Todays News Media

This is probably too big of a subject for a blog, but I want to get a FEW things off my chest about the news media, especially the USA version thereof.

From my last blog about my changing views on climate change and its affects on the environment, one friend of mine points out how tyrannical can it be NOT to have CBS, ABC, NBC or any of the "liberal" news agencies covering "Climategate". Apart from the "conservative" FOX network, the BBC and a number of online news companies...there is a deathly silence from mainstream news including CNN on this item which in many ways is a much BIGGER deal than "Watergate" was...for sure as it pertains to our global future. This "newsbuster" blog points this out quite poetically...

For me this is just the climax of a long history of observed decimation of the USA news media's ethics and integrity. It is becoming quite obvious to me that USA media companies are a huge factor in the dumbing down of, and control of, the American citizen and world perceptions of what America is all about. Yet, it is more complicated than it first appears to me. It is somewhat of a paradox for which it is hard to point to a core cause and affect for this phenomenon. Some would claim that media is just a pawn for government and corporate concerns to control the electorate's views on daily world happenings and government actions/decisions. Yet, there is enough significantly critical material against our government and leaders that it would be hard to imaging their having control on those media. Lets just say they are significant "players" in the battle over control of content in the media.

My current guess on why Climategate has not had airplay on much of the mainstream USA media is because of the significant leanings of the liberal owners of those media, many of whom have been significant spokesmen for the "Global Warming" cause. Also perhaps many of their key advertisers or even board members have jointly been working behind the scenes to "manipulate" this story "once they have determined which way the wind is blowing in public opinion". Many of the anti-global warming sources I have been reading this week quite believe these forces are "Fascists" on this subject. If you examine the meaning and history of Fascmism in the world, one begins to think this accusation is not far off the mark.

"In the economic sphere, many fascist leaders have claimed to support a "Third Way" in economic policy, which they believed superior to both the rampant individualism of unrestrained capitalism and the severe control of state socialism. This was to be achieved by establishing significant government control over business and labor."

From this one can easily contemplate the mentality behind world governments coming together such as in the upcoming "Copenhagen" meeting and using Climate Change as the unifier and igniter of a global re-order and for redistribution of wealth based on something other than pure capitalism or even socialism. These "leaders" seem to now be using this theme for renewed controls of the world economic order and increased GLOBAL taxation. I had read some of these accusations before this last week and had thought them to be extreme. Now...I find myself sadly agreeing this could indeed be the "hidden agenda" of these government bodies. They truly are not giving any credence to "Climategate".

All I can say is...thank God for the internet! While these powers are also trying in many ways to "control" and manipulate the "information highway"...so far we still have the freedom to write and access OUR choice of information. Those days may be limited my friends, but for now let us use our freedom to choose carefully what we read and listen too and make sure we INDEPENDENTLY interpret all that is out there. Unfortunately, there is never enough time for most of us who have jobs, pressures, kids to raise and bills to pay to independently study all these things. The sinister forces behind all this count on that reality that is yours. But as more of us WAKE UP as I did this week and realize how we are being manipulated, maybe more of us will prioritize better what we do with our time and attention. If we don't honestly evaluate and act on some of these huge issues, we will soon find ourselves living under some form of worldwide Fascism that will be a much bigger crisis than Nazi Germany or Mussolini ever dreamed of creating.

Of course, the biggest question on this theme to me is one of "cause and effect". Is the media a simple reflection of where public opinion wants to go, or are they leading public opinion? You could argue both sides of that coin. It is probably a scary combination of both. I see people blindly quote and believe in any sensationalist report that the media spews forth...especially IF it is aligned with their previous views. We all have a tendency to do that...but based on what I have been through on the Climategate issue these past years, I heartily suggest that we don't jump to any conclusions on any subject we do not know first hand until ALL the evidence is in and voices have been heard. Lets remember it took more than 100 years for most of humanity to accept that the world is not flat even once it was proven to them scientifically.

The biggest factor supporting a suppressed or manipulated media is the general antipathy of the market towards news topics of merit. The overall population is more interested in who won last nights "Dancing with the Stars", who is wearing what on the "red carpet" in Hollywood or the latest sensationalist rapist/serial killer than they are about observing the battle to control the Federal Reserve and money supply or price of gold versus the Dow Jones. There is no interest in "health-care" legislation until someone's "rights" to health-care are threatened. The average "Joe" does not care nor is really involved in markets and politics...so by default has left it in the secretive and manipulative hands of representative government. Only a very small percentage of our populations have enough money and education to really have a stake in what is going on in money supply or macro economics...and I am afraid our educational systems continue to foment that mentality. So to that end, capitalism and democratic government may not be very good bedfellows (oh oh...I think I have just incubated another blog topic).

My only solution for this media dilemma is to continue pursuing my "news and views" from a variety of independent and verifiable sources. I do most of my newspaper reading and even newscast viewing online now. Most of it is free and at my "fingertips" that way. I try and read or view material from a variety of leanings...left/right, republican/democrat, secular/non-secular...it all needs to be thrown into the mix over time to understand what makes up our complicated world affairs. Objectivity, wisdom and understanding takes a lifetime to accomplish...and hopefully I am only halfway through that process though I wish I was already smarter than I am.