Archive for September 18th, 2009

Jim Jones–Cult of Personality–The Tragedy of Jonestown–Videos

Posted on September 18, 2009. Filed under: Blogroll, Communications, Cult, Culture, Economics, Education, Employment, Films, history, Law, liberty, Life, Links, media, People, Philosophy, Politics, Programming, Rants, Raves, Religion, Security, Video | Tags: Cult, Cult of Personality, Jim Jones |

Jim Jones’ followers enthralled by his skills as a speaker

“…CNN) — The key to understanding the tragedy that was Jonestown lies in the oratory skills of the Peoples Temple founder, Jim Jones.

With the cadence and fervor of a Baptist preacher, the charm and folksiness of a country storyteller and the zeal and fury of a maniacal dictator, Jones exhorted his followers to a fever pitch, audiotapes recovered from Jonestown reveal.

As he spoke, they applauded, shouted, cheered. One follower who survived the “revolutionary suicide” at Jonestown on November 18, 1978, said that Jones was the most dynamic speaker he had ever heard.

Like all powerful speakers, Jones’ greatest asset was his ability to determine what listeners wanted to hear and give it to them in simple language that appealed to them on an almost instinctual level.

“He was very charismatic, very charismatic,” said Leslie Wilson, who survived that fateful day in Jonestown by walking away from the settlement before the cyanide that killed more than 900 Peoples Temple members was distributed. She was one of 33 people who began the day in Jonestown and lived to tell the tale.

“He could quote scripture and turn around and preach socialism,” she said. “He appealed to anyone on any level at any time.”

Many of his followers were elderly African-Americans drawn to his cause by his soulful delivery and Pentecostal preaching style, including at times speaking in tongues. That hair-raising fervor was perhaps only overshadowed by what he said. …”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/13/jonestown.jim.jones/index.html

Jonestown: Massacre News Reel

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 1

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 2

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 3

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 4

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 5

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 6

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 7

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 8

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 9

Background Articles and Videos

Cult

“Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. In common or populist usage, “cult” has a positive connotation for groups of art, music, writing, fiction, and fashion devotees,^[1] but a negative connotation for new religious, extreme political, questionable therapeutic, and pyramidal business groups.^[2] For this reason, most, if not all, non-fan groups that are called cults reject this label. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult

Political Cult

“Political cult is a term used to describe some groups on what is generally considered to be the political fringe. Although the majority of groups to which the term “cult” (currently often used as a pejorative term according to some comparative religion scholars^[1] ^[2]) is sometimes applied are religious in nature, a number are non-religious and focus either on secular self-improvement^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] or on political action and ideology.^[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_cult

Cult of Personality

“A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country’s leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships but can be found in some democracies as well.

A cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders. However, the term may be applied by analogy to refer to adulation of non-political leaders. …”

“…Generally, personality cults are most common in regimes with totalitarian systems of government, that seek to radically alter or transform society according to revolutionary new ideas. Often, a single leader becomes associated with this revolutionary transformation, and he becomes treated as a benevolent “guide” for the nation, without whom the transformation to a better future cannot occur. This has been generally the justification for personality cults that arose in totalitarian societies of the 20th Century, such as that of Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality

Background Articles and Videos

New Media

“… New media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century.

Most technologies described as “new media” are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense, compressible, and impartial.^[1]

Jeff Jones Activist

“…Jeff Jones (born 23 February 1947) is an environmental activist and consultant in Upstate New York. He was a national officer in Students for a Democratic Society, a founding member of Weatherman, and a leader of the Weather Underground.

“…Jeff Jones had felt as early as 1975 that the underground had run its course and that it was time to consider surfacing, but supported those who chose to remain there. He essentially believed that the time for armed acts was over. ^[5] However, Jones would not surface until late Oct. 1981 when he was unexpectedly caught up in a police sweep of individuals suspected of participating in the deadly robbery of an armored truck. A SWAT team arrested Jones and Eleanor Raskin, and allowed a friend to take custody of their four-year-old son. ^[1] In Dec. 1981, a week before the couples’ sentencing, they were married legally. At sentencing Jones received probation and community service, while the charges against his wife were dismissed. ^[1]

In the years after he gained his full freedom, Jones has worked as a reporter and editor covering New York State politics and policy. He was a communications director for ten years at Environmental Advocates of New York. He now heads up his own consulting firm called Jeff Jones Strategies that specializes in media expertise, writing and campaign strategies that help grassroots and progressive groups to achieve their goals. ^[8] Jones is also working on the board of the financial arm of Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS), a group that works closely with the new SDS. ^[9] He lives in Albany, New York with his wife and has two sons.^[1] Jones finally traveled to Vietnam in 1986. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Jones_(activist)

Jeff Jones Strategies for Good Causes

http://www.jeffjones-strategies.com/clients.htm

Jim Jones

“…James Warren “Jim” Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 death of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the deaths of nine other people at a nearby airstrip in Georgetown.

Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in that state in the 1950s. Jones and the Temple later moved to California, and both gained notoriety with the move of the Temple’s headquarters to San Francisco in the mid-1970s.

The greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Guyana also ranks among the largest mass suicides in history (although some consider it, instead, a mass murder; see below). One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

George Moscone

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/George_Moscone#encyclopedia

Talkers Magazine

http://talkers.com/online/?p=267

Fairness Doctrine

“…The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was (in the Commission’s view) honest, equitable and balanced.

The Fairness Doctrine should not be confused with the Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the Equal Time rule deals only with political candidates.

In 1969, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Commission’s general right to enforce the Fairness Doctrine where channels were limited, but the courts have not, in general, ruled that the FCC is obliged to do so.^[1] In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine, prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or Congressional legislation.^{[2] …”}

^“…

Some Democratic legislators have expressed interest in reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine,^[19] although no one has introduced legislation to do so since 2005.

In June 2007, Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) said, “It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” ^[20] an opinion shared by his Democratic colleague, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.^[21] However, according to Marin Cogan of The New Republic in late 2008:

“

Senator Durbin’s press secretary says that Durbin has ‘no plans, no language, no nothing. He was asked in a hallway last year, he gave his personal view’ — that the American people were served well under the doctrine — ‘and it’s all been blown out of proportion.’^[22]

”

On June 24, 2008, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California (who had been elected Speaker of the House in January 2007) told reporters that her fellow Democratic Representatives did not want to forbid reintroduction of the Fairness Doctrine, adding “the interest in my caucus is the reverse.” When asked by John Gizzi of Human Events, “Do you personally support revival of the ‘Fairness Doctrine?'”, the Speaker replied “Yes.” ^[23]

On October 22, 2008, Senator Jeff Bingaman (Democrat of New Mexico) told a conservative talk radio host in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

“

I would want this station and all stations to have to present a balanced perspective and different points of view. All I’m saying is that for many, many years we operated under a Fairness Doctrine in this country, and I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since.^[24]

”

On December 15, 2008, U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo (Democrat of California) told The Daily Post in Palo Alto, California that she thought it should also apply to cable and satellite broadcasters.

“

I’ll work on bringing it back. I still believe in it. It should and will affect everyone.^[25]

”

On February 4, 2009, Senator Debbie Stabenow (Democrat of Michigan) told radio host and WorldNetDaily columnist Bill Press, when asked whether it was time to bring back the Doctrine:

“

I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s called something else — I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves.

”

When Press asked if she would seek Senate hearings on such accountability in 2009, she replied:

“

I have already had some discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen. Yep.^[26]

”

A week later, on February 11, 2009, Senator Tom Harkin (Democrat of Iowa) told Press, “…we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.” Later in response to Press’s assertion that “…they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another,” Senator Harkin responded, “Exactly, and that’s why we need the fair — that’s why we need the Fairness Doctrine back.” ^[27]

Former President Bill Clinton has also shown support for the Fairness Doctrine. During a February 13, 2009, appearance on the Mario Solis Marich radio show, Clinton said:

“

Well, you either ought to have the Fairness Doctrine or we ought to have more balance on the other side, because essentially there’s always been a lot of big money to support the right wing talk shows.

”

Clinton cited the “blatant drumbeat” against the stimulus program from conservative talk radio, suggesting that it doesn’t reflect economic reality. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine

Cult

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult

Political Cult

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_cult

Cult of Personality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality

Consumer Sovereignty

“…Consumer sovereignty is a term which is used in economics to refer to the rule or sovereignty of purchasers in markets as to production of goods. It is the power of consumers to decide what gets produced. People use the this term to describe the consumer as the “king,” or ruler, of the market, the one who determines what products will be produced. ^[1] Also, this term denotes the way in which a consumer ideologically choices to buy a good or service. Furthermore,the term can be used as either a norm (as to what consumers should be permitted) or a description (as to what consumers are permitted).

In unrestricted markets, those with income or wealth are able to use their purchasing power to motivate producers as what to produce (and how much). Customers do not necessarily have to buy and, if dissatisfied, can take their business elsewhere, while the profit-seeking sellers find that they can make the greatest profit by trying to provide the best possible products for the price (or the lowest possible price for a given product). In the language of cliché, “The one with the gold makes the rules.”

To most neoclassical economists, complete consumer sovereignty is an ideal rather than a reality because of the existence — or even the ubiquity — of market failure. Some economists of the Chicago school and the Austrian school see consumer sovereignty as a reality in a free market economy without interference from government or other non-market institutions, or anti-market institutions such as monopolies or cartels. That is, alleged market failures are seen as being a result of non-market forces.

The term “consumer sovereignty” was coined by William Hutt who firstly used it in his 1936 book “Economists and the Public”. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_sovereignty

The Legacy of Eric Hoffer

by Thomas Sowell

“…You need only read one of his classics like The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements to realize that you are seeing the work of an intellectual giant.

Having spent several years in blindness when most other children were in school, Hoffer could only do manual labor after he recovered his sight, but was determined to educate himself. He began by looking for a big book with small print to take with him as he set out on a job as a migratory farm worker.

The book that turned out to fill this bill — based on size and words — was the essays of Montaigne. Over the years, he read many landmark books, including Hitler’s Mein Kampf, even though Hoffer was Jewish. If ever there was a walking advertisement for the Great Books approach to education, it was Eric Hoffer. …”

“…Some of Hoffer’s books are collections of short, sharp insights, while others — The True Believer, The Ordeal of Change, and The Temper of Our Times, for example — offer more extended discussions of particular issues.

Although Eric Hoffer was perhaps at his zenith during the 1960s, he was completely at odds with the pious cant and slippery evasions of that rhetoric-ridden decade, whose tragic consequences are still with us today.

When a black man declared his “rage,” Eric Hoffer shot back: “Mister, it is easy to be full of rage. It is not easy to go to work and build something.” For this, he was accused of “racism” for not rolling over and playing dead at the sound of one of the buzzwords of the times — and, unfortunately, of our times as well.

Hoffer was convinced that the black leadership was taking the wrong approach, if they wanted to advance the people in whose name they spoke. Only achievement would win the respect of the larger society and — more important — their own self-respect. And no one else can give you achievement. …”

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2868

Eric Hoffer

“…Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American social writer and philosopher. He produced ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983 by President of the United States Ronald Reagan. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen^[1], although Hoffer believed that his book The Ordeal of Change was his finest work. ^[2] In 2001, the Eric Hoffer Award was established in his honor with permission granted by the Eric Hoffer Estate in 2005. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer

Background Articles and Videos

Obama’s Dog of a Health Care Message

Health Reform and the Polls
Obama’s biggest obstacle is the 68% of voters who rate their health coverage as good

“…The most important fundamental is that 68% of American voters have health-insurance coverage they rate good or excellent. That number comes from polling conducted this past weekend of 1,000 likely voters. Most of these voters approach the health-care reform debate fearing that they have more to lose than to gain.

Adding to President Barack Obama’s challenge as he sells health-care reform to the public is the fact that most voters are skeptical about the government’s ability to do anything well. While the president says his plan will reduce costs, 53% believe it will have the opposite effect.

There’s also the reality that 74% of voters rate the quality of care they now receive as good or excellent. And 50% fear that if Congress passes health-care reform, it will lead to a decline in the quality of that care.

Advocates of health-care reform on Capitol Hill are up against something bigger than voters’ reactions to a variety of specific proposals. Our polling in February found that by a 2-1 margin, voters believe that no matter how bad things are Congress can always make matters worse. That’s one reason 78% believe passage of the current congressional health-care proposals is likely to mean higher taxes for the middle class.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204313604574330442429438938.html

Health Care Reform

Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56%

“…Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed.

Just 43% now favor the proposal, including 24% who Strongly Favor it.

But the overall picture remains one of stability. While the numbers have bounced a bit following nationally televised appearances by the president to promote the plan, opposition has generally stayed above 50% since early July. Support has been in the low to mid 40s.

