North Carolina Beef: Packingtown

If you like to eat beef (or if you love animals), you can't help but be concerned about tainted meat or the maltreatment of cows at mass-production slaughterhouses. Now this, yet another prime example of why the glorious hand of the free market is such a marvelous regulator (from the AP):

A government inspection of slaughterhouses found significant problems with the treatment of cattle and two of the nation's largest beef processors - both of which provide meat for the National School Lunch Program - were slapped with humane handling violations.

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In addition to Cargill and National Beef, the FOIA shows that the FSIS temporarily shut down Martin's Abattoir and Wholesale Meats, in Godwin, N.C., for insufficiently stunning animals, failing to make them insensible to pain on the first attempt; and issued a noncompliance order to Dakota Premium Foods in South St. Paul, Minn., for excessive bunching up of cattle going into the stunning area. Martin's Abattoir declined to comment, and Dakota Premium did not return telephone messages.

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Um, did we learn nothing from Upton Sinclair? Fortunately for us in the High Country, there is an alternative to mass beef production--right in Wilkes County--and they sell their organic beef at Earth Fare in Boone.

Where 60 Minutes Dare Not Tread

Is there more to the story of Karl Rove and the former Governor of Alabama? You won't hear this interview in the High Country--or even on 60 Minutes. From the Thom Hartmann Program:

Thom's radio program is carried on 61 stations nationwide. Will the mainstream media pick up on this side of the story?

Weekend Video Salon: The Sound of Crickets Chirping

Almost every mainstream television news organization (and some newspapers) retained military "analysts" to provide perspective to viewers in the runup to the Iraq war and beyond. Even though it has been revealed that these "analysts" were really nothing more than propagandists paid by the Pentagon to promote the war, there has been no reaction by these news organizations as to why they hired these "analysts". In this video, PBS tries to find out why the mainstream media silence has been so deafening.

P.S. Bob Zelnick, seen is this video, is ABC's former Pentagon reporter. He is also Chair of Boston University's Journalism Department. Know what else? He's also affiliated with the very conservative Hoover Institute...how's that for liberal media bias? And the Pentagon propaganda program has allegedly been temporarily stopped.

WXIT 1200 AM: Rush's Riot Tips

We could have sworn that inciting a riot was somehow illegal. Funny, a riot was just what Rush called for during today's broadcast on WXIT 1200 AM. Because "that's the best damn thing that can happen to this country, as far as I can think," Limbaugh opined. From 7 News Denver:

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is sparking controversy again after he made comments calling for riots in Denver during the Democratic National Convention this summer. He said the riots would ensure a Democrat is not elected as president, and his listeners have a responsibility to make sure it happens."Riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don't elect Democrats," Limbaugh said during Wednesday's radio broadcast. He then went on to say that's the best thing that could happen to the country.
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"There won't be riots at our convention," Limbaugh said of the Republican National Convention. "We don't riot. We don't burn our cars. We don't burn down our houses. We don't kill our children..."
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... and riots in Denver, at the Democratic Convention will see to it we don't elect Democrats. And that's the best damn thing that can happen to this country, as far as I can think," Limbaugh said.

Here's our question: While Republicans may claim to not riot, burn their cars, burn down their homes or kill their children, perhaps Rush (and by extension, all of his Republican buddies) would like to see a whole lot of citizens, police, and firefighters get injured in a riot?

Well now. And to think that Rush's family-friendly, values centered little suggestion came to you over the public airwaves, via WXIT 1200 AM--right during the middle of the day.

Full link.

I Got Mine--Screw You: CATO, AEI & Neal

After 30 plus years of trying to change society into a privatized and deregulated paradise, turns out that this libertarian/neo-con ideological obsession has been defeated by a bunch of show tune-loving high school twerps.

To the libertarian/neo-con (LNC) set, there is nothing scarier than the phrase "we're all in this together." Because for them, life is all about getting what's yours--and the heck with everyone else--no matter what. And by god, don't use my taxes to support the public commons (public schools, water, fire, police departments, etc.) because the private sector can do that much more efficiently--and safely.

But chip, chip, chip--the LNC has manged to repeat their privatization/deregulation mantra over and over again, hoping to slowly starve the beast of government. We see their spin on TV and in the newspapers so often that it seems like a significant portion of the population has actually started to drink their koolaid.

So, how's that privatization/government deregulation thing going anyway?

You may want to sit back and take a Vioxx or two. Did you pack your Heparin in your carry-on luggage? You know how these flights get delayed for so long--but at least they're safe, right? Don't forget to take that medication with some water. Oh, hey--let's watch the debate on the inflight TV. But before you take off, give your broker a call on the cell phone to see how your company's stock is doing--your retirement, remember? Don't forget to get a gift for Junior while you're away--he did such a great job on his report card. Betcha can't wait to get home so you can breathe in that clean, crisp mountain air, huh?

But at least there is one company out there that really did benefit from old Ronnie Reagan's sarcastic quip, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

And to think: we could have had it all--if it wasn't for those pesky kids. How dare they repudiate our glorious ideology?

Pentagon Knows Best

When it comes to the dissemination of domestic propaganda, it's pretty important to understand who the willing enablers (registration required) are, and what the law says. Make no mistake: the corporate media has willingly teamed up with the Pentagon to spread domestic propaganda--something that many legal scholars say is illegal.

While it may seem shocking to see this sort of propaganda actually being carried out in the U.S., events like this only reinforce what has become obvious to so many--that in many ways, the corporate media in the U.S. effectively functions like the state-controlled mouthpieces so frequently condemned by the U.S.

So, this is what the corporate media brings us. How many more events like this will we have to endure until we fully appreciate the degree of collusion between big media and the state? Or perhaps the deep financial interest that the corporate media has in this war?

Weekend Audio Salon: Dissent

If we view the internet as vital to nurturing a healthy democracy, something that allows for the free exchange of ideas, then why on earth would we think that a profit-driven internet service provider would want the internet to be the same thing?

Left unchecked, corporate ISP's can stifle debate by charging outrageous fees, censor content that they deem to be offensive, or consolidate to such an extent that no real competition exists.

Take a listen to the closing arguments at the latest FCC hearing on net neutrality. Because who knows, if the net doesn't remain neutral, you may never hear this type of dissent broadcast on the net again.

Audio link here.