What more proof do we need....

...that we're now an oligarcy, where our voice doesn't mean a damned thing?

This link, from Al Jazeera, points to a study by Northwestern and Princeton Universities, which compares the comparative influence of the voters versus the influence of campaign cash.    Initially, the researchers suspected that the people still had some influence....

Wrong.

We have nothing compared to the Kochs, Adelsons, and their ilk.  

And the Democrats, who feed at the same cash trough as the Repubs, complain about the lack of enthusiasm that the voters have about the midterm elections, as manifest by the historically low turnouts in the off-year campaigns.    This, combined with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders being mentioned as possible alternatives to Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Dem nod, speaks volumes - especially considering how cozy Hillary is to Big Money.  

Where do we go from here, now?

Stay tuned...

Quibbles and Bits, Talk The Walk Edition

Two bits of bad news on the progressive radio front:

>Randi Rhodes’ last day as a radio talk show host is scheduled for May 16th.    This day was coming, and she knew it since last year, but decided that now is the time to hang up the hand-held microphone.   The reason she gave at the beginning of today’s podcast, if my paraphrasing is correct, is that she simply felt that now is the time to move on to something else, to continue to do positive for the people in a medium other than the electronic media.   Later on, however, she seemed to voice a bit of frustration, at why we’re continuing to slip further and further into oligarchy no matter how much talking she and her cohorts do.   

Perhaps she saw the law of decreasing benefit in action here.   Perhaps she knew that she wasn’t really wanted at Premiere (who also syndicates the Pig Man and other Rightward Yakers).   She may have also seen the writing on the wall as far as AM Radio is concerned: Pig Man is tanking and getting boycotted, and potential sponsors are no longer putting their dollars into talk radio of any stripe, in large part because of the controversy belched out by the likes of the Mount Rushbo and his wannabes.  

Speaking of said wannabes and the Pig Man - have you heard/see the controversy about how their shows are really funded, now that Corporate America wants less and less to do with them?   Forget selling products, it’s now political advocacy and candidates.   This change in funding sources (Heritage Foundation, etc.) is leading some to consider if such funding is legally actionable.    Stay tuned for this one…

>KRXA-540 in Monterey, a wonderful progressive station, has been sold.    The original owners will take their programming completely online, at radiomonterey.com.   You’ll still hear much of the local programming that gives KRXA its trademark quirkiness.   But that’s exactly what good local radio should sound like - full of the local flavor and the quirks that go with it. 

Yet another progressive beacon goes out or gets considerably dimmer.    KTLK in Los Angeles is now right-wing.   What used to be Green-960 still has a few progressive hosts, but morning drive is anchored by the Glen Beckie.   Portland and Seattle have lost progressive stations, as have much of the other parts of the country.    Our message is inconvenient to those that really own, and run, this country - hence the complete lack of support.    Is it any wonder that a recent study came out that stated that the US is now much more of an oligarchy than a true democracy?   We should not be surprised - the signals have been there for many years.   

Michael C. Ruppert - 1951-2014

I can't say that I'm completely surprised by the suicide of Mike Ruppert.  

He told the truth at a very high personal cost: his health, his ability to earn a living, his peace of mind, and now ultimately, his life.   He has been doing this for the better part of four decades.   He was responsible for some of the best investigative journalism this country has produced (specifically, the From The Wilderness newsletter, Crossing The Rubicon, and others), and he did not sell out his convictions. He left tools for us to use in the continuing struggle against rampant corporatism and consumerism that is destroying our planet as I write this. He left a positive mark on me, and I'm sure millions of others like me who see what's coming, in large part because of his work.

And it wasn't for personal profit, save for his need to make a living like the rest of us.   He could have sold out.   He could have given it all up for the security of a nice, middle-class life in Los Angeles.   He knew, or at least had a very good idea about, the personal cost associated with telling the truth in a nation (and world) that can't handle The Truth.   But he was cursed with a conscience that would not let him turn a blind eye to the evils around him.

He was stuck with all of the labels - "conspiracy theorist" (even with his reputation for well-researched and documented fact), "9-11 Truther", and so on.    Hell, I wear the Truther label like a badge - anybody with a three-digit IQ could read through the 9-11 Commission Report and know that it was pure, whitewashed bullshit.   Thus, he was marginalized, this process assisted by dilettantes like David Corn.

It's sad, but it seems like the world is running out of room for people like Mike Ruppert.   We simply don't have the will to take a good look at ourselves in the mirror, as a society - which is in large part what Ruppert spent his career and life doing.   


I wish I would have had the opportunity to meet him. Now that I no longer have that chance, I can only say in absentia:

Thank you, Michael C. Ruppert. For Everything.
And Rest in Eternal Peace.