Well, OK, Mr. Olberman

Keith Olberman said a mouthful about W's latest Iran fiasco. Your Voice at www.innerlightdesign.com is well worth the reading. Thanks for keeping us real.
Click here to view.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Thank God, I am not alone.

Gun Spin Wins, Again

In the wake of the December 5 shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, all the news stations rush to get and report the same information. Who did it and why?

In each case, they point out that the individual was forelorn, without hope, desperate or off his meds. This time, the trigger was a firing a McDonald's. Next time it could be because it is sunny, or hot or cold, or Tuesday. Whatever.

For me, all this hubbub is a testament to one of the most successful spin campaigns in history. Media focus and conclusions all support the gun lobby argument that 'guns don't kill people, people do.'

Not to be insensitive, but what good to document the killer's mental state. The point is the killer got an AK-47-- not just a a hand gun, or several. And, nobody says a word about it.

One of the major station interviews was with an expert discussing how much money Homeland Futility had given the Mall to upgrade it's security. Again, misses the point. There will surely be some track back to whether it was a legal sale. So what?

No amount of security is going to stop anyone who can buy an AK-47 with impunity because "The Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms."

What is spin?

Basically, 'spin' is misdirection and sleight of hand,
in it’s most precocious form—marketing—spin is at the center of all that’s
wrong with this world. Spin is the subversion of truth to support an agenda.

It can be overt, or subtle. It is the source of the comment, "Who are you going to believe, me or your eyes?" It encourages people to accept a version of the truth condtradictory to what their senses tell them.
Effective 'spin,” hopes people won’t know what to believe,

For me, a harmless, but early signal that something in Denmark smelled big time, was the Christmas broadcast schedule, eight years ago, at Turner Broadcast Television.I noticed, somewhat amazed, that for 72 hours the station broadcast the same 'B' movie, ''A Christmas Story." No explanation. No disclaimer

Obviously, some astute network executive had decided that the station programming couldn't compete with the holidays. Why pay overtime to a staff when nobody was watching, anyhow. Makes sense. Merely, set the computers to replay all day and night for three days. Save money.

Interestingly, the second and third years of the same broadcasts were labeled TNT 'classic," Yeah, that will make you watch. Moreover, the fouth year of the same 'classic' broadcast had one major sponsor. Had to be the least expensive advertising dollars ever spent. But TNT now was making a profit from some decision made for it's own benefit
A wonderful case of "spinantics." Watch for it, everywhere.

100,000 protesters aren’t news. Anna Nicole is

Who is protecting your right to know? Certainly not the FCC.
When In 1995, the commission (FCC), ruled that Rupert Murdoch's ownership of Fox was in the public's best interests, it had to be kidding. The results, however, are no joke.
What it brought us was ‘reality-tv,’ in spades, ‘news’ networks dedicated to promoting the conservative agenda, and Anna Nicole Smith 24-hours-a-day, for months.
Bill Moyers reports “Why wasn't it news last weekend when more than 100,000 people turned out in 11 cities across the country to protest the occupation of Iraq? Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Orlando, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Jonesborough, Tennessee. But if you blinked while watching the national news, you wouldn't have known it was a story. We found less than two minutes of scattered mentions on television.”

I wonder why?

Mediagogue; what you don't know

I make it a point to watch Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. He tends to cover subjects that don't see the light of day, anywhere else.Over time, I have found the show to be informative, well researched, thorough and even-handed. His report this week on the FCC and mainstream media is fascinating. What you don't know can hurt you. Regardless of your political affiliation, I recommend it. You can keep up to date by reading his companion blog. Visit here. Add it to your bookmarks.

Looks Like? Is

A good friend of mine has adopted this opening phrase when he phones me. "What it look like," We both laugh and proceed to discuss the world and its problems from an 'is' perspective.
In the same spirit, I will be regularly including these in the posts:

Looks like Barack Obama genuinely has a chance of becoming the first African-American president.
What it is. His best and only chance is to align himself with Hilary as vice president. The country simply isn't ready. Maybe, not even for her.

UQ
• Whatever happened to the idea of Statesman or Stateswoman?

• How are major corporations getting away with sending jobs overseas when there is still unemployment in the United States?

• Is the fact that so many Catholic priest child abusers choose boys as their victims more about opportunity than sexual proclivity?

OO

• The phrase "what god wants" is an oxymoron because it's a given that What God Wants, God Gets

• With apologies to the B.C. comic strip people, This is just the best.
Q. What is life?
A. The leading cause of death!

• The basic rule of life is "What I do is fine. What you do is f'd up, even if it's the exact same thing.

UQ
• Why is it that anorexics and bulemics are referred to as having an eating disorder and not overweight folks?

• Why are so many of the world's violent conflicts about different religious philosophies and beliefs?

• How come evangelists can't agree on one interpretation of The Bible? Lately,the question applies to The Quran, as well.

Top the spin with truth

SPINtop's goal is to discover, uncover and explore the truth in our everyday lives. Spin is sin with a p inserted. By definition, it is designed to convince someone else of the validity of one's view of things. It is justification for an action or inaction. Simply put, Spin is usually a lie. Spin is sleight of hand,

Since I am new to this blogging stuff, my initial posts will fall into two basic categories. Unanswered questions (UQ) and Obvious Observations (OO). Ultimately, when the lists get long enough, there will be a point. My premise is that, in general, we are all being lied to by people with an agenda. And, all people have an agenda--even me.

OO
• The phrase blind faith is redundant

• Lions, tigers and panthers are all cats, yet neither tries to govern the other. They don't even hang out. What makes man so different?

• The Crips in my neighborhood blew up my store. I know because I saw them do it. I have now decided that gangs in general are a bad thing. As they are a threat, I decide to take preemptive action. So, I organize a group to attack The Bloods (who by the way look threatening, and are reported to have the most dangerous weapons around) Yet, The Bloods have never done anything to me. In fact, they are mortal enemies of The Crips. No, matter.
Sound familiar? On the world stage it is America's invasion of Iraq. Sure, you can say there is more to these issues. But without "the spin"
it is the easy to understand truth.

UQ
• Since it has been proven that the elements of the HIV virus would never naturally mix in nature, that means it's man-made. Who made it? Why?