AMERICAN PROPAGANDA MACHINE

SO, WHAT STARTED ME ON THIS "STUDY" WAS THAT AMERICAN TV REPORTER FROM "RUSSIA TODAY" ( YES, MANY AMERICAN JOURNALISTS WORK FOR 'RUSSIA TODAY') MAKING A BIG SHOW OF RESIGNING ON AIR FROM RT, SAYING IT WAS CONTROLLED BY THE RUSSIAN STATE...THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT.
I LAUGHED SO HARD I FELL OFF MY LAUNCH PAD.
I THOUGHT, "WHERE THE HELL WILL SHE GET A JOB WHERE THE GOVERNMENT (WHICH IS CONTROLLED BY THE BIG CORPORATIONS, ITS CAMPAIGN-FUNDERS AND BANKERS) DOES NOT CONTROL THE NEWS, USE PROPAGANDA? NOT IN AMERICA! NOT ANYWHERE ON EARTH!"
MONEY RUNS THE MAIN SHOW, MONEY DICTATES THE NEWS, AND OUR GOVERNMENTS, ALL OF THEM, USE PROPAGANDA TO THE MAX!
SHE LOOKS THE FOOL FOR HER PERFORMANCE.
MAYBE SHE CAN FIND A NEW CAREER...WHAT OTHER MEDIA WOULD TOUCH HER NOW?

HAVE SOME PROPAGANDA?
  
 Propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to influence opinions. Propaganda is not only in advertising; it is also in radio, newspaper, posters, books, and anything else that might be sent out to the widespread public.
THE POSTER ABOVE AND THE ONE BELOW WERE REAL POSTERS, PRINTED BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND WIDELY DISTRIBUTED.
WHY, YES, YES, BACK THEN THE U.S. WAS PROUD TO USE THE PHRASE 'STAY ON THE JOB UNTIL EVERY MURDERING JAP IS WIPED OUT!"

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT put a lot of those "japs" in concentration camps here in America...but you may call them "detention centers"...which is what FEMA calls such as is prepared for American citizens across the land...and, n case of "disaster" or "civil unrest", when the NATION needs to hold citizens for a time, FEMA is ready!
WE CAN HOPE WE DON'T GO TO GITMO....RIIIIGHT?

PROPAGANDA...NO ONE CAN BE ANY BETTER AT PROPAGANDA THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
WE ARE THE BEST!

BUT MOST CITIZENS HAVE NEVER STUDIED AMERICAN PROPAGANDA, OR ANY PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES...
SO, THE TEA ROOM HAS COME UP WITH A "SHORT COURSE", FREE OF CHARGE,  TO BE ENJOYED WITH ANY CUP OF HEMLOCK IN THE PLACE...OR ANY OTHER FARE...
THIS IS A SERIOUS STUDY, A SHORT REALISTIC LOOK AT WHAT THE "EXPERTS" SAY ABOUT AMERICAN (AND OTHER) PROPAGANDA.
GO AHEAD, LEARN...ALWAYS TRY TO LEARN ONE NEW THING EACH DAY...TODAY, IT'S PROPAGANDA...

Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position. Propaganda statements may be partly false and partly true. Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media in order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes.

As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political, religious or commercial agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of ideological or commercial warfare.

While the term propaganda has acquired a strongly negative connotation by association with its most manipulative and jingoistic examples (e.g. Nazi propaganda used to justify the Holocaust), propaganda in its original sense was neutral, and could refer to uses that were generally benign or innocuous, such as public health recommendations, signs encouraging citizens to participate in a census or election, or messages encouraging persons to report crimes to law enforcement, among others.

The term comes from modern Latin, originally derived from a new administrative body of the Catholic Church created in 1622, called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for Propagating the Faith), or informally simply Propaganda. Its activity was aimed at "propagating" the Catholic faith in non-Catholic countries.
From the 1790s, the term began being used also for propaganda in secular activities.
The term began taking a pejorative connotation in the mid-19th century, when it was used in the political sphere.

Defining propaganda has always been a problem. The main difficulties have involved differentiating propaganda from other types of persuasion, and avoiding an "if they do it then that's propaganda, while if we do it then that's information and education" biased approach. Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell have provided a concise, workable definition of the term: "Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist."
More comprehensive is the description by Richard Alan Nelson: "Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels. A propaganda organization employs propagandists who engage in propagandism—the applied creation and distribution of such forms of persuasion."
Both definitions focus on the communicative process involved — or more precisely, on the purpose of the process, and allow "propaganda" to be considered objectively and then interpreted as positive or negative behavior depending on the perspective of the viewer or listener.

Propaganda is generally an appeal to emotion, rarely to intellect

Propaganda can be classified according to the source and nature of the message.
~"White propaganda" generally comes from an openly identified source, and is characterized by gentler methods of persuasion, such as standard public relations techniques and one-sided presentation of an argument.
~"Black propaganda" is identified as being from one source, but is in fact from another. This is most commonly to disguise the true origins of the propaganda, be it from an enemy country or from an organization with a negative public image.
~"Grey propaganda" is propaganda without any identifiable source or author. A major application of grey propaganda is making enemies believe falsehoods using straw arguments: As phase one, to make someone believe "A", one releases as grey propaganda "B", the opposite of "A". In phase two, "B" is discredited using some strawman. The enemy will then assume "A" to be true.

[THE NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS ARE IMPORTANT:]
In scale, these different types of propaganda can also be defined by the potential of true and correct information to compete with the propaganda. For example, opposition to white propaganda is often readily found and may slightly discredit the propaganda source. Opposition to grey propaganda, when revealed (often by an inside source), may create some level of public outcry. Opposition to black propaganda is often unavailable and may be dangerous to reveal, because public cognizance of black propaganda tactics and sources would undermine or backfire the very campaign the black propagandist supported.
Propaganda may be administered in insidious ways. For instance, disparaging disinformation about the history of certain groups or foreign countries may be encouraged or tolerated in the educational system. Since few people actually double-check what they learn at school, such disinformation will be repeated by journalists as well as parents, thus reinforcing the idea that the disinformation item is really a "well-known fact", even though no one repeating the myth is able to point to an authoritative source. The disinformation is then recycled in the media and in the educational system, without the need for direct governmental intervention on the media. Such permeating propaganda may be used for political goals: by giving citizens a false impression of the quality or policies of their country, they may be incited to reject certain proposals or certain remarks or ignore the experience of others.

In the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the propaganda designed to encourage civilians was controlled by Stalin, who insisted on a heavy-handed style that educated audiences easily saw was inauthentic. On the other hand the unofficial rumors about German atrocities were well founded and convincing.

Specific techniques
THIS IS A VERY SHORT LIST OF SPECIFIC MEANS USED TO MAKE FOLKS SWALLOW PROPAGANDA...A LONGER LIST IS AT THE LINK GIVEN, BUT THERE ARE MORE TECHNIQUES THAN ARE LISTED EVEN THERE.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
Scholars have identified many standard techniques used in propaganda and persuasion.
[THIS IS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO JUST LOVE THOSE "PEER-REVIEWED/MAINSTREAM MEDIA 'SOURCES'"
SEE HOW MANY YOU CAN RECOGNIZE ON TONIGHT'S NEWSCASTS!]

Ad hominem
    A Latin phrase that has come to mean attacking one's opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments.

Ad nauseam
    This argument approach uses tireless repetition of an idea. An idea, especially a simple slogan, that is repeated enough times, may begin to be taken as the truth. This approach works best when media sources are limited or controlled by the propagator.

Appeal to authority
    Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position, idea, argument, or course of action. [NOTE: WORKS WELL ON SHEEPLE PEOPLE]

Appeal to fear
    Appeals to fear and seeks to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population; for example, Joseph Goebbels exploited Theodore Kaufman's 'Germany Must Perish!' to claim that the Allies sought the extermination of the German people.
[NOTE: ALSO WORKS WELL ON SHEEPLE]

Appeal to prejudice
    Using loaded or emotive terms to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition. Used in biased or misleading ways.

Bandwagon
    Bandwagon and "inevitable-victory" appeals attempt to persuade the target audience to join in and take the course of action that "everyone else is taking".

Inevitable victory
    Invites those not already on the bandwagon to join those already on the road to certain victory. Those already or at least partially on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is their best course of action.

Join the crowd
    This technique reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning side. This technique is used to convince the audience that a program is an expression of an irresistible mass movement and that it is in their best interest to join.

Beautiful people
    The type of propaganda that deals with celebrities or depicts attractive, happy people. This suggests if people buy a product or follow a certain ideology, they too will be happy or successful. [WHAT ABOUT BEAUTIFUL? heh heh}

The Lie
    The repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify subsequent action. The descriptions of these events have elements of truth, and the "big lie" generalizations merge and eventually supplant the public's accurate perception of the underlying events. After World War I the German stab-in-the-back explanation of the cause of their defeat became a justification for Nazi re-militarization and revanchist aggression.

Black-and-white fallacy
    Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being propagated as the better choice. For example: "You're either with us, or against us...."

Classical conditioning
    All vertebrates, including humans, respond to classical conditioning. That is, if object A is always present when object B is present and object B causes a physical reaction (e.g., disgust, pleasure) then we will when presented with object A when object B is not present, we will experience the same feelings.

Cognitive dissonance
    People desire to be consistent. Suppose a pollster finds that a certain group of people hates his candidate for senator but loves actor A. They use actor A's endorsement of their candidate to change people's minds because people cannot tolerate inconsistency. They are forced to either dislike the actor or like the candidate.

Common man
    "The "plain folks" or "common man" approach attempts to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the common sense of the people. It is designed to win the confidence of the audience by communicating in the common manner and style of the target audience. Propagandists use ordinary language and mannerisms (and clothe their message in face-to-face and audio-visual communications) in attempting to identify their point of view with that of the average person. With the plain folks device, the propagandist can win the confidence of persons who resent or distrust foreign sounding, intellectual speech, words, or mannerisms.
For example, a politician speaking to a Southern United States crowd might incorporate words such as "Y'all" and other colloquialisms to create a perception of belonging.

Cult of personality
    A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. The hero personality then advocates the positions that the propagandist desires to promote. For example, modern propagandists hire popular personalities to promote their ideas and/or products.

Demonizing the enemy
    Making individuals from the opposing nation, from a different ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be subhuman (e.g., the Vietnam War-era term "gooks" for National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam aka Vietcong, or "VC", soldiers), worthless, or immoral, through suggestion or false accusations. Dehumanizing is also a termed used synonymously with demonizing, the latter usually serves as an aspect of the former.
[NOTE: EVERY NATION ON EARTH LOVES TO FALL FOR THIS ONE!]

Dictat
    This technique hopes to simplify the decision making process by using images and words to tell the audience exactly what actions to take, eliminating any other possible choices. Authority figures can be used to give the order, overlapping it with the Appeal to authority technique, but not necessarily. The Uncle Sam "I want you" image is an example of this technique.

Disinformation
    The creation or deletion of information from public records, in the purpose of making a false record of an event or the actions of a person or organization, including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures, broadcasts, and sound recordings as well as printed documents.

Door-in-the-face technique
    Is used to increase a person's latitude of acceptance. For example, if a salesperson wants to sell an item for $100 but the public is only willing to pay $50, the salesperson first offers the item at a higher price (e.g., $200) and subsequently reduces the price to $100 to make it seem like a good deal.

Euphoria
    The use of an event that generates euphoria or happiness, or using an appealing event to boost morale. Euphoria can be created by declaring a holiday, making luxury items available, or mounting a military parade with marching bands and patriotic messages.

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
    An attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative and dubious/false information designed to undermine the credibility of their beliefs.

Flag-waving
    An attempt to justify an action on the grounds that doing so will make one more patriotic, or in some way benefit a country, group or idea the targeted audience supports.
[TEAMS BUSH1 & 2 USED THIS ONE MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE I EVER SAW USE IT.]

Foot-in-the-door technique
    Often used by recruiters and salesmen. For example, a member of the opposite sex walks up to the victim and pins a flower or gives a small gift to the victim. The victim says thanks and now they have incurred a psychological debt to the perpetrator. The person eventually asks for a larger favor (e.g., a donation or to buy something far more expensive). The unwritten social contract between the victim and perpetrator causes the victim to feel obligated to reciprocate by agreeing to do the larger favor or buy the more expensive gift.

Glittering generalities
    Glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words that are applied to a product or idea, but present no concrete argument or analysis. This technique has also been referred to as the PT Barnum effect.


Managing the news
    According to Adolf Hitler "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over." This idea is consistent with the principle of classical conditioning as well as the idea of "Staying on Message."
[THIS IS WHAT AMERICA HAS DOWN-PAT!]

Milieu control
    An attempt to control the social environment and ideas through the use of social pressure
[USED INCESSANTLY IN "THE NEWS"]

Rationalization (making excuses)
    Individuals or groups may use favorable generalities to rationalize questionable acts or beliefs. Vague and pleasant phrases are often used to justify such actions or beliefs.

Red herring
    Presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are irrelevant to the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the argument.

Repetition
    This is the repeating of a certain symbol or slogan so that the audience remembers it. This could be in the form of a jingle or an image placed on nearly everything in the picture/scene. This also includes using subliminal phrases, images or other content in a piece of propaganda.

Scapegoating
    Assigning blame to an individual or group, thus alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.
[YOU WILL SEE THIS VERY OFTEN!]

Virtue words
[PAY ATTENTION, PLEASE, TO HOW THIS WORKS.]
    These are words in the value system of the target audience that produce a positive image when attached to a person or issue. Peace, happiness, security, wise leadership, freedom, "The Truth", etc. are virtue words. Many see religiosity as a virtue, making associations to this quality effectively beneficial. Their use is considered of the Transfer propaganda technique.

MODELS OF PROPAGANDA
Social psychology
Social cognitive theories suggest that people have inherent biases in the way they perceive the world and these biases can be used to manipulate them. For example, people tend to believe that people's misfortune (e.g., poverty) is a result of the person and downplay external factors (e.g., being born into poverty). This bias is referred to as the Fundamental Attribution Error.

Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model
The propaganda model is a theory advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that argues systemic biases in the mass media and seeks to explain them in terms of structural economic causes.

    The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
The propaganda model is a theory advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that argues systemic biases in the mass media and seeks to explain them in terms of structural economic causes. [^review of Carey, Alex (1995) Taking the Risk out of Democracy: Propaganda in the US and Australia, University of NSW Press.]
First presented in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media 

Ross' epistemic merit model
  The epistemic merit model is a method for understanding propaganda conceived by Sheryl Tuttle Ross and detailed in her 2002 article for the Journal of Aesthetic Education entitled "Understanding Propaganda: The Epistemic Merit Model and Its Application to Art".
Ross developed the Epistemic merit model due to concern about narrow, misleading definitions of propaganda. She contrasted her model with the ideas of Pope Gregory XV, the Institute for Propaganda Analysis, Alfred Lee, F.C. Bartlett, and Hans Speier. Insisting that each of their respective discussions of propaganda are too narrow, Ross proposed her own definition.

To appropriately discuss propaganda, Ross argues that one must consider a threefold communication model: that of "Sender-Message-Receiver. "
That is... propaganda involve[s]... the one who is persuading (Sender) [who is] doing so intentionally, [the] target for such persuasion (Receiver) and [the] means of reaching that target (Message)." There are four conditions for a message to be considered propaganda. Propaganda involves the intention to persuade. As well, propaganda is sent on behalf of a sociopolitical institution, organization, or cause. Next, the recipient of propaganda is a socially significant group of people. Finally, propaganda is an epistemic struggle to challenge others' thoughts.
Throughout history those who have wished to persuade have used art to get their message out.

Modern propaganda
19th century

Propaganda as generally understood, is a modern phenomenon that emerged from the creation of literate and politically active societies informed by a mass media, where governments increasingly saw the necessity for swaying public opinion in favour of its policies.
A notable example was perhaps during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, where Indian sepoys rebelled against the British East India Company's rule in India. Incidents of rape committed by Indian rebels against English women or girls were exaggerated to great effect by the British media to justify continued British colonialism in the Indian subcontinent At the time, British newspapers had printed various accounts about English women and girls being raped by the Indian rebels. It was later found that some of these accounts were false stories created to perpetuate the common stereotypes of the native people of India as savages who need to be civilized by British colonialists, a mission sometimes known as "The White Man's Burden". One such account published by The Times, regarding an incident where 48 English girls as young as 10–14 were supposedly raped by the Indian rebels in Delhi, was criticized as a false propaganda story by Karl Marx, who pointed out that the story was reported by a clergyman in Bangalore, far from the events of the rebellion.

Gabriel Tarde's Laws of Imitation (1890) and Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1897) were two of the first codifications of propaganda techniques, which influenced many writers afterward, including Sigmund Freud. Hitler's Mein Kampf is heavily influenced by Le Bon's theories.

Modern propaganda techniques
Afghan War
In the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, psychological operations tactics were employed to demoralize the Taliban and to win the sympathies of the Afghan population. At least six EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft were used to jam local radio transmissions and transmit replacement propaganda messages. Leaflets were also dropped throughout Afghanistan, offering rewards for Osama bin Laden and other individuals, portraying Americans as friends of Afghanistan and emphasizing various negative aspects of the Taliban. Another shows a picture of Mohammed Omar in a set of crosshairs with the words "We are watching."

American propaganda in Iraq
To achieve their aim of a moderate, pro-western Iraq, US authorities were careful to avoid conflicts with Islamic culture that would produce passionate reactions from Iraqis, but differentiating between "good" and "bad" Islams has proved challenging for the US.News of the Bataan Death March sparked outrage in the US, as reflected in [many] posters.

The US implemented something called "Black Propaganda" by creating false radio personalities that would disseminate pro-American information but supposedly run by the supporters of Saddam Hussein. One radio station used was Radio Tikrit.
Another example of America's attempt with Black Propaganda is that the US paid Iraqis to publish articles written by American troops in their newspapers under the idea that they are unbiased and real accounts; this was brought forth by the New York Times in 2005.The article stated that it was the Lincoln Group who had been hired by the US government to create the propaganda, however their names were later cleared from any wrongdoing.

The US was more successful with the "Voice of America" campaign, which is an old Cold War tactic that exploited people's desire for information.
In November 2005, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, alleged that the United States military had manipulated news reported in Iraqi media in an effort to cast a favorable light on its actions while demoralizing the insurgency. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman in Iraq, said the program is "an important part of countering misinformation in the news by insurgents", while a spokesman for former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the allegations of manipulation were troubling if true. The Department of Defense confirmed the existence of the program.

