FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON - DOUBLY BLESSED

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON - DOUBLY BLESSED

     Two notable pivotal points in American History can be considered those marked by the March on Washington in 1963, and also the one that has just passed fifty years later in 2013.   The first was doubly significant because it also was set to commemorate the year of the Emancipation Proclamation a hundred years prior. [1]  After the first March came the Civil Rights legislation of the Sixties, which ensured social and political freedoms that had been sought over the years.   [Many credit the March with passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).]

        The second March on Washington of 2013 is also doubly significant because it represents not only how far American society has come in the present day, but also sends up a flare signal exposing how the system appears to be retrogressing toward pre-Civil Rights era days -- if we are not vigilant.  Such a new commemorative occasion can and should serve to galvanize the activist community into organizing more fervently to reach their collective goals.   So it is not only a way of honoring the past, it becomes also a “wake up call”; to spur us forward into the future to regain our status -- now slipping ground.   Dr. Lowery, a contemporary of Dr. King, recently remarked about an old sermon he found still appropriate today that suggested the more things change, the more they stay the same.    For regardless of our excellent progress, it is astounding that we as a people appear to be facing the same Racism today that we have faced for centuries.   It is just in a different form or format, but the end result is the same.   Why anyone would consider this a “post-racial” society -- simply because we have the first Black President -- is a mystery to those who know better.   In fact that achievement seemed to only “bring out the crazies”.  Some say that instead of “Jim Crow”, we are now confronted with “Mr. James Crow, Esq.” these days.   (But I do not wish to digress.)

            It may be considered somewhat incredulous that though we are at a more “equalized” point in our society, the thrust of the March of 2013 is the same as that of 1963.  The theme of the 1963 March was for “Jobs and Freedom”, and it is the same for the March of 2013.  It is perplexing that what we need in this country for our people and for all people today is still MORE JOBS.  In the Sixties, President Johnson's resolution was to institute the programs of the “Great Society” legislation which helped to elevate many more people through jobs and training that was provided by the government.   There is no chance of that currently with the Ultra-Conservative, Anti-Government, Regressive, Recalcitrant Republican Congress of today.   Never mind that with Government-backed Green and Infrastructure jobs that could be provided by the Government, all people within the society would be able to bring up the standard of living as well as the national economy with their financial contributions.   It would simply be an investment in our collective economic future.

           Dr. King came to the realization later in his career that the real issue in this country -- outside of the unjust war --, was that there is undue poverty in America.   Hence he planned his “Poor People's Campaign” just before his untimely death.   Here we are fifty years later and while politicians and corporations are trying to “bust” the unions, workers have begun to take up the gauntlet to call for a higher and more decent wage against the elitist corporations, which constantly make their billions on the backs of the impoverished with no concern for the circumstance of their fellow man.  

            This is not the way of Dr. King, who left us with many truths to contemplate and to be inspired by. [2]  We have to learn to apply his wisdom in this world.   For he taught:   “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.   Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”   He also taught that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”   Dr. King also warned us that “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”  More ominously he predicted a truism that as a nation “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.  We have guided missiles and misguided men.”   He also left us with this unequaled challenge:   “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”   That is tantamount to the piercing observation he presents in “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.  He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”  

         We love Dr. King and we love his words now that he is an inactive martyr we can admire from afar.  Many in his time did not accept nor ascribe to his advocacy.  Yet he teaches us even today that “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”   “Dedicated individuals”, King points to.  As quiet as it’s kept, that is actually needed even more today than yesterday. 

           As much as we revere Dr. King, many people who were not involved nor who are students of history will erroneously credit him with the organization of the first March on Washington.  However, research will show that the March was the brainchild of the leader of the Pullman Porter’s Union, known as A. Phillip Randolph, but was masterminded by the political genius, Bayard Rustin, a social activist with vast experience.  They had organized a march thirty years earlier to confront racism which was called off under the FDR administration after he made concessions.  However, their continued activism led to the end of racial discrimination in the armed services, among other things.  This time, at the last resort, Rustin was removed from visible participation the actual March due to pressure placed on the Movement by Congressman Adam Clayton Powell and others who feared that word of Rustin’s homosexual orientation would become a blemish on the Civil Rights Movement.

