Stating the Obvious: At Long Last…A Truth Slips In

After nearly a year of playing fast and loose with the facts about campaign fund sources, The LA Times has finally released a report stating the obvious. After nearly a year of PUMAs and other astute researchers trying to tell people that, contrary to the assertions of Obama and main stream media, "NO, Obama's *amazing* campaign money machine was NOT dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200 but rather, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking. But the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute just issued a detailed study of Obama's donor base and its giving. And that's what the Institute found, to its own surprise. 'The myth is that money from small donors dominated Barack Obama's finances,' said CFI's executive director Michael Malbin, admitting that his organization also was fooled. 'The reality of Obama's fundraising was impressive, but the reality does not match the myth.'
Adding up the total contributions from the same small individuals (in terms of dollar amounts, not their height), the Institute discovered that rather than the 50+% commonly...reported throughout the campaign, only 26% of Obama's contributions through last August and only 24% through Oct. 15 came from people whose total donations added up to less than $200." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/obama-money.html?cid=140869288#comments

Clearly, there is a severe problem when the truth only emerges AFTER a political campaign, and this has occurred time and time again: when it is too late for the truth to influence voters' decisions, main stream media releases it. This has got to change. The only way a democracy can exist is by having an informed electorate and as it stands now, media has completely preempted that possibility. The bias and propaganda emitted by media has now reached or even perhaps surpassed that of the old U.S.S.R.'s Pravda and Tass. Media have eroded its own credibility by discarding professional standards to the extent that most people go to the BBC or Al-Jazeera for objective content.

There are several groups working to restore credibility and professionalism to media in the United States, among them, Newswatch http://www.newswatch.org/Media_coverups.htm , Stop Big Media http://www.stopbigmedia.com/ , Media Blackout at Facebook and, of course, MediaPUMA here. Now that the 2008 election cycle has completed, we are regrouping and refocusing on efforts to reform main stream media, provide credible alternatives, and eradicate sexism.

"We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth... For my part, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst; and to provide for it." --Patrick Henry

Please stay tuned and lend a hand!

Setting the Record Straight

This blog is devoted to setting the record straight; letting the media and people everywhere that we, the MediaPumas, have gone on record about our intention to work for media reform by insisting on accountability, adherence to basic journalistic standards and reporting fact and truth instead of lies and omissions. But it is not merely contemporary media that have perpetrated public relations fraud: from time immemorial, entities and individuals have gone about the business of co-opting the facts, stretching the truth or simply making it up to fit their own agenda. I offer this today, written by John Two-Hawks and crossposted here as tribute to the real America, the importance of truth and the Native American Heritage Act of 2008, which was signed into law in October of this year and will be observed for the first time on November 28, 2008 and every year thereafter.

Mistakes, Lies & Misconceptions About American Indian People: The Thanksgiving Myth

Let me begin by stating that thousands of years before the 'official'
Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Governor Winthrop of the
Massachussetts Bay Colony in 1637, North American Indigenous
people across the continent had celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving.
'Thanksgiving' is a very ancient concept to American Indian nations.
The big problem with the American Thanksgiving holiday is its false
association with American Indian people. The infamous 'Indians and
pilgrims' myth. It is good to celebrate Thanksgiving, to be thankful
for your blessings. It is not good to distort history, to falsely portray
the origin of this holiday and lie about the truth of its actual inception.
Here are some accurate historical facts about the true origin of this
American holiday that may interest you.........................................
'Thanksgiving' did not begin as a great loving relationship between the
pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pequot and Narragansett people. In fact,
in October of 1621 when the 'pilgrim' survivors of their first winter in
Turtle Island sat down to share the first unofficial 'Thanksgiving' meal,
the Indians who were there were not even invited! There was no turkey,
squash, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. A few days before this alleged
feast took place, a company of 'pilgrims' led by Miles Standish actively
sought the head of a local Indian leader, and an 11 foot high wall was
erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the very purpose of
keeping Indians out! Officially, the holiday we know as 'Thanksgiving'
actually came into existence in the year 1637. Governor Winthrop of the
Massachussetts Bay Colony proclaimed this first official day of Thanksgiving
and feasting to celebrate the return of the colony's men who had arrived
safely from what is now Mystic, Connecticut. They had gone there to
participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot men, women and children,
and Mr. Winthrop decided to dedicate an official day of thanksgiving
complete with a feast to 'give thanks' for their great 'victory'....
As hard as it may be to conceive, this is the actual origin of our current
Thanksgiving Day holiday. Many American Indian people these days do
not observe this holiday, for obvious reasons. I see nothing wrong with
gathering with family to give thanks to our Creator for our blessings and
sharing a meal. I do, however, hope that Americans as a whole will one
day acknowledge the true origin of this holiday, and remember the pain,
loss, and agony of the Indigenous people who suffered at the hands of
the so-called 'pilgrims'. It is my hope that children's plays about 'the
first Thanksgiving', complete with Indians and pilgrims chumming at
the dinner table, will someday be a thing of the past. Why perpetuate
a lie? Let us face the truths of the past, and give thanks that we are
learning to love one another for the rich human diversity we share.
(Written by John Two-Hawks)

Again, this says much about human nature--both sides, light and dark--and the ease with which myth can supplant fact if we are not vigilant. This is nothing new. It is one of the vagaries of our darker side and our awareness of that is the first step toward recalibrating our standards for truth.

Where is the Breaking News??!

No fewer than seventeen cases have been filed against Barack Obama etal, challenging him to prove that he is a NATURAL BORN AMERICAN CITIZEN, which is required by the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section l to serve as POTUS. This is history in the making: NEVER in the history of the United States of America has anyone ineligible to serve run for POTUS, thus never has suit been brought against any candidate. And yet--Philip Berg's case has been submitted to the United States Supreme Court, who has given Obama and his handlers until December 1, 2008 to respond, and not one news outlet has reported this incredible series of events! This is truly the most frightening thing of all: worse than being in violation of our Constitution, worse than going unpunished for perpetrating that violation is the fact that, despite countless contacts with main stream media by concerned and informed citizens, they steadfastly refused not only to address this historical issue, but also to respond to any of these requests.

What the outcome will be remains to be seen but in my view, the worst of the damage has already been done: it appears obvious that the American people have been defrauded not only by having an ineligible, unqualified candidate who has seized an election through voter fraud, but it has gone completely unreported by the media. There can be no democracy without an educated electorate, and for all intents and purposes, the American people have lost their ability to educate themselves about the truth on candidates.

There is much work to be done in the coming months and years in order to restore our system of democracy to its former self. Stay tuned to learn about what YOU can do to hold media accountable and restore the rights of the American voter.

MediaPuma Watch