Propaganda aimed at AmericansThe extent to which the US government was guilty of propaganda aimed at its own people is a matter of discussion. The book Selling Intervention & War by Jon Western argued that president Bush was "selling the war" to the public.
President George W. Bush gave a talk at the Athena Performing Arts Center at Greece Athena Middle and High School Tuesday, May 24, 2005 in Rochester, NY. About halfway through the event Bush said, "See in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

People had their initial reactions to the War on Terror, but with more biased and persuading information, Iraq as a whole has been negatively targeted. America's goal was to remove Saddam Hussein's power in Iraq with allegations of possible weapons of mass destruction related to Osama Bin Laden.Video and picture coverage in the news has shown shocking and disturbing images of torture and other evils being done under the Iraqi Government.
[MANY OF THESE WERE LATER REVEALED TO BE MERELY CONTRIVED, HIRED ACTORS, OR PEOPLE WHO AGREED TO HELP THE U.S. IN THIS WAY.]

Propaganda directed at Children
Of all the potential targets for propaganda, children are the most vulnerable because they are the most unprepared for the critical reasoning and contextual comprehension required to determine whether a message is propaganda or not. Children's vulnerability to propaganda is rooted in developmental psychology. The attention children give their environment during development, due to the process of developing their understanding of the world, will cause them to absorb propaganda indiscriminately. Also, children are highly imitative:
Anti-Semitic propaganda for children
In Nazi Germany, the education system was thoroughly co-opted to indoctrinate the German youth with anti-Semitic ideology. This was accomplished through the National Socialist Teachers League, of which 97% of all German teachers were members in 1937. It encouraged the teaching of "racial theory."
WHEN WE LOOK AT AMERICAN SCHOOLS TODAY, DON'T WE SEE THE SAME THING?
DON'T LIE TO YOURSELVES...YOU REMEMBER SCHOOL, YOU REMEMBER THE INDOCTRINATION, THE MIND-FIXING THAT WENT ON.
AND PARENTS, PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY AT THOSE CUTE PICTURE-BOOKS. SOME ARE NOT FIT FOR YOUNG MINDS.

I LIKE http://www.prwatch.org/
SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T QUITE CONTAIN THEIR OWN ENTHUSIASM, BUT, FOR THE MOST PART, I FIND THEM A GOOD PLACE TO READ.
TWO RECENT ARTICLES THERETO SHOW YOU HOW THINGS REALLY WORK, AND THAT YOU CAN SEE THIS FOR YOURSELVES IF YOU WANT TO...

1~ Big Telecom Bankrolls a National Network of Stink Tanks
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12397/big-telecom-corporations-are-funding-benefiting-froma-network-rightwing-stink
Comcast and Time Warner Cable also financially underwrite a large network of state-based "think tanks" that work to push ALEC's corporate agenda into law.

As detailed in CMD's November 2013 report, "Exposed: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-wing Network Helping To Hijack State Politics and Government," the State Policy Network is a network of 64 right-wing "think tanks" -- which CMD dubbed "stink tanks" -- that was founded in part by ALEC. These in-state special interest groups push largely the same national corporate-backed agenda of ALEC in state legislatures.
Other Stink Tanks Get in on the Action

WPC is not the only SPN stink tank active on telecom issues. Over the years, several SPN affiliates have pushed policies that would benefit the network's big telecom corporate funders, including:

    Colorado's Independent Institute strongly opposed Colorado's Telecommunications Modernization Act in 2012, which would eliminate subsidies to telecom corporations, expand rural broadband service,and phase out phone fees. Not surprisingly, ALEC member CenturyLink opposed the bill.

    Missouri's Show-Me Institute has called for regulatory reform to allow statewide franchises for cable companies.

    The Georgia Public Policy Foundation has supported rolling back several regulations on telecom corporations including eliminating utility commission jurisdiction over consumer issues and filing requirements that helps keep prices and costs fair for consumers. GPPF has also called for removing sales taxes on telecom corporations' investments.

    North Carolina's John Locke Foundation has consistently called for removing taxes on telecom corporations, claiming it would lead to lower costs.

    Maryland's Free State Foundation, an associate member of SPN, receives "nearly all of its funding from telecommunications companies and trade groups," including AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, according to a report by Communications Daily. The group focuses on telecommunications issues, and regularly calls for the deregulation of FCC and lowering taxes on telecom corporations.

Total Scope of Telecom Funding Remains Unknown
It is unclear how much big telecom corporations have funneled into the stink tanks network. Based off a document of SPN's 2010 funders CMD has uncovered, AT&T contributed between $25,000 to $99,000 to SPN in 2010, while Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon all contributed between $5,000 and $25,000 each in that year. Last year both Comcast and Time Warner Cable were sponsors of SPN's September 2013 conference in Oklahoma City.

Although SPN and its affiliated think tanks are not required to disclose their donors, a list of 2010 corporate and individual contributors of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, one of SPN's Texas affiliates and one of the largest SPN stink tanks in the country, provides insight into the big telecom funding behind the stink tanks network. In 2010 alone, that Texas stink tank received funding from AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable.
NOOOO, SURELY NOT!
YUP, TRUTH.
GET SOME...
2~ HERE'S ANOTHER EYE-OPENER FOR YOU:
Keystone PipeLIES Exposed: The Facts on Petroleum Politicians, Crude Money and Media Spin
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12402/keystone-pipelies-exposed-petroleum-politicians-crude
"THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE (API) IS THE FOURTH BRANCH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!"
The American Petroleum Institute Is the "Fourth Branch of Government"
"You cannot move a piece of legislations through Congress in the year 2013 unless the American Petroleum Institute proposes it," says Public Citizen Energy Program director Tyson Slocum. "You cannot move legislation without their consent. They are a de facto fourth branch of government."

"They are one of the most profitable industries in the world, and they're throwing that money into Washington, DC," says Kate Colarulli. "They're buying politicians. When we see politicians that vote the oil the agenda, we see 500 times as much contributions coming from oil companies than we see going to politicians who don't vote the oil agenda."

For example, look to South Carolina, where Republican Senator Tim Scott, who sits on the Energy and Natural resources Committee, gave the GOP's weekly address and offered his full-throated support to KXL. Of course, he also decried opponents of the pipeline for killing jobs in favor of the environment.

Why was a newly appointed senator from South Carolina, a state not known for its thriving petroleum industry, stumping to build a foreign corporation's pipeline that doesn't come anywhere near his home state? Possibly because the oil and gas industry is among his largest sources of campaign contributions.

The $153,000 Scott has received from oil and gas contributors is a comparatively low take for a legislator willing to do the industry's bidding. In Washington, DC, a city where climate denial is something of a cottage industry, those who are willing to toe the corporate line can make out very well indeed.

The list of climate deniers in Congress is not a short one, but looking at the top achievers in the field shows a strong correlation between vehemence and campaign cash, just as Colarulli describes.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000057745&year=2011

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED OR LOOKED AT WHO FUNDS YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHO CONTRIBUTES HUGE WADS OF CASHOLA/PAYOLA TO BUY THEM THOSE OFFICES?
YES, EVERY OFFICE IS FOR SALE AND CORPORATE AMERICA BUYS THEM.

YOU CAN "FOLLOW THE MONEY" ON EACH OF THEM, IF YOU WANT TO...YOU HAVE TO WANT TO.
http://www.followthemoney.org/
AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "JUSTICE AT RISK:AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS", WRITTEN BY A JUDGE, IT APPEARS:
http://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/ACS_Justice_at_Risk_6_24_13_0.pdf
A JUDGE, PART OF THAT SYSTEM, SOMEONE WHO OUGHT TO KNOW, ASKS,
"WHY ELSE DO DONORS GIVE LARGE AMOUNTS TO JUDICIAL CANDIDATES EXCEPT TO INFLUENCE THEM?"
<<In all other races for public
office, contributors would say
that they give to campaigns to ensure that
candidates are elected who will represent
their interests and to give them access to
that public official when issues arise. What do
donors in judicial races get in return? Judges
are not supposed to “represent” anyone; they
are supposed to be wed to “the law.” “access”
is certainly not needed because judges are
forbidden to conduct “ex parte” communications
about a case, which is one of the most basic
tenets of our judicial code of conduct. Judges,
without bias or favoritism, are expected to rule
solely on the facts and the law in a particular case">>

