How to create an Angry American

While there is little question that there are some wonderfully talented journalists in this country (just ast there are outstanding individuals in EVERY profession) I have been surprised and frankly disappointed by the significance of the "gap" in ability between this small group and those who are a step down from them. Likewise, I am greatly disappointed by the decisions of editors and others who determine the "newsworthiness" of certain topics. An example of this last point is that I have searched in vain for a thorough, well-researched piece on the rules that have been established as to how finanicial institutions are to spend their bailout money (if any), their reporting requirements, the penalties that can be applied if they fail to observe the rules, and a summary of how the individual banks are faring. Yet I can find out with three mouse clicks or less what roughly a dozen different Hollywood celebrities ate at their last meals!

As to the journalists, I see an intersection at which "laziness" and "deadlines" meet. For example, I generally spend 90% of my time at our state legislature when it is in session. So I see journalists covering the debates on bills they think would be of interest to their subscribers all the time. Typically, the Senator or Representative sponsoring the bill will introduce it to the appropriate committee. Then the Chairman will ask for any supporters of the bill to offer testimony to the committee. Following the supporters, the opponents are allowed to offer THEIR testimony. The reporter who sits through this entire proceeding (which usually lasts somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes on 90% of the bills) is the exception rather than the rule. Instead, they listen to the sponsor and then they listen to perhaps the first two or three supporters -- then they go write the story. So in the paper the next day, there will often be a positive story on the bill even where the opponents were able to testify after the reporter left the room that the legislation is one of the worst possible things that could happen to the state. I feel frustrated that the proper story does not get to the public and embarrassed for both the reporter and the newspaper that published the story...and yet often feel that I am the only one in the group who even really CARES...

A free press is unquestionably of critical importance to a properly-functioning democracy. But an intelligent, discerning press is just as important -- just my opinion, of course.

I've heard it said that the Press should act as the fourth Department of our government. As patriots they have let us down pitifully while keeping us up on the latest antics of Brittany Spears.

"Cztheday", your comments are interesting in the light of the novel I am now reading for the second time. "Imajica" by Clive Barker. To paraphase parts of his story; There are creatures, unseen, yet powerful that feed on and magnify the weaknesses and sins of humanity, leading them into sin,death and damnation. "Look", I know that it is a novel, however, it is hard to deny, in the light of our past and current leaders failures! That something, leads them to fall by their own human weaknesses.

Among the saddest experiences in my life has been watching people I know well -- people for whom I have great respect and admiration -- decide to enter national politics. Every one of them except one (who just started his first term in the U.S. Senate a couple of years ago) has been twisted and "beaten up" by the system and emerged at a minimum much more cynical than when they entered office and not uncommonly much less honest, honorable and open. One might suggest that it is not necessarily the system but some internal character flaw in these people that is magnified by the size of the "stage" on which they play. I am not sure it really matters because EVERYBODY has some kind of character flaw, so it's not like we are going to develop some kind of litmus test as to the ideal candidate who will be able to go to DC and not wind up compromising his or her principles. So if we can't really work on the human variable in this equation, we need to work on the institution and the way it "works." I consider myself to be a patriot and am proud of my country's constitution and the manner in which it has separated powers. But we badly need to convene a gathering of some of our greatest minds to determine whether a few fundamental adjustments may need to be made. Just as an example, the system of Federal Agencies was not anticipated by the Founders and yet it affects nearly all of us. Simply abolishing them is kind of an infantile reaction, but a number of them DO need a thorough cleaning and I, for one, am not entirely comfortable with the way they essentially legislate via rulemakings without having been duly elected by the people and not serving at the people's pleasure. To illustrate, simply consider the number of hacks and wannabes that STILL occupy important regulatory or administrative positions -- SUPER scary.

As an angry American, allow me to express the opinon shared by many of my brothers and sisters. Sorry, but I could not open the video. Surely George is not in this alone. His buddies from both sides are eating at the trough. Both Dems and Reps are the repugnant offspring of criminal fathers and mothers that run this coutry. If not for dubya, other idiots with the character of Bill C./Jim.C./FDR/ and even R.R. would be making the decisions that destroy this country.
A pack of heartless greedy politicians that have raped the taxpayers to stay in office.

