Fw: [Peace-discuss] Obama's Goons

[Randall Cotton]

AWARE Folks,

Anyone here remember Matt Reichel? He was President of Student Peace
Action at UofI when the war broke out in 2003. He graduated later that
year, freelanced around a while, visited Europe (Paris in particular) and
is now the Green Party nominee for Rahm Emanuel's congressional seat up
north, having just beat out 4 other candidates in the Primary. See:
http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2009/03/05/illinois-green-party-congratulates-matt-reichel-primary-victory/ .

Also, see: http://www.mattreichel.us/ - maybe you'll recognize him by the
photo 8-)

Matt has continued to stay in touch via this mailing list from time to
time ever since graduating, even while overseas (for instance see his
contribution below from last November on election day).

Matt mentioned to me that he may be in town this weekend. Anyone
interested in getting together with Matt to chat about old times and new
and what he's been up to? I'm not sure whether he could make it or not,
but maybe before or after the AWARE meeting?

Speak up now or this opportunity will be lost...

I hope folks will consider contributing to his campaign (I contributed
early on and will contribute again). You can also do that at his campaign
website - again, http://www.mattreichel.us/ .

R



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt Reichel" <mattreichel at hotmail.com>
To: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at uiuc.edu>; <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
Cc: "Peace- Discuss" <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 7:48 AM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Obama's Goons



One way in which the Obama campaign has been able to attain such record
levels of popularity is by stifling dissent.

Obama's goon squads first came to fruition back during his senate
campaign, when he successfully forced open the divorce records of
Republican opponent Jack Ryan, thus assuring his easy election to the
Senate.

He now continues to refuse to allow anyone to show up at a public forum
and question his tyrannous positions on the greater Middle East conflict,
or on his close relationship to Wall St. funders, who have made his
campaign the richest of all time.

I attended the Senator's final rally last night in Manassas, VA, on the
outskirts of the dc-metro sprawl (currently residing in dc as a freelance
translator), and was told that I could not enter with my anti-war sign,
but was free to bring an Obama placard into the event. I then asked the
officer if this was police policy or campaign policy, and he informed me
that this was campaign policy.

This was infamously the policy at Obama's rally in Berlin, where he told
the people of that city who have suffered so much for their freedoms that
he had no respect for their right to free speech. And appearantly this has
been the norm throughout all of his rallies.

Can we trust a president who doesn't trust us to express ourselves freely?
I think not.

More about Obama's goons here:
http://sooshisoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/obama-censoring-free-speech/

