Noam Chomsky: "I Have Never Seen Such Lunatics in the Political System"

[nadinbrzezinski]

Chomsky: The media is uncritical, and their so-called the concept of objectivity translates into keeping everything within the Beltway. However, Iraq was quite different. Here, there were flat-out lies, and they sort of knew it. They were desperately trying to make connections between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/35788-noam-chomsky-qi-have-never-seen-such-lunatics-in-the-political-systemq

I agree... and whenever I try to address what we do at places like RSD (for the record, I am pissing off democrats, Hillary supporters, Bernie supporters, republicans... I am doing it right)... people have a problem comprehending why the Daily Caller is just as bad as Blue Nation. We now have a "media" system that is either full of partisan propaganda outlets, or heavily controlled and manipulated corporate media. Neither is educating you to be brutally honest.

I am posting this here since the full piece has criticism of Clinton and Libya, but this was the choice part. I am very concerned that not only are we setting the stage for a major crisis, but that Americans no longer identify or understand a critical media. Democracy requires an informed and educated electorate. When all is reduced to competing propaganda sites that partisans can throw at each other, this is what happens.



This is also what makes the ground very fertile for the rise of a strong man.

IMHO we are entering a crisis that will change the nature of the United States. In a worst case scenario we may even face war... and from what I am already reading in foreign media, alliances are getting formed... chiefly because of Trump.

Having a partisan media system is facilitating this. I can understand why some people will say but you are running propaganda pieces for Sanders, when I say that he ran a clean campaign. Well, having read US History... that is a fact... but if you look at it from a partisan POV, he did not and used smears. (Cannot wait for Trump to warm up for real nasty) That lens is what it is. And history I suspect, well after the crisis, will point to the same fork I have. It will not be pretty.

I do not expect people to heal at this point. It is what it is... but I also expect to see a lot of suffering because of all this shit. Perhaps the country will emerge a better country, where people will demand the break up of the current media system, including the partisan media. It is what will come in between that scares me.

I also know that some people will treat anything by Chomsky as that coming from a left wing loonie (I crack me up, Americans really do not know what a left winger is, we haven't had a real organized left, since truly starting with the Turner raids. But really the last 30 years, you must be joking), But those words. about the US Media being a non critical media, is absolutely the case. And that is one of the core problems.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, nadinbrzezinski.

[NuclearDem]

2. "Political system" is a really odd way to spell mirror.

[RobertEarl]

3. The media are not our friends

They should be. We should have a media that is for the 99%.

How we get there from here is our main problem and one we must quickly find a solution.

Boycotts can work as the media relies on advertiser dollars.

Protesting in front of media outlets is one way to get media employees immediate attention. When they come out for lunch and when they go home at night, we should be there to let them know we are not happy.

If we pick out one target and focus on them and make them beg our forgiveness, the rest of the media will take notice. That target need be an internet target so we can all help out from home.

Just a few ideas..........

[Uncle Joe]

4. I believe that's a good idea.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. No they should not be for the 99 percent

that is another form of propaganda, They need to do analysis. They need to educate. They need to stop chasing car chases and puppies up a roof, and entertainment news.

I know they can... I told somebody else this on facebook

My mom has CNN-I in Mexcio City. same reporter from the Sanders campaign in Phoenix before they went to Atlanta, He gave a report on the state or the race, he explained delegates, (did it right, did not add supers), Basically he is talking to a foreign audience. They got to Atlanta, and his report was very different and had things like super delegates added to the count, and he basically said nothing, I was like, within half an hour. When going to the Mexican market for example, people here expect analysis, so he did it.

And it happened to be that it was the Sanders HQ... it was his turn I guess

The dramatic change in how they covered that was astounding. And right now I have CNN-I, which gives me a good picture of Trump fear. You think national media could do it, For god sakes, most of it emerges from Atlanta, with some subsidiaries in Abu Dhabi, London and Los Angeles (mexico city is in Spanish).

I do not mind watching CNN-I, but when they switch to Atlanta you can almost taste and feel the invisible barrier.

[RobertEarl]

9. Everyone here knows they twist reports

That's elemental.

Our problem is how do we let then know we see what they are doing? Right now it's all trickle down.

How do we reach inside and influence the employees to make sure their work product is something that is fair?

I've known a few reporters over the years. They are humans with their own feelings and needs. Their work product is influenced by factors in and outside of them.

We must become the main factor.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. It is not reporters and editors

it is the board room. Reporters and editors are at time frustrated. Some conversations over B Roll, but the owners don't give them the freedom.

It is not the worker bees, it is how signs the check. (And some reporters are happy by the way)

[RobertEarl]

11. How do we target the boards?

Boycotts.

But letting the reporters know we are hip to what's going down means they go back and report to their bosses who report to their bosses.

We get inside their heads, plant seeds and those seeds grow.

A reporter, a really good one, did a story with me once. We had good communication. When the story was printed I called him and asked why it got so twisted. He said: Editor.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Good luck targetting Time Warner

or Comcast. They are literally too big to fail at this point. It can be done but it will take years, even decades. People have been boycotting El Rushbo for decades and it is NOW that is has finally had an effect.

That is a model actually. Try to get companies not to run adds. Those are the blood line of major media. It got so bad with Rush and company that Clear Media Channel is in trouble. But it took close to two decades.

[RobertEarl]

14. We start small

Twitter might be a good field on which to work.

If we pick out one far right outlet and we send a Tsunami of tweets to them, tweets that are focused and smart, they will cry uncle and the next target will be more accommodating?

We have got to end the trickle down. Lots of online places felt our heat and ended up closing their comments sections.

They can't escape tweets without evaporating themselves.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. People have been at it with the NYT and WAPO

all this season already.

[villager]

6. They are a bunch of tassle-loafered enablers inside the Beltway...

...and yes, in an era where Rockefeller Republicans in the Oval Office are called "socialists," we have left the known map, and entered "Here there be Dragons" territory some time ago...

And Dragons can burn you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. I am amazed at some of the discussions

to be honest

[villager]

8. It is rather astonishing. In the less uplifting ways things can be "astonishing."

nt

[AZ Progressive]

13. The internet is partly responsible for that as well

People selectively filter what they want to see and what they don't want to see.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. That is part of it

but it is also how people are educated.

We have the internets in Mexico, and the press is very different from the US. Mexican press, and yes, papers have their bias El Universal is center right, La Jornada is left wing, not even center left.

Mind you, when I was growing up, it was tightly controlled.

There is some car chases, I guess we all need the entertainment, but the police beat is not a priority.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. CNN-I has SANDERS speech

damn it! Ok they are doing a foreign market... One that is far more critical of the media and understand critical media.

They are doing a piece on Trump and Sanders, and Clinton and Riots. Oh my... It is late, but damn this is interesting.

Ok, here is the meat of this

We have four parties, a tea party, a republican party, a dem establishment and a sanders party. I have said this, why can't CNN do this for the national market?

For the record, this was a Republican strategist, did not catch her name, and damn she was well critical of Trump for not being a Republican.

for the record, this is the kind of analytical media we used to have looking inwards.

I first posted this on FB.. I find media analysis infuriating, but fascinating.