Three seemingly random stories from today's roundup

Going through my news feed, these three articles caught my eye. They seem disconnected, but actually hit the three levels of American decline.

First, from MMFA a story about the institution leading the charge. Casting fox news as the de facto leadership arm of the republican party is a change from the more easily understood meme that fox is the gop's propaganda arm. But the shift explains to a great extent the priorities of the "conservative movement" from an organization bent on obtaining power to implement it's will to an organization freed from the responsibility of power for other purposes. A media company profits through the sensationalism that increases audience size and attention, so they have a larger number of minds to sell to advertisers. As one commenter put it, "the jesters have taken over the court." If there is more money to be made as merry pranksters and saboteurs, then just abandon efforts to seriously contest the "election." Especially when so much of the Democratic agenda lines up with the needs of really-existing power.
Next, the power of zealotry. DP? Seriously? Didn't you freelance brownshirts learn your lesson from "teabaggers?" Or does naming your reactionary neofascist organizations after the reality-based community's sexual colloquialisms feed your victom mentality? Internet trolling of progressive news sties is nothing new of course, but this scale of organization is almost jaw-dropping. That a group of zealots could band together to actually affect what we see and are able to easily find is pretty amazing. I was only vaguely aware of how Digg works but always suspected that an outside group could bury stories they didn't like if they could maintain discipline. So this is the second level, the official propaganda and censorship cult leaders at fox are in it to make gobs of cash, while this group exists for the sheer glee of hatred. Beware the extremists willing to carry the water for their masters with no visible compensation.
And finally, the third level. Where power actually lies. This story may be tongue in cheek, it may not even contain any actual news, but it hits on what the agenda really is. And she hits on some pretty relevent ideas. Private banks exist to make profit, not serve the public. So if they can trick you into paying fees and not earning any interest on your deposits, and the ultimate kicker, prevent you from withdrawing your funds, is is such a stretch to think they will not do so?
Such harmony the three levels of American declne exhibit. It is all about cracking open civilization, stirring up anger and zealotry, and making off with the loot by whatever means come easiest to hand. And in the case of netroots stormtroopers, while we can't be sure the evil hand (and money) of koch or mellon-scaife is not behind this crashing of the barricades, on the surface they seem to be censoring and demonizing just for the sheer joy of it and not for material gain. And this one is the most problematic, you can avoid fox news, put your money in a credit union, and shop outside the walmart archipeligo but how do non-movement conservatives build a movement for reality if shadowy, unaccountable forces are censoring the truth?