Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Hostile Takeover
I am reading a fascinating book by David Sirota titled "Hostile Takeover." It's all about how the government is run by major corporations. There isn't really anything shocking in the book to me. We all know the government is run by corrupt politicians. It does however go in to great detail how deeply our politicians are in bed with big corporations. Basically, the United States government was set up as the ideal working government. However, especially since the 1970s, politicians have gone out of their way to destroy our great government and country. Almost every law passed is mainly for the purpose of helping some corporation. It's really quite sad. I would highly recommend this book. It makes you realize why someone like John McCain suddenly changes his position on off-shore drilling. Hello big oil money! And yes...some of McCain's prior shady dealings our outlined in the book.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Offshore Drilling
Much has been made lately about offshore drilling. John McCain has even changed his position on the subject (hello big oil money). Again...politicians don't get what needs to be done! We don't need more oil, we need alternatives to oil! Of course, they probably realize what needs to be done...but that wouldn't be good business for their buddies in the oil business. The oil companies have had the propaganda machine churning for years. It continues with the latest bashing of ethanol. They have been quite successful in spreading fears. If our government wanted it, we could have cars that run entirely on ethanol. The ethanol could come from sugar, corn, etc. Brazil is a perfect example of this. The oil spin machine has been in full force of late spreading fear that ethanol is the worse thing to ever happen. The reality is that they know that if America isn't dependent on their product, they would lose some major business. They have worked hard to make sure that our dependence on oil continues. Drilling for more oil only helps them. What's the point of that?
Flip-Flopping
The media tends to focus on politicians and their "flip-flopping" on issues. They love to pounce when someone changes their position. Sometimes it is warranted...like in the case of John McCain and off shore drilling. However, most of the time I don't think that it's a big deal. People change their minds all the time. In fact, I wouldn't want a politician who is set in their ways and doesn't have the ability to change their minds. My beliefs and views on the world continue to evolve. I would hope that our political leaders do the same thing. Great leaders adapt and have the ability to realize things change. I would like to think that most people recognize this...but sadly I think that it is seen as a weakness.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
American Media
I have been watching CNN on a regular basis lately. Sadly, I have been sucked in by the political coverage. I took several years off from watching CNN, MSNBC, etc. on a regular basis. It was hard to watch what they called "news." Without a doubt, Fox News is the worst thing to ever happen to television. All of the other networks have stooped to their level and we are left with a bunch of talking heads telling us their opinions and yelling over each other. What happened to simply reporting the news? It's like watching ESPN and listening to "analysts" talk about what's going to happen in the game. Are they psychic? What is the point of these mindless discussions? Just report the news! Unfortunately, the Fox model has shown that you can be more profitable by having talking heads spew their opinions. And don't forget to throw in some fancy graphics and sound effects.
It all reminds me of a lecture I went to several years back. The speaker was from the Middle East and he started off his discussion on the news by stating that he had been in America for three weeks and had yet to see any news. At the time, I brushed off his remarks as pompous and arrogant. However, over the years, I have come to realize that it is pretty much true. All you have to do is look at how the American media covered the Iraq war. I would recommend a documentary titled, "Weapons of Mass Deception," to illustrate this point. Here is the description of the documentary...
"This film explores the hidden story of the distorted media coverage during the Iraq war. There were two wars going on in Iraq - one was fought with armies of soldiers, bombs and a fearsome military force. The other was fought alongside it with cameras, satellites, armies of journalists and propaganda techniques. One war was rationalized as an effort to find and disarm WMDs - Weapons of Mass Destruction; the other was carried out with even more powerful WMDs, Weapons of Mass Deception.
The TV networks in America considered their non-stop coverage their finest hour, pointing to the use of embedded journalists and new technologies that permitted viewers to see a war up close for the first time. But different countries saw different wars. Why? This film tracks the media war through February 2004.
Weapons of Mass Deception was produced, and is reported by, former network journalist, Danny Schechter, who is one of America's most prolific media critics. For more information about the film, the issue and Danny Schechter, click here."
You have to give the Bush administration credit...they certainly got the media to help them get their agenda taken care of. Of course, all of our major media outlets are owned by major corporations. They in turn are in bed with the government. So...no media outlet can ever be "Fair and Balanced." Just remember that the next time you are watching "news."
It all reminds me of a lecture I went to several years back. The speaker was from the Middle East and he started off his discussion on the news by stating that he had been in America for three weeks and had yet to see any news. At the time, I brushed off his remarks as pompous and arrogant. However, over the years, I have come to realize that it is pretty much true. All you have to do is look at how the American media covered the Iraq war. I would recommend a documentary titled, "Weapons of Mass Deception," to illustrate this point. Here is the description of the documentary...
"This film explores the hidden story of the distorted media coverage during the Iraq war. There were two wars going on in Iraq - one was fought with armies of soldiers, bombs and a fearsome military force. The other was fought alongside it with cameras, satellites, armies of journalists and propaganda techniques. One war was rationalized as an effort to find and disarm WMDs - Weapons of Mass Destruction; the other was carried out with even more powerful WMDs, Weapons of Mass Deception.
The TV networks in America considered their non-stop coverage their finest hour, pointing to the use of embedded journalists and new technologies that permitted viewers to see a war up close for the first time. But different countries saw different wars. Why? This film tracks the media war through February 2004.
Weapons of Mass Deception was produced, and is reported by, former network journalist, Danny Schechter, who is one of America's most prolific media critics. For more information about the film, the issue and Danny Schechter, click here."
You have to give the Bush administration credit...they certainly got the media to help them get their agenda taken care of. Of course, all of our major media outlets are owned by major corporations. They in turn are in bed with the government. So...no media outlet can ever be "Fair and Balanced." Just remember that the next time you are watching "news."
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
720 Million Dollars
This is an eye opening video. Not only are we wasting human lives...but we are wasting tons of money that could be used in better ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgpEr4goegU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgpEr4goegU
Air Conditioning
I am probably the biggest fan of air conditioning on a truly hot day. However, I don't understand why people won't turn it off. It's been absolutely beautiful all week...70s and sunny...yet all of my neighbors are blasting their air conditioning. What gives? No wonder we have an energy problem. If everyone turned off their A/C and opened the windows on a nice day the world would be a better place. I have some neighbors who have never opened their windows. I just don't understand the thinking behind that. It disturbs me. Don't they need to air out their house and feel the fresh air?
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