Tuesday, April 14, 2009

NYT's American Blind Spot

By Robert Parry
April 15, 2009

On Tuesday, the New York Times ran two editorials that staked out sound positions – on the need for the American Bar Association to resist right-wing pressures in evaluating judicial nominees and on the value of holding tyrants accountable. But in both cases, the Times demonstrated blind spots about parallels to itself and the U.S. media.

Read on.
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Anonymous said...

MEDIA BLIND SPOTS AND THE MASSES

What are the consequences of media's blind spots?

In 1967, I joined others to celebrate my birthday at Cattleman's Steak House in Phoenix. Sitting at a table next to us was Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ)who had some rather stark comments about the American electorate. He said, "The masses are asses. I wish it were not true, but down through U.S. history they have been easly led to believe lies, distortions, myths and propaganda. They have been too trusting of politicians and too apethetic about holding them accountable. It is hard for me to respect voters, and most within the Beltway do not."

A perfect example of Goldwater's disdain are those "Conservatives and Independents" joining so-called "grassroots" teaparty protests against taxes and government spending. If there were ever "asses" in the Goldwater sense, these people qualify.

The original event they celebrate was motivated by taxation without representation. These people have representation, mostly radical conservative Republicans who under Bush spent more money than all other president's in U.S. history added together and gave more than two-trillion dollars in tax cuts to the top one-percent of the wealthy in the country.

The protestors rant against bailing out Wall Stree and the banks, without realizing that the term "bailout" does not mean that taxpayers will not be paid back in the future with interest. A good case in point is Goldman S., which plans to pay back all funds they borrowed by July.

Nor do they understand the ramifications of failing to "bailout" failing companies. If Bush and Obama and has not acted, the unemployement rate at this time would be in excess of 20 percent according to members of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and the majority of leading economists. Hence, most of these misguided protestors could not have protested because they would be jobless and without funds for travel. They would be members of the 45-Million Unemployed Club.

Of, course, they have forgotten that Obama signed the biggest tax decrease in history, providing 95 percent of Americans tax relief in three areas - - payroll deductions, significant IRS 1040 off-the-top special item relief and tax table deductions.

These protestors have not been told by radical conservatives that the Obama budget just passed had more than three-trillion dollars in cuts - - the first installment of a process to cut the federal red ink by more than two-thirds in eight years.

Finally, these protestors have thrown Bush and Obama into the same black pot of blame to be boiled in the oil of propaganda. The same radical conservatives responsible for tax-and- spend policies that caused the red ink and economic downturn in the first place now take no responsibility. Nor do the "asses" who voted for them over and over again and believed their lies even care.

As Goldwater said, "The masses are asses." God help us if this tell-lies-until-they-become-truth practice and voter dim-wittedness continues.

Wed Apr 15, 05:11:00 PM 2009

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