The corruption in this country will be its undoing. Media as propaganda arm of the Deep State. Govt organizations as fronts for corporations' interests. The list goes on. "Home of the free" is a huge joke at this point.
Lying Maddow has now been richly awarded -- with a $30 million / year contract -- from the infinite DNC-CIA money coffers. Russia-gate hoax is certainly a scam of the century but for all equally repulsive Trump propagandists remember:
-- The insane evangelist Tom Cotton urges a nuclear war against Russia – although capitalist Russia has not been Communist for 30+ years
-- Pompeo and “Brandon” administration want a war with China – although China is far more capitalist than the US
-- The incredible crimes against Syria are BIPARTISAN crimes...
The US administrations are sadistic regimes - irrespective if under Bushes, Clintons. Obama, Trump, or Biden -- that thrive on the misery of nations. The US is a CORPORATE socialism (a more polite term for fascism)
Syria, for example, was once a self-sufficient country -- before America decided (remember 10++ years ago !!) that secular socialist Syria needs “democracy and freedom”. CIA aligned itself “patriotically” with Al Qaeda for regime change -- apartheid Israel has, for years, been weekly bombing Syria -- without hardly being even mentioned in the US corporate media..... But – there is a “genocide”, this time CIA fabrication is -- in China – playing all of us like a violin
I used to listen to Maddow on the midnight show on Air America when she was still begging people to call her. ( I never did )
Did she change, or was she always on the payroll?
“Glenn Greenwald is not just the American Left's most fearless political commentator; his fearlessness is such that he has shifted the expectations for everyone else, too. His rock-ribbed principles and absolute disregard for partisan favor have made U.S. political discourse edgier, more confrontational, and much, much better.” —Rachel Maddow
“I used to be really good friends with Rachel Maddow,” he told New York Magazine in an interview published Sunday. “And I’ve seen her devolution from this really interesting, really smart, independent thinker into this utterly scripted, intellectually dishonest, partisan hack.” - Glenn Greenwald
I was never her friend, but for sure saw the devolution.
Just wondering how a very smart and well informed person like Maddow slips into a position where she is universally viewed as a dishonest, self promoting stooge for whoever pays the highest price? Is there any self reflection or is Trump hatred a brain rotting illness that saps a person's integrity, honor and become part of a mindless mob howling for his blood and destruction? Once stricken does that individual just become a zombie prattling on and on about anything they are instructed to by their masters and/or government propagandists? The Lincoln Project grifters have all become sick immoral moon bats in their pursuit of Trump's scalp.
Trump appears to have a magical power to drive formally sane individuals into having a psychotic breakdown and acting like they are possessed by evil demons.
Not a Trump loving person but as has been said "he too shall pass." Then what will those who've sold their souls to the mob have to say about their actions. Probably that they were saving the nation from sure ruin. Delusions are difficult to see when one is emerged in that hall of mirrors and self imposed lunacy.
First, you must recognize that Maddow is a Rhodes Scholar. As such, she is almost by definition a believer in one world government under leadership of the Anglosphere. Since the Democrats are the more consistent supporters of the UN and other international bodies under the domination of said Anglosphere, it's no suprise that she would become a partisan Democrat and support all the nefarious crimes of the globalist cabal, which has come to dominat the federal government over the last 75 years.
What's a bit surprising is Maddow's opposition to Bush and his war in Iraq. There could be several reasons for that: perhaps the failure of a UNSCR authorizing that it. Perhaps the mere fact that Trump was a Republican. Who knows?
So Maddow has at least two personal reasons to hate on Donald Trump. Partisan politics is part of it, but Trump's "Make American Great Again" agenda is also at odds with the globalist agenda. To be sure, Trump is a supporter of empire, but he and the globalists disagree on who should be in control. Trump wants the center of empire and real control to be Washington. The Democrats and most of the permanent government want the Anglosphere in general to be in control, including international bankers and corporations, the Davos crowd. So Trump had to be destroyed, and Rachel became part of that. Since Covid-19 was a tool to the desired end, she has also supported that.
You obviously misread my post. I mentioned no "noble cause," and in no way justified anything she does or says. Perhaps you can clarify what "noble cause" I referenced.
Trump was simply the golem that the DNC needed to unite its fractured coalition.
The DNC has always struggled to stay united, because many of their strongest groups are at odds, such as the Muslim DNC element in MN when interacting with the Jewish DNC element in places like NY.
They need a common enemy to win elections, this is why they have sold the same two things since JFK.
1. The conservatives are intolerant.
2. Racial problems are all the fault of conservatives.
You are right. The Democrats know that hate is stronger than the internal differences within their infantile Party. When you utilize the very strong and irrational emotion of HATE you cause people to put aside their real differences and focus on the object of that hate.
Once the emotion kicks in everything is all about destroying the other party who has been targeted and the object of that hatred. That is how a weak creep like Chuck Schumer can ignore some Democrats who are as anti-semitic as any Israel hating Middle Eastern Arab and he will support their re-election and raise money for them. Even though they would see him and all his family dead in the streets. It is really what happens when you have no integrity, backbone or soul and your lust for power short circuits your morality.
Answer to your "just wondering" -- money, a lot of money -- just as TYT's Cenk and Ana, The Intercept today, Mother Jones, Democracy-Now!, zillion other -- from the bottomless coffers of DNC, Deep State and military-intelligence complex...
Kuzmarov ( CovertAction Magazine ) modified McGovern’s term into MICIMATT (Military-Industrial-Corporate-Intelligence-Media-Academic-Think-Tank Complex) as a modern mutation which has parasitically taken over all influential branches of society, resulting even in so-called progressive liberals like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supporting war measures against Russia, while promoting totalitarian programs at home.
Rather naive to think Maddow would not have gone down this road had Trump not won the presidential election in 2016, not to mention she was traveling the same path before he arrived on the scene. As far as I'm concerned many in the media are no different from the politicians they report on, and we know they too will sell their souls for corporate cash.
Maddow just a useful tool for the war/hate machine. A well paid one. I doubt if she believes much of what she says, but who knows. Social media has shown us that people are capable of fervently believing the most ridiculous things!
The hate/war propaganda directed against Russia predates Trump by many years. It took a while to take hold, but now some Americans are demanding "military action" and the like.
Americans are easily the most propagandised people in history.
I think there comes a time when new faces/voices become influential, that they are offered "the ticket" (or, as C S Lewis called it, entrance to the Inner Ring. http://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/).
They all get the same choice they gave the Taliban, "by August 2001, the Taliban was balking at some of the conditions laid down by the Bush administration for moving forward, causing Washington to threaten the Taliban militarily if they did not cooperate: “Either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold,” said US representatives, “or we bury you with a carpet of bombs,” reported the French authors of OBL: The Hidden Truth."
*the article claims that the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden (without evidence) The truth is that they tried to hand him over PRIOR to 911 and several times after. Their offer was refused.
**does anyone reading this actually believe that bin Laden did not work for the CIA against Russia during the "Soviet invasion" of Afghanistan? Because he did.
It's also just a fact that the CIA will identify up and comers in the power structure and then 'recruit' them, by whatever means. Gloria Steinem was CIA. Steinem called the CIA a "liberal" organisation. She was right!
“'I used to be really good friends with Rachel Maddow,” he told New York Magazine in an interview published Sunday. “And I’ve seen her devolution from this really interesting, really smart, independent thinker into this utterly scripted, intellectually dishonest, partisan hack.' - Glenn Greenwald"
If the establishment in this country is good at nothing else, it is very good at determining whom to co-opt, whom to buy off, whom to ignore, and whom to neutralize.
Remember that letter from the Iranian woman saying that she has more in common with us than with her government, and that our government has more in common with her government than with us?
Well, it's a fractal pattern.
