What This Guy Says - "This Election Has Disgraced The Entire Profession of Journalism"

This article written by Ken Silverstein that was posted at Zerohedge is a must-read IMO.

I was considering writing on a similar topic and am relieved that I needn't bother; I don't think anyone could surpass this essay on the shortcomings and compromises of "journalists" and formerly reputable entities in this election cycle. This is his opening sentence:

We still don’t know the outcome of the 2016 election, in which our “democratic process” has produced two candidates widely despised by the American people, but we do know the race’s biggest loser: reporters and the profession of journalism, which has been reduced to surrogacy, largely on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

which he then goes on to fully support while naming names and institutions that turned themselves into toadies and stenographers. He also discusses the difficulty he had in placing an article he had written that had an uncomplimentary focus on the Clinton Foundation and the pushback he received post-publication.

I share Silverstein's viewpoint that

“All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed,” I.F. Stone once wrote. “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations,” said George Orwell. For those two self-evident reasons, being “oppositional” is the only place political journalists should ever be, no matter who is in power or who is campaigning.

(note- bolding and underlining as appeared in original at Zerohedge)

Another interesting commentary on media and its biases is this one, also from Zerohedge:
Here's What Happened When A Hillary Supporting MIT Professor Decided To Analyze Her Emails Sorry, it's too complex with too many moving parts for me to be able to summarize adequately, except perhaps to note that even raw statistics are expected to Be With Her.

Zerohedge has been doing a great job in being an alternate source of information outside of the DNC controlled bubble.

*******
I've been posting a little more than usual due to having some free time on my hands, but anticipate retiring to gardening and fiction writing as post-election therapy regardless of who wins tomorrow. Living in a constant state of outrage is not good for a person, either mentally or physically.

After our fate is determined at the polls, I think the focus for people should be making sure that we never have to experience an election with such horrible choices again. I'm hoping some new Party arises from the rubble and no, I'm not speaking about some reconstituted Democratic Party with Better Democrats because Better Democrats will always be constrained, if not despised and ridiculed, and valued only for their votes.

Best wishes to everyone here and in the country as we navigate the troubled waters ahead.

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become one of those people you look at and roll your eyes. I can't have a discussion about this election without going off on a way too long rant about the theft of the primary and the corruption of the clintons and the sleaziness in general of our "democracy". clinton will undoubtedly "win" this. To paraphrase the late great George Carlin, the "real owners of this country" want her in the oval office so that's the way it's going to be. It makes me wonder if every democracy in the world will be in jeopardy as the real owners use this election cycle as a blueprint and install their lackeys in other countries. Not that they aren't doing it or at least trying it anyhow, but this brazen in your face corruption is mind boggling in what's supposed to be the model of democracy, the good old USA.
I sat back last night and reflected on my "behavior" and thought that maybe I've fed off of all the information regarding the clinton's corruption and maybe I've created this monster in my mind of what a clinton presidency is going to be. Maybe she won't unleash Armageddon upon the world. Maybe we can save Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and get affordable healthcare and affordable education for all. Maybe we can finally have true equality in this country. And maybe we can give up our dependency on fossil fuels and move to a green society. Then I woke up....

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Steven D's picture

to ranting only with my adult children. Rants when talking to other people go nowhere, unfortunately.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

going to get Hillary whether we liked it or not, my only reaction was that I had Clinton fatigue in 2008 and that I still had Clinton fatigue in 2016 but I wasn't overly concerned about a Clinton Presidency except for its predictable DLC, Third Way tendencies which is what we had gotten anyway with Obama despite his false advertising of Hope and Change. So I thought, just more of the same, oh well, ho hum.

That all changed for me when the server was first revealed. I thought, oh, well, look at that, she did something incredibly stupid that disqualified her from being POTUS, because I naively thought (cynical laugh here) that Democrats actually believed in transparency and accountability and sunshine in government. Then I discovered that because it was Hillary, Democrats no longer cared about those values, which we had made a BFD over when it was Rove and Bush and the RNC. I was honestly shocked that we had appropriated what I thought were Republican values. And this shock was even before all the National Security, classified stuff came out.

Here's lesson for the oligarchs - The Little People believe you when you tell them you believe in and stand for things. How sad and pathetic but true. We are not sophisticated enough to engage in Janusism, where we have two faces - a public one that tells lies and a private one that reassures the cronies. The Democrats acted blithely on the belief that they could throw all their public ethos out the window and that their followers would, well, follow along. Oh, that's who we are now? Okay, count me in! Not to mention, there is the added dilemma of where else you gonna go, you miserable peon.

And then, and then we had the Black Swan event of Bernie Sanders popping up and offering real, not ersatz, Hope and Change. Game changer. Bernie proved to us that there was such a thing as the honest man in politics that Diogenes sought so many centuries ago. A Socialist, for Gods sakes! (Channeling the gobsmacked Chris Matthews).

And meanwhile the Clintons are getting rich with speeches and in-kind donations as revealed by Doug Band. I will say that for me the Clintons did morph into a living symbol of everything that is wrong with our government and they were DEMOCRATS. Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you.

At this point, my only hope is that I will be pleasantly surprised by a Clinton Presidency which is a low bar since it only requires avoidance of nuclear holocaust for anyone on earth and being allowed to go about my peasanty, peon way, carping when it suits me on a blog.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

dervish's picture

lies and manipulation to be breath-taking. People that I formerly respected have adopted talking points and strategies that even Nixon would have rejected as a bridge too far. Nothing is too low or too illegal for these scumbags. I won't ever cooperate with the DNC or its minions, and they can count me as an enemy from now until the end of time.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

back in May 2015. There were limits to what he was allowed to say about the Clintons.
They have "leverage" over Bernie, says the Mook. WTF

Sanders never mentioned deals with Her to me. I would have gone away quick.
"Leverage"? Who knows, but it meant something.

And that makes you wonder how real Sanders campaign ever was. Add his long playing deceptions over income tax returns,never released despite direct promises. I am off Bernie now.

I don't know what happened to Sanders. He showed that the populist message resonates. Huge crowds. In the end he may have split progressives off the Dem. Party. If so, he may have done some good after all.

stein - baraka
2016

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the splitting of the progressives from the Dems is the one good thing about all of this.

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Yaldabaoth, Saklas I'm calling you. Samael. You're not alone. I said, you're not alone, in your darkness. You're not alone, baby. You're not alone. "Original Sinsuality" Tori Amos

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

for old-fashioned liberalism in the FDR model. He filled stadiums with people who were ready for and celebrating the idea of single payer healthcare, living wages, free public tuition and the like. Someone else and another Party besides the Democrats can pick up the marker he threw down.

I agree that the schism between Progressives and Democrats was long overdue and I for one hope it is permanent. The Democrats will never fulfill or pay any attention to the platform that Bernie is so proud of, because they don't want to and it doesn't serve their masters.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

dervish's picture

It can be summed up as the following: We know what's best for you, and if you don't agree, then you are a Russian spy who hates women and minorities. If you pay attention to the facts that undermine the duly coronated Chief Executive, you are a hate-speech spewing troll, who doesn't have or deserve any rights.

The DNC has hired people to incite violence, vote multiple times, and slander and smear their opponents in unconscionable ways. The RNC has done much the same. There is no respite in this concocted conflict between two sides of the very same coin.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

And there is now a huge vacuum where the party of the "common man" used to be. We already had a party that existed to take care of big banks and corporations. We didn't need two of them. The only question is, how long will it take for a third party to materialize and organize the "common" folk? The Greens don't seem to be making inroads in the electorate; disaffected working people, surveying the economic wreck of their lives, are foaming at the mouth and voting Trump; and huge swathes of poor people are clinging to the Democrats because they don't realize things have changed and that the Democrats want them only for their votes. The Dems continue to mouth the old platitudes, pretending to care what happens to unions, wages, and ordinary people, but they are lying. They're just as owned by big money as Republicans ever were.

It's really an amazing betrayal of the electorate. The leaders of today's Democratic Party may well be the most amoral bunch ever in charge of a major political institution in this country. They don't seem to have any values at all.

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Twain Disciple

Amanda Matthews's picture

Well what do you expect? Look at who the first president of the 'New' Democratic Party, aka The Third Way was.

Clenis had/has no principles or value at all. And he's a smug bastid, like with that Marc Rick pardon. The SOB had just been impeached and he still had the nads to openly give the America the collective finger on his way out the door.

And the kid has been living high on the hog on all that Clinton Famly Slush Fund blood money.

Whatta family.

EDIT: Took out an extra 'was'

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

skod's picture

Period, end of statement, full stop. We live in a determinedly post-truth society, and the vast majority of us appear to be perfectly happy with that, as long as there are Kardashians to ogle, and beer in the fridge. Bread and widescreen 4K circuses for everyone! And, they've discovered that it the circuses are good enough, we the people won't complain *too* much if there is less and less bread over time...

"Nothing to see here, move along" should really replace "E pluribus unum" as the traditional national motto.

No smiley. I have never been as embarrassed and *disgusted* to be an American as I am right now.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

"I have never been as embarrassed and *disgusted* to be an American as I am right now."

Why? Because we're vulnerable to being mugged? Because 40% of us, or maybe 18%, depending on the poll, are gullible enough to go along with the authoritarian groupthink? Because we haven't risen up in revolution?

Too often, people seem to forget altogether that we're living in neither a democracy nor a republic. The legal, political, and media channels are all closed, if not absolutely, enough to make sure very little that disturbs the dominant narrative gets through the pipe. This isn't something the American people chose, anymore than they chose this predatory election. If you want to make the argument that they chose it, you'll have to go back to the last time they had a choice. It would make sense, maybe, to be mad at the electorate that chose Nixon twice, or that chose Reagan twice and Bush Sr. once. Possibly you could be mad even at the people who voted for Clinton the first time. But from 1994 on, as far as I can see, the fix has been in. Once the Clintons ran the Democratic party and the Bushes the Republicans, our goose was cooked.

This means that I'm probably the youngest person you should blame for any of this, and I'm 48. AFAIC, anybody 45 or under isn't responsible for any of this shit. We've been trying since 2002 to fix it, to no avail.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Steven D's picture

I always enjoy reading your work.

I also agree that "Living in a constant state of outrage is not good for a person, either mentally or physically."

Unfortunately, I fear the end of one nightmare is only the prelude to a much more frightening and terrible one.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

What a long strange trip it's been.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

leaving politics after the election and doing something else. It's too bad, because if any work is going to be done, that's when the real work would start.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

elenacarlena's picture

Don't rage, organize. Time for a new third party or take over an existing one or work individually on issues?

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Damnit Janet's picture

is not letting your anger wither you or control you.

The next hardest is walking one's talk. Just grocery shopping is a bitch when you confront yourself with the facts of food, sustainability and corporate assholes. Everything is political.

Until it's not. Until you see the person.

I don't think most outside of anti-war, hunger activists deal with the human eyes, the soul of what they are passionate about.

That's what kinda keeps me "balanced' and not overcome with hate. I'm this way because I am in love with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I just happen to think it includes us all and not just me.

We are going to hunker down and buckle up. We've been talking about getting the house super ready for anything. Living more simply which means more organization and cleanliness.. So we can respond rather than "react". So we can just try to survive. But not just for ourselves, for all. Not like those prepper type shows, I don't want to live in their world where people are ready to kill each other for their basement of mac n cheese.

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"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

shaharazade's picture

Everything is political. Strangely the mockery of 'representational' democratic politics were living through is not really politics in the sense of being public. This is not even a republic. I don't really have the words to describe what this is but it's nothing people anywhere should give their consent to. Were doing the same thing getting our house in order. We've always lived simply so we will learn to live an even more sustainable life. Hunkering down where we are and all my politics are going to follow the hippie maxim 'Think global, act local'.

Community and solidarity online and off will be even more important now that the rulers of the universe have destroyed any means of addressing our grievances and have disdain for all human rights and our common good. Democracy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are concepts that are a impediment to the global agenda of these power mad, violent and cruel, greed heads. I take heart in the movements of people everywhere in this world as we find it. It gave me hope when I saw that Black Lives Matter yard signs were all over my neighborhood and I only saw 4 I'm with her signs. I wish people would let go of misplaced fear and anger and join together to stop this madness. Awareness is growing and thank god for Wikileaks and the brave truth tellers left to tell the tale.

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Thank you, Janet, for your adaptive view on hope and living a meaningful, sustaining and generous life. I believe it is a matter of redefining hope and possibility and keeping it local and personal. We, too, are planning our renovated house to have a food generating garden, water and air filters, a generator and water capturing capacity. We will work to develop relationships with our neighbors, which we have already started from afar. We already live simply and are always looking for ways to build greater resiliency and meaning into our lives through cooperative and community resource sharing. We strive to live joy based, rather than fear based and this is our current method to be life positive.

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Damnit Janet's picture

it's hard thing to do actually. it takes critical thought. but we under this roof all agree that we have to just live simply and continue fighting and by fighting - we mean walking our talk as well as protesting but living life as if we cared about the people on the planet. Smile

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"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

ggersh's picture

just as a surely as america being a republic, both are only distant memories.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Sorry Sir, we couldn't manage to keep it.

Tho' I"m still holding out some hope that what we've learned from Alligator Ed is true and will take longer for the full effects to produce results.

No way to have a press conference and prevent FLASH BULBS, bright lights, and questions coming from all different angles. Would look very strange to see someone indoors wearing Zeiss bright blue anti-seizure lenses. But then, if a person can be seen in public wearing a HouseCoat with big pockets which comes down to her mid calf, well, who knows? Still think it's strange to think of someone who would want to wear clothes which make her look like a toad stool. No accounting for taste, or the lack there of....maybe we'll see headbands again?
This is not snark.

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ggersh's picture

although 4/8 years of her brings fear.

Headbands and headshops, boones farm and a psychedelic shack.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmaJjI3cW_A]

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

elenacarlena's picture

headbands, I will be DELIGHTED. Might even start wearing them myself!

OK, maybe I won't go that far. Gah, those house coats are ugly. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone wanting to grab my pussy! Wink

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Cachola's picture

Mu-mus never stopped the pussy grabbing among my tropical people.

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Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.

elenacarlena's picture

assault. But if it did, I'd rate mu-mus way up there above potholder coats, especially paired with mismatched PJ bottoms. Although I still think my flannel works best.

Muumuu cat design f72dfb3e832287720fb2b00573952420[1].jpg

hillarydress[1].jpg
Flannel for Women Envío-gratis-Tops-para-mujer-vestido-informal-para-damas-blusa-da-vuelta-abajo-camisa-de-las[1].jpg

But also of course, if this is the worst Hill does, we will all be very relieved. If a little grossed out.

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Cachola's picture

I still can't believe that no one stopped Hillary from going out in the getup.

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Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.

elenacarlena's picture

I have two competing hypotheses:

1) That's the latest in designer wear and I am completely out of the fashionableness loop. "The Power Look - You're so rich you no longer care what you look like."

2) She was critiqued for wearing designer wear (Armani IIRC) to an "I'm just like you poor saps" talk (she managed not to say saps, of course), so she and her team decided she needed to dress down. Way down. Be one of the peeps. Went more than a bit too far, so she hasn't entirely repeated that look since (although she had one navy jacket with similar pockets).

Someone who keeps up with high fashion better than I do will have to address whether or not potholder house coats have become haute couture.

The news keeps talking about how they expect record crowds at Susan B. Anthony's grave. Puhleez. This is only a milestone for Her Heinous, not for me and thee. SBA may be rolling over in her grave wondering if an elitist corporatist warmonger is all we get after all our efforts.

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gulfgal98's picture

Our entire country has been reduced to one massive Potemkin village.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

sailed for both establishment media and politicians long before this primary and election campaign. Coincidentally, I just posted a blog entry I've been working on for a while about (some) media colluding with Mark Penn during the 2008 primary, although most media was pretty much in the bag for Obama then, as were the establishment Democrats. (Seems hard to believe now.)

What this primary and election showed us is, no matter how low you already thought establishment media and/or politicians are, "You ain't heard nutthin' yet."

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlAt2lcg5ZM]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXt9X_1NWvI]

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... and most Americans have seen the cruel and greedy manipulators pulling the levers of power backstage during this electoral season. I've pulled back from the coverage and the arguments in recent months. Neither candidate is better or worse, and since Bernie was crushed I've felt powerless to affect the outcome. I suspect that feeling is even more widespread generally, and hope the disgust this election has generated will translate into a widespread appetite for political alternatives.

I do expect to reengage gradually over time. Clinton administration appointments and plans will demand fresh outrage, and media propaganda for the oligarchic Democrats will require deconstruction. Wednesday will be the time to begin looking for new political tools and alliances, with the aim of replacing the Democratic Party as a political home for the 99%. I hope this community will provide a helpful guide in how and where to organize.

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Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

It's hard to see how this time around could NOT generate interest in alternatives to the two major parties. I am happy and excited to explore new political tools and alliances as you say, beginning on Wednesday. There's a lot of unrepresented citizens out there.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

gulfgal98's picture

It has become harder and harder for me to write comments, let alone continue the neo-liberalism series. In a way, I am beginning to think we no longer need education in what neo-liberalism is and what is driving it. This election exposed the vast corruption that permeates everything in our lives, not just our political system or the endless wars. It seems like a Herculean task to even imagine just how deeply rooted this corruption is.

Every time I google one of the Clinton's associates, I see just how intertwined these people and their "businesses" are. We sometimes joke about the Clinton crime syndicate, but this is far greater and more dangerous than the Mafia.

I believe that the most difficult thing for me to accept is how truly evil these people are and how many of them there are. They are so greedy and sociopathic, far beyond what I could have imagined. Their complete and utter lack of ethos and morality is truly shocking.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Cachola's picture

I have had much more exposure to how evil US leaders are and I am still having trouble with the level of corruption uncovered or maybe how blatant they have become. Also, how little most people care, that's the hardest for me.

ETA: latinoamericana, as in coming from Latinoameica; not Latin-American, which would make me feel like a chimera.

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Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

import of what has happened and is happening to the country. Malaise ain't the half of it.

On another note, anyone feel like posting an election prediction/comment thread? How about you gulfgal? How do you think Florida will go? And how do you handicap the Prez race?

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

Spoken to, pierced the very heart of what I've been experiencing:

Every time I google one of the Clinton's associates, I see just how intertwined these people and their "businesses" are. We sometimes joke about the Clinton crime syndicate, but this is far greater and more dangerous than the Mafia.

I believe that the most difficult thing for me to accept is how truly evil these people are and how many of them there are. They are so greedy and sociopathic, far beyond what I could have imagined. Their complete and utter lack of ethos and morality is truly shocking.

No idea how to move forward, knowing these words to be completely true.
Still shuddering at David Gregory not even bothering to mention in recent speaking, that his WIFE, a lawyer, is employed by Shrillary.

