Journalist Jeff Greenfield responded to the ongoing battle from the media this week, when reporting, that the FOX NEW’S DEPARTMENT is being accused of being the research and communication’s arm of the Republican Party. He also says that “. . . Fox’s bottom-line has increased 13% since Obama came into office. So perhaps they are crying all the way to the bank”.
Obama accuses Fox News as appearing “to be more like a talk show format and not a news format”.
There is no question that the Rupert Murdoch owned conglomeration’s opinions predominately favor the far Right Republican agenda. So when the White House decides not to give more fuel to Fox’s perceived negativity and refuses to be on their programs, is this an exercise of free speech? On the other hand, is it an exercise in futility? The points of views coming from the White House will be interpreted as the voice of the Obama Administration no matter what the administration representative says when they appear on FOX. Being fair however, MSNBC has been called the most left in their presentation of Obama’s opinions. So to whom do we listen for the “true news story”? Nevertheless, who would that be?
Where do we find a news source that is truly balanced? Personally, I find I have to listen to them all and weigh what seems “logical”, but I was taught in journalism school and at the LA TIMES that politics are highly hinged in “manipulating emotions and the illusion”.
The "boy (not) in the balloon" story reveals one thing and one thing only: the American mass media, especially the cable channels, including CNN and MSNBC, have forgotten what their purpose in life is: present the news. Not stupid, sensationalist nonsense out of TV land (the family in the Colorado balloon story starred in "Wifeswap") but significant events that might actually affect people's lives. How many 6-year-old boys died today because of violence or malnutrition or disease, around the world? Why did none of the news channels mention them? They weren't from a zany middle class family in a plush suburb of Colorado, perchance? Their father had not invented a flashy, shiny helium balloon that looked like a UFO? CNN are still plugging the story, except it is NOT a story--NOTHING happened! No child died, no one was even in danger. Yet the network, and to their shame MSNBC, cut away from Barack Obama's "town hall meeting in New Orleans in order to show sensational, but as it turns out completely empty and meaningless film of the shiny balloon. This, by the way, after the cable news channels had been incessantly plugging the line that Obama had not shown enough respect to NOLA because he was only spending 4 hours there. But as soon as a shiny object diverts them, the magpies at the cable news channels cut to the shiny UFO and away from Obama answering thoughtful questions about New Orleans' crisis and recovery. Who is showing disrespect for New Orleans, might I ask? A president who fulfills a promise to go to NOLA, even though, God only knows, he has enough things to occupy him, or the news channels, who can't be bothered to stick with the meeting when a balloon (which turns out to be empty) flashes through the Colorado sky? What is it about shiny vehicles (OJ’s SUV for instance) that acts like catnip for TV producers? CNN and MSNBC should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for being suckered into devoting their precious TV time to a non-event. If anyone thought that there was any integrity or intelligence left in the mass media in the USA, then today should have set them right. American news channels have become another form of infotainment, and have nothing to do with keeping the public informed about what they really need to know. Where, might I ask, were the stories about the six-year olds in New Orleans today suffering from poor education, lack of food, or simply lack of safety and prospects? But to report on THAT would have required some intelligence and effort, not the sort of thing, apparently, that CNN or MSNBC (let alone Fox) are interested in. A sad day for the fourth estate, and for democracy.
Have you finally had it with all of the absolutely unbelievable political maneuverings by the fringe right, the lies, the distortions, the twisting of facts, the outright hatred towards our President simply because a minority (yes it's a minority, remember they lost) of our society are unhappy he is our President?
If so, it's time to do something about it.
Remember, when we were "all one" working hard for the would-be-President, to get him elected because we felt for once we had an intelligent person who was running? Well, we were right. He was the best person running. He is the best President we've had in a long time and we're lucky such an honest, caring individual with vision for our future is in office. Given our world situation, we need him now more than ever. Our future depends on him.
But we are no longer supporting him with the fervor as we did, nor are the same numbers of people supporting him.
Can you believe, his poll numbers are dropping? Yes I understand, post the honeymoon period numbers drop. But to this degree and while he's saving our country, maybe our world? The man that inherited the worst our country has ever seen in terms of war, finance, enviornment and more, who is helping us drag ourselves out of this recession and fight two wars he didn't even want - his poll numbers are dropping? The man who has accomplished more in months than others before him accomplished in lifetimes, his poll numbers are dropping? It's ludicrous. It's like Lincoln's or Roosevelt's poll numbers dropping as they were saving our country. But I must remember, we live in a world where Lincoln was assassinated.
I wear my Obama hat and my wife at times tells me to "take it off Steve, you might anger people" Wow, what a world. I might anger people that I support our President. That is the times of our current times, little by little, it's less acceptable to support our President because the fringe right has made it seem so.
As we fall off in numbers, the extreme fringe right takes advantage by spreading hatred and lies. And there seems to be no limit to how crazy of a story that can be spewed and believed by those who want to believe it and spew it. If I wrote such stories in a screenplay, I'd be told to modify my words because it would be unrealistic that the public would believe such nonsense. But apparently, the public's benchmark for naivety knows no bounds when fueled by hatred.
For instance (one tiny example) think about the outrage (yes outrage) regarding President Obama speaking to school children this Tuesday (as though that's a new idea).
President Obama is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He is the mentor of our country the image of our country to the world. He is doing what millions have done before him, speaking to school children. He was elected to lead our country. Get over it fringe right, he gets to lead. You lost.
The cynicism and hatred that drives those who dislike President Obama so much, so as to try to make speaking to school children seem as anything more than what it is, an attempt to inspire and lead our children, is beyond my understanding.
People say, is President Obama's speech to children "political?" Well, he is a politician, he is the President of the United States and yes he will weigh the pros and cons of his every action (as will the world), so I guess he'll weigh the politics of his actions, but that doesn't mean that everything he does, because it's weighed, is a sham or diabolical as some are actually seriously suggesting.
The fringe right who are the strategic architects of the nonsense we hear every day on so called "news" have lost all credibility to argue against anything. Even if they had a legitimate complaint, it's lost in the shuffle of their ludicrous positions and lies.
So, let's start writing, talking, doing - not taking this anymore.
And by the way, I hate to say, "I told you so", but my video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4srDYEPoqo
"Yes We Can (Change our Destiny), which I produced for the inaugural, was written because I feared that we'd lose the spirit of optimism, that phenomenon of involvement that occurred during the election. To some degree, we have. So be re-inspired. Pass the link on
and get others re-inspired.
Don't take this anymore, because as the famous phrase says,
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing”
This is the year 2009 right? And next year is 2010! I just needed to know. I needed to know because if you listen to FOXNEWS or Rush Limbaugh or Shawn Hannity or any of the conservative / republican talk shows (and most republican politicians) you’d think it was 1984!Not “the real” 1984, when the Celtics beat the Lakers for the NBA championship but George Orwell’s make believe “1984.”In this “1984”, FOXNEWS is the FicDep or Fiction Department. Rush Limbaugh is Parsons: “a fattish but active man of paralyzing stupidity, a mass of imbecile enthusiasms—one of those completely unquestioning, devoted drudges on whom…the stability of the Party depended…." Republican Party elected officials make up the Ministry of Truth. While the voting members of the Republican Party play the role of the Proles. Oh yeah, Ronald Regan is Big Brother—a fictional leader. This is the only way one can explain the mindlessness of the Conservative / Republicans.They speak in Orwellian BlackWhite: “ The ability to accept whatever "truth" the party puts out, no matter how absurd it may be." Orwell described it as:"...loyal willingness to say black is white when party discipline demands this. It also means the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know black is white, and forget that one has ever believed the contrary." This so perfectly describes the current state of the Conservative / Republican party that if you didn’t know better it would be hard to believe that everything I just attributed to them came from a book written in the 1940’s.How else do you account for the fact that they twist the truth and blame President Obama for EVERYTHING that THEY do. And by the way, just like in the book, the…” titular head (of the Conservative / Republican Party) is a person whose whereabouts nobody knows." The latest rendition of “blackwhite” is this notion that somehow President Obama is responsible for a racist neo-nazi, white supremacist, shooting up the Holocaust Museum.
They say it’s because Obama is dividing the country.
Some are even suggesting that it was all a hoax created by—OBAMA?
A black Security Guard is killed in a Jewish Holocaust Museum and—OBAMA DID IT!
People… the Conservative / Republican Party has moved into a fictional and very dangerous world.
GOD please protect President Obama.
Five single-payer protestors arrested. And so it begins. MSNBC’s Ken Strickland reported the arrest of five protesters at a Senate hearing on healthcare reform. Why am I not surprised? It seems the Senate Finance Committee had a roundtable discussion with “experts” but declined to invite physicians or nurses. So, they invited themselves.
25 nurses stood up wearing red shirts with signs taped on their backs that read “Nurses say patients first. Pass single payer.” They stood for five minutes, turned their backs and walked out silently. Message received. However, shortly thereafter, the physicians had another agenda. Someone shouted, “We want guaranteed healthcare. We’re tired of private insurance” leading to their arrests. The chaos reminded me of the refrain from the 1976 movie, Network: “I’m mad as hell; and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Something has to give.
I implore all Americans to beg the following questions: Why does an IUD in Egypt cost $20.00 but the American version $400.00? Retin A cost $10.00 in a Mexican drugstore but $95.00 in a U.S. pharmacy. God bless Wal-Mart for the $4.00 generic drugs. And thank you Publix for your free drugs as well but it’s still not enough although every little bit DOES help.
I’m presently in the midst of a pitched battle with a local hospital who “sold” my bill to a New York City commercial bank with an interest rate of ten percent. I’m determined to pay it in full. They will NOT profit from my pain and suffering.
I encourage all of my colleagues to be relentless and ride this train to the end of the line. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? It’s time for us to take back our profession.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch.htm
lhttp://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch2.html
Yes, fellow travelers!
We TOO can experience the wonders of Obamian Socialist Ideals.
Much like the ones that created the modern 'middle'class"...
It was called the GI BILL of Rights I believe.
It socialistically allowed people who might otherwise not ever have afforded it-- to own a first house.
Yes, the evil totalitarian socialists (the post ww ii government) hatched the insidious plot.
We're in RUIN this very day due to it.
Damn poor people got houses, got cocky and uppity and began investing in stocks!!!!
Oh, tis a tangled and odious weave we web....when Stalin comes a knockin'
Beware! Beware!
If Obama keeps up more people might own houses!!!!
Get yer pitchforks and meet me at the church at midnight!!!
(oops, I forgot...newt and rush can't use hand tools and besides they got a dinner party tonight)
There goes the revolution!
Now the damn fish are addicted to tea and i got 5,000 pitchforks i can't sell.
Maybe I'll loan em to some real people so they can pitch that line of crap out of the way before we all get it on our shoes.
So, we leave the reader, agape at Rush and Gingrich's 'paper-revolt"...a document written on
toilet paper...and head, fearful of socialism but contrite that our country
is much too spoiled and lazy to ever adapt to it, into the brave new world of twitter.
(yes, and scrap that "meeting at the church" too! WAY, way too socialist for twiddle and dee)
bow--wooo!
What is bias in the middle east conflict? [March, 2009]
Arabs’ racist killing (specifically) Jews *, is accepted “freedom fighting’'.
Israelis worried of Arab terror *, branded as “racists”.
*
War crimes, crimes against humanity by Palestinian Arab leadership - regime in Gaza * * * of using Arab civilians, making sure their kids die, for the “greater good (Jihadi-fascism’s goodness) of making Israel look bad…” * * * * * * *, using hospitals *, schools, UN medical vehicles * *, even aid material sent by humanitarian Israel * for murder, targeting at Israeli civilians, - shoved aside, ignored *.