I have more in common with you than with my political party, and your political party has more in common with my political party than with you.
Like Jimmy Dore says, let's recognise who the real enemy is and act accordingly.
‘I’m happy to admit that I’m obsessed with Russia. I realize it’s controversial, and people give me a lot of grief for focusing on it. But I make no apologies.’ - Maddow
America's raison d'être since at LEAST WWII has been, "Destroy, Russia, then China, then take over the world". And this has nothing at all to do with their bullshit and ever changing rationales.
This is not what the American public wants or desires yet it is pursued with single a mind by the Dr Strangelove types wandering the halls of government agencies.
Manipulation, disinformation and media campaigns laced with national security lingo and fear porn herd the lemmings living in American society to the brink of and over into war every few years or so.
Not sure if this is to take over the world or just a tactic to keep the drones producing and the war machine well oiled generation after generation. Not only with money but with the bodies and lives of every generation of America's children.
All the distractions of parades, charity collections, patriotic shows, statues and on and on have become the stage props making war and destruction "entertaining" and this very twisted uninformed American society cannot even process the reasons and justifications for the military aggressions we engage in.
No other nation on earth has dropped as many bombs, killed as many human beings and spent as much money in this endeavor since WW II than America. All while proclaiming "we had no choice." While the world is a dangerous place and filled with governments run by psychotic soul crushing monsters---- since when did it become America's sacred duty to right every wrong and avenge every insult no matter its relation to our country?
The defense budget is misnamed. It should be called the OFFENSE budget since most all is spent attacking one group, nation or individuals whom our neo-con war mongers determine will get most profit for our war machine.
and the populace keeps electing the same chicken hawks into governement, because of "party". Now the leaders of the military have turned our fighting force into some kind of social justice experiment to boot. So you have chicken hawks appointing woke chicken hawks to send 18 and 19 year olds to slaughter under the guise of "protecting democracy" or "fighting terrorism". Its all very pathetic.
Like the Communist purges of the 1940's and 50's the Congress needs to seriously assess the number and positions held by many pedophiles and sexual abusers and harnessers floating around gov't. As we have learned gov't seems to attract all sorts of perverse individuals. Vetting is pretty loose and many are known offenders without anyone "doing anything" to combat this scourge. Politics and the operatives it attracts are a target rich environment for these predators. CNN is learning the hard way that "doing your own thing" just might not be the best way to run a corporation.
Nord Stream 2, which is wholly-owned by Russia’s state-run energy firm Gazprom, spent nearly $2.5 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2021. Nord Stream CEO Matthias Warnig and Gazprom’s executive chair Alexei Miller are both known as close allies of Russian President Vladmir Putin.
Nord Stream 2 has paid more than $4.5 million to Roberti Global, a lobbying firm run by Democratic donor and lobbyist Vincent Roberti.
So just to be clear, the actual people lobbying FOR russia are DNC lobbyists.
And once again, another diatribe from ol' Boris that has nothing to do with the essay at hand. Is this how you get your money's worth from subscribing to Taibbi, Greenwald, etc.?
Dear "John M", I am so sorry that I offended your delicate feelings by stating the obvious - DNC and GOP oligarchs are the same and are happily grunting together feeding at the bottomless troughs of arms industry.
Democrats Want Julian Assange Imprisoned for ONE Reason ONLY: His 2016 Reporting on Hillary/DNC
Do not forget that Hillary Clinton still controls the DNC. Her claws are long and well embedded in the CIA. She truly is The Wicked Witch of The West. She continues to be a major poisonous effect in American politics - just like Trump.
"Promoting" China?!? - for stating obvious facts, e.g.:
China is far more capitalist than the US, Russia has not been Communist for 30+ years, while the US is a corporate socialism (more polite term for fascism)
And? -- why do you care so much about China? We need to agitate for freedom and democracy in – our beloved USA. Although near term hopeless -- I believe in multi-party system, unlike current one party monopoly with two right wings.
China raised 800 million of its citizens - from periodic mass starvation into middle class -- an unprecedented success -- while DNC and GOP oligarchs essentially eliminated middle class in the US.
"53K US contractors in the Middle East versus -- for 35K troops" !!! What a lucrative business and worth unlimited donations to both DNC and GOP politicians. Highlighting just that "detail" -- tells it all....
A 1%-er War party with two right (DNC and GOP) wings -- gay marriage, abortion, "woke", and other imposed topics are just distractions to divide 99% of population into "red" and "blue" camps.
But brainwashed US citizen agitate "freeing" China and increasing hate of Moslems, Russians, Chinese, Martians - just to avoid thinking about our own beloved country.
1%-er overlords are playing us, including poor "anti-Communist" you, like a violin...
3000 year old China needs no promotion. America is 5% of the world and is in steep decline. Civilisation ending civil conflict is inevitable. The only way out for The Empire is a preemptive nuclear strike on China.
How do we "stop Wall Street". A representative government could do that, but Wall Street now owns the government and their control has never been more absolute.
I agree that offshoring is what gave China a massive leg up, but they would have risen anyway.
Media propaganda is not limited to television or to "news" sources. It has spread to such presumably non-political magazines as SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Consider the LTE I just sent to the editors regarding the January 2022 issue:
I grew up reading SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, marveling at the ingenuity and creativity of inventors and the ability of your writers to put advanced scientific concepts, theories, and even hands-on experiments in the grasp of readers.
Imagine my surprise to find Amy Cooler's political diatribe in the middle of this month's issue.
She makes countless incorrect assumptions and twists her op-ed in such a way as to convince readers that Donald Trump and his voters pose a danger to our society.
I won't dissect the eight-page ramble through her life, her ego, and her disdain for the life she left behind in Tennessee (I am mildly curious how she, as a little girl, was able to diagnose rabies in a dead coyote).
Clearly, she wrote this political argument for some compelling reason. I cannot imagine how it turned up in the pages of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. I can only express my disgust for the editorial staff for allowing such tripe in your esteemed magazine. Ms. Cooler presents a lot of lies and posits many of her own theories and spreads disinformation. Let me close by making three observations.
(1) She uses the term insurrection to describe the unarmed riot on January 6 in Washington, DC. To my knowledge, an insurrection is aimed at the overthrow of a government and participants are always armed. As everyone knows, only one person was shot and killed on January 6, and she was an unarmed protestor, murdered by a capitol police officer.
(2) She ignores the fact that FBI agents and informants allegedly spurred the crowd on and one of them (Ray Epps) has been seen on television ordering people to enter the capitol building. For some reason, of the hundreds of people arrested for their presence in the nation's capital, Ray Epps has been spared any follow-up contact by law enforcement.
(3) Ms. Cooler makes a passing mention of the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer. She implies that white supremacists plotted to kidnap and possibly kill her. She neglects the fact that current news indicates that a dozen FBI agents and informants actually initiated the plot and, in effect, set up a scheme to entrap several militia members.
I am sorry to see that Scientific American has gone the way of the Sierra Club and that it now feels it is necessary to impose its political views on its readers.
I saw the article too and I was stunned but not entirely surprised. It is a telling symptom - there is panic that the official narrative doesn't stick any more so propaganda has to be expanded also into places that were previously (relatively) spared.
I hadn't looked at Scientific American in 50 years. My wife got a subscription & I was looking through the miserable thing. A friend of mine said he ALWAYS read the magazine before they got political. He says they got on the Global Warming bandwagon a long time ago. I wish they'd return to their roots.... showing children how to make things scoot around in water with baking soda for power.
Governments are usually totally immoral organizations without conscience, empathy or even a human face. They, as a group, only respond to force or fear. The media at one time was the "fear factor" keeping those agencies under a modicum of control and civilized behavior. NO MORE! That break has been removed with the media now being a cheerleader and advocate for anything that the monster called government visits upon the people unlucky enough to be under their jackboot. America's founders envisioned the "free press" as the voice of the people and the elected representatives and the Supreme Court as the enforcers of Constitutional norms. That dream is now a nightmare.
