agitprop version 2.0

The First Annual AGITPROP "Fox News Alert" Challenge

In the comments on a previous post, I lampooned the absurdity of Fox News Alerts:

Could you imagine what Fox News Alerts would have been like if Fox broadcasted during the 1960s:

UPPITY NEGROES REVOLT, DEMAND SPECIAL "CIVIL" RIGHTS

This made me wonder--what dramatic "news alerts" would Fox have been broadcasting if they were around for the past 200 years of world history? Therefore, may I present to you, The First Annual AGITPROP "Fox News Alert" Challenge. Blogenfreude has offered up some good examples for this weekend exercise.

Now it's your turn. Go for it.

Are War Supporters In Their Last Throes?

I don't want to get too optimistic here but this is where we stand as of mid-September 2005: 

• 67% believe that the President is mishandling the war in Iraq
• 65% believe that the U.S. is spending too much on Iraq
• 63% believe that the U.S. should either "withdraw some" or "withdraw all" troops
• 59% believe that the war was a mistake  (poll sources)

War supporters are truly getting desperate. As they frantically cling their chickenhawk claws to their cherished war, they know deep down that the tide is turning against their favor. Thousands of people are expected to attend this Saturday's anti-war marches in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. The anti-war movement, or peace movement depending on your persuasion, needs every single body it can find in order to make a showing of massive dissent. The larger it is, the greater the impact. (That's if the MSM even bothers to cover it).

To prove my theory that war supporters are in their last throes I turn to prominent phone-sex enthusiast and chickenhawk pundit Bill O'Reilly. He prides himself on being a tough-talking, no-nonsense patriot. He lambastes people as cowards who won't come on his show--they aren't "man enough" to face the raw power of the Factor. Well, it turns out that he is the real coward--a scaramouche--to use his own language.

Crooks & Liars has a must-see clip of Phil Donahue vs. Bill O'Reilly. Phil gave Falafel boy a firm ass-whooping yesterday and nearly made O'Reilly's head explode on his own show.  Donahue kept his cool despite Mr. Falafel's ranting and raving.

On a related note, the troubles of Iraq and Katrina may have pushed President Bush so far over the edge that he has returned to the bottle. The National Enquirer (yeah I don't know how valid the story is) asserts that when the levees broke in New Orleans, Bush took a Texas-sized whiskey shot. Oddly enough, Shakespeare's Sister notes that the National Enquirer has been right on the money in its uncovering of political scandals.

If there was ever a moment for George to start drinking again, now is the time.

Horse With No Name

The charges: criminal negligence, incompetence and forgery.

FEMA director Michael "Brownie" Brown is not only aloof and incompetent but he is also a liar. Time Magazine reports that Brownie's resume contains several embellishments to put it lightly:

Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA's website, was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an "assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. "The assistant is more like an intern," she told TIME. "Department heads did not report to him." Brown did do a good job at his humble position, however, according to his boss.

Not only does he fail to mention his three-year gig at the International Arabian Horse Association (from which he was fired) but he claims to have experience in disaster and emergency management. Well, at least he's good at making creative resumes:

Brown's lack of experience in emergency management isn't the only apparent bit of padding on his resume, which raises questions about how rigorously the White House vetted him before putting him in charge of FEMA. Under the "honors and awards" section of his profile at FindLaw.com — which is information on the legal website provided by lawyers or their offices—he lists "Outstanding Political Science Professor, Central State University". However, Brown "wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here," says Charles Johnson, News Bureau Director in the University Relations office at the University of Central Oklahoma (formerly named Central State University). "He may have been an adjunct instructor," says Johnson, but that title is very different from that of "professor."

I'm actually surprised that the media is going after him so vociferously. Brownie's position is cronyism at its most despicable incarnation. He got the job as head of FEMA because he was a college roommate of Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager.

The Bush regime has transformed the United States into a third world country in which the president's childhood friends and cousins are awarded cabinet positions on the basis of pure nepotism alone. I wouldn't mind if Brownie actually knew something about emergency management, but his actions over the past ten days have proved otherwise.

hurricane katrina katrina michael brown

Katrina, One Week Later

The chaos caused by Hurricane Katrina and the lack of federal response to the disaster has led to some interesting discourse as well as some strange politicking.  I'd like to give a quick wrap-up to some of these items.

Look what the Queen Mum had to say about hurricane victims who are finding refuge in Houston. Babs thinks that poor black people are not only scary but they are also opportunistic:

"What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality . . . And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them." 

