I am sick of this crap.

We have serious issues facing our nation. People are dying in an unjust war, global warming is threatening the future of our planet, we have serious problems with poverty and homelessness, we have people being denied equal rights, we have a government is illegally monitoring the phone calls of innocent Americans, our military is engaging in acts of torture, and we have a serious dependence on fossil fuels that is creating global problems.

Yet what does our media choose to focus on? John Edwards has an expensive haircut, Hillary Clinton showed cleavage, Barack Obama is not black enough, Dennis Kucinich is short, Larry Craig propositioned for sex in a bathroom, Al Gore uses energy and eats sea bass, Britney Spears went crazy, and Lindsey Lohan has an alcohol problem.

What the fuck is wrong with our priorities? I don't support every one whose names I have mentioned above, yet today I found self in the odd position of defending Larry Craig, a freaking moron of a Senator because people were taking the accusations against him way out of proportion. They were making it sound as if our bathrooms were so unsafe that they needed to be patrolled by undercover cops to keep the gays away. I don't ever want to be in a situation where I feel the need to defend a vile Republican hypocrite like Craig ever again, please let's recognize the real issue. The man votes for homophobic legislation and supports an illegal and unjust war, if we are going to focus on Larry Craig focus on his real crimes and what he did in that bathroom is a non-issue compared to what he did in the Senate.

I am not a big fan of Hillary Clinton either, but who cares if she showed some cleavage? I have an announcement for our media, WOMEN HAVE BREASTS. Are we really that prude that we need to have talk shows debating Hillary's choice of clothing because we can't handle seeing a tiny bit of cleavage? My god, the rest of the world must think we are truly pathetic if we are so concerned about breasts that we make them a campaign issue.

Could Al Gore use less energy than he does? Of course he could, he knows that and he is taking steps to reduce his carbon footprint. But I have news for everyone. We ALL use too much energy, and we could ALL take steps to reduce our energy consumption. To focus on the energy use of an individual who is at least making attempts to deal with global warming is just plain stupid, if we want to be serious about cutting energy consumption we first need to recognize where WE can cut back on energy consumption not where Al Gore could cut back.

Can we please finally cut the crap and call the media on their bullshit? I may personally think it is stupid to spend $400 on a haircut, but you know what? It is not my $400 so why the fuck should I care if someone else wastes their own personal funds on a haircut?

So let me make it clear once and for all. The gays are not a big threat to our nation's restrooms. Seeing a bit of cleavage is not going to kill you. It does not matter how much of his own money John Edwards chooses to spend on a haircut. It does not matter how black Barack Obama is. And Al Gore is not single handedly destroying our planet. We don't have to be concerned about any of these things.

Instead we need to be concerned about the hundreds of thousands of people killed in an illegal and unjust war. We need to be concerned about the rapid destruction of our environment. We need to be concerned about the children who will be sleeping on the streets tonight. And we need to be concerned about media consolidation or we will keep being spoon fed crap about cleavage and hair cuts while the real issues go ignored.

Limbaugh and the rest do a good job of distracting us from the "real issues".

Even Keith O. does it at times.

Force the other side to face the issues by being hard hitting and factual.

When the nonsense comes on -- tune out.

has a golden opportunity.

Stick to the facts, cut out crap a la Randi Rhodes who does have some good points but strays into personal attacks.

Stop the hero worshiping of candidates and talk show hosts.

Oprah backs Obama - big deal. What does she know?

Seems as if politics in America is turning into a big circus.

Demand people think. Demand people take issues seriously.

This crap has to stop where people get elected or not elected because of the way they look or some slick ads.

Otherwise, we are going to have another George W. Bush.

As I have said, educate the masses how to evaluate the candidates.


Most just go with what ever fancies them without thinking of the consequences.

ROVE UNDERSTOOD THIS AND USED THAT FACT MASTERFULLY

But to keep his job he has to focus on superficial crap as well as the good stuff.

:applause:

The media doesn't know what else to do anymore. The next step will be to disallow any other candidates from participating.

