Greg Guma

State of the News Media

Greg Guma — 2008-04-17T12:23:00Z

With journalistic professionalism and credibility in free fall society is experiencing a crisis of fact, leaving people with little to trust or believe. More and more they consume only information that reinforces their opinions. It's no surprise that when young people want to know what's going on they prefer the Internet to radio, TV, and newspapers. - Maverick Media

Seize the Ship of State

Greg Guma — 2005-07-15T01:20:00Z

There's a saying that applies to much of what we've been hearing from our leaders over the past two years: When we “assume” we make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” Many people may tell you these assumptions are facts, and some call them lies. For argument's sake, let's say many things have been taken for granted and accepted as true without proof.

One of the most obvious assumptions, repeatedly uttered by powerful people who should know better, is that we are winning the two wars being waged at the moment - the one in Iraq and the larger, misnamed war on what has been classified as terrorism. A related assumption is that the United States can't be defeated due to its superior technology. (...)

- Maverick Media / CommonDreams.org

Addicted to War: An Insider Examines the Seductive Myths of Militarism

Greg Guma — 2005-06-25T02:55:00Z

George Washington could hardly be called naïve about the use of military power. Yet, in his presidential farewell address, the general-turned-political leader issued a warning that would be wise to reconsider as the United States pursues a foreign policy based on preventive war and a crusade to spread democratic capitalism worldwide. Citizens should be wary, Washington explained, of “those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.” W

hile he considered a respectable army essential to national well-being, Washington believed that an overgrown military establishment in the New World would replicate the errors of the Old one. Unfortunately, his concern - considered superfluous in 1796 - has been largely ignored in the two centuries that have seen the United States transform itself from a revolutionary experiment into the world's only superpower. (...)

- Maverick Media / CommonDreams.org

Compelling Vermont To Revisit The Death Penalty

Greg Guma — 2005-06-10T23:50:00Z

BURLINGTON, VT - Without a vote, a hearing, or even a dog and pony show, Vermont has been pulled back into deciding between life and death for a criminal defendant. Jury selection is underway in the murder trial of Donald Fell, who is accused of kidnapping, beating and killing 53-three year old Tressa King on the morning of Nov. 27, 2000.

The facts are grim: Three people died in a spree that started in Rutland, Vermont, but ended when Fell and another man were caught driving King's stolen car in Arkansas. And that's where it gets complicated. (...)

- Maverick Media / ZNet

Deconstructing icons

Greg Guma — 2005-01-16T04:19:00Z

Burlington, VT, Jan. 15 (UPI) — At a time when angry (or at least aggressive) men appear to be running the country, its image factory has returned to a well-tested genre — big stories about larger-than-life figures who challenge the status quo, put a mark on their times — and do it their way.

In "Alexander," director Oliver Stone turns his war-weary lens on the legendary conqueror, following him from childhood to early death. Stone's straightforward style might be classified as traditional — if he didn't also opt to highlight his hero's bisexuality and over-estimate public interest in a precocious warrior with few apparent virtues except good looks, deadly skills and a preference for preserving the cultures his troops overrun. (...)

- Maverick Media / United Press International

Election 2004: Lingering Suspicions

Greg Guma — 2004-11-17T04:35:00Z

The Internet, that wonderful engine of democracy, is rife with messages purporting to demonstrate how the U.S. presidential election results were manipulated in ways benefiting the Republicans.

To start, voting analyses of selected Florida and Ohio precincts conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Steven Freeman and independent investigator Faun Otter have revealed surprisingly high percentages for Bush. Those skeptical about the results further suggest spoiled ballots and provisional votes, which may have a disproportionate impact on the results in the areas with high concentrations of minority voters, could have made the difference. (...)

- Maverick Media / United Press International

Saddam Sans Mustache

Greg Guma — 2004-08-07T03:45:54Z

In case you've been living in a duct-taped bomb shelter, we're in the midst of a national dialogue about strength. It's central to President George W. Bush's public persona and a main argument for his effectiveness. Not to be outdone his Democratic opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., has done everything from riding a motorcycle to making "stronger at home" a campaign mantra to sell a muscular image.

Strength is also central to the image of the new Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, whom Newsweek described as "Iraq's New SOB," and has been lauded as a ruthless strongman in The New York Times and Washington Post. Locally, he's known as "Saddam without the mustache." (...)

- Maverick Media / United Press International

Privatizing War

Greg Guma — 2004-07-08T02:10:07Z

The use of mercenaries was once a dirty, little secret most governments were loath to acknowledge. But today they're called private military contractors and perform almost every function essential to military operations. The Financial Times has labeled this trend the "creeping privatization of the business of war."

During the first Gulf War, about two percent of U.S. military personnel were private workers. As of 2003, it had reached 10 percent. The Pentagon employs more than 700,000 private contractors, and at least $33 billion of the $416 billion in military spending overwhelmingly approved by the Senate last week will go to PMCs. (...)

- Maverick Media

Propaganda Creep

Greg Guma — 2004-06-22T18:16:36Z

In the Reagan Era, it was known as public diplomacy. The Bush administration calls it strategic influence. What both terms describe is the U.S. government's ability to influence mass perceptions around the world and, when necessary, at home.

If you don't think it's been going on for years and continues to this very moment, well, then, it's working. (...)

- Maverick Media

Presidential prevaricating

Greg Guma — 2004-06-14T04:00:00Z

Burlington, VT, Jun. 14 (UPI) — You know the joke: How can you tell when a politician is lying? His mouth is moving. It's cynical, I know, but it works because all too often it's true.

And why do leaders so often choose "misstatements" over candor?

A pithy answer was provided Jack Nicholson in that signature moment at the end of "A Few Good Men." Jack glares at Tom Cruise and snarls, "You can't handle the truth." It's a basic operating principle for many public officials: People are poorly equipped to deal with harsh realities, so tell them what they want to hear. (...)

- Maverick Media

Dave Dellinger: The Life of a Nonviolent Warrior

Greg Guma — 2004-05-26T04:00:00Z

Dave Dellinger's journey began in Wakefield, Massachussetts, a suburb of Boston. His dad was a well-connected Republican lawyer and a friend of the state's governor, Calvin Coolidge - a native Vermonter, by the way, who went on to become president. One of his grandmothers was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. His father's ancestors can be traced back to North Carolina, before the American Revolution. In fact, Benjamin Franklin was a direct ancestor, by way of one of Franklin's grand nephews and a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. Quite a pedigree for an American radical! (...) - Maverick Media

Occupational Hazards

Greg Guma — 2004-03-10T05:00:00Z

In July 1915, Haiti's head of state, Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, was cornered in the French embassy by rebel forces. The insurgents had widespread popular support. This was no shock, since Sam was known as a rampaging, vindictive thug who had seized the government by force and murdered hundreds of his political enemies before running for cover. When a mob finally found him cowering in an attic, they hacked their president to pieces. (...) - Maverick Media

Dirty Tricks in Haiti

Greg Guma — 2004-03-01T05:00:00Z

The first time US intervened in Haiti, not many people even noticed. Few journalists were on hand in 1915, and most newspapers were ready to accept the official version. According to President Woodrow Wilson, establishing a protectorate was part of a grand effort to halt a "radically evil and corrupting" revolution, support the "slow process of reform," and extend his policy of the "open door to the world." (...) - Maverick Media