Graham E. Fuller – Seeing ‘Evil’ Everywhere

It is depressing to witness the ongoing vitriolic voices of vituperation spewing out over the airwaves these days in what passes as “political debate,” especially in Republican circles. Depressing also to know that we still have nearly a year more to go of this same political circus of infotainment whose chief purpose really is to distract the public from the …

Henry A. Giroux – Political Frauds and the Ghost of Totalitarianism

In the current historical moment in the United States, the emptying out of language is nourished by the assault on the civic imagination. One example of this can be found in the rise of Donald Trump on the political scene. Trump’s popular appeal speaks to not just the boldness of what he says and the shock it provokes, but the …

Leid Stories – 08.12.15

Media Monsters & The Monster Media: How ‘Winners’ Are Made

The backdrop to the Donald Trump-centered political soap opera is an intriguing story. It hasn’t yet been told, mainly because the people who should be telling it and the media organizations they work for are key actors (and culprits) in a sordid production that has little to do with “the public’s right to know.”

It’s about money (lots and lots of money), power, and how “winners,” whether in media or politics, are made.

Leid Stories amplifies its July 27-29 discussions on the confluence of interests and power between the media and the political duopoly, and the rightward shift in American politics.

The Green Energy Revolt – Jason Mark

Debbie Dooley is mad as hell. Since 2012, the fifty-six-year-old grandmother and former IT consultant has been waging a fierce grassroots battle against her home state utility, Georgia Power, to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels. Now, she’s working with allies in Florida to sponsor a ballot initiative that would allow businesses and homeowners …

American Politics: A House of Mirrors – Ulson Gunnar

A house of mirrors is an immersive, highly distorted and intentionally confusing version of reality. Those walking its corridors are sometimes amused and sometimes frightened by the disorienting experience, but luckily for them, it is only temporary. There is an exit, and they will walk through it, back to reality. But what if one existed their entire lives in such …