As long as they can just keep the money-making machine going, they will never suffer. We all pay the price for their reckless spending and crony handouts.
At this point where can the uncorrupt go? Glen is blazing a trail for truth so where is the line forming for support? What needs to be done to awake the uncaring?
Whenever I hear word 'truth' I reach for my Orwell, "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."
Greenwald has been on this for many years now. And for his trouble he is now HATED by faux liberals who once claimed to share his concerns. But only when his concerns were directed toward LORD Buhs. Now that they are directed to LORD Brandon, "he's evel!"
Extraditing Assange may backfire on the Biden Admin and it's FBI stooges - he may have information showing that the DNC data leaks came from DNC insiders (which has long been alleged) who wanted to show how the committee was pushing Hillary Clinton over Saunders.
Assange will "commit suicide" in US custody. Just you wait. At this point, it is possible that Assange may really be suicidal...the DOJ will make his life in custody hell and give him plenty of opportunities. Or he may have a cellmate who "helps" him along the way.
Trump was the one person who had the authority to pardon Assange and Snowden, just as he was the one person who had the authority to end the stupid wars.
And he could have done both with a stroke of the pen.
Sure,, Trump promised to "drain the swamp", but he was a pathetic little weakling cuck.
I believe that Trump knew, and was told — just how important destroying Assange and Snowden is to the Deep State. Trump must have concluded, correctly, that if he crossed them on that, they would take their revenge on him. And, as Chuck said, " “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,”.
Glenn, You are truly a great reporter, and an excellent writer. It takes a lot of skill to weave something so intricate into something so intelligible upon first read, and a lot of digging to get there. Along the lines of the corrupt media, have you or anyone written about the rise of the so-called news "contributors", who are the paid talking heads of the various networks? When I was a local TV reporter back in the days when news was news (pretty much), we used to interview people (even politicians) for their opinions, but we didn't pay them retainers or talent fees. That would have been considered outright corruption. Not today. Convenience is corruption, and the 24/7 news "cycle" is the mother of convenience.
Glenn: I think your closing paragraph is a neat summation of all the points you make in this article. Have we also been deluding ourselves into thinking such conditions which exist in Cuba, China and Venezuela [regarding government control over all media] don't happen here? Another veil is lifted from our idealistic view of America.
I am not trying to be pessimistic, nor am I trying to bash America; what I am saying is this country doesn't always walk the walk, after talking the talk. Interesting that you would speak of journalists being imprisoned by other countries. Hello! Julian Assange. What about James O'Keefe getting his headquarters raided, shortly after the NYT lost their appeal to dismiss Project Veritas's defamation lawsuit? Coincidence? Edward Snowden? General Honore's
illegal gun-grab during Hurricane Katrina?
The rest of the world (who are looking to us for 'inspiration') are waiting on the proletariat to stand up and resist the tyranny (and media propaganda) they're already experiencing in the good ol' USA. Our current responses to it would have our Founding Fathers disgusted. Like I am.
Glenn, I am curious as to what you think the ultimate solution must be for the CIA? I have a theory that Eisenhower used "the Military-Industrial Complex" as a euphemism, because he dared not refer to Allen Dulles and the CIA directly in that farewell speech, but that he had come to regret the power they had amassed over the elected government and foreign policy in the post-war years. It has been over 70 years now that our government has been absolutely incapable of exercising oversight over the Agency, and consequently our presidents over their own foreign policy; its accounts and budget are not meaningfully auditable, which should outrage fiscal conservatives and anti-Deep Statists. I think the secrecy must be lifted from everything our foreign policy and intelligence establishment does going forward, with a carefully delineated area of the most top secret activities having maybe a five or seven year window before the sunlight floods in. Other thoughts as to ultimate remedies? "Abolish the CIA" and "Defund the Deep State" will make good bipartisan slogans going forward
Given what happened to Trump when he went up against them? Even if he somehow manages to run and win in 2024, you’re going to see precious few smaller fish campaigning that way.
Moreover, it’s the deep state that gives the elected officials the power they exercise. It’s not in their interest to dismantle it.
Finally, the claim was that it would be a good -bipartisan- slogan. If it’s just right vs left, we’ll never amass the clout to really deal with it. Trump tried, with majorities in both houses, and accomplished basically nothing on that front, despite all his accomplishments in other areas.
I mean, I hope I’m wrong; I’d love to see it. But I doubt that I will.
I don't think Trump really tried though. He just rearranged the deck chairs. In the past year tho I've heard outlets on the right talking about reining them in. AG, Federalist, etc. Not saying it's likely but I think possible, with Dem prospects diminishing.
No argument, I guess. But you still need broad support to “finish the job”, and it just isn’t out there. The incentive structure for a legislator is not in the direction of limited government.
For what it's worth, I once saw a bumper sticker that stated simply, "Imagine the world without the CIA." To this day, many years later, the statement leaves me breathless.
Just came here to ask this as well. I would think that defunding is the best path forward, and i've heard some on the right suggest that. Obviously Democrats will oppose it. But even that is not going to cut it as you point out, because they'll just lie and obfuscate and hide the budget in other ways. Abolishing them seems like a challenging thing to do, even though you gotta wonder how much good they've actually done compared to the harm. In a world where we're worried about a rising China and still worry about Russia, it seems like a tough sell. But we definitely need more oversight and to rein them in.
I suspect that Glenn would say that stronger whistleblower protections are the important first step, for those who expose violations of national and international law. Obviously the Assange prosecution shows we are nowhere in that department--forget whistleblowers, even the publishing journalists can't be protected from the Deep State foreign policy establishment (aka Military Industrial Complex)! This is why the Assange defense remains priority #1, and ultimately some kind of Assange Act. And then funding reductions for the intelligence apparatus and the drastic curtailment of top secrecy classifications.
I think you may underestimate the adversary and the tactics at their command. Sound whistleblower would most likely only mean that those waving the agenny's dirty linen around would get whacked in private, instead of prosecuted in (sort of) public. That might slightly reduce the intimidation factor, but probably not by much.
To consider all the things they miss and get wrong, and then weigh out all the evil and corruption they are involved in, it would be a clear victory for America and Americans to eliminate them
I always cringe when I see Eisenhower given plaudits for exposing the MIC. While I must admit that his address did put the phrase into the common vernacular, we tend to forget that he was a principal archictect in establishing that very entity, and that he didn't call it out while he had any power to apply any remedy for it, nor before he had maximally benefited from it. Very, very weak sauce, in my estimation.
The guy is a delusional madman. But that the revolving door with the media is so dangerous is NOT self-evident to everybody who gets their information from NBC, CNN and the others. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly put it, those who read the newspapers know less than those who don't.
Mark Leibovich's book "This Town" covers the blending of DC politics and media. This blending of DC law enforcement and spooks with media seems a new twist.
We need legislation that prevents national politicians and government employees from taking media positions for at least five years after their government role ends.
Keep up the good work, Glenn. The craziest thing about all this is the extreme about face within the left. They aren’t even hiding the fact that they get a bit moist when the State enters into a conversation. It’s an obsession, and a dangerous one at that. A great many progressives are hell bent on encouraging the State to protect them from themselves.
I would not deny those progressives the right to exchange their own Liberty for such a vain and hopeless pursuit of Safety. They have NO right, nor my permission, to take any action which so barters my Liberty along with their own. Any attempt to do so will anger me, and I reserve the privilege to react to their attempted sacrifice of my Liberty with extreme prejudice.
The key to unraveling this rat's nest is who really killed Seth Rich?
We were and continue to be the victims of a disinformation operation carried out by operatives of our intelligence agencies and allied law enforcement agencies - FBI, CIA, NSA, DOJ, the Department of State and most likely the Office of the President of the United States.
Please consider this, the Mueller Team that has some 150 FBI agents at its beck and call came up with nothing. The Mueller Report concluded it could not find any evidence of Russian Collusion and too boot used illegal tactics to sweat close associates of then President Trump to rat on Trump. Nada!
Please see my earlier article at the American Thinker:
"Secretary Hillary Clinton and the Deep State: A RICO Criminal Conspiracy"
. . . Consider for a moment the DNC hack wasn’t a hack at all but a leak by a disgruntled DNC worker who had physical access to the server and copied the files to a thumb drive or similar. This thumb drive was then handled directly to a WikiLeaks operative. Julian Assange continues to deny he received the DNC files from the Russians. There is no doubt the Russians, the North Koreans, and the Chinese and other intel agencies were in Hillary Clinton’s homebrew server. And yet we were assured with high confidence by our intel agencies Russians operatives did the DNC hack.
The CIA was actively involved in this coup. The CIA likely spearheaded the retargeting of the FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. How convenient to blame the Russians for the DNC hack and tie it to the Russian collusion in the effort to blame Trump. There was likely forensic evidence that the Russians were in Hillary Clinton’s server, but were they the source of the leak of the DNC files? The forensic attribution of a hack with any degree of certainty is complicated at best. The NSA and the CIA have tools to spoof others to cover for their intrusions. Are CIA Director Brennan and DNI Director James Clapper being truthful with their attribution of the DNC hack to the Russians? They have both lied in testimony in Congressional Hearings — another ruse to cover their tracks and others regarding the abuse of power.
Much of this originates with the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which was passed into law with the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. It basically opened the door to state-sponsored propaganda against a domestic audience. Ask James Risen, he’ll know all about it.
Figliuzzi. Makes me think of the word unctuous, as in greasy and slimy. Does this report mean we cannot trust the FBI? I am shocked! But then I recall that age old adage: If cops weren’t cops, they’d be criminals.
I offer my thanks, again, to GG. His name is on my list of journalists, along with Alex Berenson. Right off hand I can’t think of any others.
There are many -- Aaron Mate, Ben Norton, Max Blumenthal, Matt Taibbi, Richard Medhurst, Jimmy Dore, etc... -- "scott m", where have you been until now?
Yes. Imus had better hair. So Dore is a persuasive social critic? Okay. But I would never, as in never, equate what Dore does to what Greenwald and Berenson do, which is journalism.
Sometimes imparting important information can be dome by channels other that 'journalism." Lenny Bruce challenged social norms, censorship and many other things that journalists of that time could or would not effectively deal with. Mort Saul and others broke barriers and political constraints and informed millions of people who might not bury themselves in written reporting. Even Bill Maher, whom I don't care for, has the power to slay giants who masquerade as leaders and sages. Journalism is just one branch of the information river that effects social policy, politics and many other aspects of our culture.
That river is now being dammed, diverted, polluted and has tons of. toxic waste poured into it on a daily basis. Glen and others are becoming the newest and best "river keepers" of our time.
However, the OP did name the category "journalists". Comedians may be, and frequently are, politically useful, as well as amusing, but the standards for evaluating the two categories very much differ. For one example, comedians are free to deal in exaggeration and ficticious accounts, ntm calumny and mild slander. Journalists are required to deal in supportable facts. OTOH, journalists rarely need to time a punchline.
FDA/CDC/NIH bureaucrats go to work for Pharma post "government service", via the revolving door, and get paid big bucks. Obama gets $60 million book deals. And "security state" weasels get big money contracts with "news" agencies post "government service" - as long as they've done the bidding of the Oligarchy during their time in power. Arresting the "right sort" of people, etc.
We're looking at the corruption the wrong way round. This is their payday - just like Obama. For a "job well done." The "news" agencies are just money laundering organizations for Oligarchy.
I’m nearing 60, and have been “awake” to MSM tactics, but this article combined with others written by GG, has opened my eyes to the total moral bankruptcy of our ruling establishment. Frankly, it’s quite discouraging to realize what has happened to our country over the past 50-years.
The corruption in this country will be its undoing. Media as propaganda arm of the Deep State. Govt organizations as fronts for corporations' interests. The list goes on. "Home of the free" is a huge joke at this point.
Lying Maddow has now been richly awarded -- with a $30 million / year contract -- from the infinite DNC-CIA money coffers. Russia-gate hoax is certainly a scam of the century but for all equally repulsive Trump propagandists remember:
-- The insane evangelist Tom Cotton urges a nuclear war against Russia – although capitalist Russia has not been Communist for 30+ years
-- Pompeo and “Brandon” administration want a war with China – although China is far more capitalist than the US
-- The incredible crimes against Syria are BIPARTISAN crimes...
The US administrations are sadistic regimes - irrespective if under Bushes, Clintons. Obama, Trump, or Biden -- that thrive on the misery of nations. The US is a CORPORATE socialism (a more polite term for fascism)
Syria, for example, was once a self-sufficient country -- before America decided (remember 10++ years ago !!) that secular socialist Syria needs “democracy and freedom”. CIA aligned itself “patriotically” with Al Qaeda for regime change -- apartheid Israel has, for years, been weekly bombing Syria -- without hardly being even mentioned in the US corporate media..... But – there is a “genocide”, this time CIA fabrication is -- in China – playing all of us like a violin
I used to listen to Maddow on the midnight show on Air America when she was still begging people to call her. ( I never did )
Did she change, or was she always on the payroll?
“Glenn Greenwald is not just the American Left's most fearless political commentator; his fearlessness is such that he has shifted the expectations for everyone else, too. His rock-ribbed principles and absolute disregard for partisan favor have made U.S. political discourse edgier, more confrontational, and much, much better.” —Rachel Maddow
“I used to be really good friends with Rachel Maddow,” he told New York Magazine in an interview published Sunday. “And I’ve seen her devolution from this really interesting, really smart, independent thinker into this utterly scripted, intellectually dishonest, partisan hack.” - Glenn Greenwald
I was never her friend, but for sure saw the devolution.
Just wondering how a very smart and well informed person like Maddow slips into a position where she is universally viewed as a dishonest, self promoting stooge for whoever pays the highest price? Is there any self reflection or is Trump hatred a brain rotting illness that saps a person's integrity, honor and become part of a mindless mob howling for his blood and destruction? Once stricken does that individual just become a zombie prattling on and on about anything they are instructed to by their masters and/or government propagandists? The Lincoln Project grifters have all become sick immoral moon bats in their pursuit of Trump's scalp.
Trump appears to have a magical power to drive formally sane individuals into having a psychotic breakdown and acting like they are possessed by evil demons.
Not a Trump loving person but as has been said "he too shall pass." Then what will those who've sold their souls to the mob have to say about their actions. Probably that they were saving the nation from sure ruin. Delusions are difficult to see when one is emerged in that hall of mirrors and self imposed lunacy.
First, you must recognize that Maddow is a Rhodes Scholar. As such, she is almost by definition a believer in one world government under leadership of the Anglosphere. Since the Democrats are the more consistent supporters of the UN and other international bodies under the domination of said Anglosphere, it's no suprise that she would become a partisan Democrat and support all the nefarious crimes of the globalist cabal, which has come to dominat the federal government over the last 75 years.
What's a bit surprising is Maddow's opposition to Bush and his war in Iraq. There could be several reasons for that: perhaps the failure of a UNSCR authorizing that it. Perhaps the mere fact that Trump was a Republican. Who knows?
