One of the big problems with gaining a critical mass of middle class people who are aware of the war being conducted against them is the profound failure of the media to report on these issues. For years I have fumed at their bogus "objectivity," in which they would feel obligated to include a right wing counterbalance to any centrist (leftists are mostly shut out entirely from the conversation), whose statements reveal him/her to be either a blatant liar or clinically insane. However, recently we have seen more and mor evidence of major media figures overtly siding with corporations and the mega-rich in any discussion of, for example, taxation (e.g., roll-back of the disastrous Bush tax cuts). This is hardly surprising, since they are employed by multinational corporations, and many are well enough compensated to count themselves among the very wealthy, in not exactly plutocrats.
The media culture in Washington is particularly rank, with constant reminders that these high-profile reporters and pundits count themselves as part of the establishment, sharing cocktail weenies at all the same parties. This dates back at least as far as Sally Quinn's embarrassing screed against the Clintons in the 1990's, leading to the ubiquitous moniker of "villager" for these parochial Washingtonians. An early effort to document the atrocities was launched by the lamented blog Media Whores Online, as well as Bob Somerby's Daily Howler. (The latter repeatedly used the term in the title of this post for the courtier-like behavior of these so-called reporters.)
Anyway, this post is prompted by a recent piece by the Washington Post's Dana Milbank. Milbank has been a bad actor in the past, displaying examples of the "insider/villager" behavior. However, here he blows the whistle on the culture of Washington and the cozy relationship between the media and the politicians. Maybe we are starting to see a little bit of skepticism...stay tuned.
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