The number who Strongly Oppose the plan has remained above 40% and the Strongly Favor totals have been in the mid-20s. This suggests public opinion is hardening when it comes to the plan that is currently working its way through Congress. …”

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform

By Sammy Benoit

“…Having spent much of the past thirty years of my life in the advertising industry, the flaws of President Obama’s health care message are apparent and massive. Most people outside the ad business will tell you that commercials try to beat you over the head to make you buy what you don’t need or want. In truth advertising that doesn’t address the public’s needs or wants does not work. On top of that, if a consumer keeps being exposed to a message that does not meet a need, they begin to tune it out quickly; it’s called wear-out. Finally if the message keeps changing, consumers get suspicious.

Sound Familiar? That’s because almost since his inauguration the POTUS has been beating us over the head with a heath care message that does not address the needs or wants of the majority of American voters. His heath care effort is designed to make sure everyone has heath care, pre-existing conditions are covered and there is a public option to ensure greater competition to keep prices low.

Voters don’t have a perceived need for the president’s health care plan. Polls show that between 85-90% of voters are satisfied with their present health care coverage. Covering everybody is a noble effort, but voters are feeling the effects of a deep recession and are worried about the federal deficit. Just like a commercial for a new Mercedes Benz, most see universal coverage as something nice to have, but maybe another time. …”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/obamas_dog_of_a_health_care_me.html

What happens when you ask politicians how they’ll pay for Obamacare

By Michelle Malkin

“…A simple question for Democrat Obamacare supporters: How are you going to pay?

Three snort-inducing responses caught on tape (via hourglass1941, h/t the Jawa Report):

1) Walk away.

2) Babble.

3) Wellness programs.

Watch it. No question the politicians consider the citizen questioner a rude, unruly mobster/Talibani/right-wing terrorist. How dare she challenge authority! …”

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/06/what-happens-when-you-ask-politicians-how-theyll-pay-for-obamacare/

Archive for September 18th, 2009

Raymond T. Pronk

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Archive for September 18th, 2009

Jim Jones’ followers enthralled by his skills as a speaker

Jonestown: Massacre News Reel

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 1

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 2

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 3

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 4

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 5

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 6

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 7

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 8

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Part 9

Background Articles and Videos

Cult

Political Cult

Cult of Personality

Related Posts On Pronk Palisades

~Eric Hoffer

Glenn Beck 20090918 Part 1/4

Glenn Beck 20090918 Part 2/4

Glenn Beck 20090918 Part 3/4

Glenn Beck 20090918 Part 4/4

Jonestown: Massacre News Reel

Mind Control Cults

Background Articles and Videos

Jeff Jones Activist

Jeff Jones Strategies for Good Causes

Jim Jones

George Moscone

Talkers Magazine

Fairness Doctrine

Political Cult

Cult of Personality

The Legacy of Eric Hoffer

by Thomas Sowell

Eric Hoffer

Related Posts On Pronk Palisades

ACORN or Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

Apollo Alliance

General Electric

Obama’s Czars

George Soros

Services Employee International Union (SEIU)

Southern Poverty Law Center

Obama Truth

Glenn Beck: Barack Obama Doesn’t Know What’s in His Own Health Care Bill

Glenn Beck on Obama’s Universal Health Care

SHOCK UNCOVERED: Obama IN HIS OWN WORDS saying His Health Care Plan will ELIMINATE private insurance

Obama on single payer health insurance

The Public Plan Deception – It’s Not About Choice

Glenn Beck on Obama’s ‘Health Care’ Plans, Czars, The Emanuel Brothers (Two Judas forthe PriceOfOne)

DeMint Discusses Health Care and Creating Jobs With Cavuto

Boehner on PBS Newshour: GOP Leader Discusses Democrats Health Care Proposals

Beatles – Nowhere man – Live in Munich 1966

Background Articles and Videos

Obama’s Dog of a Health Care Message

Health Reform and the Polls Obama’s biggest obstacle is the 68% of voters who rate their health coverage as good

Health Care Reform Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56%

By Sammy Benoit

What happens when you ask politicians how they’ll pay for Obamacare

By Michelle Malkin

Related Posts On Pronk Palisades

Health Reform and the Polls
Obama’s biggest obstacle is the 68% of voters who rate their health coverage as good

Health Care Reform

Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56%