I think it's fair to call George W. Bush a son of a bitch. Norm has the audio @ onegoodmove. Maybe we can ship both Babs and Pat Robertson off to the funny farm now?

I previously mentioned that according to the media, black people loot while white people borrow. Well, it appears that cops borrow as well. Check out this footage of cops borrowing merchandise at Wal-Mart.

Bill Clinton spoke out today on CNN about the lack of federal response to aid hurricane victims:

"Our government failed those people in the beginning, and I take it now there is no dispute about it," Clinton told CNN. "One hundred percent of the people recognize that -- that it was a failure." We've got the departments on the ground, we've got the military on the ground, we've got a chance to do it right now, and we should do it right," he said. "And then in an appropriate time we should analyze what went wrong and why and what changes should be made."

Say what you want about his extra-marital affair, but at least Clinton didn't cut funding and staff to FEMA for three straight years in a row like the Chimperor has. Thanks Dubya!

Republic of T notes that Al Gore was helping hurricane victims evacuate from New Orleans and flying them to his home state of Tennessee. He kept these actions under the radar without any fanfare unlike Bush's Friday photo-ops.

Last but not least, I recommend reading or watching Keith Olbermann's hard-hitting editorial from yesterday evening:

Mr. Bush has now twice insisted that, "we are not satisfied," with the response to the manifold tragedies along the Gulf Coast. I wonder which "we" he thinks he's speaking for on this point. Perhaps it's the administration, although we still don't know where some of them are. Anybody seen the Vice President lately? The man whose message this time last year was, 'I'll Protect You, The Other Guy Will Let You Die'?  I don't know which 'we' Mr. Bush meant . . .

For him, it is a shame — in all senses of the word. A few changes of pronouns in there, and he might not have looked so much like a 21st Century Marie Antoinette. All that was needed was just a quick "I'm not satisfied with my government's response." Instead of hiding behind phrases like "no one could have foreseen," had he only remembered Winston Churchill's quote from the 1930's. "The responsibility," of government, Churchill told the British Parliament "for the public safety is absolute and requires no mandate. It is in fact, the prime object for which governments come into existence."

Countdown is probably the only MSM show I watch occasionally, simply because Olbermann is not a right-wing wacko talking head like the rest of the pundits on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc. Norm has the video and transcript here in case MSNBC decides to pull a Winston Smith and erase Olbermann's blog. There is video here also.

Got any interesting Katrina-related information? Send it along in the comments . . .

hurricane katrina katrina politics barbara bush bill clinton keith olbermann downing street memo

The Revolution Starts Now!

On January 21, 2005, President Bush took this oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

What was that he was supposed to defend again? Apparently it's this:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I've never witnessed such a grievous violation of the Constitution as this week's tragic events in the Gulf Coast states. Tranquility, common defense, and general welfare were certainly neglected this week as were security and humanity. The federal government completely abandoned its people leaving them to drown and suffer in anarchy. I guess that's what happens when you starve government so it drowns in a bathtub.

The president of Jefferson Parish, Aaron Broussard: "We have been abandoned by our own country. . . Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area . . . For God's sakes, SHUT UP AND SEND US SOMEBODY!" If you haven't already seen Broussard on Sunday's Meet the Press, then you must watch this heart-braking clip.

I still can't believe my eyes and ears. It's been one whole week since Hurricane Katrina hit and only yesterday people started receiving relief, food and water. As citizens we give up our rights to the government in exchange for protection. The government has proved that it has other priorities than its citizens.

The Potemkin President welcomes you to his latest affair: Lake George (formerly known as N'Awlins). Welcome to the land of death and destruction, the site of floods and famine. It's also the site of presidential photo-ops: food distribution, food delivery and levee repair photo-ops (via BradBlog).

The Heretik describes the Hurricane President as an American Caesar. Shakespeare's Sister shows that the Republican spin machine led by Karl Rove has already started cranking. I honestly don't know how these evil bastards are going to spin their way out of this mess. They've already shamelessly pinned the blame on the local authorities. Of course the buck never stops at the White House does it?

If heads don't roll over this fiasco, then our democracy is lost.

