Category Archives: Media

Democracy In Danger

Joe Biden is old, and the U.S. corporate news media wants voters fixated on Biden’s age. It is the story that the media has chosen to run with to keep the horse race going for the White House. This obsession with Joe Biden’s age reveals the pettiness and laziness of the corporate news media, but it also reflects the shallowness of the U.S. electorate. Is my assessment too harsh? Maybe. But the incessant media coverage and harping on Biden’s age is not journalism especially since his opponent is nearly the same age (just three years younger). It is evident to me that the news media does not like to speak ill of voters for fear of driving away their audience, but since I am a voter and have been all of my adult life, I will share my observations about the U.S. electorate. Too many voters are ignorant and ill-informed and some by choice. We have allowed the corporate news media to brainwash us and tell us how to think. Our ability to think critically and objectively about what is going on in these so-called United States politically, racially, and socially is at an all-time low, and the corporate news media has become one of the biggest hindrances to maintaining a “free” and democratic society.

In observing the political opposition campaign mounted by the Republicans regarding Joe Biden’s age, I see a complicit corporate news media chomping at the bit, taking the bait, and falling in line to promote the GOP’s narrative. It is akin to Hillary’s emails and the John Kerry swift boat attacks in the early 2000’s. Yes, I do keep up with the tactics of the Republican party. Republicans lie a lot, and they use fear as a weapon primarily to scare White people into voting for them. According to the July 2023 Census Quick Facts, there are 334.9 million people in the United States and 75.5% of them are White. Make no mistake, this is the audience that the corporate news media covets. The news media loves trump aka “the former guy” or tfg. They love his turmoil, his controversy, his bombastic news making ability. For sure, trump is click bait on websites, and he is commercially profitable to cable news outlets. He keeps viewers tuned in because of his antics and hate speech. Like it or not, his behavior helps TV ratings so that they can sell more soap to all of us or whatever they are selling. Yes, we could reasonably conclude that corporate media loves profits more than preserving the American democracy. Let me add that this negative trend also undergirds the desire for corporate media to placate Americans who fear and loathe BBPOC (Black, Brown, and People of Color).

Face it, the American corporate news media thrives when people faction, are agitated, are outraged, or are otherwise pitted one against the other. Fox is the worst of the bunch, but CNN is a close second. MSNBC which has traditionally been the voice of left-leaning Americans has also kowtowed in many ways to placate a Whiter audience proving this allegiance by releasing hosts who are Black, Muslim, or deemed too controversial. For example, Tiffany Cross and Mehdi Hasan were released from their MSNBC contracts even though each was regarded by viewers. For as many gains that BBPOC have made in these so-called United States, we are still subject to many of the whims of an uniformed and fearful White majority. According to The Hill, 72% of Republicans wanted trump to be the Republican nominee (he is now the GOP nominee as of this writing), and we know that the vast majority of Republicans are White people. More than anything, the news media wants those White viewers. Never mind that trump has 88 felony indictments (Georgia recently dropped three indictments in the RICO case), its Biden’s age that is a problem, right, and many low information voters have swallowed this narrative.

The U.S. democracy is in danger, and I blame voters and the corporate news media. Too many voters relinquished their voice (their vote) in 2016, and in 2020 and beyond too many voters embraced The Big Lie of maga extremism. It has given rise to a fascist wannabe dictator who would emulate dictators like Vladimir Putin and ViKtor Orban (Orban just visited Mar-a-Lago). Interestingly enough, one of the first casualties of these dictators’ nations was the free press. The result, the people are controlled through propaganda promoted by the state. Part of the problem is that ‘we the people’ barely understand civics or how government works. The GOP knows this fact, and they also know that the electorate can easily be manipulated because of their short attention span and a lack of critical thinking. Low information and willfully ignorant voters pose a real threat to the American democracy. For example, these voters are either unaware or simply do not care to know Joe Biden’s record of accomplishments in his first term as President. The corporate news media is designed to keep it that way. In case we forgot, when Joe Biden took office after the incompetence of trump, the United States was still being ravaged by Covid-19. Tragically, over one million Americans died, and the economy was in the toilet. It was Biden that got the virus under control getting the nation back open and close to normal. Yet now, voters have amnesia and seem to have forgotten that the nation was forced to separate and sequester for almost three full years. Further, as voters continually run after political sensationalism and celebrity, the American news media is more than willing to accommodate them with infotainment.