Israel’s humane army’s extreme measures not to hit civilians (including 250,000 warning phone calls to Arab residents to evacuate a particular area designated to be included in an op., knowing full well terrorists can cease the opportunity and flea, as well as risking young soldiers’ lives in going door to door) * * * * aiming only at Hamas terrorists is denounced of “random shooting” and “war crimes”.
[Arab led pressure forcing Israel to conduct] Uprooting Jews from their homes and their ancestors’, AKA Transfer * * AKA Arab Palestinian Apartheid * is “good for peace”.
Transfer of Arabs (who don’t have more than 2 or 3 generations of history in Judea / Israel / Palestine * * * *) is “apartheid, fascist and racist” * (AKA Avigdor Lieberman).
While Hamas or even “Moderate” Fatah refuses to recognize Israel *, international aid is flowing their way.
UN is “busy” condemning Israel * * on whatever is being told (forced) by the global Arab Muslim oil lobby.
Hello friends,
I am just going to let you how my first time as an event's Host went. To tel you the truth it was not like I expected it to be, but I learned from it, and next time I will be more prepared. We went to a K-Mart store located in Bellflower on Rosescrans and McNab , CA and we could not hand out pledges because for them to let us do so, we have to contact their headquaters, and since it was week-end headquaters was close. Also I expected 8 people who sign up for the event, , and only 6 peoples showed up, only 3 was from the signed up list. and I am wondering if there is something that I did wrong or if the event was not advertized enough. How do people actually get more people. The weather was not favorable so we could not really do much. but it was my first time I guess, I hope next time will be better. I am counting on any of your advises, strategies in how you made your event more successfull. I will be reading your post with interest.
Thank you
Salma
Whoa! The Pentagon seems serious about this: Pentagon to detail military to bolster security; Plan would dedicate 20,000 uniformed troops inside U.S. by 2011 -- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27989275/
What is Citigroup talking about with the gold??? Citigroup says gold could rise above $2,000 next year as world unravels -- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3526645/Citigroup-says-gold-could-rise-above-2000-next-year-as-world-unravels.html. They've been bailed out already! *Errgh!*
See also: Vid clip from Democracy Now! Seriously??? (http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/emk/gGgYfB)
EMK
Here is an open letter and 10 cents worth to Timothy Geithner, President of the New York Federal Reserve. Just don’t tell me we are not a corrupt financial bunch.
The amount of money our banks are required to keep in reserve, relative to the amount they are able to loan out, have increased dramatically from 1:15 per actual monetary value to 1:30, and in some cases, even more. Who makes up these rules?
The day before the 9/11/2001 Donald Rumsfeld declared a war on the money waste at the Pentagon and proclaimed it “War on Waste”, armed with stacks of paper work questioning $2.3 trillion, according to Vince Gonzales on a CBS’s “Eye on America” expose. Gonzales said that 2.3 trillion was equivalent to $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America.
Visit this site: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU
The video will tell you that Jim Minnery of the Defense Department was reassigned when he tried to expose the path of financial allegations at the Pentagon; Franklin C. Spinney, a Dept of Defense analyst, claimed that the numbers for various budgets were “pie in the sky” and never added up. Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan (ret) U.S. Navy asked for oversight in the Pentagon Budget while question $48 billion spent by Pentagon officials. Rumsfeld’s War was interrupted and we have never heard anything more about the escaping billions in the Pentagon’s war chest. Could these same individuals or tactics be what we are witnessing on Wall Street and now affecting Main Street USA?
We have been masking financial chicanery by calling it “derivates”, “subprimes” and “swaps”. In the late 1989’s we called them “junk bonds”. Bush’s new Christian politicians had a baptismal and are calling it them in 2008 “derivatives and swaps”. Neal Bush, his brother, was involved in the savings and loans debacle and so was Jeb of Florida, but the media doesn’t seem to mention this and did Bush before he starts pointing fingers forget the family connection. Dress it up and you call it “Platinum Plungers”, look at the DOW members who are affected by these “pieces of paper”, “High yields” or “risk instruments”,
Bush said unequivocally, the lower middle and poor income Americans are the blame for the catastrophic financial situation affecting the world. Homeowners who exaggerated their incomes, bank accounts, job and credit history purchased brand new homes with escalating interest rates but no money down for the first three to five years (depending on the offering). Mortgage brokers wrote the loans that exaggerated the income, job, bank accounts and credit history of the homeowners. Banks officials accepted the loans that the mortgage brokers wrote that exaggerated the income, job, bank accounts and credit history of the homeowners. Loan bankers took the paper and sold to larger American and foreign banks. These banks in turn bundled these papers as derivatives that the bank officers bundled that were the mortgages of the homeowners. Didn’t anyone notice the sudden rush of individuals and families moving into these brand new developments at unheard of numbers, suspect that something was either “on fire” or “slightly unsual activity” during an economic time that was otherwise relatively flat? Don’t tell me we are not a corrupt financial bunch.
So if these homeowners didn’t have the opportunity to purchase these brand new homes at these extra ordinary rates then, who would have purchased them? Why did the developers build so many units during the time in question and not question how they were going to be able to sell the units? Is there something that the developers knew that the homeowners didn’t know? And didn’t the developers have to find the line of credit to build these huge developments unless they knew that the market was prime for such buyers? So everyone always points their fingers to “the other guy”?
The rest of the world is weaning away from us. We say look north, and the rest of the world knows to look south. We scorched South America and Russia this way which is why they pay attention to our game playing and these people know because we have demoralized their economies and have harmed their financial outlooks. We are not to be trusted.
