The Billionaire-Owned, Corporate Media is as Worthless as Ever

I think the U.S. citizenry is being afflicted by a sort of mass insanity at the moment. There are no good outcomes if this continues. As a result, I feel compelled to provide a voice for those of us lost in the political wilderness. We must persevere and not be manipulated into the obvious and nefarious divide and conquer tactics being aggressively unleashed across the societal spectrum. If we lose our grounding and our fortitude, who will be left to speak for those of us who simply don’t fit into any of the currently ascendant political ideologies?

From the post: Lost in the Political Wilderness

Rather than focus its journalistic energy on chronicling the economic insecurity plaguing so many of our fellow Americans, the billionaire-owned corporate media appears entirely obsessed with chattering endlessly about Russia conspiracy theories and domestic coup plots. Instead of looking in the mirror and admitting how its countless errors and propaganda pushing led to multiple humanitarian disasters over the last couple of decades, the oligarch-owned mainstream media insists upon a narrative that Trump the individual is at the root of our problems, as opposed to an entrenched executive branch with excessive power. This is because the mainstream media isn’t actually concerned about our cancerous, systemic metastasizing statism, it merely doesn’t want Trump in charge of it. I, on the other hand, want to dismantle that unconstitutional state entirely and transfer power to the American people where it belongs — self-government. Does anyone actually think for a second the media would be this adversarial if Hillary won?

This weekend’s article by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times represents a sort of coming out party for the billionaire-owned, corporate media. More than anything else I’ve seen, it perfectly demonstrates how completely disconnected and worthless billionaire-owned media truly is. It’s the height of absurdity that these media organizations, owned by billionaires or giant corporate conglomerates, are playing the victim in all this when they’ve been the world’s primary abuser for the entire 21st century.

You can be a staunch defender of the free press and the 1st Amendment, and at the same time point out that the billionaire-owned media has failed us. This is my position, and Trump’s election hasn’t changed that. The handful of corporations and billionaires who control the mainstream press do not = “the press.” They (and the deep state) are currently trying to convince the public that they’re the only ones standing between you and fascism. This is complete stupidity, and if we fall for it, we will get what we deserve.

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Liberty Links 2/18/17

If you appreciate our work, and want to contribute to genuine, independent media, consider visiting our Support Page. Must Reads Mary Jo White Seriously Misled the U.S. Senate to Become SEC Chair (So much of what is wrong with America can be found in this article, Wall Street on Parade) Welcome to Trumpland: Obama’s Legacy (CounterPunch) CBS’s John Dickerson: Donald Trump Didn’t Ruin … Read more

The Washington Post Actually Takes Russian Government Money (Unlike the Websites It Helped Slander)

Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson interviewed the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple and brought up the fact that the paper regularly receives money from the Russian government to publish propaganda known as “native advertising” within the contents of the newspaper. This was news to me.

Here’s the clip.

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The Road to Hell Was Paved with College Safe Spaces

That isn’t what this resistance is now doing. What they’re doing instead is trying to take maybe the only faction worse than Donald Trump, which is the deep state, like the CIA with its history of atrocities, and say they ought to almost engage in like a soft coup where they take the elected President and prevent him from enacting his policy. And I think it is extremely dangerous to do that.

– From Glenn Greenwald’s recent interview with Democracy Now

Earlier today, I posted the following tweet:

This observation was merely my latest twist on a theme I’ve been hammering home ever since Trump won the election. Namely, given there are so many obvious things to be concerned about when it comes to Trump (his love affair with Goldman Sachs, support of civil asset forfeiture and a statist mentality overall), why are we being manipulated into focusing all our outrage on a largely invented conspiracy theory that he is some sort of Putin stooge?

The reason is both extremely simple and extraordinarily clever. The main reason Russia is such an obsession within the fake “resistance,” is because it’s a way to demonize Trump while defending the police state apparatus. In other words, it prevents well-meaning people from taking Trump to task on issues that really matter. This way, they can simply distract with Russia noise and continue to loot and pillage society at large. It’s genius really. You create a fake yet salacious narrative and rally the gullible public around it in order to distract from real domestic problems. This way you can be “anti-Trump,” while at the same time being pro-Wall Street fraud, corporatism, war, unconstitutional spying, and the national security state. This is your “resistance” as it stands today.

For example, nobody should cheer the following, which was reported yesterday by The Daily Caller:

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Saudis Slaughter More Women and Children in U.S.-Backed War in Yemen

It matters little who sits in the Oval Office, the blood continues to flow in the Middle East, and America’s “exceptional” hands remain soaked in it. In the latest report from Yemen, news has emerged of the deaths of 9 women and 1 child in the latest act of U.S.-approved Saudi barbarism.