You are so right!

and that's exactly what the GOP wants - to beat Hillary in the general election. Final revenge for 1992. So our right-wing TV cable/network news channels constantly feed us Hillary as the "front-runner", even long before the campaign season started.

She is their last hope to get another Repuke in the White House, otherwise they won't get one in.

After all, what god-fearing, family-values oriented right-wing citizen would ever elect a "nigger" President?

The GOP is even artifically pumping her up. Roves interviews are utterly transparant in this regard. She is either cast as 'the candidate we are worried about' (right...) or the most sane sounding candidate.

They hope that democrats are stupid and that the liberals will think "Wow anything that the GOP is afraid of is good!" and for the moderates to say: "Hey maybe William Saffire will vote for Hillary"

Thank you!

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

:headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

:applause:

:yourock:

I could care less about another's color, religion or sex. I do worry about my Country and my fellow creatures of this earth though

Thank you for speaking the truth.

Who will use their power to change this world we have devastated?

Great rant! :pals:

Before you know it, we'll be bombing Iran.

that Al Gore eats sea bass. I didn't even know that that is now a crime against something or other.

Asked you a question
I didn't need you to reply
Is it gettin' heavy?
But then I realized
Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Is it overwhelming
To use a crane to crush a fly?
It's a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky

'Cause it's gettin' heavy
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
The best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy as can be.

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
The best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

- The Flaming Lips

Well written and so very true.

they think that they can win with her as the candidate? Maybe so but I feel that it is actually because they think that she can win & they are ok with that. She will not change much in policy, domestic or foreign because she is a centrist, which is alright with Moderate Repugs, Center Dems & Independents. The RWing front runners, Mitt, Rudy G. Fred T. cannot defeat her. The RWing are hedging their bets.

Our airwaves! We the poeple own them I thought.
Of course if we kick off Murdoch & Ailes etc. WE will have to handle the programing!
Great rant! You are 100% correct! If you read the comments under the articles at Information Clearing House, you can get a feeling for how others in other countries percveive us..NOT GOOD!

I have had 101 letters to the editor published in my local paper.Not exceptional,except that my paper is smack-dab in the middle of a 65% Repub district that bows to Joe Barton,Kay Bailey Hutchison,and John Cornyn.I will give the repub editor credit for printing all views,and printing all my letters unedited.Have I made a difference?We'll see in 2008.Make a difference where YOU live.We are singing to the choir here.

I agree, I hate the mass media in this country. There is a special place in hell reserved for whoever decided to merge celebrity entertainment news with real news.

it might be instructive to ask why it chooses to focus on those things? No harm in asking the who, where, why, when, and how as well as the what.

The mainstream media is almost purely an entertainment and propaganda instrument.

here's another...in my viewpoint.... insightful excerpt found on Third World Traveler
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media_control_propaganda/PoliticsNewsMedia.html

You should post that as a new thread.

it here and there..I could post that entire website....maybe you would like to post it? I'm about done in for the day.:hi:

I agree Iraq is a pressing matter, but since when has the likes of Senator Craig not been a real issue? The man was an anti-gay repuke. Bring him out and expose him for the scum he is since it brings the gay rights issue to the spotlight.

He did a lot more harm to the country in the Senate than he did in the bathroom.

...some problems would be solved by now. However, the age-old Talking Shit principle supercedes them all.

we live in a very debased society where the dialogue IS entertainment media/marketing directed. Everything is packaged alike whether it's a war, natural disaster, political upheaval, movie premiere, or teen star breakdown.
If I may borrow a ready-made formal cliche from the wonderful people who manage contemporary perception--"You can't put that genie back in the bottle"

And that's a goddamn pity.

,...and frustrating, of course, and discouraging,...among other things.

Yup, Craig got called on his hypocrisy. MOVE ON!
Hillary has a cleavage? WHO CARES!
Obama is a mixed breed. SO WHAT?
Al still uses electricity and drives an automobile. THAT'S NEWS-WORTHY?
Young starlets get drunk. *LOL* THAT IS UNUSUAL?


