Hate Speech in the USA

Last night we viewed one of the most disturbing TV segments we've seen. It was on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. The segment dealt with the hate speech of the so-called "Shock Jocks" on the radio and TV. For the first time, I heard these people telling people to take us "liberals" out and shoot us. At least one misguided soul has actually gone to a Unitarian Church and did just that. The segment brought anger and fear to me, since I still call myself a "liberal" and didn't imagine that I was putting my life in danger in that way. If you haven't seen the segment, I urge you to go to this link and view it. CLICK HERE 

Just another reason that I am seriously considering a permanent move outside the US.

Where to Get the Facts

As the election season heats up to white-hot proportions, it is more and more important that we all engage in fact checking for ourselves. The best source of factual information on what the campaigns are saying is factcheck.org. CLICK HERE

For a graphic version that is lighter and more fun to look at go to Politifact.com CLICK HERE.

I know that there is a theory out there that fact checking just reinforces the lies because somehow we don't really register the "not true" part of a fact check and only remember the "fact" itself, but I still think that some of us are awake enough to process information.

I strongly urge you to bookmark these URLs and go there regularly to see who is lying and who is distorting. I will continue to write posts about the misleading statements I hear on TV, online, and what people tell me as I'm out working as a voter registrar here in Santa Fe, but it is important that we all check the facts for ourselves.

"A Lie a Day Keeps the Issues Away" John McCain

I'm sure you have noticed the pattern that all the political pundit's have noticed—the McCain campaign comes out nearly every day with some lie or half truth that Obama has to counter, using media time that is needed to get the issues before the American public. The corporate media treats each new lie as "news" and keeps it going all day until the Republicans feed it the next one tomorrow. And so it goes, constant diversion from the serious problems that the Bush administration has created over the past eight years.

What to do? Democrats are scratching their heads and wondering. Obama faces a unique challenge—the perception in the public that an "angry black man" is dangerous. So he really can't do more than he is doing. However, what we can do is call a lie a lie and a liar a liar. JOHN MCCAIN IS A LIAR pass it on!

McCain and Georgia

That’s Georgia, the country near Russia, not the state in the US. I had heard some rumblings that McCain might have a commercial or business interest in ramping up the US saber rattling about the recent incursion of Russia into Georgia. This is what I have found so far.

The West’s interest in Georgia stems from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline — a major supplier of crude to Western markets. This pipeline is one of three that cross Georgia from east to west bypassing Russia. CLICK HERE It is not difficult to see why Russia might like to disrupt that flow which would cause an increase in the price of crude oil in the West. The pipeline is owned jointly by a number of big oil companies such as BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips along with several state-owned oil companies.

One possible connection between McCain and BTC is that big oil has contributed over $800,000 to his campaign thus far CLICK HERE. Another, more direct connection might be that his principal foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann is a lobbyist for Georgia CLICK HERE. So far I have not found any more direct connection here, and it may simply be that McCain is working on behalf of some big campaign contributors or his lobbyist/advisor is influencing the senator. Certainly, it would be to McCain’s political advantage to reignite the cold war with Russia on the eve of the election. There may be several interlocking interests here. I was alerted to this when McCain sent his wife to Georgia to “assess the damage” of the Russian incursion. That seemed very unusual to me, given the hot political race here in the US. Some statements made by a German friend about what might be behind it started my search. If I find anything more I’ll report it here.

There is a good summary of the connection between the Georgia conflict and oil on the Huffington Post CLICK HERE. OK, here is a thought question for you—how many dustups and actual wars would we not be participating in if our dependence on foreign oil had been reduced in the past eight years? Now we will need ten years more (if we elect a president who isn't in big oil's pocket) just to get to that place. Can we all take the pledge to forgo any more consideration of Sarah Palin's pregnant teenage daughter until we begin to solve the energy crisis? I promise that that is the last time I'll use that name on this blog.

Here is a video worth watching

Dissent or Terrorism?

