I never thought I'd see the day that Rolling Stone would become a trusted major source of news for me. Lately, however, other sources have fired their reporters and refuse to mention anything at all that would imply criminal conduct or unethical behavior by their owners, friends of the owners, campaign contribution recipients of the owners, family members of the owners, dinner guests, ex-wives, illegitimate children of the owners, or any other people who operate in the same social sphere as these captains of industry. In short, the bias shown by mass media in favor of the monied rulers of our society these days has rendered it totally devoid of the ability to accurately report the news. I no longer trust what used to be the major news outlets for anything other than news about who's dating who in Hollywood, and which dogs are starving where in Japan. Holy Crap, Batman! Jump into your Batmobile and save us from these rich men's lackeys.
Where have you gone Bob Woodward? A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you. Oh yeah, I forgot. He's in the middle of a book deal and can't be bothered. Sorry. My bad.
Instead, I have learned to turn to the Internet and the Rolling Stone. When that rag first appeared on the scene, based in the drugged out hippie town that was San Fransisco in 1967, it was hailed by all the counterculture gurus and shunned by every serious journalist in the country. It has quietly become a major source of truth since that time, and now stands almost alone in it's quest to shed light on today's culture shaking events. Here's a couple of recent examples. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/tax-cuts-for-the-rich-on-the-backs-of-the-middle-class-or-paul-ryan-has-balls-20110407 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/why-is-the-fed-bailing-out-qaddafi-20110401 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-real-housewives-of-wall-street-look-whos-cashing-in-on-the-bailout-20110411
You won't read about any of this in the newspapers, and you won't see it on TV. This young buck, Matt Taibbi, is the modern day equivalent of the Woodward and Bernstein team that brought down the Nixon presidency. It's easy for me to see the differences in the times when I remember how folks were in front of the tube, on the edge of their seats every night, waiting for W&B to report the latest revelations back then, and noticing that today only a handful of people are even aware of what's going on around them.
There are other, more pressing issues in our lives these days, and it's hard to focus on just who it is that is stealing from us when the reporters are more interested in letting us know that Snookie is gonna get $100,000 per episode for throwing up in public this season.
Aw, heck with it. Maybe we deserve to be fleeced.
Update: Today, three days after this post, I noticed articles containing this info begining to show up in several mainstream internet articles. Also, Elliot Spitzer mentioned several of these items on his show on 4-14-11. Maybe it will get reported? Goodness knows, it's the crime of the century. Change that. It's the biggest theft in the history of the world.
Here's a story I heard on NPR that will make your blood boil, not that it isn't already. This woman's loan was bought and packaged several times and she has had no luck at all in getting it restructured, even with good credit. She can't even figure out who owns her loan. All the "help" assured by our government just meant that she would get trick-f***ed by yet more echelons of bureaucracy in addition to those a-holes you accurately imply should be on the receving end of the shaft from some 300 pound hairy cellmate, name of "Crusher".
ReplyDeletehttp://thestory.org/archive/The_Story_4611.mp3/view
"Aw, heck with it. Maybe we deserve to be fleeced. "
ReplyDeleteI was reading about a businesman down on the gulf who was complaining about what the DeepWater Horizon spill had done to his fishing excursion business, and to the crews who relied on him for their living. He'd always been pro-oil -- the oil companies were "one of us." So he was upset by the spill, but still onboard. But:
* His workers got a measley payout for unemployment upfront, then no more. Not what they'd been promised.
* He filed for compensation. The oil company stalled. He filed again. Then they only allowed a small part of his damages. He pointed out that they were wrong in their judgments on a number of counts.
* So They told him to start the whole process over again; they couldn't just fix what they'd done.
Now he thinks they're evil. But it took, what, two or three major and direct slaps in the face to get him there. It takes a lot to change your world view; because if you think oil companies are good, to think they're not means you have to feel differently about a lot of other things, including the politicians you elected who _still_ think they're great (because they take their money), the slap on the wrist they get from Washington for all the damage they've done, and so on.
It takes time. But the process is ongoing for many people.
Hello, Jay. These stories abound. I read hers, and it fits the mold. It really is no wonder, since the intent of HAMP was to help the banks by keeping folks in their homes so they would make payments a while longer. At the time, the pols were hopeful the housing mess would go away if it could just be kicked down the road a bit. They were wrong. By the way, I wish we could have met while I was still in the area. Kindred souls, I believe.
ReplyDeleteBoomer. I so hope you're right and all it will take is a couple of more slaps for folks to waken. The alternative is smelling salts, and these days I'm cynical enough to believe modern smelling salts are made with ammonium cyanide rather than the ammonium carbonate commonly found in a boxers corner.
You, my friend, are a much needed encouragement in my life at this time. Thanks.
The more I listened to her interview the more I got mad. (My dog kept turning around with the dog equivalent of "what?". I walk him out on public land so no one hears me muttering as I listen to this stuff on my mp3 player.) On the other hand, she sounded calm and determined to win out in the end, despite repeated foreclosure threats and stultifying and baffling repeated requests for the same information. Her description of the company's lawyer was revealing of how much these funds "care" about their clients or even (especially) the law.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I listen to "The Story" frequently as I can download episodes and take them with me. Its host is a genetically nice Canadian who presents stories of all kinds and seems to not take political sides in those kinds of issues. A good interviewer. Most stories are just good stories and not political at all. I've learned a lot from them, even though my white hair sez I should know it all ;-).