Americans do not live in a free and honest society.
In a free and honest society, newspeople would be asking questions related to public policy all of the time.
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Newspeople asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
Various articles posted recently about news industry layoffs:
CNN Jan 25, 2024
Years ago, I began to think of the mainstream media as Information Suppression Specialists because newspeople had stopped asking questions related to public policy.
Been blogging about it for a while now:
4 Stories The Puget Sound Press Will Not Question Or Report On
Let’s demonstrate where this disrespectful label might come from.
In bold type below, we’ll look at several questions under the heading:
Would any newsperson ever ask.
US Armed Forces Recruiting Crisis
Would any newsperson ever ask:
What happens when American families no longer send the young ones to enlist and will not support a draft?
WA Gun Control
In the news:
June 4, 2024 The Daily World
One wounded, one arrested following Saturday morning shooting
“…the gun was licensed to him.”
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Does owning a handgun in WA require a license? How and when is a handgun licensed in WA?
In Washington State:
NRA-ILA says no permit required to purchase a handgun.
No licensing of firearms owners.
Possibly of interest:
Sound Publishing And Black Press Media
WA Gun Laws – License Required To Own A Handgun?
Newspeople avoid reporting on the efficacy of past gun control measures.
WA voters approved enhanced background checks back in 2014.
The new requirements have had time to take hold.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Did the new requirements, rules and restrictions reduce gun crimes?
Has there been time for newspeople to ask questions?
Washington Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases, Initiative 594 (2014)
“Furthermore, the initiative rendered it illegal to hand off a firearm to people outside a person’s immediate family, though exceptions were mentioned, including situations in which people are at a shooting range or hunting.”
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Has any WA gun control measure or public policy effort of the past 20 years slowed down the gunfire between say, Everett and Tacoma?
What works? What fails?
Newspeople remain silent.
Everett updates here.
Seattle updates here.
Tacoma updates here.
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
Washington State Ferries
Here at Oak Bay Starfish, we have been posting Re: WA State Ferries for years. A favorite story was the auto tollbooth upgrade at Mukilteo. Here is what we found on the web:
Photo source/credit: Washington State Ferries
Click image once or twice to show detail.
Dec 29, 2020 The Everett Herald
New Mukilteo ferry terminal makes a much anticipated debut
“The $187 million project, which opened Tuesday evening, replaces a 63-year-old terminal nearby.”
We grabbed a camera and headed over to the Keystone ferry terminal. We knew what we would find:
Would any newsperson ever ask:
If the style of tollbooth used at Port Townsend and Keystone gets the job done, why the upgrade at Mukilteo?
The stripped down design seems cost effective?
Original blog: Auto Tollbooth Upgrade At Mukilteo
Related:
Newspeople Avoid Questions – WSF Security
Information Suppression – The Press is Weak
Port Angeles Homeland Security/CBP/Border Patrol
Unlike many cities of its size, Port Angeles maintains a significant Homeland Security/CBP/Border Patrol presence.
Newspeople have a long history of not asking questions in this area.
New Port Angeles USBP Station opened more than a decade ago. Would any newsperson ever ask: Has the new station played any role in keeping cartel drugs from arriving on the Olympic Peninsula?
Newspeople remain silent.
Massing US Border Patrol agents at the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca fails to keep drug overdoses down in Clallam County.
Newspeople play along by not asking questions.
In the news:
Mar 20, 2024 KONP
CLALLAM CORONER-INVESTIGATED DEATHS SHOW MOST HAD DRUGS IN SYSTEM
“Deputy Coroner Nathan Millet says the number of direct drug overdoses continues to climb locally. It set a record last year and put Clallam County as the second highest overdose rate by population in the state.”
If you run a government operation-these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:
Jan 27, 2023 KONP FENTANYL NOW TOP DRUG IN CLALLAM COUNTY OVERDOSES
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Have opioid lawsuits played any role in improving the situation?
How do cartels react to opioid lawsuits?
Has a $51.6 billion (every 12 months) US Dept. of Homeland Security created any shortage of opioids in the Puget Sound area?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
What role do 1,200-horsepower Border Patrol Interceptor boats play in keeping cartel product from arriving in Port Angeles?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
When is the last time these patrol boats were involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
April 11, 2021 Peninsula Daily News
Peninsula overdose deaths seem to be on the rise
If Americans lived in a free and honest society, newspeople would be asking public policy related questions all of the time. This is not the case.