Using the example of the Philippines, under the guises of spiritually we robbed them materially. We go over to the Islands with the missionaries and ministers and give the natives a few pieces of silver. With the intelligence and knowledge gathered of the area we then send in the business negotiators. We went in demonizing their people, demanding their land and capital resources, militarizing some of their people by providing clothing, shelter, transportation and ensuring that those that we had embraced did in fact deserve more, although the morality and control we held on these chosen few did our bidding and were compensated. This division caused many Filipinos to become jealous, greedy and to fight over market shares.
Don’t tell me we are not a corrupt financial bunch.
Our economic future seems to be unraveling a Ponzi scheme and we may never know the pathetic individuals who started it, because they have liquidated their assets, taken their money out of the situation, and run out of the deal. Meantime, we obviously must know they are the ones who can also afford to buy the economic assets at 10 cents on the dollar, receive tax credits to boot under the guises of “helping to stimulate the economy that they originally destroyed”.
The Byzantine Chronicle leads us to an Asian village where this mad woman is walking the streets. She has in one hand a brassier of burning flaming coals, and on the other hand she has a pale of water. So obviously people are asking her, “What are you doing?” She says that she is burning down heaven and extinguishing hell.
Those that sold the mortgages started toe dancing in 2003 and kept expanding and pretty soon they got to the point that the bankers took the limits off. Now those limits have exponentially raised the bottom line beyond corruption. How do you do this and not arrange security on what you are doing? This is no longer merely just an incident of corruption but has become a deliberate effort to destroy the banking system as we know it. This is a rationalization for privatizing the banking system.
I was reading that in 2004 or right about then, that Obama made a presentation to the owners of the automobile industry. He indicated to them that they should alter their auto planning and reorganize for “green industry”. Industry leaders didn’t listen to the skinny young kid with the dumb name from Chicago Illinois or appreciate him telling them what he recommended that they do. Then 4 years later that same skinny young kid with the funny name is now running the country and they have to come with hat in hand asking for his assistance to keep their companies running. Pride comes before a fall, but they arrived in private Lear jets. So to think that they weren’t paying attention to this guy, they must be putting their heads together now saying,
“It wouldn’t have cost us much to be nice to the kid, who now holds our industry’s future in his hands and the 3.5 million people we represent.” Don’t you believe it was only fair that they should have come with their own plans in their hands instead of expecting to receive a $25 billion dollar check? Yes, you walk into a room with millionaires and billionaires, who hold clout with the industry. They believed they had all the aces and to some extent they do, but they didn’t expect “the no”. They had buffaloed him before and now they have been taken aback. Four years ago he didn’t have the power and permission, but now he is President of the United States. Could Obama, with Pelosi’s help, just be allowing them to stew in their own mess? Well, the odds of Obama at that time having any significant influence were very small and the likelihood of his rising any faster was also unknown. But didn’t anyone tell the industry leaders to pay attention and to set aside their arrogance and down right rudeness. Don’t tell me we are not a corrupt financial bunch.
So, I’d rather see Obama take that $8,000 per every man woman and child and send us a bonus check at tax time and let’s see how fast that kick starts the American economy since no one questioned it in 2001 and then call Rumsfeld back to follow the Pentagon trail and find out who started this financial mess.
It's a great opportunity to permanently get off foreign oil by getting the big three to create green cars:
Stipulations for Big 3 Government Aid:
Step 1: Require loan applicant to come up with a modern and extremely detailed business plan including employee pay and benefits, as well as a time horizon for developing a practical fleet of clean, oil free autos.
Step 2: No management or executive pay shall be derived from the loans. Loans are to be used for R & D (with detailed weekly progress reports or funding is pulled), worker compensation, care, and benefits, advertising, and building materials.
Step 3: Funding will be granted on an "as needed" basis and all allocations must be requested from the government monthly. The government will issue individual checks to employees and contractors employees directly.That's It..
Give them a time horizon to get it done. 5 years should suffice and those rich executives will have the incentive to turn a profit in order to get paid anything! They do have the choice to quit. Let this be a model to expanding the "greening" of our infastructure to:
1. Wind turbine production and installation companies
2. Solar Power Companies
3. Road and Bridge Improvements
4. GeoThermal
5. Other Great New Clean Energy Inventions
Josh Needleman BA
(Musician, Composer, Tutor, Philosopher)
The historic election is over and the new administration is in the process of recruiting members for key positions.
It is still important to reflect on the role of media and news organization in this electoral process.
Extreme media bias towards one candidate and overwhelmingly condescending against another caused a great deal of frustration, anger and disappointment among the electorate.
The anti-media sentiments reverberated all over the cyberspace.
Media hype was intense during the Democratic Primary election.
Since I was vigorously involved during that time, I have great memories that will remain part of me for a long time.
There were several incidents but some of them have a greater impact on individuals, more severely than others do.
Mainly due to the smear tactics and negative attacks hurled on people like me entering the political campaign for the first time as surrogates, representatives or grass root supporters.
One particular incident is worth the spotlight because it is about the media personalities conducting themselves as the world authority in all matter especially the political race such as the Presidential election.
Ironically, in this Presidential election they were repeatedly wrong with both Democratic and Republican nominees.
Why?
They followed the conventional wisdom and failed to see or accept new possibilities and developments.
Only to steer course once the tide turned in a different direction sweeping anything and everything on the way.
The spotlight is precisely on MSNBC.
The network that took lot of heat from the public and rightfully so, for being excessively in favor of Obama Campaign in an unprecedented appeasement of the candidate then, Senator Barack Obama.
It is noteworthy that MSNBC initially rejected the candidate Senator Barack Obama against their preferred candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton.
Likewise, the venerable New York Times endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton way back on January 25, 2008 as the “IDEAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.” and
Emphasizing that President-elect Barack Obama was not qualified in that respect,
Quoted by the recent Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman through national and international telecast on CNN.
I was devastated to note the hasty decision by a leading and the most respectable news organization such as New York Times.
Immediately, I made my first and only contact with the cable media outlet, Free Speech and World Link Television expressing my emotion on the endorsement.
