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McTosh
Anyone who thinks they know anything about US politics based on the coverage given by the US mainstream media should urgently read this article. Jamison Foser is always excellent in his media analysis, and nowhere more so than here.
One campaign is talking bilgewater (e.g., and from a long long list, Iran is accused of aiding Sunnis), and much of the mainstream media is basically stenographing this crap. The other campaign is trying to make this a proper debate about the future the US -- and the world -- should have. The first campaign is whingeing about unfair media treatment, despite the facts on the ground. The second is saying little on the subject.
See? I'm not biased. I'm not saying which campaign is which.
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I was saying to Pam this evening that, had McCain drawn 200,000 members of the Berlin public to a speech whose audience stretched halfway across the city, I'd have thought that was a newsworthy event: I'd have had no grumbles, even though I disagree with the man's politics and in general hope he rots in wherever his wife so obviously wants him to rot in, had the US media given this event wall-to-wall coverage: it'd have been a historic moment.
So where the fuck does the beef come from in the McLame campaign that some of the mainstream media have the courage to report this event?
Incidentally, in my NYT headlines e-mail today, the only directly referenced story was a "balance" piece carping about the "lack of substance" in Obama's speech. I'd have been unaware of the NYT's nonpartisan report had it not been that a phrase of Obama's made it to the "Quote of the Day" slot.
And that's the best of the US mainstream media -- the venue that's supposedly the least biased towards the Repugs. Is it any wonder that, for news on US domestic and foreign policy, I consult the Independent, Guardian and BBC, plus the Oz newspapers?
As you remarked, it took three whole fucking days for the NYT to notice the Mississippi oil spill. That sort of delay was permissible in the 18th century, when communications were slow; today it smacks of deliberate policy.
How the fuck did Americans throw away their freedom? Historically it's always been a bit of an illusion -- something politicians boasted about while the lynch mobs howled their pathetic but psychopathic howl -- but from a few decades ago, maybe about the time the Washington Post had the courage to go up against a corrupt Adminstration to expose the Watergate scandal and an extraordinarily corrupt President, it started becoming real: it was there for the grabbing. Since then, stupid fat white guys in SUVs have traded cheap prices at WalMart for that fleeting freedom.
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I don't have a clue how Obama (or anyone) can dig the US out of debt, get the jobs back, provide health coverage for people, fix the schools, end the war, etc and etc. At least, he seems to WANT to fix things. I can't imagine how McCain will be able to win the presidency, but then, I was shocked by the fact that Dubya "won" the past two times.
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"Americans threw away their freedom when business and govt leaders shipped American jobs to other countries and plowed us deep into debt."
Ah, yes, the glorious economic legacy of dear ol' Uncle Ronnie, that affable death-squad enabler.
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"At least, he seems to WANT to fix things."
And at least he recognizes that things need to be fixed, as opposed to claiming that everything's basically hunky dory. That, I think, is his biggest strength of all.
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The mainstream media exists, as it always has, to serve the interests of its owners. Those do not coincide with any great regularity, with those of the mass of the population.
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"She's currently claiming that Obama attracted only 20,000 Berliners. Wonder why?"
Probably because she's very stupid. I imagine she's trying to claim it was the 200,000 figure came from the Obama camp. In fact it was the estimate of the German police.
Besides, you only have to look at the photos to see that this was a truly major crowd.
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/26/mccain-feeling-a-little-left-out/
Well, boo hoo.
You are right about the American media being completely useless. Time Magazine sometimes offers a worthwhile article, but mostly it's all a wasteland. One way to get accurate information is to watch Fox News, then just assume the opposite of evertyhing they say is true. This technique is surprisingly effective, though there are side effects, including, but not limited to: nausea, headaches, impotency, depression, despair, and fits of uncontrollable rage. Not really worth it.
I tend to get most of my news from comedians these days; Daily Show, Colbert Report, various youtube satires -- you can actually find some interesting truth kernels through these outlets. But yes, I should really get into the habit of watching the BBC.
You are completely right in your assessment of "freedom" in American. It's not just an illusion, it's a sales pitch. It's how they get the downtrodden and poor to vote against their own best interests again and again.
We love to delcare ourselves the "most free" country on earth, knowing full well that the nation was built on the back of slaves. In America;
Freedom = not currently enslaved or incarcerated.
The American dream still exists, but most misinterpret its meaning or are too meek and fearful to try.
Everything about America's corporate driven reality discourages any attempt at the American dream. If you don't get in line with the rest of the corporate drones, you will not be able to afford healthcare for you and your family. Your credit score will be ruined, preventing you from buying a house. It's extortion.
Our national slogan might as well be:
The American Dream: I dare you to even try, motherfuckers!
The nation has been brainwashed to value convenience above all else. There is a great desire to avoid looking directly at whatever unpleasant truth that may interrupt our collective bovine complacency.
People don't want improvement, they want sameness. They don't mind if their basic human rights are slowly stripped from them, as long as it's done slowly enough that they hardly notice, and that it doesn't obviously interfere with their daily routines.
This country is standing on a precipice and doesn't seem to notice. It's fucking astounding.
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"This country is standing on a precipice and doesn't seem to notice."
This amazes me, too. (See my second note in reply to sci_o_biscuits, above.) Even most of those who're desperate to see the back of Il Buce and despise his near-clone Il McBuce seem to think the current disaster is just, like, well, sort of a bump in the road: nothing too much to get worried about. There's no appreciation of the potentially historic -- or end-of-historic -- nature of the times we're living in. This may be the end for decades or centuries of the "democratic experiment" so far as the US is concerned. Of course, even that apprehension could be a trivium alongside what climate change may do to human civilization as a whole.
The biggest lesson of history is probably: There's no going back. There must have been imperial Romans who thought the Barbarians at the gate were nothing more than a temporary misfortune, easy enough to sort out, normal service will soon be resumed . . .
PS
"Since then, stupid fat white guys in SUVs have traded cheap prices at WalMart for that fleeting freedom."
And I write this as a stupid fat white guy myself. No SUV, though. No shopping in WalMart, either.