"And what will you have when the 12th largest corporation in the world controls the biggest goddamn force in the world?!"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2837798712919710673

Check out what Edwards has to say at 1:36 and then go back and see what he said at 1:09. Make sense?

bluegal, very nice work this afternoon. Thanks.

Kucinich is a concern for corporate America....

That "crop" was a really low blow....

Kind of dumb though, like the "blogosphere" wouldn't notice the pictorial nuance you decided to pull.....

Does ABC have any credibility with which to pontificate about "Democracy" after this???

The last person that the neo-con turds want to win is Dennis. And he's probably the only one that would truly screw them hard. The rest are in bed with them in one way or another.

Unfortunately I don't think he has much chance without a lot of help.

Great vid by the largest minority. Gets to the heart of fascist corporations like Disney and Murdock controlling the message to keep the good sheep in line.

Great work bluegal ! A lengthy yet excellent read. The only thing I like about ABC's acronym
is probably pretty obvious.

This is why we have bad Presidents.

Journalists annoint a front-runner, they amuse themselves with jokes about hair and clothes and looks, then they refuse to deal in substantive issues when their annointed gets elected and goes on to do enormous damage to the country.

Great job, journos. Thanks a lot.

From an aspiring animator. FUCK DISNEY!!!

I myself must thank ABC News for taking steps to censor that Dennis Kucinich character. We as a people are not ready for an end to Amerika's illegal invasions and occupations of other countries, single payer universal health care for all, an end to war profiteering, equal taxation of wages and dividend income, and social and economic justice for all. I for one am glad that ABC News is the very example of corporate responsibility and honesty, for once they are bought, they stay bought. Save us from the likes the Kuciniches (and Gravels, and Pauls, etc, etc.) USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

;>)

One day maybe the voters can decide who the "real" candidates are.

I know, keep dreaming.

he's still paying the price for standing up to Ted Koppel in '04. that's the way it looks to me.

Are they not even trying to disguise it anymore? This I think represents a new low.

Disney isn't the most influential media in the U. S. That distinction goes to Rupert Murdoch and his facist FOX news.

That's pretty lame. Online polls often aren't terribly representative, but if a site's going to have them, then have them and don't bury them. The cropping bit is ridiculous, as is the questioning bit. Considering most of the debates only allow short, sound bite answers, it's pathetic they didn't ask everyone a question for that long.

Largest Minority over-analyzes a bit, methinks. Disney often does suck as an employer, hiring people for 39.5 hours per week to deny them full benefits. However, their main agenda for creative works is making a profit. Disney does not have story control over Pixar films such as Finding Nemo (a great film, BTW) - it's a distribution deal primarily. The same goes for many of their stories. The traditional Disney narrative formula is a coming-of-age/who am I story, often with a "ugly duckling" element thrown in as well. That storyline is hardly unique to Disney, nor did it orginate with them.

I don't think this particular move is the result of a corporate edict from on high, but it's groupthink and clearly crappy journalism. There's no question that reporters pick their favorites and who's "serious" or not. Most of them don't like Edwards, who's also quite liberal. They obviously don't take Kucinich seriously. And they seem in love with Giuliani and Thompson.

As for hidden agendas and shady moves - the most egregious one from the House of the Mouse for my money is still airing The Path to 9/11.

Vitam Vas @ 18:

Let's get realistic here. How about Edwards/Kucinich. I would be thrilled to death to have Dennis as the unaccountable forth branch of government. And after 8 years of the US seeing how well things work when there isn't a neocon fuckstick in charge, he might have a viable candidacy at the top slot.

V V

Actually, Americans saw this with Clinton. He wasn't perfect, but he was no neocon. It didn't take. People turned right around and voted for TurdBlossom. It's amazing to think how many thousands of people have died because of unConstitutional, illegal crap that Bush has done. Yet, he's in no danger of even being censured, and Clinton got impeached for a nooner in the Oval office.

If this isn't absolute final proof that we must elect Kucinich, then it doesn't exist. The corporations are terrified of Kucinich, hate him, and proved it by cropping him out of the debate. Don't make the mistake of thinking this was done only by ABC/Disney. My guess is that every single corporation supported this. My great fear is if Kucinich becomes a serious candidate, he will end up with a bullet between the eyes on a minute past midnight of the elections if not well before as they did with Robert Kennedy ... and his brother JFK. Also, remember Bush is in office and providing Kucinich's Secret Service protection.

Kucinich is the only candidate who makes any sense, the only candidate who represents us and not the corrupt, evil corporations, greedy rich and powerful. All the other Democrats belong body and soul to the corporations.

He was cropped because he's too close to the truth more than any other candidate save for Gravel. And too close to the hearts of minds of the people of this country, which, of course they just can't have anything that close to sparking a genuine dialogue.
Everybody is pushing Clinton as if it's a given and what the repugs want the most, because she's fFAMILIAR, just NOT LIKED.

Just another mindfuck to the brainless public.

kaT @ 33:

Vitam Vas @ 18:

Let's get realistic here. How about Edwards/Kucinich. I would be thrilled to death to have Dennis as the unaccountable forth branch of government. And after 8 years of the US seeing how well things work when there isn't a neocon fuckstick in charge, he might have a viable candidacy at the top slot.

V V

Actually, Americans saw this with Clinton. He wasn't perfect, but he was no neocon. It didn't take. People turned right around and voted for TurdBlossom. It's amazing to think how many thousands of people have died because of unConstitutional, illegal crap that Bush has done. Yet, he's in no danger of even being censured, and Clinton got impeached for a nooner in the Oval office.

Actually, technically they didn't. It took every slimy trick, including suppressing the black vote, a bullshit smearjob on Al Gore (who already had a severe weakness in despite being supremely competent is well kinda geeky-as opposed to Bill Clinton's charisma....), etc, and they still didn't win the popular vote. Dubya was appointed by his father's supreme court.

I have to politely disagree with your other assertion. Were I in charge, and wanted to see some justice for the Bush administration, I would just let the clock run out until dumbshit gets his pardon pen taken away and doesn't have the power of the presidency to obstruct justice with. One option (I think-not an expert on international criminal law) is to sign back onto the international criminal court (shrub took us off, and threatened to invade the Netherlands to "rescue" anyone that they held) jurisdiction. There are some nice folks at the Hague who tend to look disapprovingly at invading sovereign nations to compensate for one's inadequate manhood. The administration may actually do better there than here.....I believe that we still literally hang people for treason.

V V

yes its true my oppinion is, kucinich can win if you vote for him, if you dont listen to these rat bastard news polls , if you get over being scared of sister juilinie winning the presidency , because with obamma clinton and edwards you get four more wars , none of them will get your civil rights back or end this war , im voteing for dennis ,

I've heard idiots who have said Kucinich looks like a pixie. @#$%^&*! you! We had 8 years of Alfred E. Newman, farting and burping, leaving his pants unzippered and his shirt buttons mismatched, molesting the Gernan Chancellor, talking with his mouth open and how many other barbaric, uncivilized gaffs. After 8 years of Alfred E. Newman, Barney the dog looks like a very well qualified president. Kucinich has proven beyond a doubt that he is head and shoulders above all the other candidates. All the other candidates are owned by the corporations. He served hot dogs to the Queen of England and hot dogs and hamburgers to Sarkozy. Then he was hoping Sarkozy would provide the cheese ... but would have been shocked and disappointed it it was anything other than French Velveeta. Of course, we could do worse than Bush. We could be stupid enough to elect Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez or David Berkowitz. No, Bush is final nail in the coffin of the corporate candidates. We don't want another Oval Office occupant that is anything like Bush.

The Fakestream media has been doing this type of tactic with Ron Paul's candidacy for months now.

Paul has won several straw polls in 5 states and it got no coverage. Romney, the media annointed, wins (allegedly) in Iowa and the press/video media goes cookoo.

Paul, Kucinich, and Gravel are the only authentic candidates, the rest are shills for other controlled interests.

I wrote to ABC right away about this & protested-not only did they crop him but he had to wait 28 minutes to asked a question. They did not reply-surprise.
Write to ABC-let them know how you feel about it.

Chris @ 47:

I wrote to ABC right away about this & protested-not only did they crop him but he had to wait 28 minutes to asked a question. They did not reply-surprise.
Write to ABC-let them know how you feel about it.

Well it's understandable as to "no reply", I mean after all, neither Mickey Mouse, Donald
Duck or Pluto got out of first grade and consequenlty cannot read or write.

I am a Kucinich supporter and it makes me sad to see what he is up against just to get his name, his face and his message out there.

For those who might wonder why I support Kucinich, it's because I want:

1) Single-payer not-for-profit healthcare. No other candidate is advocating that.
2) Fair trade instead of free trade. No other candidate will opt out of NAFTA in favor of better trade agreements.
3) The US to stop threatening others with nuclear weapons -- let's face it everyone thinks (hopes) that no president would be foolish enough to begin a nuclear war (even responding to nukes with nukes kills everyone on earth). But none of the other candidates are willing to say they wouldn't use nukes under any circumstances.
4) A president who isn't afraid to stand up for what is right, backs rhetoric with actions, has a voting record that proves it. No other candidate has done that.

It's not the elf man I support, it's what he stands for.

WOW! Is this a Kucinich story on C&L?

Thanks bluegal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe some people will finally realise that the media is telling the people what they should think and who they should vote for.

Don't end it here with this post your your comments to this post. You need to make your voices heard.

LAST THOUGHT AND I'M OUT: america has always gone for the underdog. word is out how corporate america and the media are treating dennis. all that's going to do is give him impetus to win. he needn't shouldn't and better not change the message. i don't believe it's in his makeup. he will either make it or break it on his beliefs, not what is expedient to get him elected. and there's the rub, we want a candidate who is not afraid to say impeach the bast...s, he's not afraid to say bring the troops home today not next month, not next year, and not when he gets the okay from the repubs. he said now and that's what he means and that's what his constituency wants. he's the underdog in every respect, now let's get out there and support him. it's going to be up to the readers and writers of C and L to lead the way.

Kucinich is the only sane choice.

He should become Canadian. He'd be Prime Minister by now.

no longer a proud american @ 54:

you know what i'm feeling, a GROUNDSWELL for kucinich. keep the ball rolling. i think it's doable.

I agree completely. Kucinich and Paul seem to be the only candidates people really get passionate about. Sadly, many liberals believed the MSM when they were told Kucinich didn't stand a chance, got a lobotomy, and hopped on the Paul bandwagon. I applaud C&L for not being afraid to give time to Dennis. They haven't dismissed him like Kos has done. I think Kucinich coverage here can only increase as more people become acquainted with Dennis and reconnect with what it means to be a liberal. More bloggers need to support this man. As is evident in every post mentioning Kucinich, the demand amongst readers is definitely there.

Chris, I also wrote ABC News and complained about the unfair tactics used against DK in the debates and polls, photo crop, etc.. I received no reply either. I guess what we say doesn't matter in their corporate world.

A Richard Head says-

The last person that the neo-con turds want to win is Dennis. And he’s probably the only one that would truly screw them hard. The rest are in bed with them in one way or another.

Unfortunately I don’t think he has much chance without a lot of help.

Which is WHY we are here !!

I vaguely recall posting here that the MSM would say Hillary won the debate, despite that poll. I'm by no means surprised that this has happened. Can't let anything get in the way of Hillary's coronation as the Democratic nominee. Why have a democracy when dynasties work so well.

The Global Internet Community (We The People--remember us?) is metamorphosing our Body Politic faster than the Corporatist-driven propagandists can keep up. They cannot stop us. Increasing numbers of us are getting clear about corporatism and its myriad shills, e.g. Fox, ABC, et. al. In 1789, the French Imperialists had to learn their lessons the hard way. Perhaps the Corporatists are doomed to make the same mistake.

We The People will HAVE a worthy candidate in the Oval Office--even if we have to do it by storming the White House.

The WHOLE threat behind the Democratic favorites of the big corp and the hollywood run media conglamorate (illusionist) is that KUCINICH DOES in fact IS the most viable candidate for the PARTY of the PEOPLE. The top tier (favorites) have been given a substantial campaign investment (support). And has the foresight that the top tier has the MILLIONS OF POTENTIAL Advertising Dollars to trickle back at the media's Revenue buckets.

One of the MOST DUMBEST assumptions that these so called Marketers or PR publicist have is that PEOPLE are still gullible to the schemes of market programing or advertising hypnotisim. It is obvious that these advertising, political PR professionals and the political campaign strategist are so out of touch with the people today.......They are out of touch that people today are more educated, no longer easily manipulated, and perhaps more sophisticated and intellectually sound than the typical AMERICA that they once though they were.

AMERICANS today have been screwed so many times, lied to, manipulated and fed with so many false hopes and security, that they have been rudely AWAKEN and NOW have been vigilant to these schemes and tactics. Screw FOX, Screw Disney, Screw you Couric at CBS, Screw you CNN, Screw the Print media and At&T and futhermore SCREW ABC.

For any decent AMERICAN people who work for these medium, you should SCREW the people that run these company......for they are SCREWING the AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Kucinich 2008

no longer a proud american @ 54:

you know what i'm feeling, a GROUNDSWELL for kucinich. keep the ball rolling. i think it's doable. now what about a running mate. i like edwards' sincerity, but obama would carry a lot of weight. hillary was my vote at one time because she had the clinton name as well as the fact that she is a woman...but she sold out. obama would learn an awful lot in the vp position under kucinich and who knows in 4 or 8 years. he's young enough. damn you hillary, i believed in you. but now it's everything i can possibly muster behind dennis.

How about Robert Kennedy, Jr? Or Russ Feingold?

chorocardium @ 9:

Does ABC have any credibility with which to pontificate about "Democracy" after this???

Did they have any before?

You know who these "moderates" are? They're many times the middle class home owners who are going under in record numbers. I have no problem having my tax dollars helping them, but they can't turn around (cause they're "centrist" or whatever) and apply the same logic towards me in regards to healthcare and things like trade and finance. If that's the case they can swim in their own debt to the banks. I won't bend the system just enough for THEM to come out better. Either it radically changes in ways that are far overdue or it changes AFTER the economy tanks. I'm tired of these damn "moderates".

Vitam Vas @ 18:

Let's get realistic here. How about Edwards/Kucinich. I would be thrilled to death to have Dennis as the unaccountable forth branch of government. And after 8 years of the US seeing how well things work when there isn't a neocon fuckstick in charge, he might have a viable candidacy at the top slot.

V V

I'd prefer Kucinich as president, but he'd probably be killed just like JFK. As V.P. he'd make a solid "life insurance" policy for Edwards.

Vandus @ 77:

You know who these "moderates" are? They're many times the middle class home owners who are going under in record numbers. I have no problem having my tax dollars helping them, but they can't turn around (cause they're "centrist" or whatever) and apply the same logic towards me in regards to healthcare and things like trade and finance. If that's the case they can swim in their own debt to the banks. I won't bend the system just enough for THEM to come out better. Either it radically changes in ways that are far overdue or it changes AFTER the economy tanks. I'm tired of these damn "moderates".

Astute obvservation. I don't think many of our peers in middle america have any idea how precarious our economic situation is right now. Nor do they understand that the solutions being posed for our situation are the same ones that created it. The innevitable conclusion of this course is another depression. Another depression will cause another radical shift in American politics.

What I fear is that a non-authoritarian, populist, and democratic solution to the situation (like FDR) will not and cannot happen in the context of coporate media control. The last time people siezed power from them, they tried to overthrow the government (see the BBC special on Grandpa Bush and JP Morgan's attempt to lead a military coup against FDR). This time they're going to try everything they can to stop change from happening. That's why you see them cropping serious progressives out of the national spotlight. There is a real chance that we could be in the middle of a shitstorm by the 2008 elections, and they want to make sure we choose one of their men, or women, to captain us through it.

That, or they'll just take all our money and go to Dubai, where they can set up a great and glorious, truly capitalistic paradise. All the citizen-shareholders will take part in appointing 49% of the National Board of Directors. The Board will then appoint the CEO/Commander in Chief. With a floatila of modified 50ft+ yahts transporting legions of Haliburton infantry (along with elite Blackwater special forces), they'll lock down the Persian Gulf, secure all the oil, and show America how truly great they are.

It's not just America that needs Denis Kucinich -- the whole WORLD does.

A thank you to C&L. I have been watching Obama, Clinton, Edwards for most of this race but this story made me wonder why ABC would be worried enough to obliterate Kucinich so I spent the entire day watching speaches and reading his platform.

Perhaps ABC did a good thing. By denying me his input, I wanted to actually hear him speak. This is applicable at 47 as it was when I was 17. I signed up to receive his news releases.

I think ABC screwed up.

Thanks C&L and BlueGal for this post! Bravo! We need more Kucinich!

I personally have boycotted ABC (...seriously, I do not watch ANYTHING on that fucking network anytmore - period!). If the other network 'news' agencies were smart, they'd pick up this story and run with it and give ABC something to worry about.

That's interesting... I wrote a poem for Poets Against the War on 2/21/2003 called "Disney George".

Disney George

George Bush is a silly man,
Confused by personal invention.
He watches the horrible grandeur of reality
Through backwards-binoculars;
Diminishing the landscape of humanity
Into a comfortable cartoon.
Disney Family, Disney Faith,
Disney America.

Manic myth speaks
To cowpoke heart,
And encourages his journey toward
The O.K. Apocalypse.
Round 'em up... Head 'em out.
Shock and Awe.
It's frontier justice
In Disney World.

Behind his puppet pulpit,
A line of Christian soldiers
Salute their Manifest Destiny.
The burning swell of righteousness
Creates a contemporary Crusade.
Its Disney War.
Just like on TV,
Only real this time.

Meanwhile, behind the cameras,
And under the radar,
The bloody mud of centuries
Screams to the heart of America.
A smallpox infested blanket
Has enveloped our national soul,
To smother the voice of truth.

George invokes his Holy war...

(Cut to commercial)

"Hey George, You've nuked Saddam,
What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to Disney Land."

By the way, if anyone on this site didn't get the opportunity to watch the debate, I highly recommend reading the transcript: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/Story?id=3498294&page=1

Kucinich (as expected based on the issue on which this thread is based) doesn't appear until halfway down page 2.

But, it's clear from all of his answers that he is the best choice for president. For us liberal/progressives out there, you won't find a candidate whose ideas are more aligned with our governing philosophy.

In fact, I'd say his values are probably more aligned with the majority of Americans than any other candidate, when they really think about it.