Gore Vidal on the media

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17 жыл бұрын

Visit the community: therealnewsjunkies.ning.com
Have TV journalists learned anything from the last several years?
Says Vidal: "Everybody with an IQ above room temperature is on to the con act of our media. They are obeying bigger, richer interests than informing the public -- which is the last thing that corporate America has ever been interested in doing."

Пікірлер: 382

@notrombones5041 14 жыл бұрын

An incredible quote from this video: "I've been around the ruling class all my life and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country." Listen to this man, if you dare to hear The Truth.

@beaniegreen4849 9 жыл бұрын

Who will ever fill the shoes of our beloved Gore Vidal

@BloodMilkSky1969 9 жыл бұрын

A politician divides mankind into two classes; tools and enemies.-Nietzsche

@kamranii 9 жыл бұрын

People are either idiots or swindlers.-My uncle.

@judymeyer4315 5 жыл бұрын

re-visiting these in 2019 and sharing all of them.

@guerillatraveler 17 жыл бұрын

Mr Vidal hits the nail firmly on the head. Editors and broadcasters have become increasingly reluctant to investigate stories. Not all of us reporters are lazy. Trust me. With few exceptions like Vanity Fair, we just can't get editor's to stop thinking about Britney and Paris and selling ads in the United States of Advertising (my phrase). The question is what are we going to do about putting some thought back into reporting. Suggestions?

@taoofmichael 17 жыл бұрын

JamesR1969 You are the voice of reason around here, between the right-wingers and the rabid ronpaulites. And you write coherently. Keep it up. Since when did Americans stop respecting the wisdom of the old and experienced?

@bendkafka 17 жыл бұрын

Gore Vidal is the best. I hope The Real News finds viewers. You have one in me.

@cookiesonsteve 14 жыл бұрын

"They lie and apply it to the other person..." ^_^

@makkein 13 жыл бұрын

I am officially amazed. I have to read and research more of this man.

@foxdragoon84 17 жыл бұрын

Well done! You, sir, are the master of wit. Please indulge us some more, as there are not enough of your little comments on the thread already - I like to call them "flashes of brilliance."

@luvmegan 15 жыл бұрын

Gore Vidal is one of the greatest essayist and intellects this country has produced. It's nice to see someone who is sharp, deep, honest, and smart. In short:everything Hannity, Rush and O'reilly are not. Love, God. PS One of my better creations.

@dvader42 17 жыл бұрын

I absolutely love Gore Vidal! This man has an open mind about our society and is a voice that needs to be heard in Corporate America. His views on media and the American mind set are the finer points of his I like to concentrate.

@nabilkanso 17 жыл бұрын

thanks for posting even a brief glimpse of the great voice of truth

@rajasmasala 14 жыл бұрын

What an inspiring vid. If I would kill to give such a solid, authoritative damn about my own country, Singapore. I suppose I'll be nearer in ten years. TheRealNews, good luck. Thank you so much. Keep it up.

@MustacheVerra 17 жыл бұрын

I like that guy!:) I keep saying that the Republicans keep accusing their adversary of their own crimes to create confusion. And it works. :(

@JoySynthesis 17 жыл бұрын

"the underclass don't deserve a voice." What? Excuse me? Also, I saw Mr. Vidal's lecture in the Festival of Ideas here in West Virginia, part of his tour promoting Point to Point Navigation. Despite Vidal's age, his wit and demeanor are impeccable. I was priveledged enough to shake his hand and get an autographed copy of the new book. :)

@rrmond 15 жыл бұрын

Just goes to show how our American culture always resents the smartest guy in the room. Keep dropping knowledge Gore!!!

@peterbilt47 17 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@taoofmichael 17 жыл бұрын

Well said. Keep it up.

@timirish2563 5 жыл бұрын

Even in the decline of his last years, Vidal says something worth hearing, noting. His life as writer was heroic. That's what matters to me.

@britishempire01 17 жыл бұрын

What an exceptional man. And if only all people listened.

@vasp99 15 жыл бұрын

I learned more about American history from Vidal's fiction than I did in school. He's a brilliant, heroic man.

