Americans for Truth in News

Journalists assaulted regularly

2011-12-19T13:27:00.003-05:00

Holiday shoppers may be crowding city streets across America, but so are protestors in movements such as Occupy. So why are there more reports about Blue-Light Specials than about thousands of protesters being assaulted and hauled away by police?

Perhaps the fact that so many journalists have been assaulted recently while trying to report this story has a lot to do with it.

In fact, 50 professional writers and photographers were arrested, jailed or threatened in the dec. 17 gathering in New York's Zuccotti Park along with several clergymen who were out peacefully trying to support the cause.

Staff writer Nick Pinto of the Village Voice and freelancer Zack Roberts were consistently tweeting throughout the ordeal, even as they were arrested and placed in the paddywagon.

The worst offense I could find, however, was a report by well-known journalist Ryan Devereaux of Democracy Now who told of being pushed, threatened, and watching his cameraman hit three times as they reported on the scene despite the fact he was holding up his press credentials.

A Place for the 99-Percent to Unite!

2011-12-08T14:26:00.002-05:00

Deciding to reactivate this blog, Americans for Truth in News, was an easy choice. Having worked for many large media companies, I know the few good journalists left in the industry are stretched so far they can't get to all the important stories. Then, of course, there's so much commentary disguised as news, and advertorials (ads hidden as news) it's hard to know what to believe anymore. Press releases issued by state, local and federal governments are often taken as truth simply because there isn't enough time (or staff) to check them out properly. I'm not saying my former colleagues- or anyone working for the major media- are deliberately misleading, although some companies are forcing their employees to do just that.
Most journalists today are simply overworked and under the gun at deadline and don't have time to spend on more than a 12-inch print piece or a 10-second sound bite. That means a lot of important stories are ignored, or at least under-reported.
The fact so many groups and organizations have sprung up recently, like United We Stand, Tea Party- and many, many political parties other than elephants and donkeys we've never even heard of, shows the people who make up the "99-percent" mentioned in those 4-second segments of your television broadcasts really have something to say.
Eventually my main website, www.pennyfletcher.com, where I edit for authors preparing for publication, will be connected to this blog but for now, as I beat my technologically imperfect brain into submission to get this started, I invite you to send me your stories, photographs, and videos, and of course, on-line advertising to support the site!
Anyone, anywhere, is welcome to re post from this site but please remember to credit the source. The more people we can get talking to each other, the faster real patriots can fix what's gone so terribly, terribly wrong since the 27 Amendments to the Constitution were written.

New Homeland Security Rule Affects Driver's License Renewal

2010-05-15T11:54:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy writing news I have not even attempted to blog. There is a lot going on in this country people really need to know about. Did you know that as of Jan. 1, 2010, you are required to trace your name back to your birth certificate name to obtain a driver's license in Florida and several other pilot states? By 2014 this will be a national Homeland Security rule. And your driver's license will no longer be the required ID for proving who you are in order to not only drive- but to board airlines, or enter federal buildings. Only the new "Real ID" will be proof for that.

Sound easy enough to accomplish? Well, what if you lived in a small rural town and your Town Hall burned down? No problem- as long as your City Clerk had already sent an original sealed copy of your birth, marriage or divorce certificates to the State. If they didn't- well, you may just be up the creek with no oars.

It's the same if you've been married and divorced several times. It doesn't matter what your current driver's license or Social Security card say. They aren't good enough ID anymore.

You won't be able to get another driver's license unless you can tie your last name to your birth certificate. Women- if you've been married more than once, you'd better start writing a year before your license is due for renewal. In other words, birth certificate; first marriage certificate (and it better have your maiden name on it); divorce certificate; remarriage certificate; divorce papers; and current marriage certificate. No copies either. Only originals containing State seals.

Adoptions? Name changes? You'd better have good proof. State-sealed, court-ordered proof.

Check out my story on www.observernews.net. This is scary. We are about to be numbered from birth to death and it's not by Social Security. Makes me wonder how long it will be before we are told we must have this number tatooed or microchipped on our body.

Snopes says "mostly" false but...

2010-04-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

If you read the whole thing through, some rewording could make this the best idea since fire.

There is an amendment proposed to the Constitution that could actually help us take our country back, with some rewording, that is.

Some- like me- oppose adding any new laws or amendments; and would rather take the Constitution back to its original two pages and review each and every amendment (with the exception of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) added since its creation with the idea of sunsetting everything with ties to special interests- especially of government officials.

However, the following looks like the best idea to hit paper since 1964. Check this out: Proposed 28th Amendment: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not equally apply to Senators and/or Representatives; and Congress shall make no law that applies to Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

Google it in and check it out. It looks pretty good to me.

Why is this not on the major news stations?

2010-03-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

Four Americans were killed today and three more injured when a roadside bomb went off in southern Afghanistan.

Just so you know we don't get all the news from the front. Just what they want us to know.

You Heard it First Here!

2010-03-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

As of March 1 physicians, especially specialists, are gathering all over the country to decide what they will do about the new Medicare reimbursement rules. Doctors who accept Medicare will now get 21 percent less than before, and they say this is happening just as their malpractice insurance is rising - again. This is "lawsuit" insurance that 30 years ago cost approximately $3,000 a year and has now risen to $200,000 and up- and even higher for specialties like oncology and surgery where mortality rates are high.

Many are saying they will be leaving states with high ratios of retirees and the frail elderly, especially Florida, Arizona, Texas and California for states with fewer Medicare patients. But other insurance companies are sure to follow suit and begin to pay less to doctors. Medicare has always been the leader in such matters, and soon after, others follow.

