Open letter to the Public- Regarding Barrett Brown et al.

Dear Public,

 Hey there Public. How are you? These Open Letters can't hurt. Actually, they can. Let’s forget that for the moment. To ask ya'll how you are doing is a waste of a question, with layers of implicit disappointment. Very few will answer, and when they do it will be unsatisfactory. I have just alienated quite a few of you by sounding fancy. I assure you, dear public, that the fancy words I sometimes use don’t stem from pretension, but from desire for incisive expression. Oh no, this is hopeless. I've lost you I have. I’ll start again. Ok, so here’s the deal, my dear dear public. The deal? Yes, that is a straightforward way to say I mean business. What do I mean business about? Glad you had the grace to ask rather than just dismiss me as a lunatic writing rambling letters to such a huge segment of the population. OMG, not even a huge segment but the whole population of every nation since the advent of the World Wide Web and NAFTA and …. You know what? I won’t wait for you to reply for obvious reasons. You know what?  What? I need to narrow my focus. Ignore what I wrote till now, and allow me to address this missive only to the American Public.

Hey American Public,

Been thinking about you. A LOT. Sometimes I think of you as society or the masses. When in a fouler mood "idiots' or "sheeple."  That was honest and the public supposedly likes what is honest and authentic, but I'm not so sure about that. Anyhoo, lately the word public is what comes to mind when I wonder about you. I always thought of you, and how I felt separate from you, but that was more cause it seems in my DNA to not enjoy joining anything. More often than not I disagreed with your tastes in movies, books, tv . Sometimes we were in sync like when Fantasia won American Idol and Justin Guarini was not embraced by you. You were right about the Beatles and Twinkies! Lots more examples but they say your attention span is near non existent so…

Don’t want to sound elitist when writing you, since I am one of you for all intents and purposes.  I want you to like me enough so you listen, at least. Mostly, you presented yourself to me, in terms of ratings and box office and voting booths and book sales and what played on the radio.  I wondered if you’d like me and my sister’s creative offerrings. Stuff like that. Otherwise I don't remember thinking of the public so much as I have in the last month.

In the last month, I’ve become a little obsessed with you. You make or break so much. Without you, Justin Beiber would have much fewer Beliebers . If I had my way you’d give more facebook likes to Barrett Brown and less to Khloe Kardashian.  My regular interest in you switched to fascination when  I was watching CNN  about a month ago. I  I saw the cutest kid  wearing some breathing apparatus. Then, the story of  how some laws were preventing her from getting a lung. A lung that if not received, would lead to imminent death. This all seemed insurmountable. Complex laws and rules were in place .

I thought only god could save Sarah Murnaghan. Then, I remember thinking that God or CNN can save her. I thought then how unrealistic this all was. Nothing could save this girl. The odds were too daunting and I too agnostic.

Then,  a few days later, without much or any discussion about what led to it barring a motion filed by the girl’s family, and a judge’s favorable ruling— some CNN anchor announced that a lung was granted. This turned a five year long contemplation into a persistent conviction. Convinced that you are the answer, my darling public. All the articles in alternative press that led to no evident momentum. All the outrage and indignation that you’d assumed would accompany certain stories—fizzling and dying  due to neglect. The public either missing it altogether or losing interest when assuming it can’t be a “big story” if only alternative papers cover it.  Some of you from the public will get offended and say you long know how corrupted have become the media but you rarely offer any details of how or why this is so.  This leaves too large a block of us in the public unable to suspend enough disbelief to invest in a “story.” No follow up on breaking stories and the story goes broke.

 I’ve seen this for five years now with too many stories to name. But, it seemed that the death of Michael Hastings was a seminal moment. Here a member of the press appears to have been assassinated in full view of the public.  Then again I was sure there was a good 100 seminal moments that turned out to be…. Regular old moments. The Justin Carter and Snowden stories surely must be the defining moment that has eluded us desperate no coverage characters for so long. How is it possible that I only learned of the Barrett Brown story a month ago? Isn’t the denial of bail and the cruel and unusual punishment of his mother being charged, and then him facing 105 years when that doesn’t make good sense…. Big news???  Doesn’t the public demand that this son of Military be granted reasonable bail, at the very least. Why is Anderson Cooper keeping this on the down low. Why is Gloria Allred busying herself with celebrity mistresses? Why has no lawyer agreed to represent Barrett Brown, pro bono???

Yesterday, I was on Open Salon and saw a member of the public, and someone I thought was on a not so different page than me,  mock me for pondering a boycott of CNN until you demand that such stories are presented to us, the public. I’d have to be stupid to be angry at this woman for not understanding since I did not understand until recently and since I suspect that I still wouldn't had it not been for a very particular "Perfect Storm." . I am not stupid so I wasn’t remotely angered.  I don’t expect understanding from you, public. I just want to know if you did understand what would you do.  If you believed how would you react? My only realistic demand is one I make of myself: That I surmount my over developed sense of shame and  pride, enough to do my part, to raise some awareness. Awareness of what exactly? Well, that all along the lefties weren’t knee jerk nuts who chose to devalue our Country due to some flaw in their character. That the NSA leaks have little to nothing to do with you not having anything to hide. It has all to do with bad people exploiting systems weakened by greed , self interest and sociopathic agendas. That Barrett Browns discovery of gun for hire internet trolls has led him to be a political prisoner and that he is not alone. That Snowden escaped to any country that might not send him back so he didn't end up like Barret Brown or Michael Hastings.  Talking heads just now on the TV. Saying how if Snowden was a patriot he'd face the music here. Are they sincerely unaware or do they know and spin it? I can't know. If they don't know any better than the blame game must be approached differently. In other words, no castigation allowed. I’ll stop there for now and expand  if  you write back.

Please, write back, public, and tell me if I am mistaken and that it’s not a big story that journalists are being killed or jailed in America, for telling the truth. Isn’t it some ironic sort of story that Justin Carter is getting much less coverage than Anna Nicole Smith’s death. And, that me, Moshe Joseph, Susan Lindeur, Melissa Balin and Brandon Raub all were subject to Soviet Era tactics and that any googling will not even scratch the surface of those stories. Yet, so many know claim to know the truth after reading one supplied link.

 I write this to you , and have to post it on the internet so it might reach you, but that makes me more nervous than I feel is right when in AMERICA. I know I know some of you will call me a tin hat paranoid or something equally dismissive. You feel safe here as I used to. I've gotten used to being referred to as crazy, but it took a long time.

Gee if there is no ACLU coming to the rescue of political prisoners, and no CNN, and the FBI and DOJ is acting in such bizarre ways. Then even  the IRS. HMMM.

Then, only Glenn Greenwald cited as non complicit in the complete subservience of all in the “mainstream media.  How it the message going to ever get strong enough for the public sentiment to make a difference. I refuse to believe that Obama knows about any of this . He is so funny at those correspondent dinners, and he seems so cool. Reminds me of my sister. I am not being one bit sarcastic.The man might strike me as egocentric but not sinister. I truly can’t believe it based on what I know and admittedly that's not all there is to know. It will take much much more to convince me that he knows. What will it take you? Thoughts appreciated, big P.   I also can't believe so many in the media would join forces to deny us the truth. It bespeaks a culture no better than the most oppressive regimes.  I only know how it appears if you pay close attention. Anyone out there have any convincing ideas or evidence of what we will face if we, the public, don't step up ASAP.

Best,and hope to hear from you,

Alisa( a member in decent standing)