-
Matt
> Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 02:51:23 -0600
> From: galliher at uiuc.edu
> To: jencart13 at yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Why Obama has to do that...
> CC: peace-discuss at anti-war.net
>
> Jenifer Cartwright wrote:
> > ...Chomsky's vote isn't the issue here, but rather his intelligent,
> > thoughtful, appropriately nuanced and civilized way of presenting
information
> > and opinions. I am sure we would all be honored to have him posting to
> > Peace-discuss.
>
> [Chomsky is always worth attending to.  Here's a basic and rather
flat-footed
> review of a collection of his work, from an unusual source -- "Epoch
Times," a
> Falun Gong-connected newspaper based in NY.  --CGE]
>
>
> Book Review: ‘The Essential Chomsky’
> By Du Won Kang, Epoch Times Washington, D.C. Staff
> Nov 3, 2008
>
> Many people have heard of Noam Chomsky, but few understand him. Chomsky
> dominates the field of linguistics and made major contributions to
psychology,
> cognitive science, and computer science. For decades, he has been a
strong and
> sustained critic of U.S. military intervention, domestic politics, and
the
> corporate media.
>
> He cannot be adequately categorized simply as a “far left” intellectual,
nor can
> his arguments be fairly labeled and dismissed as “conspiracy theory.”
>
> His recent book, The Essential Chomsky, is a collection of over 400
pages of 25
> essays and chapter excerpts from a wide range of his writings in
philosophy,
> linguistics, and politics that spans half a century. It is packed with
> fascinating and important materials.
>
> The Essential Chomsky jumps between diverse topics in chronological
order, while
> mentioning important concepts in just a few words and leaving obvious
questions
> unanswered. The Essential Chomsky cannot be a substitute for many of his
other
> books, which present his theories more thoroughly and convincingly.
>
> This book review attempts to shed some light on a few of the major
themes of The
> Essential Chomsky, which covers complex and controversial topics that
are as
> relevant today as when Chomsky first started writing about them decades
ago.
>
> Chomsky: U.S. Foreign Policy and State Propaganda
>
> Most of the essays in The Essential Chomsky are about Chomsky’s analysis
and
> strong critique of the U.S. government’s use of force abroad, the U.S.
political
> system that tends to constrain democratic participation of the majority
of
> Americans, and the corporate media that does not serve the public
interest.
> Chomsky offers surprising clarity and perspectives on these topics, and
backs
> them up with the same kind of rigor, intensity, and persistence that
made him
> enormously successful in linguistics.
>
> According to Chomsky, Americans have been indoctrinated since childhood
to
> believe that the U.S. government is “for the people and by the people”
and its
> purposes are benevolent and noble. He says that this is largely a myth.
>
> In “Foreign Policy and the Intelligentsia” of The Essential Chomsky, he
presents
> one of his main themes: “The United States, in fact, is no more engaged
in
> programs of international goodwill than any other state has been.”
>
> Chomsky says, “The effective ‘national purpose’ will be articulated, by
and
> large, by those who control the central economic institutions, while the
> rhetoric to disguise it is the province of the intelligentsia.”
>
> In “Imperial Grand Strategy” of The Essential Chomsky, he says that it
is
> standard operating procedure to scare Americans into supporting a war.
>
> He draws examples from the Reagan-Bush years. In 1985, President Reagan
declared
> a national emergency, because “The policies and actions of the
government of
> Nicaragua constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
> security and foreign policy of the United States,” and now the pattern
seems to
> repeat with Iraq, according to Chomsky.
>
> “National security” is a technical term referring to the “special
interests” of
> those who control the domestic economic institutions, according to
Chomsky.
>
> Referring to the war on Iraq, Chomsky quotes political analyst Anatol
Lieven:
> that most Americans had been “duped… by a propaganda programme which for
> systematic mendacity has few parallels in peacetime democracies.”
>
> According to Chomsky, a global agenda of the U.S., “the most powerful
state in
> history,” has been to “maintain hegemony through the threat or use of
military
> force, the dimensions of power in which it reigns supreme.”
>
> The Essential Chomsky includes many examples of decades of what Chomsky
regards
> as “lawlessness” and “atrocities” committed by the U.S., which pretends
to be
> acting defensively for national security and noble purposes about
promoting
> freedom and democracy abroad, while the U.S. corporate media
systematically
> produce biased reports and “remained properly subservient to the basic
> principles of the state propaganda system, with a few exceptions...”
>
> Chomsky singles out the New York Times in many of his examples.
>
> Chomsky: 'Thought Control' in Democratic Societies
>
> According to Chomsky, “thought control” in the U.S. is actually more
effective
> than in totalitarian states where obedience is secured by force because
thought
> control in the U.S. combines effective indoctrination while giving the
> impression that our society is free and open.
>
> The essays and chapter long excerpts of The Essential Chomsky mention
the
> “propaganda model” only briefly and do not explain convincingly how it
is
> possible that propaganda and thought control in the U.S. can be very
effective
> in our free and open society. For a more thorough explanation, we need
to
> examine some of Chomsky’s other works.
>
> The “propaganda model” is a central concept in an earlier book,
Manufacturing
> Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, which Chomsky
coauthored with
> Edward S. Herman.
>
> The propaganda model is a framework based on how the structure of the
mainstream
> media explains the general pattern of its biased performance.
>
> According to Herman and Chomsky, some of the major factors that
contribute to
> the structure of the mainstream media include: concentration of
ownership by
> corporations and conglomerates such as General Electric that are driven
by
> profit; funding by profit seeking advertisers that influence shaping of
contents
> and distribution to more affluent segments of society; and sources for
news that
> rely heavily on the government and major businesses for information.
>
> Herman and Chomsky write, “in contrast to the standard conception of the
media
> as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and
their
> independent authority…” the real purpose of the corporate media is to
“inculcate
> and defend the economic, social, and political agenda of the privileged
groups
> that dominate the domestic society and the state.”
>
> According to Herman and Chomsky, the media serves this purpose in many
ways:
> through selection of topics, framing of issues, filtering of
information,
> emphasis and tone, and “by keeping debate within bounds of acceptable
premises.”
>
> Even in the cases of media involvement in the Vietnam War and Watergate,
which
> are widely regarded by the public as prime examples of an independent
authority
> of the media, the propaganda model performs well in predicting the
general
> pattern of media behavior, according to Herman and Chomsky. They argue
that the
> widely held beliefs about these events are misleading. Some of the
details are
> explained in The Essential Chomsky, for example in “Watergate: A
Skeptical View.”
>
> In Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies, Chomsky
> explains that in a democratic society, independent thought can develop
into
> political action, and it is important for those in power to eliminate
the threat
> at its root by “necessary illusions” when it cannot be imposed by force.
>
> According to the “propaganda model,” when considering the spectrum of
opinion
> that are allowed to be expressed, the model predicts well that the
“spectrum
> will be bounded by the consensus of the powerful elites while
encouraging
> tactical debate within it,” he says.
>
> Chomsky explains: “The media do contest and raise questions about
government
> policy, but they do so almost exclusively within the framework
determined by the
> essentially shared interests of state-corporate power. Divisions among
elites
> are reflected in media debate, but departure from their narrow consensus
is rare.”
>
> Concentration of ownership of the media is high and increasing, and the
elite
> media set the agenda that others generally follow, according to Chomsky.
>
> Chomsky explains that many journalists may believe that they are being
objective
> and truthful in providing information to help the public understand the
world,
> and sometimes they are successful.
>
> However, “Journalists entering the system are unlikely to make their way
unless
> they conform to these ideological pressures, generally by internalizing
the
> values; it is not easy to say one thing and believe another, and those
who fail
> to conform will tend to be weeded out…”  he says.
>
> Chomsky says, “The very structure of the media is designed to induce
conformity
> to established doctrine.”
>
> In Profit Over People, Chomsky outlines some of the early developments
of
> systematic propaganda in the U.S. He says that the doctrines of modern
political
> democracy has been accurately expressed by Edward Bernays, one of the
leading
> figures of the public relations industry and member of the Woodrow
Wilson’s
> Committee on Public Information, the first U.S. state propaganda agency.
>
> Chomsky quotes Bernays: “The intelligent minorities must make use of
propaganda
> continuously and systematically;” this process of “engineering consent”
is the
> very “essence of the democratic process.”
>
> Walter Lippman, one of the most respected figures in journalism, is
another
> veteran of Wilson’s propaganda committee, according to Chomsky.
“Manufacturing
> Consent” is a term borrowed from Lippman who said that the intelligent
minority
> are responsible for setting policy and for “the formation of a sound
public
> opinion,” and the public’s “function” is to be “spectators of action,”
not
> participants, apart from periodic electoral exercises when they vote
among the
> specialized class.
>
> Chomsky quotes Harold Lasswell, one of the founders of modern political
science:
> the masses must be controlled for their own good, and in more democratic
> societies, where force is unavailable, social managers must turn to “a
whole new
> technique of control, largely through propaganda.”
>
> ‘Conspiracy Theory’ as a Reflex
>
> Almost as a reflex, this kind of analysis is often summarily dismissed
as
> “conspiracy theory.”
>
> In the Manufacturing Consent, Herman and Chomsky say that they do not
use any
> kind of “conspiracy” hypothesis in their propaganda model.
>
> In “Foreign Policy and the Intelligentsia” of The Essential Chomsky,
Chomsky
> says, “a standard and effective device for obscuring social reality” is
the
> pretense “that those who pursue the rational approach are invoking a
‘conspiracy
> theory’…”
>
> Labeling such analysis as a “conspiracy theory” can relegate it “to the
domain
> of flat-earth enthusiasts and other cranks, and the actual system of
power,
> decision-making, and global planning is safely protected from scrutiny,”
says
> Chomsky.
>
> Chomsky’s Focus on the U.S.
>
> Here is a revealing excerpt from “Foreign Policy and the Intelligentsia”
of The
> Essential Chomsky, which summarizes Chomsky’s view of an important
aspect of the
> nature of power in the U.S. and other powerful nations throughout human
history:
>
> “In every society there will emerge a caste of propagandists who labor
to
> disguise the obvious, to conceal the actual workings of power, and to
spin a web
> of mythical goals and purposes, utterly benign, that allegedly guide
national
> policy… that the nation is guided by certain ideals and principles, all
of them
> noble… that the nation is not an active agent, but rather responds to
threats
> posed to its security, or to order and stability, by awesome and evil
outside
> forces.”
>
> Both totalitarian and democratic nations do this, says Chomsky, although
they
> differ in the manner in which they do them. Among the democratic
nations, the
> U.S. leads in terms of its achievements in propaganda and thought
control,
> according to Chomsky.
>
> Why does Chomsky focus much of his analysis and criticism on the U.S.?
>
> In various interviews, Chomsky explains that, as a U.S. citizen and with
the
> freedom that he has, he is partially responsible for the actions of the
U.S.,
> the most powerful nation on earth.
>
> This sentiment has persisted since the 1960s, if not earlier. Chomsky
explains
> why he feels such a responsibility in “The Responsibility of
Intellectuals,” an
> essay published in 1966, and reproduced in The Essential Chomsky.
>
> In a touching essay, “On Resistance” of The Essential Chomsky, he writes
in 1967
> as a young man about his participation in civil disobedience against the
Vietnam
> War and about “a moral responsibility that cannot be shirked.”
>
> Linguistics and Philosophy of Human Nature
>
> There are over half dozen chapters in The Essential Chomsky that clarify
the
> development of Chomsky’s thoughts on linguistics and philosophy of human
nature,
>   related to important aspects of psychology and cognitive science.
>
> The first chapter, “A Review of B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior,” written
in
> 1959, is a classic. Here, Chomsky delivers a sharp criticism of the
behaviorist
> approach to “accommodate human behavior involving higher mental
faculties,” and
> how that approach must inevitably fail to account for major aspects of
complex
> human verbal behavior.
>
> He argues that, while Skinner’s approach fails to account for complex
verbal
> behavior, the study of linguistic structure and language acquisition of
a child,
> who learns a lot more than what is taught, could lead to important
insights into
> the inner nature of the human mind. This work contributed to the end of
the
> dominance of the behaviorist program in psychology and the beginning of
a
> multidisciplinary field that is now known as cognitive science.
>
> The Essential Chomsky also includes more recent works on related topics
in
> linguistics and philosophy, for example, in “New Horizons in the Study
of
> Language and Mind,” first published in 2000. Chomsky discusses how human
faculty
> of language is unique to humans, distinct from animals, and “enters
crucially
> into every aspect of human life, thought, and interaction.” He explains
that
> this faculty of language is largely responsible for the fact that only
humans
> have a history and culture.
>
> Connections between Linguistics and Political Activism
>
> Over the years, Chomsky has been asked the question repeatedly: Is there
a
> connection between his intense research in linguistics and his political
> activism? His answers have varied between “virtually no connection” to a
> “tenuous connection.”
>
> “Language and Freedom” in The Essential Chomsky, an essay written in
1970,
> explains the “tenuous connection” in some depth.
>
> Chomsky writes, “A vision of a future social order is in turn based on a
concept
> of human nature. If in fact man is indefinitely malleable, completely
plastic
> being, with no innate structures of mind and no intrinsic needs of a
cultural or
> social character, then he is a fit subject for the ‘shaping of behavior’
by the
> state authority, the corporate manager, the technocrat, or the central
committee.”
>
> Chomsky disagrees with this premise: humans are not indefinitely
malleable and
> they have innate structures of mind. Human languages share common
structures at
> deep levels, and they “reflect intrinsic properties of human mental
> organization,” according to Chomsky.
>
> Chomsky also makes interesting connections from seventeenth and
> eighteenth-century philosophy and linguistics to his conception of human
nature
> and dignity. He describes the developments in the modern field of
linguistics,
> to which he has contributed greatly, as a kind of return to Wilhelm von
