reply to post by TheCanuckian
reply to post by PvtHudson
Uh, I've always been open on the boards in regards to my political leanings. I consider GWB to have been pretty damn liberal, today's GOP as being a
liberalized,
marginalized conservative movement in name alone, and have absolutely no use for Obama. ATS Staff is a pretty even mix of
political leanings but, I cannot stress this enough, those political ideologies do not play any role in the way the site is run or moderated. The US
Political Madness forum was taken in the direction it currently sits by the
membership, not by the Staff. The true intent of the forum was to
cover issues very much like the one I raised in this OP, attempts by US politicians and their media puppets to divide and conquer the masses utilizing
little more than partisan rantings and threats of ideological specters coming to attack some phantom tennant of one side or the other.
I don't watch the news. I read the news online and I do admit to listening to the radio quite a bit. Otherwise, you'll rarely find CNN, FOXNews,
MSNBC, or even the network nightlies on my television. I essentially stopped watching televised news after becoming disgusted at the spectacle they
turned 911 into. That places me in a minority of Americans. It also has given me an interesting vantage point from which to observe media
manipulation of the masses. I have witnessed a couple of doozies in that time.
1. The 2008 self fulfilling Wall Street crash hysteria. The Stock Market just might have been able to right itself in 2008 if it hadn't been for a
fully manipulated media doom & gloom storyline that was very much needed by the politicians so that they could redistribute wealth up the ladder to
the nation's corporations. It was an interesting exercise, watching people in a mad panic almost like Pavlov's dogs at the sound of a bell, just
because the media was incessantly training them to be in fear.
2. Osama bin Laden's "death". THIS, I believe, was the grandaddy of all media manipulations. I'd wager over 80% of America tuned in to the news to
watch some form of coverage or other and boy did this one work. Even here on ATS,
anyone who questioned the death, asked for even a shred of
evidence supporting the death, or failed to demonstrate enough rejoicing over the report was surged upon by the masses. It was truly ridiculous to
witness. I think that was the "smoking gun" of proof that the politically driven media manipulation, potentially even delving into brainwashing and
mind control, was very much real and very much happening. You have more people in this country who question the existance of an afterlife which has
presented far more in-support evidence than you had questioning the death of OBL which presented absolutely
NO evidence in support.
3. November/December 2012 has been a hodgepodge of rapid fire distractions and, at least in regards to both Hurricane Sandy and Sandy Hook, rapid fire
DEMANDS for societal change by the media. The media would have the world believe that the majority of Americans are clammoring for carbon credits to
fight hurricanes and gun control laws to fight crime. Again, self fulfilling prophecy in action. They will repeat the lie until the pleebs believe
the lie and, more importantly, until the pleebs begin to feel left out of the majority and change their own beliefs to ensure they belong to something
and stand with all the others. This serves multiple masters. It distracts attention away from the economic doomsday (and I mean doomsday to us, the
people.)
There seems to be a disconnect of folks who believe doomsday must mean the US will collapse and crumble... I'll lay my cards on the table, I don't
give a crap about today's US anymore. I only care about my family, my community, and my state... in that order, and how we will all do in this
economic whirlwind of fail. THAT is the doomsday. We've got a lot of middle class people who had to budget to the bone just to be able to live
somewhat normally in 2012. Anyone who doesn't realize that an additional $3000 in taxes, higher medical premiums and fees thanks to Obamacare, higher
interest rates on everything thanks to Congress' mishandling, increases in commodity prices thanks to the FED's inflation porn infatuation, and all
the little nickel and diming horsecrap the various social engineers in the governments local and national are pushing for represent a household budget
doomsday is either delusional or a hell of a lot better off financially than 99% of the nation is. Yeah, folks can also play the "You don't need
cable, you don't need to eat at restaurants, you don't need two cars, etc" card all they want... Hey, you know what? WHY THE HELL ARE ANY OF US
WORKING? Who here is working hard because they eagerly want to send more money to the government? I sure as hell don't. I work to provide more for
my family. I actually want my kids to be able to have more ammenities than I grew up with. I'd like to be able to take my wife out to dinner here
and there. You know, things that were considered middle class and upper middle class activities and ammenities worthy of folks with professional
college degrees 20 years ago? Now it just seems like those degrees were good for making the government and regulators more money each year and so
long as we get a few scraps from our own paychecks we should just shut up and take it.
That is the real doomsday. Not the nonsense about the government collapsing or the US missing a debt payment. Frankly, I wish that was the real
doomsday... then I really wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I am not dependant upon the United States government and their handouts to provide for my
family, rather I am downtrodden by the US government which steals the funds they use for those handouts and gifts from me and my family, forcing me to
budget less than I actually earn through my labors so that I can provide for my family. If that government truly did colapse, I would feel very much
like the slave who learns the master has died. Yes, large changes would be facing me and my family, but the scent of actual freedom and the sudden
ability to work for my own benefit for a change would sure be sweet.
edit on 27-12-2012 by burdman30ott6 because: (no reason given)