A lot of people's brains shut off when the topic of US imperialism comes up. Including in the brains of liberal journalists, and liberals in general. Everything in their heads has to be consistent with the assumption that this country ultimately means well. If we do something bad, that's somehow an exception, an oopsie-woopsie, an oversight. It's not what defines us. These things are framed as a "betrayal of our values".
They do not understand in their hearts what the United States actually is. You are what you do. What are values that you constantly betray? This violence is what defines us. The implications of the United States being a rapacious gangster state are very dire. The conclusions you have to draw after that is that we do not live under any authority that can be justified as morally defensible. That's a really bad feeling.
I think until journalists, and people more broadly, start to have a feeling of true hate in their hearts for US imperialism, we will not see much progress in domestic affairs either. If you can't be honest about who you are, you can't really be honest about how you get to a better place.
I worked in newsrooms for 20 years, including one national cable news outlet that is not Fox News. My feeling is that withholding information like the Venezuela operation is also dictated, to a large degree, by the expectation that doing so would result in outrage by a large portion of the public - directed not at the administration, but at the media outlet for "endangering the troops." It would create a loud and long-running talking point for the right, result in loss of advertising, harassment / threats to staff, etc.
I'm not suggesting that the decision to sit on the story was morally or ethically justified. But it does show the importance of independent media in these matters. Major news organizations that are beholden to advertisers, shareholders, etc. are forced to make decisions like this.
"Journalists don't work for the United States of America." That should be in letters 6 feet high in every newsroom and the screen background on the computer of every journalist. If every story has to be previewed/vetted by the government, it's just PR. "News is something which somebody wants suppressed: all the rest is advertising."
On the one hand journalists openly declaring that they are in some sense "anti-American" doesn't seem like the smartest move tactically. OTOH it's hard to imagine things getting much worse than they are now
I’ll admit I’m a bit conflicted here. Off the top I supported the decisions of those news outlets to not report this aggressive action. But this is the first I’m hearing of those civilian causalities from the raid. In addition, Hamilton brings up other legitimate points in favor of reporting an event like this once a journalist becomes aware of it. Being an honest and trustworthy journalist requires at least as much courage as being a front line soldier.
Resisting a huge compelling force like nationalism, forgetting for the moment you are not just an American, but a human being first and foremost, has to be an exceptionally difficult call. What makes it more difficult, it would seem, is that even if the reporting is in fact for the benefit of America as well as the world, its easily twisted into a breach of national security, traitorous, and now even criminal. Its very clear our freedom of speech is being undermined.
It seems journalism is not just a tougher job than it use to be, but exponentially more dangerous. Just the extraordinary number of journalist killed in the last couple of years should give us pause.
When we speak about the public good, it is often from an elitist perspective, with some people leading other people. I think good journalism focuses on community creativity, analyzes how the organizers came together, what they did to create an event, how they attracted participants, and so on. If journalists could explain to people how to be creative, it would go a long way to encouraging community cohesion.
Freedom of the Press means if they know they are free to report it. If they want to. Without fear of government reprisal.
Snowden was not a journalist. He gave info to journalists. If ok for journalists to print the info then why was he charged?
Assange? Wikileaks? Why did he have to hide?
So if they report it before the attack someone is going to jail. Military secrets even if many disagree are an area where a journalist needs to tread lightly.
Ethics? Some journalists are ethical. Others are not. Yellow journalism has been around a long time.
Many think presenting " both sides" is good reporting. Not when lies are equated with objective truths and facts.
Greater good? Subjective. Some report on such issues. Most news stories are about fires, floods, crashes, and what gets views.
A great journalist might not find anyone willing to read their stories. Or pay for them.
Most readers are not interested. Not even capable of understanding.
Nobody owed anyone this information before it happened. With the internet it would have botched it.
If someone knew the Bin Laden operation was underway should they have broken the story?
Of course not.
A good reporter will expose the lies when drugs are mentioned as the reason. He just pardoned a convicted Honduran politician drug kingpin. So a good journalist will not report that lie that Maduro was arrested for drug offenses.
I suppose there are journalists and reporters. A reporter does not think.
Easy call. And had I been a journalist who had knowledge of the Bin Laden operation, and that it was a kill not capture job, that would have been easy call as well.
