Introduction, or … Lying Pays Exceedingly Well.

People hear or read the term propaganda all the time but seldom give its meaning much thought. Those who ignore propaganda and its power suffer its consequences. It is never benign.

That might seem like justifiable karma to some; “Let them suffer as they deserve.” But it's not that simple.

It is not simple – or just – because you and me are inevitably pained by the consequences of tens of millions of our friends, our neighbors, our acquaintances, strangers and family members ignoring the insidious presence of propaganda in our society.

They are ignorant; we all suffer.

Except of course, those who create, espouse and benefit from the phenomena.

Prevalent propaganda throughout our complicated culture is one strong motivation for Mr. Trump to point to Mainstream Media “personalities” - yes, calling them out directly – while saying they are partly to blame for the current state of affairs in America. Not this country, alone, to be sure; a global media espouses propaganda as its main product. The world cries out, but who is listening?

Propaganda definition:

noun 1. information, ideas or rumors deliberately spread to help or harm a person or group, movement, institution, nation, etc. 2. the deliberate spread of such information, rumors, etc. 3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

Before I begin this mission of decoding scores, or perhaps hundreds of current pieces of propaganda a peek at salaries of its espousers is revealing.

The quirky former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, takes in a mere $250,000 per year for sporadic appearances on Fox Network. She dropped out rather than take a salary cut off her once generous $1,000,000 per year earnings.

Christopher John "Chris" Matthews With an average salary of about $500 thousand dollars per year, he has a net worth of $16 million US dollars.

Chris Cuomo “earns” $2.5 million per annum at CNN.

Scott Pelley receives $5 million from CBS Evening News.

Ann Curry gets $5 million per year, still a special correspondent for NBC after leaving Matt Lauer's show.

The incomparable Megyn Kelly stuffs her bank account with $6 million each year from Fox News.

Rachel Maddow, the uber-left, militant feminist snatches $7 million per year for her fast talk. MSNBC lags behind Fox and CNN for its propagandists.

MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough is given $99,038 per week from his show, so they say.

Sheppard Smith slips $7 - $8 million in his accounts for smooth use of his vocal cords.

Katie Couric grabs $10 million annually for talking, and having sincere eyes.

Anderson Cooper sucks in about $11 million each year for his ubiquitous presence on CNN.

Bill O’Reilly has his way with $17 - $20 million annually for his presence on Fox News and book deals.

George Stephanopoulos has a seven year contract with ABC News that will get him $105 million.

Matt Lauer, the quintessential family man, bring home $25 million in bacon each solar cycle. Rumor was he thought about “starting fresh” after Ann Curry left his show but thought twice about leaving that pile of money on the table.

Sean Hannity is said to pull an annual Salary of approximately $30 million a year. He might have a net worth up to $60 million.

It is highly fitting that the King of Bullshit crown goes to Glenn Beck. It's hard to say what his annual take is; it varies, although some believe it to be around $13 million for 2016 with additional business investments paying much more, potentially. Supposedly his net worth is somewhere between $120 million and $250 million. Like only man he hates more than himself, Donald Trump, we have not been graced with Beck's full disclosure.

Rush Limbaugh is in a category by himself. Yes, he might have earned something around $400 million during a four- year contract, including bonuses, and dropped that number down quite a bit since then. He makes a lot of money. Some indicate it is about $90 million annually. He sells a lot of stuff through his radio show, taking “obscene commercial breaks” when his producer gives the signal. Yet, he stands in a separate category because he spends abundant time on his show explaining propaganda spewed forth from the “Drive By Media.” Limbaugh is a generic civics teacher in his own way.

Beck, on the other hand, placed his bets on that squirmy senator from Texas, Ted Cruz. Beck was obviously all-in with Cruz, which was evident from hearing his prevarications about Trump throughout the primary season. One didn't have to see Slim Glenn speaking to introduce Cruz at campaign rallys to figure that out. He just happens to be a man who preaches love and compassion to put a veneer over his hatred. That is unmistakable in his words, then and now. That Beck would hold Cruz's hand throughout presidential campaign is as fitting as butter on toast. Most of all it seems that Beck envisioned himself in the White House along with his buddy Cruz, the guy who made a huge play about everyone taking a pledge, written by Cruz, that Cruz himself shattered his dubious honor over.

For the record, none of the above are journalists. Some claim to be. Some might have degrees in journalism. Not one is a journalist, no matter how much each mouth may protest my assertion. Some, like Limbaugh and Hannity, talk about the products of psuedo-journalists such as those listed above. But they are not journalists.

Meet a few of the exceedingly well-financed propagandists. There are many more, but they are like a flock of geese that squawk while flying overhead … too many to count. And they are capable of darkening a bright sky while dropping unwanted fertilizer where you stand.

Do they have to continue with what they do?

Trump's complaint is that they are part of the problem, those propagandists. They are. But they are owned as long as they choose to be.

Real journalists would fulfill their role as watchdogs over society, government, and corruption, exposing the swill of human nature. This is the whole point of the First Amendment of our Constitution: Freedom of the Press. But a person cannot be owned and free at the same time.

A whore, a prostitute, a poon, a hooker, a lot lizard, a punter, a gigolo, a drab, a bawd, a doxy, a chippy, a quean does not willingly expose those who pay the rent. Not unless they plan to retire or move on to something new. So why should a propagandist suddenly become a journalist?

To do so, one would have to develop a moral conscience.

To be continued …

Meanwhile, food for thought: This election, by the way, is not about "partisan politics." This election is about the dignity of each one of us who live as "Americans" and the esteem of every man and woman who has given their lives since 1776 to attain our freedom and to keep it.