Lying Is Where The Money Is, Now More Than Ever

June 25 Editorial

Today the Editors have finally decided to be quiet on the Iran issue, not unlike their friend George W. Bush (and themselves) during Tehran's crackdown on student protesters in 2003 or about the crackdown on reformist candidates in 2004 that led to the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Instead they've chosen to, brace yourself, rant and rave about Government spending (the kind that does not directly benefit rich guys, of course).

In today's piece Soft landing: Economic pain unequally shared they start off with the statement "...The U.S. House has approved an 8 percent increase in the budget for office expenses. Members will get an average of $1.5 million for the fiscal year that starts in October. The increase comes at a time when businesses and households are cutting budgets by 8 percent or more."

The article as you can probably guess continues with no mention of Goldman Sachs hot-shots being, as Reuters reports here, on pace this year for record bonuses, or perhaps bringing into question the salaries of Red-Prime Steakhouse frequenting Chesapeake execs in these rough-times, especially when they've destroyed $16b in shareholders wealth the prior year.

Mentioning such things would have been nice, but one thing that I think no question should have been brought up, if the editors for once could possibly sway from their constant "Blame the government" rhetoric, is that the Public Relations Industry is flourishing. And in a similar fashion as it was in the heyday of Edward Bernay's in the run-up to the great depression.

It makes perfect sense that the PR industry is doing so well (anyone who gets on Twitter sees the place flooded with PR folks promoting fancy lifestyles and whatnot), as these are no doubt times when disgraceful, unjustifiable things (like Goldman Sach's bonuses, or nice guys like Aubrey McClendon making over $100m for his part in erasing $16b of shareholders wealth) need to be justified by any means necessary.

But do not take my word for it regarding the propaganda industry, read this sickening piece from July '08 by The Oklahoman's good friend Renzi Stone , (note 2-12-10 page archived....actual story link on his site redirects to new page) head of local Public Relations group Saxum Communications. In it he discusses how well the industry is doing, and how it is important for them to do their best lying to ensure the status-quo is preserved. He states:

"According to a March 2008 report by M&A experts StevensGouldPincus, PR firms stand to gain ground this year. Highlights included 75 percent of firms under $3 million predict higher revenues and 83 percent say client budgets will increase. If the first two quarters of this year are any indication, we are in line with the industry, if not exceeding predictions. In a declining economy, PR will play an important role in helping businesses and issues...continue to move forward."

Pretty terrifying that our nations future is in the hands of these people who lie for a living, and it is especially troubling that our City's paper wont even discuss this stuff, primarily because they are a big part of such non-sensical, harmful things.

So again, these are the types of things we would hear about if we had a newspaper in our town with an editorial staff that pays attention in the many bible classes they attend, and therefore would at least attempt to tell the whole truth from time to time.