Reply #10: Will is a witness

[Jack Rabbit]

Will Pitt is a witness to the mendacity of the American mainstream media. He was refused a microphone simply because he gave voice to views that the powerful did not want to be heard.

The corporate control of the media is one of many forces, either public and private, that today threatens American democracy. The media today is in fewer and more homogeneous hands than ever before. It is the owners of these homogeneous hands who determine who is to be heard, for how long and in what context. The message is to serve the rule of the power elite over the people, not the right of the people to make informed decision about public affairs.

We ask only for truth and a wide diversity of opinion. It will not do to propagate loudly the Bush regime's lies and later print or broadcast a muted correction. It will not do give Ann Coulter air time and replace reasoned discourse with invective and facts with unfounded accusations while more reasonable and informed voices go unheard. It will not do on a national broadcast to ignore hard news and waste the entire day with stories about a missing child in Utah, a domestic hostage situation in New Jersey or a bride with cold feet in New Mexico.

I have this dream. In my dream, I turn on my TV and CNN is on. Some talking head is there to do the top of the hour report. In my dream, the talking head says, "Today in Iraq, the 26,000 liters of anthrax, the 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, the 500 tons which is one million pounds of sarin, mustard and VX gas, the 30,000 munitions to deliver these agents, the mobile biological weapons labs, the uranium from Niger and the robust nuclear weapons program that George W. Bush told us about in his January 2003 State of the Union address were, once again, not found anywhere. Now here's Flappy with the weather."

In contrast to Will's dream, I have a nightmare. In this nightmare, a taking head is there at the top of the hour and says, "Today in Iraq, in sites near Baghdad and Tikrit, mass quantities of anthrax, botulinum toxin and 500 tons of nerve gas were found along with long range missiles capable of hitting targets in the Midwest." Except it wouldn't be true and there would be no one to say that it isn't.

"Now here's Nancy to tell us why that scumbag in Waycross, Georgia who murdered his wife and kids yesterday should be arrested and hanged."