            Although formal alliances with the LGBT community were not obvious at the first March, concern about their rights has risen visibly in place of the mandates produced for the second March.  This would actually be a fitting tribute and credit to the man who fought so hard for the freedom of the many, Bayard Rustin.  What is more President Obama’s office has announced that the highest award of distinction in this country will be given to Rustin and others within the month. 

President Obama’s presence at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington this year was a strict departure from presidential involvement of the first March, because President Kennedy remained at the White House.  Yet he met with leaders of the March ahead of time and even attempted to insinuate some of his own demands of them.  The first March involved speeches by male representatives of Civil Rights, Union leaders, Church leadership and Pacifist groups, along with musical renditions from Peace Movement singers and gospel greats.  The only woman scheduled to speak was Myrlie Evers; but when her flight was delayed, Daisy Bates took her place. 

            Women were always the backbone of many of the Movement matters, but were often relegated to lesser positions in the public eye.  That’s another reason that the Second March was so different.  Linda Johnson Robb spoke in representation of her father, President Johnson.  Caroline Kennedy spoke to represent President Kennedy.  Two prior presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were among the speakers the second time around.  Republican political figures who were invited all declined to attend.  There were also many more people of note from the cinema and media community who stood out this time, such as Forrest Whittaker, Jamie Fox, Ed Shultz, Oprah Winfrey, Al Sharpton and others.

        The only living speaker from the first March, who was then a leader in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), who is now a U.S. Congressman, the Honorable John Lewis finally got a chance to say what he wanted to say.  During the first March, his intended remarks were thought to be too radical for the situation, and he was forced to make modifications.  Mrs. Myrlie Evers, who missed the first March, was able to be a prominent speaker at the Second March on Washington.  Two children of Dr. King, who were very young during the first March, were powerful speakers during the Fiftieth Anniversary.  In fact, the Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington was largely planned by the Rev. Dr. Bernice King, SCLC and the typical Civil Rights and Peace Movement organizations of today.  It is unusual how history tends to repeat itself.

              Precisely at 3:00 p.m. not only were bells to be ringing in Washington, D.C. and across the nation, but it was also at that time fifty years ago that Dr. King gave his extemporaneous, famous “I Have A Dream” speech, which replaced his written one.  Fifty years later it was fitting that the first African-American President, President Barak Obama would be giving the headline speech of the day.  While Obama would not -- nor could not -- be a match for the inimitable oratory of a Dr. King, he did rise

to the occasion in his own right.  We can only hope that the spirit of Dr. King permeated the atmosphere and settled on the consciousness of President Barak Obama. For this President could certainly use some influence in understanding the importance of diplomatic action in foreign affairs.  If Dr. King were alive today, he would have assuredly protested the recent war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the continued use of drone strikes in Pakistan during the present administration.  I think he would descry the killing of Osama Bin Laden instead of capturing him live and leaning the truth of the reason he had such a vendetta against the United States.  That way we could more assuredly combat the real problem.  I also think Dr. King would not have condoned the air strikes in Libya which had to have also killed innocent people.  He might have chosen other methods other than routing out Quadaffi like a dog.  I also think Dr. King would have suggested many other unusual means of creating the peace and still achieving the kind of world we all would want to live in.  I think he would have the courage to call out the oil industry for their complicity in the wars that have wrecked our country. 

         Perhaps that short time in the presence of the spirit of Dr. King at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech may have positively affected President Obama.  For we do attest that it was only after participating in this event that President Obama conceded to wait for the sanction of Congress before he declared war on Syria -- as he seemed intent upon doing.  We can only hope this gives him time to think about how to pursue other peaceful means of approaching the situation and work through the United Nations.  For as Dr. King has said, “True Leaders work for Peace” – not surreptitiously go to “War” for Peace.

         What is more, if he had lived, I believe Dr. King would have spoken out against the one percent of the population who  have little or no concern about the 99 percent, which the Occupy Movement brought to the forefront of the conscience of the nation only a couple of years ago.  I believe Dr. King would have led the charge against the Banking industry and Wall Street for creating a situation where U.S. citizens -- Black, White, and otherwise -- would be at the mercy of the system that steals their homes away from them, and steel-mindedly refuse to renegotiate unjustly raised mortgages --all the while destroying the Housing Market in this country --, while callously putting families out on the street without regard to conscience.  I believe that Dr. King would be calling to conscience corporations who have reaped billions for their investors while carelessly eliminating or even raiding the retirement funds of their employees.  Dr. King would have called into judgment the shortening of the work week hours so that businesses would not have to pay their workers the benefits they deserve.  He would have shouted out against the business world that refuses to pay its employers a decent wage and those who ship their jobs to foreign lands for cheap labor while their own country fails financially all around.  Dr. King would have been a voice crying out into the wilderness of the prison system in this country which incarcerates Black and Brown men many times over that which they do for White men in the New Jim Crow of privatized prisons.  He would be blasting out against what is now known as the Crib to Prison Pipeline for Black boys in this country.  He would expose the payola that the Koch Brothers with ALEC are involved in with most Congressmen of this country.  Today more than ever, we as a people and as a nation need a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We need a Jeremiah (maybe even a Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright once again), an Isaiah, an Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea or Amos today.  We need true inspired moral leadership to bring this country from the brink of disaster where it seems to be heading.  With a Dr. King as our guide, this country would indeed become “Doubly Blessed.”

           Considering “Double Blessings” bring up the fact that on this Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington, this country was blessed to have double commemorations:  One was held on Saturday, August 24^th led by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and other activists or rights groups.  The second one we learn was largely planned by Dr. Bernice King and other Civil Rights and Labor organizations as well on Wednesday August 28^th, the actual date of the 50^th anniversary.  We as a country were doubly blessed that both events were well attended and filled up the mall along the reflecting pool just as it did fifty years earlier.  This not only doubled our delight but doubled the overall count in attendance as well.  Aside from the King children, Rev. Al Sharpton, John Lewis and a few others who spoke at both, the major participants and invited guests of the two programs were completely different.  This doubled the pleasure of the nation of history lovers.  It has become a time that dually will long last in the minds of all Americans who revere Dr. King and what he stood for.  With these two celebratory events to take place at this crucial time in our lives, our world has indeed truly been “Doubly Blessed.”

The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Interracial crowd around the Reflecting Pool at the 1963 March on Washington.

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

 “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

 “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

M. White, August 31, 2013

---

[1] The National Museum of American History current exhibit has this statement which corroborates this fact:  In 2013 the country will commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation – the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in the grand sweep of American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals – both famous and unknown – who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal." Separated by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.

[2] The Museum of American History also records these words by Dr. King:   On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began his speech by declaring, "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity ... In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check."

Jamie Foxx: Time To Stand Up and Renew Dr. King's Dream

Martin Luther King Jr., "The Drum Major Instinct" Sermon --- COMPLETE

Moral Monday March

            "This Is the Day!" | Rev. Dr. William J. Barber


               Come As You Are! | July 29th Moral Monday March Promo


               A Mountain Moral Monday! | August 5th, 2013

               NC Legislature Hurting Thousands | Moral Monday 10th Wave | July 8th, 2013


              Where Are the Christians Now? | Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

 

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

             March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 

The 1963 March on Washington was a watershed moment in the American civil rights movement It was attended by 250,000 people, graced by important speeches at the Lincoln Memorial and followed by the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Not only was this the largest demonstration for human rights in United States history, but it also occasioned a rare display of unity among the various civil rights organizations,

              THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

They came to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak, to hear Joan Baez and Bob Dylan sing, to support the cause of civil rights and economic opportunity for all, including African-Americans.
Most didn't realize until later they had been a part of history.

             ONE HANDSHAKE AT A TIME: How Whitney Young Changed America


             Bayard Rustin

They had come by bus, plane, train, car and hitch-hiker's thumb to demonstrate to ourselves and a watching world that there was a better, more righteous America than the Birmingham of Bull Connor who had set the dogs and fire hoses on black children. Our emotions – and amazing self-discipline – ran high. White Washington right on up to the White House was scared silly of all us black and white folks mixing together. Apocalypse was confidently predicted. The nation's capitol had "its worst case of invasion jitters since the First Battle of Bull Run", as a contemporary newspaper put it.

              A Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom


             Roy Wilkins: The Right to Dignity


             2013 International Freedom Conductor Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

On August 28, 2013, it will have been 50 years since Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led approximately 250,000 people in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The monumental event, which was held to protest discrimination, joblessness and economic inequality faced by African Americans, featured King's iconic "I Have A Dream" speech and set the stage for both the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In 1963, marchers arrived by bus, train, car and on foot on a weekday, many dressed in their Sunday best. Although marchers were mostly black, the crowd included whites, Jews, Latinos and Native Americans.

As civil rights activists pause to consider the great strides toward equality that the 1963 March on Washington helped to spur, they also look at the current political and racial landscape, and wonder: How much of that progress is now being undone?

There are other new issues, such as demands for a federal civil rights prosecution of George Zimmerman for fatally shooting unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, and abiding ones, such as persistent unemployment among black Americans that runs at a significantly higher rate than that for whites.

The observances begin Saturday with a march from the Lincoln Memorial to the King Memorial, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton and King's son, Martin Luther King III. They will be joined by the parents of Trayvon Martin, and family members of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was kidnapped, beaten and shot in the head in 1955 after he was accused of flirting with a white woman.

Sharpton has refused to call Saturday's march a commemoration or a celebration. He says it is meant to protest "the continuing issues that have stood in the way" of fulfilling King's dream. Martin's and Till's families, he said, symbolize the effects that laws such as the stop-and-frisk tactics by New York police, and Florida's Stand Your Ground statute have in black and Latino communities.

"To just celebrate Dr. King's dream would give the false implication that we believe his dream has been fully achieved and we do not believe that," Sharpton said. "We believe we've made a lot of progress toward his dream, but we do not believe we've arrived there yet."

Obama is scheduled to speak at the "Let Freedom Ring" ceremony on Wednesday, and will be joined by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Along with their speeches, there will be a nationwide bell ringing at 3 p.m. EDT to mark the exact time King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech, with which the march is most associated. The events were organized by The King Center in Atlanta and a coalition of civil rights groups.

             Martin Luther King - I Have a Dream on August 28, 1963 [Sous-titres & Subtitles] [FULL SPEECH]

WHY THERE IS NO LIBERAL MEDIA TODAY

News, Community, Action

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Daily Kos member   WED AUG 07, 2013 AT 05:02 AM PDT

15 things everyone would know if there were a liberal media

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• Prince Riebus (and apparently many others) still thinks there's a liberal media.

While I share Prince's frustration with the media, as a liberal, I'd like to go on record and state that the media isn't focusing on issues I care about. They seem to be far more focused on entertainment and making money.

Don't believe me?

If you know anyone who still believes in a "liberal media," here's 15 things everyone would know if there really were a "liberal media" (inspired by Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post):

1. Where the jobs went.

Outsourcing (or offshoring) is a bigger contributor to unemployment in the U.S. than laziness.

Since 2000, U.S. multinationals have cut 2.9 million jobs here while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg as multinational corporations account for only about 20% of the labor force.

When was the last time you saw a front-page headline about outsourcing?

Source: Wall Street Journal via Think Progress.

2.  Upward wealth redistribution and/or inequality.

In 2010, 20% of the people held approximately 88% of the net worth in the U.S. The top 1% alone held 35% of all net worth.

The bottom 80% of people held only 12% of net worth in 2010. In 1983, the bottom 80% held 18% of net worth.

These statistics are not Democrat or Republican. They are widely available to reporters. Why aren't they discussed in the "liberal" media?

Source: Occupy Posters

3. ALEC.

If there was a corporate organization that drafted laws and then passed them on to legislators to implement, wouldn't you think the "liberal" media would report on them?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is such an organization. Need legislation drafted? No need to go through a lobbyist to reach state legislatures anymore. Just contact ALEC. Among other things, ALEC is responsible for:

• Stand Your Ground laws
• Voter ID laws
• Right to Work laws
• Privatizing schools
• Health savings account bills which benefit health care companies
• Tobacco industry legislation

Many legislators don’t even change the proposals handed to them by this group of corporations. They simply take the corporate bills and bring them to the legislative floor.

This is the primary reason for so much similar bad legislation in different states.  

Hello ... "liberal media" ... over here!!!

They're meeting in Chicago this weekend. Maybe the "liberal media" will send some reporters.

4. The number of people in prison.  

Which country in the world has the most people in prison?

You might think it would be China (with 1+ billion people and a restrictive government) or former Soviets still imprisoned in Russia.

Wrong. The United States has the most people in prison by far of any country in the world. With 5% of the world’s population, we have 25% of the world’s prisoners – 2.3 million criminals. China with a population 4 times our size is second with 1.6 million people in prison.

In 1972, 350,000 Americans were in imprisoned. In 2010, this number had grown to 2.3 million. Yet from 1988 – 2008, crime rates have declined by 25%.

Isn't anyone in the liberal media interested in why so many people are in prison when crime has dropped? WTF "liberal media"?

Source: Wikipedia/Justice Policy Institute Report.

5. The number of black people in prison.

In 2009, non-Hispanic blacks, while only 13.6% of the population, accounted for 39.4% of the total prison and jail population.

In 2011, according to FBI statistics, whites accounted for 69.2% of arrests.

Numbers like these suggest a racial bias in our justice system.

To me, this is a much bigger story than any single incident like Travyon Martin. Or, at the very least, why didn't the "liberal media" ever mention this while covering the Martin story?

6. U.S. health care costs are the highest in the world.

The expenditure per person in the U.S. is $8,233. Norway is second with $5,388.
Total amount of GDP spent on health care is also the highest of any country in the world at 17.6 percent. The next closest country is the Netherlands at 12%.

As a liberal, I’d like to ask why the market isn’t bringing down costs. I’d think a "liberal" media might too.

7. Glass-Steagall.

Glass-Steagall separated risky financial investments from government backed deposits for 66 years.

The idea is simple. Banks were prohibited from using your federally insured savings to make risky investments.

Why is this a good idea?

Risky investments should be risky. If banks can use federally insured funds, there is no risk to them. If they win, they win. If they lose, we cover the cost.

Elizabeth Warren does a great job explaining this to the "liberal news" desk at CNBC:

8. Gerrymandering.

When was the last time you saw a front page headline about gerrymandering?

Before the 2010 election, conservatives launched a plan to win control of state legislatures before the census. The idea was to be in power when national congressional districts were redrawn in order to fix them so Republicans would win a majority of districts.

The Redistricting Majority Project was hugely successful. In 2012, Barack Obama was elected President by nearly 3.5 million votes. In Congressional races, Democrats drew nearly 1.4 million more votes than Republicans yet  Republicans won control of the House 234 seats to 201 seats.

How is this possible?

By pumping $30 million into state races to win the legislatures, Republicans redrew state maps in states such as Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Florida and Ohio to place all of the Democrats into just a few districts.
In this manner, Democrats win heavily in a couple districts and lose the rest.

In North Carolina, the statewide vote was 51 percent Democrat and 49 percent Republican yet 9 Republicans won and only 4 Democrats.

Where is your coverage of this vote stealing, "liberal media"? You're willing to cover voter ID laws, why can't you cover real vote stealing?

Source: Mother Jones.

9. The number of bills blocked by Republicans in Congress.

The filibuster has been used a record number of time since Obama was elected President. From 2008-2012, 375 bills weren’t even allowed to come to a vote in the Senate because Republicans threatened the filibuster.

In 2013, during the first 6 months, Congress has only passed 15 bills that were signed into law. This is 8 fewer than in the first 6 months of 2012 and 19 fewer than 2011.

Also, until the Senate recently threatened to reform the filibuster, the GOP had succeeded in holding up 79 of President Obama’s picks to the U.S. Circuit Court and Courts of Appeal. They’re blocking these appointments regardless of qualification.

Where's the coverage? Where are the reporters asking why nothing is getting done?

* crickets *

10. The Citizens' United Supreme Court decision

In a 2011 Hart poll, only 22% of those polled had actually heard of the Citizens’ Uniteddecision before taking the survey.

If 77% believe that corporations have more control over our political process than people, why isn't the liberal media talking more about the Citizens’ United decision?

11. Nixon’s Southern Strategy.

The Southern Strategy is a strategy for gaining political power by exploiting the greatest number of ethnic prejudices. Kevin Philips, Republican and Nixon campaign strategist, speaking about this strategy in a 1970 interview with the New York Times:

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that...but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.

This strategy has been used since President Johnson and Democrats in Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to build the Republican party.

