Chamblee54

Juan Cole has an amusing commentary today about American news compared to Al Jazeera. It seems as though Americans are fed a diet of scandal and celebrity misadventure, while Arabs are told about fighting the power. It as if one people were eating fruits and vegetables, and the other people is on an all weiner diet.
“Americans live in a late capitalist society where the rich have gotten many times richer and the middle class has gotten poorer, where Wall Street bankers have stolen us blind and blamed us for living above our means, where persistent unemployment is worse than in the Great Depression, where most politicians and some judges have been bought by corporations or special interests, where authorities actively conspire to keep people from voting, where the government spies on citizens assiduously without warrant or probable cause, and where the minds of the sheep are kept off their fleecing by substituting celebrity gossip, sex scandals, and half-disguised bigotry for genuine news.
In the Arab world, masses of 20-year-olds have challenged their corrupt politicians and manipulative billionaires in the streets, demanding transparency, an end to arbitrary secret police, and free and fair elections untainted by influence-peddling and plutocracy. I have Arabic satellite t.v. on in the background most of the day, with its dramatic stories of personal risk and human tragedy and bold challenge to a rotten status quo. And I channel surf over to the American cable news and mostly find fluff or de-contextualized reports or, frankly, propaganda. So here is my life, the day’s news given synoptically, our news and their news.”
Much of what is said, and not said, is true. It becomes a matter of what the gate keeper lets through. There is only room for so many stories, and what we are told is often not what we need to hear. How many people know that our allies in Afghanistan export heroin to Russia? Or that saber rattling Israel continues to do business with Iran ?
On June 3, the fishwrapper posted a story about efforts of the state of Georgia to get access to water from the Tennessee River. As some of you know, Atlanta does not have a dependable supply of water. We are one drought, or one court order, away from drying up. The story about water was sandwiched between three stories about Herman Cain. The water story got 17 comments. The stories about Mr. Cain got 238 comments.
While researching this post, PG went back to the fishwrapper’s political page. The top story is State blocks info on ‘violent incidents’ at Valdosta State Prison. It seems like there was trouble in a prison recently, and the government has something to hide. The next story… Herman Cain says he would appoint gays to cabinet – if they weren’t Muslim .
The clip below is 29 seconds, and is fun. The headline is just a bit misleading. The fun loving Spacey G has this to say about Mr. Cain’s latest…”Note that pizza delivery guy’s effete, nervous little giggle at end. Dude is just a freakin’ weirdo.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress .