The Biggest Problem in America Today

(Before i get started, this may have been covered, and im sure it has, but regardless this is the truth and il repost for there is a chance another will be made aware of this issue)

The biggest problem in America today is not the war, the presidential scandals, or anything directly political. It is in fact the Media Corps. And the effect they are having on EVERYTHING

For starters, this really all got started in 1996 when the telecomm bill was passed to "reform" the telecomm laws for the info age. Now this did successfully do so, what slipped through the publics knowledge was the digital spectrum. Basically the digital spectrum is how HDTV is broadcasted etc. and up to this point it was rented by the corps for use. Not to mention not all of it was being used. The new bill now wanted to lend it to them for next to nothing. How would you feel if someone took 70 billion dollars from you for nothing...well how does it feel now because it has happened to each and every American. Now i will admit im no expert with what exactly the spectrum is in a scientific manner but regardless it effects alot, including cable prices, the types of programs being broadcasted etc.

now this section of the act did not go unnoticed, bob dole and john McCain tried to have it taken out of the bill, but without overwhelming support they agreed to pass it only if the spectrum was possibly "auctioned" off. When the time arose to pass a bill for the auction, the media conglomerates, who had the money, began airing commercials claiming that if the bill was passed your "favorite" programs would possibly be lost and the corps would lose money and go out of biss. most of this is bull crap, being they are a multi billion dollar corp w/o the digital spectrum and all they were doing was getting more air waves to broadcast on.

ultimately the auction was dismissed and the corps use the spectrum freely still today.

to read more about the ACT and its negative effects check out this site: www.fiu.edu...

now in order to understand exactly how the bill caused a much larger issue we have to look at the corps who are effected by it. With this bill passed most corps were making lotsa cash and order to buy in to other media companies who in turn were willingly selling b/c I mean hell there stock holders were cashing in big time so why the hell not? And the independent stations were either being closed by the FCC(which the Act assited them in doing so) or being bought aswell.

To understand the huge problem this caused lets look at GE. GE owns NBC who in turn owns lotsa of local stations and some other national stations(including newspapers/radio stations/publishing companies etc). what is wrong with this is that If GE messes up something NBC and any stations under them will not report it. Now im sure you are asking “what about CNN and other news stations??” well they also happened to be owned by “tier 1” corps. Tier 1 corps mean they are the end of the line as in there is no corp above them. There are about 10 major Tier 1 corps today. Now the tier 1 corps happen to have almost an unwritten rule, basically its treat others as you would like to be treated. So why would they want to report GE’s mistake, for its just as possible for them to mess up. Now im sure your thinking “isn’t that a conspiracy” well not really because the tier 2 corps are directly owned by the tier 1 corp above them, how ever there are many tier 3 corps that are owned by multiple tier 2 corps which are owned by different tier 1 corps.
An example of this is “The WB” 17% of it is owned by AT&T, a tier 1, while 50% is owned by Time warner, a tier 1, the other percent is owned by the WB and a company called “Tribune CO.”

A list of this interesting spider web, and the “big 10” corps that own it all can be found at www.thenation.com...

Now sure I bet your still wondering why this is such a huge problem. Well look at GE’s profit…$129.9 Billion dollars…they can afford to do anything they want really. And lots of this money is invested in gov’t. they can afford to lobby anything they need to be lobbied. And what is worse is the fact that they can choose who gets covered on the news. And nowadays if you want to win an election you must be shown on TV. The politicians are on their knees because of these giants. All the corporate lobbyist have to do is say “hey vote this way, or sacrifice coverage of your next election” and what’s pathetic is its not even illegal b/c they don’t even have to directly say that, its just understood. Look at the 1996 act, they mislead millions of people to believe contrary to the truth w/o even lying and they won…all because they have the money and they control what we hear and see on the Media, which is prolly how 95% of America gets its information.

And now I bet your thinking “OMG that’s soo illegal there are soo many laws set up for elections that they cant possibly have that much say” but there is a huge gapping loop hole in the media part of election laws. As long as they don’t directly say “vote for so and so” it is legal. They could have a minute long commercial about how bush was a coke head and drank him self to stupor, but as long as they don’t say “vote for Kerry” its legal, and its unregulated b/c the supreme court ruled that if they capped out the amount a “political action committee” could spend on their viewpoint…which btw is how these corps protect there image, it would be a violation of free speech. And what is worse is their lawyers can extend the truth essentially to the point where its not a lie but not truth and make who ever look absolutely awful. And even if they do flat out lie you cannot really report it till after the election and even then its at the most a million dollar fine which REALLY puts a huge hole in 129.9 billion dollars of revenue.

This is a huge problem America and unless we act now, it’s going to become a Censored America ruled by a few corps.

www.thenation.com...
www.thenation.com...
www.globalissues.org...
www.fiu.edu...

also there is a film out there called something like “free speech for sale” which im not soo sure is actually accurate b/c it was produced by the same people essentially but b/c it is from the public broadcasting station it cant really be stopped…but id like to say how many have you heard about it? Exactly.

Before I read the rest...HDTV? Only about 6% of Americans live in a household with HDTV. You are going to say the biggest problem in America lies within 6% of households?

if you read the rest you will answer your own question...the digital spectrum dosent just allow HDTV, but other types of signals...my history on the 96 act is less then par, but i will say it def does contributed to my points(which you still have not read) and if you really want a history lesson on the Act check out some gov't sites they have info on them.

www.fcc.gov...
raven.stern.nyu.edu...

regardless on how accurate my histpry of the act is, it still is a good place to start for the core of my argument and it def supports my futher veiw points and not to mention i want people to knwo about the digital spectrum b/c we were screwed.

According to a GALLUP Poll in Dec of 2005, just a little more than 1 in 5 people have HDTV, so around 20% actually.

aids, drugs, crime, poverty, trade deficit, housing bubble bursting, katrina, fema, these are all little issues compared to media coverage ?

huh ?

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
aids, drugs, crime, poverty, trade deficit, housing bubble bursting, katrina, fema, these are all little issues compared to media coverage ?

huh ?

most of this stems from the constant violence and sex being pumped into our brains 24hrs a day from the tv and radio and advertising....of course all of that stems from the love of money which is the root of ALL evil....

i dont think you get it...look w/e we hear about in the media in general is controlled by about 10 people. and im estimating a good 95% of teh public form their opinions upon what they see on TV...do you relise the power these corps hold?

they have the ability to put w/e things they want us to think about in our head, and then they can be as biased about it as we want...and 95% of people form their opinion from this. not only that but it reaches way beyond just the media...your running to have cigs taxed(and this has happened in a bill) and well teh cig companies dont like it so they pour millions into a PAC which inturn puts up commercials defacing you, and pulling support away from you, and you have no way near that amount of cash to compete with their commercials.

basically the largest problem is mega corps and lobbying...why do you think pot isnt legal yet? b/c the pharm companies are pushing marinol, sythetic THC, and they lobby congress to vote no on legalization so they can push synthetic THC. and all you out there saying pot has no medical benefits give me a break, go talk to anyone who has tried oxycontin and pot for pain control the pot alweays wins...and it increases hunger.

the corps have teh ability to do what they want and what sounds illegal isnt b/c of loop holes in govt. our founding fathers never dreamed of such large corps so they did not write laws to protect the public from them. however now they have soo much power and money its near impossible to get nethign passed that hurts them and protects us.

i forgot to mention when the baby boomer wave bankrupts medicare and social security. I don't care which talking head is spinning it, it's gonna be brutal.

this week turkey had some PR issues because its illegal to write anything negative about the gov't, got some dude in trouble.

can you think of any articles in the past 6 years that were critical of W ?

when the gov't makes criticism illegal, you got my attention

its funny because even though youd think this guy who posted this up would be wrong...hes right.

the funny part is these stations sway you back and forth acting like one is democratic and one is repbulican, and their news differs because of it. truth is this is just to get you wrapped up. democrats and republicans are the guys these stations buy out. third party canidates never get much to any play because well, they arent suppose to in big business eyes. you never see a paper saying trash about both canidates bringing out the TRUE identities of these useless politicians and say "well maybe there needs to be change around here, and we dont mean democratic change." its either demo or rep. thats the truth.

and people believe anything that says fox or cnn in front of it. you give people to much credit these days to investigate and see if its true. the new york times could say bush said "americans need to die for our cause, its more important then their lives" and a majorty would believe it without investigating. and unless some one told them otherwise they would continue to believe it. the news isnt a credible source, andi dont know what is.

they hold a big part in the elections. depending on what source you go on basically sways your vote. its pretty amazing actually to watch them at work and make the american people for the most look so stupid and ignorant.

I don't understand why so many people in this post missed the point, or heckled the original poster. It's like they didn't read this paragraph:

Now sure I bet your still wondering why this is such a huge problem. Well look at GE’s profit…$129.9 Billion dollars…they can afford to do anything they want really. And lots of this money is invested in gov’t. they can afford to lobby anything they need to be lobbied. And what is worse is the fact that they can choose who gets covered on the news. And nowadays if you want to win an election you must be shown on TV. The politicians are on their knees because of these giants. All the corporate lobbyist have to do is say “hey vote this way, or sacrifice coverage of your next election” and what’s pathetic is its not even illegal b/c they don’t even have to directly say that, its just understood. Look at the 1996 act, they mislead millions of people to believe contrary to the truth w/o even lying and they won…all because they have the money and they control what we hear and see on the Media, which is prolly how 95% of America gets its information.

Corporations own America. This is a huge problem, that many will ignore so that they can preserve capitalism. Like being enslaved by corporations to preserve capitalism is a good trade-off.

