet, one based on my perspective of the resulting social interactions with a long time-line of socio-political & economic influences (Including, but not restricted to, focus on commercial TV as medium).
Just a note on Fairness Doctrine.
I feel the major difficulty with this has been the range of subjectivity being (At times) a very foggy thing to apply (Or codify) in a pool within an ocean of divergent perspectives, perceptions, and some disconnectedly biased interests.
A fair (Forgive using same root word) access thru fully public funding of campaigns would nullify need for such a “doctrine.” Use of a variety of media with basic educational (On who a candidate is and what they are about) requirements alongside publicly funded options (Including literacy concerns) could go far in ensuring this is a true educational based process for all.
Only place fairness would be a gray area in such a process / structure, would be “popular citizen” access to media without pay in which issues are understandibly and inevitably discussed. This is where the “options” come in to allow *set* platforms that are well publicized (And listed on first campaign “packet”) to make this a fair and relevant process. {In such a process, kept strong, basic, and timely through structure and public awareness; laws addressing fairness & slander would likely be (To a high degree) “built-in”; and, within such structure and participation, non-truth and unfounded opinion could be relatively quickly winnowed out (Or “Out the window”) in efficient and fair manner.
Quickly, On elections:
Concerning voting, make use of computers wisely. Basic “near solid-state” technology for basic and ease of audits is easily attainable *if* the process is not party politicized. Rough draft, ensure basic computer code for vote tally and audit (I think Paul Bramscher has addressed this issue {Like many voicing and responses to concerns I have read here) well in this forum. Maybe a unique number assigned to each and every vote, with paper trail (Two, maybe three paper receipts). The unique assigned number could give ease of sample audits (Allowing voter choice to build some confidence in the process with phone or internet verifications). Sample audits could give ease for required audits when needs arise. Random and required audits done with more ease built into this process. Computer code audits kept simple by keeping code basic to tally votes with audit tools built-in.
Audits, both by public and private oversight, done strictly at scheduled and random intervals.
{On paper trail, how about a roll kept in machines until election finalized and one or two copies spit out to voter with phone / website info for volunteer audit capabilities).
ATM’s and the like, have been doing similar for decades and the solid state capabilities have been enhanced greatly since those machines’ inception.
Note, my comments on voting process & machines has just a little (Ensuring confidence) to do with recent elections. Given 1992 thru 2000, I didn’t vote for Al Gore; and, think he has found and made an incredible opportunity most heads of states and nations would much rather be in a position such as he currently endeavors on. Respectfully, keep up that hopeful and evident progression Al.
~ Craig Loeffelholz
corretion I need to make on comment of CDLWE June 8th, 2007 8:28 pm.
should have taken time to better express:
Lack of compassion alongside and with ignorance often gives undeserved mistrust and often has misplaced trust & mistrust spread like wildfire in winds of fear. This atmosphere breeds resentment which tends towards more ignorance that feeds more fear and oppression / submission and more violence until…… (something changes or something doesn’t. Way of thinking, way of living…..)