So Maddow has at least two personal reasons to hate on Donald Trump. Partisan politics is part of it, but Trump's "Make American Great Again" agenda is also at odds with the globalist agenda. To be sure, Trump is a supporter of empire, but he and the globalists disagree on who should be in control. Trump wants the center of empire and real control to be Washington. The Democrats and most of the permanent government want the Anglosphere in general to be in control, including international bankers and corporations, the Davos crowd. So Trump had to be destroyed, and Rachel became part of that. Since Covid-19 was a tool to the desired end, she has also supported that.
Just in: Truly Alarming -- MASSIVE CENSORSHIP
YouTube and Twitter delete Joe Rogan interview with scientist who helped INVENT mRNA vaccines
#1757 – Dr. Robert Malone on Joe Rogan – Spotify (Listening is everything - Spotify )
https://www.spotify.com/us/
I'm surprised you are willing to rationalize her greed and her lying with any kind of noble cause.
You obviously misread my post. I mentioned no "noble cause," and in no way justified anything she does or says. Perhaps you can clarify what "noble cause" I referenced.
Trump was simply the golem that the DNC needed to unite its fractured coalition.
The DNC has always struggled to stay united, because many of their strongest groups are at odds, such as the Muslim DNC element in MN when interacting with the Jewish DNC element in places like NY.
They need a common enemy to win elections, this is why they have sold the same two things since JFK.
1. The conservatives are intolerant.
2. Racial problems are all the fault of conservatives.
You are right. The Democrats know that hate is stronger than the internal differences within their infantile Party. When you utilize the very strong and irrational emotion of HATE you cause people to put aside their real differences and focus on the object of that hate.
Once the emotion kicks in everything is all about destroying the other party who has been targeted and the object of that hatred. That is how a weak creep like Chuck Schumer can ignore some Democrats who are as anti-semitic as any Israel hating Middle Eastern Arab and he will support their re-election and raise money for them. Even though they would see him and all his family dead in the streets. It is really what happens when you have no integrity, backbone or soul and your lust for power short circuits your morality.
Answer to your "just wondering" -- money, a lot of money -- just as TYT's Cenk and Ana, The Intercept today, Mother Jones, Democracy-Now!, zillion other -- from the bottomless coffers of DNC, Deep State and military-intelligence complex...
Kuzmarov ( CovertAction Magazine ) modified McGovern’s term into MICIMATT (Military-Industrial-Corporate-Intelligence-Media-Academic-Think-Tank Complex) as a modern mutation which has parasitically taken over all influential branches of society, resulting even in so-called progressive liberals like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supporting war measures against Russia, while promoting totalitarian programs at home.
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/01/01/how-will-unipolarists-respond-to-putins-red-line-an-expert-round-table-discussion/
How Will Unipolarists Respond to Putin’s Red Line? An Expert Round Table Discussion
By Matthew Ehret - January 1, 2022
Russia will be attacked. China will be attacked.
Usually when I say this, someone will jump up to say, "The people do not want war!"
"Yeah, so? Then how do you manage to have so many of them then?"
US Liberals will cheer, right up until the moment they are vaporised and sucked up into the stratosphere.
Canada has troops on the Russian border. Canada. WHY?
"Some people will say anything for $30,000 a day" - Jimmy Dore on Hayes, but it works the same everywhere.
Rather naive to think Maddow would not have gone down this road had Trump not won the presidential election in 2016, not to mention she was traveling the same path before he arrived on the scene. As far as I'm concerned many in the media are no different from the politicians they report on, and we know they too will sell their souls for corporate cash.
Maddow just a useful tool for the war/hate machine. A well paid one. I doubt if she believes much of what she says, but who knows. Social media has shown us that people are capable of fervently believing the most ridiculous things!
The hate/war propaganda directed against Russia predates Trump by many years. It took a while to take hold, but now some Americans are demanding "military action" and the like.
Americans are easily the most propagandised people in history.
I think there comes a time when new faces/voices become influential, that they are offered "the ticket" (or, as C S Lewis called it, entrance to the Inner Ring. http://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/).
Some take it, some don't.
I call it the Unedited Zapruder Moment.
They all get the same choice they gave the Taliban, "by August 2001, the Taliban was balking at some of the conditions laid down by the Bush administration for moving forward, causing Washington to threaten the Taliban militarily if they did not cooperate: “Either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold,” said US representatives, “or we bury you with a carpet of bombs,” reported the French authors of OBL: The Hidden Truth."
https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/asia-archives/the-missing-link-to-the-war-in-afghanistan/
*the article claims that the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden (without evidence) The truth is that they tried to hand him over PRIOR to 911 and several times after. Their offer was refused.
**does anyone reading this actually believe that bin Laden did not work for the CIA against Russia during the "Soviet invasion" of Afghanistan? Because he did.
It's also just a fact that the CIA will identify up and comers in the power structure and then 'recruit' them, by whatever means. Gloria Steinem was CIA. Steinem called the CIA a "liberal" organisation. She was right!
Anderson Cooper, CIA Central Marketing.
so was Clay Shaw
Thank you for that link
“'I used to be really good friends with Rachel Maddow,” he told New York Magazine in an interview published Sunday. “And I’ve seen her devolution from this really interesting, really smart, independent thinker into this utterly scripted, intellectually dishonest, partisan hack.' - Glenn Greenwald"
If the establishment in this country is good at nothing else, it is very good at determining whom to co-opt, whom to buy off, whom to ignore, and whom to neutralize.
Maddow got her start from Tucker Carlson. The two party system exists only with division of the populace.
Excellent point.
Remember that letter from the Iranian woman saying that she has more in common with us than with her government, and that our government has more in common with her government than with us?
Well, it's a fractal pattern.
I have more in common with you than with my political party, and your political party has more in common with my political party than with you.
Like Jimmy Dore says, let's recognise who the real enemy is and act accordingly.
Just FYI and FTR; I don't have a political party. I stopped voting in 1992. But YKWIM.
What if they called an election and nobody voted?
*that can never happen
you let them win when you dont vote, write in someone
‘I’m happy to admit that I’m obsessed with Russia. I realize it’s controversial, and people give me a lot of grief for focusing on it. But I make no apologies.’ - Maddow
America's raison d'être since at LEAST WWII has been, "Destroy, Russia, then China, then take over the world". And this has nothing at all to do with their bullshit and ever changing rationales.
This is not what the American public wants or desires yet it is pursued with single a mind by the Dr Strangelove types wandering the halls of government agencies.
Manipulation, disinformation and media campaigns laced with national security lingo and fear porn herd the lemmings living in American society to the brink of and over into war every few years or so.
Not sure if this is to take over the world or just a tactic to keep the drones producing and the war machine well oiled generation after generation. Not only with money but with the bodies and lives of every generation of America's children.
All the distractions of parades, charity collections, patriotic shows, statues and on and on have become the stage props making war and destruction "entertaining" and this very twisted uninformed American society cannot even process the reasons and justifications for the military aggressions we engage in.
No other nation on earth has dropped as many bombs, killed as many human beings and spent as much money in this endeavor since WW II than America. All while proclaiming "we had no choice." While the world is a dangerous place and filled with governments run by psychotic soul crushing monsters---- since when did it become America's sacred duty to right every wrong and avenge every insult no matter its relation to our country?
The defense budget is misnamed. It should be called the OFFENSE budget since most all is spent attacking one group, nation or individuals whom our neo-con war mongers determine will get most profit for our war machine.
and the populace keeps electing the same chicken hawks into governement, because of "party". Now the leaders of the military have turned our fighting force into some kind of social justice experiment to boot. So you have chicken hawks appointing woke chicken hawks to send 18 and 19 year olds to slaughter under the guise of "protecting democracy" or "fighting terrorism". Its all very pathetic.