Examples of this strategy were evident as recently as 2008 and 2012 as Republicans took up their assault on Medicaid, Social Security, labor unions, and Obamacare – programs which, though they benefit more white seniors, retirees, women, and children, have been sold to many Americans as handouts to lazy, undeserving blacks and minorities.

Yet you never hear the "liberal media" (at least since the 1970 NY Times) talking about the use of this strategy. At least not like this:

"P (President) emphasized that you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to." -H.R. Haldeman's diary, President Richard Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff

12. Tax cuts primarily benefit the wealthy.

A progressive tax program is designed to tax people very little as they are starting out and progressively increase their rates as they do better.

Republican plans seem designed to do exactly the opposite: shift the tax burden off of the wealthy and onto working people.

Take the repeal of the estate tax. In Ohio this was recently repealed by Republicans. The benefit is only realized by people with estates larger than $338,000 (as the first $338k was exempt) and realized most by people with even wealthier estates.

This also explains why Republicans want to shift the system from income taxes to consumption taxes. Consumption taxes are paid most by those at the bottom as basic consumption remains the same regardless of income.

It also explains why capital gain taxes are so low. Income through capital gains is only taxed at 20% (increased from 15% in 2012) instead of at the rate of other income (closer to 35%).

It also explains why Republicans were so willing to let the payroll tax cut expire. The payroll tax cut benefited people who were getting paid, not those issuing the paychecks. How much fight did you see to save this tax cut?

While tax cuts are sold to us as benefiting everyone, they really benefit a select few at the very top.

If everyone knew who tax cuts really benefit, would so many people vote for them?

13. What's happening to the bees?

40-50% of commercial U.S. bee hives were lost this year to colony collapse disorder.

This seems like an odd one to include, why is this important?

The Agriculture Department says a quarter of the American diet depends on pollination by honeybees.

Dating from 2006, colony collapse disorder is a relatively new problem. More "liberal media" coverage might push the urgency of the issue.

Instead here's a typical media story about bees: Thousands of Bees Attack Texas Couple, Kill Horses.

14. The impact of temporary workers on our economy.

The number of temporary workers has grown by more than 50 percent since the recession ended to nearly 2.7 million.

If freelancers, contract workers, and consultants are included, the number is nearly 17 million workers not directly employed by the companies who hire them. This equals 12 percent of the workforce.

What's the impact of a "just in time" workforce on workers and our economy? How about that for a story "liberal media"?

15. Media consolidation

Six corporations - Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Viacom, Comcast, and CBS -control roughly 90% of the media in the U.S.

These companies are in business to make a profit.

This is why you'll find plenty of advertisements in the media. Entertainment? Check. Sports? Definitely. Weather? Yep.

You'll also find plenty of "if it bleeds, it leads" stories designed to hook you in. Vendors, witnesses recall Venice hit-and-run horror. Fort Hood trial turns bizarre as shooter grills witnesses.

There's also plenty of political bickering: Democrats said this, Republicans said that. We let you decide (but we never weigh in with any facts or fact-checking).

What won't you hear? You won't hear the "liberal media" discuss the corporate media.

What to make of this

If the media were "liberal," it would serve the public interest and shine a light on issues like the ones above.

More people would also have a better understanding of global warming, peak oil, population growth, political lobbying, government's role in a functioning economy, how much we spend on the military, and countless other issues.

What you’re more likely to see in the media, however, are stories designed to get you to buy their paper, or watch their show, or listen to their radio station. If it bleeds, it leads. This is why the media is concerned with scandal, celebrities, gossip, and fear.

If anything, our news consists of paid advertisements and outlets too scared of offending anyone to publish much of substance. Investigative journalism is also expensive; entertainment is cheap.

The way this corporate media behaves may not be surprising. I apologize if you feel any of this is beating you over the head.

This Buzzfeed-style list wasn't intended to introduce this idea as new (others have done a much better job), but rather to highlight the sheer absurdity of a "liberal media" for an audience who may not see it.

One way to approach the topic is to simply ask: If we have a "liberal media," where are the liberal stories?

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO AKADJIAN ON WED AUG 07, 2013 AT 05:02 AM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY IN SUPPORT OF LABOR AND UNIONS AND DAILY KOS.

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