Out of Order

[SoCalDem]

The main reason why we are having so much trouble with health care is that it's being done out of order.

Media & Lobbying are muddying the waters....bigtime..

and why would they be doing this?

Because BIG MONEY is at stake.

True reform will never happen until the stranglehold that money has on our legislators, is gone.

None of the "players" want the circle broken, because it's just perfect the way it is now.

1. congressman needs millions for his campaign every two years
2. business steps up and "helps"
3. congressman gives most of the "helpful" money to media, as ads
4. congressman votes to "help" or at least to "not hurt" his money-guys

Media is no longer even partially "independent".. they are all part of mega-corporations, and must make money. They make money by selling airspace to torment us viewers every 4.7 minutes.

Only the congressional types who can attract the big money, end up being the mouthpieces and movers & shakers of congress (there are a few exceptions, but they carry little real weight in legislative functions).

We desperately need public financing, but the powers that be are scared shitless of this idea, since "their guys" would no longer have the edge.

We will probably never get public financing though, since we are "broke", and every legislator will remind us all of that every time the idea is broached in a serious way.

Term limits would go a long way to ending the stranglehold, but since the staffers do most of the "real work" , just changing the light bulb will not alter the way the socket works, and there's never been much support for term limits, especially since the ones IN office would essentially be the ones that would have to change the rules.

In order for "the public" to ever have meaningful changes made, that would improve their lives, and deliver what we all have been asking for..for decades, we would have to have a truly fair representation in media, and would have to have legislators who represent what WE want...not what the legislators' benefactors will "allow" us to have.

Until we remove big money from our election process, and return control to the public, we will never get candidates who represent what we want.

We are trying to get meaningful health care legislation within a system that is against what we need and what we want.

If we had congresspeople and senators who were representing US, we would have it. They are elected by us, but they do not represent us.

Media has a vested interest in keeping important issues muddled. Real change would bankrupt them.

Big Business would suffer with real change, because they would have to start paying for a lot of things they currently get for free

Our congress is in the business of talking issues to death, and occasionally taking a stab at a problem, but usually making it worse, not better. It's just what they do, they really can't help it.... and even if they could, they probably wouldn't. These people we send to DC are on the ego-trip of their life. They (most of them) are seeing to the future security of their own families, and lining up lucrative deals on the side, in case they lose an election. if they accidentally do something worthwhile, you can count on it being challenged at every turn, and possibly ending up at SCOTUS' doorstep for "refinement".

Media tells us what we want, what we need, and our legislators pay them well to keep on telling us.



Big Media... Big Money ... Big Business... Big Nothing for us

[thunder rising]

1. Be at ease. Easy corp money is an albatross. The blogs rule. We won the last 2 elections

[SoCalDem]

2. It's changing a little, but it won't in time for millions of sick people

for whom time is not on their side..

and there's always SCOTUS out there chomping at the bit to legislate from the bench..

[trof]

3. And political tv commercial$ get a '$pecial' rate.

HIGHER than regular 'retail' commercials.
Ain't it great?

[bertman]

4. Thank you for laying it on the line, SoCalDem. Everything you said is true. The only

part that you left out is how they will use the corporate-controlled computerized no-record keeping voting machines the next time they need a big win.

I think Obama's campaign caught them by surprise, flat-footed, so they couldn't steal that one. They'll be ready next time.

Recommend.

[Sinti]

5. Your ideas are only as good as the information you base them on

A big part of the problem here is Concentration of media ownership. You know mostly what they tell you, with a few odd bits you get from real people. It's not just what the names of the businesses are that own the stations, who owns the majority of the stock? Do you think they wouldn't pressure people to not talk about this and that?

It's not like you couldn't just have an understanding that this is displeasing to management. It's like if you work for Microsoft and carry an iPhone - they're going to tell you carry a Windows Mobile phone, WTF is wrong with you, don't you like having a job? Then there's the power of persuasion, with a captive audience who expects you to be benevolent always.

Century of the Self:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8953172273825999151#

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever.
Orwell 1984

edited for clarity

[SoCalDem]

6. and we rarely hear anything "bad" about GE ..from MSNBC

or about Disney...from ABC..

and they all stick together about not trashing each other.. They all know where the bodies are buried, and many have worked at each other's companies, and may again someday.
The recent kerfluffle over Fox is interesting, because it does seem out of character, but then everyone hates Ailes & Murdoch.. even people who work for them :rofl:..but even given thatm the "pool" people seem to be sticking up for poor little Foxie:puke: