I would like to congratulate those in charge of the propaganda

[ChiefHappyButt]

because they do such a fine job.

The news of interest is now saturated with discussions of Martha Stewart, Religion, Gays and Quiznos Subs.

AWOL? 9/11 Commission? Deaths in Iraq? Judge appointments? Government requests for abortion information? and on and on and on......

Relegated to page 17c.

The week has been focused on discussing a movie. A MOVIE!

I don't intend to sound preachy or holier than anybody, because I find myself interested in reading these stories also, but, damn, who else sees how easy it is for these "people" to manipulate the populace? Sure, the media pushes stories in our faces, but we are not forced to comment on them at various message boards or around the water cooler at work ad nauseum.

I used to just find that I spoke my opinions less often because I didn't really give a damn about the subject being discussed that day - Michael Jackson? Ben and Jen?, but now I find myself not bothering to even listen anymore.

I sometimes think I am in danger of becoming a poster boy for the very things I detest, namely, apathy and discouragement. I can't get worked up about Mel Gibson's movie, because it is only a movie. Sure, it portrays an event that millions upon millions of people worldwide care about, but it happened two centuries ago.

What is happening today? Who got killed in Iraq or Afghanistan? What "Friday afternoon surprise" did the SOBs pull off this week?

How many ways are we being manipulated each and every day? It seems I spend half my energy trying not to be taken in by false, misleading, or just plain irrelevant stories. Osama captured? Not captured? Am I being told these things for some unfathomable reason? Are they going to get hopes up, dash them, get them up again, then roll out the "surprise?"


I can't even keep up with half the list anymore. Is there anyone, anywhere that speaks the truth anymore without some kind of warped, twisted, screwed up reason for informing me about this latest "news?"

Congratulations, informal office of propaganda, where ever you are, and whoever you are. You are succeeding where others have failed for decades.

end of rant. Please continue with your day, and thanks for taking the time to "listen."

[JusticeForAll]

1. I hear you and agree n/t

[salinen]

2. And what's worse is

that when I go anywhere, some ratbrain asks me what I think about "Martha, Scott, Passion, Janet etc" I murdered my T.V. ages ago but now everyone I meet sounds like one.

[Mari333]

3. and the news that there is a civil war about to erupt in Iraq

is being completely ignored

http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=3220

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

5. What little they do report just confuses people more

I saw your post about people thinking the war was over - wtf? And with the Haiti situation too, they don't provide true information.

You can listen to the BBC for five minutes and find out more about what is going on in Iraq then listening or reading months of our news.

[kentuck]

4. Amen to that...

...........................sigh....................

[BeFree]

6. Fight back!

Ask questions:

Have you heard about Peak Oil?

Where is OBL?

What about that deficit?

Did you hear we are about to get laid off?

[ChiefHappyButt]

7. you are correct

I didn't even touch on unemployment, the monstrous deficit, the massive cuts to be made soon in social programs, the probable draft.

There are so many fronts to fight on that it is extremely difficult to stay focused. It's like being in a fight with an eight foot tall psychotic bastard - no make that a lot of eight foot tall psychotic bastards - and you don't know from where the next crushing blow is going to come from.

I try, but it is not easy to fight back. So many don't seem to care about what I consider important. I see them daily. Work discussions about the latest crummy reality show (well, you know the way that goes).

Not giving up, but wondering where is the platoon of nine foot tall defenders of freedom?

[BeFree]

8. Laughter is a great fence

And I goytta say: ChiefHappyButt is funny! Just tell the watercooler people your DU name. Once ya get 'em laughing, ask those questions.

Good Luck, ChiefHappyButt!

[soup]

10. make that trying to wade through

a horde of constantly morphing multi-tasking many-tentacled 8' tall psychotic bastard ventriloquists armed with double-speaking automatic weapons of mass confusion set on maximum assault - and, yep - I think you've summed it up rather well.

[Bromd]

9. Propoganda

You almost forgot spying on Hans Blix, which has barely registered on the news radar inside of America.

[Kali]

11. closest topic to my quest

Not sure if this is exactly the right place, or if I could actually just go start a new thread yet, but I just got this irritating e-mail and want to reply soon to a bunch of smug ...:grr: nevermind, I just want the "bush version" facts if somebody has something. Here is the message:

Subject: Fw: The President Knew!



a.. Enron's chairman did meet with the president and the vice president in the Oval Office.

b.. Enron gave $420,000 to the president's party over three years.

c.. It donated $100,000 to the president's inauguration festivities.

d.. The Enron chairman stayed at the White House 11 times.

e.. The corporation had access to the administration at its highest levels and even enlisted the Commerce and State
Departments to grease deals for it.

f.. The taxpayer-supported Export-Import Bank subsidized Enron for more than $600 million in just one transaction.
Scandalous!

g.. BUT...the president under whom all this happened WASN'T George W. Bush.
SURPRISE . It was Bill Clinton!!!!!!!!!!!

Please pass this on so the whole country will know. The Media Won't.

------------------------

Anybody got any facts or figures handy for how much bush got from these guys for comparison?

[ThoughtCriminal]

14. Sure - easy to rebut

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/enron.htm
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/business/1208785
http://www.arktimes.com/max/091903brantley.html
http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=5532

[Kali]

15. thanks

Didn't even think about urban legends - duh. Thanks again.

[newyawker99]

16. Hi Kali!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Paradise]

12. it's what they believe we want and, therefore, get...

speaking on the 'fourth estate':

"What is being reported blandly on the front pages would
elicit ridicule and horror in a society with a genuinely
free and democratic intellectual culture." - Naom Chomsky

"The intellectual level of prevailing discourse is beneath
contempt, and the moral level grotesque." - Naom Chomsky

[Generic Other]

13. Always remember...NEWS does not travel fast...

One day during the end of the Clinton years, a co-worker of mine started ranting about Ollie North and the Contras. It was like she had no idea of their existance until that moment. She was asking me if I had heard of them. All excited. Almost ranting. I asked her why the sudden interest after all those years. She said she had a stack of newspapers she hadn't read in the corner and was that far getting caught up. She was reading about Ollie, Bush and the Contras because that's how far she was behind on the news!!

I figure lots of Americans are feeling like that. They NEVER get their news firsthand. It filters down. Like sooty acid rain.
I think this is why Bush is struggling in the polls. Some people are just now discovering Bush stole an election. Others have figured out that they don't really know what happened on 9/11 because no one will talk about it. Some have just figured out Bush tax cuts are for the rich. Others are worrying about outsourcing and unemployment. It doesn't matter where they choose to enter the information stream, the water's polluted...

All the propaganda in the world can't make a turd into a meal.