or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
July 05, 2009
Tell The Crappy Media To Stop Ignoring Single-Payer
Who would have guessed the corporate media would completely ignore the simplest solution to the health-care crisis? Just because it would massively reduce the profits of big corporations?
Yet shockingly enough, that's just what's been happening. Help Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting to tell them to stop:
—Jonathan Schwarz
Posted at July 5, 2009 02:45 PMGIVE MEDICARE/MEDICAID ITS OWN TRUSTFUND, call Pelosi @1-202-225-0100. DEMAND SINGLE PAYER.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at July 5, 2009 04:01 PM"We need more police!" is followed by approving laughter. It's amazing how open they are about their disregard for democracy. It makes me want to punch someone.
Posted by: Save the Oocytes at July 5, 2009 06:39 PMIt's amazing how open they are about their disregard for democracy.
Considering how C-SPAN doesn't exist in the general consciousness except perhaps as an occasional punchline in making fun of wonks, I imagine they feel pretty safe.
Posted by: Cloud at July 5, 2009 07:58 PMI don't see the point in constantly begging 'them' to do the right thing. They are never going to do the right thing. I tell all my friend to STOP WATCHING CORPORATE NEWS! JUST STOP. At first my friends were confused by my protestations, annoyed, and now curious. They're beginning to see what I'm talking about and they're beginning to think.
Posted by: Iron Butterfly at July 5, 2009 08:00 PMI wonder how many people hear Obama and other high-ranking dems making vague references to the "public option" and just assume they're talking about single-payer.
There's no question about the crappy media being crappy, and too lazy to explain the distinction to most people, or even to explain the vacuousness of the public option, since most of the proposed legislation is full of poison pills that negate eligibility for the so-called public option for most people.
Just for one example, consider the proposed slap-on-the-wrist of a 750 dollars/yr per person penalty that employers will have to pay if they don't provide insurance for their employees. As far as I can see this will actually encourage employers to kick less-well paid employees off their insurance.
Posted by: Jonathan Versen at July 6, 2009 12:22 AMI don't see the point in constantly begging 'them' to do the right thing.
I had the same thought. I suppose an online petition like this might be useful in helping FAIR build its mailing list (and if you think FAIR is a good organization, then you'll think that's an OK thing to do) but do the people at FAIR really have any other objective here?
We need to get busy building alternatives - whether its Democracy Now!, your local community radio station, or even blogs like this one. I think people are increasingly turning away from corporate media, so let's do what we can to make sure there's something for them to turn to.
Sign the petition, sure, and then donate a few bucks to Real News or DN! while you're at it.
Posted by: SteveB at July 6, 2009 12:33 AM
Actually, the petition should be going to the Obama administration, since the video makes clear that it was the Obama administration that chose the participants in this phony "town hall meeting", packing the audience with corporate health care executives and excluding single-payer advocates. ABC, at most, was just a willing accomplice to the government's (Obama's) dishonesty, which is their normal role, as we all know.
