State-Controlled Media and a Fearful, Weak-Kneed Opposition

[Q]

- What more proof do we need of a 'state-controlled media' and 'one-party state' than the American media and the Democratic opposition ignoring information and scandals that would bring the Bush* government down?

- I'd like to know why the American Media and Democratic party is AFRAID to confront the Bush* government and the New Republican Party on dozens of scandals and blatant criminal acts?

- Have the two major parties cut a deal to keep this administration safe from investigation and prosecution? It sure looks that way. There is information floating around that would mean immediate impeachment and indictments for any other president and administration.

- I'd like to know: Have the lives of the Democratic leadership been threatened? Have they been offered a piece of the Bush*/PNAC war profiteering pie like the American media? What other reasons could there be for the 'free' press and the loyal opposition to look the other way while the Bush* government breaks the law and the peace?

- What the hell is going on?

[Mari333]

1. I dont know. I am flabbergasted everyday that all

real journalists have left the fold, or they are fired when they expose anyone, and Im tired of DU being the only place where actual journalism exists.
The feed that 49% of people who dont think with what pays off at their bank accounts and at the cash register it seems.
Going to take the very very tired rest of the US public to change things.
I sit on the edge in a steaming furor of anger every day, waiting for someone to mention the war in Iraq is a fraud again as Kennedy did, and bring my kid home.
I see the Dems screaming about the budget, which is good, but the repugs own the house and senate.
I guess Bush is getting his little dictatorship he asked for.
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com

[Q]

4. Well...the GOP made a lot of noise when they were in the minority...

...and kept the Democratic majority from advancing their agenda in many cases.

- Has the Democratic leadership simply sold out? Are they afraid of Bush* and what his smear machine might to to them and their careers? Do they not care that the 'have nots' are suffering and their children dying in Iraq for no good reason?

- We need fighters to take over the leadership and push the wimps aside.

- Those like Mari (with much at stake) must be especially frustrated with a party that has had ample opportunities to take Bush* to task on his lies and corruption.

[Neecy]

2. part of the problem

...is the Republican-controlled Congress. There's no way the Republicans would allow a congressional investigation of one of their own.

Of course, they had NO problem spending millions on Whitewater.

This isn't to say the Democrats haven't spoken out nearly enough regarding the crimes and corruption of this administration. The fact that Pelosi laughed at the WMD 'joke' nauseates me.

[Q]

3. Yes...a GOP-controlled congress is part of the problem...

...but you still have HUNDREDS of Democrats in DC that could unite against Bush* IF THEY WANTED TO. The Party simply doesn't have the will to confront Bush* on any issue of import.

- You have a few good Democrats speaking out...and the rest of the party hides in the shadows or actually supporting Bush* and his policies.

- This isn't exactly inspiring to voters looking for leadership.

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

12. Neecy you hit it on the head

that part about pelosi made me sick! she shouldn't be the leader of the democratic house when she can't even stand up to Neil (I'm a great Repug) Cuvudo! As far as her explanation, pweeeeelz safe it for someone else! We need someone with real backbone!

[BabsSong]

5. We have a pot load of things to throw at this administration

..and we started throwind during the primaries because of people like Dean (who was not my candidate). And now something is sinking real fast inside me. Apparently we are going to have a campaign of jobs, healthcare, etc. and be upbeat. We aren't going to use our ammo. We are basically going to be nice again. We will point out that Bush lost jobs and stuff like that; but we aren't going to reveal these goons for what they are. Here we go again................

[Q]

6. We have HARD EVIDENCE against Bush*...

...and we can prove his malfeasance and mismanagement. It's looking more and more like they're helping the Bushies to HIDE the evidence that would incriminate them. The lastest scam being the 9-11 and intel commissions...set up to protect Bush* more than anything.

- We can't just run on healthcare, etc when there's a criminal gang running this country.

[BabsSong]

11. Q--100% agree and I wish Kerry and Company gets that message

We can't let this guy slide or the people will do the usual "no need to remove him". We have to get into this. The Kerry commercials seem to be so far sort of a "new day in America"....those are nice but goddamn it they need to be alternated with attack the bastard. Out talking heads seem to morph into jobs, etc. and slide off the attacks on the big things. I'm just getting sick inside that we are going back to the usual nothing shit that we have been doing for 3 years. I hope they don't think the other stuff was for the primaries and now they need to be good guy. They do it and Kerry will be lucky to carry his homestate. I'm so livid....watching...and this better take off and soon.