Just as John Podesta doesn't think it's important that a close friend, BFF, confidant of his is as corrupt, having lobbied Billy years ago to pardon Marc Rich , and still deep inside the FBI. Still a cog in the greatest wheel of corruption our nation has ever known.

Seriously no conception of how this will ever, ever, ever change - especially if Clintons manage to manipulate their way back to the White House.

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gulfgal98's picture

The media has colluded so much with the Clintons that most people do not have even an inkling of how bad the corruption associated with them is. I have tried to explain the war aspect to very intelligent friends of mine and they seem shocked that Hillary could be a war monger. They often see her as a woman who feels like she must "man up."

These are people who read the newspapers, but are so busy treading water in their personal lives that they do not have the time to search the internet.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

dervish's picture

is the Clinton and DNC e-mails. They will provide both fodder and proof for years to come, regarding how corrupt these people are. We were shot down time and again as promoting "conspiracy theories", yet now we have proof of those same conspiracies. Though they may try, we won't be dismissed.

Someone will win this election, but whomever that is, they will never have legitimacy.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

elenacarlena's picture

planning to vote for Jill Stein! She still needs us for at least 5%.

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OK, which one of you is Honest Hillary? Smile

https://twitter.com/Honest_Hillary/status/795645655792447488

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thanatokephaloides's picture

Honest:Hillary
Water:Axle Grease

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Honest: Hillary
Matter: Antimatter

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Hawkfish's picture

Loved this quote:

If we want to stick with representative democracy, I think for it to work best, it needs to be very local.

This is why I have been advocating state initiatives as a way to move forward. The things on the ballots this year include: single payer, ranked voting, minimum wage, carbon taxation and marajuana legalization. None of this would fly at the national level.

The writer also speaks to the loose association of states. This can be a mixed bag. On the plus side, it allows free movement to societies that you have more in common with. But the down side is increased segmentation of the population leading to greater us vs them mentalities. If we are lucky, we can get cross-pollination of ideas, but if not, we can end up with gross human rights violations.

The strongest argument for national governance has been to protect human rights, most notably the rights of blacks and other minorities - and not just in the south. Free internal migration is not free (it's expensive) and mass migrations can trigger nasty backlashes at the destination.

I think we have to use the local approach for now, but the persistent issues of human tribalism are not going to magically vanish when we go that route.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Creosote.'s picture

for candidates at the state level just as easily as they do for national candidates -- my thought this morning, after taking in http://caucus99percent.com/content/why-clinton-will-win-easily-fraction-...
It's too good a way to remove all the bottom rungs of the ladder and shut out further bother not to be actively used.

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Granma's picture

I'm glad my candidate is not in jail an acquaintance told me this morning, though declining to name which candidate he voted for.
Pretty pathetic when it has come to that.

edited subject

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gendjinn's picture

US corporate journalism has always been this disgraceful. It was just as bad on Gulf War 1 as it was on the Iraq WMD/war.

And yet there are still good journalists doing great work, just not getting exposure on corporate owned tv/radio stations. Same as it ever was.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

incubators' and 'Saddam has WMDs'?

I have NEVER fully believed anything from American 'journalists' since Vietnam. And the things that I suspect they may be telling the truth about are, I notice, things that are no skin off their nose. Crime stories mostly. And store ads. And even those aren't always on the up-and-up (i.e. Ferguson and 'puffery'.)

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

gendjinn's picture

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It's not the same. Never has the entire media--right, center, left and alternative--all lined up behind a single candidate.

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gendjinn's picture

but US journalism has long been a disgrace. It didn't tip into disgrace this cycle.

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Trump and Clinton are both historically unpopular presidential nominees. Half the country thinks Clinton is a crook, and the other half thinks Trump is a racist and misogynist.

That quote is from CNN. I think Clinton's a crook. I also think Trump is a racist and misogynist. It is not an either/or proposition.

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lotlizard's picture

S—t tons more. And that is absolutely, positootly not due to rounding.”

