Displaying 3,631 To 3,660 Of 3,698 Comments The End of Democracy Will Be Televised It’s laziness. And penny pinching. Real journalism is hard work. It takes training — years of it. It takes patience. You have to sit in on a lot of boring meetings. You have to wade through pages and pages of transcripts and budgets and bills. And you have to be smart enough to understand what you’re hearing and seeing. You have to be willing to go to dangerous places and talk to hostile people. And when all is said and done, you have to have the wisdom to know when you’ve come across something important. And THEN you have to have the humility to be able to communicate it to people who have an 8th grade education. That’s the world of the real journalist. You can’t do that on a shoestring. And you can’t do it with a stable of self-congratulating wannabe cocktail party hopefuls. That, IMHO, is the state of television news right now. » Posted By nellie On October 11, 2009 @ 10:59 am Is America a Conservative Failure by Design? Mr. Obama’s election has been an eye opener. It’s difficult to tease out from the hysteria the following components: 1) Media hype — always going for the outrage Personally, I thought his administration would be much more of a bore. The president has a wonkish policy agenda that 80 percent of the country agrees with. So why all the spectacle? Why do people stir up so much drama? Because they can. And everyone is riding the president’s coattails in whatever way it benefits their own little piece of the pie. What I am enjoying about this administration is the giant civics lesson that seems to be going on in this country. People actually know what it means for a bill to be voted out of committee. That is a really good thing. For me, it’s too soon to get any kind of read on whether this president is going to be a real game changer or not. But if the Ba-Rock Star can make people pay attention, finally, to the way our government works, maybe it will catch on, and maybe that’s worth all the headaches. I think we’re going to see a success with this man. He doesn’t seem to settle for less. And in spite of all the backlash, the country likes him. The world likes him. And that might have just as much to do with a president’s success as anything else. » Posted By nellie On September 28, 2009 @ 11:53 pm TV is a double edged sword. I haven’t had television in about three or four years, I guess. I can’t say I think any better, but I feel a lot calmer. And I still watch a good Frontline or a documentary or Bill Moyers, or even a cool show like Burn Notice, on the internet. There’s good and bad. I think television is just one of those things that got invented and people use, like cars. » Posted By nellie On September 28, 2009 @ 11:43 pm For some reason, the bee story really freaks me out. I have two bee hives in my backyard, and I’m fascinated by these little guys. They are completely friendly unless someone gets too close to the hive. They fly right by me on their way home from their daily endeavors — whatever they may be. And they’re always on the move, coming and going. I’m a little saddened to think they’re kept deliberately stupid by their leadership. Reminds me of the GOP. I like to think of nature as more progressive. I always thought bees had some kind of genetic disposition to get the work done. Like ants. At least there’s no unemployment, and the community feels a sense of purpose. Now I’m wondering about ants — are they made to be stupid, too? This could disrupt my entire concept of the natural world! Great article, AdLib! » Posted By nellie On September 28, 2009 @ 12:19 pm Capitalism – An Abusive Marriage I agree with your outlook. Multiple systems for multiple purposes. There are some functions that require a monopoly to have any efficiencies at all. There are some functions that rightly belong to all of us, the commons, and should be overseen by all of us — the government. And there is room for business and enterprise, research and innovation. We need a mixed system. And we need regulation to keep it efficient and high functioning. What we have now is very inefficient and very low functioning. It confers disproportionate benefits on a very small segment of society — benefits that have nothing to do with effort or merit. We need regulation to keep corruption from displacing honest actors with bad ones. And we need a complex mix of systems to fit the complexities of society. Well said, KQuark. » Posted By nellie On September 24, 2009 @ 11:41 pm Don’t be so sure that a tribesman would welcome the neighborhood supermarket. There is a real effort among native peoples to preserve their connection with the earth and the spirituality of living in harmony with nature. They do not let go of that paradigm easily. You only need to look to the Inuits and the fishermen in Washington state to see this rejection of “civilization.” » Posted By nellie On September 24, 2009 @ 11:33 pm I think we have some fairly good examples of functioning capitalism in Europe right now. And in Japan. The problem in the U.S. is that we make everything else subservient to maximizing profits, including fair market practices. To me, capitalism is a pretty simple concept. People fulfill some demand and sell some product or service, where they own the means of production independently. And as long as there’s adequate demand, more people can enter the market and do the same thing. As long as labor can bargain, the system works pretty well. We’ve had such a perverse form of the system for so long — one that Adam Smith never would have sanctioned. But I still don’t have a problem with the theory. Even the Native Americans were capitalists. I do believe there’s such a thing as the commons, which is ill served by capitalism, and which is the sphere of government. And I believe in policing the system. There is no such thing a pure capitalism. That’s a myth. Just as pure democracy is a myth. But local business, living wages, keep communities thriving. And I know corporations have legal standing as persons. But I still think the focus should be on the people making the corporate decisions. It puts a human face on the inhumanity. This is why CNN freaked out at the ad about the insurance CEO. They want to be invisible. As long as people focus on the corporation as the bad actor, there’s no motivation for the people running the company to do what’s right. Or to hire people with a sense of responsibility. » Posted