You'd think we have ALL become self-involved, intolerant assholes giving so damn much attention to the imperfections of individuals. It's sick.

BUT IT WORKS, HUH!!!

The American people are so frustrated and confused and are struggling with no end in sight that they are as vulnerable as Germans were pre-NAZI. They can NOT EVER grab what they see on teevee in terms of the modern-day American dream. They are as vulnerable as the German people were and are/have/will be USED AND MANIPULATED in similar terms.

In spite of the FACT that the "danger" in American life is being usurped for every drop of blood and every conscious thought and every damn dime people hold,...the American people have been manipulated to believe that there are greater enemies (whether floods or terrorists or gays or hurricanes or drunks or earthquakes or "the shooter" or bird flu) that threaten their existence.

The easiest population to manipulate is a fear-filled and desperate one.

award winning rant!

http://www.algaeawards.com/

select blogs at left

I have posted on DU many times, trying to muster support for this issue, with almost no response.

We don't have to take this sh*t, but they'll continue to give it to us, until we restore restrictions against consolidated media ownership, etc.

If you don't know the names of any of the Congressional bills that have been proposed to this end, now's a good time to look them up.

he posted a damned good rant that might help to focus our attentions off of the shiny object of the moment that the MSM continuously dangles in front of us.

I don't think your criticism is fair at all. You do make a good point about contacting our Congress-person though.

I've seen continual complaints about the media on DU since I've been here -- three years -- yet almost no sign of anyone actually doing anything about the issue.

And it's the most critical issue after election reform. Our ability to do anything about any other issue depends on our being able to find news about what's really going on, and being able to get the word out to the majority of the public who are mostly working too hard to spend hours on the 'net trying to find the real news.

bread and circuses, you know.

It is so true that the damage Larry Craig did to the country with
his votes and insane speeches as Senator is of far greater import
than his solicitations in the stall in the men's room.

BUT: if his resignation comes due to that instead of due to his
Senate record, well, I'm still for it. Not because of the cause
of his resignation, but because it brings national attention to
the fact that these people are making a lot of noise rallying
their base against that which some of them, in secret, are. The
media may only report the bathroom stall and the resignation, but
the people of Idaho, the majority of which do not appear to be
burdened by a wave of enlightenment, now get to be confronted by
something they never contemplated before: this Senator, whose
stances were good enough to get them to vote him into the Senate
more than once, may be something that he, himself, told them was
abhorrent. If that gives some red staters (and I know that if so,
it will be only a tiny minority) pause to rethink their positions
on that and other things, maybe, just maybe, a seed of change will
have been sewn somewhere.

As for the rest, I'm with you in the desire to wrong a few media
necks. Some in the media feel that way, too, if it's any consolation.
You will never hear Helen Thomas go on about anyone's haircut.

Unfortunately, she's a part of a tiny minority, too.

:rofl:

...but you have a way with words, and you express it all so well. Thanks! :patriot:

experience births knowledge. it follows then that those who control experience, control knowledge. its rather quite simple... manufacturing consent.
if you give a caged monkey enough toys to play with, eventually it forgets it a caged monkey.

I am sick of celebutards, I am sick of mourning Princess Diana - one woman of privilige vs millions who have died in the last 10 yrs because of wars, genocide, and poverty, I am sick of having non-issues spoonfed to me by MSM, I am sick of hearing about abortion, same sex marriage, and gun control as if they were the ONLY issues facing us (note the word only - I think abortion is important, and I think same sex marriage is important, but there are other issues to debate about as well).

I am tired of everything being blamed on Clinton, I am tired of politicians refusing to take responsibility for their actions, I am tired of people hating one another.

I can't believe we talk about Hillary's cleavage or Condi's wardrobe (those black leather boots), Edwards' hair or the fact he has a big house and can't speak to poverty, I can't believe pundits call Obama a Half-rican and are still on the air, while others ask if he is black enough.

