More on the "Fourth Estate" - Bush's 'Lapdogs'

As I blogged on 8/26,

'I am currently reading Lapdogs-How the Press Rolled Over for Bush (2006), by Eric Boehlert. It is sharply critical of the news media, which the author says "has utterly failed in their watchdog duty to the public".'

Mr. Boehlert went on to comment,

'...That fear of conservative press critics - and the desire to mollify them - also explains why right-wing extremists are treated like serious commentators by the Main Stream Media (MSM) and so rarely challenged.'

Here is a similiar view expressed by one of my favorite bloggers:

When I Said, "We All Know Now. . ." Turns Out That 43% Don't Know

by The Old Hippie http://oldhippies.blogspot.com/2006/09/yesterday-i-was-wrong.html
-Because We're A Nation Filled With Good, But Ignorant, Citizens

I admit that this just recently exposed fact, "43% of Americans still believe Iraq/Saddam had something/anything to do with the crimes of 9/11," stunned me. But I also fully understood, the also revealed fact, that the lower the level of education, the more that believe this propagandized lie. I have written, more than a few times, here in this blog, and at other sites, about this malleable 39%-44% of Americans - but even knowing all I have learned about them, I am still amazed at their continued level of self-destructive ignorance.It would be easy to blame their ignorance on their own stupidity, for not making the effort to know reality. Even though that is part of the problem, it is not the major cause of their ignorance. I put most of the blame squarely on the shoulders of the corporately controlled "main stream media" (MSM) that has purposefully perpetuated this continued ignorance of, and division of, the American masses.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
This nation's MSM is the "4th Branch" of our government, and has always been, through out most of our history because of its vast diversity, and non-centralized control, the exposer of truth, concerning things political and corrupt - That was true until very recently - Now 95% of "our" MSM is in the hands and control of just 5 corporations, corporations that share many members of their boards of directors with the extractive, pharmaceutical, ag-chem, and military-industrial corporations.Our nation, for the first time in its entire history, has all four of its branches under the corrupted rule of a small cabal of radical corporatists from one party.Bush, "our" president, stated to Katie C[o]uric on Wednesday, (September 6, 2006). . .

"One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."

The fact that 43% of Americans still believe this purposeful lie is proof that, with almost total control of all three branches of our government, and almost total control over "our" MSM, it's really not all that difficult after all.

posted by The Old Hippie @ 4:02 AM

MrKen45sWorlds' observations:

1) I also mentioned Katie Couric previously on 8/26, with regard to Fox News' chronic news 'fabricator', Bill O'reilly. She is a typical press 'Lapdog' - ...

'...Previewing a November 2005 speech Bush was giving on Iraq's future, NBC's Today show invited O'Reilly on the program to comment on world affairs, despite the fact O'Reilly announced he had no intention of listening to Bush's Iraq speech. O'Reilly did, though, compare Democrats to Hitler sympathizers on Today, a tasteless attack that host Katie Couric let pass without comment {Italics MrKen45}. (It was left to a late-night comedian, David Letterman, weeks later, to actually press O'Reilly on his hateful rhetoric when O'Reilly appeared on CBS's The Late Show...)'

2) Nevertheless, I do take issue with the characterization above of most Americans as 'good but ignorant citizens'. With the explosion of information on the internet, ignorance is simply indefensible; ignorant, and willfully stupid citizens get the government they deserve. MSM news providers prosper because dopey, undereducated citizens continue to allow themselves to be bamboozled by dim-witted but dangerous rabble rousers like O'Reilly, Ann Coultier, Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity and others.

3) I fully concur with everything 'The Old Hippie' has to say about the corrupted rule of the 'four branches' of government. It is truly a pathetic and increasingly dangerous state of affairs...