Infotainment

newspapersA new survey commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America, and Credo Action finds that a majority of Minnesotans — 56 percent — are embarrassed by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). Only 29 percent answered that they were “proud” of her, and 15 percent were “not sure.”  How is it that the crackpots get all the publicity and the really good and competent legislators doing the people's work, like Keith Ellison, also of Minnesota, are rarely in the news?  It's really a rhetorical question - the reason is because we no longer have news in America, we have celebrity-based infotainment.  Bachmann and Palin are the political equivalent of Paris Hilton - famous for being famous - which is a large part of the reason why so-called "independent voters" - really, low-information voters - so easily swing their political preferences.  The corporate powers in this country have a huge interest in keeping us dumb, and keeping our average voters focused on the entertainment show instead of the real issues.

Comments

Rick in Canadia (not verified) 14 years 24 weeks ago
#1

I apologize for having clicked by the station long enough to pick this up, but it looks like a lead story on Entertainment Tonight, last night, was John Edwards infidelity problems.
Is anyone involved in that part of the 'Entertainment' industry?
Sports news becomes sports business and scandal, now entertainment 'news' becomes second hand political news..
Everything we knew is wrong.. I guess.
Sad,
Rick

William Garrison (not verified) 14 years 24 weeks ago
#2

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
There has been a lot of rhetoric from Republican politicians across the country. What frustrates me is that they are saying that the President’s agenda is not working, the health care reform has not included Republican ideas, and the Stimulus plan is a waste of money.
After saying the stimulus is a waste of money, they then take credit for stimulus money coming to their district and praising it in their own state, holding big checks. So many of these same Republicans who bad mouth the program, voted against it and are taking credit for the benefits received in their districts. I only hope the people in Republican districts punish them for their hypocritical, two faced, and obstructionist posturing by voting them out of office in November. Don’t they understand that when they do this that they show everyone their true colors? I understand that many Republicans who read this may object based on their historical preference to support Republican ideology. I urge them to consider the idea that a Republican politician who is making a conscious effort to block all legislation in congress in an effort to sabotage President Obama is actually turning their backs on you, their Republican supporters. Surely, the economic problems are affecting Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Libertarians alike. So they are stopping, purposefully, any efforts to help Americans in a very bad situation. It cannot be disputed that the President has made every effort to provide an environment for a bi-partisan process for developing legislation to achieve the goals of his agenda. Instead of cooperating with the President, the Republicans have jammed up every effort of this administration. Who does that hurt most? Us! In the last meeting between the President and the Republican leadership, the President voiced optimism for a bi-partisan effort. What did the Republican Leadership say, “Why should we participate in a discussion about a bill that should be scrapped and start from scratch.” That does not sound like Republicans are willing to discuss options or solutions. About a third of the Health Care Bill contains Republican concepts and there is no longer a public option. What more do they want? The answer is clear; they simply want the President to fail in every effort to help the American people. They would like to start from scratch so that they can spend the next year bad mouthing the administration for not passing the Health Care Bill. Why would anyone vote for someone who purposefully sabotages efforts to help us?
The bottom line is that, we the people can’t trust the government to help us out of this problem. Even with a president who is trying his best to help, the Republican obstructionists seem willing and able to stop all efforts to help us. We must take things into our own hands and help ourselves. With that being said, I have a plan to do just that.
If we implement my Supplemental Economic Recovery Plan we, the people, can generate over $130 Billion every year beginning the first year of implementation. 58% of this funding will go directly to 130,000 different taxpayers nationwide each year. 40% of this funding will go directly to schools (both mainstream and inner-city schools equally), police and fire departments, and 2% going to charities.
We are already generating these funds as I am writing this letter. However, we are not using these funds effectively. Through my plan we will simply redistribute the funds in a way that benefits more people, more schools, more community service agencies, and more charities. By redistributing these funds, which are independent of the government budget, we will directly improve our local economies in 260,000 different communities nationwide. It is opposite of the trickle down economics theory; let’s call it trickle up economics. We will infuse ourselves with much needed personal funding over a broad base which will stimulate the national economy from the bottom up. I believe the trickle up economic model helps us, the people, more than the trickle down model. The more money we have, the more we spend, invest, and revitalize our communities. That will save and create more jobs directly based on real cash being circulated through the economy, not based on borrowed money from the government by increasing the deficit. That is the essence of Robbing Peter to Pay Paul economics. Below is an invitation to President Obama. I am asking anyone reading this to help get this letter to the President. If we can post this letter in enough networks and media platforms I believe we can get him involved. We will only need the government to implement the program, but, we will be generating the funding for the program itself. Remember, we are already paying for the program; we just are not using the generated funding efficiently.
President Obama,
I am writing this invitation in response to the recent attacks against you by your political enemies regarding our economic crisis. I believe you are the best, pro-active president this country has ever seen. If I could show you how to put over $75.4 billion dollars directly into the hands of the tax payers of this country over the next year, (and every year thereafter) would you want to hear my strategy? What if this strategy would cost the government zero dollars to implement? Would you still be interested? What if at the same time we could put $200,000 into 100 different schools (main stream and inner-city schools equally), police departments, and fire departments every week, in every state, without costing the government a dime? Would you want to know more? I believe this strategy will make you the most successful and popular President this country has ever known, but only if you contact me to learn more about it. I do not trust anyone else with this simple strategy. I want you as our President for the next seven years and perhaps another Democrat, or Independent with similar qualities and vision as yourself for the following eight years. You can change the face of politics, economics, and humanity forever. All you have to do is contact me to learn more. I realize that the first person to read this invitation is probably a staff member and not President Obama. I implore the first reader to not just delete this message. If you truly believe in the President and his agenda, then forward this to your supervisor. The strategy I have referred to in this invitation can help him and this country, but not if you throw it away.
With my deepest respect,
William A. Garrison

I have a power point presentation outlining the plan but have not figured out how to send it to you.

Thom's Blog Is On the Move

Hello All

Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.

Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.

From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a literary descendent of Ben Franklin and Tom Paine. His unflinching observations and deep passion inspire us to explore contemporary culture, politics, and economics; challenge us to face the facts of the societies we are creating; and empower us to demand a better world for our children and grandchildren."
John Perkins, author of the New York Times bestselling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act."
Dean Baker, economist and author of Plunder and Blunder, False Profits, and Taking Economics Seriously