Why would they want to stay in places where living expenses are high and they make less money? Several doctors I interviewed for a story in our local Tampa Bay newspaper this week say there is a petition being prepared and a mass protest is planned.

I know- most of us think of the physicians as the ultra elite who make millions, and of course, some do. But many are in the profession to heal people, and work at hospitals and clinics and medical groups; not private practice. Others, especially young ones who have not yet paid off their tremendous loans for college and medical school and are working 70 hours a week in intern duty will also suffer as established physicians move and leave ERs and clinics filled with those who can find care nowhere else.

A Nation of Whores?

2010-02-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

Folks, I don't know why I am not seeing more comments here. If you have trouble logging in, please email me at penny@pennyfletcher.com. The same post Jan. 28 (below) about the wealthy being the only ones who can now be elected because of a recent Supreme Court decision brought out 14 comments on one blog and 22 on another. Come on fans, hit me here on my own ground!

In regards to comments saying that we have become a nation of whores by our own choice (many saying it is because we have elected people who no longer represent us but carry their own agendas to the legislature) I have written the following answer in the form of this new post. Yes, it is commentary and this blog is here to report "true news." But my Internet posts under the name Americans for Truth in News on several other sites seem to be crystallizing a general dissatisfaction with today's media as a whole, and as a long-time journalist, I am compelled to answer their questions. For this reason, I offer the following post:
*****************
I agree with H.M.'s comment on (the blog) "Alexandria" that we have become a nation of whores. My explanation of this is that our decision to prostitute ourselves began when we decided to be a Republic instead of a Democracy. To elect people to represent us (as we do in a Republic) instead of having a one-person, one-vote society which is a true Democracy, has finally led us to an Electoral College system that is no longer a true representation of our voters.

Here in Florida where I live, we have 33 registered parties, with 20 of them being serious contenders that have actual platform planks and goals. Yet only two parties receive air time on our news. That is precisely why I decided to blog as Americans for Truth in News. It isn't that we get lies; we just do not get the whole truth. We don't see an accurate picture of what is really happening in politics as well as in our own state and national "political back rooms."

Instead, we get a micro-vision of what has occurred, filled with commentary, advertorials, and agendas based on the arbitrary decisions of editors in charge who now - after tremendous industry layoffs- do jobs that were once performed by four or five coworkers.

As a paid journalist of more than 35 years, I too am (or rather was) a whore, until I chose to freelance. This was a choice of great peril to me, as a widowed grandmother raising a grandchild for a disabled son because I have enough serious medical conditions to be forbidden to purchase medical insurance in our great United States of America due to the state of our broken health care system.

Still, I could not stay in the major media system any longer because the days are gone where news decisions are based on reality. No, sadly they are based upon what will "grab buyers." The word readers is now rarely used, but has been replaced by "customers" and "buyers" as though news was a "product" like a T-shirt or shoes.

We must realize that what is reported is not all that happens, but a two-second (or in the case of print) a 12-inch "condensation;" the content of which has been edited to fit a slot based on the amount of advertising is paying for that slot. What goes in is editor's choice.

When powerful parties offer to pay bankrupt media for advertising time, naturally they also get news coverage. Therefore, political party candidates without $$$$ have a piss-poor chance of having their say. So yes, H.M. from Alexandria, I agree: we are a nation of whores.

But there is a cure for our STD if we choose to use it. Better than antibiotics is a loud voice across the land. Like the Tea of old thrown into the harbor, we must cast our voices across the airwaves and Internet taking the same risks as Paul Revere. Yes, some of us will be called traitors. But others will be called true patriots.

Benedict Arnold was a great man to some and a traitor to others. Shall we stay whores by allowing our representatives to take our power for themselves or will we take a stand and risk our lives.

And yes, "Virginia," I believe the time that we will have to risk our lives to speak the truth is not far away.

Now only wealth will count in elections

2010-01-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

It's finally happened. Only the wealthy will have the power to campaign. Oh- it's been coming on for decades, but with the Supreme Court's ridiculous decision last week to allow unlimited campaign spending by corporations- the elite have finally won.

One-hundred years of campaign law has been thrown out the window.

The lobbyists who take elected representatives to thousand-dollar dinners; fly them to private islands in their jets and push wads of money into the pockets of their three-thousand-dollar suits will now be able to openly give out checks in public view. The money of course, will come from the lobbyists "masters" (employers if you want to call them that).

Big oil. Big drug companies. Big insurancce. All with the ability to donate as much as they please to candidates running for office that promise them exactly what they want if they're elected.

Where is the media on this? Why does it seem that more editorial writers are talking about the color of Michelle Obama's dress during last night's State of the Union address than about this unholy Supreme Court alliance with huge-dollar companies aiming to run the world?

With the Court's latest asinine decision, insurance companies can spend as much as they want on Joe Lieberman's efforts to water down health care reform as thousands without insurance continue to die. And ExxonMobil (hummm.... another merger) can spend billions on candidates who will oppose clean energy.

Laugh if you will. Scoff if you prefer. Say this information is worthless and unpatriotic. But baby- you've come a long way now. Is this what Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Thomas Paine envisioned? Is this what your forefathers (and possibly sons and daughters) died on foreign soil to protect?

I personally, am ashamed, black-robed justices. Shame on you for what you've done. And shame on me for not screaming it from the rooftops when I first saw it coming.

Looking Back at History Prepares us to Read Current Events

2010-01-16T20:22:00.001-05:00

This post has no commentary or opinion. It is all fact. It is very bare-bones material I am researching to compile into a nonfiction book, American Gestapo, that will be a follow-up to my last book, fiction-based-on-fact, Soft News. I would like to preface my report by saying I spent more than two years living in Germany as a military dependent, and some of my ancestors are from that country. I found the Germans very friendly, likeable, hardworking and although tremendously practical, fun-loving at the right time.

* * * *
Some people are trying to change history. Today we are only going to deal with one aspect of this: Germany immediately prior to World War II.

There have been recent news stories quoting historians who say the Holocaust never happened. Textbook "revisionists" engaged in Holocaust denial refer to their work as an historical re-examination of history, updating it with "newly discovered, less biased information." It is an academic approach that says historical accounts have not been properly told. To check out these facts, simply type "Holocaust denial" or delve into the work of Henry Rousso- a respected Frenchman who works as director of research at the French National Scientific Research Center and is considered a top expert on the World War II era.

History currently shows that in the late 1920s and early 1930s, economic times in Germany were tough; people were losing jobs; had little to eat; and newspapers were afraid to speak out for fear of offending those in power.

As the economic crisis became a Great Depression, a "savior" who promised much to the masses came to power. The media loved him. Just check your history. All he did was in the name of justice and change.

Germany was cultured, filled with music, art, laboratories and universities. The Germans were hardy, hardworking, and patriotic. Hitler had only been appointed Chancellor of Germany four weeks when he was invited by President von Hindenburg to lead a coalition government. But time passed and elections were upcoming.

On the evening of Feb. 27, 1933, six days before an election was scheduled that could have changed the balance of power, a huge fire broke out. It became known as the Reichstag Fire and was the reason used by those in power to put military law on the streets. It was (of course) said to be the only way to protect the people from harm.

Immediately following our "Reichstag Fire" (Sept. 11) The Patriot Act was put into place supposedly for those very same reasons. Have you studied it? I suggest you do. If certain portions of it are enforced, any law enforcement agent (from any branch, whether your local sheriff or DC SWAT team) can invade your home or business without a warrant. All they must say is "He (or she) might be a terrorist."

The text of the German Decree, officially called the Verordnung des Reichprasidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat (Order of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State) is available in your library and on line. Its Article 6 states that it went into effect the moment it was posted.

The decree resulted in military power that took over the streets. Killing sprees. Genocide. Turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. Concentration camps. Rounding up of all Jews and any others who opposed their tactics; scientists; great thinkers; philosophers; writers; journalists; photographers- anyone who wanted to speak out or report the truth.

This was not something that happened overnight. It had been building. All the elements were present and simply had to be enforced. As they are here in the United States of America today.
Simply read The Patriot Act for yourself and decide.

Happy New Year: Trouble Posting Comments?

2010-01-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

I have had a dozen emails that say people are trying to sign up to "follow" so they can comment but they cannot. First you must have an account on either Yahoo, Google, WordPress, AIM, or some other online account. You must register for one if you don't already have one before trying to log in as a follower. These accounts are free, easy to get, and you don't have to mess with them but once; just the time you create it. It will ask all you sorts of things- do you want this, or that; just say "No." You just need an account. They will give you another email address for this account but you don't have to use it. I have never even checked my Google email. I use a Google account name and password for everything. Once you have one of these online accounts, you can sign up on just about any site, using the same name and password. If you upload a photo with the sign-up profile, it will even show every time (and place) you sign in next to the screen name you choose.

I began to question the difficulty of this when I offered that the first 50 "followers" my free Lesson 1 of my Creative Yarnspinning course. I had plenty of email saying people just couldn't sign in so I tried it and ended up making myself my own friend!

I get so many responses at my other blog on Alexandra that I really question the sign-up process here. Please try again, and let me know how it goes by mailing penny@pennyfletcher.com. If it is not working correctly, I will have it fixed.

Meanwhile, Happy New Year! Here's to great writing!

Is This Happening in Your Town?

2009-12-26T09:33:00.000-05:00

Since one of my main points for writing this blog and my other, found at http://aleksandreia.wordpress.com/, is to bring you facts, I always warn readers when there is commentary in a post. I mention my other blog because it seems to be easier to make comments on Wordpress as these blogs get so many responses there and so few here on Blogspot. (Perhaps those having trouble commenting here need to set up a Google or Yahoo account?)

Enough of that. Now for the story. What follows is a true account of what happened to one of my granddaughters, and I have checked the policy with a spokesperson for the school here in Hillsborough County, Florida. But since I am using the word "I" in a "news story" I wanted to be sure and begin by saying although it may be written like a column, the content of this story is factual. I am posting it in hopes many people who have children in public schools across the country will check and see if such policies are in force in their state and let me know by emailing penny@pennyfletcher.com or contacting me through my main site, http://www.pennyfletcher.com.

As many of my regular readers know, I am raising a granddaughter, who I have had since she was seven months old and is now 12. Last week while preparing for the holiday party in her classroom, we were in Walmart and she was carefully reading all the wording on the back of Christmas cards.

Since she was taking a particularly long time to do this (and of course I was in a hurry to continue shopping) I asked what was it she was looking for so I could help.
"I have to be sure there aren't any religious sayings or references in the cards," she told me. "If we take them to school, we could get in trouble."

OK people- I know my Constitution pretty well and it includes freedom of speech and freedom of the press. A card is a free gift; the buyer is "allowed" to purchase it and the recipient is "free" to read it. The written words on the card are protected under our Constitutional rights of freedom of both speech and press.

As for the meaning of the wording on the "holiday" cards: the word Christmas comes from the original meaning of the holiday. It is a shortened version of "Christ's Mass" (meaning Christ-based church service) and is hundreds of years old. The word "holiday" is a shortened version of "holy day" also rooted in a religious meaning.

These are facts. Ask any language arts or English teacher.

Warning: the next section is commentary based on what has just been reported.
The fact that a child in 6th Grade is not permitted to bring a card with reference to a religious meaning to a public school in America, is to me, a serious breach of Constitutional rights. They are also not permitted to wear any religious symbols or wording on jewelry or T-shirts, although the Simpson's crude remarks or skulls or peace symbols or any number of other symbols and wording are permitted and go unquestioned.

This smells of a class-action discrimination lawsuit if I ever heard of one.
The separation of church and state were created to assure that citizens had rights to worship or not worship as they chose- whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, or whatever.
This is not a religious issue and needs not be handled as such. If the religious right keeps talking about "persecution of Christians" it will continue to lose the Constitutional cause on which this dilemma is really based by making enemies outside its ranks who are also losing their rights but don't realize it yet.

I happen to be a Christian. I am active in my church and speak my mind about it but I have no wish to infringe on your Constitutional rights- which as a journalist, I will continue to defend. I have Jewish friends; a Muslim friend and several atheist friends. In my business I meet all kinds of people- my friends are multi-ethnic; multi-colored and may or may not choose the same type of worship as I do.

This is America and we all deserve each other's respect. Why are we shedding our military's blood on foreign soil for "freedom and democracy" we are losing here on our own ground?
If someone chooses to erect a Christmas tree or a Menorah or draw a Medicine Wheel in front of my City Hall, why is it so important to make an issue of removing them? The atheists I know say this is ridiculous; that as long as someone doesn't try and change what they do, they're fine with what others do. So who is it really behind all this "anti-religion of any kind" philosophy?

I want to know why the $#@! a 12-year-old child is trying so hard to keep from "getting in trouble" over a religious word on a "holiday" card. Don't you?

As written, health care bill will make things worse

2009-12-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

As a reporter for more than 35 years, I have covered voting, legislation and politicians in just about any situation imaginable. One thing I have noticed time and time again is that the important issues create a lot of debate which would be a good thing if people didn't view them as strictly black and white.

Labor unions, civil rights, voting of women, all struck the same hard responses in their time as abortion and health care do today. But everything- and I don't use that word lightly - everything you decide about current issues depends upon what will affect you and yours personally.

My health was covered by the media organizations I worked for until I quit to become a freelancer. I jumped ship before what I refer to as "The Great Layoff of 2008" in the media industry. Like "Sniff," one of the prototypes (that happened to be mice) in the famous business guide, "Who Moved My Cheese," I looked for new food before my supply ran out. I knew if I waited, there would be a lot of journalists "scurrying" (Scurry was another prototype in the book) for whatever freelance work was available.

I didn't do it stupidly; I obtained health insurance before I left my former company. But a month after I had set up my home-based business, I received a letter saying my acceptance into the plan was withdrawn and my check for premiums was returned. Six denials later, I realized no insurance company was going to insure me at my age with the chronic conditions on my medical record, despite the fact I live a healthy lifestyle.

That made me one of the 50 million Americans who have no health insurance. Not because I refused to buy it; but because I wasn't permitted to buy it. That's what many who are against a public option don't realize: right here in the good old U.S. of A people die every day because they aren't permitted treatment. Sure, laws say emergency rooms must stabalize a person who is brought in, but they won't admit without an insurance card. And you can't be sent for expensive tests. (Oh- you may have cancer, or some other disease, but why be screened only to find out it might be fatal if you can't do anything about its progression?)

If you don't believe me, ask your local hospital admitting or billing department. Now a few "charitable" hospitals will take you in, but sometimes (pardon the pun) it takes an act of Congress.

Even though I had done stories about people being denied necessary treatment in the past, suddenly, this situation became my situation and I stayed on top of every candidate and sitting politician's stance. So you'd think I'd be in favor of the bill that recently passed the House and is now in the Senate, wouldn't you? After all, passage would mean I (and others like me) could get whatever treatment I needed, right? Why, we should be jumping up and down clapping our hands yelling "Pass it now!"

Except for one thing: This bill is a sham. It is full of restrictive measures and government mandates that won't end up helping enough people to matter but will cost us all for generations to come.

There is still time to stop this bill by calling your Senators. I would suggest you call them today. Oh- many of us out here need health care, but even if this bill passes we may not get it. It's a "fox in charge of the henhouse" bill. And why shouldn't it be? Congress won't have to live (or die) with it. They have their own health care plan, and retirement plan too. One stint in politics; one term in the seat and they draw pay and benefits for life.

The key is to make Congress use the public plan they design for the people. Then, and only then, will a "public option" be acceptable.

Legalizing the Marriage of News and Advertising

2009-12-04T16:54:00.000-05:00

While there's been a lot of media attention given to different opinions concerning the right for gay couples to marry, there's been a near blackout on the disgusting marriage of news and advertising.
When I wrote my latest book, Soft News, in 2007, it was basically a "what if" type scenario, like when Dr. Robin Cook first wrote "Coma." The plot of Soft News shows what "could happen" if a large enough corporation takes over too many news outlets. People don't get the truth. Instead they end up with whatever slant or version of an event the "owner" of their news outlet wants them to believe. If the same corporation owns the local newspaper, weekly or bi-weekly magazine and television and radio stations, only one view is presented to an entire coverage area.
As of this week, the premise behind the plot of Soft News has not only become a reality, but is being put into play nationally on a damaging scale most won't realize until it's too late.
On Dec. 3 The Dallas Morning News announced what it calls its "bold new strategy:" news editors will report to sales managers.
That's right, sales departments will have the last say on what goes to press. Just hit your searchbars folks. Put in Dallas Morning News and strategy. You'll find links if you look for them. But where are the national headlines blasting this crazy scheme?
Shouldn't this be on front pages all across America?
Following this travesty, Dec. 4 Comcast Corp. announced its plans to buy NBC Universal. This means that Comcast, which already has 23.8 million cable television customers, 15.7 million Internet subscribers and 7.4 million customers for its telephone service, would control the Peacock network many have relied on for their news since the heyday of radio.
NBC Universal (which was a big enough merger to begin with) owns both NBC and Telemundo broadcasting, 26 television stations, an array of popular cable channels; the Universal Studio and theme parks and has a stake in Hulu, which distributes television programs online.
Although I have predicted the merger of television and the Internet for many years, the single corporate ownership is what is so dangerous. In other words, the lack of individual voices has reached a frightening level already and is about to decline by another 30 or 40 percent.
If this deal goes through, it will be similar to the previous AOL acquisition of Time Warner in 2001 which merged more than 1,000 brands.
Will rival stations (CBS or CNN for example) eventually have to "purchase" news from NBC?
We could eventually end up with "one voice" just like many countries in the former USSR.
People say that can't happen here because of free enterprise but the premise of "free enterprise" is the very guise that is being used to take our choices away.

Thanksgiving Observations

2009-11-27T16:05:00.000-05:00

1) I am thankful that I am alive despite the fact that at 64 no one will insure me because I have medical conditions, so I don't have to go to the doctor unless I am near death.
2) I am thankful that our government is going to solve this situation with a plan individual Congressmen (and women) publicly say they don't understand, but know for certain they will be exempted from it.
3) I am thankful I was able to get care when a medicine prescribed for my blood pressure gave me a heart attack even though the Florida Department of Children & Families (that administers the program) insisted I wasn't eligible for it because I WORK.
4) I am thankful that working for myself I have no employer-based health care, and that many of my charitable neighbors who still have health care still say we have the best health care system in the world and pray no one will "mess with it."
5) I am thankful that I don't have health insurance because I don't have enough cash in the bank to pay for the upfront costs for my 20-percent that many health care providers are now charging before the care is given.
6) I am thankful our Surgeon General is obese; our new President has been photographed smoking; and we have a Treasury Chief who doesn't pay his taxes, because I can go to my gym, go to Weight Watchers, stress over my taxes and afford my diabetes and blood pressure medicines - not because my country is well-run, but because of WalMart.
7) Departing for a moment from health care, I am especially thankful a friend was able to finally find a place where I can buy shells for my (permitted) .38 police special, because they have been out of stock in my county for more than 6 months.
8) I am thankful that my saying "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah" will annoy those who want to make this a Godless country.
9) I am thankful that although third parties can't get any airtime or press, they are still permitted to register for the ballots in all the states.
10) And last but definitely not least, I am extremely thankful that I like tea because I think we are getting very close to the point where someone is going hold a very large Tea Party.

Offering Forum for Ideas to Recapture Lost Freedoms

2009-11-23T12:26:00.000-05:00

OK people- especially journalists, politicians and anyone interested in knowing about all the freedoms we have lost over the last 40 years. I invite you to comment on my posts and possibly even start a new discussion with your ideas. My latest book, Soft News, which has received good reviews from international book reviewer Kirkus Discoveries and others, is fiction based on fact and emphasizes how free voices are being silenced as mega corporations bulldoze long-time reliable news sources and then release only what their financiers want the public to know. One of the things the book points out is that "Socialism" is not what we must fear most in the United States. While the word "Socialism" is being bandied about to create smoke and mirrors over the real problem of big-dollar control, buyouts, lobbyists and greed, we have lost many freedoms already. We're headed for Dictatorship, governed by powerful forces who already control most of our lives. To avoid being thrust into this condition, we need to know exactly what freedoms we have already lost. Our Patriot Act gives similar powers to what the German government gave its military (that resulted in Nazi power) after the Reichstag Fire; for the same reason as our post-Sept. 11 document gave them to our law enforcement agencies. Read the Patriot Act yourself. You can find it easily online. Hidden beneath the nonsensical verbiage and legalese of the writing it says that any law enforcement official may enter your home or business without a warrant if this act is invoked. Similar laws have followed. Don't fall for smoke screens and hot-button words. Those reaping the benefits of power will do anything to preserve the status quo. They know the middle class is losing ground fast enough to expect a Tea Party within another year. I did a series on the Patriot Act right after it was enacted on my former radio show, The Uncensored Reporter, and plan to revisit it again here. Our rights are being violated every time someone we have sent to represent us at State or National Level says "yes" to a lobbyist; signs a bill without reading it; signs a bill they don't believe in only to get another person to sign a bill he or she is sponsoring; puts another law into effect limiting our property rights; says we can't own guns (or does something to inhibit the production of ammunition); tells us we must be "tolerant" and stop celebrating our religious preferences in public places; or tells third-party candidates they can't debate or get the same airtime or print as the two governing political parties. If you believe what I just stated to be true, hit "follow" and receive future posts. If you choose to comment, just hit the word "comments" below and a space will open for you to do so. And if you still aren't sure there's something going on in the back-rooms of America's policy-makers, just read the Patriot Act for yourself.

Help! I need your email addresses

2009-11-18T10:17:00.001-05:00

I have sent Lesson 1 of my Creative Yarnspinning course to all those who signed up to read these posts for whom I had email addresses. Unfortunately, I know I have left some of you out. Please send me an email at penny@pennyfletcher.com and I will immediately put your address on my blog list and send you Lesson 1 (as promised to the first 50 sign-ups) by return mail!
Thank you for your patience.