It is time to wake up and shake off the dullness. It is time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. It is time to be reliably informed and think more critically. In these dangerous political times, I reflect on the loss of media critic Eric Boehlert who was calling foul in the corporate news media long before the cancer of maga metastasized throughout the nation. Taking up the mantle is Press Watch, founded by Dan Froomkin, which agitates for change in political journalism by combating disinformation and holding the media accountable. More now than ever, we need accountability in journalism. Here are some media platforms that hold value and rebut maga lies that constantly flood the zone. Check out unfettered content on Sirius XM Progress 127 which offers voices like Zerlina Maxwell, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Michelangelo Signorile, Dean Obeidallah, and John Fugelsang. On Sirius XM Urban View check out Clay Cane. Some of these same voices, including Malcolm Nance and Steve Schmidt, can also be found on Substack.com which offers free and subscriber-based content. Whatever you do, do not fall for the okey-doke of the mainstream corporate news media which regularly promotes GOP talking points and infotainment to dumb us down all while aiding the demise of the American democracy for profit. Stay alert.

Head for the Hills! 

The irrational hatred of Hillary Clinton boggles my mind. After all, this woman is quite accomplished in her long career of public service. I have come to the conclusion that she is disliked primarily because she is a woman whose strength and unapologetic determination is regarded as lacking in feminity. It is fundamentally an unhealthy case of “sexism”. Attributes such as strength and courage are rarely celebrated when found in a woman. I think it is also partly the reason Hillary has related so well to black women and other minority groups. 

During Hillary’s campaign for the presidency, she has consistently reached out to black women. Let’s not forget, she began her long and impressive career working with a black woman, Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. I had this thought again while watching the Democratic Convention and listening to the speeches delivered by the ‘Mothers of the Movement’. I discerned a very real connection between Hillary and the black mothers who had lost children to gun violence.

As I read through the Slate article, The Hillary Haters, I noted  one common thread, most, if not all, of the vehement haters were white people. Maybe Hillary is becoming our first black female president after all..

“It may be that the moment she starts to claim more power, it elicits a negative response,” 

Republicans and the corporate news media, have done effective damage to the image of Hillary Clinton. This media bias is very real and borne out by the research data. Right wing propaganda, conspiracy theorists and GOP talking points have smeared, maligned and vilified Hillary Clinton to the American people with vicious consistency. Who can withstand a constant barrage of negativity? Yet this woman, against an onslaught of hate-filled propaganda, has persevered. I give her much credit for that.

For example, when I watched Hillary testify for 11 hours straight during the Benghazi hearings, that Republican circus, I knew then that she was the best choice to succeed Barack Obama for president. Her toughness and stamina, her calmness under pressure and her intelligence in responding to the relentless questioning demonstrated her character and strength for leadership. In my opinion, the treatment of Hillary Clinton, and the level of hatred that is heaped upon her is similar to that of the hatred I have seen heaped upon black people in the United States of America. It’s peculiar. It’s sport. It’s insane.

I like Hillary, and Barack Obama for that matter, for their pragmatic approach to politics. Pragmatism doesn’t always enjoy popular support. In some cases it turns people off entirely. It’s not sexy. It doesn’t titillate. Pragmatism in politics is a workhorse, and it makes the effort to reach across the aisle.This is something that Hillary and Obama seem to have in common. Politics, after all, is the art of compromise. So, it makes perfect sense that the first black president will likely be succeeded by the first woman president. This is the real ‘revolution’, and both Hillary and Barack are and will be held to a very different standard.

I predict Hillary will win in November, but if Donald Trump were to take the White House, heaven forbid, the blame will lie squarely on the backs of hateful GOPers, low information voters, Hillary haters, Third-Party supporters and Bernie-or-Bust cultists.Truth be told, Libertarians are disgruntled Republicans, and the Green Party folks are disillusioned Democrats. Let’s face it, a vote for Third-Party candidates, Jill Stein or Gary Johnson is a vote for Donald Trump. As for me, I’m headed for the Hills! #StrongerTogether!