Like the Communist purges of the 1940's and 50's the Congress needs to seriously assess the number and positions held by many pedophiles and sexual abusers and harnessers floating around gov't. As we have learned gov't seems to attract all sorts of perverse individuals. Vetting is pretty loose and many are known offenders without anyone "doing anything" to combat this scourge. Politics and the operatives it attracts are a target rich environment for these predators. CNN is learning the hard way that "doing your own thing" just might not be the best way to run a corporation.
Nord Stream 2, which is wholly-owned by Russia’s state-run energy firm Gazprom, spent nearly $2.5 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2021. Nord Stream CEO Matthias Warnig and Gazprom’s executive chair Alexei Miller are both known as close allies of Russian President Vladmir Putin.
Nord Stream 2 has paid more than $4.5 million to Roberti Global, a lobbying firm run by Democratic donor and lobbyist Vincent Roberti.
So just to be clear, the actual people lobbying FOR russia are DNC lobbyists.
https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/lobbyists/contributions?cycle=2020&id=Y0000040430L
And once again, another diatribe from ol' Boris that has nothing to do with the essay at hand. Is this how you get your money's worth from subscribing to Taibbi, Greenwald, etc.?
Dear "John M", I am so sorry that I offended your delicate feelings by stating the obvious - DNC and GOP oligarchs are the same and are happily grunting together feeding at the bottomless troughs of arms industry.
Democrats Want Julian Assange Imprisoned for ONE Reason ONLY: His 2016 Reporting on Hillary/DNC
https://youtu.be/TS2a_XUikLU
Do not forget that Hillary Clinton still controls the DNC. Her claws are long and well embedded in the CIA. She truly is The Wicked Witch of The West. She continues to be a major poisonous effect in American politics - just like Trump.
That is correct -- of all US presidents only Trump was "unauthorized" by Deep State/CIA (and Bernie, of course). Worth reading:
1. There is Absolutely No Reason in the World to Believe That Bill Clinton Is a CIA Asset—Except for All the Evidence
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/01/03/there-is-absolutely-no-reason-in-the-world-to-believe-that-bill-clinton-is-a-cia-asset-except-for-all-the-evidence/
By - Jeremy Kuzmarov - January 3, 2022
2. A Company Family: The Untold History of Obama and the CIA
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/10/01/a-company-family-the-untold-history-of-obama-and-the-cia/
By Jeremy Kuzmarov - October 1, 2021
Yes and it is money well spent.
"Promoting" China?!? - for stating obvious facts, e.g.:
China is far more capitalist than the US, Russia has not been Communist for 30+ years, while the US is a corporate socialism (more polite term for fascism)
And? -- why do you care so much about China? We need to agitate for freedom and democracy in – our beloved USA. Although near term hopeless -- I believe in multi-party system, unlike current one party monopoly with two right wings.
China raised 800 million of its citizens - from periodic mass starvation into middle class -- an unprecedented success -- while DNC and GOP oligarchs essentially eliminated middle class in the US.
"53K US contractors in the Middle East versus -- for 35K troops" !!! What a lucrative business and worth unlimited donations to both DNC and GOP politicians. Highlighting just that "detail" -- tells it all....
A 1%-er War party with two right (DNC and GOP) wings -- gay marriage, abortion, "woke", and other imposed topics are just distractions to divide 99% of population into "red" and "blue" camps.
But brainwashed US citizen agitate "freeing" China and increasing hate of Moslems, Russians, Chinese, Martians - just to avoid thinking about our own beloved country.
1%-er overlords are playing us, including poor "anti-Communist" you, like a violin...
So what? Who cares?
Not your business.
3000 year old China needs no promotion. America is 5% of the world and is in steep decline. Civilisation ending civil conflict is inevitable. The only way out for The Empire is a preemptive nuclear strike on China.
Big war coming.
How do we "stop Wall Street". A representative government could do that, but Wall Street now owns the government and their control has never been more absolute.
I agree that offshoring is what gave China a massive leg up, but they would have risen anyway.
Media propaganda is not limited to television or to "news" sources. It has spread to such presumably non-political magazines as SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Consider the LTE I just sent to the editors regarding the January 2022 issue:
I grew up reading SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, marveling at the ingenuity and creativity of inventors and the ability of your writers to put advanced scientific concepts, theories, and even hands-on experiments in the grasp of readers.
Imagine my surprise to find Amy Cooler's political diatribe in the middle of this month's issue.
She makes countless incorrect assumptions and twists her op-ed in such a way as to convince readers that Donald Trump and his voters pose a danger to our society.
I won't dissect the eight-page ramble through her life, her ego, and her disdain for the life she left behind in Tennessee (I am mildly curious how she, as a little girl, was able to diagnose rabies in a dead coyote).
Clearly, she wrote this political argument for some compelling reason. I cannot imagine how it turned up in the pages of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. I can only express my disgust for the editorial staff for allowing such tripe in your esteemed magazine. Ms. Cooler presents a lot of lies and posits many of her own theories and spreads disinformation. Let me close by making three observations.
(1) She uses the term insurrection to describe the unarmed riot on January 6 in Washington, DC. To my knowledge, an insurrection is aimed at the overthrow of a government and participants are always armed. As everyone knows, only one person was shot and killed on January 6, and she was an unarmed protestor, murdered by a capitol police officer.
(2) She ignores the fact that FBI agents and informants allegedly spurred the crowd on and one of them (Ray Epps) has been seen on television ordering people to enter the capitol building. For some reason, of the hundreds of people arrested for their presence in the nation's capital, Ray Epps has been spared any follow-up contact by law enforcement.
(3) Ms. Cooler makes a passing mention of the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer. She implies that white supremacists plotted to kidnap and possibly kill her. She neglects the fact that current news indicates that a dozen FBI agents and informants actually initiated the plot and, in effect, set up a scheme to entrap several militia members.
I am sorry to see that Scientific American has gone the way of the Sierra Club and that it now feels it is necessary to impose its political views on its readers.
I saw the article too and I was stunned but not entirely surprised. It is a telling symptom - there is panic that the official narrative doesn't stick any more so propaganda has to be expanded also into places that were previously (relatively) spared.
I hadn't looked at Scientific American in 50 years. My wife got a subscription & I was looking through the miserable thing. A friend of mine said he ALWAYS read the magazine before they got political. He says they got on the Global Warming bandwagon a long time ago. I wish they'd return to their roots.... showing children how to make things scoot around in water with baking soda for power.
Governments are usually totally immoral organizations without conscience, empathy or even a human face. They, as a group, only respond to force or fear. The media at one time was the "fear factor" keeping those agencies under a modicum of control and civilized behavior. NO MORE! That break has been removed with the media now being a cheerleader and advocate for anything that the monster called government visits upon the people unlucky enough to be under their jackboot. America's founders envisioned the "free press" as the voice of the people and the elected representatives and the Supreme Court as the enforcers of Constitutional norms. That dream is now a nightmare.
As long as they can just keep the money-making machine going, they will never suffer. We all pay the price for their reckless spending and crony handouts.
At this point where can the uncorrupt go? Glen is blazing a trail for truth so where is the line forming for support? What needs to be done to awake the uncaring?
Whenever I hear word 'truth' I reach for my Orwell, "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."
You say all that as if it’s something new.
Genuinely incredible reporting. I would be clueless without this.
You should consider sharing this article around you.
Greenwald has been on this for many years now. And for his trouble he is now HATED by faux liberals who once claimed to share his concerns. But only when his concerns were directed toward LORD Buhs. Now that they are directed to LORD Brandon, "he's evel!"
Extraditing Assange may backfire on the Biden Admin and it's FBI stooges - he may have information showing that the DNC data leaks came from DNC insiders (which has long been alleged) who wanted to show how the committee was pushing Hillary Clinton over Saunders.
That will surely be hushed up.
