About
This is a completely non-profit blog intended to be an unbiased (it is not about advertising...and it includes none.) information source. It contains extensive links of interest to tourists. (Right column of the index page.) In its editorial stance it should provide a different point of view than corporate media. In case you haven't noticed...you can't trust corporate, official, mainstream media.
Corporate media is highly filtered, increasingly more concentrated, and no longer produces information that is necessary for a functioning democracy. We try to provide links to quality information.
Remember how Reagan was 'teflon man' ? Broadcasters are all 'conservative' activists. Most of the pundits are right-wing party hacks. They got Bush into office, covered up his election shenanigans, cheered for his war, played down his trademark incompetence, gave him a free pass on his many disastrous policies, excused his lawlessness, and do not comment or analyze real issues. Documentaries have mostly disappeared, newsrooms downsized, investigative reporting shrunk, advertising increased, and right-wing shock jocks are the only ones speaking. Other views have been suppressed. Now, as a result of a recent Supreme Court decision, corporations can use their deep pockets to influence (buy) elections.
Although the mainstream is hooked on wedge issues that divide and distract us, the more important issues are barely noted.
The internet is different, not just because it has richer content, but because it is not Corporate (Republican). You can get information from the internet much better than you can from any other media. The internet reflects a much wider diversity of views. Here you will find links to a wide range of news sources (favoring those that do not abuse advertising.) For now, it is less filtered. You can get "original documents, full texts of interviews, video, and as much statistical backup" as you can stand. (Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.) You can navigate it yourself.
You can watch video or listen to podcasts any time you want, not on the schedule some broadcaster has imposed. Advertising (spam by another name) is not so intrusive.
No trucks, no paper, no trash to throwaway, less filtering, better choices and many more of them. You probably throw away most of the newspaper unread anyway. Save the forests and stop paper subscriptions when you don't really need them.
You can talk back.
What are you missing from major media ?
Main stream (privatized) media has an agenda, and it is hard right (corporate), even when people are not. Here are some stories it does not tell.
Climate degradation is visible and it is rapid. Most major corporations insist that it is harmless to dump pollutants into the atmosphere, strip mine, trawl the ocean, destroy the environment. For scientists, Global warming is not an issue any more. It is an imminent disaster.
Main stream media does not recognize that.
US elections do not meet international standards and have been getting worse. Our two party system and the rest of our established institutions are all anti-democratic. Expensive campaign financing is mostly for media: an example of media extortion. Even the simplest reforms, like the ones we need for trustworthy elections , are not up for discussion. Major issues are not discussed much. Dialog is confrontational.
Corporations are so powerful now that they can buy Congress, control media, override democracy, and set us on a path to destruction.
US healthcare is dysfunctional. You won't hear that because it might offend insurance or pharma advertising: another example of media extortion. Reasonable solutions cannot be considered because powerful corporate interests block them.
Government notably does not do what people (when polled) want it to do.
Income inequality is corrosive. There is a direct correlation between social dysfunction and income inequality. The casino economy has broken down.
Civil Liberties are being eroded, the Constitution is deteriorating. You won't hear that because it is not favorable to the plutocracy.
The Bush administration pushed hard for a strong-man, imperial Presidency. Like other empires in history, we are well on our way to a dictatorship. We now seem to appoint 'czars' whenever there is a serious problem. Elections do little to change policy. Obama has not rolled back any of the Bush challenges to civil liberties.
The Constitution gave Congress the power to go to war. But the President can now go to war on his own.
The military-industrial complex and other well-funded industries have corrupted Congress.
Military Keynsianism, empire building, military-industrial complex, are pillars of US economy. It is going to self-destruct. You won't hear that because major media owners are also defense profiteers. War is profitable, so you can expect much more of it.
Empire building is expensive and it is no surprise that the US is broke and in serious debt. Major financial companies are crumbling. Since Republicans brought us another gilded age like the 1920's, the result looks a lot like the 1930's again.
Overall, it appears that the US is ungovernable now. We need reform.
The U.S. is beyond peak oil as is, probably, the rest of the world. Since population has exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet, the exhaustion of oil will result in dieoff.
See the summary.