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Bisbonian's picture

And four flight attendants yesterday. Same pilot, and a total of six flight attendants today. Every one of those people were disgusted with both of our candidates. Most every one of them were familiar with emails, election fraud, etc. I was the only real political junkie of the bunch. That gives me hope.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Bob In Portland's picture

Back sometime in the late fifties, early sixties Cokie and her eventual husband worked writing propaganda in Gloria Steinem's CIA propaganda mill for the old International Youth Festivals. Steinem reported to people like John J. McCloy and CD Jackson.

Would it be wrong to presume she and Gloria's employment have continued along similar paths? Roberts certainly appears to be a gatekeeper for what thought is allowed on NPR.

This morning Cokie explained that because of Comey's actions the last ten days the race will be closer and the Dems won't win the Senate.

The Dems won't win the Senate because the DLC backs crappy pieces of stink like Patrick Murphy. But if you can blame it on Comey you remain a faithful Dem. Everybody back in line.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

don't notice the program change and don't turn it. Otherwise **CLICK**

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

lotlizard's picture

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Bob In Portland's picture

Back sometime in the late fifties, early sixties Cokie and her eventual husband worked writing propaganda in Gloria Steinem's CIA propaganda mill for the old International Youth Festivals. Steinem reported to people like John J. McCloy and CD Jackson.

Would it be wrong to presume she and Gloria's employment have continued along similar paths? Roberts certainly appears to be a gatekeeper for what thought is allowed on NPR.

This morning Cokie explained that because of Comey's actions the last ten days the race will be closer and the Dems won't win the Senate.

The Dems won't win the Senate because the DLC backs crappy pieces of stink like Patrick Murphy. But if you can blame it on Comey you remain a faithful Dem. Everybody back in line.

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dervish's picture

as the weapon of the people during the French Revolution? I'm thinking that it was adopted because of the dual system of justice, ie the bourgeoisie could literally get away with (almost) any crime, whereas the peasants faced draconian punishments for far less. The guillotine was an equalizer.

Despite toadies and foot-kissers, when the mask is torn away profoundly, there is no going back and no un-learning of the facts. We've had enough, despite the fact that no media pimp will tell you that.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

lotlizard's picture

Look sharp! Feel sharp! Be sharp!

The Gillette(-ine) March. In the 1950s, almost like the theme music of the World Series on radio or TV.

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MarilynW's picture

a writer on politics, not exactly a journalist. Then there is The Real News Network.

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To thine own self be true.

travelerxxx's picture

Talk about someone who is going to be persona non grata in any Clinton White House! Thomas Frank may quite likely be one of our most important writers in the coming years -- to me, he already is. None of the Hillbots ever had an issue with What's the Matter with Kansas, but Listen Liberal has laid their hypocrisy wide open. They don't like that.

For what it's worth, I consider Frank a journalist. I don't recall his articles in daily newspapers, but he certainly can be found in monthlies and is a co-founder and editor of The Baffler journal.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

…Thomas Frank has been the holder of the vision for those with a moral compass.

He's been a guiding light for me on thinking about politics philosophically. Especially, domestic issues, which can seem pointless when your priorities are upside down.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Wink's picture

gardening. Or fiction writing. Sadly. Becuz I'd rather be doing that - or almost anything - besides politicking. Alas... if we won't who will? Garcia once said, "somebody has to do it. I just can't believe it's left up to us." Me neither. But here we are, in the right place, at the right time.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

outside of politics is the point I was making. Something that I plan on doing more of.

Because I have been so politically engaged for so long, I don't think it's something I can just drop. I only became politically aware out of necessity during the Bush years. I marvel at how out of it I was until then, I just routinely voted Democratic because it was my belief they were the party for the people and the Republicans were the Party for the wealthy and business interests.

I want new options in politics and I will work and write towards that end. I do think that if new options don't arise, that I may go George Carlin and just opt out of the entire BS system and just watch it go down the tubes as a dispassionate bystander.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "