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The Radicalization of Phil Donahue – Reality Asserts Itself (1/3)
TheRealNews on Sep 29, 2014
Mr. Donahue says he believed he was blessed, living in the greatest country on earth – but through hosting his show, speaking to people like Chomsky and the Black Panthers, he came to question what he had thought was true.
Corporate Media is Destroying Democracy – Phil Donahue on Reality Asserts Itself (2/3)
TheRealNews on Oct 1, 2014
Mr. Donahue says that corporate media doesn’t rock the boat, it is the boat.
Whistle Blowers, Dissenters, and Progressives are the Patriots – Phil Donahue on RAI (3/3)
TheRealNews on Oct 3, 2014
On Reality Asserts Itself Mr. Donahue says we are a nation of laws, until we are scared.
from the archives:
Chris Hedges: The Global Culture of Violence: What Is The Path to Peace and Justice?
Rick Rozoff: Corporate Media Is the Propaganda Arm of the US Government
Chris Hedges: Journalism is Being Pushed To the Fringes of Society
Dandelion Salad 
Pingback: Ralph Nader, Dahr Jamail and Matthew Hoh: Iraq War—Twenty Years Later + Peace in Ukraine – Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars – Dandelion Salad
Phil Donahue always was and always will be my favorite TV personality. Through all of the years that his show was on I was a faithful watcher and could always gain information and comfort from his calm, caring demeanor. I am a 68 year old grandma who had the same enlightenment regarding politics as he has and almost completely agree with him. I do still believe in Obama however, and think that his aging so drastically in office is because he has been pushed, by those corporations etc. in power, to do many things that he did not plan on doing during his presidency. It’s too bad that money is the loudest voice in our country. Thank you so much for this interview. It made my day.
Thanks for watching and your comment, Coppertime, however, I highly disagree with your assessment of Pres. Obama. I followed the 2008 Election very well and determined that Obama was going to increase the troops in Afghanistan and he said that explicitly in speeches and in the debates. His administration has made legal what under the Bush administration was illegal. Pres. Obama sold out before he became president. Therefore, I did not and continue to not support this administration.
What is it that you “believe in Obama”? Watch the video at the end of this blog posted in 2008. https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/high-time-to-boycott-elections-by-reza-fiyouzat/ Not much difference between Obama and McCain.
Please watch this interview with Cornel West: https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/black-prophetic-fire-cornel-west-on-the-revolutionary-legacy-of-leading-african-american-voices/
Coppertime, I definitely agree with dandelionsalad on his assessment of Obama. He has always been a fraud, charlatan, whatever, as a politician, and history will (and already has) proven he might be the worse president to date.
Who groomed the Dronebama for the number one position in D.C.?
Technically, he came out of oblivion, but the big capitalist, pro-corporate media put him in the limelight, 24/7 during the 2007-08 presidential campaign. He barely served in office as a Senator, then was propelled by certain interests to run. Who benefits from having “their man” in the White House? A compulsive liar as well!
Nobel Peace prize? What a joke
Back to Donohue. We watched Phil’s show religiously in the early 80’s, and to my best recollections, he was the most progressive TV personality, and never wavered in his beliefs due to corporate pressure. Jeff Cohen produced Phil’s MSNBC program, which was the biggest money maker for the station, but because Donohue was against the illegal invasion, occupation and destruction of Iraq, the ruling-elite had the program canceled. Who really rules the airwaves?
Phil Donohue is a “giant” among men. He’s been a hero of mine for 35 years. I wish him the best!
Lo, David — insightful comments! You guys rock!
Thanks, Frank, great commentary. You bring up a very good point on why Obama was chosen from obscurity to national prominence. The point being he was chosen, but not by the people.
Pres. Obama has muted the antiwar movement very successfully; let down the African-American community and the new immigrants community (has deported more people than any other president). Totally let down the youth of the US who also voted him in. He and his administration has let down the elderly population as well. Workers and the labor movement, again this administration has done nothing for those who want jobs and cannot find them.