> Humboldt, an eighteenth-century theoretical linguist and advocate of
libertarian
> and anarchist values.
>
> According to Chomsky, “predatory capitalism” was successful in creating
advanced
> technology and permitting some limited freedom. However, he writes, “It
is
> incapable of meeting human needs… and its concept of competitive man who
seeks
> only to maximize wealth and power… is anti-human and intolerable in the
deepest
> sense.”
>
> Chomsky concludes: “Social action cannot await a firmly established
theory of
> man and society… The two – speculation and action – must progress as
best they
> can, looking forward to the day when theoretical inquiry will provide a
firm
> guide to the unending, often grim, but never hopeless struggle for
freedom and
> social justice.”
>
> The DVD, Manufacturing Consent (Noam Chomsky and the Media), shows how
Chomsky
> was introduced to linguistics by his father (who was a world renown
Hebrew
> grammarian) and that he grew up in a radical Jewish community in New
York City
> where he was regularly exposed to anarchist literature with a sense of
> solidarity with the working class community. Hence, Chomsky was exposed
to both
> linguistics and social activism since early childhood, and it is hard to
say
> which influenced the other more strongly.
>
> Chomsky’s writings appear to be entirely secular. His theories about the
> uniqueness of humans and their innate creativity are also entirely
secular. He
> understands that the connection he draws between his conceptions of
human nature
> and his social activism is speculative.
>
> The connection remains tenuous. Nothing in Chomsky’s works can fully
explain the
> certainty of his moral convictions that have impelled him to help others
for
> half a century.
>
> Optimism and Limitations
>
> Independent thinking and research is Chomsky’s strength. He is a social
critic
> who tries to break through the illusions and to raise the consciousness
of
> others so that more people may decide on their own to participate in
democracy
> more freely. He is neither a policy maker nor a leader or manager of
large-scale
> social movements.
>
> The Essential Chomsky suddenly ends with a brief and surprising tone of
> optimism, advice about promoting democracy, and a warning for the world
and
> future generations if people do not act together. His other books follow
a
> similar pattern.
>
> In his other works, Chomsky explains the reasons for his optimism in
greater
> detail. For example, he explains that the powerful forces that work to
limit
> freedom and democracy have not been completely successful and the
freedom that
> we now enjoy in the U.S. is thanks to the sacrifices of thousands of
courageous
> people in the past, many of whose names have long been forgotten.
>
> He explains that along with greater freedom, people have a greater
> responsibility, and they have to make the effort and not be passive.
>
> Manufacturing Consent, the DVD (not the book), which is surprisingly
easy to
> follow given the range of topics it covers, presents a good introduction
about
> Chomsky’s life and includes some entertaining video clips of his
lectures. The
> DVD includes a fuller presentation of Chomsky’s optimism and warning.
>
> Given the controversial nature of the things that Chomsky discusses, it
is no
> surprise that there are many who are highly critical of him.
>
> For example, in The Anti-Chomsky Reader, essays by linguists, a
sociologist, and
> conservative writers attack Chomsky’s various works on linguistics,
political
> theories, and the mass media.
>
> One of the more interesting criticisms of Chomsky discussed on the
Internet is
> about his apparent avoidance of discussing the Bilderberg Group in his
publications.
>
> The criticisms and Chomsky’s responses to them are far beyond the scope
of this
> book review.
>
> In spite of some possible shortcomings of Chomsky, he provides very
important
> and useful insights for further investigations. Whether you agree or
disagree
> with Chomsky, his works are challenging and stimulating in deepening and
> broadening our perspectives on matters that are very important to our
future.
>
> The Essential Chomsky brings together much of the essentials of Chomsky’
s
> numerous and wide range of writings in a single volume, and it should
serve as a
> valuable reference for the important points he has been trying to make
for the
> past half century.
>
> References
>
> Noam Chomsky. 2008. The Essential Chomsky. The New Press, New York.
ISBN:
> 978-1-59558-189-1
>
> Directed by Peter Wintonick. 2002. Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky
and the
> Media (DVD). Zeitgeist Films. Ltd.
>
> Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky. 1988, 2002. Manufacturing Consent,
The
> Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon. ISBN: 0-375-71449-9
>
> Noam Chomsky. 1989. Necessary Illusions, Thought Control in Democratic
> Societies. South End Press. ISBN: 0-89608-367-5
>
> Noam Chomsky. 1998, 1999. Profit Over People, Neoliberalism and Global
Order.
> Seven Stories Press. ISBN: 978-1-888363-82-1
>
> Edited by Peter Collier and David Horowitz. 2004. The Anti-Chomsky
Reader.
> Encounter Books. ISBN: 1-893554-97-X
>
> Last Updated Nov 3, 2008
>
> http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/arts-entertainment/noam-chomsky-6579.html
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss

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