Consortiumblog: America's Political/Media Kabuki

Sunday, May 31, 2009

America's Political/Media Kabuki

By Robert Parry
June 1, 2009

Kabuki is defined as a highly stylized form of classical Japanese dance-drama in which actors often wear elaborate makeup and engage in precisely dictated movements, a useful metaphor for the current American political process which can’t seem to break out of old patterns even as the nation hurtles from crisis to crisis.

Read on.

22 comments:

William Shanley said...: Excellent essay, Bob.

If we move more deeply down into the system, we see that the Kabuki Dance is but a political side show orchestrated by powerful financial interests to keep the public distracted while the grand theft goes on.

Both partys' governments are staffed at key positions with members of councils organized, funded and approved by the elites and money trusts. The CFR mapped out global domination through economic imperialism in the early 1940's in what it called "the Grand Area," and one can see that since then US foreign policy has matched it flawlessly and with astonishing success in most cases. As such, our military and CIA have decapitated virtually every nationalist or democratic movement since WWII. We have propped up every reactionary dictator, staged phony elections, trained secret police and supported terrorism against, and proliferated nuclear weapons and precursor bio-weapons to dictators.

The US citizenry has been so propagandized, it's unaware of this reach for global empire and the 20-30 million deaths it's caused.

These same elite interests own and control the mass media and keep important issues facing the people sidelined throughout the campaign, forcing Democratic winners to break campaign promises, as we are now witnessing Obama's "change you can believe in."

While US military seeks to keep the US on a permanent war footing with total spectrum dominance==now in cyberspace==and a presence in 150 nations, military funding now swallows 54% of the federal budget, ensuring that policies of social repression and political reaction continue.

In my view, the US is being strip-mined to underwrite authoritarian, anti-democratic multinational corporations and the financier class. For example, while the $15 billion bailout for the auto industry was being hotly debated in the media, the Fed gave out $7.5 trillion to the private banks without a whimper. Tallies for underwriting the banking bailout are now in the $15 trillion range. To put this in perspective, $1 trillion dollars equals 20 million jobs at $50,000.

Travel anywhere in the world, and Europeans are taking long vacations, have substantial pensions and life-long health care and education. For the US citizen, vacations average about ten days, healthcare at their once public non-profit hospitals looks more like life for sale, the cost of education is through the roof, and wages have been stagnant since the 1970's.

Employers today pay a US wager earner so little, that at the 25% percentile, he or she must work more than 12 years to equal the cost of a slave in Mississippi in 1850==before pay for food, housing, energy, clothing, transportation, taxes, medical insurance, etc. That's why it's called wage slavery. At the same time, a tiny 1% receives 40% of national income.

The Bill of Rights, the very principles on which this nation was founded, are under attack at many levels. Bill Maher stated this week that the US imprisons people at a rate five times that of China. Could this be true?

These are the issues of today that must be addressed, or the US will collapse from the weight of debt, the evisceration of its population and the extension of its empire.

In the end, if this country is to survive, we must expose and confront the oligarchical psychology and the institutions that sustains policies that are destroying America. We need to reclaim our money system from private ownership, nationalize healthcare, break up the media trusts, enforce anti-trust, downsize the military to a defensive posture, eliminate covert activities except in self-defense, and un-privatize the commons.

We might look to civil disobedience and general strikes as means to restore republican democracy, for a close examination reveals that is not what we have today.; Mon Jun 01, 01:29:00 PM 2009
Florence Chan said...: I agree with the essay. Just want to add a few things:

- Pseudo objectivity is a big problem in today's press. That's what Bob meant by "bending over backwards," I guess. Editors feel the urge to provide "balanced" coverage to shake off the "liberal bias" label, with disastrous results.

- There's a formula to the right-wingers' strategy and it's so predictable that Kabuki is a perfect term to describe it. They spit out "arguments" that are not arguments at all, with the purpose to confuse, not convince. They know very well that confusion will cause people to be (1) unable to tell the right from wrong, (2) distracted from the real issue, and (3)tired of the discussion completely, declaring they don't care anymore ("Whatever! Let's move on!").; Tue Jun 02, 12:49:00 PM 2009
逆円助 said...: さあ、今夏も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか？当サイトは円助交際の逆、つまり女性が男性を円助する『逆円助交際』を提供します。逆円交際を未経験の方でも気軽に遊べる大人のマッチングシステムです。年齢上限・容姿・経験一切問いません。男性の方は無料で登録して頂けます。貴方も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか; Sat Jul 04, 03:36:00 AM 2009
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メル友募集 said...: 最近仕事ばかりで毎日退屈してます。そろそろ恋人欲しいです☆もう夏だし海とか行きたいな♪　k.c.0720@docomo.ne.jp　連絡待ってるよ☆; Fri Jul 17, 05:14:00 AM 2009
家出 said...: 最近TVや雑誌で紹介されている家出掲示板では、全国各地のネットカフェ等を泊り歩いている家出娘のメッセージが多数書き込みされています。彼女たちはお金がないので掲示板で知り合った男性の家にでもすぐに泊まりに行くようです。あなたも書き込みに返事を返してみませんか; Sun Jul 19, 02:35:00 AM 2009
動物占い said...: あなたの性格を、動物に例えて占っちゃいます。もしかしたらこんな動物かも！？動物占いをうまく使って、楽しい人間関係を築いてください; Mon Jul 20, 02:49:00 AM 2009
家出 said...: 家出中の女性や泊まる所が無い女性達がネットカフェなどで、飲み放題のドリンクで空腹を満たす生活を送っています。当サイトはそんな女性達をサポートしたいという人たちと困っている女性たちの為のサイトです; Wed Jul 22, 04:22:00 AM 2009
セレブラブ said...: セレブ女性との割り切りお付き合いで大金を稼いでみませんか？女性に癒しと快楽、男性に謝礼とお互い満たしあえる当サイト、セレブラブはあなたの登録をお待ちしております。; Thu Jul 23, 04:10:00 AM 2009
夏フェス！！ said...: 夏フェス一緒に行ってくれる人募集！！夏の思い出一緒につくろぉ☆　megumi-0830@docomo.ne.jp　連絡してね♪; Fri Jul 24, 04:31:00 AM 2009
無料ゲーム said...: あなたのゲーマー度を無料ゲーム感覚で測定します。１５個の質問に答えるだけの簡単測定で一度遊んでみませんか？ゲームが得意な人もそうでない人もぜひどうぞ。; Mon Jul 27, 03:18:00 AM 2009
素人 said...: Hな女性たちは素人ホストを自宅やホテルに呼び、ひとときの癒しを求めていらっしゃいます。当サイトでは男性ホスト様の人員が不足しており、一日3～4人の女性の相手をするホストもおられます。興味を持たれた方は当サイトにぜひお越しください; Tue Jul 28, 03:11:00 AM 2009
出会い系 said...: 実は出会い系には…関係者用入り口があるのを知っていますか？広告主やスポンサー用に用意されたIDではサクラや業者が立ち入ることが出来ないようになっているのです。当サイトでは極秘に入手した関係者用URLが公開されています; Wed Jul 29, 06:32:00 AM 2009
逆援助 said...: 男性はお金、女性は快楽を得る逆援助に興味はありませんか？お金を払っても性的欲求を満たしたいセレブ達との割り切り１日のお付き合いで当サイトでは大金を得ることができます。無料登録なのでアルバイト感覚でOK、詳しくはTOPページでどうぞ。; Thu Jul 30, 03:29:00 AM 2009
友達募集 said...: ホムペ完成記念！私の事みんなに知ってもらいたくて頑張りましたぁ。色々とご感想をお待ちしているので思った事を意見してください。メアドはほむぺにのせてありますぅ！★　fan.jna@docomo.ne.jp; Fri Jul 31, 03:45:00 AM 2009
家出 said...: 夏休みで気軽に家出する女子○生が急増しています。しかし家出したはいいものの泊る所やお金が無い彼女たちは、掲示板などで泊めてくれる男性を探す子も多いようです。当掲示板にも夏休みに入ってから通常の3倍以上のメッセージが寄せられています; Sun Aug 02, 02:51:00 AM 2009
人妻 said...: 今最もアツイバイトは人妻とのセフレ契約です。当サイトではお金を払ってでもセフレがほしい人妻が集まり、男性会員様との逆援生活を待っています。当サイトで欲求不満の女性との出会いをしてみませんか; Wed Aug 05, 03:09:00 AM 2009
素人 said...: 素人ホストでは、男性のテクニック次第で女性会員様から高額な謝礼がもらえます。欲求不満な人妻や、男性と出会いが無い女性達が当サイトで男性を求めていらっしゃいます。興味のある方はTOPページからどうぞ; Thu Aug 06, 04:22:00 AM 2009
友達募集中 said...: 少し魅惑な自分をネットだから公開してみました。普段言えない事など、思い切って告白しているプロフなので興味ある方はぜひ除いてみてください連絡待ってまぁす。　hinyaaaaa@docomo.ne.jp; Fri Aug 07, 03:49:00 AM 2009
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Sunday, May 31, 2009

America's Political/Media Kabuki

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