In a world where the Whitehouse answer to global warming is to pound us repeatedly with more “Snow” jobs; where the Whitehouse idea of great poetry is
“Intimidate, obfuscate, assasinate, and escalate”

;where we have colusion between a greedy military industrial complex & Republican controlled corporate media, it is the duty of patriotic citizens to dig for the truth using as many means of media/communication as possible.

One of America’s eyes opened when our collective will (through the courage of a few moral members of the press)forced Nixon out of office. Hopefully, both of America’s eyes will be opened when we force Bush & his crew of un-democratic deviants out. The way this will happen is through an informed public who will change the channel when ‘news’ is obviously trite inconsequential trivia, refuse to purchase press that confuses good journalism with propaganda, won’t advertise in media that proves itself contrary to true American interests, questions authority, and becomes active forceful voices of dissent.

The internet is our key tool, but it is secondary to speech with our contemporaries. We must break the cycle of fear. With the inculcation of the idea that we shouldn’t talk to strangers many are now isolated, and even afraid to speak with our own neighbors. The advent of widely available personal transportation, and the expansion of the burbs, solidified this isolated behavior, but even with internet & telephone there is still a human need to communicate face to face.

Although many in this country are educated, the combination of those who are also informed & know how to research information with a healthy critical skepticism are few. This is where seeking the advice of a trustworthy ‘some one else’ comes into play, but that means face-to-face. Have no fear when you seek.

Does anyone think that this is done on purpose, after all the News Networks are Corporations and Corporations get more form this administration so they put news that is not news, what is more important is who got robbed, and so forth, now the International news should not have anyting about Hollywood, because in Hollywood the news is about people who are spoiled another thing is now children think it is fun to drop bolders on cars, shoot guns at cars and so fourth, I believe a lot of this is because the television has shows about life always being about winners, tv series about competition and usually the competition is about oneupmanship, when one network started they all got in on the game, and now even in England they follow our lead.

Bush got elected because he went to the far religious right and once got into office showed just how religious he was, started a war against a country that is mainly Muslim, and now we have a muslim backlash, well you know if we are busy hating the Muslims we will be less apt to hate the way this country is run.

The Muslim countries used the west and decant, and we view the east as people who are Zelots.

Margaret from Vancouver, Washington

What a statement, but probably understood only by people who feel as you do. I am old, and I have seen these boys (now boys and girls) come home without limbs, eyes, ears, minds from three wars, and my husband’s father lost his leg in WWI. We must prevail in forcing the Democrats to impeach Bush. It won’t give them back their lives. but it will save the lives of those who haven’t gone yet. Including my 7 and 10 year old grandsons.

Comment #55148 by Skruff…

Well said! Miss the ritual morning checker game at the corner post office too. The bets were not on the game, but which player could argue his current political or social injustice point well enough.

Ahhh! What have we taken from our children?

When I was a boy, the news stands were full of papers all attempting to be the “first with a scoop”
The World, Mirror,Telegram, AM, PM, Brooklyn Eagle, Hearld Tribune, Journal American…etc. TV news was just a follow-up to what had apperred in the day’s papers.

NO citizen, from the most recent immigrant to Governor Rockefeller failed to read the dailies. we read them on the train, on the street and in the diners….AND we talked to each other (even strangers) about what we had read.

Now, the biggest papers of that day are gone, leaving us with megapapers uninterested in local news, and hobbled by advertisers who wish a certain adherance to “government-line”

This is not to say we get no news, or even that the news is censored…. BUT important stories may be religated to page 16, while stories about “American Idol” make page one above the fold. The other part is “OUR FAULT” we don’t talk to each other anymore.  We push our opinion, screem our defiance into the wind, and distrust folks we do not know personally.  Not a smart way to run a “society” (IMHO)

The New York Times recently (within the past five years) bought my favorite independent (The Boston Globe)and I definately see the new “New York” slant on stories once reported with a New England twang. My Diner is long gone, and the McDonalds (where it once stood) has no counter where one can discuss news events

Now to get balanced news I must use many more sources including T.V., the internet, and print journalism.

Sad day for decimination of information…..and a once informed public.

If you want real information and news, don’t watch TV.

I agree that the media’s “coverage” (more aptly termed force-fed to the American people) is ridiculous. I ran into it with a complaint similar to this on AlterNet’s site (which I referenced on Civil Gideon at “Damn! I’ve Got Company!” (http://www.civilgideon.com/portal/index.php/site/article/damn_ive_got_company/)

My point is/was (whatever!) that Britney didn’t do it; the media did it to the public and the public is doing it to itself.

As for Britney, I didn’t see any indication anywhere that she did it as a “publicity stunt” but that it was something personal, and probably personal enough that she deserves a little more respect about it. Put the blame for the news on the real culprits ... the media itself.

As for being bald (perhaps on impulse, or a “planned attack”) I’ve stayed bald since July 2006 in response to a sense of total frustration and helplessness of what I’ve been seeing and dealing with everywhere in this country, not simply personal issues with a judicial system gone insane.

(“Why I am Bald” at http://www.civilgideon.com/portal/index.php/site/article/why_i_am_bald/)

Everyone talks a lot. Talk is cheap. And the situation grows more and more serious daily, tensions are building hourly with each news release and incident. And people feel more helpless and powerless ... victimized, unacknowledged, ignored.

Why did Britney do it? See what I just said. Why did I finally make the choice? Probably for the same reasons, and add a touch of rebellion and “I don’t give a damn what people think, this is what I think and I’m going to show them!” attitude.

And I’ll say here as I said on my site, particularly with respect to the war and other injustices and atrocities that can’t be repaired or “fixed.”

My hair will grow back. I know that for a certainty every time I buy another pack of safety razors.

Those soldiers coming home without legs, an eye or two, damage to their brain, their lives, all the things you and I take for granted ...

Those things don’t come back, and why should one more day go by so one more individual has to lose one more freedom, or right, a body part, a sense or life function, or ...

Before one more person ... anyone ... has to lose their life.

I’ll stay bald, and use it to remind people that something is “not quite right” ... look around.

Britney Spears’s pix are still much better than Tony Snow ! She shaved her “private part” or Tony shaved his head is the same !