"The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history."
- Former head of the National Security Agency, Retired Lt. General William Odom
Our democracy has been hallowed out. The opinions of the voters are, in effect, purchased, just as demand for new products is artificially created. Decades ago Walter Lippman wrote, "the manufacture of consent...was supposed to have died out with the appearance of democracy...but it has not died out. It has, in fact, improved enormously in technique...under the impact of propaganda, it is no longer plausible to believe in the original dogma of democracy."
Like you, I recoil at Lippman's cynical dismissal of America's gift to human history. But in order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum and create new ways to engage in a genuine and not manipulative conversation about our future. Americans in both parties should insist on the re-establishment of respect for the Rule of Reason. We must, for example, stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public's ability to discern the truth.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
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5 comments:
Brilliantly written. Absolutely brilliant.
Sending this entry to the local newspaper, as is.
silly gore quotes:
"Americans now watch television an average of four hours and 28 minutes every day -- 90 minutes more than the world average."
That's only because viewing is down in Sudan?
silly gore quotes:
"the united states is only the 27th freest press in the world"
(source: How Free Is the US Press?
By William Fisher
Arab News, May 6, 2005)
I cannot believe it, but there you have it: Gore is just as stupid as he was when he demonstrated he was not presidential and gave the country to Bush, twice: once in the debates and once when he could have stood his ground in Florida.
Like the line in the movie "The Hustler"... "less talk and more pool, Fast Eddy." To Gore it would be "fewer words and more thought"
silly gore quotes:
"The final point I want to make is this: We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the Internet service provider they use to connect to the Worldwide Web."
with a complete lack of specificity perfect for Gore: the internet is not open now!
we need low cost/public access to broadband for all citizens. remember "free" television?
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