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July 16, 2008
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Here's a question for you - is the
economy good or bad?
As with many things, the answer depends
on who is asking the question. The result of World War II was
good for one side, bad for another.
So if you stop for a moment and look at
the current economy, you may notice something - this is the best the
economy has ever been. There is of course a big "IF" to this.
The economy is, without parallel, by far the best its ever been IF
you are in the oil, oil services, energy sales, or war services
businesses. In addition to sky high fuel costs, rolled back
regulations, huge tax cuts, and a never-ending pair of wars has made
this a boom time unlike any others.
So while for 99% of Americans we are in
an abysmal death spiral economically, for George Bush, Dick Cheney,
and their core supporters, this is, in fact, "Mission Accomplished."
Keep in mind that one of the keys to power is, as we all know,
money. And put into your head the amount of sheer profit Bush,
Cheney, and friends have been and are socking away every second,
even as you read this. A billion a day just for the Iraq War,
endless oil revenue, Afghan War revenue.
Now let's take a quick step over to the
second key to power - control of the media. Now, you might
think the members of the press who sold us all the policies that
have led to America's dismal current state would be on their way
out. Those who lied to sell us the Iraq War, those who argued
against requiring better fuel efficiency and moving toward
alternative energy, those who sold us the tax cuts that have
bankrupted us.
But here's the reality: Rush
Limbaugh is not losing his show, but in fact has just been given a
$400 million contract by an NBC affiliated cable network. $400
million for being wrong and wrong and wrong - not to mention
dishonest and bigoted? Hmm. Usually someone will lose
ratings and revenue. But we Moderate Independents understand
what this really is - this is a payoff for being the lead
propagandist to sell the nation the nonsense that has led to
unprecedented wealth for this small group of oil/war sellers, even
at the expense of the nation's demise.
And you might think that lying
propaganda network Fox News would be diving in ratings, and the
propagandist who owns it and lots of other media outlets, all of
which were used to lie us into Iraq and bankruptcy and keep us oil
dependent, would be losing ratings and revenue. Well, in fact,
not only hasn't Fox News-owner Rupert Murdoch lost anything, but he
recently purchased Dow Jones, which gave him control of the Wall
Street journal. Yes, the most read economic daily is now Fox
News propaganda. Already the managing editor and a number of
his staff have quit. And if you've been paying attention,
"opinion" pieces from the Wall Street journal are becoming the
launching source for Obama smears in the current campaign.
Yes, unlike Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, the WSJ has long-earned
credibility - even though it has had a slant, it hasn't been
Murdoch-brand straight propaganda. And so now Murdoch can
attack via Fox on TV and the WSJ and have his propaganda echoed
throughout the non-M/I media.
And add to this that ABC News, with
Jennings no longer around to protect it, has come out of the closet
as a Fox News-like right wing propaganda source, often giving top
billing to what Limbaugh or right-wing liar Matt Drudge have spewed
on a given day. We have covered for years how ABC parent
company Disney has operated right wing talk from coast to coast -
from WABC in New York to KABC in California, and how they broadcast
the propaganda film The Path to 9/11 weeks before the 2004
elections, despite undeniable misinformation and propaganda
throughout.
Doesn't sound like a loss of power to me
by Bush, Cheney, and friends, does it? No, in fact as their
first key to power is increasing massively - their hordes of cash -
so is the Bush, Cheney and friends' hold on the media expanding
rather than contracting.
This has been made possible by their use
of their control of the FCC to continuously roll back media
ownership rules. So, again, they have used their time in
office extremely effectively. Yes, this is yet more success.
In fact, the more you look, the harder
it is to find anything this administration has failed at. If
you recall, the overarching goal of the Bush administration, as
articulated by George Bush's long-time Chief Adviser Karl Rove, was
to "build a majority that will last for a generation."
Remember that?
Their goal wasn't success for all
Americans. It wasn't a strong infrastructure. It was to
get such a hold on power that they could control the nation as they
wish for a generation.
Now, as the rest of the nation collapses
and goes broke, the money we all are losing is going directly into
their pockets. And their control of the media has reached the
point to where it is similar to how things are in third world Latin
American countries - the conversation is controlled by a small
ruling group.
If you take a little bigger step back,
the ultimate goal was articulated by George H. W. Bush some years
back: "A Thousand Points of Light."
That is exactly what the goal has been
and what has been accomplished. All of the money and power has
been consolidated into about 1,000 hands. And, as it is
throughout the third world - and throughout the Middle East, where
religious conservatism rules - the rest of the people are left as
desperate beggars who must submit to these "1,000 Points of Light"
if they wish to survive at all.
The third key to power is the judicial
system. Whenever America has installed governments abroad, or
whenever a dictator wants to solidify his or her hold on power, they
simply fill the courts with their choice judges. Laws only
exist as they are interpreted and enforced. So, in short, no
law has any power if a judge chooses to interpret it a manner that
defangs it.
This administration has successfully
taken over the Supreme Court, something that can't be changed
without death.
Money. Control of the media.
Control of the judicial branch.
If you think the Bushies are on their
way out of power, you are not paying attention. They may get a
momentary time out, but make no mistake, they're not going anywhere
far or for long.
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