(Sorry for the unorganized nature of the post. I'm just too shocked to be fully coherent right now)

Black People Loot, White People Borrow

Yesterday I briefly heard about the biased photo-captioning by the AFP of "looters" in New Orleans. I found the story at Salon via el serracho:

One of the images, shot by photographer Dave Martin for the Associated Press, shows a young black man wading through chest-deep waters after "looting" a grocery store, according to the caption. The young man appears to have a case of Pepsi under one arm and a full garbage bag in tow. In the other, similar shot, taken by photographer Chris Graythen for AFP/Getty Images, a white man and a light-skinned woman [photo has been removed by AFP and Yahoo!] are shown wading through chest-deep water after "finding" goods including bread and soda, according to the caption, in a local grocery store.

Salon has the original images here. I wasn't aware that Winston Smith worked for the AFP. He even released a statement explaining his actions.

Here is what I can surmise thus far about the chaos in New Orleans:

1. Black people loot while white people borrow and/or fill shopping bags.
2. Looting is bad and will be punished to the utmost extent of the law.
3. The cops might shoot black looters but will give warnings to white borrowers.
4. Iraqi looting was acceptable because they were experiencing freedom for the first time. Rumsfeld knew that the looters needed food and clothing to survive amidst the chaos of the war.
5. New Orleans looting is bad because the looters are simply creating more chaos amidst the tragedy around them.
6. Bush will arrive in New Orleans in about a week. He will come equipped with a bullhorn and will use the event to reap political capital. In two years he will declare "Mission Accomplished" on a ship in the Mississippi Delta once New Orleans has been rebuilt by Halliburton and Bechtel.

hurricane katrina politics

Interracial Falafel Sex On The Factor!

Neo-McCarthyite Bill "I Suck Satan's C*ck" O'Reilly and Michelle "I Heart Manzanar" Malkin engaged in a grotesque Republican sex orgy last night over the issue of Cindy Sheehan's Crawford protest.

O'Reilly knows treason when he sees it:

I think Mrs. Sheehan bears some responsibility for this [publicity] and also for the responsibility for the other American families who lost sons and daughters in Iraq who feel this kind of behavior borders on treasonous.

Magalong Malkin knew Casey Sheehan so well that she is able to read his mind even after he is dead:

I can’t imagine that Casey Sheehan would approve of such behavior.

Think Progress has the audio of these two sadistic bastards who moan in pleasure as they demonize a grieving mother and celebrate the death of young soldiers.  Crooks & Liars has the video.

technorati: cindy sheehan

Forgotten Places

      

The mainstream media (MSM) creates and defines our reality. If we see a story on TV, then it must be real and it must be important.  The media pundits and talking heads will debate these stories thus elevating them to prominence within our national discourse. But what about the stories that don't make it to television or print media? Many stories are forgotten simply because the media chooses not to cover them. In their failure to cover such stories, thousands of lives are thrown into the dustbin of history while media monopolies profit from their info-tainment programming.

In Nicholas Kristof's column All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on Brad Pitt, he lambastes the media (including his own "liberal" New York Times) for failing to give any attention to the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan:

If only Michael Jackson's trial had been held in Darfur. Last month, CNN, Fox News, NBC, MSNBC, ABC and CBS collectively ran 55 times as many stories about Michael Jackson as they ran about genocide in Darfur.

The BBC has shown that outstanding television coverage of Darfur is possible. And, incredibly, mtvU (the MTV channel aimed at universities) has covered Darfur more seriously than any network or cable station. When MTV dispatches a crew to cover genocide and NBC doesn't, then we in journalism need to hang our heads.

So while we have every right to criticize Mr. Bush for his passivity, I hope that he criticizes us back. We've behaved as disgracefully as he has.

So far in 2005, the stories that have received 24-hour MSM coverage have included a dying brain-dead woman, a living brain-dead woman, an exonerated child molestor, and the dying and death of a Polish hero. If the media is so "liberal" as most conservatives claim, then why doesn't the media focus more on widespread issues of human rights and human suffering--typical points of liberal fascination--rather than sensational tales of personal drama?

I think our culture has a strong strain of sadism. The media covers stories about sensational violence which serve as pure entertainment value. Here in Southern California the local news will devote hours on end to police car chases that end in bloody shoot-outs. But when it comes to real violence in the world that humans could stop or prevent, the media and the public tend to look the other way. The media monopolies choose to either promote violence (cheerleading for the Iraq War) or simply ignore it (Darfur genocide, chaos in Haiti, oppression in Burma, etc).