Here is extract of the email titled The Moment of Truth sent to Amy Goodman of Free Speech Television on January 25, 2008, 12.22P.M PST , in that context:
“This morning the endorsement by New York Times is another way of indicating that Senator Clinton will be the future President of the United States.
Senator Clinton made many overtures in her recent T.V talk show appearances that I should go away and abandon the Obama campaign to suppress the Iraq war issue finally.
The impression I have is,
If Senator Obama becomes the nominee, there is absolutely no turning back for him as he would win the general election.”
———————————————-
In reality, what exactly happened prior to our President-elect Barack Obama establishing himself as a formidable candidate in the election is attention worthy.
First, my personal experience with MSNBC goes back to the days when the incumbent administration laid out the strategy to sell the unpopular Iraq war to the public and the United Nations.
I happened to be one of the unfortunate victims of mandatory public opinion survey superficially conducted by the administration to gain public support for the illegal invasion of Iraq.
This matter verified and confirmed truthful by the Institute for Public Policy, a non-profit organization, following the claim in my blog post during the Democratic Primary election.
With the relentless pro-Iraq war rally from networks such as MSNBC and FOX, the administration successfully launched their mission.
Although, there were other major networks equally involved in drumming their support for the Iraq war…
MSNBC displayed no qualms in abruptly eliminating dissent like the popular and visibly democratic, none other than their own talk show host, Mr. Phil Donahue.
My first unpleasant experience with MSNBC is regarding the anti-Iraq war message conveyed to the administration in response to the mandatory survey.
In my statement, I clearly emphasized the blunder by the administration on their commitment to wage war against Iraq and,
The consequences ensuing in terms of loss of lives, economic costs, national reputation and everything else that followed the disastrous war.
The born again liberal MSNBC demonized and targeted me as anti-patriotic with spam mail flooding my Inbox.
Further, the obscene materials via virus corrupted my database, forcing me to abandon the hard disk for a new one.
It was nothing short of homegrown terrorism for my anti-war position.
It is important to cite the article by Victor Davis Hanson, A senior fellow at the Hoover Institution,
Ref. San Jose Mercury News, November 13, 2008.
The article quotes “Most polls reveal that American voters believed that their media was biased in favor of Obama.
The popular journalist Chris Matthews even bragged that it was his job responsibility to see that Obama succeeds.” ———————————————————————-
Chris Matthews brags about his support to Obama during the election.
It might be the case but the evidence is against such claim.
Chris Matthews threw his weight not until the candidate Barack Obama proven the Democratic nominee against all odds.
Mr. Chris Matthews clearly knows about what this is.
During the fiercely battled Democratic Primary election, Nevada Primary & Caucus held on Saturday, January 19, 2008.
I published the following blog post that morning 4.19 am EST, my time 1.19am PST causing fury and anger among the Clinton campaign and their surrogates in the media, especially Chris Matthews of MSNBC.
Post from Padmini Arhant’s Blog: - www.my.barackobama.com
Electability Factor By "Voice behind the movement" - Jan 19th, 2008 at 4:19 am EST
Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content Electability Factor:
The voters should focus on the electability factor when casting the vote in the primaries for their respective candidates.
The candidate, who can eventually lead the Democratic Party to victory in the general election in November 2008, will be the ideal nominee.
There will be various issues discussed and debated between the two parties during the general election.
Given the track record of the Republican Party in the general election, the Democratic Party would be well positioned with a candidate voting against the Iraq war.
Senator Barack Obama had consistently opposed the Iraq war.
He voted for the funding of the Iraq war to protect the interest and security of our brave young men and women in harm’s way and enable Iraq stabilize as a sovereign nation ultimately leading to the withdrawal of our troops.
The illegitimate Iraq war has been a major catastrophe for our national economy, security, credibility to deal with International crisis, and our image as the leader of the new world.
The Republican Party nominee voting for the Iraq war could be challenged and held accountable by the Democratic Party nominee voting against the war.
The victory strategy for the Democratic Party in the general election should be on the premise of Iraq war to honor the sacrifice by brave young men and women who lost their lives and all those currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The victory for Democratic Party would then truly represent the ‘real change’ against the ’status quo’ or the establishment.
Padmini Arhant - Copyrights reserved
OBAMA SUPPORTER
————————————————————
To emphasize again, the blog post created enormous outrage with the Clinton campaign bitterly complaining about my attempt to influence the election negatively on that date.
As usual, mainstream media lend support to the power and establishment expresses their reaction in a manner to warn a private citizen like myself to stay off the campaign trail.
Like the BET CEO, Mr. Robert Thompson a close Clinton surrogate, with his exclusive appearance on–
The Situation Room, hosted by Mr. Wolf Blitzer, on CNN specifically advised me by referring to me as,
The “woman of color” to cease my campaigning for the candidate then, Senator Barack Obama.
The Nevada Primary was won by Senator Hillary Clinton.
President-elect Barack Obama had the caucus victory.
The MSNBC coverage on Saturday, January 19, 2008, the day Nevada results was declared, is evidence to the outburst of a media commentator against a private citizen.
Chris Matthews, in particular admonished me directly by wagging his finger and in uttermost condemnation of my interference in the Presidential election.
He said, “This is not a horse race for betting. It is a serious Presidential race.
Individuals with no knowledge or experience should stay out of political campaigns.”
It was a clear indication that individuals like me have no place in politics or public forum.
The sentiment was shared by another MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell who initially tried to remain objective during the discussion with Clinton aid about that particular blog post that morning.
However, she later on made a bizarre remark about a possible substance abuse by me because of my daring attempts to envision a future with an African American Presidency.
Only, if Andrea Mitchell would have played a similar role in critiquing her spouse and the ex-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan,
Equally responsible for neglecting the warnings of the economic turmoil that nearly brought the domestic and international financial markets on the brink of collapse,
The recent bailouts may not have been necessary. Thankfully, we are living in a technology driven age, where such incidents cannot possibly be buried in a time capsule with a hope of never being found until it becomes irrelevant.