Assange will "commit suicide" in US custody. Just you wait. At this point, it is possible that Assange may really be suicidal...the DOJ will make his life in custody hell and give him plenty of opportunities. Or he may have a cellmate who "helps" him along the way.
Assange is a dead man walking.
Trump had four years to pardon Assange and Snowden, so it’s just same old same old.
I am very disappointed he did not pardon them
He was not allowed.
Trump was the one person who had the authority to pardon Assange and Snowden, just as he was the one person who had the authority to end the stupid wars.
And he could have done both with a stroke of the pen.
Sure,, Trump promised to "drain the swamp", but he was a pathetic little weakling cuck.
Don't make excuses.
Don't make
It's not an excuse. It's an observation. Value neutral.
Regardless, I don't think it bears out.
FWIW, Obama cultists made similar justifications as to why their hero didn't do what they hoped. Even as Obama betrayed them, over and over.
This is his explanation to Candace Owens as to why he didn't pardon Assange and his answer seems rather obtuse. https://neonnettle.com/news/17839-donald-trump-reveals-why-he-didn-t-pardon-julian-assange. He seems rather obtuse as to his reasons. If he did would they use it to further delegitimize him, in the way they are using January 6th.
Glenn just posted this on that today.
https://youtu.be/oT4KH4NhekE
I believe that Trump knew, and was told — just how important destroying Assange and Snowden is to the Deep State. Trump must have concluded, correctly, that if he crossed them on that, they would take their revenge on him. And, as Chuck said, " “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,”.
Just ask Jack. Oh wait, you can't.
Glenn just posted this today: https://youtu.be/oT4KH4NhekE
“Trump said…” The man is still like a manure spreader on which the operator has died but doesn’t fall out of the seat to activate the dead-man switch.
So many manure spreaders on full-auto.
So little time!
I am convinced it was an inside job
They all are! ;)
Wikileaks has continued to publish what it has. However, without Assange as the figurehead, it's unlikely that Wikileaks will get any more gems.
Since a figurehead is a head in name only, should it matter who heads Wikileaks? Or is it a matter of trust?
Assange was no figurehead. That said he is being destroyed as an object lesson to anyone who tries to follow in his footsteps.
Glenn, You are truly a great reporter, and an excellent writer. It takes a lot of skill to weave something so intricate into something so intelligible upon first read, and a lot of digging to get there. Along the lines of the corrupt media, have you or anyone written about the rise of the so-called news "contributors", who are the paid talking heads of the various networks? When I was a local TV reporter back in the days when news was news (pretty much), we used to interview people (even politicians) for their opinions, but we didn't pay them retainers or talent fees. That would have been considered outright corruption. Not today. Convenience is corruption, and the 24/7 news "cycle" is the mother of convenience.
I am so appreciated for this article. I agree with you totally.
If Assange could facilitate a Trump takedown, the Biden administration would have pardoned him and he’d be a free man hosting his own nightly TV show.
He could be Cuomo's replacement on Cable No News!
And Rachel Maddow would have his baby.
Glenn: I think your closing paragraph is a neat summation of all the points you make in this article. Have we also been deluding ourselves into thinking such conditions which exist in Cuba, China and Venezuela [regarding government control over all media] don't happen here? Another veil is lifted from our idealistic view of America.
The same goes for me. Increasingly I am becoming more and more saddened for America.
I am not trying to be pessimistic, nor am I trying to bash America; what I am saying is this country doesn't always walk the walk, after talking the talk. Interesting that you would speak of journalists being imprisoned by other countries. Hello! Julian Assange. What about James O'Keefe getting his headquarters raided, shortly after the NYT lost their appeal to dismiss Project Veritas's defamation lawsuit? Coincidence? Edward Snowden? General Honore's
illegal gun-grab during Hurricane Katrina?
The rest of the world (who are looking to us for 'inspiration') are waiting on the proletariat to stand up and resist the tyranny (and media propaganda) they're already experiencing in the good ol' USA. Our current responses to it would have our Founding Fathers disgusted. Like I am.
Our government is an outlier. There is no reason to believe it will last.
Glenn, I am curious as to what you think the ultimate solution must be for the CIA? I have a theory that Eisenhower used "the Military-Industrial Complex" as a euphemism, because he dared not refer to Allen Dulles and the CIA directly in that farewell speech, but that he had come to regret the power they had amassed over the elected government and foreign policy in the post-war years. It has been over 70 years now that our government has been absolutely incapable of exercising oversight over the Agency, and consequently our presidents over their own foreign policy; its accounts and budget are not meaningfully auditable, which should outrage fiscal conservatives and anti-Deep Statists. I think the secrecy must be lifted from everything our foreign policy and intelligence establishment does going forward, with a carefully delineated area of the most top secret activities having maybe a five or seven year window before the sunlight floods in. Other thoughts as to ultimate remedies? "Abolish the CIA" and "Defund the Deep State" will make good bipartisan slogans going forward
Get real. The deep state is what keeps both parties in power; neither one is going to campaign to defund it.
Uh, after what they did to Trump and then the differential treatment they gave to Trump supporters compared to BLM? I'd say the right might.
Given what happened to Trump when he went up against them? Even if he somehow manages to run and win in 2024, you’re going to see precious few smaller fish campaigning that way.
Moreover, it’s the deep state that gives the elected officials the power they exercise. It’s not in their interest to dismantle it.
Finally, the claim was that it would be a good -bipartisan- slogan. If it’s just right vs left, we’ll never amass the clout to really deal with it. Trump tried, with majorities in both houses, and accomplished basically nothing on that front, despite all his accomplishments in other areas.
I mean, I hope I’m wrong; I’d love to see it. But I doubt that I will.
I don't think Trump really tried though. He just rearranged the deck chairs. In the past year tho I've heard outlets on the right talking about reining them in. AG, Federalist, etc. Not saying it's likely but I think possible, with Dem prospects diminishing.
Hope you're right. Time will tell.
Why would he try and try to do what, exactly?
Trump's only crime in the eyes of power was his reluctance to wage war.
No argument, I guess. But you still need broad support to “finish the job”, and it just isn’t out there. The incentive structure for a legislator is not in the direction of limited government.
The deep state is not an 'option, the deep state is der staat.
For what it's worth, I once saw a bumper sticker that stated simply, "Imagine the world without the CIA." To this day, many years later, the statement leaves me breathless.
There are plenty of other intelligence agencies.
Just came here to ask this as well. I would think that defunding is the best path forward, and i've heard some on the right suggest that. Obviously Democrats will oppose it. But even that is not going to cut it as you point out, because they'll just lie and obfuscate and hide the budget in other ways. Abolishing them seems like a challenging thing to do, even though you gotta wonder how much good they've actually done compared to the harm. In a world where we're worried about a rising China and still worry about Russia, it seems like a tough sell. But we definitely need more oversight and to rein them in.
I suspect that Glenn would say that stronger whistleblower protections are the important first step, for those who expose violations of national and international law. Obviously the Assange prosecution shows we are nowhere in that department--forget whistleblowers, even the publishing journalists can't be protected from the Deep State foreign policy establishment (aka Military Industrial Complex)! This is why the Assange defense remains priority #1, and ultimately some kind of Assange Act. And then funding reductions for the intelligence apparatus and the drastic curtailment of top secrecy classifications.
I think you may underestimate the adversary and the tactics at their command. Sound whistleblower would most likely only mean that those waving the agenny's dirty linen around would get whacked in private, instead of prosecuted in (sort of) public. That might slightly reduce the intimidation factor, but probably not by much.