Presidential Power Story Ignored for 2 Years

2009-11-18T08:02:00.000-05:00

I wrote an email to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island today asking him if there has been any update on a report he gave on the Senate floor in December 2007 as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

His report was an issue I visited briefly at that time as host of my former radio show, The Uncensored Reporter. I decided to try for a follow-up now because of the ongoing build-up of American troops slated to go to Afghanistan. In 2007, Whitehouse said he was worried because of three legal documents he had found that together say: "An executive order cannot limit a President; there is no Constitutional requirement for a President to issue a new executive order when he wants to depart from a previous executive order, instead he may modify or waive it." And third, that "He (or she) may determine whether an (ANY??) action is lawful, and exercise Presidential rights and authority over it. And if this is done, the Department of Justice is bound by the President's legal determination."
When Whitehouse declassified these documents on the Senate floor he strongly objected to them. So why haven't we heard more about it? Have most people heard about it at all? Have these practices ever been rescinded, and if not, is anyone in Congress fighting against them?
But my biggest question is where the $%$@ is the DC press on this? Why was such a major issue ignored?
While the front page of today's Miami Herald quotes President Obama as saying his goal is "to put us on the path of ending the war," and that "his goal is not to pass the conflict on to the next President," many other major newspapers across the country have ignored the ongoing preparation for a military build-up in Afghanistan entirely, or buried it beneath stories of celebrities and other such @#$%.
The criticism by Senator Whitehouse in 2007 needs to be brought into view so we may learn whether this Bush policy is carried forward, or broken down, by President Obama.

There's a lot of media coverage saying people are calling Obama's desire for every American to have access to health care Socialism, yet that same media has ignored the fact that our former President gave the Presidential Office the right to violate the Civil Rights of The People simply by executive order if he so wishes.

Is this not worse even than Socialism? If used, this power, coupled with the "unpatriotic" Patriot Act, could result in dictatorship.
I'm not saying the media has an agenda by its omissions. But I am saying it is reporting the stories that come easy, especially in this economy where many in the media are doing more than one job as massive layoffs continue.

So as I wait for Senator Whitehouse's answer, I checked today's front pages across the country and have found some tremendously enlightening news leading Page 1 in many areas including the well-read Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Russian Vladimir Putin rapping on a television show (along with other Kremlin elite) saying this is a freestyle message urging President Dmitry Medvedev to fight corruption and other everyday problems of Russians.
Thank God for the Miami Herald. At least it's seriously discussing Afghanistan. And the New York Times, which is leading with health care, new guidelines for mammograms and the safety of our airlines.

What Really Determines Where Our Forces Fight & Die?

2009-11-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

I want to alert you to something right away: This blog, Americans for Truth in News, is here strictly to give you facts or tell you how and where to search for them. It was created because of my dissatisfaction with the traditional national media with which I have been involved for more than 35 years. I am especially revolted by newscasters and reporters who mix their commentary with news so that it sounds like fact. That's why I started this post with a sentence containing the word "Alert!" If I ever give you an opinion instead of fact, you'll know it right off. And this post will be partially opinion. The difference is, I'll always tell you straight out which part of the post is fact and which is opinion- or "slant" as they like to call it in the newsroom. Last week I wrote a story for my local Tampa Bay newspaper based on the account of the bombing of the USS Indianapolis in World War II. The story was told as a riveting narrative at a local veteran's luncheon. It's still alive and well at http://www.observernews.net. if you want to read it. It's a tale of man's love of his fellow man, as sailors held the heads of their friends above water as they were drowning themselves and watched as sharks ate people hugging bits and pieces of the downed ship wondering if they would be next. This weekend, parades honoring veterans of all wars are being held all across the nation. I'm photographing one of them tomorrow. (So far, this whole post has been fact.) More fact: my father was a Merchant Marine for 35 years. My Uncle Hal flew over The Hump delivering supplies to troops in WWII. My first husband was with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam and now I have a grandson in the 82nd Airborne- a Sgt. at 23- who has been to Iraq twice and is soon headed for Afghanistan. (Still fact.) I consider myself a patriotic American, but I have interviewed enough Congressmen and Senators to know something happens to them when they get to DC. They are so mired in bureaucracy they can't get anything done. Our government has become a machine. It says we are fighting for peace but I say we have picked and chosen where to send our men and women to fight and die for reasons other than peace. I say they often die for the greed of the powerful. I did not oppose the Vietnam War, but now I wish I had. I did, however, march for Civil Rights in the '60s. I wish Americans would stand up for the genocide in parts of Africa. Where are we on Darfur? Where were we when the brave young student stood in front of the tanks in Tienanmen Square? Why do we allow billions to be wasted while people die of hunger in our streets? Yes, I honor our veterans this Veterans Day. But I say shame to those who are sending them to fight and die while at the same time they disarm us in our homes. (Opinion began with the words "I wish Americans would stand up for....") Now that's the difference. We need to demand to hear the difference between opinion and news in every post, newscast, broadcast, and printed piece. Where, fellow reporters, do YOU stand on the Constitution of the United States? Are you ready to stand up for "truth, truth and nothing but the truth," or allow politically-correct speech and under-reported news to rule?