Behind the media feeding frenzy about Sarah Palin and John McCain there is another, more sinister, drama unfolding in the Twin Cities. People whose purpose is to register dissent about the wars, waged and proposed, by the Bush administration are being arrested and charged with terrorism. The corporate media are too busy with the red meat thrown their way by the RNC to notice that American citizens are being charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism for planning protests and for attempting to document police state acts by law enforcement personnel at the Republican Convention. In case you think these charges are simple misdemeanors let me tell you that conspiracy to commit terrorism is a felony with penalties of around seven years of imprisonment. If you want to follow up on these activities there are good interviews available at the Democracy Now website. CLICK HERE

While it is probably true that many or most of those being held in Twin City jails will be released after the Republicans leave town, the effect of these tactics is to discourage any dissent in this country. If you, as a citizen of the United States, care about personal liberty and the freedom to dissent, it is your duty to make your voice heard now. Blogging is a very effective way to speak truth to power and I urge you to exercise your freedom before you lose it forever.

Slogans

One political activity that I am working on these days is careful monitoring of the Republican propaganda machine. I am registered in the McCain campaign at one of my alternate email addresses and I read everything the campaign puts out. I also monitor the video ads they are preparing to flood the markets with. One characteristic that stands out as I monitor these sources is their skillful use of two- and three-word slogans.

George Bush’s speech to the Republican Convention was filled with them. I have commented about the “angry left” as an example, but other examples could be sited. Just after her speech before the convention, Sarah Palin signed on to a choice bit of sloganeering which, I’m sure was created by the Roves of the campaign. Here are some examples:

“At a time when our nation is fighting a war to defeat radical Islamic extremism and our economy is at a crossroads, America needs John McCain and Reform Republicans who have the resolve, judgment and experience to lead.”

Note “radical Islamic extremism” and “Reform Republicans.”

“Please help us get our message past the liberal media filter and directly to the voters by making a secure online contribution of $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250, $100, $50 or $25 to RNC Victory 2008 today.”

Note “liberal media filter.” What liberal media? I’ve noted how the media has been silent for the most part about the police state tactics used on the streets of the Twin Cities. Is that a “liberal media?”

“The Obama Democrats and their liberal special interests allies are spending unprecedented amounts of money on get-out-the-vote drives.”

Note “Obama Democrats” and “liberal special interests.”

I urge you to be watching for these two- and three-word slogans, which are intended to influence us without shedding any light on the real issues that this country faces. It has been the skillful use of slogans such as these that has given the Republicans victories in recent years. Only an informed citizenry can protect ourselves against this fogging of thought. We must develop a more critical filter for sloganeering from our politicians.

George Bush’s “Angry Left”

“Fellow citizens, if the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.”

Here in a single statement George Bush encapsulated the standard Republican strategy of divide and conquer. He divides the citizens of the country into groups that he wants to hate each other: The Angry Left and the rest of us. It was Carl Rove at his best. There are the good folks like us, who will just go to the polls and elect another Republican president and there are those terrible people who want things to change and are angry about it.

If there was any doubt about what the Republicans intend to do this election season you can read Rick Davis’s statement that issues are unimportant this election CLICK HERE.

How do the citizens of this country combat the cult of hate that lies just under the surface of the Republican strategy? Rick Davis gives us the answer—the one thing they fear most: that the people of this country will take a serious look at the record of failure, mismanagement, and outright criminal activity of the present administration and say “THANKS, BUT NO THANKS.” 

Let’s keep our sights clearly on the issues and let those who would distract us with smoke and mirrors  finally fail to win with divide and conquer tactics.

Suppression of Dissent in the US

The news of the arrest of Amy Goodman and her producers while they were working as reporters at the Republican Convention in St. Paul (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS) underlines the increasing official clampdown of anything that smacks of dissent in the US. Doubly worrisome is the near total lack of any coverage of these incidents in the main stream media. We are systematically being duped by our media to concentrate of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy while near police state tactics are allowed to go on without so much as a word in the media.

Last night I spent the evening with Jes and Leslie Richardson of Code Pink (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS) who are engaged worldwide with peace activities. They have just returned from Iran, where they report that the perceptions in the West of Iran and the next target in the “war on terrorism” are totally distorted. Leslie was arrested in connection with a protest at the congressional testimony by General Petrus about the state of affairs in the middle east. Not only was Leslie arrested, but she reports that the charges against her were raised to include “Conspiracy,” a much more serious charge. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS)

I urge you to view the police tactics that are being employed at the Republican Convention to see what serious trouble democracy is in in the USA. If you would like to see Democracy Now's hour-long news broadcast about these arrests CLICK HERE.