agitprop version 2.0

Catapult Their Propaganda with The After Downing Street Coalition

Most of us already know about the Downing Street Memo--a British memo documenting a July 2002 meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security officials. This memo reveals that the Bush administration had already decided to invade Iraq and was going to manipulate the intelligence in order to justify the policy of war. Despite the startling impeachment-worthy allegations contained in the memo, the mainstream corporate media has barely covered this story (stained blue dresses were so much more newsworthy). There is little hope of the American people learning about these secret war plans unless you choose to act now.

First, read this post at Shakespeare's Sister. She and her partners at Big Brass Blog have formed the Big Brass Alliance, of which I am also a member. Next, sign up at After Downing Street, a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups formed to urge that the U.S. Congress launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war. Also, be sure to sign Rep. John Conyers letter to President Bush. He is bravely leading the fight to demand accountability from the Bush administration.

I ask you readers to please do what you can to get this vital information out in the public. Remember, democracy only works when the people are active . . . unless for some odd reason you prefer fascist one-party rule instead of open democratic government.

Cheney Strikes Back

I think the Bush administration has realized that they have a few problems. While I am typing this post Bush is giving a press conference in the White House Rose Garden. He is desperately trying to defend the mess in Iraq, the lack of public support for Social Security privatization, and the stalled John Bolton nomination among other things. In classic Bushian press conference style he stumbles and fumbles under the pressure of the questioners.

Darth Cheney on the other hand is a tough cookie. He gave an interview with Larry King last week in which he strongly defended the administration's policy in Iraq. With fallacious optimism he argued that we are turning the corner in Iraq and that we are experiencing the "last throes" of the insurgency. Little does he know that around the corner is the edge of a cliff.

Cheney also had some harsh words for Amnesty International, whose recently released 2005 report exposed the numerous human rights abuses committed by the United States at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons. Cheney denied the allegations of torture at Guantanamo Bay prison, which Amnesty International compared to a "gulag." He said that he simply doesn't take the report seriously. After all, Amnesty International is just a rag-tag group of old left-wing hippies trying to soil the great name of the United States, right?

How dare you say that the United States has mistreated prisoners! How dare you even utter the word torture! How dare you speak the truth! Ok, interview over. Everything is fine. We are making progress. Let us all sing:

Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see into your imagination

Grandpa Joe! I can hear the Oompa Loompas calling me . . .

Can I Be a Hilton Too?

Just when I thought television could not get any worse, NBC (General Electric Co.) has decided to fling more excrement in our faces by launching their new summer reality show I Want to be a Hilton.

Everyone's heard of the Hiltons, especially socialites Paris and Nicky, but what would it take to actually live like them? Kathy Hilton (mom to Paris and Nicky) hosts this engaging and humorous series that follows 14 eccentric young contestants as they vie for the opportunity to live the glamorous lifestyle of high society. Kathy Hilton guides the contestants through a variety of weekly challenges set in glamorous Manhattan and ranging from art and culture to beauty and fashion. Each week Kathy eliminates those who "didn't make the list." The finalist will win an extravagant prize package including a $200,000 trust fund!

Do I want to be a Hilton? No. I want to rip my eyes out of my freakin' skull. I can just imagine the show with ha-ha scenes of desperate rednecks trying to decide which spoon to use on the fifth course of their seven course dinner. I bet David "Bobo" Brooks would love using this show to further explain his quasi-sociological theory that rich cultured elitists are oppressing the common man with their knowledge of fine wine and good manners. Echidne of the Snakes has a great post  dissecting Brooks' latest column in which he turns Marx on his head to explain how the working class is being oppressed by latte-drinking liberals.

Has our culture become so sadistic and voyeuristic that people want to watch contestants eat piles of live worms and marry unknown people in front of millions of viewers? The other problem with "reality television" is that it is simply not real. One of my friends who went to UC Santa Barbara said that the party-loving campus is filled with reality-show producers trying to recruit contestants. The directors of these shows instruct the participants what to do and how to act in order to achieve the vision that the producers have in mind.