Rumor: John Stossel fired over health care report not true

2009-11-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

I must apologize again for not doing the daily blog so soon after starting but spending several days in a hospital room with a dying friend has set my work schedule back quite a bit. I still have my magazine and newspaper deadlines, and am behind editing an author's book as well. I hope to be back up to speed next week and also to email the first 50 blog followers their free Creative Yarnspinning lesson as promised. But I had to come online today after receiving a mail telling the story that ABC's 20-20 John Stossel, one of the few national reporters I admire for his ability to root out fact from fiction (although he does sometimes editorialize in his reports!) has been fired for his reporting on the Obama health care plan. I checked with my sources; then read an article from the New York Times archives dated Sept. 10 to back it up- and found that John had announced that day that he planned to leave ABC for Fox. This makes his "firing report" false. For those of you who want to hear the report, and also see that snopes.com (a very reliable online source) also says this is false; proving I am not a lone voice crying in the wilderness on this, log onto http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/stossel.asp. There you can not only read what snopes reporters have to say about it, but also watch the 20-20 report on a YouTube video. I am sure newspapers besides the New York Times also carried the story of John's plan to move to Fox in September if you want to follow this in a daily paper in your part of the world. Then, if you're still not sure what to believe, go to John's personal page at ABC; http://abcnews.go.com/2020/stossel. Remember, when I first started this blog I said I'd show you how to go directly to sources yourself since a lot of today's news is really not news, but editorial commentary, to "force-feed" your beliefs. Because I know this as a 35-year journalist, I often say that the things circulating on the Internet can be more factual than your nightly news cast. But in this case, the rumor is not true.

I've heard the g'vt shut down the water supply of some California farmers

2009-10-30T17:08:00.001-04:00

Checking out this farmer vs. government story thoroughly before posting. That's why there's no new post today. Meanwhile, to PAO- who commented earlier today: when I checked out the source of the comment made on my first post I did see your handle listed as PAO, but my research gave me the name "Irma" as going with that handle. Perhaps I do not have the "Blogger" techniques completely ironed out so if I am in error, please excuse. Please tell me who you are (My email is Penny@pennyfletcher.com if you don't want to post it here). I would enjoy more comments from people in the know like yourself. And always- always- everyone, call me on it if I am incorrect in anything. That is at the very heart of "Truth in News."

Somebody, Somewhere, Please Tell Me Matthew Hoh Made The News in Their Town

2009-10-29T09:40:00.001-04:00

There's a lot of front page news across America this week about H1N1; both the virus and the vaccine. There's talk of football teams and the Democrats struggle with the health care bill, which is now more than 1,000 pages due to "add-on" favors placed in the bill by those we've sent to Washington to represent us. Here in Tampa Bay, where I live, most of our local news media have chosen to headline a story about a teacher who was convicted as a sex offender in Nov. 2005 for doing the deed with one of her 14-year old students. Since a judge says she may now have "appropriate contact" with children again, this has become the talk of the day, appearing above the fold in some newspapers and at the head of the broadcast on local television. I had to really search my sources around the country to find a newspaper that covered something I'd heard about that I thought you might prefer to know. (Actual news that affects us all!) I had heard from a friend in New York that she had read an opinion piece a day or so ago about Matthew Hoh. It seems Hoh is a former Marine who fought in Iraq and was later a member of the State Department and acted as a diplomat in Afghanistan. But Hoh quit his government position recently, saying he no longer believes in the U.S. position regarding that country. His up-close and personal relationship with what's actually happening over there tells him that the U.S. is on the wrong path. His resignation letter, which was publicized (as far as I know) only one day in a few news outlets, states that Hoh has "lost understanding of, and confidence in, the strategic purposes of the United States presence in Afghanistan." He goes on to say he thinks U.S. continuing presence is fueling the insurgency. Why the %$#@ did we not see this on the front page of every newspaper in America? Why are the broadcasters not interviewing him on television? Why does hardly anyone know of Matthew Hoh? A few months ago I interviewed a reporter who recently returned from Iraq and he told me some things about the way the war is covered that will give you chills. Oh- there are a few good reporters over there risking their lives beside the troops. But the majority? Well, that's a subject for a whole new post. Let's go into that tomorrow, during my discussion of "news watchers" (the people hired by major media to keep track of what other media folks are putting out there.) After all, what media executive ($$$$) would want his or her outlet to be the only one to miss a story about a young blonde sex offender ($$$$) who can now have dinner with families and their children? Heaven forbid we all miss that! ($$$$$)

50 Years of Secret Spying

2009-10-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

Thanks Irma of Tampa for your comment on my first post (See, "What the %$#@! is This Blog About?" below). Irma corrected me on the location from which the GeoEye was launched. When I wrote that post earlier this week I was explaining how fed up I was with the way important national news goes unreported while celebrity %$#% makes headlines every day. I was going from my memory. I remembered it as being late last summer and that I thought it was important enough to do a whole 60-minute radio show about it. But of course, after a year of reporting other news stories, the details are vague. Thanks to Irma's correction however, I went back into my files and will tell you a little bit about this GeoEye today. Sept. 6, 2008, the first commercial GeoEye was launched with the help of a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This commercial imaging device can see a 16-inch area on earth while traveling at a speed of 4.5 miles per second. Note the operative word "commercial" in the previous sentence. This GeoEye - though launched with government help- is a commercial venture. One of the benefits of it is Google Earth, where we can all view anything from Washington DC to Rome to our own houses on our computer screens. But research shows me that the U.S. government was using this technology for almost 50 years before we knew anything about it. The once "Top Secret" program was dubbed "Corona" (like the typewriter) and was a highly classified part of our space program, Discover. Now think about this a minute: If the government could look that closely at us 50 years ago way before we even knew the technology was invented, what can the government do now? I mean, if any company with enough $$$$ can buy its own GeoEye and stare at whatever (or whoever) it pleases, the government has to be way ahead of that. So tell me national media, where the &@%$ are you reporting about this?

