October 25, 2006
by John De Herrera

Yes, half the truth is often a great lie. That's a quote by good ol' Ben Franklin. And that's how the Mainstream Media (MSM) divides the electorate so the Powers That Be (PTB) can continue to rule.

Something else the MSM does is to mischaracterize a thing or situation. I'm not sure there's anything I despise more than mischaracterization. If it's true that ignorance is the root of all evil, then mischaracterization is what fetters it from becoming awareness.

One example of MSM mischaracterization is the conflict raging in the Middle East. We have the MSM using the word War over and over and over in regards to what is happening in Iraq; in regards to what the U.S.A. is involved in. It is not a war, it is an Occupation which followed a criminal Invasion. So let's stop using the term War, and let's help people make the distinction when they do use the term. Whenever you read a fellow blogger's use of the word War in regards to Iraq, please remind them, it's not a war.

Another mischaracterization is that this war was/is unnecessary. It was not unnecessary, it was very much necessary to a very small group of extremists--the Neocons. So to continue to frame the situation as some kind of blunder or mistake is a mischaracterization. The invasion and subsequent/current occupation of Iraq was necessary to the Neocons who currently helm our government, and we're paying for it in lives, time, money, effort, future standard of living, and negated enjoyment of our lives.

Another mischaracterization is Lou Dobbs' use of the word We in his special War On The Middle Class. The town hall style broadcast from Kansas City, where he continually characterized the situation as something We have allowed to happen? Something We have got to do something about? Memo to Lou: We didn't do anything to create the War On The Middle Class, a legislative branch beholden to corporate interests did. And We don't need to do anything to steer the course back, Congress needs to do that. Yes, We need to vote change into existence, but now we can't even do that because our electoral process is currently a mess.

Which brings up another mischaracterization by the MSM: the Debacle of Florida 2000. No, it was not a debacle at all--it was the result of the concerted effort--yes, a conspiracy--orchestrated by Jeb Bush and Kathleen Harris for a full two years prior. Forgetting the names documentaries put together about those two years of Floridian history leading up to election day, but it was not a debacle--it was a flat-out conspiracy to do whatever could be done to deliver electoral votes to....

That conspiracy precipitated the Help America Vote Act (Congress has a sense of humor when naming legislation), which brings us to where we are today with as much as 3/5 of votes to be cast November, cast on electronic voting machines. And what can it be if we're all becoming aware of how $3.8 Billion signed off on to flood the country with e-voting machines has all but doomed that which is most sacred? And nowhere in the MSM is there mention of the term SOURCE CODE? What can it be? If we're all aware, yet no one in the MSM nor any member of Congress is raising awareness of the Source Code issue? What can that be? Everyone knows it's not WHO votes, it's who COUNTS the votes. Congress and MSM impresarios know that. Don't play dumb--we all know damn good and well that's the bottom line. So, if we all know it, and no one's talking about it--what's that mean? That we hope Costco has a sale on Reynold's Wrap sometime soon?

And last but not least, perhaps the grand-daddy and greatest mischaracterization of all: A Do-Nothing Congress. Say it again with me: A Do-Nothing Congress (your best Bronx Cheer goes here). Nope, sorry, Congress is not a Do-Nothing Congress, the Congress is doing quite a lot--and quite well--to facilitate institutionalized corruption right into the Neocon end-game: tyranny, despotism, and the grand prize: the negation of freedom and liberty forevermore. Let's say that again too: The Negation Of Freedom And Liberty Forevermore. That's the cliff we're at the edge of, and let's not forget to put a fine point on it: if America goes over, not everyone's facing the loss. Some will still be quite free to do what they want.

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The beauty of the mischaracterization though, is that it allows each individual member of Congress to deny their personal culpability: Who Me? I'm just one Senator, I'm just one Representative, Congress is one hell of a beast, and I'm doing what I can for my constituents....

Chris Matthews interviewed John McCain the other night at Iowa University, and McCain had a question put to him and he used the phrase, "The Congress." As if it was some machine out of everyone's control, and he was doing the best that he could with the legislative tools available to him. The beauty of this mischaracterization is that it blurs things so that some members of Congress honestly don't realize their culpability, and the ones that do, only have to be half-way decent actors to side-step what they deserve.

But let's not pass judgment, because it's true, the military/industrial/congressional complex is not Senator John McCain's fault, it's not my rep's Lois Capps' fault. It's not Chris Matthew's fault, or Tim Russert's, or Brian William's, or Katie Couric's, it's not anyone's fault who is a member of the Tri-Lateral Commission, it's not even the President's fault.

We all come to the table at different times in our lives, with various sets of information that we've each processed in various ways. Fine. Great. We're all on the same page at last. The situation is no one person's fault.

Now what are we going to do about it?

Today there's an article about a book by a Professor from the University of Texas at Austin--a town I know as well as someone can having lived in it for a month and half. It's a pretty cool town, lakes to exercise on, hills, nice people, history. But this Professor Levinson has a new book out. It's about how the Constitution is broken and needs to be fixed. I'd provide the link to the Austin newspaper, but when I tried it, it gave the registration bs. Put this to a google search: Sanford Levinson's 'Our Undemocratic Constitution'

In his new book, he's raising the idea that, for various reasons, it's time for a constitutional convention--America's first national convention held under the authority of Article V.

Unfortunately, the same scare-tactics are trotted out--as they were in 1969, 1986, and the early 1990s--when there was talk of holding a convention.

The fear is that if we convene a convention the Constitution might burst into flames or something. That it might be destroyed. Not to mention that this is a ridiculous concern due to the fact that Congress and the President's pen destroyed the Constitution this month, but that it's simply not true. In fact the opposite is true. A convention brings the Constitution back from the dead. The mischaracterization of holding a national convention is that the delegates who participate in it can vote on things and make them so, but the delegates cannot and do not vote on anything. They only propose ideas for change, ideas people like John McCain or Lois Capps never will.

In conclusion, let me say this--and I appreciate anyone who's read along to this point--thank you much for spending some of our still as yet enduring freedom with me. I understand we're about to have what will be a historic election. Come what may, it will be historic. But here's my fear, it's something the PTB have done before: when the electorate gets agitated enough, they're lulled back into complacency with a bunch of sweet-talk: oh, here, here's a first-ever lady-speaker of the house, here's some diversionary mumbo-jumbo about lobbying reform, healthcare reform, ect., ect., ect.

If that happens, it plays right into the hands of the PTB and their Neocon henchmen, because the issue of source code will get lost. That's the grand prize. Make no mistake, that's what they're after--that issue no one in the MSM or Congress is talking about.

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John De Herrera [send him email] is an activist, writer, and proponent of an Article V Constitutional Convention.  Find more of John's work at http://www.article5.org/ and http://www.cc2.org/