America is the most evil nation in the world at present; and a big reason for that is a populace brainwashed by government narrative and propaganda.
Thanks for making this important point, Nolan. I only read msm to see what's being reported and what's not. Otherwise I get my news from sources that have proven to be accurate over time.
America evil? At present? Working towards that but Russia has that honor all to itself. Edit. North Korea actually is worse. We would have to say evil leaders more so than evil countries. Maduro was by all accounts evil. Arresting him is not a bad thing. Why he was taken and what will happen later can be either good or evil. Taking out Hussein or the Taliban were not evil. The intentions behind why they were may have been. The actions and inaction afterwards were either evil, incompetence or from ignorance. Hamas did evil. The Israelis responded and eventually their actions were deemed evil too. Again, poor leaders controlling an ignorant mass of millions of humans leads to terrible things. Would you have let Clinton assassinate Bin Laden before 911? Or have exposed and reported it? Always difficult choices involved. Bin Laden should have been taken out, in hindsight. Yet maybe another takes his place. The underlying issues remain. Most here in the USA are brainwashed by their religious leaders, then FOX and OAN, Sinclair and any number of foreign actors using social media. When and if they are told the truth by others they are not capable of discerning fact from fiction. This is a worldwide cognitive trait. Known throughout history. European leaders have not taken a strong stance against our wannabe dictator. They have not filled the void left by the US in Ukraine. More weak than evil. Yet he won by saying Europe needs to spend to help itself. Same with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The US is in huge debt. The credit card is nearing its limit. Russia is no threat to Europe. It could not even conquer Ukraine. Europe only needs to rely less on Russian oil and gas. Just as worse as evil countries are the evil corporations that control leaders and countries. They may eventually control all media if we are not careful. A year until our next election. If we have one. Would be great if Journalists showed up to help reach the brainwashed masses in rural America? Or the brainwashed conservative Christians? I do not know of any. Might just all have to hope for massive inflation or a recession to expose their incompetence. Millions of Americans might just blame others for it. Lots of stupid here.
Always possible. Unlikely in this case. Can you provide any facts, evidence or reason to the contrary? If so I am willing to evaluate the situation. Which if brainwashed I would not look at new information or new sources. Right? I do not limit where my information comes from.
I look at current events through a long lens of history and human behavior.
The US has done terrible things in Central and South America. Cuba too. Under the guise of stopping "communism" while putting in puppet dictators. So I would not jump to conclusions. What we did in Bolivia is inexcusable. I see that as a crime against humanity. Kissinger and others should have been jailed.
Same with Iran in 1953. Then Vietnam.
I was against the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan after 911. It was obvious to me that the US was doing another Vietnam style military takeover.
So questions to ask and find answers to.
For instance did US sanctions cause the problems or did Chavez cause them and Maduro struggled and things grew worse.
US corporations took massive profits for over a century out of Venezuela. So we are complicit and not totally innocent.
But back to Maduro. So, why did millions flee the country? Was the last election rigged? Why are political opponents attacked, jailed or worse? Is this all propaganda and everyone there is sipping margaritas on a beach?
Is Maduro a nice guy and I am just brainwashed? There are a lot of bad evil leaders. Many times it is out of necessity. Kill or be killed.
So am I brainwashed? What is the evidence Maduro is a competent and honest leader? That he cares about the people of his country?
Is he a drug dealer? I don't think anyone cares. If he was selling us oil cheap he could have a reporter killed and be invited to the White House. That others are evil doesn't mean he isn't.
So going forward will the US back a democracy? Or just install a puppet authoritarian?
Now, cheap oil is on Trump's mind. Maybe. Or he is just seeing how much power he can use without Congress and the Courts stopping him. Turning the US into a corrupt authoritarian regime for himself and others to profit while everyone else suffers.
Past human behaviors indicate future potential behaviors.
Maduro should have paid Trump the bribe he was asking for. Kissed his ring. It isn't about oil, democracy or Venezuela.
When a malevolent narcissist is in power it is about the malevolent narcissist.
Maybe he'll pardon him if he finds a few billion stashed away somewhere.
A lot of people's brains shut off when the topic of US imperialism comes up. Including in the brains of liberal journalists, and liberals in general. Everything in their heads has to be consistent with the assumption that this country ultimately means well. If we do something bad, that's somehow an exception, an oopsie-woopsie, an oversight. It's not what defines us. These things are framed as a "betrayal of our values".
They do not understand in their hearts what the United States actually is. You are what you do. What are values that you constantly betray? This violence is what defines us. The implications of the United States being a rapacious gangster state are very dire. The conclusions you have to draw after that is that we do not live under any authority that can be justified as morally defensible. That's a really bad feeling.
I think until journalists, and people more broadly, start to have a feeling of true hate in their hearts for US imperialism, we will not see much progress in domestic affairs either. If you can't be honest about who you are, you can't really be honest about how you get to a better place.
“It’s looking pretty dark.”
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/they-kidnapped-maduro-because-the
I worked in newsrooms for 20 years, including one national cable news outlet that is not Fox News. My feeling is that withholding information like the Venezuela operation is also dictated, to a large degree, by the expectation that doing so would result in outrage by a large portion of the public - directed not at the administration, but at the media outlet for "endangering the troops." It would create a loud and long-running talking point for the right, result in loss of advertising, harassment / threats to staff, etc.
I'm not suggesting that the decision to sit on the story was morally or ethically justified. But it does show the importance of independent media in these matters. Major news organizations that are beholden to advertisers, shareholders, etc. are forced to make decisions like this.
"Journalists don't work for the United States of America." That should be in letters 6 feet high in every newsroom and the screen background on the computer of every journalist. If every story has to be previewed/vetted by the government, it's just PR. "News is something which somebody wants suppressed: all the rest is advertising."
On the one hand journalists openly declaring that they are in some sense "anti-American" doesn't seem like the smartest move tactically. OTOH it's hard to imagine things getting much worse than they are now
I’ll admit I’m a bit conflicted here. Off the top I supported the decisions of those news outlets to not report this aggressive action. But this is the first I’m hearing of those civilian causalities from the raid. In addition, Hamilton brings up other legitimate points in favor of reporting an event like this once a journalist becomes aware of it. Being an honest and trustworthy journalist requires at least as much courage as being a front line soldier.
Resisting a huge compelling force like nationalism, forgetting for the moment you are not just an American, but a human being first and foremost, has to be an exceptionally difficult call. What makes it more difficult, it would seem, is that even if the reporting is in fact for the benefit of America as well as the world, its easily twisted into a breach of national security, traitorous, and now even criminal. Its very clear our freedom of speech is being undermined.
It seems journalism is not just a tougher job than it use to be, but exponentially more dangerous. Just the extraordinary number of journalist killed in the last couple of years should give us pause.
When we speak about the public good, it is often from an elitist perspective, with some people leading other people. I think good journalism focuses on community creativity, analyzes how the organizers came together, what they did to create an event, how they attracted participants, and so on. If journalists could explain to people how to be creative, it would go a long way to encouraging community cohesion.
Tough call.
Freedom of the Press means if they know they are free to report it. If they want to. Without fear of government reprisal.
Snowden was not a journalist. He gave info to journalists. If ok for journalists to print the info then why was he charged?
Assange? Wikileaks? Why did he have to hide?
So if they report it before the attack someone is going to jail. Military secrets even if many disagree are an area where a journalist needs to tread lightly.
Ethics? Some journalists are ethical. Others are not. Yellow journalism has been around a long time.
Many think presenting " both sides" is good reporting. Not when lies are equated with objective truths and facts.
Greater good? Subjective. Some report on such issues. Most news stories are about fires, floods, crashes, and what gets views.
A great journalist might not find anyone willing to read their stories. Or pay for them.
Most readers are not interested. Not even capable of understanding.
Nobody owed anyone this information before it happened. With the internet it would have botched it.
If someone knew the Bin Laden operation was underway should they have broken the story?
Of course not.
A good reporter will expose the lies when drugs are mentioned as the reason. He just pardoned a convicted Honduran politician drug kingpin. So a good journalist will not report that lie that Maduro was arrested for drug offenses.
I suppose there are journalists and reporters. A reporter does not think.
Easy call. And had I been a journalist who had knowledge of the Bin Laden operation, and that it was a kill not capture job, that would have been easy call as well.
America is the most evil nation in the world at present; and a big reason for that is a populace brainwashed by government narrative and propaganda.
Thanks for making this important point, Nolan. I only read msm to see what's being reported and what's not. Otherwise I get my news from sources that have proven to be accurate over time.
Thank you
America evil? At present? Working towards that but Russia has that honor all to itself. Edit. North Korea actually is worse. We would have to say evil leaders more so than evil countries. Maduro was by all accounts evil. Arresting him is not a bad thing. Why he was taken and what will happen later can be either good or evil. Taking out Hussein or the Taliban were not evil. The intentions behind why they were may have been. The actions and inaction afterwards were either evil, incompetence or from ignorance. Hamas did evil. The Israelis responded and eventually their actions were deemed evil too. Again, poor leaders controlling an ignorant mass of millions of humans leads to terrible things. Would you have let Clinton assassinate Bin Laden before 911? Or have exposed and reported it? Always difficult choices involved. Bin Laden should have been taken out, in hindsight. Yet maybe another takes his place. The underlying issues remain. Most here in the USA are brainwashed by their religious leaders, then FOX and OAN, Sinclair and any number of foreign actors using social media. When and if they are told the truth by others they are not capable of discerning fact from fiction. This is a worldwide cognitive trait. Known throughout history. European leaders have not taken a strong stance against our wannabe dictator. They have not filled the void left by the US in Ukraine. More weak than evil. Yet he won by saying Europe needs to spend to help itself. Same with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The US is in huge debt. The credit card is nearing its limit. Russia is no threat to Europe. It could not even conquer Ukraine. Europe only needs to rely less on Russian oil and gas. Just as worse as evil countries are the evil corporations that control leaders and countries. They may eventually control all media if we are not careful. A year until our next election. If we have one. Would be great if Journalists showed up to help reach the brainwashed masses in rural America? Or the brainwashed conservative Christians? I do not know of any. Might just all have to hope for massive inflation or a recession to expose their incompetence. Millions of Americans might just blame others for it. Lots of stupid here.
Ella, what if your belief that Maduro is "evil" is just the next level of brainwashing after the more blatant Fox News type doesn't work?
Always possible. Unlikely in this case. Can you provide any facts, evidence or reason to the contrary? If so I am willing to evaluate the situation. Which if brainwashed I would not look at new information or new sources. Right? I do not limit where my information comes from.
I look at current events through a long lens of history and human behavior.
The US has done terrible things in Central and South America. Cuba too. Under the guise of stopping "communism" while putting in puppet dictators. So I would not jump to conclusions. What we did in Bolivia is inexcusable. I see that as a crime against humanity. Kissinger and others should have been jailed.
Same with Iran in 1953. Then Vietnam.
I was against the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan after 911. It was obvious to me that the US was doing another Vietnam style military takeover.
So questions to ask and find answers to.
For instance did US sanctions cause the problems or did Chavez cause them and Maduro struggled and things grew worse.
US corporations took massive profits for over a century out of Venezuela. So we are complicit and not totally innocent.
But back to Maduro. So, why did millions flee the country? Was the last election rigged? Why are political opponents attacked, jailed or worse? Is this all propaganda and everyone there is sipping margaritas on a beach?
Is Maduro a nice guy and I am just brainwashed? There are a lot of bad evil leaders. Many times it is out of necessity. Kill or be killed.
So am I brainwashed? What is the evidence Maduro is a competent and honest leader? That he cares about the people of his country?
Is he a drug dealer? I don't think anyone cares. If he was selling us oil cheap he could have a reporter killed and be invited to the White House. That others are evil doesn't mean he isn't.
So going forward will the US back a democracy? Or just install a puppet authoritarian?
Now, cheap oil is on Trump's mind. Maybe. Or he is just seeing how much power he can use without Congress and the Courts stopping him. Turning the US into a corrupt authoritarian regime for himself and others to profit while everyone else suffers.
Past human behaviors indicate future potential behaviors.
Maduro should have paid Trump the bribe he was asking for. Kissed his ring. It isn't about oil, democracy or Venezuela.
When a malevolent narcissist is in power it is about the malevolent narcissist.
Maybe he'll pardon him if he finds a few billion stashed away somewhere.
So, is Maduro evil? Make your case.
Money talks and bullshit walks, right? And th means of production is held by th moneyed interests. Biting th hand and whatnot. Whores all.