BUT THEY DON'T, NO, THEY DO NOT.
WE ALL HAVE OUR BIASED NOTIONS, OUR PERSONAL BELIEF SYSTEM, AND DAMN FEW CAN SET THAT ASIDE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY WANT A HUGE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION FROM THOSE WHO FUND THE "JUDICIAL SYSTEM".
THAT'S JUST HOW IT GOES, AND MORE JUDGES ARE SAYING SO EVERY YEAR!
AS ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

WE HAVE TO FACE IT...CORPORATE AMERICA AND ITS CAMPAIGN DONATIONS, ITS LOBBYISTS, ITS MEGA-MONEY AND "FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES" CONTROLS THE MEDIA AND TRIES TO CONTROL EVERY MIND IN AMERICA.

IS RESISTANCE FUTILE?
NO...BUT GET SOMEONE TO SEE THAT....GOOD LUCK!

GOOD OL' AMERICAN PROPAGANDA...A HELLUVA LOT BETTER THAN ANY OTHER NATION'S ON THIS EARTH...NO BRAGS, JUST FACTS.
WE ARE THE BEST AT IT, BUT, AS ANYONE CAN SEE, WE'RE SLIPPING.
TOO MANY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY "BABY-BOOMERS" CAUGHT ON BACK IN THE 1960s WHEN THE VIETNAM WAR WAS EXPOSED AS A WAR BASED ON AMERICAN GREED AND LIES, & AGAIN IN THE 1990s-EARLY 2000s WHEN BOTH "TEAMS BUSH" WERE CAUGHT IN LIES ABOUT THAT MIDDLE EAST CRAP.
IT'S UNRAVELING...WE CAN THANK EACH OTHER AND THESE KEYBOARDS IN FRONT OF US, THESE SMALL SCREENS, THIS  INTERNET THING, OUR ABILITY TO FILM THE TRUTH AND GET IT POSTED ONLINE IN SECONDS.
WE'RE WAKING UP, SOME, NOT MOST, NOT YET, BUT ENOUGH TO RATTLE THE CAGES OF THE PROPAGANDA EXPERTS.
AND THEIR HASTE MAKES THEM ERR. THEIR TECHNIQUES NEED MODERNIZING TO OUTWIT OUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER BY INTERNET
THEY'RE TRYING SO HARD TO "REGULATE" THE "WORLDWIDE WEB" SO WE CAN'T USE THAT TOOL ANYMORE, BUT SO FAR, FEW HAVE TAKEN A SHINE TO THAT PLAN..
THEY'LL ACCOMPLISH THAT, EVENTUALLY,THAT'S THEIR JOBS, OUR LORDS OF THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE THAT RUNS THIS SHOW.
IT'S DO OR DIE FOR THEM...
BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S DO OR DIE FOR US, TOO.
WE EITHER AWAKEN TO THE BASIC TECHNIQUES AND PASS THAT ON TO EVERYONE WE CAN GET TO LISTEN FOR EVEN 15 MINUTES, OR WE GET GROUND UP IN THE WHEELS OF THAT MASS MEDIA, "THE CORPORATION", AND FEDERAL/STATE/LOCAL PROPAGANDA MACHINE.

AS ALWAYS, WE LEARN, OR WE PERISH.
AND, I AM CERTAIN, THE PROPAGANDA ALREADY EXISTS TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE "PERISH".
THINK, PEOPLE, JUST STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT.
LET YOUR GUT INSTINCT AND YOUR OWN MINDS WORK FOR A CHANGE.