- Attero

[edit on 5-1-2006 by Attero Auctorita]

ok, maybe i'm splitting hairs, but the biggest problem we face ?


the biggest ?


how much have your medical insurance premiums gone up in the last 5 years ? and how much higher have the copays gone at the same time ?think that is slowing gdown ? we're 5-10 years from almost all small to medium employers offering hospital only or no benefits at all



the biggest probem ?


i just disagree

I have got news for some people: it has been the same two parties winning election after election since about the 1860s. This has nothing to do with tv or having an HDTV. There are far more serious problems in America. Such as rapist and violent criminals serving shorter sentences because Johhny 'pot smoker' needs to go to prison.

And who cares? It is television. I watch one hour of tv a day, Star Trek TNG. Please do not let the tele control your life.

Besides, FCC is the far greater threat to free speach (news). Internet news is where it is at now.

There is no doubt now with the Abramhoff(sp?) scandal there will come lobbyist reforms, but why? Honestly, HDTV is the biggest problem in America? Less than 10% of Americans live in a household with an HDTV.

Is this a problem: Japan has 200k new engineering graduates each year, the US has 50k. That seems to be a much bigger problem. I still can't believe many universities still have a philosophy departement. WHAT WASTE OF SPACE. Communications? I wouldn't even wipe my butt with some of the degrees offered by many universities.

priest its not the direct problem....its all the indirect ones. such as since they control the government and they are big business they control just about every aspect of your life. most your problems could possibly be linked to big business and corruption between government and them.

as for internet news, its the same thing.
first it was the paper, bias got into that...then radio....more bias, then tv more bias, then internet even more bias. the only difference, big business has become a big and big controller in it. (techincally the whig party also had a couple presidents) but you are pretty much correct. but for all news there is bias and personal gain involved, and im sure "news" goes pretty far back. it was still for personal purpose just easy to do since news could be more easily manipulated. now it is harder but like one poster said "evolution makes a smarter mouse, and there will come a better mousetrap"

The simple fact is that major corporations control the media (television, magazines, newspapers, internet). They spoon feed the masses only what they want the masses to see. Therefore the masses' entire decision making process is based on what they've been shown by corporations which only exist to make a profit and continue making a profit.

Let's face it, as the original poster said, the masses get their news from the big media outlets, they don't research stuff and go to websites like Above Top Secret. They don't have time for this. The masses are too busy working their butts off trying to survive and "live the American dream" of having the buying power to possess whatever they want and thus break their chains by gaining enough wealth to not have to work.

If you're fine with sacrificing fair elections so that people can choose between two duds: Bush and Kerry, then congratulations on accepting the mainstream spoonfed propaganda. Step in line with the rest of the American Robots.

- Attero

Great thread !
Is full of solid information, excellent links, I have seen The Great Deception and your thread exposes some holes in that documentary.

Big kudos.

The Biggest Problem in America Today

Russia became free-er and America became like Russia in the past!!!!

ok, sry i have not posted in awhile, i have been bissy, however thanks for the kudos to people who realize the truth...


frosty man its not about the HDTV, i used it as an example on how we are being deceived...like a previous poster said...its the indirect problems that have arised from all of this. media lobby the congress/execs/courts etc. and with that control the power to have any bill they want passed and not passed, and the reason they lobby so well was in my original post...

you know why alot of things are not being done about "johnny pot head" etc...b/c the pharm corps do not want pot legal b/c they are pushing for marinol...synthetic THC...so if pot comes legal it will kill there potential revenue from this pharm. the best thing is they reconize the amazing theraputical advantages from THC, and with it comes LOTS of revenue. so they want Marinol to be exploited to it's full potential.

now whats worse is media companys want violence, and sex etc. in the news b/c it sells...so they lobby for major bills that would diminish such problems so they are not approved by the congress. and this problem reaches WAY beyond just the media its in any major corp today weather it be media, pharms, tobacco, etc.

another good example is how the tobacco corps exploited a bill that they originally agreed with. the bills most controversal change was taxing more on cigs to pay back health care etc. for the money spent helping those who died from a direct cause of smoking. the tobacco corps agreed at first but then congress added that they could be sued, or atleast forced to pay a certain amount of money to the people who smoked and died(
or their families)...i cant remember which it was(sued or payed out) but regardless they started running commercials saying everyone who makes under 30k a year will be taxed...when they really left out that it only effected smokers b/c the tax was on cigs...not the people. well obviously the bill failed and if it was passed, it would of done marvelous things to ease the problems with tobacco corps. Also did you know that major tobacco corps fund things like "truth" and "stand" and any other anti tobacco organizations...hilarious isnt it?

-zach-

Thank you Zach, for the links, and your commentary, you have given me good ideas to make this public. Without going to these sources. I'll mention the movie too. You should be proud informing people who 1, can't find the original threads on subjects like this, or 2, need to learn more about it.

A good you might want to read Zach, "TVSpeak", it was published in 1983 or 1986. It covers all this in depth. Even through it's outdated somewhat.

(Edited, )

[edit on 1-2-2006 by asala]

ok i decided to bump this thread because i didnt feel enough people read it...