All these blatant attacks and innuendoes were to demoralize me and debilitate my effort in spreading the message of our movement.
I owe my passion, commitment and drive to get further involved in the campaign to my children especially my eleven-year-old child.
He encouraged me to stand up to partisan politics and send a strong message to commentators like Chris Matthews, Andrea Mitchell and the likes,
That, ordinary people can do extraordinary things in life.
In fact, he was targeted as well with a nickname sidekick by the President-elect Barack Obama’s opponents for his exceptional role in exploiting the web technology with the publication of my blog posts.
My son’s advice to me was, not to rest until Senator Barack Obama is elected "The President" Barack Obama. I am glad and proud of my son’s advice to fight against the odds given the extreme stressful situation at that time.
Surely, children have a better sense of rationality enabling them to behold a different vision for the world.
They realize the burden on them with respect to the national debt, credibility and financial security as future taxpayers of the economy.
Prior to the election coverage, MSNBC’s show –
The Countdown by Keith Olbermann targeted the American idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar and
Sadistically mocked him almost on a daily basis to survive competition with condescending remarks through critic like Maria Melito.
Maria Melito in her brutal attack against Sanjaya Malakar claimed that the reason for Sanjaya to gain unprecedented votes was because…
“The people of his ethnicity i.e. India, voting for him never had anyone rise to the hall of fame in history.” Sadly, such comment reflected ignorance as anyone born on Planet Earth, should know the ancient Indus valley civilization which is India is not new to fame and wisdom.
The land in South East Asia is the origin and birth place of celestial beings like the Holy Lord Krishna, Holy and Graceful Gautama Buddha and sentient beings of the twentieth century such as Mahatma Gandhi –
The noble soul, the light of the world, the mentor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Nelson Mandela, preached and practiced non-violence, peace and unity that are oxy-moron in the contemporary world.
Not excluding other notable scholars like Nobel laureates…
The Poet Rabindra Nath Tagore for literature in 1913 and DR. Har Gobind Khorana for Physiology or Medicine in 1968 to name a few.
Besides, Sanjaya Malakar fan base sprawled across the social spectrum as demonstrated by his young admirer, Ashley Ferl awestruck during his performance.
Young Ashley Ferl, was in return summoned to the Senate for rigorous interrogation by the elected officials…
Prioritizing investigation of genuine admiration for a young performer on the national stage over serious issues like Abu Ghraib, Katrina and deliberate exposure of CIA overt operative Mrs. Valerie Plaim.
To revert to the article by Victor Davis Hanson, ref. San Jose Mercury News, Nov 13, 2008, titled — “The kind of real ‘hope and change’ we can believe in for next year”
“The media, meanwhile should be careful not to abandon fairness and discretion for short-term political advantage.
When the wheel turns - and it too, always does - what you did or said will come back to haunt you.”
I could not agree more with the affirmation.
I hope Chris Matthews and others learned a lesson or two from this historic political event. When Change occurs, it happens all around much to the dismay of those consumed with fallacy and egocentrism regardless of the empire they reign. The mainstream, far left and right media as well as some news organization with an exception of cable network like –
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”, “The Colbert Report” and “The Late Night Shows”, Failed to meet the journalistic standards of objectivity and professionalism required in the presentation of views and analysis of any events particularly a Presidential election or for that matter, serious missions like the war.
The role of MSNBC and FOX in their relentless bashing of the candidates from both political aisles successfully drove the viewers to the cyberspace in search of…
Truth and Transparency desperately sought by people of the human race.
Whether it is young Sanjaya Malakar reaching for the stars or young Senator from the State of Illinois, President-elect Barack Obama successfully taking a shot at the highest office on land,
Their audacity of hope was challenged with rhetoric filled with racial slur, negative attacks and divisive politics to deny them the spotlight.
It is admirable that both individuals displayed a decorum signifying unity and poise seen unlike before in dealing with excessive criticism from the entities exhibiting power in the corporate media and Public office.
United States is a nation of immigrants from all over the world.
Any social progress to the satisfaction of all those feeling disfranchised is attainable only if the media and the elected officials recognize their share of responsibility in the service to democracy.
Further, the author of the cited article, Mr. Victor Davis Hanson, concluded with the following passage:
“Obama and his giddy Democratic majority sound like they think they will now be novel exceptions to these iron laws of politics, as if they really believe their hype that they are the “change” we have been waiting for, with cosmic power to stop the planet from heating and the seas from rising.
But the only real difference from the past old politics is that the present avatars of “hope and change” apparently don’t believe that the age-old adage - “The more things change, the more they remain the same” - will really apply to them as well.”
————————————————————–
It does not require the cosmic power to stop the planet form heating and the seas from rising.
It is doable by the ordinary human power to respect life in general and act responsibly for their survival now and in the future.
Failing that,
Perhaps the cosmic power could influence the resisting human nature to preserve and protect the ecological balance necessary for the sustenance of the planet.
As for the age-old adage referenced above applying to the present avatars of ‘Hope and Change”, It entirely depends on the agents of change and their target.
The age-old adage applies to those involved in cosmetic change rather than fundamental change, the ultimate goal and mission of the present avatars of “Hope and Change.”
Cosmetic change is delusional and beneficial for short-term gains affecting a selective few, hence it yields “more of the same” result.
Whereas, fundamental change target the philosophy of the institution as the sovereign power and,
Therefore, it is real, long lasting and universal.
As per the Hindu mythology, Almighty God Shiva is depicted the
“Lord of Destruction.”
Destruction is Deliverance for a New beginning with a divine commitment to depart from the age-old adage towards new-era prophecy, a divergence from
“The Oscillating Pendulum.” –
The significance and the sole purpose of the avatars of “Hope and Change.”
Thank you.
Padmini Arhant
Dear Friends:
To those of you who so kindly congratulated me for Tuesday’s election outcome, as if Barack Obama’s victory resulted from my personal and deeply committed efforts. I thank you for your generous comments.
To those who may have wondered how I fared in “radio silence” for six weeks on the Ohio battleground. Be assured that I survived.
To those who do not know me or are unfamiliar with my previous descriptions of the realities and ironies of the 2008 election. What follows is the final chapter of my life as a political activist, a missionary for democracy, an apostle of Change. Hopefully you will also understand how it is that for the first three nights after I returned home I woke up from the same dream in which I wander nameless streets in search of faceless voters.
The Buckeye State
On September 23 I joined the Ohio Campaign for Change as a member of its newly created Vote Corps. The invitation had warned of 14-hour days, seven days a week, right up through Election Day. I accepted because the Obama campaign considered this important enough to make it a paid position and because it was in the one state McCain had to win to become President.
I left home certain that my life experiences -- in retail sales, as diplomat and political officer, and Obama volunteer in seven states – would be useful in the Buckeye State. Stopping at Starbucks on the way out of Burlington that Sunday morning, I noticed the first trace of red on the outer edge of a leaf on a small maple tree in the parking lot. I realized that by the time I returned to Vermont the leaf peepers would have come and gone. Fortunately, it turned out to be a mild autumn in Ohio that showcased the Buckeye State’s own colorful foliage.
The Akron Vote Corps
A hundred of us reported to Columbus for Vote Corps training and by the first night we were already deployed across the state. I was assigned to the city of Akron, birthplace of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and Pretenders’ singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde, who wrote about her birthplace in “My City Was Gone”. The Akron Campaign for Change Office was headed by Regional Field Director Max Lesko. In charge of Summit and Portage Counties, he proved himself a very capable and genial manager. My hosts, Cathy and David, and their daughter Nicky, lived in a northwest suburb. Their friendship and cozy accommodations would be my home for the next six weeks.
At first the Akron Vote Corps consisted of six whites, from metropolitan DC, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas and California. Like most of the Obama staff and volunteers I met during the primaries, they were young and well-educated. In fact, I was two-and-a-half times their average age. By the end of the second week we lost one and gained five new members. Our new team-mates were all African Americans, from California, Texas and Georgia. Their average age was early forties and many had worked on the Kerry campaign. One of my first initiatives was to buy half a dozen fingerless gloves for our new friends from the warm weather states. Our Vote Corps was rounded out by a “Lead,” a young lawyer from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s Washington staff.
The Vote Corps’ mission was to register voters, identify supporters and get out the vote for Barack Obama. Our primary targets were “Sporadics,” first time voters and people who voted Democratic in the past, but did not always turn out. For a while we were also instructed to knock on every single door in a targeted neighborhood. I successfully resisted attempts to create competition within our group for most doors knocked, “Doors” being the campaign’s primary measure for the work accomplished by staff and volunteers. My feeling was that competition focused on this imperfect metric would distort our effort, demoralize some members of our group, and sacrifice quality for quantity. For in the end, the real measure of our success would be the vote count on Election Day. And to that end, it was our diligence after the “knock” that would help determione the outcome.
Registration
Our first task was registering new voters and re-registering people who had moved before the deadline of October 6. We knocked on doors and scoured bus stops and other public places to register as many people as possible. Most people were already registered, as they clearly understood the importance of this election. Those who had not yet done so enthusiastically signed up, particularly in the African-American community. My first Saturday in Akron, I missed my first grandchild’s first birthday party back in Virginia. But my reward on that day was registering many first-time voters, including former felons who had recently regained the rights of other free men and women.
Many of our Sporadics were transients who frequently moved from one run-down Akron neighborhood to another. This city was in decline for a long time, and the recent economic downturn just aggravated conditions. In older residential neighborhoods there are a growing number of abandoned homes or houses soon to be vacated due to lost jobs or foreclosure. Many porches are marked by hand-painted signs announcing “Copper Already Stolen” or littered with trash by people who have given up. It is in this environment that we spread our message of Hope and Change.
Starting on September 30, we entered “golden week” when voters could both register and vote early. Ohio’s new rules allowed “no fault” early voting by absentee ballot or in person. A single polling place was created for Summit County at the Job Center in northeast Akron. The Job Center is well-known, because job losses have been ongoing for many years. The building, also known by locals as “the old library,” is next to another landmark, the County’s Auto Title Office. For those without cars, bus number 12 took people there from downtown in 15 minutes.
Early Voting
Registration and early voting at the Job Center was very convenient. Open every day, including Saturday and Sunday, there were 50 polling booths and seating for voters waiting for their paper ballots. But many Ohioans, especially African Americans disenfranchised in previous elections were suspicious. They worried that ballots were going to “disappear,” as reportedly happened in 2004 in Cuyahoga County. Overcoming these legitimate concerns required some persuasion. Our most important argument was: “Barack Obama wants his supporters to vote early.” That usually did it. We helped to spread the word that this process would protect, not suppress voting rights. And by November 3, the daily early vote turnout had grown from hundreds to thousands, the wait from 15 minutes to three hours.
By my third week I had developed a routine for creating a multiplier effect in conversation with early voters. Once they had made an Early Vote Commit, I introduced community organizing techniques to build on the widespread desire to help Obama get elected. Within the family, a grandparent or parent, or maybe the principal driver would agree to take responsibility for getting the entire household to vote early. I also encouraged voters to take along a relative or friend, or a neighbor who needed a ride.
Finally, I would make the following pitch:
“I’m working for Obama and I want you to work for him too. So I’m going to deputize you. No badge, no pay, just the satisfaction of knowing you helped to elect Barack Obama."
That always earned a smile. Then I continued:
"Now I'm sure you know someone who wouldn’t vote unless you drag their lazy a-- to the Job Center to vote. Do you know anyone like that?”
