We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Trump’s Media Furore... US Democracy On Thin Ice

Click here to access article by Finian Cunningham from Strategic Culture Foundation.
The irony is, however, that the attack on American democratic rights has already been underway before Trump entered the White House, and without much protest from the same media outlets who are now railing against Trump over this rants. We can point to the increasing surveillance powers of federal intelligence agencies which have steadily encroached since the September 2001 terror incidents in New York and Washington DC.

Media freedom in the US has been under assault for a long time.

Trump’s latest outburst is not a one-off anomaly.
The US capitalist's version of "democracy" is indeed on thin ice as numerous reports are showing up in both mainstream and alternative media, both the right and left of the political spectrum, that suggest the orange "moron" may not be our head of state much longer. (See also this, this, this, this, and this.)  It is becoming serious when even his close friends, the Israelis, are expressing concern.

So, what's an advanced capitalist ruling class to do when it wants to get rid of a president? Well, we saw how it was done with Kennedy. Although he refused to take orders from the Deep State that rules the US, he was very popular. But Trump is merely acting like a clown; on the other hand, he is quite a useful clown for the capitalist Deep State. A coup would put US "democracy" on a par with Latin American banana republics. Impeachment process might take too long, and it represents only a first step in getting rid of him. Appearances are everything to our masters who find the myth of "democratic" rule so useful in preventing Americans from seeing the darker reality. So, stay tuned to corporate media to find out how our masters resolve this dilemma. If Trump weren't so dangerous as CEO of the US, this "show" that is broadcast every day on TV would be very entertaining.