This second installment of Lies, Greed, Fearmongering, and Propaganda starts with City of Colorado Springs. Developers and builders created the strong mayor position and, in the process, weakened the city council. Both bodies flounder and get mired in trivial issues without clear-cut guidance on legislative versus administrative procedures.
Several contentious items are happening under strong mayor government, such as road repairs using 2C monies, ADA compliant ramps at intersections, curb replacement, and the dreaded bike lanes. Is our infrastructure better off in a strong mayor environment?
Lies by City-Owned Utilities and Duke Energy?
What about the city-owned utilities buying more solar energy from Duke Energy? In a Duke Energy news release on April 15, 2020, “Duke Energy Renewables and Colorado Springs Utilities bring 60 megawatts of solar energy online”. What is the actual cost for usage of the deal? Was there a bid process? What is the kilowatt/hour charge from Duke Energy?
Is our local government deciding the hard tasks with open, accountable, and responsible motives? In my opinion, not really. It is easy to criticize from the sidelines, but we need to get off the pot so to speak and act!
Greed or Watching City Council and the Money
We, the denizens of Colorado Springs, must start by taking a more active notice of city council meetings. It would also be great if folks would demand more open and accountable financial numbers regarding all the expenses the city and the city utilities expend. The same holds true for El Paso County.
Propaganda in Mainstream Media
The mainstream media has been spouting propaganda with a capital “P” for decades. They are only mainstream in their own eyes not mine. We get opinions from talking heads instead of hard-hitting, factual, researched and verified news.
We need to start demanding a higher level of investigative journalism instead of the fearmongering we currently receive. Look at the coverage of Trump, Biden, Biden’s son, the Democrats, the Republicans, COVID-19, the list is never-ending.
Propaganda at the Local Level
“The Transcript” is the official legal newspaper for the city of Colorado Springs and frequently El Paso County. John Weiss of the Colorado Publishing House owns this paper. You may also know Weiss as the owner of “The Independent” and “The Colorado Springs Business Journal.”
An official legal newspaper means the city publishes all legal notices in this paper. Legal notices include notices of guardianship, adoptions, notices of hearings, notices to creditors, foreclosures, and all Special District legal dealings. With a circulation of 250 subscribers in a city of 500,000 people, how many people are reading the legal notice and acting on them?
According to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Form 3526, Statement of Ownership, Managements, and Circulation, “The Transcript” has an average circulation of 250 subscribers in a city of 500,000. How can this lowly newspaper be the official legal newspaper of our city?
We had to go so far as to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to receive the numbers from USPS. Unfortunately, we could not get this “confidential” information directly from The Colorado Publishing House, who is also in the business of reporting and shining the light on government dealings.
Everything is True on Social Media – That’s Propaganda!
Social media is a whole other beast. Social media has engulfed our lives and circumvented our news outlets as the place to go for news. Pew Research recently released a study “Americans who mainly get their news on social media are less engaged, less knowledgeable,” further emphasizing the divide between mainstream and social media.
Social media has inflated the egos of hundreds of thousands of people. The social media influencers are trying to rule the world. I also believe they are doing a horrible job! According to Statistia.com, over 3.6 billion used social media in 2020. This allowed influencers unprecedented access to our lives, actions, and thoughts.
Everyday Bits and Pieces of Information
Lies, greed, fearmongering, and propaganda – how do we make it stop?
We get bombarded every day with bits and pieces of information. The information comes from our politicians, mainstream media, social media and even our well-intended families and friends. But how do we determine their motives if it is starting to look and smell the same.
I believe we need to get back to investigative journalism with fact-based reporting. Reporting in this manner, will expose the lies, greed, and fearmongering. Instead we need to establish credible news sources for us to consume and act upon.