Speaking about health care today

2009-10-27T08:42:00.000-04:00

I've studied and written about the health care debate closely enough I've been asked to speak on it twice now. At 1 p.m. today, I'll be speaking at Community Church College (continuing education center) in Sun City Center. For all you across the globe who have no idea where (or what) that is, it's a retirement town just south of Tampa, FL near where I live. But obtaining health care isn't just a problem for people 55 and older anymore. Whether you want to believe it or not, health care has been rationed - no, worse yet- restricted- in this country for at least 30 years. No insurance often means no care. People die needlessly- just like they do in third-world countries, of things that could easily be diagnosed and treated. I was made personally aware of this when I became a freelancer. Although healthy enough to be raising grandchildren; mow my own grass; paint and clean my own house; and do all kinds of exercise; I cannot buy health insurance any price. No company will insure someone with a chronic health condition and I have several, although good habits and medicines keep me out of the hospital and on the move. "They" say "We don't want to be like Canada. Their health care system is socialism." So why do all the dual residents of Canada and the U.S. that I interview keep their Canadian citizenship and go there for their health care needs? "They" say if we have a government option for insurance, we're headed down the slippery slope to socialism. Well, The Patriot Act (the most unpatriotic legislation we've ever had passed in this country) has already pushed us over that ledge but we'll talk about that in a later post. Right now I want you to know that with layoffs at 40,000 (new) each month in America, employer-based health care is going to kill many more as time goes by. It's not that we who have changed jobs, have been laid off or work for ourselves don't want to spend money on health care, we who are already sick aren't allowed to buy it. And without insurance, the law says emergency rooms must only stabilize us (not ever admit) and send us home: unless of course it is a "charity" hospital and they are going broke every day. You see, it isn't a question of "is this person going to die?" but "is he (or she) going to die right now, in our ER?" If not, get them the %$#@ out of here. I know this because it has happened to me and I've not only been there, I've interviewed others who are going through hell right now because our healthcare system is broken from the inside out. Do Congressmen, Senators and (other "public servants" who make the rules) have to worry about their health care? Or their retirement funds? Hey fellas- why not start in your own homes? We the People need to make our officials live with any and every plan they legislate. So whatever side of this health care debate you're on, put yourself in the place of someone watching a relative die because he or she is not permitted treatment. It's happening every hour of every day right here in America. And for many, even if they have insurance, because costs are so outrageous that some hospitals and doctors are now asking for the 20-percent copay upfront. Please feel free to comment. And "followers" please send me your email so I can send you my free "Creative Yarnspinning" lesson if you want it. Remember, I promised it (usually costs $100) to the first 50 followers.

Military on "rest" assignments being pulled into fire

2009-10-26T12:45:00.000-04:00

Well, our government has pulled another one over on some of our country's finest. After two tours in Iraq, young airborne men and women were promised if they re-upped they could have two years in Europe or Stateside; their choice. After less than 12 months, some of these troops are being recalled into action in a "nondisclosed location." Families are not being told where. I know some of these guys and am going to see if I can find out. Meanwhile I'm guessing it has something to do with the Strike Force in Afghanistan they've been talking about gathering.

Do you think the news is ever slanted to please advertisers?

2009-10-25T11:19:00.001-04:00

Question of the day-

Looking for responses from Twitter, Facebook and other sites. Tell me
where you found this question. Well, do you think news is ever slanted to please advertisers and if so, why?

Names for you!

2009-10-25T08:08:00.000-04:00

OK, I have the blog up and ready to go except for the ads. How about signing up as FreedomWriters instead of my first suggestion? As in FreedomRiders who warned in 1774? Then you could log in and sign up and get a number. Like in the deli, the low numbers are best so they'll go first, like FreedomWriter1, FreedomWriter2, etc.. unless of course, you want to promote your own site and use your name or site name. That's fine too. Or you can do both. Your choice. Ya'll stay safe out there, things are tough.

What the %$#@ is this blog about?

2009-10-23T11:46:00.001-04:00

If you're fed up with the inaccuracy of politically-correct speech, or of journalists and broadcasters who pawn off their opinion as fact, or if you have any historical knowledge about how other countries were duped into dictatorship by propaganda, you just may find this your new home. Or maybe you're just plain tired of reading about celebrities; OK, this spot is for you too. By quitting the big-time media and freelancing, I put a stop to censorship- yes censorship- of my writing. Now I write only for small local publications (to stay close to my community) and on line for organizations that believe in the Truth with a capital T. I'm going to point you to sources and stories from around the world that at first may seem unbelieveable- until you check them out. As a radio talk show host, I ran under the name Uncensored Reporter so I chose to also use it here. What gave me the idea for all this were the headlines one day in July 2008 while I was on the air. It seemed every news outlet in America was asking "Who is the father of Minnie Driver's baby?" But that was the day NASA launched the "Geoeye." Ever heard of it? Well, it can read a 16-inch area (yep- including your computer screen) from 4 miles in the sky through walls. Should this (perhaps?) have been the lead story on Page One of every newspaper in America? Well guys, where the $$@#! were you? I'm going to ask that bloggers send their stories. Brief, OK? And of course, if asked, you may have to prove them, or at least offer some way we can check them out. Coverups. Conspiracies. Whistleblowers. Unsung heroes (hey, we like good news too!). And as we go, comment all you want. Discuss. But please, let's treat each other as guests in our home because that's what I hope we will be. So welcome Truth Bearers. The first thing we need are suggestions on what followers here want to call themselves. "UR Reporters" maybe (as in "you are" and also standing for Uncensored Reporters?) Kind of like AP (Associated Press) reporters only closer to the truth.