Let the Sunshine In

Welcome to Sunshine Week.

Based on the First Amendment – that in order for a democracy to work, people need information about the government, what it is doing, and who is working on what.

And we have more censorship now than ever before in the history of our country.

And we have a government that wants unfettered access to all our information while we have restrictions placed on what we can know about our government.

BTW: Sunshine week applies only to the government.

It does not apply to corporations, lobbyists, think tanks, or other so called “private” entities that have more influence that we the people do on day to day events.

Look at the sub-prime crisis. Did we the people need to know the truth about what the banks knew was going to happen? Not might happen. They knew that what they were doing was going to crash the economy.

Look at any medical recall and wonder “How did this happen?” Then look at the FDA and realize the direct connection between the guiding board and the board offices of any drug company. Follow the money.

Look at the disaster that is the Iraq War (2003). Who knew that President (sic) Bush and his administration was lying? Technically what he did was a war crime. And we are shielding him from prosecution.

Look at US involvement in Vietnam, Chile, Brazil, the entirety of the African continent in the 60's and 70's. We were the leading cause of human rights violations according to scholars. Try getting access to US government records on our involvement in those countries. This side of impossible, especially if the CIA is involved. What you are able to get your hands on is probably so heavily redacted and censored as to be nearly useless.

Then again, we could use some sunshine on our press and media.

They are the dog and pony in the show that is US capitalism.

The government basically tells them what to print and they print it.

What paper or TV/radio station spoke out against the Iraq War? Aside form Phil Donohue – whose show was canceled and replaced with a pro-war propaganda piece- none.

Or against US action in Venezuela? Or Cuba? Or Burundi?

None.

Show me the socialist reporter on the Buffalo News staff? Or anywhere in Buffalo (Rochester, Olean, Jamestown, Batavia, Niagara Falls) radio?

When was the last time you read the daily paper for the Labor section? I have a business section that tells me all about business concerns. I want a section that tells me about labor issues. I have no faith in the Buffalo News -or any US paper for that matter – to tell me that information.

If the media does not report it, how are we supposed to know about it?

And the media continually kowtows to the interests of the 1%.

As if they matter.

I'm not the 1%. I'm in the 99%. And rarely does the News report on that.

So during this week, take a pledge to look outside of the corporate mainstream and get news and information from independent news sites. Places that the corporate media is afraid to go.

Go to Socialist Action for a socialist perspective on the world.

Go to Democracy NOW! And the Real News Network for daily news and updates.

Check out Free Speech Radio News for an independent international perspective.

Check out Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Project Censored for media criticism and perspectives that are missing and information on media bias. (Just for the record – it is conservative and pro capitalist.)

Check out Workers International News and Labor Notes for a workers and union perspective on events.

Let some sunshine in.

Trust me, you'll never go back to the lame mainstream again.