@bernlin2000 12 жыл бұрын

@xxplosive661 This video is the first time I've heard him speak and it's quite remarkable to hear: he has a great voice and he speaks very very eloquently (love the accent too, wherever it comes from). And, of course, everything he says is true, if anyone takes the time to listen to him. This video should have 1000x more views

@pgadeb 17 жыл бұрын

I think Jon Stewart's Daily News Show, as it satires the mass media news, gives a more realist portrayal of the world news. Gore Vidal has an important message and AMERICA needs to listen to this man. Vote for Ron Paul 2008.

@Telcontar1962 17 жыл бұрын

The thing I like about Gore Vidal is he knows the players involved on a personal level in many cases. Of course what he says are his views and opinion but they have a great deal of credibility because he understands the mindset of the leadership class having lived amoung them for so long. One day we'll grow up and be a cynical as him because after all those who lead us are just men and women with no more right to dictate what a the average person should do or not do than my pet rabbit.

@zamolxis 17 жыл бұрын

He does have a huge ego, but it's at least partly justified by his work. He's not a Dem, he's a cynic and does a good job at that. Didn't know about the book he mentioned. Thank you, Gore Vidal and Paul Jay!

@chicobond89 12 жыл бұрын

RIP Gore Vidal. a true Dear and eloquent sir.

@hob976 13 жыл бұрын

Wow. The final moment in this video was bizarre. Vidal had an interesting discourse with Tim McVeigh that was outlined in "Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace". Very worthwhile reading. One very smart dude.

@Knobbyboy88 17 жыл бұрын

I never said anything about his family. His father was a great man. He was a Patriot who served his country honorably. Mr. Vidal on the other hand...

@sastal 17 жыл бұрын

Right on!

@hitch4645 14 жыл бұрын

i could listen to him talk for days

@avatar723 17 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that's what gives him so much credibility in my book--he's got generations of elbow-rubbing with the top powers-that-be in the country--in military, political, financial and literary circles. He's seen the corridors of power from the inside, up close and personal.

@CutterScene 17 жыл бұрын

Vidal is absolutely among the highest ranking intellectuals. He's up there with Noam Chomsky and others... Check out his appearance in 'Why we fight' by Eugene Jarecki.

@celshader 17 жыл бұрын

Interesting concept. Real news independent of the politics, sponsorship of the media industry and their backers. Good luck.

@joefranks69 16 жыл бұрын

The McVeigh thing is uncomplicated - the piece wasn't apologetics, it simply fleshed out the man and his motivations. Sun Tsu would agree that this is the proper treatment to give an enemy. The America Firsters are more complicated.

@senateb 16 жыл бұрын

he so perfectly summed up the seemingly dominant political strategy of our time- lie and attribute your own faults to your opponent. ive always noticed that, but never bern able to put it in words

@RainyRaver 17 жыл бұрын

That's arguable. The initial definition of a Liberal is someone who believes in loose interpretation of the constitution. While Conservatives believed in a strict interpretation. Though it would seem today that Conservatives are trying to get around the constitution (Patriot Act), and Liberals are trying to keep it in line. Jefferson I believe was a Conservative turned Liberal. He had to do things that was not listed in the Constitution. Hence, he went to loose interpretation.

@avatar723 17 жыл бұрын

Run like hell, Knobby! Cut n' run!

@RainyRaver 17 жыл бұрын

That's arguable. The initial definition of a Liberal was someone who used a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Verses a conservative who was a strict interpretation (you can only do what the constitution says you can). Jefferson was originally a Conservative. But seeing as how inflexible the constitution was to expansion and what not, he became a liberal.

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

What angers is me is that multinational corporations outsource so many jobs, but rather than lash out against them, Americans sit around and blame the poor people who GET the jobs. I've never understood this mentality, but it seems to be the prevailing school of thought today, as if some poor guy in the Punjab working for $2/hr. is really to blame for trying to get out of poverty.

