By: Todd Smekens
Muncie, IN (BLOG) – The creation of alternative news sites like Muncie Voice was a direct result of appalling media in the United States. Our Fourth Estate, along with journalistic integrity, has vanished in this country and been replaced by corporate owned shills willing to tow the corporate line. Independent journalism couldn’t survive when you consider the goal of media switched from serving the interests of citizens to making money. Capitalism had inflicted the Fourth Estate, so the truth is damned. Never has this point been so blatantly proven then “Russia-gate,” or President Donald Trump’s “puppet” status with Moscow.
As Robert Kaplan writes in his latest article, “It appears…a conspiracy frenzy in which the Establishment exploited their enthusiasm over the “scandal” in a clever maneuver to bludgeon an out-of-step new President back into line.”
The media led the drum beat with Neocons and Establishment Democrats marching in step. The Democrats blamed Russia for interfering with the 2016 election. I guess hacked emails on Wikileaks swayed millions of voters to cast ballots for Trump. Maybe they felt outdone since the Democratic National Committee interfered in the primary election between Sanders and Clinton. Also, don’t forget about the billions of dollars in free publicity given Trump by media outlets – a democratic strategy created by the DNC and Clintonites.
How did our Fourth Estate respond? They told us to ignore Wikileaks – “They’re tools for Russian propaganda.”
“Oh, the tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”
Donald J. Trump has spent the last year calling the media, “Liars!”. I believe he and his right-wing administration dismissed any media outlet other than Fox News and Breitbart. Both of these sources have been clearly defined as right-wing propaganda.
Despite months of fighting the media and pointing out how corrupt it is, in less than four months as president, Trump has caved. He’s now marching in step with the fraudulent corporate run media. Where is the outrage from his supporters? He’s abandoned one campaign promise after another and is even eliminating his confidants from the Alt-Right movement.
And there’s this as Robert writes:
Trump was made to look strong when he fired off missiles against a Syrian airbase and talked tough about Russian guilt. Neocon commentator Charles Krauthammer praised Trump’s shift as demonstrating that “America is back.”
Trump further enhanced his image for toughness when his military dropped the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” on some caves in Afghanistan. While the number of casualties inflicted by the blast was unclear, Trump benefited from the admiring TV and op-ed commentaries about him finally acting “presidential.”
When you’re a thinned skinned egomaniac, the daily assaults on Trump took its toll. He couldn’t stand seeing himself on one knee proposing to Vladimir Putin, but he quickly learned what the Establishment wanted and how to get the once “lying media” to sing his praises on a daily basis.
Russia-gate not only allowed the DNC to divert attention from their corruption and flawed strategies, but it also provided cover for the GOP who tossed over a dozen candidates into the primary but still lost to a racist reality TV host. As I’ve pointed out a hundred times, both political aisles are frauds owned by corporate America. They only pretend to care about their constituents – mainly during election time.
The real farce has been captured well by Robert:
“Russia-gate also taught the American “left” to learn to love McCarthyism since “proof” of guilt pretty much amounted to having had contact with a Russian — and anyone who questioned the dubious factual basis of the “scandal” was dismissed as a “Russian propagandist” or a “Moscow stooge” or a purveyor of “fake news.”
Another Russia-gate winner was the mainstream news media which got a lot of mileage – and loads of new subscription money – by pushing the convoluted conspiracy. The New York Times positioned itself as the great protector of “truth, be” and The Washington Post adopted a melodramatic new slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
Sadly, as long as Americans still buy the lies and subscribe to the fraud, the Post and Times will continue peddling newspaper selling propaganda – truth be damned. As a result, and even more importantly, Americans will continue making poor decisions and wonder why nothing changes.