Maeve,Of whom are you ashamed ?  For what do you think "he" stands?  Why do you think "he" is wrong (I doubt you mean that you just have a "feeling" that "he" is wrong.  I don't know if you mean Bush, the narrator of the first video, the guy from the second video or one of the people who have responded.

Sad thing is that WE as decent American are letting it happen again. This time we are making demon out of IRAN.
This must stop before AIPAC lobby lures us into another war.
NO MORE WAR

Wow i am ashamed ! of him , of what he stands for !
He is wrong ,,,,DEAD WRONG !

Marijuana prohibition is based exclusively on lies which stemmed from Harry Anslinger and William Randolph Hearst, publishing megalomaniac racist. Dupont sponsored them, they had to sell nylon and chemicals.
No medical research supports the government misclassification of marijuana as a narcotic. We are left with a civil liberty violation from a safe herb. A wrong-act to be rectified.

What a shameful time for our nation. To think that we could not muster enough votes in enough states to deny these "people" a second term. As for Bush, there is, of course, the initial "uncomfortableness" of knowing that an orangutan who could not pronounce a tiny little word like "nuclear" correctly even when his pronunciation was corrected by nearly every major news outlet in the country, but to all appearances, he struggled mightily to even read the words fed to him by the teleprompter. One could imagine a Lincoln suddenly losing his handwritten speech to the wind while at the podium on a blustery day. I am guessing he could easily "wing" 30 minutes and still get a 7 from the Bulgarian judge. And of course the skillset relevant to this article is not simple memorization but rather an understanding of the subject matter so deeply personal that for Lincoln a speech was merely a direct extension of his mind, while for Bush it was clearly a document written piecemeal by obfuscators and was for the most part an extension of the polls and the phrases that seemed the least corrupt by the voting public.

To say that Americans quietly accepted the lies, distortions and evasions of the Bush Administration is simply not true. There were many, many people who protested every action. The media's COVERAGE of those people was truly pathetic -- they were treated like a bunch of wackos! They were HEROES, for heaven's sake. What I am struggling to understand is why we are not seeing pieces of some of the folks that warned and admonished and marched and resisted, all the while being mocked by the Adminstration, the media and a large cross-section of their own countrymen. I see that a lot of attention is being given to the guy who reported the Madoff larceny to the SEC long before Madoff was detained. Surely a little love could go to some of those courageous folks who did the right thing throughout the past 8 years. For some reason, however, prosecution of these "Future Felons of America" seems to be some kind of "third rail" at the moment. I don't know if the problem is that Obama and others feel like the ensuing mess and recriminations would pull critical time and attention away from the serious work that needs to be done to unravel the damage the FFA did to this country. Does anybody have even a scintilla of doubt that were Bush a Democrat, the Republicans would already have 17 investigations well underway and be using every new allegation as a photo op to underscore their "values?" Pffft. Those could be transcribed in big, block letters on the back of a postage stamp. Grrrr.

Not so sure about the second video it kind of detracts from the message of the first. Not that it's completely unrelated but the initial contribution can stand alone there's definitely nothing subliminal about it. In fact the Bush and cronies video is the opposite of sublimation. I think the second one should be up as a separate contribution. Just my observation.

Oh yes this is excellent. The first video shows the REAL smoking gun of the lies and criminal conduct of The King of Terror George W. Bush who will be forever remembered as such.

Glad you found this one Mobius2012

You see, not too many people are listening and I find this theme very important. The true fact it is that the Media Manipulation and Denial does a great disservice to this Country. However the people are helping it because last time I checked, they were supporting it. That is the reason the Government keep doing the same mistakes that they did thirty (30) Years ago with health care, transportation and education. The gov through the politicians have been using the same issues over and over again electing themselves in the process and not resolving the issue, just patch it. Just patch it, it will be ok! "I will give health care to every children in America." I lost how many times I heard that knowing that Society it is not only composed of children.

The Cost of Media Manipulation and Denial.
http://current.com/items/89851021/the_costs_of_media_manipulation_and_denial_con...

The people need to wake up, devise a plan and start to act towards its goal. But first they have to knock down that part of Gov and Industry mistakes.