@fdh2006 17 жыл бұрын

There are alternatives, Gore Vidal mentioned the Nation and the Daily Show. There's also internet blogs, websites of foreign newspapers, Free Speech TV and Pacifica Radio.

@trollfinger 15 жыл бұрын

Well he always went for elections and didn't take the seats when he could have. "What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do" Aristotle. I love that quote.

@hardlinemonk 11 жыл бұрын

This man speaks my mind!

@guerillatraveler 17 жыл бұрын

Good point. Mainstream papers and TV have become infotainment to a great extent. Editorials have become so jesuit-like that it is often hard to find the point. There is far too much hedging. The spade, that handy little shovel, is no longer a spade. So what do you call it? A photo/sound/print bite?

@Knobbyboy88 17 жыл бұрын

Colin Powell, for instance, was a general and served honorably in Vietnam.

@foxdragoon84 17 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that comment. I had not realized that, but it seems so obvious now. There are too many of those Orwellian terms going around all the time.

@jnfakaros 17 жыл бұрын

"The unexamined life is not worth living" let us all take a step back and think about that for a moment.

@bscottb8 17 жыл бұрын

Age clearly hasn't diminished Gore Vidal's capacity for hyperbolic grandstanding.

@avatar723 17 жыл бұрын

"....don't be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity." "After Pat's Birthday", by Kevin Tillman, 2004

@TheSkinzilla 14 жыл бұрын

Where are the modern equivalent of intellectual giants like Vidal nowadays?

@unqtious 17 жыл бұрын

Brought to you by the committee to elect Ron Paul.

@foxdragoon84 17 жыл бұрын

That may be, sir, but it will never be as infantile as calling Gore Vidal a "rambling old man."

@Gillhoolee 17 жыл бұрын

hey! that's NOT your opion, your not Dirty Harry!

@jupiter7795 8 жыл бұрын

His final comment confused me about his opinion on Jon Stewart. What is his opinion on Jon Stewart and company?

@midwestcharm 17 жыл бұрын

Listen to people on the mainstream news when something bad happens. Everyone sounds the same, Horrifc, Surreal,Your in our prayers, great people/great state,artery....it's scary that most Americans get their education, influence and dialogue from T.V.

@Gillhoolee 17 жыл бұрын

Now all America can see who that was on "The Simpsons".

@S1MBRS 17 жыл бұрын

Now that is an intelligent comment. Milton Friedman,... genius. Perhaps more genius than these Economic Opinionaters can understand.

@TheSkinzilla 14 жыл бұрын

Yeah, he could be considered one. My point is there sure isn't many of them anymore.

@coolmamac 17 жыл бұрын

Thanks. You say it with style. Do you remember Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley doing the election as a pair?

@bscottb8 15 жыл бұрын

Genius? I'm sure Gore Vidal would be the first to agree, but more accurately a bloviator par excellence.

@fidobarks 14 жыл бұрын

bless u gore ur one of a kind and brilliantly witty.

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

Actually Thomas Jefferson would be the poster child for the modern Democratic party. He was very much against a unified country under one banner and preferred more power to the states.

@farric1 17 жыл бұрын

At at last, a conservative that glimpses the truth..

@Knobbyboy88 17 жыл бұрын

I really pray to God that you're refering to people like Gore Vidal and Michael Moore. I think I'll just go ahead and crack open my copy of the "Crusades," by Hillaire Belloc, or the, "Spirit of Free Enterprize," by William F. Buckley, thank you kindly.

@ssancak 17 жыл бұрын

Aferin len, kültürünle Türkiyeyi senin gibilerin temsil etmesi gerekli zaten. Bravo, ilgiiyle izliyorum.

@taoofmichael 17 жыл бұрын

Love your comments. I couldnt say it better.

@rsmoove2000 8 жыл бұрын

Is there an F-1 race going on in the background?

@LucianTSkeptic 17 жыл бұрын

testing how long does it take to get posted. thank god for christopher hitchens.

@greatbroad 17 жыл бұрын

On Tuesday, August 28, 2007 the group, MoveOn(dot)org held candle-lighted vigils across the nation (over 700 I think). I was on page A3 of the local paper, "The Beacon News," on August 29. I think the web sights will soon have pictures up.

@blacknwhitesalright 15 жыл бұрын

I'm going to agree with you on that, TheIllestVillain.

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know why America is in the shape that it's in? Because all of us (myself included) are wasting our time debating a Gore Vidal video on KZfaq instead of actually trying to make a difference. Hook, line, and sinker. We've just been had, fellas. :P

@madamoiselle0sahara 17 жыл бұрын

Americans, I suggest you listen to sadamp1. I live in Australia and the feeling here is much the same.

@beta447 13 жыл бұрын

awesome video, about says it all

@guerillatraveler 17 жыл бұрын

Where is this quote documented?

@NihilNominis 13 жыл бұрын

@Consumerofknowledge Yeah, because Mr. Vidal's interview in this months Humanist showed his deep respect for and belief in the American people. The guy's an intellectual elitist rather than political or economic, but he plays the game just as much as anyone.

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

I refuse to let you compare Mr. Vidal to Jack Lemmon.

@taoofmichael 17 жыл бұрын

syuster Yes! finally an intelligent comment that isn't rabid Ron Paul gibberish. Lets get back to Gore Vidal please. The debate is about left and right. RonPaulers are idealists living in a dreamworld. Yes, Saul Bellow, Daniel Schorr, sane people. Keep it up.

@shaka222 17 жыл бұрын

Goes Vidal is a GENIOUS. He sees things as they really are. At least someone out there 'GETS IT"

@taoofmichael 17 жыл бұрын

I can see that he is honest and sincere, he is just overly simplistic. He is like Perot. "Just gotta get under the hood and fix it." Well yes, but, there is a bit more to it. I know I am going to regret this, but what is CFR?

@quickymgee 15 жыл бұрын

and i am not saying the democratic party is right, but the fact that it is a centrist party improves its position in my eyes. a governing party should do what's best in the interests of its citizens (with respect towards other citizens of the world) not blindly follow a doctrine. with some education people will no longer base their political preference on what they are told or given, and will take an active interest to inform themselves of every perspective and to research respective policies.

@glnelson1956 17 жыл бұрын

Although "government contolling the people" is not 100% accurate, unfortunately there's more truth to that than I like. The American Federal Republic was intended to be firmly in the hands of the people. I agree that the people are not as much in control of government as they should be. It's time that we stand up and take back control. However, on a positive note, the people did terrorize the Senate away from illegal alien amnesty recently.

@xxplosive661 15 жыл бұрын

Gore Vidal is in my oppinion the most brilliant man alive. George Carlin is my hero but he would kneel down and kiss Vidal's shoes if they ever came in contact. R.I.P. George but props to Mr. Vidal as being the most intelligent man to ever live. Pure genius.

@Euractiv 17 жыл бұрын

Vidal really knows what he is talking about! ...talking from experience...

@mrdeill 17 жыл бұрын

I second that. Please explain. Don't do what most neocons do and say, "If you are too stupid to know...." Please respond.

@HarryS77 17 жыл бұрын

Gore Vidal FTW! An awesome writer that speaks the truth.

@mik99D 15 жыл бұрын

Sorry? Have you never read Bertrand Russell? The one whom Vidal bows down to (his own words). I think there are a couple of KZfaq videos of Russell. Worth a gander (remember he was from an earlier generation).

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

I dunno if they so much changed their names as they did their ideals. There was a massive polar reversal around the Civil Rights movement that saw a lot of Dixiecrats associate themselves with the modern Republican stance, and a lot of Republican viewpoints became the basis for the new "Democratic" party. OK, you're method is easier & less complicated. They changed their names.

@bon1042 17 жыл бұрын

WAY TO GO AVATAR !! NICE COMEBACK.

@fntime 8 жыл бұрын

It's funny how everyone sees the world differently.I love his comments about the 'right'. But, when talking about the left heloses he objectivity and becomes blinded by his own self delusion.Biases of thoughts and prejudgements does almost everyone ineven those with a remarkable intelligence.

