Periodicals

A Salute To The Free Press And Committed Journalists!

Ronald 2 Comments

As the year 2022 goes into the history books, and 2023 brings its new challenges, it is time to applaud and salute the free press and committed journalists for pursuing truth and facts, and continuing the never ending battle for freedom and democracy in the United States and worldwide.

Those who attack the free press in America and elsewhere are enemies that must be challenged and confronted in every way possible, as it is the free press that promotes progress and shows us reality.

Evil is a force that is always present, but we must thank committed journalists, newspapers, periodicals, and cable and internet websites that continue to pursue the goal of expanding basic civil rights and humane outcomes in the midst of the constant barrage of mistruths, propaganda, and discrimination.

So whenever someone attacks the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Politico, Huffington Post, and a multitude of other news media, they are attacking all decent people who simply want to live their lives wishing for the promotion of peace, tranquility, and the protection and betterman of human rights worldwide.

115th Congress To Open, On Heels Of Three Worst, Most Unproductive Congresses In Modern History Since World War II!

Ronald 19 Comments

Today is the opening day of the 115th Congress, on heels of the three most unproductive Congresses in modern history since World War II, and we are on the way to the most corrupt, disgraceful Congress in all of American history, including the Gilded Age years of the late 19th century.

It is as if the Republican majority in Congress is out to repeal the 20th century, going back to the 1920s Congresses that came before the Great Depression, caused by Republican policies, and rectified in great measure by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s.

The whole concept of a national government that was concerned about the economic status of its people, promoted by the New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society, as well as the reforms brought about under later Presidents, including Barack Obama, seem about to be wiped out in great measure by the nasty, vindictive, uncaring right wing Republican Party, which is not even embarrassed about getting rid of their ethics committee, brought about by Congressional scandals a decade ago. Now the thought is, who cares what the public thinks about sex and financial scandals, as we will simply push them under the rug!

That is why the news media, particularly the major newspapers and periodicals and electronic media MUST not allow themselves to be cowed into silence, as it is only the responsible news media that will be able to inform us of the truth and preserve light in a time of darkness.

This is a time for mourning, but one can be assured that the Republicans will pay the price long term for the sins, misdeeds, and even crimes they are now about to perpetrate in harming women, children, workers, the poor, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the environment, racial minorities, gays and lesbians, immigrants, Muslims, and all other oppressed groups who now are faced with the most right wing extremist Congress in nearly a century.

The “Biased” Media: The Right Wing Much More Powerful Than Many People Realize!

Ronald 8 Comments

The Republican Party and right wing conservatives LOVE to claim that news media–including newspapers, periodicals, radio, television, cable–are all distorted toward liberal and progressive viewpoints!

This is a great farce and lie, total propaganda!

Yes, of course, there are media which are promoting the viewpoint of the left side of the political spectrum!

But the right wing has built a solid, powerful media empire, as well as having “think tanks” that spew forth propaganda on a daily basis!

Some examples, incomplete, of the right wing influence in news media follow, in no special order:

Rush Limbaugh
Glenn Beck
Michael Savage
Sean Hannity
Bill O’Reilly
Mark Levin
Ann Coulter
Michelle Malkin
Laura Ingraham
Michael Reagan
Fox News Channel
Wall Street Journal
Washington Times
New York Post
News Max
National Review
The Weekly Standard
The American Spectator
The American Conservative
The Heritage Foundation
The Drudge Report
The Cato Institute
Family Research Council
Red State
Christian Coalition
The John Birch Society
Freedom Works
Tea Party Express
Tea Party Patriots
Judicial Watch
Conservapedia
Republican National Committee

Here we have 32 leading examples, but there are many more, so the idea that the right wing has little influence or impact is certainly NOT true!

The Tragedy Of The Closing Of Borders Bookstores Long Term!

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The news this week of the immediate closing of Borders Bookstores is a great tragedy in so many ways that most people do not realize!

How is this a terrible development that will have an effect on the American people and the economy?

1. It cuts alternative choices for books, music and movies in a major way, and less competition means higher prices at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other alternative locations for these products!

2. It means we are closer to the time when the bookstore as a place to browse, socialize, meet people, and have vigorous discussions among friends, is going to disappear, as the signs are clear that eventually there will be no such bookstores in a few years, except maybe in major metropolitan areas!

3. It means the era of the printed hard cover and paperback books is coming to an end soon, as electronic reading will soon be the only way available, much as it is becoming true in the newspaper and periodical industry, and that is a major tragedy of tremendous proportions!

4. Almost 400 stores are closing, affecting the local economy of many shopping malls and retail locations, and causing the loss of approximately 10,700 workers jobs, adding to the unemployment rate in many states in the Union!

5. The reverberating effect of these closures will cause the loss over time of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the book industry, the printing industry, the music and movie production industry, and many other retail establishments, as shopping declines in many areas will cause loss of other jobs and closing of other business establishments!

6. The ability in the past to get “lost” in bookstores in the excitement of discovery through wandering through book shelves and picking up titles and being able to glory in the life of the mind is rapidly disappearing and will never be recovered, and that experience will not be shared by young people in the future! One might say local libraries can do this, but local libraries will not buy hard copies of books as much anymore, and many libraries nationally are being cut back or eliminated because of lack of funding!

So the future literacy and experience of the life of the mind in the form of physical books is going to be lost overtime, no matter how one looks at it! Barnes and Noble will survive, hopefully, but may very well give up physical bookstores except in major cities, and be only available online and in electronic form, much like Amazon.

And that is, again, a terrible tragedy in itself!

The Coming Collapse Of Print Newspapers And Periodicals! A Sign Of Reading Decline And Loss Of The Work Ethic!

Ronald 1 Comment

As part of the economic recession that America has been experiencing for the past few years, we are, tragically, witnessing the rapid decline, and in many ways, collapse of print media in America! 🙁

After seeing earlier the disappearance of daily newspapers in Seattle and Denver, and the rapid loss of advertising revenue and circulation of many other daily newspapers, causing major layoffs at even leading newspapers, such as the NY Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, we are now also witnessing the apparent end of the Washington Times, and even of news magazines on a weekly basis. 🙁

The Washington Post is out to sell Newsweek, which it has owned since 1961, and which has been in publication since 1933. Time Magazine is also losing its advertising and circulation base rapidly, and US News and World Report went from a weekly to a monthly in 2008. 🙁

It is not just the economic crisis, but also the rapid growth of cable and the internet and blogs which has caused the deterioration of the print media.

But also, there are signs that the decline of daily newspapers and weekly news magazines in print is due to the accelerating downturn of READING by millions of Americans, not only the young who would rather spend time on social media and listening to music, but also their parents and older people in general. 🙁

With this rapid collapse of reading, we are in danger as a nation of becoming more ignorant and dumb, and that is a danger sign for democracy, as demagogues can more easily manipulate those who are ill informed! 🙁

It is also a threat for the work ethic and the sustainability of a society, in which the motivation to work and contribute is lost to many younger people who care more about fun and entertainment than work and responsibility! 🙁

When the work ethic and ambition and desire to learn is lost, as it is rapidly occurring even in the colleges of the nation, the United States is entering a crisis of massive proportions! 🙁

How can a nation advance and progress, and remain a world leader, if educational standards and reading are in rapid decline, and it is considered that it is, somehow, good, to be ignorant and dumb? 🙁