By nellie On September 24, 2009 @ 11:20 pm I have no problems with capitalism. My problems are with oligopoly, collusion, price fixing, monopoly, vertical integration, and horizontal integration. I like a good antitrust paradigm that makes the words “free market” close to a reality. Right now our corporations are thieves and fiefdoms. They are not businesses. They shut out competition, gobble up rivals, underprice, gouge, and refuse to provide the products and services they get paid to produce. Our business world has run amok. Worst of all, it has purchased the very people responsible for keeping it in line. And make no mistake, these corporations are run by human beings. It isn’t the corporation that is the sociopath, it is the CEO, the Chairman of the Board, the CFO, the COO — any person in the configuration that devises and approves a policy that puts money above the health and welfare of the human community. Calling the corporation a sociopath, IMHO, is going soft on the real culprits. » Posted By nellie On September 24, 2009 @ 10:20 pm Voices of the Teabaggers Movement I just can’t watch this kind of thing on video. I’ve seen too much of it face to face. I may be overly sensitive, but I find this behavior very frightening. » Posted By nellie On September 16, 2009 @ 7:40 pm It’s Getting Ugly Out There Folks I second that. Add in some sun screen and you’re all set. » Posted By nellie On September 16, 2009 @ 7:50 pm Hey, I LOVE the click to edit. Thank you! And you are right, AdLib. I would only add that it’s really the corporate oligarchy that is pulling the strings, and these angry astro turf screamers are their puppets. It’s a sad sad situation all around. Even Timothy McVeigh was a dupe. Which of course goes to show that, puppets or not, these folks can be very dangerous. » Posted By nellie On September 15, 2009 @ 7:54 pm Good strategy. I find I can get sucked into the bickering, especially when I see outright lies and no one is posting a strong rebuttal. A lot of people don’t know the facts, and it’s really hard to walk away when I have a link handy. » Posted By nellie On September 15, 2009 @ 1:16 pm That’s a really good observation about the comment system. The main reason I go to HP is for the discussion. It’s like another social networking site. And even HP has recognized that the social networking is the strength — they’ve started that new social thing on the site. It would be amazing to have a serious news outlet with that kind of comment system. » Posted By nellie On September 15, 2009 @ 12:33 pm I hate to say this, but it’s our own fault. I have been weaning myself off the Huffington Post for the past month. I don’t comment much any more — maybe two or three a day if I feel I have something useful to say. And I don’t really get my news there, either. If progressives want the news media to be a real news media, they have to start voting with their presence and their dollars. The Real News is trying to set up an alternative network that specializes in in-depth investigations, discussions, and coverage of news stories. It’s a member supported, non profit venture. If that effort got the attention that HP gets, it would be in the process of building a pretty strong base. Common Dreams is another good source of progressive news, even though it spotlights its bloggers and op ed pieces. But the news column and newswire are good sources of progressive news. Sites like HP, Talking Points Memo, and Raw Story have abandoned the original mission that made them strong in the first place– in favor of growing their finances. It makes me wonder whether the appeal of hard core progressive news only goes so far. At some point a commercial venture has to compromise. I read lately the sad news that my local Pacifica station is struggling to keep its audience. KPFK in Los Angeles is one of the best radio offerings around, carrying Amy Goodman and Free Speech Radio News. This coincides with the emergence of KTLK in Los Angeles, a progressive talk radio station that carries Randi Rhodes, Ron Reagan, and Thom Hartmann. Serious broadcasting has a hard time competing with entertainment. And whose fault is that? it’s ours. We can only do so much as individual listeners. Progressives have yet to band together to fight the destruction of our media. The right has corporate money. The left has organizing.. We organized to get Obama elected. We organized to get civil rights passed. When we fail to organize, the progressive agenda is always trumped by corporate money. It happened with Prop 8. It happens every day with our news. The internet gives us a comfort zone. We know there are other people out there like us. We have a place to talk. But we still need to organize to get things done. The health care reform process proves this every day. We’re going to have to work just as hard to get a real news organization established — and to keep it alive — in this country. » Posted By nellie On September 15, 2009 @ 8:03 am Read My Lips: No Pubic Option! That’s what the Inuits used to do. » Posted By nellie On September 13, 2009 @ 5:40 pm There’s an old story in the civil rights movement about the coalition between low income blacks and whites in the south, who recognized that they had a lot in common, who were working side by side doing the same work. It frightened the power structure so much, that they fabricated a story about a black man raping a white woman.. and the rest is history. Low income whites will never understand how they are used and abused until they can cut the emotional ties with elites who keep telling them they are in the same “tribe.” The reality is that these folks have nothing more in common with George Bush, who went to Andover and Yale, Harvard Business school, was protected, privileged and wealthy his entire life, and who sneers at anyone not in his own income bracket who would deign to look at him as an equal. If they knew how they were laughed at by the people who egg them on, I wonder if it would make a difference to any in that crowd. » Posted By nellie On September 13, 2009 @ 1:02 pm Very powerful. Thank you for sharing this memory. » Posted By nellie On September 12, 2009 @ 9:16 pm Republicans: Why do you deserve my vote? The short answer, DCTVixen, is.. they don’t. What is their platform? If they run on their ideology, we have eight years of Bush to refute any argument they might make about fiscal management, size of government, or “culture wars” leaving