And finally - the fact that "progressives" actually post garbage about being afraid of gays accosting them in bathrooms (don't flatter yourself), or that their children are unsafe because gays might expose them to sex or try to have sex with them (homosexuality does not equal pedophilia or bestiality for that matter), or to hint that being gay is an insult or something to be ashamed of ("Rove left because he is gay") - all of this makes me sick when I read it on some forums.

phew done for now

YES . . . I agree there is a lot of time wasted at DU going over issues that have been discussed before and trying to iron out new issues -- like Larry Craig. But, in many ways it is a positive effort to understand issues which have for so long impacted our elections -- and over hundreds of years been repressive social controls.

I even like the fact that DU has taken the time to consider the feelings of homosexuals who post at DU and whether the discussions have offended them.

Arguments with MSM can perhaps better be resolved by simply tuning out. After all, this is more than 30 years now of distortion by MSM -- and I presume we have all tried in that time to make effective comment/protest and it's just not going to happen without government renewal of Faireness in Broadcasting regulations. Tune out!

DU isn't MSM; we do have to pick up the pieces that have been distorted, we do have to look at the propaganda and work out what the attacks really are.

YES . . . from the highest perspective the real issues are Global Warming and fascism --
We'd probably have time to fight the fascism, but Global Warming is moving rapidly and is a threat to all of humanity and the planet, itself. I would hope that everyone here understands that.

HOWEVER . . . DU is also an educational/informative effort and we certainly all recognize that has to be a constant on-going effort.

MSM will distort all of the issues -- from Princess Diana's efforts to introduce royalty to human compassion, to stop landmine use, to confront AIDS -- to presenting half-truths about "partial birth abortion" -- and letting the NRA suggest that regulation of guns equals "taking guns away from everyone." At DU, we do have to spend time trying to work out those distortions.

AND . . . it would be nice to see DU concentrate more on solutions/united efforts.

edited, please disregard :blush:

to the media outlets, nothing will ever change. There needs to be an organized campaign to get the bullshit out of the Mainstream media. Even the repugs are sick of it. Most of what's reported on these days would never have made it past the front page of the National Enquirer 20 years ago, and now it's headline news on CNN and ABC world news. Insane. Now we'll hear about Owen Wilson's suicide attempt instead of any investigative journalism into whether or not BushCo is planning to attack Iran.And if the DO attack Iran, we will likely still hear more about Owen Wilson! Bread and Circuses in the New Nero's empire.

Bombard the MSM with letters like the above. Turn off you TV and boycott their sponsors. Don't stop until there is change.

TUNE OUT -- !!!!

When you tune in, you are legitimizing them.

There are enough organizations now keeping an eye on MSM and the right propaganda machine that we are getting immediate news of what's happening in order to respond.

how will americans feel who have been bloviating about craig and lohan and spears feel when we drop a bomb on innocent iranian citizens?

or continue the bloodshed in iraq.

how do we make the joe and sally sixpacks out there get up off their couches and do something about the war? cause most folks I find can't be bothered to show up at a protest....

And so true! :thumbsup:

Distracting citizens from challenging the status quo is priority one, and this one fact is hard to get past. I think the collective US is in a stage where we go back and forth between waking up to this and just wanting to go back to sleep one more day. The sheer immensity and scope of the corruption and violence that is being committed in our names is mind boggling. How on Earth can enough of us prevent events from becoming even more dangerous and FUBAR'd than they already are?
I saw a youtube documentary called The War on Democracy and was deeply moved to watch Venezuelan citizens just heading to the streets in order to regain their voice. They did it peacefully but in sheer numbers could not be ignored. A turning point was when their army began to defend the people and not the corrupt gang that had purpetrated the coup.
One big difference between Venezuela and the US is that we have a shadowy force that seems ready for such a threat from citizenry to show up unexpectedly and in great numbers like that. Stories circulate on line about Brown and Root's detention camps, troops being redeployed around the country and we are left to our imaginations. What average joe and jane American citizen, who may actually be ready to get off the couch and do something, would be ready to face possible arrest, incarceration and now-- loss of property? People who have never known incarceration, the middle class, are the most reluctant to risk losing what they have worked so hard to gain.
What I see now is a standoff between people wanting change and the ones forwarding this dangerous agenda. Peace must be gained by restraining those who are a danger to others. I have to believe that the actual dangerous sociopathic infiltrators in our government are not in the majority but have paid/threatened the people around them into complicity so they all look the same. The courts seem to be in a race to investigate this corruption before more damage is done.
This is like decoding a puzzle. What is the right time to act? Sept 15th is a licenced demonstration in DC. How many more chances will we get to be heard?
I believe we the people need to focus on ONE issue at a time to gain ground. This is how we have been defeated. This country was unraveled by a group of HIGHLY ORGANIZED people who focused on one step at a time. They did not quit one step until they were successful in gaining it. THEN they went to the next step. Our challenge is to unify this diverse population into focusing on one issue at a time. Over and over again, issues surface to distract us from focusing on what needs to be done. These republican perverts in the news are SMALL FRY, bones being thrown in our direction for us to chew on to gain time!!

I vote for IMPEACHMENT of BUSH and CHENEY as the first step to focus on. I believe this is the key that would potentially turn the tide, along with a show of people. What say you?? I also strongly believe that we need to be peaceful and make a POINT of staying within Constitutional Law and Bill of Rights to do what has to be done. It is what defines us from the corrupted ones. I believe the world awaits us.

They Want us stupid, and watching the shiny ball instead of
being informed.

It is no mistake that they dumb down the media. It is their plan.


thanks for the article.....



k&r

Physically, not digitally.

"My god, the rest of the world must think we are truly pathetic if we are so concerned about breasts that we make them a campaign issue."

The rest of the world thinks we are pathetic.

Us being so concerned about breasts that we make them a campaign issue is on the list of reasons why, but it's way down the list.

But yes, they think we are pathetic.

I heard two co-workers who are here from India and Finland on work visas discussing US citizenship. One said he wanted to become a US citizen, to which the other replied "why, what does it really get you other than the ability to vote in elections. And what's the attraction there? The US is not a democracy and has no handle on its elections. Good luck becoming a citizen, to me it's not worth the time. There is nothing to be gained from saying "I am an American." When people tell me that, I'm like yea, so."

Interesting point of view. Can't say I necessarily disagree.

I have seen in days and the responses are right on point. Some days I wonder,it seems as though many are afraid to say what is really going on and will began speaking when it will really be to late. It is really late right now. These upcoming weeks will be when the the CONS will begin put their lies into hard drive. Speak up america!

IS that many DUer's come in and bloviate over the SAME ISSUES ....

The DU Dividers pose the same distractions by splitting hairs on the same minutae ....

It is unfortunate that the partisans in the party insist on slamming each other's preferred candidate every other thread, taking each and every one down a few notches, until there aren't any notches left .... I suppose it is necessary ..... but is it ? ..... What weight is given hairdos and houses here ? .... FAR too much, I am afraid ....

This is one of the best threads I have seen in a while .... Thank You ....

the real issues require real investigation and thoughtful debate whereas crap issues are perfectly served up in crawlers on TV. :puke:

Wow I agree if more people ' tuned out' we could hear ourselves think!
And NOW is the time to THINK and WAKE UP and BE HEARD. Not after the bombs are dropping.
I'd like to see the silent majority speak out enough so it would be impossible for us to be dismissed as a 'focus group'.

Giving the American public the illusion that the candidates of choice are X and Y. All other challengers will be dealt with through smears and slander.
The MSM is part of the whole scheme to marginalize those candidates that might actually provide real change for America.
The status quo is what the MSM and those who control the money want.

I'm sick of what we are focusing on as well.

we can debate personalities until the sun don't shine, but we need to FOCUS on the real issues....
sigh...

Kick!