John McCain on Iran: “They have cheated and lied for 20 years”
Thank you for nothing, CBS.
An old habitué of this channel, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks to the “CBS This Morning” co-hosts about the recent nuclear agreement with Iran, and the reasons why —in his warmongering view—it stinks. No real, articulate antiwar critic is presented, although Norah O’Donnell attempts without luck to stem the torrent of chauvinist nonsense discharged by motormouth McCain.
The setup is so common that most people don’t notice it by now, but American television, including cable and PBS, is notorious for falsifying issues by simply omitting necessary points of view, like a genuine leftist position that could balance the constant rightwing/establishmentarian noise.
Omitting truths is an old trick in the arsenals of propaganda, as in most cases, when expertly handled, the practitioner can’t even be accused of lying. This is either done by the misinformers themselves, whose reporting is riddled with holes, or by the unapologetic barring of true critics of the status quo from the national debate. The other side of the coin, is to hand over the huge platforms of modern communications to complete liars and misinformers—letting them tell the lies, while the media managers simply stand by and let the audience figure it all out. This abdication and betrayal of genuine journalism is what passes for journalism in America and much of the West, it’s been going on for a very long time, but even here degrees of corruption can be perceived with television being by far the worst offender.
At this point on the historical curve no one should be too surprised to find the media the most eager enabler of establishment and rightwing politicians and public figures. After all, it is the media that serve as the chief line of defense against any ideological attack on the capitalist order and main indoctrination engine. From the standpoint of the plutocracy that rules America the news is totally secondary and disposable, it’s a commodity. The principal role of the media is to serve as agents of system (capitalism) legitimation. The result is overexposure to the ideas and arguments of plutocratic shills like Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, Obama, John McCain, Hillary, and the rest of that sorry cavalcade of phonies and prostitutes. Above, just one such example. (Observe the ample time given this idiot to hold forth on an issue that, in the first place, should not be happening if this nation were properly governed.)
P. Greanville is this publication’s editor in chief.