In Darfur, about 400,000 black Sudanese have been systematically killed by government-sanctioned Arab "Janjaweed" militias. The complacency of both the media and the public is to blame. The United States declared the crimes in Darfur as genocide last year but has done little to stop the killing. The U.N. has done even less.  Have we not learned from the lessons of Rwanda? Bill Clinton just publicly apologized for failing to intervene to stop the 1994 Rwandan genocide. At the time he was probably too busy trying to grope interns or stop Newt Gingrich from taking over the Congress.

Links about other Forgotten Places:

• Truth Out:  UN Sees East Congo as Worse Crisis Than Darfur
• Amnesty International:  Crisis In Haiti
• The Heretik:  Dog Days (Haiti)
• Freiheit und Wissen:  Free Haiti - A Month of Tragedy
• Darfur: A Genocide We Can Stop
• Save Darfur
• The Burma Campaign

technorati: Darfur  Sudan  Haiti

Durbin vs. Tomlinson

I love it when Senate hearings get exciting. Remember Galloway vs. Coleman last month, when the mad Scotsman ripped Senator Norm Coleman a new one? Yesterday was Ken Tomlinson's turn to sit in the hot seat. The Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting faced a bipartisan Senate panel that quizzed him on his recent controversial actions which have led sixteen U.S. Senators to call for his resignation. So, what's the frequency Kenneth?

• Appointed Patricia Harrison, a former Republican Party chairwoman, as president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with oversees both PBS and NPR.
• Hired an outside consultant from the American Conservative Union to monitor the content of "NOW with Bill Moyers"
• Spent taxpayer money on lobbyists
• Claimed that he had had no communications with Bush White House regarding public broadcasting when in fact there are emails that prove the correspondence
• Personally ordered the execution of five NPR journalists

Ok, I made up the last one. But you get the point.

Tomlinson, looking like a bug-eyed stuffed pig sans the apple, tried to defend himself from Senator Dick Durbin's relentless questioning. Tomlinson was chastised, rightfully so, for trying to transform PBS and NPR into a "fair and balanced" Fox-style network. Durbin asked Tomlinson that if he was so interested in promoting "balance" then why did he not raise $5 million to give The Nation Magazine a program on PBS like Tomlinson did for Paul Gigot and the editors of The Wall Street Journal. Moreover, Durbin asked Tomlinson why he was on this personal crusade to seek "balance" in public broadcasting when a majority of people polled believe NPR/PBS is balanced and give it favorable ratings.

It's clear that Tomlinson and his cronies are simply trying to neutralize the powerful journalistic tradition of public broadcasting in order to spread pro-Bush regime ideology throughout the homeland. Other guests on the panel included David Boaz from The Cato Institute who argued that the government should end all funding for public broadcasting. He argued that in this 500 channel universe, citizens should be forced to pay for what they watch. Free television is blasphemy! Hell, let's privatize everything!

Audio Broadcasts:  Voice of America    NPR

News/Article Sources:  Tom Paine   Los Angeles Times    Fox News

Technorati:  PBS  Ken Tomlinson  Public Broadcasting  Media

Democrats: Angry and Adrift

Fox News, the official propaganda network for Satan The Republican Party, is pimping the following story, GOP Angered By Sen. Clinton's Critique of Bush:

"I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," Clinton said during the inaugural Aspen Ideas Festival, organized by the Aspen Institute, a non-partisan think tank.

The former first lady drew a laugh from the crowd when she described Bush's attitude toward tough issues with Neuman's catch phrase: "What, me worry?"

As Clinton gears up for a Senate re-election race in New York next year and a possible White House presidential bid in 2008, her attacks on Bush have become sharper.

In her speech Sunday, she accused the president of damaging the economy by overspending while giving tax cuts to the rich, depriving U.S. soldiers of equipment needed to fight the war in Iraq and cutting funds for scientific research.

"Hillary Clinton's opportunistic attempt to market herself as a centrist is like a wolf dressing up in sheep's clothing," said RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "Such thinly veiled rhetoric doesn't change the fact she is part of today's angry and adrift Democrat Party."

I have my qualms about Hillary. Not only did she vote for the war, but she has too many skeletons in her closet for a presidential run. Therefore I am "ABC" when it comes to 2008. That said, I think it's both hilarious and frightening to watch Fox develop and spread their talking points. Expect to hear the phrase "angry and adrift" mentioned by every Fox News anchor for the next week. O'Reilly, Hannity and Hume will love repeating "angry and adrift" over, and over, and over again.

As for Bush, Hillary is right. Worry.