No doubt there are some good points there, but I'm not entirely sure I trust the source. Moyers has had a long career of doing some of the same things he now rants against.
Let us not forget that he once held the same job that Scott McClellan had, IE..press secretary, spin doctor and official liar for another president. It all sounds to me like a reformed alcoholic who rails on and on about the evils of drink...and you can't even be sure that the speaker isn't still having a nip or two from time to time.
What I am saying is that if certain people blazed the trail into the cesspool, do you trust the same people to lead you out? Deathbed conversions to 'The Light' raise my suspicions.
I would say, kpasa, that you do not know Bill Moyer's history.
So then, are you telling me that Mr. Moyers was not the Press Secretary for Lyndon Johnson?
There is more than ‘some good points’ addressed, my friend. The FCC, aided by our presidential administrations as well as most American’s own lack of political awareness and involvement, has been taken over by corporate America. In my mind, to attack the messenger is something Americans should have been doing years ago. Americans supported the invasion of Iraq only because they believed the lies presented to them by the media and did no thinking, no investigating, on their own. They simply trusted that the information being provided to them by main stream media was the truth. It was not.
The lies became printable because Mr. Bush, more than any other president, allowed main stream media to be bought out by Corporate America. Corporate America printed the lies because it made them richer. The lies were believed by Americans because there was a day when Americans could rely on the media to report the truth and Americans wanted the truth to be told.
Public supported media seeks the truth and reports it. Absolutely all of the information provided by Mr. Moyers about what has been going on within the FCC, our own government, corporate America, the Internet providers and mainstream media is correct.
Bill Moyers, by the way, did not start the movement and is not the leader of it. He was only a guest speaker. The organization was started by Robert W. McChesney, journalist John Nichols and Josh Silver. I am a supporter of it because I know that what Mr. Moyers said is true. Without a free press there can be no democracy.
Kudos for the post.
Most Americans were a huge part of the deceptions. To not have aggressively questioned the reasoning behind an act of war by our leader, to not try to seek the truth, is always wrong.
The lead up to the Iraq invasion was not the first time the American public and Congress was lied to through the press at the instigation of a less-than-honest administration.
The U.S. involvement in Vietnam was supported by Congress by the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which was total fabrication by the Lyndon Johnson administration. That war cost this country 58,000 casualties. Bill Moyers was part of that administration so I am not impressed by his 'country preacher' delivery.
As I said there are many good points in his speech but I wonder if his party were still in power if he would be so keen to change the way news is delivered to the people. He didn't seem to be so worried about that when he was Johnson's press secretary.
I am aware of what happened…I was there. We were told that we needed to fear Communist invasion. You continue to simply attack the character of a person. I agree with Nimbus. You don’t know very much about Mr. Moyers or what he did in the 60’s.
A free press, my friend, has no party affiliations.
Man, Wot! I can think of no other post of yours that has had such power, and has captivated me as much as this one. That link was awesome.
When I saw that it ran a little over 30 minutes, I thought I wouldn't listen to all of it..but I did. I can't remember the last time I heard anyone speak with such passion, such dedication, and as eloquently.
I loved the Indian Chief's story of a wolf. I think that for too long we have been feeding the wrong one, but in our defense, I think most of us didn't know. It is also easier to believe what the government tells us that to investigate it on our own. We would all like to live in a perfect world, wouldn't we? A world where we can believe what we are told? Naive, yes, but understandable to me. Understandable, but no longer acceptable. I am going to question everything from now on until I think that personal vigilance is no longer needed - and I never foresee that day coming in my future.
After I finished listening to Mr. Moyer's speech - it occurred to me that I was so completely mesmerized by what he said because in Germany, our news is totally controlled with the exception of the internet. We have no PBS. There is no NPR for our car radios. I can see clearly what has happened to our news here, and with the excellent points Mr Moyers makes, the same thing is happening - and has been happening - for a long time in America. To bastardize the news in favor of hidden agendas of the few in power is never right, although living in a host country and being affiliated with the military, I can almost forgive it here. Almost. America should be better than that, and the consequences are terrible, and the repercussions many, as he points out.
As far as to what Bill Moyer's past position was and who he served under...kpasa, people can and do change. The fact that he was a part of the process back then only serves to strengthen his credibility now.
"So then, are you telling me that Mr. Moyers was not the Press Secretary for Lyndon Johnson?"
I presume this is meant to be clever?
I have been aware of this illusion of reality we live in for quite some time, I am just thankful many others are coming to this realization.
Maybe we can take our country back?
Well said, trippin!
