Act Two: The Struggle Continues

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By Ernest Partridge (about the author) Page 2 of 4 page(s)

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The Media Problem

In the presidential campaign just completed, Barack Obama was treated much more fairly by the corporate media than were Al Gore ("inventing the internet") and John Kerry ("Swift Boat Vets"). The Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers issues, though hammered repeatedly by the GOP, were not amplified by the media. Perhaps, with the major economic storm gathering, the owners and managers of the media conglomerates figured that the nation's economy would be better managed by grown-ups, even if they were of "that other party," than by self-confessed economic ignoramuses.

But now, with the election over, the corporate media have reverted to form. Once again, Republicans and conservatives greatly outnumber liberal Democrats on the Sunday TV gab-fests. And, once again, GOP talking points are being repeated endlessly, in particular the meme that "this is a center-right nation," despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary from polling and the election.

Media fact-checking continues its extended leave of absence. Case-in-point: the oft-repeated viral falsehood that the average auto worker earns $70 an hour. This figure is reached by including, as part of a worker's compensation, payments to retirees and their survivors. In fact, the average auto worker earns $28 an hour, plus health and retirement benefits, which raise that figure to about $40.

This is the same mass media which, for a long time, convinced a majority of Americans that Saddam Hussein (a) had weapons of mass destruction, (b) was in league with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and (c) was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

I will not extend this list of transgressions by the corporate media. (But visit mediamatters.org and see my "The Wayward Media"). Suffice to say, that at long last the public is beginning to wise-up -- "fool me once" and all that. So-called "mainstream media news" is losing its audience along with its credibility, as more and more of the public turns to the internet and to independent and foreign sources for news.

The GOP is well aware of the damage that it has suffered at the hands of a free internet, and thus open access to the internet might not have survived a McCain/Palin victory last month. Fortunately, that concern has been lifted. The free internet will be safe during the administration of Barack Obama, who is presumably well aware that he owes his office to the internet.

With this media resource thus secured, the liberal and progressive communities must continue to use the internet to exert constant pressure on the President to keep to his promises. He might, in fact, welcome that pressure. Franklin D. Roosevelt's reported plea to a supporter might apply as well to Barack Obama: "I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it."

Containing the Military-Industrial Complex

During the presidential campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama spoke repeatedly of the need to cut government expenses. But somehow, the very idea of trimming the military budget never came up. In fact, McCain stated explicitly that the Defense budget was not to be touched.

In fact, the military budget might be cut at least in half with no significant effect on our defense capabilities, except perhaps to improve those capabilities. For the $300 billion plus in annual savings might then be invested in education, in physical infrastructure, and in the restoration of our industrial base, all of which are the foundations of national security.

Instead, we are now building a tenth aircraft carrier (the George H. W. Bush) at a cost of $4.5 billion, to fight an enemy without a navy. And we pay $368 million each for the F-22 fighter (that's three for more than a billion) to fight an enemy without an air force. The United States military budget exceeds that of all the other countries of the world combined, including of course all of our allies.

All this in a country that is, effectively, bankrupt and in desperate need of cash to prop up a collapsing economy.

How is this possible? Simply because the military-industrial complex (MIC) effectively owns the Congress. What the MIC wants, the MIC gets. It has accomplished this control through the ingenious expedient of placing military sub-contractors in virtually each and every congressional district. Thus budget cuts threaten local jobs, thence Congressional seats.

With this kind of political control, I submit that the MIC simply cannot be stopped. That's the bad news. The good news is that it can be re-directed by expanding the scope of "defense."

In the fifties, when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, the Eisenhower administration successfully urged Congress to appropriate funds to higher education. The name of the program? "The National Defense Education Act." At about the same time, the interstate highway system was approved, "for national defense." Both projects were worthy in their own right, but to sell them to the Congress and the public, the magic moniker "defense" was added.

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Dr. Ernest Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. Partridge has taught philosophy at the University of California, and in Utah, Colorado and Wisconsin. He publishes the website, (more...)

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