[lbo-talk] Glenn Beck breaks down in tears, blubbers on-air AGAIN (fwd)

Mark Bennett bennett.mab at gmail.com
Tue Mar 17 22:46:40 PDT 2009


It doesn't seem like nonsense to me. I've advocated something along the same lines myself for years; but most who have heard me thought it was nonsense. Of course regulatory capture, or something like it, as you note, would be a serious issue, but that's always an issue. Perhaps the model could be along the lines of Bureau of Labor Statistics or BEA or something like that. Hasn't Doug often praised the hard work and integrity of the people who work at these, and other public agencies that compile business and labor statistics?

As for 1): isn't it "speaking truth to power," or as Chomsky has often argued, speaking the truth to those who can then do something about, or to, power?

As for 2) Uh. . . . without tax support? Got me.

As for 3) Everything and nothing, I would guess. It would depend on the individual(s) involved. An analogy would perhaps be amateur or semi-pro scholarship and professional academic scholarship.

Whatever the form, wouldn't the big problem be, well, compelling the necessary readership to read whatever replaces the newspapers? At one time there was something of a social stigma imposed upon one who did not subscribe, or at least read, the local rag. The cost was low enough that if a household did not "get the paper" it was' a tacit admission of serious financial difficulties, or oddball eccentricity, at least in the 'burb I in which I grew up in So Cal.

On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 6:47 PM, Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com> wrote:


>
> On Tue, 17 Mar 2009, Jordan Hayes wrote:
>
> Local investigative journalism is absolutely essential to fighting
>> official corruption; that's as true in Tulsa as it is in Seattle.
>>
>
> Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. That is damned essential. And
> takes money and professionalism.
>
> Just for argument's sake: because this is so essential, is it possible to
> imagine this running on a tax-funded basis?
>
> Could we perhaps get around the control issue by electing an ombudsman? As
> one now elects in some cities a Public Advocate -- who runs, in some ways, a
> low-grade (but upgradable?) investigative journalism outlet that starts with
> a city-wide complaint system.
>
> Does seem like total nonsense?
>



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