Ever since Rush Limbaugh made those horrendous comments about Sandra Fluke, many people, myself included, have been and are up in arms. There has been a massive grass roots campaign to convince advertisers not to advertise on his show. Many advertisers, being sensitive to public opinion, have responded by pulling their ads. Needless to say, our voices are being heard about this situation.
Though we are seeing the early results of people power in action, it makes one wonder how much change those grassroots efforts will bring about? Will merely getting his show canceled fix the circumstances that helped to spawn the flock of conservative talk shows that dominate the radio airwaves or just silence Rush? Will it fix the flood of, what I feel is, intentional misinformation that many of the conservative talk shows spew out on a daily basis? The answer is a resounding NO! The only way that talk radio will become anything more than a medium that spews out right-wing propaganda and serves as giant megaphone for mega-corporations that want to reduce us to mere servitude, is by each one of us putting the same effort into making our electeds re-regulate the broadcast media that we did in the current situation with Limbaugh. We need to make sure that our electeds restore the old regulatory standards that were decimated under the Reagan and Clinton administrations. We need to let them know that the airwaves are not bits of electronic real estate to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, but are a natural resource that is owned by each and every one of us and assigned to those who can prove that they will use their licenses to operate in the public convenience, interest and necessity. What that translates to is, to paraphrase the Occupy movement; WHOSE AIRWAVES? OUR AIRWAVES! Remember, whoever controls the broadcast media, controls the hearts and minds of most Americans. If we can get the airwaves back, we'll get our country back!
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When President Obama was running for office and making those soaring "yes we can" speeches, he was inadvertently drawing a future line in the sand. That line was drawn when he made a constant reference to Bush's tax breaks for the rich. That reference was very different from a campaign promise casually tossed out in a speech by a politician trying to curry favor and win votes, it defined him as a man and represented who he was to become as an elected official. In other words, he wasn't a Republican and subconsciously, it was why we voted for him.
When Bill Clinton supported "free" trade agreements like NAFTA, it upset many union people who silently wondered how ANY Democrat could support something that would cost so many working Americans their jobs. They were agreements that the Republicans, always taking care of their corporate friends endorsed. He made a constant reference to those agreements creating "new" jobs and offering a bright future for all concerned. In other words, those agreements were there to help working people as well as corporate interests. Bill Clinton didn't know it then, but he was drawing a future line in the sand for the Democratic party. As we all know, President Obama is seemingly more eager to please the Republicans and get the unemployment extensions that they are holding hostage passed, than to live up to how he defined himself during his campaign and by extension, his integrity as a man. By extending tax breaks for the rich, he has crossed the line in the sand that defined him as being the antidote to Bush and joined his predecessor on the wrong side of that line. That will render him politically unacceptable to many of his core supporters. As we all know, President Obama is actively supporting the South Korea US Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that was originated by the Bush administration. Once again there are claims that the agreement will create many jobs due to an increase in exporting. Careful examination of the agreement by many unions and yours truly show that it has the potential to be a huge job killer, in other words NAFTA II. Unions have been in denial about Bill Clinton's support of NAFTA and have continued to support the Democrats for years. Obama's support of the South Korea US FTA just put the Democratic Party on the wrong side of the line that Bill Clinton drew in the sand years ago. Now that the lines of integrity have been crossed, we have two choices: 1- To go into denial and pretend that the President and the Democratic Party actually represents us, not corporations and the rich. 2- To help form a pro-labor third party that will restore the American dream to the 98% of us who aren't millionaires. The choice is yours, choose wisely! President Obama just announced that negotiations were completed on the South Korea United States Free Trade Agreement. This agreement was a product of the Bush administration and has been reworked by Obama's people to make it more palatable to Democrats. President Obama touts the exporting possibilities of the agreement as something that can help to bring jobs to the USA. I say that "free" trade agreements like Bill Clinton's NAFTA that were also hawked as job creators have always been job killers. Even if we do increase our imports, my Show No 56 - Exporting, Corporate Snake Oil For Working People, explains why exporting actually hurts working people by lowering their standard of living.
Democrats like to campaign against the Republican "free" market philosophy then, once elected, push for the passage of "free" trade agreements. The current agreement has earned President Obama accolades from The US Chamber Of Commerce and other pro corporate groups. The trickle down philosophy is alive and well in BOTH parties. Both parties do not deserve OUR support! A new third party will have to be created to genuinely represent working people and field candidates for 2012. |
AuthorHave you noticed that there's no one on Talk Radio who speaks for John and Jane Q. Public? I want to change that situation. When I go into the studio and get on the air, I say the things that you've always wanted to say. The big corporate interests have their lobbyists, I want to be your voice. Just think of me as your guy fighting for your interests. Proud To Be On:Archives
May 2017
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