[goforit]

17. Yep if kerry doesn't get on the ball He will be known as the GOP enabler

With a republican wife and republican buddies and a backround
of Yale 'Skull n Bone' blood brothers.........

It will be long before he gains my trust.

I may vote for him, but I will be watching to see if the
ultimate PNAC agenda will stay on track.

He may have a much harder time facing the music!!!!

By that time the People will have the power.

[truthspeaker]

7. Bush lied in the 2003 State of the Union but the media still put "lie"

in quotes. As in "Bush opponents accuse him of 'lying' about weapons of mass destruction" etc. Hey, so-called "reporters", here's a thought: how about you use the known, on the record facts to determine whether the accusations are true and then write about it? Why should you do this, you ask? Because it's your goddamn job you cowardly ass-kissing whores.

[Q]

8. The American media and our government...

...is now under the absolute control of a few individuals and corporations. It's a type of mafia running our country.

[Beam Me Up]

9. I really believe

that *'s puppet masters are capable of ANYTHING.

They stole a Presidential election and got away with it.
They used the SCOTUS to finish the job and have gotten away with it.
They murdered 3,000 US citizens in broad day light with full media coverage and have gotten away with it.
They've threatened media and members of Congress with US military grade anthrax and have gotten away with it.
They've used 9/11 as a reason to implement:
• a "War on Terrorism" economy
• "Patriot Act" legislation
• a military takeover of Afghanistan
• a "preemptive" war in Iraq
• and WOULD use it to REINSTALL their * puppet if they could.

Whoever THEY are, they have gotten away with murder and continue to get away with it. The implication, to me, is clear: We are a Nation being HELD HOSTAGE by forces we can not (yet) clearly identify. To me, the only explanation that makes sense is that there MUST BE A THREAT that we do not know about that is far more dangerous and insidious than 9/11.

[Q]

10. But why the lack of opposition...

...against such thuggery and corruption? Have Democrats given up on democracy and representative government? Do they feel powerless to do anything about it?

[Beam Me Up]

14. Opposition against whom, precisely?

Against the so called "Religious" Right? Against Republicans? Against PNAC/neo-con/BushCabal? Against the Military Industrial Complex? Against the American Financial Aristocracy? Note that I've listed these in a probable heirarchy of influence. There is overlap and there may very well be other layers of the cake about which I know nothing.

For example, what DO the "Intelligence Agencies" know? Precisely WHOSE interests do they and the military serve? Do you believe it is YOUR interests? I don't see them serving MY interests--they haven't been doing that for a LONG LONG TIME, so far as my reading of history goes.

But, then, I don't identify with the ruling elites and their interests. I try to identify with what I perceive to be the interests of all humankind and the living environment of this planet. That is what makes me a "radical" from their perspective.

As far as "Democrats" are concerned--most of them are as tied into the OIL EATING SYSTEM as those who call themselves "Republicans". Personally, I have no love of "liberals" and their band-aid social services that do not address the underlying issues of social and economic inequality.

[Cocoa]

16. you must not need the band-aid social services

other people, however, do need these things that are so irrelevant to you.

[Beam Me Up]

18. We also NEED

to address the underlying issues of social and economic inequality. Do you disagree with that statement?

[Cocoa]

20. I agree we need both

we need social progress for the future and also social services for the present.

[hippiegranny]

22. i agree with you in theory

but it brings to mind a local program i was listening to on npr the other day. i live in arizona and gov napolitano (d) has proposed all day kindergarten to advance early education, assist working parents and also as an economic stimulus. the wing nuts are enraged over this, a repuke rep from mesa (where else?) was interviewed and his response was that the best tool for early childhood development is "M.O.M." "we need to get back to moms staying home with the children," he bloviated. the interviewer reminded him that many "M.O.M.s" are single and must work, to which he replied, "that is why we need to create programs to keep families together...." and on and on, but you get the drift.

he too was talking about the underlying issues, and prescribing his world view on the situation to make it all better. however, it is utterly useless to present some utopian view of the world because the perception that to try to deal with what is real is only putting band-aids on the problem.

[Beam Me Up]

23. I appreciate what both

you and coco are saying.

I'm an old hippy myself; but I am thoroughly disillusioned with the kinds of change that have allowed us as not only a nation but as citizens of this Earth to get in the untenable predicament we are now in. WE KNEW HALF A CENTURY AGO that building a complex civilization on nonrenewable resources would lead to precisely the kind of global tensions we are now facing. And yet all this time we've ALLOWED the moneyed, ruling elites to silence us or obfuscate our message or buy us off. Good god almighty, in barely more than ONE generation a small percentage of the global population has consumed HALF of the oil reserves on this planet. Think of it, an ecological legacy meant for all humankind for the whole of history--gone! And it isn't because we didn't KNOW better. We did. Intelligent, forward looking people have known and have spoken out. But, because what they were saying didn't fit with the bottom line of the ruling elites, they've never been given center stage, never been allowed into those arenas of government from which conservative environmental policy could be implemented. We could have begun building renewable energy ifrastructures 30 years ago. It didn't happen BECAUSE there was TOO MUCH PROFIT IN OIL.

We're now ALL suffering the price for this short sighted greed and the price we are paying in lost incomes and lost lives and lost liberties and the very real threat of never ending and very likely escolating war is nothing compared to what is ahead of us and those who come after us. As the price of oil goes up, our economy is going to contract--and the taxes to pay for social services is going to contract right along with it.

If not now, when, granny?

[hang a left]

28. They did this all the while the Dems sat back and did nothing

or rolled over for one lame excuse after another. What the hell is going on? It appears they are in on it.

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

13. fox is state controlled garbage

designed by the GOP and friends trying to divert the American people off the real issue's. As far as I'm concerned they should stick to Koby and stuff because everything else they do is crass.

[goforit]

15. The whole country is under threat from these guys!!....These psychos

are ready at any time to bomb our homeland to get what they want.

That is what 911 is all about!!!

Impeachment is out of the question!!!

That why we need to arrest first and imprison them and then...
proceed with impeachment!!!

[KoKo]

19. It must be threats and fear. Blackmail, whatever.

:shrug:

[Q]

21. I hear this all the time...

...from Democrats too afraid to rock the boat during an election year. But this has been going on since 2000 and before.

- I'd like to be able to say I'm proud of my party...but there's very little to be proud of these days.

[Cocoa]

24. I'm proud of what they're doing with Medicare

they defeated the prescription drug bill, and when the GOP stole it they kept fighting, and now Bush is going to pay for it, it's going to blow up in his stupid monkey face.

edit with link:

Bush Medicare Reform Bill Become a Nightmare for GOP

[sangh0]

25. What planet are you living on?

- What more proof do we need of a 'state-controlled media' and 'one-party state' than the American media and the Democratic opposition ignoring information and scandals that would bring the Bush* government down?

9/11 hearings on TV with ALL the network and cable news shows reporting Clarke's charges, and Q thinks the story is being ignored

- I'd like to know why the American Media and Democratic party is AFRAID to confront the Bush* government and the New Republican Party on dozens of scandals and blatant criminal acts?

There are currently 6 major investigations of the Bush* admin going on right now.

- Have the two major parties cut a deal to keep this administration safe from investigation and prosecution?

Again SIX MAJOR INVRSTIGATIONS going on right now. If a deal was cut, someone got the short end of the deal and it wasn't the Dems.

I'd like to know: Have the lives of the Democratic leadership been threatened? Have they been offered a piece of the Bush*/PNAC war profiteering pie like the American media?

With Daschle, Kennedy, Clinton, Schumer, Leahy, McAuliffe, Kerry, Dean, Clark, etc ALL criticizing Bush* on a daily basis, I doubt they are receiving very much from the PNAC

[rdfi-defi]

26. response

1. 9/11 hearings have addressed before the attacks, after the attacks, which is important but never do they investigate 'what happened ON 9-11.' they spend trillions on defense and the day we need it we get nothing. where is the investigation into that?

2. there are 6 major investigations into the bush admin. he still gets massaged by the american media. any dems who might actually have to compete for their seat (with a few exceptions) lay down and do not hit the admin where it hurts.

3. that is the point, all those dems you mention criticize bush. which is good but not enough, they always stop short of criticizing the long standing bi-partisan us policies that have put america at risk. i do not care if you call it pnac or liberal imperialism or fuzzy bunnies with snuggle kisses, the results apparently are the same.

[sangh0]

38. very bad response

1) Q claimed the media is state-controlled and is showing NOTHING about Bush*'s crimes. While you (and I) may not think the investigation is not as thourough as it should be, it certainly is NOT a sign of a state-controlled media

2) Q claimed that none of Bush*'s crimes are being investigated.

3) Q claimed that the Dem leaders are not saying anything.

You response is about as poor as a response can be. Though you do make some good points about how more can be done, you have done absolutely NOTHING to support Q's ridiculous claims

[Q]

27. Your blind loyalty is amusing at best...

...but part of the 'job' of the state-owned media is to give the APPEARANCE that it's being fair and unbiased...with the goal of exonerating all the Players in the end. The hearings are all for show. I'll eat your hat if anything comes of it in the way of accountability.

- Investigations: What kind of evidence can you give us that any of these investigations will produce anything other than a grand show for the masses? Most of the investigations you refer to were actually set up by the Bush* White House with investigators already saying they're not looking to 'place blame'.

- Criticism means absolutely nothing unless Dems are willing to BACK UP THEIR WORDS WITH ACTION. The Bushies simply laugh at them and their empty rhetoric.

[sangh0]

41. The "job" of the state-owned media is to lower Bush*'s ratings?

That's what's happening

Besides, you said that no one in the media or the Dem leadership is saying anything about this. Even you won't defend your own ridiculous remarks. Instead, you start right in with the name-calling.

- Investigations: What kind of evidence can you give us that any of these investigations will produce anything other than a grand show for the masses? Most of the investigations you refer to were actually set up by the Bush* White House with investigators already saying they're not looking to 'place blame'.

A sure sign of dishonesty is how you do nothing to defend your own claim that nothing is being investigated, and instead raise another issue to distract from your original mistake.

- Criticism means absolutely nothing unless Dems are willing to BACK UP THEIR WORDS WITH ACTION. The Bushies simply laugh at them and their empty rhetoric.

And again you run and hide instead of defending your own assertions. You claimed that they weren't criticising. Now you've backtracked and are now complaining about their not acting.

[hang a left]

34. Let us take them one at a time

Charles Shumer that constitution loving dem who proposed H.R. 2580 which would impose a five year prison sentence for publicly engaging in "unseemly speculation" or publishing "baseless conspiracy theories regarding the Federal government of the United States". The government would decide what
constituted a "conspiracy theory."

[kaitykaity]

29. Just a little more patience.

I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I really don't think it's a train this time.

I wouldn't call the Democrats weak-kneed anymore. I'd call the unified and pissed off.

[rdfi-defi]

30. pissed at bush

but if bush is yanked off the stage, and kerry carries on where bush left off, will dems remain unified and pissed off at kerry's policies?

[kaitykaity]

32. I don't much care, to be honest with you.

Just get rid of boy king awol bastard. With all the entrenched Thug power and money, that job will be hard enough.

[rdfi-defi]

33. exactly

[kaitykaity]

35. ?????

And?? It matters because??

[redqueen]

31. Love your sig - it says a lot about this thread

Have you read The Power Elite, by chance?

I think a lot of them are not intentionally complicit, but they're complicit just the same.

[Q]

36. The blame lies with the Democratic leadership...

...and their inaction or inability to fight against those who have used our Constitution for toilet paper. The Bushies have created a government the Founders would have found similiar to that which they revolted against.

- There are many Dem represenatives willing to fight the good fight...but their voices have been ripped from them by their leadership. In the world of American politics...you'll go nowhere if you don't have the support of the party bosses. Just ask Al Gore.

[redqueen]

37. You'll get no argument from me

However I still maintain that if there was sufficient desire to, that the rank and file could revolt against the bosses. They don't though, to our detriment.

And when we out in the trenches try to revolt against the party due to their lack of willingness to stand up for themselves, we get called bush enablers or worse.

[Q]

39. They're supposed to represent us...not themselves...

...and therein lies the problem.

- There are a few on this thread who don't seem to understand the danger of appeasing the fascist Bush* government. They're still playing 'politics as usual' while the other side has long ago forsaken the rules of civility and fair play.

[redqueen]

40. Agreed

What I don't understand is why. There is ample precedent demonstrating that negotiating from the center is what's killing this party off.

[Q]

42. But the "Republicans" who infiltrated the Democratic party...

...have become the party bosses. They insist that a permanent move to the 'center' is needed to offset the liberal ideology and the 'new deal' social welfare.

- Many in our party don't give much credit to the New Democrats...but like the Neocons in the Republican party...they've placed themselves in the right place at the right time. They're taking advantage of Bush's* gutting of America's social infrastructure and are working with the Right to establish a corporate state and wage slaves.

- In a nutshell: New Republicans and New Democrats want to end social welfare 'as we know it' and replace it with corporate welfare and supply side economics.