@titolovely8237 8 жыл бұрын

+fntime the right wing in the US is completely unhinged. if you cant see that you're hopeless. theyre as extreme as the most rabid italian fascists. half the republicans running for president want to start a war with russia and carpet bomb syria. the leading contender wants to bomb muslim families indiscriminately. to compare the left and the right in the US is to obfuscate reality - the right has lost it's mind and lives in total fantasy. it's important to add that gore vidal defines himself as a conservative, a label i agree with. it's just that what's called "conservative" in the US is a radical strain of state capitalists, and doesnt even begin to resemble what's referred to as "conservative" in the rest of the world. vidal actually believes in the constitution, and doesnt just pay lip service like the republicans do. theyve utter contempt for whats written in the constitution, as demonstrated by their policies.

@fntime 8 жыл бұрын

+Fightneit 90 Do you ever examine yourself? You are a perfect example of an 'intellectualized mind'. Similar to a computer, all 1's and 0's! Because of that your mind lacks descernmentand lacks an understanding of 'probability' the natural development ofa mind not captured to 'black & white'. If you ever knew the weaknessof your minds operating system, it would probably appall you if youwere an honest person. Stopping being the 'silly shmuck' in the room.You have a long way to go, Grasshopper!

@LESTERBATE 17 жыл бұрын

I agree. Around the ruling class his whole life; If junior ever flew a plane; Absolute truth; Americans hate truth; acquired so many enemies; We set them off; adnausium... Self-appointed and constipated

@DragonDDT 17 жыл бұрын

It's not so much conservative or liberal as it is entertaining. I keep referring to it as the modern-day Bread and Circuses, because that's what it has become. It's no longer a forum for unbiased (well, as unbiased as anyone can be) reporting. Instead, we've become a cult of personality, more fixated on the human being and who they are rather than what they do, which I think is a serious mistake.

@grailmaiden 17 жыл бұрын

People vs. "Sheeple" there are people and then there are sheeple. most of humanity is sheeple early to bed, early to rise, fight like hell and organize

@gesellschaft 17 жыл бұрын

Hopefully I'm not the only one who spends only a number of minutes a day at this... there's also the voting, educating, meetup, unofficial campaigning for Ron Paul, skate boarding, hand crafts/art, ..it would be real real sad if this is all we were doing. We were successful in voting down a local neo-con for senate.

@gesellschaft 17 жыл бұрын

heh yeah, but it's not just the rest of the world.. by outsourcing and sending so much US business overseas the multinationals and banking interests are the real ones profiting, the USA suffers as well. It threatens not only our sovereignty and form of government, but currently occupies many positions on both sides the isle.

@Knobbyboy88 17 жыл бұрын

The Democrats are not known to be huge fans of Dual-Federalism in general. They champion the dominance of the Federal government over state governments. Hence the whole, "Big Government," debate.

@Telcontar1962 17 жыл бұрын

If the US citizenry could just come to grips with what they are faced with, accept that this is an evil which needs to be put on trial and sentence executed, then all the words in the world are meaningless hot air. To be free you need government that is as small as you can get it, with ALL forms of taxation as minimal as possible to keep that government humble. In the US thats all long long gone.

@Scyllax 17 жыл бұрын

The Iraq war has nearly tripled the price of crude oil by curtailling production from the world's second largest oil reserve. The huge oil companies that are taking over Iraq oil reserves with collusion of the new Iraq government don't want cheap, plentiful oil; they want EXPENSIVE plentiful oil. I think I answered the second part of your question.

@RainyRaver 17 жыл бұрын

Yes. I did. Technically they were called the Democratic Republicans. And we can't exactly say that THAT party changed to the Democrats. What happened to the Federalists and the Whigs? It wasn't until Ronald Reagan did party behavior become what it is seen today.

@Telcontar1962 17 жыл бұрын

I'm not from the US but to me the constitution has already gone. Its a peice of a paper. Its the spirit embodied in the words on that peice of paper that counted. It is people who give the words substance and that spirit is dead. And that spiit was revolutionary.