by Starman » Fri Jun 24, 2005 8:45 pm
I agree -- I guess the problem of a totally co-opted press subservient to corrupt special interests and covering-up evidence of endemic fraud and abuse of authority, has become SO bad, with issues SO linked, that the press can't investigate ANYTHING without opening up a can of filthy, festering worms that threatens to spill into more and more areas, an evidence trail that can't be perfectly managed or isolated from all the other bits, like dirty money that flows from covert ops through drug cartels through offshore banks to Wall Street to Main Street Banks to lobbiest groups to think-tanks to election campaigns to politicians back to PAC counting rooms then to Law Firms and then to ????<br><br>The corporate, increasingly monopolist press is tied to money through back-channels and 'alternate' investments and financial streams more than income through advertisers or circulation -- plus, being steered by CEOs and owners and editors (and hidden, secret covert influence) who choose which stories get printed/reported on -- Writers who don't 'conform' or who write critical stories that challenge the official paradigm lose their access (as in they are denied WH or Pentagon press passes) or their jobs, or their credibility is attacked (as we've seen!) and they are reassigned to the Foods section or Flintville, Ioway.<br><br>Seems, the Opposition (or, Just US Folks) lack the money and organization to more competantly challenge the status quo PTB;<br><br>But you'd think, there's more than enough passion, determination, creativity and critical thinking integrity to more than match the corrupt war-profiteers and crooks and neocon criminals at their 'game';<br><br>Here's my own suggestion to an alternative strategy to challenge the PTB, tentative thoughts in need of further development which I just started to think about:<br><br>The time has come, is long past time to begin, massive and widespread community organizing and grassroots activism, to seek and develop refeshingly new, unique, and creative options to resist and challenge the status-quo hijacking of our democratic ideals, and the subversion of our self-governing society by the immense power and influence of corrupt, elite special interest entities.<br><br>For instance, I'd like to see something like a massive but elegantly simple, cross-country campaign, on a city to city or county-by-county basis, where people solicit a contest for 'Who's the biggest, most corrupt and criminal person in your city or county? Who, in government or business or 'just' as a citizen/resident, abuses their position, takes advantage of the rules, or violates the law with seeming impunity, MORE than anyone else? WHOSE 'secrets' are well-known but overlooked by the police or courts, again and again, suggesting immense influence and coercion?<br><br>Who ELSE but people in powerful positions of influence and trust have the opportunity or MEANS to commit massive fraud and crime under the protection of their position and those they can intimidate, bribe, threaten or blackmail to shelter them and look the other way? Face it -- routine theft of billions of dollars isn't usually done by outsiders or part-time crooks -- this is a highly complex, organized operation done with complicity of insiders, BY trusted, powerful insiders who can make the system do whatever tricks are needed.<br><br>This gets to the root of where the biggest, most grevious crime occurs today and by who -- it's those who can BUY or provide immunity from accountability -- the result of decades of organized crime being coddled and protected by the CIA and FBI, the result of the incredibly lucrative corruption provided by the disasterously counter-productive 'war on drugs', and the effect of the multi-billion dollar covert-operations industry in smuggling and laundering, undermining our institutions and courts, and the kind of meticulously-engineered election fraud that occurs below the radar of public agencies intended to preserve justice.<br><br>The state wants to prevent the public talking about and considering at what point it becomes necessary for people to take an active role in defending themselves, since the courts and police and the public prosecuters and public agencies refuse to get involved and do their jobs, to protect people from those much stronger and with greater power who would take advantage of others' weakness or vulnerability, to destroy their lives and homes, family and health, to steal their money or assets or even their votes, to make them powerless and voiceless, to deprive them of jobs and their livlihoods, either directly or by looking-away and not-acting, or succoring gangster thugs or enabling crooked business practices --even under 'color' of a corrupted, prostituted law.<br><br>A crucial part of the public's task in defending themselves, is identifying just WHO their 'enemies' are -- those they are most at-risk from being the intended or coincident victims of.<br>****<br><br>Obviously, this needs more work, thought-provoking contributions and critique welcome:<br><br>Regrdz;<br>Starman <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :\ --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>
