Article: We Are What We Read and See. Too Bad it's not the Truth

Just exactly how much of what we see, hear, and read in our newspapers, magazines, radio and television is the truth? How do we separate truth from fiction when we are exposed to media outlets (and there are more everyday as the alternate media grows) that are not mainstream media? Why do we see unnerving patterns of what we see on the MSM and what we can read about on the alternative media?

These questions are no longer quaint and just remarkable, they can mean the difference in whether or not you vote on way or another, or make plans to ride out the "tough times" in the country you live in or pack up and head for greener pastures. The disparity of what we read in the MSM and what we read in the Alternate media is the akin to the difference of looking through rose covered glasses, or seeing reality through the eyes of someone that has witnessed a portion of Dante's Inferno. The difference can be that great.

Let's take a stay at home woman (or man) who for one reason or another doesn't get out much. During the day she/he might read the local paper, turn on the today show, watch Martha Stewart and then turn on "The View". They may finish with Dr. Phil, Oprah or Judge Judy, and all through the day not hear of a sinister threat or right that has been taken away by the government or any highly controversial subject at all. They might be exposed to pictures of soldiers walking down a Baghdad street and politicians arguing civilly about he war, but they will not see most of the duplicity of everyday politics. The evening news will be a tepid short half hour of what they already know that happened during the day, and the world that these people live in will not seem too much different that the world of 40 years ago

What these people don't generally know is that the mainstream Media s owned and operated by only a handful of powerful companies. Their politicians are controlled to a large extent by super-wealthy multinational corporations that spend three times as much as the people do supporting and electing the politicians that are supposed to "serve the people". Police departments are no longer hometown folks that patrol mostly their own communities, but servants of "agencies" that switch allegiance to whomever pays the most or gives the best benefits. These agencies are usually run by people immersed in right wing politics and have very specific political agendas.

What is happening is that not only sources of information are limited by people that don't really want the public to know the entire story about anything, the agencies and the government bureaus that are set up to be the watchdogs of the rights of citizens are controlled and manipulated by these very same people. If you run into a "stonewall" with a question or investigation, that stonewall is now wider and more impenetrable than it was 40 years ago. There are issues that you can look at right now. The Patriot Act is one. How many people truly think that the Patriot Act actually helps the individual citizen? If you talk to your neighbors and co-workers as I have (and I live in a "red state") you will not find many supporters. The war in Iraq is another. Over 60% of Americans want our troops home. When you write your Congress people or attempt to see them, what is your success rate? If you write them, they usually just tell you what they are going to do and thank you for writing. Do they say they will change their minds? Of course not. Can you get to see them? Usually not. Do you feel that you have a voice in government? I don't.

The alternate media is slowly making it's mark. The problem we have here is that the Alternate media too is being bought by corporate and political interests. The Democratic party has been in the forefront in buying up what were once progressive web sites. Some web sites are now mouthpieces for the DNC that were once respected, independent sites that printed all sides of controversial subjects. People that visit the Progressive sites know which ones I'm talking about. We must be more than ever, vigilant and independent. The best way to understand if you are reading the truth or if you are being conned, is to "follow the money". A well financed site that doesn't ask for contributions usually is not a place where you will read unbiased articles. Somebody is paying their bills. Also be careful of misinformation. I myself got caught the other day on what I believe is a hoax although I might be wrong, about the Secretary of the Treasury getting arrested by the Germans on an International Court Warrant. Thank my lucky stars that I said in my article that it might be a giant scam. The truth is still not known, but at this point I believe it to be a scam.

What I'm saying is that only a few people or organizations control the majority of what people read, hear and see. The first move by an authoritarian government is to control the media. We can't turn the clock back to a simpler easier time, but we can demand Congressional Oversight of interests that monopolize the media. I don't want Rupert Murdoch teaching out citizens what is important and what's not. There must be more competition in the medai. Even PBS is controlled by Archer Daniels Midland Group "ADM: Supermarket to the World". You would think that they were the new corporate messiah the way they fund PBS programs, when in fact they employ huge amounts of illegal immigrants and have bought up private farms and are really the "Wal-mart" of the Agribusiness sector. People need to understand. These people sell geneticall altered food and their soil is a really a kind of chemical powder.This has been reported to me by people I trust. These people try to gain your trust by advertising on PBS, not because they believe in it, but to influence intelligent people. Be wary, our very lives depend on it.

Just ask yourself this question. Every poll in the US reports that 60% of Americans want us out of Iraq. Why are we not making plans to leave Iraq? What is the magic formula for getting out government to get us out of a war we don't want to be in? You tell me and we'll both know. There is a breakdown here. The breakdown is that the government no longer must listen to it's people. As long as there are entities out there that will "spin" all the news and keep us in the dark, all the polls in the world will accomplish nothing. The people have lost control. Democracy has become an illusion "spun" by the media. Where was the media while the Bill of Rights was destroyed by the Military Commissions Act orf 2006? This will go down in history as THE law that trashed our Democtacy. Still think we have a responsible Congress or Media? Think again. I don't make this stuff up.