I also agree with you that Obama is the worst president. Total deception.
You’re welcome, Lo. And you’ve listed various groups that Obama betrayed once he was in office. Two of the first things he, Harry Reid, and the treacherous Nancy Pelosi did when the Demons had control of the White House, the Senate and the House, was to take “single payer” healthcare and the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) off the table, so as not to offend their Republican brethren. The labor unions still endorse the D (double cross) Party as the “lesser of two evils” and wonder why we have been losing members and harder to negotiate with the bosses for decent contracts which benefits the workers who produce the wealth in the first place. In fact, non-union employees benefit as well, as employers used to give them a little less, but enough to keep them happy enough to not insist on union representation. That’s changed as well. Remember Madison, Wisconsin, several years ago? Again, the Liar-In-Chief was silent.
Obama was silent on the right-wing coup in Honduras,as well as the neo-fascist/neo-nazi coup in Kiev, Ukraine earlier this year. We can go on and on. Thanks again for your input.
Thanks again, Frank. Yes, we really can go on and on.
I feel for those who have been deceived by this man and his administration, however, if they were paying any amount of attention in the campaign of 2008, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. Watch the video at the end of the post I mentioned in another comment: https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/high-time-to-boycott-elections-by-reza-fiyouzat/
Most people were charmed by this good-looking, educated, incredible orator, especially women. Women are still his biggest supporters. Of course, as you brought up the “lesser of two evils” point, I can understand why women supported Obama over McCain and Romney (2012), especially after 8 yrs of George W. Bush. Unfortunately, evil is still evil, and Obama proved this himself with his actions and non-actions (you mentioned some in your comment) over the past 6 yrs.
Lo, Thanks for the link to the 2008 article by Reza Fiyouzat. It’s timely, prescient and applicable for circa Oct 2014. I would only disagree with the author on sitting out elections as the D’s & R’s are more similar than ever before, so what’s the use of voting?
I proudly voted for Cynthia McKinney in 2008 and Jill Stein in 2012. If enough so-called liberals and progressives voted for the Green Party candidates, rather than succumbing to the fallacy of the “they can’t win,” propaganda of the R&D duopoly, we could see a change for the better. Public apathy seems to be at an all time high in the U.S.as fewer people vote and over 90% still vote to keep the duopoly in power,
You’re right about his way with women voters, and the “worry” over a McCain/Palin victory or even Romney. Debating scores of people during the past two elections on that concern, my final answer was this: If the American working-class are that stupid and ignorant to vote for McCain or Romney, then they’ll get what they deserve.I asked them: “Do you have any courage or integrity to vote for McKinney or Stein?” Needless to say, I didn’t make any friends with that one.
Keep up the good work, Lo. As the great George Seldes said: “Never Tire of Protesting,” (for the right things, of course).
Here’s a short video report on the top 5 broken promises of Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ns_AntP6o
Thanks again, Lo! I watched it. RT is first rate.
Besides being a compulsive liar – he thinks he’s also a warlord and wants to rule the world. Oops! I almost forgot. Obama’s the “Sanctions Czar” too!
Thanks for watching the video, Frank. No doubt about his large ego but most politicians have that problem. We really can go on and on listing Obama’s failures (or successes, depending on how one looks at them).
The Lie: “We remember the President’s own party had a super majority in both houses for his first 2 years”-Mitt Romney
The Truth: The Democrats did not have the Super Majority in the Senate for 2 years. The 60th Senator, Al Franken, wasn’t sworn in until July 8th, 2009 after 8 months of delays due to voter recounts. Then, 6 weeks later, Ted Kennedy died, to be replaced by Scott Brown in Feb, 2010. Thus, the “Super Majority” lasted for roughly 4.43 whole months, (including congressional recess). 133 days.
Senate Democrats during Obama’s first 2 years only had a filibuster-proof majority for about 24 congressional working days. The simple majority after that was not able to override the 241 Republican filibusters used to stall out proposed legislation. The Democrats also had 22 blue dog Democrats to drag along.
Perhaps, however, both the Democrats and Republicans are owned by the same corporations. Pres. Obama never intended to go after those corporations that were responsible for the economic crash, for example.
Push-back needs to be much stronger and much faster or we don’t stand a chance.
There is nothing wrong with being proud of your country, whichever it may be. But a person should also be grown-up enough and have the courage to speak up when it sees that things are going wrong. ‘My country, love it or leave it’ is a very dangerous ideology.
Reblogged this on Rcooley123's Blog.
Thanks for reblogging, Rick.
Lo, this is an extraordinary post. I love it and I think Phil Donahue is my long lost soul brother!!
Thanks, Tom, so glad you enjoyed it, too. I look forward to more interviews with him on the Real News Network.
This is totally brilliant. What a great interview, a triumph and what an internet benchmark!
Kudos Lo…really cooking with gas now ~ an’ it ain’t all fracked up (neither….) bravo, so enjoyed this; and can’t wait for the sequel…cheered me up no end, so ~ never quit folks, there is always a way….talk about a bright light!
So glad you watched this, David. I owe so much of my civic involvement to Phil Donahue. As a child, my mum watched his show every day and when it was scheduled after school hours, I also watched it. I was introduced to my hero, Ralph Nader. He was on Donahue’s show quite often over the years talking about consumer issues mostly. I enjoyed his show so much that when I was at university, I would record his show and watch it later that day.
Nowadays, I watch zero TV. Never turn it on and haven’t turned it on in about 10 years. Any time I actually do see TV, it’s the very rare occasion, like when my car needs work and the waiting room has a TV set on. It’s so bad that I leave the room and wait outside. I can’t handle the commercials at all. It’s a bombardment on the senses. Plus the content is so bad, usually it’s Fox News playing, that I can’t be in the same room.
Back to the Donahue show, he really did have on guests for an entire hour discussing issues of the day. Donahue’s specialty was leaving the guest(s) and going into the audience with a microphone so the audience could also ask questions to the guest(s).
You’re so right about the insidious aggression of vulgar TV and now with cinema- (everything has to be super-) sized wide digital screens it is a horrendous assault. Ghastly, blinding, visually distorting, fragmenting, violent and numbing. The whole terrifying experience is like a gigantic sensory explosion. Jerry Mander said it all I reckon. The whole world is a profane nail and it is the big psychic hammer.
I didn’t devote time to television really until I began to study documentary method & content back in the eighties, and then only used the receiving instrument itself as a proscenium device, or would sometimes watch the images with the sound muted, or with my own chosen musical accompaniment. It’s an interesting experiment that completely changes the way moving images resonate, what Northrop Frye characterized as “symbolic actions” are hugely affected by the audible and verbal context.
When I did pay attention to programmed stuff it was virtually all PBS type content, or Donahue and his calibre of public affairs broadcasting, occasional satire and humorous material, Saturday Night Live and so on.
In Canada they were actually quite advanced in their coverage of live parliamentary procedures in the late eighties, but you’d never know it given the abject shambles that is currently palmed off as pursuing “national interests.” It’s a joke.
I always thought Hollywood was much easier to cope with, analyse and digest on the small screen….but now the Internet has miniaturised everything I can’t understand how people still stomach the deluge of vulgarity pumped out by sponsored channels. It is sheer poisonous drivel and rancid bilge. Mind you marketing “necessity” has already rendered much of the Internet a dead zone.
The point is the real message of the corporate networks is always entirely commercial, buy! pollute! consume! be impressed! ….be afraid!! ~ interspersed with occasional banal distractions of a vaguely theatrical nature…..but then we all know that ~ which is why Dandelion Salad and its kindred sites are so highly valued.