Chamblee54

Some of PG’s facebook friends posted a link to a lecture by Bill Moyers. PG started to write about it, but only got as far as a quote by George Bernard Shaw. Later that night, he used a video file of the message as background sound while he multi tasked. (Some of these pictures, from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”, illustrate this post.
The speech gets off to a shaky start. Mr. Moyers (spell check suggestions:Foyers ,Mopers ,Movers) discusses the difference between a journalist and a historian. He tells the story about Helen of Troy. Does Mr. Moyers believe the Trojan War was really fought because someone got their girlfriend stolen? Both historians and journalists traffic in stories. A few of these stories are true. Almost all of them have an agenda, and many leave out crucial details.
Ths speech by Mr. Moyers discusses the rich getting richer. and paying public officials to help. This is not news to many of us, and is not the best state of affairs. Mr. Moyers quotes Mr. Shaw a second time. “It seems the incorrigible George Bernard Shaw once propositioned a fellow dinner guest, asking if she would go to bed with him for a million pounds (today around $1,580,178 US dollars). She agreed. Shaw then asked if she would do the same for ten shillings. “What do you take me for?” she asked angrily. “A prostitute?” Shaw responded: “We’ve established the principle, Madam. Now we’re just haggling over the price.”
The concept of plutocracy does not bode well for the long term survival of the republic. The problem is, Mr. Moyers does not have an alternative in mind. ( He admits as much in the Q&A after the speech.) The focus of the speech is distribution of wealth, and does not mention the other negative effects of government for sale. Some of these problems include the War in Babylon, carbon pollution, and allowing Israel to boss America around.
Before PG heard the speech, he glanced over the comments. One caught his eye. “I am tired of Bill Moyers being sanctimonious. When he worked for Lyndon Johnson in the White House during the Vietnam War, he stayed on and was silent about the Vietnam War. When it counted on his watch, he did nothing. He has been trying to embezzle himself into heaven ever since.”