Just before the 2008 election, Thinkin’Bout Stuff too a hypothetical peek into our future: The New “Evil Empire”
With recent events, including the White House declaring war on Fox News, some of this is starting to feel a bit too real.
From AP:
On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, said, “It is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective.”
<snip>
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said Fox News shouldn’t be treated as a news organization. “And the bigger thing is that other news organizations, like yours, ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way,” he said.
<snip>
“You know, I’m not concerned. Mr. Murdoch has a talent for making money, and I understand that their programming is geared toward making money,” Axelrod said. “The only argument Anita was making is that they’re not really a news station. … It’s not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming. It’s really not news. It’s pushing a point of view.”
Fox News is pretty much the only news organization actually questioning President Obama’s policies, agenda and performance. Clearly the administration is trying to marginalize, if not silence, their only critics.
The other news outlets should be embarrassed that team Obama doesn’t see them as any kind of threat, and we should all be concerned about this blatant attack on the First Amendment.
A few excerpts from the October 2008 article:
We have depended on the press in the United States to wield this power honorably, to follow standard principles of journalistic ethics that include truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability.
They have let us down.
The foundation of our hypothetical is that of free press openly supporting the candidacy of one party over another without any veil of objectivity or impartiality; doing so in a manner that leads many to believe that opinion is fact and interpretations are truths. With this powerful base of support, essentially unchecked, the road to a one-party government is well paved.
<snip>
But who will lead us down that path?
We already know that the leader will come from the party that is not in power, how else could we ensure the change that is so needed.
What if that leader, chosen through exceptional political skills and charisma, has ideas, ideals, and goals forged into a core set of values through years of exposure to far left principles that would normally be shunned by the vast majority of Americans, and yet are welcomed through him.
<snip>
And with this core set of values, a talent for weaving words into a cloak of hope that most eyes can not penetrate, and the absence of voices in opposition to his claims of a hopeless country waiting for a new direction, waiting to be lead from despair, he will be accepted as the one who will lead us down that path.
In our hypothetical, the press is unchecked, the House and Senate are controlled by one party with enough votes to suppress dissenters, the Supreme Court of our land will be stacked with far left justices because none can stand in the way of their confirmation, lower courts will be ideologically stacked for years to come, and the president has a view of the world that defines diplomacy in a way that acknowledges the wrongs committed against our enemies who could be our friends if only we reached out a helping hand…
In this world, an alliance with oil rich countries such as Iran, Venezuela and now potentially Cuba could be viewed as more valuable to our country than friendships with countries such as Israel.
<snip>
And who is going to stop this?
The press? Sorry… no more interviews for you if you ask tough questions or paint the administration in a bad light. in fact, we will have a “Fairness Doctrine” that will ensure the press is being “fair”.
Congress? Sorry, veto proof and filibuster proof for at least two years.
The Supreme Court? Sorry, too busy rewriting all the outdated parts of the Constitution.
The people? Sorry… new voting registration laws and immigrant fast tracking to citizenship has assured the Democrats of government control for generations to come.
Yeah, none of this could really happen. The United States will last forever. It would be impossible for one party to take over the entire government and lead us down a path of sweeping change that would alter the path of our great country forever, not as long as we have a free press warning us and protecting us from …
Ah, right.. the free press… oh well.
Folks… be careful what you believe. Do not believe what you hear, for they ARE only words. Words can be used to make you believe that which is not true. Truth lies in actions.
