Corrupt Media Demonizes Chávez and Ignores U.S. Fascism

According to the article, Chávez Decree Tightens Hold on Intelligence by Simon Romero in the June 3rd, New York Times, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is busy consolidating power from Caracas. While I have no desire to defend any President of any nation, I must say, it is ironic that this newspaper is wasting space worrying about Chávez as our government continues to engage in ever increasing, bipartisan supported spying initiative.

While the United States government subpoenas environmentalists and coerces them to rat on each other for fighting corporations and saving the earth, the Times focuses its rage on socialists demanding economic equality. While I cannot support Chávez or any other politician carte blanch, his intentions verses the intentions of the United States government are superior. If his heavy handed state socialism is designed to create economic equality and destroy free market capitalists, is this not more equitable and just than the United States who spies on people to protect the interests of the ruling class, the capitalists, and the property owners with absurd legislation such as the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, The Patriot Act, and dozens of fascistic executive orders?

Romero critiques Chávez for supporting community activist groups designed to spy on each other without mentioning the Homeland Security "safety" trainings our government sponsors in cities throughout the United States converting citizens into spies. While I am opposed to all government, I prefer one that imposes its power for the economic security of the majority over a government like the United States who empowers the rich to get richer and imprisons the poor while stiflingly free speech through corporate control and FCC regulation.

The New York Times has a lot of audacity to editorialize against Chávez in so-called news reports while failing to attack the rise of fascism through the neoconservative movement and allowing the United States to continue to murder and imprison people at home and abroad in record numbers without check.

We should not be surprised by the bias of Romero and the New York Times. Capitalism has maintained its power through the domination of the media. This fact alone makes this week's National Conference on Media Reform so important. Sadly, I will be unable to attend; however, I hope you can make it!

Of course, as my friend Jared says, there is something troubling about being in a room full of reform-minded people. What we truly need is a Global Conference on Autonomy and Revolution. Perhaps one day, media activists will serve this larger goal.

Allied Media Conference-Our Evolution Beyond Survival

This Year's Allied Media Conference looks amazing! Focusing on moving social justice media beyond survival and framing the next 10 years of practice, folks from all over the country will be gathering to hash out radical media practice. Congrats to the folks at AMC for their 10th year anniversary. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence will be leading a track for women and trans people of color. Damn I wish I could be there. That particular track will be asking questions like:

What threatens our survival, as individuals, as communities and as a species?
How do we use media for survival?
How will we evolve beyond survival and how will our media further our evolution?

Go if you can!

Elections, Progressives, Stakes Too Low

Tonight, Election Day, (well, technically last night now...), I went to an election party with a bunch of electorally focused progressives at Tracks, one of Denver's gay clubs. Suspicious I wouldn't fit in as an electoral skeptic, I arrived. The dancing was fun. After a series of speeches on everything from comprehensive immigration reform, saving the rivers, reproductive justice, health care, labor and affirmative action, the dancing started up again and towering above the gesticulating progressives were huge images from corporate news. At first I thought I was watching a T.V. Sheriff-esque video mix. Sadly, I was wrong. It turned out the video images playing on the wall were the evening news. It struck me. All these progressive reforms and nobody was taking on the problems of media consolidation. The limits of contemporary progressive debate are being set by ABC, NBC, CNN, and Fox. Its pathetic. Until Colorado progressives fight for a just, fair media, we will continue to have irrelevant, politically reformist movements couched in shortsighted reforms and long-term continued capitalist exploitation without a media to set more pressing agendas, more long-term goals, more inspirational frames to debate contemporary issues.