Reuters reports:

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition struck a house north of Yemen’s capital where a crowd of mourners was gathered, residents said on Thursday, killing nine women and a child and injuring dozens.

The Saudi-led coalition said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties in the area.

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Video of the Day – Former Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich Issues a Dire Warning About the ‘Deep State’

Every single American needs to watch the following interview and take it to heart.

As I tweeted earlier today.

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The Public Should Demand to See the Michael Flynn Transcript

The United States is much better off without Michael Flynn serving as national security adviser. But no one should be cheering the way he was brought down.

The whole episode is evidence of the precipitous and ongoing collapse of America’s democratic institutions — not a sign of their resiliency. Flynn’s ouster was a soft coup (or political assassination) engineered by anonymous intelligence community bureaucrats. The results might be salutary, but this isn’t the way a liberal democracy is supposed to function.

President Trump was roundly mocked among liberals for that tweet. But he is, in many ways, correct. These leaks are an enormous problem. And in a less polarized context, they would be recognized immediately for what they clearly are: an effort to manipulate public opinion for the sake of achieving a desired political outcome. It’s weaponized spin.

In a liberal democracy, how things happen is often as important as what happens. Procedures matter. So do rules and public accountability. The chaotic, dysfunctional Trump White House is placing the entire system under enormous strain. That’s bad. But the answer isn’t to counter it with equally irregular acts of sabotage — or with a disinformation campaign waged by nameless civil servants toiling away in the surveillance state.

– From The Week article: America’s Spies Anonymously Took Down Michael Flynn. That is Deeply Worrying.

I never intended to write about the Michael Flynn affair. I figured it had been covered to death and I probably wouldn’t have anything to add to the conversation. That said, I hadn’t been following the story closely so I decided to get caught up by reading a diverse selection of articles on the topic. One of my favorite sources on such subjects is Glenn Greenwald, and I eagerly read his latest piece on the matter: The Leakers Who Exposed Gen. Flynn’s Lie Committed Serious — and Wholly Justified — Felonies.

There are several key points he outlines in the piece, most of which I agree with. First, he proves that the leakers committed serious felonies under the law. Second, he states that if illegal leaks lead to the disclosure of information that is clearly very much in the public interest, then such action is not only justified, but ethically necessary. I agree with this as well. Where he doesn’t really convince me, is the argument that this particular leak represented some sort of great public service. He writes:

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Rampant Conflicts of Interest in Oregon Exposed by Open the Books

Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, has just written an eye-opening piece over at Forbes detailing indefensible, yet entirely legal, conflicts of interest in Oregon. 

Here are a few excerpts from his piece, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown And AG Ellen Rosenblum Blaze The Oregon Trail Of Political Patronage:

As the state contemplates an income tax hike, Oregon’s elites line their pockets with taxpayer money.

In 2016, as politicians across America were fleeing voter wrath, Oregon’s governor and attorney general were blazing an unlikely trail – accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from businesses with state contracts.

Since 1940, at the federal level, individuals and entities negotiating or working under federal contracts are prohibited from giving political cash to candidates, parties or committees. In Oregon, however, this political patronage is perfectly legal, at least for now. 

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Elon Musk Thinks Humans Should Merge With Machines to Confront Challenges of AI

Last week was one of the most rewarding periods I’ve experienced since I started writing publicly nearly five years ago. For the first time ever, I become so enthralled with a topic (Spiral Dynamics and the evolution of human consciousness), that I spent the entire week writing entirely about this one topic. In case you missed the series, I’ve provided links to all five posts below.

Lost in the Political Wilderness

What is Spiral Dynamics and Why Have I Become So Interested in It?

How a Breakdown in Liberal Ideology Created Trump – Part 1

How a Breakdown in Liberal Ideology Created Trump – Part 2

Why Increased Consciousness is the Only Path Forward

The revelations I came to as a result of my exploration into consciousness will stay with me forever, and hopefully color my future work with a deeper understanding and a more thoughtful, integral perspective. Today’s post will provide an unusual example of how one can apply the framework of human consciousness to one of our more pressing contemporary challenges.

To start, let’s examine some recent comments made by Elon Musk at the World Government Summit in the UAE.

ArsTechnica reports:

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Liberty Links 02/12/17

If you appreciate our work, and want to contribute to genuine, independent media, consider visiting our Support Page. Must Reads Tom Perez Apologizes for Telling the Truth, Showing Why Democrats’ Flaws Urgently Need Attention (Glenn Greenwald knocks it out of the park, The Intercept) Trump Questions Lawmakers’ Efforts to Curb Asset Seizures by Police (A terrible, but unsurprising policy position of … Read more