our nation in good shape. What they put forth now is fringe illogic. And no matter how often we might hear the GOP defended by our corporate media, the average American is neither a fringe cultist nor an illogical ignoramus. Republicans will never appeal to the liberals in this country because the don’t believe in community responsibility. And their fringe illogic will never appeal to the center. A friend posted this link on facebook. Max Blumenthal is one of my favorite bloggers. You might find what he has to say very interesting: » Posted By nellie On September 11, 2009 @ 9:29 pm In the best of times, the reins of leadership are in the hands of people who feel deeply about the principles of our governance. I think this is one of those times. » Posted By nellie On September 13, 2009 @ 4:52 pm Great topic, KQuark, and one that will always be relevant and important. I have to admit, I don’t understand Nationalism. It seems nothing more than slavishness to me — to allow any leadership to steer the country into ugliness simply because that leader is shouting at the top of his (her) lungs “We’re number one!” It just doesn’t compute. I will never understand what happened in Germany. I do not understand what is happening here. I can only conclude that some people are that stupid, that angry, that violent, and that hateful — and they are just looking for any excuse to act out. Under normal circumstances they would be controlled by the standards of the society. But when you have enough people in leadership positions saying that bad behavior is okay because “We’re number one!” it seems they can draw a crowd and build a following that’s hard to control. Of course patriotism has its complications as well. I love this country, while being fully aware that it stole land from my ancestors, enslaved other ancestors, invaded and conquered still other ancestors. So much of our history is glossed over because, well, here we are and what are we going to do about it. But the principles that underly our constitution and the structure of our governance are things I truly treasure. What is our country? The principles and the structure, or the people who are using power? It can get very complicated. » Posted By nellie On September 12, 2009 @ 9:46 pm Beautiful post. Thanks, Lulu. » Posted By nellie On September 11, 2009 @ 1:52 pm But still my biggest frustration comes from what could have been if we had a real leader at the time. » Posted By nellie On September 12, 2009 @ 8:52 am Another thoughtful post, AdLIb. I’ve come to understand a lot about human nature from witnessing the loss of character that can be transmitted to people through shock and fear. We have some work to do to reclaim our nobility. Electing Barack Obama was a sign that we are looking to change what we became, but the way the country has reacted to his presidency shows we have a long way to go. » Posted By nellie On September 12, 2009 @ 8:50 am AdLib, your post has moved me to try to express what I feel about 911 in a way I haven » Posted By nellie On September 11, 2009 @ 1:37 pm That is a very comprehensive and thought provoking post, AdLib. I am usually at a loss for words when it comes to 911 and all that followed, but I would like to respond. I just need some time to think about it. » Posted By nellie On September 11, 2009 @ 10:46 am You can gouge me with overdraft fees, but please don’t give me health insurance! Welcome, DCTVixen! You’ve come to the right place. » Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 10:36 pm It’s time: I need YOU, WE need US I agree with you. I think the democrats are civil. I also think they’re very corporate, and what we might see as timidity is really an affinity for big business and big money. The progressive caucus is not timid, is not ambivalent. I grew up around political people and I know they are smart. They know exactly what they’re doing. And they have an certain disdain for people who are not in the political system What they do in front of the cameras is not who they are. It’s who they are for the public. Very different things. » Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 10:49 pm Your idea is very exciting. I’m a webmaster, but I had to look up 31337 so I don’t know if I’m the person you’re looking for. But I’m glad to pitch in where I can. I have started my own site, SKIM, that simply lists the accomplishments of this administration. I noticed there was no place on the web where one could go to see an easy summary of what congress and the president were doing. You’re right — this is a time where one person can have an impact without needing billions of dollars to do it. It’s a great idea. I’m looking forward to seeing your project come to life. » Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 7:10 pm President Obama Hit the Reset Button on Healthcare Reform Like only He Could What I would love to see is the emergence of two or three additional parties to the mix. A labor party, a green party, a legitimate conservative part — probably close to the DLC dems, and a truly progressive party. I would love to see us deal with campaign finance reform and election reform, including instant runoff voting, to bring real choice and security to our election process. I’m very idealistic politically. This is the first time in a long time that I feel like it could be a new age for political responsibility. » Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 10:44 pm AdLib, as an Independent, I’m more than happy to see the Democrats reap the rewards of passing this legislation. My hope is that it will re-energize the political idealism that we’ve lost in this country so that the cynicism and commercialism of the GOP becomes politically extinct so that we can really begin to move forward in this country. We have a lot of lost time to make up. » Posted By nellie On September 10, 2009 @ 7:22 pmComments Posted By nellie
2) Racism — shocking to see it worn so proudly by so many Americans
3) Vast right wing conspiracy — Bill Clinton is spot on with his recent comments
4) Celebrity fever — he is the number one celebrity in the world right now. Any hype is good hype
5) Corporate fear — the goodies might actually go away (or at least diminish)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112683449
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That was what we needed so badly — and did not have.
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