Wanted: Media in America interested in reporting real events of national interest.
Where is the missing media in this country’ Have we morphed to such a sorry state of affairs that the majority of Americans are indifferent or ignorant of current events which can have long term effects upon all of us’ Is the missing media conspiring to keep the average American in the dark about issues crucial to each of us as well as to the economic viability of this country’
I think it’s time we started getting concerned over this matter.
Unless you have been in a coma or in some remote part of the world that doesn’t have internet service, you are probably vaguely aware that we (the nation) are in the midst of a major economic crisis that is threatening to severely damage our country as well as other countries around the globe.
This morning at 7:30 AM, I Googled ‘economic crisis’ and found there were 996 news articles about Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Mr. Bernanke is in the middle of trying to come up with a workout plan which could eventually cost the American taxpayer some 700 billion (billion!) tax dollars to bail out various banks along with savings and loan companies who invested in poorly underwritten mortgages. This amount is equal to almost 13.99 % of our total 9.7 trillion dollar national debt. So, in effect we are adding another 13.99% to our national debt in one fell swoop if this plan is approved and placed into effect.
You would think this would be the most major topic of interest in today’s news, wouldn’t you’ But is it’
Not hardly. At 7:30 this morning, there were 1123 news stories on the fact that some American Idol star named Clay Aikens was announcing that he was gay. There were nearly 1200 news stories about David Blaine the magician, hanging upside down for some period of time in New York City. Last but certainly not least were 1305 stories about the firing of the Detroit Lions president. I’m certain this is of interest to those in Michigan, but somehow I think the facts concerning the nations economy going into the toilet is vastly more important. I could be wrong.
I’ll go you one better, this year… Enron, you remember them from a few years ago, has gotten 3% of the total news coverage in this country. More than has been reported about the debacle we are witnessing before our very eyes on the misdeeds of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. To recap what is going on there that you will not hear in the left wing media enterprises around the country, I offer these facts:
During the Clinton administration, the rules were relaxed for underwriting of home loans and mortgages to allow disadvantaged citizens to obtain so called ‘affordable’ housing. A lot of these were first time buyers. Many of these loans were so-called ‘no-doc’ loans meaning the borrower did not have to provide proof (documentation) of their finances or income situation. These poorly made loans were given to many people who could not afford the payments. These loans were then bundled in large numbers and sold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two quasi governmental entities. These two corporations sold off large bundles of these loans to other investors in the United States and throughout the financial markets. It goes without saying that a lot of people made a lot of money on each and every step of these transactions. In addition to this growing fiasco, there was little oversight over any of these companies or their practices. Everyone was making a lot of money, so what was the big deal’
In 2005 the Republicans in Congress attempted to correct the matter before it reached viral proportions. Their voice was drowned out by the Democrats and Congressman Barney Frank announced that “Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were both sound and secure”. You will not hear this on any liberal news source. Nor will they complain or comment about their lack of interest in bringing these facts to light.
In fact you won’t hear much at all about the root causes of the matter. Everyone wants to ignore the 800 pound gorilla sitting in the middle of the room. The attitude currently in Washington is to ‘fix it and fix it fast’ without giving any adequate thought to the effects upon the already overpowering national debt or what kind of safe guards should be enacted to prevent this from occurring in the future. Although there is talk concerning the possibility of an FBI criminal investigation, I predict nothing of any consequence will come from this as most of the major players are entirely too well connected.
No, I predict the corrective measures will be passed, the 700 billion will be added to our national burden and the average Joe will continue to be glued to his or her boob tube anxiously awaiting today’s news of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton. It seems they would rather do this than question why corporate and political greed is not being reported or even on the radar screen of today’s liberal news sources.
And the sad thing is, they don’t really seem to care.