More here:
Port Angeles – Homeland Security/Drug War Scam 2011- 2024
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Does Port Angeles CBP provide any advantage in keeping cartel product from arriving in Port Angeles? Newspeople play along by not asking questions. News links and sources here:
Port Angeles CBP – Cartel Product and Seattle Overdose Trends
Mainstream media functions like paid actors reading a script.
Americans do not live in a free and honest society. Today, the mainstream media will function like paid actors reading a script:
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Did the advantage of US air power allow the undeclared wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be prevented, won or shut down?
US jet aircraft have been able to strike targets in what wars won by the US?
Currently serving four-star officers and high level DOD civilians have been associated with what wars won by the US?
Has dressing women to look like men had any positive or negative impact on recruiting?
Jan 14, 2024 Military.com
US Military Academies Focus on Oaths and Loyalty to Constitution as Political Divisions Intensify
Would any newsperson ever ask:
US Troops sent to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., are somehow defending the constitution?
If US Troops were never sent to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., what would have become of American rights and freedoms and the US constitution?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
The US Dept. of Defense (established after WWII, in the late 1940s) has been associated with what wars won by the US?
“FBI Special Agents and professional staff at @FBIJacksonville and local partners participated in the #22PushupChallenge, which recognizes the 22 U.S. veterans lost to suicide each day and honors military service members.”
“…22 U.S. veterans lost to suicide each day…”
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Does any federal agency or department advocate for less in the way of undeclared/unwon wars?
In the news:
Biden honors Americans who ‘stood on the front lines of freedom’ in Veterans Day remarks
CNN Nov 11, 2023
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Mr President,
Going back to the 1990 Operation Desert Shield,
How would American freedoms today be any different if US troops were never sent to Iraq?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
How would American freedoms today be any different if US troops were never sent to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Candidate ____________,
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, it feels like the people who run the Pentagon specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
What would be your role in all this?
In recent years, the press tends to support government agencies, departments and policies rather than question them.
Small Town Papers – Two Examples
In the news- example number one:
August 11, 2023 Whidbey News-Times
Whidbey sewer plants win state awards
“The Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility was recognized as outstanding by the Department of Ecology.”
“The Coupeville treatment plant received the outstanding performance award for the 13th consecutive year, and the Holmes Harbor plant was awarded for the 17th year in a row. The Penn Cove wastewater treatment plant was also a recipient this year.”
Beach adjacent to Award Winning Sewage Treatment Plant:
Coupeville
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Source: WDFW
Would any newsperson ever ask:
When is the last time all of Penn Cove was safe for recreational shellfish harvest?
Zero questions from small or large newspapers. Zero questions from TV newspeople.
In the news- example number two:
$6.3 million in federal cash for a used Ocean Shores hotel.
Any questions from newspeople?
December 8, 2022 The Daily World
Dept. of Ag invests $6.3M to purchase Ocean Shores hotel
$6.3 million “to fund the acquisition of an existing hotel. Marathon Enterprises Inc. is located in Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, Washington. The project is expected to result in saving eight jobs and creating one full time job.”
Zero questions from small or large newspapers. Zero questions from TV newspeople.
The small papers will say they need more support from subscribers and advertising dollars or cash from the federal government to stay alive. All this because COVID or the internet or lack of newspaper sales, or a free and independent press that needs taxpayer support.
People who take no public funds, private donations or advertising dollars are free to ask questions at any time. Why not the press? Call for unpaid volunteers and you’d get better news coverage than what we have now.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of newspeople asking questions.
No sense in subscribing to newspapers that do not ask public policy-related questions.
JFK speaks about the role of the press in a free society:
Homeland Security Spending
2014-
Island county to purchase new patrol boat to help with Puget Sound security:
Federal grant money goes to “…gain a better grasp on cross border activity and to prevent illegal crossings.”
“Funding for the boat was issued through the Homeland Security Grant Program under Operation Stonegarden.”
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
What is the history of “cross border activity” related to Whidbey Island?
Newspeople remain silent.