I could tell when they were hooked. Eyes turned skyward. Faces revealed minds thinking of who they would get to early vote. A knowing smile indicated they knew exactly who they would take along. In closing I urged them to let everyone know how easy it was to vote at the Job Center and that Obama wanted them to do so. By the time I left their door, the early voter had been empowered and had taken ownership of the Obama campaign. Now it was their campaign too.
Get Out The Vote
During our last week in Ohio, the Vote Corps was dissolved. We were detailed to assist Field Organizers with their neighborhood teams of volunteers, which were part of the Ohio get out the vote (GOTV) strategy at the precinct level.
I was assigned to Barberton to work for Sol, an energetic field organizer from Texas. My main “turf” was the south Akron neighborhood of Kenmore. Unlike my earlier work with Sporadics in largely African American neighborhoods, I was instructed to “persuade” and “motivate” the remaining “Undecided” voters. But with Election Day closing in fast, there would only be minutes to talk to any single voter.
In Barberton and Kenmore, the Undecideds were predominantly white, working class Democrats. Most did not want to vote for McCain, but were not yet sure about Barack Obama. I understood their concern. Not only was Obama a relatively new and unknown political personality. Most of these voters had supported Hillary in the March primary. And like voters elsewhere, they were being bombarded with smear emails, Republican mailings about Ayers and NRA propaganda warning Obama would take away their guns.
With openly racist voters there was the curt “Thanks for your time.” But it was not difficult to pull the other undecided voters off the fence, especially with the credibility of being an older white man with a knowledge of history and 23 years of federal service under five US Presidents. These voters knew that Obama and Hillary shared a common policy agenda and that she was campaigning hard for the Democratic ticket. They also recognized Rove tactics and our argument that: “They can’t win with the truth, so they are attacking him with lies.” Second amendment concerns were easily neutralized with Biden’s quote: “No one’s taking away my Beretta.” But the simplest most effective argument was “Are you happy with the way things are going or do you want change?” And Change is what voters wanted more than anything this year.
Election Day
November 3rd and 4th were taken up with the final GOTV effort, primarily distributing door hangers and reminding voters of their polling places. From 3:30 pm on Election Day until it was too dark to read house numbers, I scoured for remaining undecided voters who had yet to cast their ballots. I actually found several and they agreed to go to their local poll station, which by then was no longer crowded.
I was at the Barberton volunteers’ party at Lake Anna Hall when MSNBC announced Ohio for Obama. Having already won Pennsylvania, I knew it was all over except for reaching 270 electoral votes. While happy, I was so physically and mentally exhausted that the victory did not seem real. I headed back to my host family home and watched the candidates’ speeches before turning in and resting for the long drive home. Now as my dreams of knocking on doors in Ohio recede, the enormity of our achievement and the challenges facing Barack Obama are coming into better focus. I have no idea what my next step will be, but I will continue to do what I can to get our country back on the right track.
Epilogue
After 40 days of walking the streets of Summit County, I had knocked on or distributed campaign literature at over 4000 doors.
More importantly, I had in-person conversations with more than 1500 voters and obtained about 1000 Early Vote Commits, which probably understates the number of people who were convinced to go to the Job Center. Along the way I also helped remove several hundred bad addresses from our “Turf,” easing the task of later attempts by volunteers to find our voters.
The Akron Vote Corps’ effort over five weeks contributed greatly to the early vote turnout, which by Election Day totaled 90,000, or fully one-third of the 272,000 ballots cast in Summit County. And while he won Ohio’s 20 electoral votes with 51% of the state’s popular vote, Barack Obama won Summit County with 57.45%.
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Powerful Network Coverage from the Moment We Made History ...
I know that President-Elect Obama has been pretty tight-lipped about his cabinet proposals, but MSNBC has put out some names, though they may not be officially from Obama himself.
Frankly, if you have any better recommendations, feel free to post a reply and tell me why.
Seriously, we don't want to have a lousy, greedy, trigger-happy Cabinet!
Also, how do you think we can get these recommendations to him? I'm not sure he'll be reading these blogs much righ now.
(On a side note, there's some interesting Lieberman developments, for those who are interested.)
P.S.: Keep reading up on all the issues from as many sources as you can, and don't be afraid of seeing a diversity of opinions on the matter, as the best solutions will come from that diversity of thought. Besides, Obama needs a Cabinet with a diversity of thought as well as a diversity of party/field/background.
Lata,
“Mad about The One. The US media have been captivated by Obama, at the expense of their curiosity and scepticism.”
This is the title of an article by Harold Evans in The Guardian on November 1, 2008. He resorts to the bias he decries in his one-sided column. I have reproduced it below in its entirety, along with my annotations {…} . Phrases that I comment upon are in boldface.
It's fitting that the cynicism "vote early and vote often" is commonly attributed to Chicago's Democratic boss, mayor Richard Daley, who famously voted the graveyards in 1960 to help put John Kennedy in the White House. In this 2008 race, it's the American media that have voted very early and often. They long ago elected the star graduate of Chicago's Democratic machine, Barack Obama. {Obama is a hardly a “graduate“ of the machine. What about Harvard Law, Columbia, etc.?}
I am not talking of editorials in newspapers, though Obama has the preponderance of the endorsements over John McCain. Obama certainly deserves the credit for recruiting impressive advisers and running a more efficient campaign machine than any one in the US's political history.
What's troubling to anyone old-fashioned enough to care about standards in journalism is the news coverage in mainstream media. Forget the old notions of objectivity, fairness, thoroughness, and so on. The nastiest rumours on both sides haven't been published, but the coverage has been slavishly on the side of "the one". {“Slavish”? Evans’s description.}
I found these three videos to be quite heart felt and thought provoking, perhaps you will too.
The first and third were so deeply touching, but the second was equally as compelling. Never before have I wanted someone to be President more than I do now.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27460577#27460577
