August 13, 2011 journal, quoting an article on current times from Truthout private media. "If you're reading this letter, you will face a stark choice during your lifetime. Will you be among the women and men who are putting their time, energy and sweat into a moral fight for equality and justice? Or will you be a member of the "isn't it awful..." complaint chorus, without getting on your feet? Bombastic sniping, wildly regressive thinking and outrageous posturing have become normalized and almost traditional in American politics today. They're fueled by an out-of-control media environment that profits off of sex, murder and celebrity - and avoids bundling isolated incidents into trends that reveal a society in decline (that's not sexy!). Back in December 2010, Arizona's politicians decided that it was too expensive to pay for medical transplants for 98 people who they'd previously promised to cover. Two of those lives were already over by January 2011. Also in January, 29 governors, led by Arizona's Jan Brewer, signed a letter asking the federal government to allow them to strip benefits from hundreds of thousands of poor people to fill their budget holes. These cuts are being proposed during a period of record low taxes on high-income earners and even lower taxes on the super-wealthy, many of whom simply check their dividends earnings from their smart phones while relaxing by the pool. The brutal suffering of the poor and the total domination of the wealthy stay out of the headlines in today's world of public relations propaganda. So does environmental collapse. So does war. These realities and this decisive moment needs bodies in the street - and a platform for dissent. Every day we're seeing more and more people reading and sharing Truthout articles. Together, we're building a hub for hard-nosed analysis, fearless pursuit of the truth and the expression of a progressive moral vision." "Congress, as an institution, currently has a lower approval rating than public nose-picking. One reason is that it can't seem to listen to the over 60 percent of the population that feels that taxing the rich and corporations should be the first step in any effort to balance the nation's checkbook. This isn't some populist anger, as the mainstream media often describes it. It's proven economics. So what is standing in the way? Where is our system of representative democracy failing? Truthout and BuzzFlash readers know: we've entered a new stage of plutocratic governance where money is speech and the ones with the gold make the rules. Authors like Thom Hartmann, Richard D. Wolff and Noam Chomskyprobe this frightening reality on a daily basis, exposing the crude inner workings of the system - as well as possibilities for true, revolutionary change." "The US has invested billions of dollars in institutions that promote and protect consumerism as culture and the cult of money worship, both here and abroad. Our country is the epicenter of backward, self-destructive, consumption-driven thinking. But it's also the origin for some amazing transformative struggles that have changed the world. At Truthout, we work to change this insane consciousness, to shed light on the hypocrisy and to give voice to the movements for real progress." I hope it is true!