Airport Security Screening
Show up early to wait in line and squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube at the airport?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
What keeps the terrorists of the GWOT from creating a disruption at the back end of the screening line?
Has anyone ever seen any member of the press ask questions on this?
War on Terror
REAL ID
Would any newsperson ever ask:
If REAL ID is critical to the safety of America, have travelers out at the airport been less safe since 911?
The new REAL ID requirement for domestic air travel has been extended now to 2025.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
If the CIA (est 1947) serves as an advantage to the US, why does the Department of Defense have such a poor record of winning undeclared wars going back to 1949, the year DOD was established?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Are passports/enhanced/REAL IDs effective in keeping cartel drugs out of the US?
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
If sending US troops to Afghanistan and creating a $49.8 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, why are drug cartels able to move product into all 50 states?
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Has General Milley’s Operation Macho Swagger reduced access to cartel product anywhere in the US?
Has there been enough time for newspeople to ask questions?
Newspeople remain silent.
April 1, 2020 C-SPAN
WWII costume reminds us of a time before decades of undeclared/unwon wars stacked up.
The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.
Respect for The National Guard
These are the people who need to maintain a place to live and a regular job in their hometown area when they are not doing time in foreign lands helping DOD with undeclared/unwon wars and missions completely unrelated to their home state.
A few decades back, people might think of the National Guard as one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer plus a way to support your home state by being ready to get called out for floods, fires, natural disasters, civil unrest, etc. Maybe a way to help the next state over if they needed it.
Thousands of men and women who signed up for the National Guard in the past 25 years did tours in places like Syria, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Why do the people of Home State, USA need services in distant lands, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials, top Pentagon Generals and the press earned it.
The people of Alaska need services in the Middle East
The People of New Jersey Need Services In Iraq and Syria
The people of Iowa need services in Kosovo
Sign up to serve the people of Oregon and head over to Africa.
Zero questions from newspeople:
Gov. Kotek hosts mobilization ceremony for Oregon National Guard members deploying to Africa
South Carolina National Guard to Africa – Zero Questions from Newspeople
“Their commitment to protecting our freedom…”
April 18, 2023 Lincoln Journal Star
National Guard unit bound for East Africa gets send-off at Memorial Stadium
“There hasn’t been a more dangerous time in our world in decades,” Ricketts said, alluding to US rivalries with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. “Our soldiers will be out there protecting our freedoms.”
May 28, 2020 WMAR
Salisbury Mayor deploying to Africa with Maryland National Guard
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
December 21st 2019 KOMO News
Legal age to buy cigarettes, vapes raised to 21 nationwide
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms-The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Super Bowl
Tune in to any Super Bowl in the post 911 era to see the press promote a big US Dept. of Homeland Security show of force to keep the big game safe. TV newspeople skip asking questions and play the role of federal public affairs staff instead:
The folks who can’t keep fentanyl trafficking cartels from moving product into various US communities are keeping the Super Bowl safe. Way To Go Team.
Would any newsperson ever ask:
If special games require special security-what keeps regular games safe? Crowd size/capacity is similar at several stadiums.
Are fans less safe at regular games?
What prevents terror strikes at hundreds of events & locations unsupervised by federal authorities?
What stops terrorists from going 2 states over and driving a truck across the playground at a daycare center?
February 4, 2023 ABC 10
Jan 17, 2023 ABC15 Arizona
National Nuclear Security Administration conducting helicopter security checks ahead of Super Bowl
Possibly of Interest
Newspeople Avoid Questions – WSF Security
Local papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Manage it, don’t ban it. Online comment sections
Gunfire on the ferry:
January 27, 2020 Kitsap News Group
Man arrested after allegedly firing gun from ferry
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
WSF Bremerton to Seattle crossing time: ~ 60 min
Not my idea to promote the concept that riding safely on the ferry requires gun boat escorts, SWAT teams and K-9s on the job to detect explosives.
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
Whatever happened to this guy?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
March 5, 2020 KCPQ
Body found inside SUV after fire, explosion in Woodinville
Sounds pretty serious. Mob hit? Cartel job?
Any follow up of any kind from newspeople anywhere?
Alternative media asks the questions:
At 11:05
Hannah Cox explains what is going on Re: media collapse: