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by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
March 28, 2006
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Americans are decent people, who wouldn't stand for this utterly un-American Bush administration -- if they knew what was happening. But most Americans don't know, because corporate-controlled media like CNN are simply not reporting the news.
When so much hangs in the balance, that's beyond irresponsible. It's treason, and unlike Republican namecallers, I don't toss the word 'treason' lightly. The word has two definitions in my dictionary:1. Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
2. A betrayal of trust or confidence. It is no exaggeration to describe George Bush as America's enemy. He and his cohorts stand foursquare against every principle America is proud of, from 'open, honest government' to 'freedom of speech', from 'innocent until proven guilty' to 'liberty and justice for all'. American troops are at war in two nations without any sane reason, and the Bush-Cheney administration is leading the nation toward a third war...
And the news is nowhere to be found at CNN. It is obvious that CNN and other American news media have betrayed any trust Americans once had for journalism.
If you have the time and internet savvy to seek out alternative and foreign news sources, then you know that America is in grave peril. We have a President who has never told Americans the truth about anything, who has exercised abysmal judgment about remarkably important matters, who breaks the law with impunity and announces it plainly and often. The Bush-Cheney administration has committed dozens of impeachable offenses, but it's impeach-proof, because Bush's Republican Party controls Congress, and allows no oversight of the White House.
But if you don't have the time or don't know where to look beyond bland American mainstream news, chances are you don't know much of the above.
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CNN even has the chutzpah to end its radio newscasts with the most frightening words regularly aired on any commercial broadcasts:
"This is CNN, the most trusted name in news."
If that's true, that's why Americans don't know the grave peril their nation faces.
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There's much more than this at Unknown News.
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We don't have cable TV, and haven't for years. Instead we listen to lots of talk radio, on a local station that plays CNN Radio News at the top of the hour. In a four-minute newscast, CNN's top story is almost perpetually pabulum. CNN will reliably report when the latest pretty white woman is kidnapped, or when somebody's lost kitten is found, or when a celebrity is caught in an embarrassing situation.
Do you know what I learned, listening to CNN Radio News on Sunday and Monday? A dog playing 'fetch' with its owner somehow got a stick lodged in its throat. The sexiest woman in show business is no longer Jessica Alba or Angelina Jolie, it's now Scarlett Johansson. The Muslim divorce chant ("I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee") is legal, even if the husband is such a coward he says it while his wife is asleep.
And no, I am not making this up. That was the news at the heart of CNN Radio's hourly news updates.
When CNN Radio News actually does touch on a subject that's newsworthy, they'll first make sure all the facts that matter are removed. Yesterday, for example, CNN Radio News reported that the House of Representatives had passed an immigration bill, and that Congressional Representatives applauded when it passed. CNN mentioned nothing about the content of this despicably evil bill that will, if it becomes law, illegalize babysitting for "illegal" immigrants, outlaw giving "illegals" a lift or a sandwich or a Band-Aid. CNN said nothing about the huge protests that have been held against this bill, nothing about the Catholic Church's stand against it, nothing to provide any context at all. They merely reported that a bill had passed the House, and members of Congress applauded.
Then it was back to the fluff and non-news stuff. A preacher's wife is accused of killing her reverend husband. Somebody's house burned down. An NFL player was arrested for boisterous dancing at a night club. That's the standard for CNN's radio newscasts -- all this in a newscast that only lasts four minutes, presented just once an hour, with each hour's newscast almost invariably including a few minutes of "rerun" material from the previous hour.
For us, since we're listening to an ongoing, fairly intelligent discussion of news on a talk radio station, the break for CNN News isn't a break for the news, it's a break from the news. But it's a syndicated newscast, so those few minutes of fake news are the only news listeners will hear on hundreds of rock'n'roll, jazz, or oldies stations, all across America.
Which means, millions of listeners will hear virtually no news. Or fake news.
CNN even has the chutzpah to end its radio newscasts with the most frightening words regularly aired on any commercial broadcasts: "This is CNN, the most trusted name in news." If that's true, that's why Americans don't know the grave peril their nation faces.
CNN, and its equally empty colleagues at Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS, have helped the White House convince Americans that the nation's most dangerous enemy is an Iraqi rebel, or an al Qaeda terrorist. But that's a lie, and most professional reporters aren't dummies; they must know it's a lie.
America's most dangerous enemy, by far -- the enemy seeking to destroy our way of life and eliminate our freedoms -- is the enemy in our midst -- the enemy in our White House.
Media that won't report that fact, is media that's aiding and abetting the enemy.
© by the author.
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I can't afford therapy, but boy do I need it. So as an affordable alternative, I pound my anger into a weekly column here.
Fair warning: My parents were repressed -- using any bad words would get my mouth washed out with soap, literally. I still remember the sickly flavor of DoveTM. So as an adult, vulgarity helps with the healing. If naughty language offends you, beat the rush and get offended now.
This page is for my own good, not yours, so you may not like it, but I don't care.
About the authors
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Helen and Harry Highwater have published Unknown News since 1997. We're a married couple sharing a byline à la Lennon and McCartney, and "I" can be either of us, or both of us. If you're consumed by curiosity, it's safe to assume the more boisterous and aggressive bits come from Helen, and anything ladylike or demure is probably Harry's work.
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Do you know what I learned, listening to CNN Radio News on Sunday and Monday?
A dog playing 'fetch' with its owner somehow got a stick lodged in its throat.
The sexiest woman in show business is no longer Jessica Alba or Angelina Jolie, it's now Scarlett Johansson.
The Muslim divorce chant ("I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee") is legal, even if the husband is such a coward he says it while his wife is asleep.
And no, I am not making this up.
That was the news at the heart of CNN Radio's hourly news updates.
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Previous articles by Helen & Harry Highwater:
Is the President an adult?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
We interrupt the bad news for a brief pep talk
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Stand up for something, damn it
by Helen & Harry Highwater
What kind of 'patriot' supports a tyrant?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Time to oppose the phony opposition
by Helen & Harry Highwater
President Charles Manson
by Helen & Harry Highwater
What's for dinner at the Hanoi Hilton?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
The bully at the bully pulpit
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Truth or dare, America
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Bush administration spying targets reporters, activists
by Helen & Harry Highwater
No, Virginia,
we're not libertarians
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Letter to the editor
by Proud American, with a response from Helen & Harry Highwater
A whisper of optimism
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Muhammad Ali is a scumbag
by Helen & Harry Highwater
On behalf of God Himself, I endorse Alito for Supreme Court
by Helen & Harry Highwater, as Jerry Falwell
The old guy in a sweatshirt
by Helen & Harry Highwater
The emperor wears no mental clothes
by Helen & Harry Highwater
I'm filing bankruptcy
by Helen Highwater
Our long national nightmare is just beginning
by Helen & Harry Highwater
"Mission accomplished" for FEMA
by Harry Highwater
Police roadblock freedom in America
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Our phone number
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Fuck you, George W. Bush
by Helen & Harry Highwater
A forgotten man, one of many
by Helen & Harry Highwater
The daily compromise
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Are you for freedom, or against it?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
The unspoken subtext of Karl Rove's treason:
Support your local CIA
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Cabbages don't count
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Back to basics: Question authority
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Anatomy of another lie
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Constipated and liquefied logic
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Be careful crossing the street, ya damn kids!
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Monsters in America,
from Deep Throat to James Watt to Christopher Cox
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Mainstream media:
Completely on board with Bush administration lies
by Helen & Harry Highwater
A Pope to be ashamed of
by Helen & Harry Highwater
What can we do about the stolen election?
by Atomicktom and
Helen & Harry Highwater
The President who cried "wolf!"
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Defeating terrorists without wars
by Helen & Harry Highwater
If you're not for Bush, you're French ... or al Qaeda
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Rescuing America from tyranny
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Separation of church and state
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Who would Jesus vote for?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Godless hippie scumbag
traitors who hate the troops
by Helen & Harry Highwater
To tell the truth
by Helen & Harry Highwater
What kind of bloody savages
would kill people and drag
their corpses along the road?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Our serial killer nation
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Judging Judging Amy
by Helen & Harry Highwater
An apology and an endorsement
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Rights, responsibilities, and acknowledgement
by Peace-Thru-Reason and
Helen & Harry Highwater
Los Angeles Times memo orders reporters to fudge the truth
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Our perspective on Terri Schiavo
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Who deserves freedom of speech? And who doesn't?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Two years of lies about Sept. 11
The new Warren Commission
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Criticizing Israel
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Is it terrorism to be a patriot?
Or is it just like Red Dawn, only with turbans?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Bush knocks on Armageddon's back door
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Why I won't be at the victory parade
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Company fined $6,000 for
answering customer's questions
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Clint Eastwood, and US foreign policy
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Do you love America? Do you?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Google refuses our ad
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Reasonable deaths in a nonsense war
by Helen & Harry Highwater
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