Glenn Greenwald: Journalists must not give Hillary Clinton a Free Ride, despite the danger of a Trump Presidency

At Truthdig, Amy Goodman interviews Glenn Greenwald, who urges that journalists vigorously investigate Hilary Clinton. That is their job, even though her opponent is a madman.

Here you have Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton having this Clinton Foundation, with billions of dollars pouring into it from some of the world’s worst tyrannies, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and other Gulf states, other people who have all kinds of vested interests in the policies of the United States government. And at the same time, in many cases, both Bill and Hillary Clinton are being personally enriched by those same people, doing speeches, for many hundreds of thousands of dollars, in front of them, at the same time that she’s running the State Department, getting ready to run for president, and soon will be running the executive branch.

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Journalists must not give Hillary Clinton a Free Ride, despite the danger of a Trump Presidency

John Oliver warns us that the death of newspapers makes us all far more vulnerable to political corruption

Here is yet another excellent video by John Oliver. This issue of the defunding of responsible newspaper reporting, and the lack of investigative journalism effects you and me every day. The answer, I believe is public funding of legitimate media, because it is a common good that can no longer sustain itself. Oliver's ending video is a very sharp sword. We are living in dangerous times where no one is babysitting most of those in power at all levels of government. We can't have a democracy without the Fourth Estate. We are rapidly approaching the time when we won't have a Fourth Estate, merely a shell of what it used to be. This is an extremely complex and serious issue. Thank you, John Oliver for given it the spotlight. Please share. For more on this loss of serious reporting, consider the writings of Robert McChesney and John Nichols, including Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America. I spoke with John Nichols a few years ago about the loss of reporters:

Continue ReadingJohn Oliver warns us that the death of newspapers makes us all far more vulnerable to political corruption

FBI continues to target journalists and their sources

In 1990, I was fired for being a whistle-blower by the Missouri Attorney General, who subsequently spent time in prison. Therefore, the topic of this post is an issue that speaks loudly to me. If you believe in participatory democracy, it should speak loudly to you too. If you are wondering why there is very little investigative journalism anymore, the attached article lays out one of the big reasons. If you were a whistle-blower trying to get important information to the public regarding government corruption or wrongdoing, you can now be easily identified by government spying without any need for a search warrant and without probably cause, at the un-monitored and unlimited discretion of "law enforcement" agencies including the NSA and the FBI that have repeatedly trampled on your constitutional rights. [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingFBI continues to target journalists and their sources

Little coverage of these important stories by the corporate media

If the media were really liberal, we would see a lot more coverage regarding these issues: 1. Where the jobs went. 2. Upward wealth redistribution and/or inequality. 3. ALEC. 4. The number of people in prison. 5. The number of black people in prison. 6. U.S. health care costs are the highest in the world. 7. Glass-Steagall. 8. Gerrymandering. 9. The number of bills blocked by Republicans in Congress. 10. The Citizens' United Supreme Court decision 11. Nixon’s Southern Strategy. 12. Tax cuts primarily benefit the wealthy. 13. What's happening to the bees? 14. The impact of temporary workers on our economy. 15. Media consolidation

If the media were "liberal," it would serve the public interest and shine a light on issues like the ones above. More people would also have a better understanding of global warming, peak oil, population growth, political lobbying, government's role in a functioning economy, how much we spend on the military, and countless other issues. What you’re more likely to see in the media, however, are stories designed to get you to buy their paper, or watch their show, or listen to their radio station. If it bleeds, it leads. This is why the media is concerned with scandal, celebrities, gossip, and fear. If anything, our news consists of paid advertisements and outlets too scared of offending anyone to publish much of substance. Investigative journalism is also expensive; entertainment is cheap. . . One way to approach the topic is to simply ask: If we have a "liberal media," where are the liberal stories?

Continue ReadingLittle coverage of these important stories by the corporate media