Welcome to America! Sell your soul to Hollywood for a chance to win $200,000!

i ♥ rumsfeld

            

            Where does the persona end and the self caricature begin?    

In Memoriam: Life and Truth

No payments until 2009! We'll beat anyone's advertised price or your war is free! New stores opening Summer 2005 in Iran and Syria.

I Love the Smell of Irony in the Morning

Yesterday President Bush commented on his meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas:

"After all, he ran on a platform that said, 'Vote for me, I'm for peace, and I believe in democracy.' ". . . "You know, maybe somebody will run on a war platform, you know, 'Vote for me, I promise violence,' " Mr. Bush said. "I don't think they're going to get elected, because I think Palestinian moms want their children to grow up in peace."

Voters will strongly reject a political candidate who runs on a war platform right? They would always choose the sensible leader who valued peace over war.

President Bush in February 2004 on Meet The Press:

I'm a war president.  I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind.  Again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true.  And the American people need to know they got a president who sees the world the way it is.

I guess American voters are a little different than Palestinian voters when it comes to minor issues like war and peace.

The Simple Life (Sometimes I Wish I Was My Dog)

I came to this house when I was very young. Eight weeks old to be exact.

I enjoyed sleeping in my parents' warm comfy bed. I even went pee-pee on the bed but they eventually forgave me. 

Now I'm a teenager and I enjoy going for long walks. I also love playing at the dog park where I see all my friends.

When my parents are at work I usually spend time in Daddy's library. I'm currently reading Animal Farm.

And when nature calls, I make sure to properly mark my poop.

It's a Bittersweet Symphony, That's Life...

The weeks are getting stranger and stranger as time goes by. I'm not quite sure where we are headed honestly. This whole politicks thing is starting to wear on me. Sometimes I think about converting this blog into a pleasant festival of pop culture & music. But I resist the temptation. I promise to keep on truckin' through the madness.

If you were wondering about there being a pattern to my Thursday Review post-titles then you're right. Since the theme is randomness, I've decided to name my posts after song titles or lyrics. Besides politics and propaganda my other great interest is music. Indie, alternative, punk, rock n'roll, powerpop, jazz, trip-hop--I love them all. Just no country music or opera please.

Props to John at Blogenlust who discovered this musical pattern when he asked me if I have been naming my posts after song lyrics. Good catch.

I'm looking forward to my three day weekend. We'll be throwing a party/get-together on Saturday. I plan to indulge in some good wine, fine spirits and green bottled Dutch beer. Oh, I gotta try those Cuban cigars too.

Iran: Countdown to Annihilation

Courtesy of Corrente via Pissed Off Patricia at Blondesense, we have learned that U.S. naval ships are departing for the Persian Gulf. Xan at Corrente provides some stunning evidence and ask us to connect the dots. Go ahead if you dare . . .   

The military is right on schedule. Both Seymour Hersh and Scott Ritter have predicted a June 2005 attack on Iran based on their multiple insider sources. It's all happening according to plan. We've already witnessed the media propaganda about Iran's nuclear ambitions and have experienced a steady pro-war rhetoric from the Bush administration during the past six months. Presently the Europeans are unsuccessful in their diplomatic attempts to halt Iranian nuclear development plans. When their attempts are officially deemed to have failed, will the U.S. and Israel step in with a Shock and Awe solution?

Bush's poll numbers are in the tank so the time is ripe for another war. Operation Iranian Destruction will most likely commence with a bombing campaign. However, if we do send in ground troops or small special forces teams they will be forced to confront the dreaded Iranian Chick Ninjas.

                   

So, what are the odds for another war? Any bets?

When Reality Intrudes...

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

—President Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

Wow. I don't think that was in the script. Bushism of the year indeed.

Update: Crooks & Liars has the mp3 and the Whitehouse website has the transcript from the phony town hall meeting at Greece Athena Middle and High School. Onegoodmove has a video clip (quicktime) of Bush's Freudian slip.