To consider all the things they miss and get wrong, and then weigh out all the evil and corruption they are involved in, it would be a clear victory for America and Americans to eliminate them
I always cringe when I see Eisenhower given plaudits for exposing the MIC. While I must admit that his address did put the phrase into the common vernacular, we tend to forget that he was a principal archictect in establishing that very entity, and that he didn't call it out while he had any power to apply any remedy for it, nor before he had maximally benefited from it. Very, very weak sauce, in my estimation.
Because he knew they would kill him.
The guy is a delusional madman. But that the revolving door with the media is so dangerous is NOT self-evident to everybody who gets their information from NBC, CNN and the others. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly put it, those who read the newspapers know less than those who don't.
Mark Leibovich's book "This Town" covers the blending of DC politics and media. This blending of DC law enforcement and spooks with media seems a new twist.
We need legislation that prevents national politicians and government employees from taking media positions for at least five years after their government role ends.
Keep up the good work, Glenn. The craziest thing about all this is the extreme about face within the left. They aren’t even hiding the fact that they get a bit moist when the State enters into a conversation. It’s an obsession, and a dangerous one at that. A great many progressives are hell bent on encouraging the State to protect them from themselves.
I would not deny those progressives the right to exchange their own Liberty for such a vain and hopeless pursuit of Safety. They have NO right, nor my permission, to take any action which so barters my Liberty along with their own. Any attempt to do so will anger me, and I reserve the privilege to react to their attempted sacrifice of my Liberty with extreme prejudice.
Ah the games we play!
The key to unraveling this rat's nest is who really killed Seth Rich?
We were and continue to be the victims of a disinformation operation carried out by operatives of our intelligence agencies and allied law enforcement agencies - FBI, CIA, NSA, DOJ, the Department of State and most likely the Office of the President of the United States.
Please consider this, the Mueller Team that has some 150 FBI agents at its beck and call came up with nothing. The Mueller Report concluded it could not find any evidence of Russian Collusion and too boot used illegal tactics to sweat close associates of then President Trump to rat on Trump. Nada!
Please see my earlier article at the American Thinker:
"Secretary Hillary Clinton and the Deep State: A RICO Criminal Conspiracy"
https://tinyurl.com/s9wk2fc
and my related articles at the American Thinker:
https://tinyurl.com/s9wk2fc
Please see my earlier article that laid out the Clinton "pay to play scam" as a RICO criminal enterprise on the subject of the "DNC hack":
The New World Order and the Deep State vs. We the People
https://tinyurl.com/tzutut9
. . . Consider for a moment the DNC hack wasn’t a hack at all but a leak by a disgruntled DNC worker who had physical access to the server and copied the files to a thumb drive or similar. This thumb drive was then handled directly to a WikiLeaks operative. Julian Assange continues to deny he received the DNC files from the Russians. There is no doubt the Russians, the North Koreans, and the Chinese and other intel agencies were in Hillary Clinton’s homebrew server. And yet we were assured with high confidence by our intel agencies Russians operatives did the DNC hack.
The CIA was actively involved in this coup. The CIA likely spearheaded the retargeting of the FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. How convenient to blame the Russians for the DNC hack and tie it to the Russian collusion in the effort to blame Trump. There was likely forensic evidence that the Russians were in Hillary Clinton’s server, but were they the source of the leak of the DNC files? The forensic attribution of a hack with any degree of certainty is complicated at best. The NSA and the CIA have tools to spoof others to cover for their intrusions. Are CIA Director Brennan and DNI Director James Clapper being truthful with their attribution of the DNC hack to the Russians? They have both lied in testimony in Congressional Hearings — another ruse to cover their tracks and others regarding the abuse of power.
Seth Rich. Inside job.
“ Draining the swamp is akin to Jesus, overturning the tables of the money changers in the Temple.”
Cuckoo.
Really? In what way?
Much of this originates with the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which was passed into law with the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. It basically opened the door to state-sponsored propaganda against a domestic audience. Ask James Risen, he’ll know all about it.
Bingo!
Thank you and BRAVO !!
Figliuzzi. Makes me think of the word unctuous, as in greasy and slimy. Does this report mean we cannot trust the FBI? I am shocked! But then I recall that age old adage: If cops weren’t cops, they’d be criminals.
I offer my thanks, again, to GG. His name is on my list of journalists, along with Alex Berenson. Right off hand I can’t think of any others.
Matt Taibbi on substack
There are many -- Aaron Mate, Ben Norton, Max Blumenthal, Matt Taibbi, Richard Medhurst, Jimmy Dore, etc... -- "scott m", where have you been until now?
Jimmy Dore? What? You a comedian?
Jimmy Dore is a national asset. Have you ever listened to him?
Yes. Imus had better hair. So Dore is a persuasive social critic? Okay. But I would never, as in never, equate what Dore does to what Greenwald and Berenson do, which is journalism.
Don't we need persuasive and funny social critics? Why to utterly dismiss Jimmy Dore in your initial comment?
Sometimes imparting important information can be dome by channels other that 'journalism." Lenny Bruce challenged social norms, censorship and many other things that journalists of that time could or would not effectively deal with. Mort Saul and others broke barriers and political constraints and informed millions of people who might not bury themselves in written reporting. Even Bill Maher, whom I don't care for, has the power to slay giants who masquerade as leaders and sages. Journalism is just one branch of the information river that effects social policy, politics and many other aspects of our culture.
That river is now being dammed, diverted, polluted and has tons of. toxic waste poured into it on a daily basis. Glen and others are becoming the newest and best "river keepers" of our time.
However, the OP did name the category "journalists". Comedians may be, and frequently are, politically useful, as well as amusing, but the standards for evaluating the two categories very much differ. For one example, comedians are free to deal in exaggeration and ficticious accounts, ntm calumny and mild slander. Journalists are required to deal in supportable facts. OTOH, journalists rarely need to time a punchline.
Amazingly, I do not disagree. Totally out of character.
Glenn goes on his show all the time. Glenn likes and respects Jimmy.
Why even bother posting this?
"Scott does not like Jimmy Dore"
That is the sum total of your completely worthless remarks.
Make an argument if you want to be taken seriously. If you can.
Gee, Bill, I hope I didn’t hurt your feewings. Can I send you a Kleen-ex?
Still nothing. Yours is the mindless fact and argument free reply of a child. Your last post was meaningless and futile - as is this one.
You will never have the capacity to affect me in anyway. Sorry.
You mean like I just did, Bill?
"Right off hand I can’t think of any others."
You should get out more then.
Why does that name sound greasy? Figs aren’t greasy. Is it something else about that name?
It’s not the Fig. It’s the uzzi.
It’s pronounced “ootzee” not “oozee”. Regardless, try to avoid ethnic stereotyping in your posts.
Any particular reason why I should?
That attitude would be more persuasive if you had the balls to post under your real name.
You didn’t answer the question, John. And where is the picture of YOUR ballsy face?
I just figured out what this is all about.
FDA/CDC/NIH bureaucrats go to work for Pharma post "government service", via the revolving door, and get paid big bucks. Obama gets $60 million book deals. And "security state" weasels get big money contracts with "news" agencies post "government service" - as long as they've done the bidding of the Oligarchy during their time in power. Arresting the "right sort" of people, etc.
We're looking at the corruption the wrong way round. This is their payday - just like Obama. For a "job well done." The "news" agencies are just money laundering organizations for Oligarchy.
The oligarchy are money laundering organizations for government.
Next we'll find out Trump crossed state lines with loaded Russians intending to attack peacefully protesting FBI agent-turned-reporters.
Not state lines, national borders, incriminating him as a coyote...
That’s true! Don’t you watch NBC?
It's pumped directly into my brain!
I’m nearing 60, and have been “awake” to MSM tactics, but this article combined with others written by GG, has opened my eyes to the total moral bankruptcy of our ruling establishment. Frankly, it’s quite discouraging to realize what has happened to our country over the past 50-years.