Boston’s Fake Bomb Hysteria

Posted by on September 21, 2007 at 4:12 pm. NO Comments :

Once again Boston has shown itself to be a little too tightly wound. What is it that makes these people quiver at the sight of toys and pranks?

The latest episode of skittishness is the arrest of an MIT student who is accused of wearing a “fake bomb” at Logan International Airport. Never mind that the allegedly fake bomb is nothing more than a circuit board with a battery attached. Forget that it was being worn on the outside of a sweatshirt in full view of everyone (not something a terrorist is likely to do). And ignore completely that the student, Star Simpson, is enrolled at MIT where students commonly engage in creative inventions.

The foregoing notwithstanding, Boston’s finest still managed to overreact and assume the worst. This, of course, is not the first time. Back in February, the city ground to a halt because a cable tv network left some litebrite toys around town to publicize the premiere of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cartoon series. As I said at that time:

“Once again we are reminded of the ever-present danger posed to society by artists. The free exercise of creative expression continues to be amongst the more serious threats to an ordered and manageable population. No wonder responsible governments spend so much of their time and resources suppressing such subversions. Without such efforts we would be forever vulnerable to the horrors of independent thought and action.”

In both incidents, the media became a willing accomplice to this conclusion jumping. Every headline and teaser blasts the words “Fake Bomb” as if there had been an actual determination that this was the intent. A responsible press might have considered describing it as an “electrical device” of unknown purpose. But that wouldn’t grab as many viewers or sell as many papers.

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Top Army General Says To Blame The Media

Posted by on September 21, 2007 at 2:33 pm. 2 Comments :

The commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq has a theory as to why the mission is so badly floundering. Major General Rick Lynch believes that if the media were more upbeat, that would somehow improve the fortunes of the troops in their battle against the Iraqi insurgents. Perhaps if there were more stories of painted schoolhouses there would be fewer IEDs buried on the roadside.

To be fair, Lynch isn’t really addressing the battlefield in Iraq. His focus is on the perceptions of Americans at home and how to persuade them to gird for our extended participation in this quagmire:

“If the American people are informed properly, I believe they will be supportive of the mission. But they’re not getting the right story. As a result, they’re anti the war.”

First of all, they are getting the right story – the right-wing story, that is. They get it every day from an incurious press corps that functions by Xeroxing presidential PR for publication. They get it from the White House and its delegates (including generals like Petraeus and Lynch) who carry the administration’s water. They get it from the Congress who is too weak to stand up for the citizens begging for leadership out of this war.

At the risk of drawing the ire of those who think it’s improper to ever question a military leader, I have to disagree with Lynch’s contention that Americans are against the war because they are uninformed. Somehow, despite the best efforts of chickenhawks in the media, the people have arrived at the conclusion that they were duped and they don’t want to take it anymore.

Lynch claims that the media is ignoring successes in Iraq like declining casualties. Even if we accept this contention, which many experts dispute, then how does he explain this:

“The enemy now is more lethal and more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him be because he knows he’s on the run.”

It is blatantly contradictory to suggest that the enemy can be both more lethal and yet cause fewer casualties simultaneously. And it is absurd to surmise that because the enemy is more aggressive they are on the verge of defeat. The converse of that would mean that the declining casualties of a less aggressive foe is evidence that the enemy is growing stronger.

Lynch goes on to astutely observe that political and economic progress in Iraq is slow; that the police are often “nonexistent, incapable or corrupt”; that Iraqis want us to leave; and that they are untrustworthy allies that are likely to turn on us. Yet none of this staunches his optimism for a mission that he say is must proceed for at least another five years.

Therein lies the reason for his concentration on the media. The American people are already fed up with having our troops embedded in a civil war that has been raging for hundreds of years. They are tired of diverting scarce resources from domestic priorities like health care, national security, natural disasters, etc. And they fear that our misguided foreign policy has made us an international pariah and is exacerbating the threat of terrorism.

So Lynch needs to recruit the media to convert the population into believers in the mission if he is to sustain this war for another half decade. I hope that is a mission in which he fails. I hope the media can manage to find a voice that reflects reality, honesty, and a sense of duty to their journalistic purpose of responsibly informing citizens.


U.S. Congress Or U.S. Betray Us?

Posted by on September 20, 2007 at 12:50 pm. 2 Comments :

The MoveOn ad affair is still plodding forward with the President’s comments this morning calling the ad “disgusting”, and now the Senate weighing in with a resolution condemning MoveOn for exercising its free speech rights. The bill’s author, Sen. John Cornyn, made explicitly anti-speech language in his statement supporting the bill.

Before anyone has an opportunity to get distracted, this is not about the war in Iraq; it is not about respect for the military; it is not about terrorism; it is certainly not about patriotism. It is about Free Speech and nothing else (well, maybe a little hypocrisy). It is about the United States Senate deciding that it can penalize private citizens and groups for expressing their opinions.

Despite the chilling effect legislation like this has on lawful dissent, the Senate overwhelmingly passed Cornyn’s bill by a vote of 72-25. That majority means that a lot of Democrats caved in to the “shut up and pretend to support the military” crowd. It means that they believe that it’s acceptable for the government to crush dissent.

And while they are trashing our Constitutional liberties, they don’t even feel compelled to maintain a semblance of consistency. As evidence of the hypocrisy of the Senate censors, Sen. Barbara Boxer offered a companion bill that condemned political attacks on any military figure. Boxer’s alternative included patriots like Max Cleland and John Kerry, in addition to General Petraeus. The Boxer bill failed 51-46 (short of the 60 votes needed for passage), with all but three Republicans voting against it.

It’s bad enough that so many Democrats voted to censure MoveOn rather than exhibit some backbone by standing up for the Constitution as well as their constituents, but it’s far worse that Republicans, it seems, are only interested in defending the honor of the military when those criticized are right-wing sycophants. Decorated veterans who serve their country are apparently unworthy of respect if they don’t swallow Republican dogma and obey their masters in the White House.

I really don’t understand how the public can tolerate Republican senators who will vote to condemn attacks on one general, then turn around and vote against condemning such attacks on all military figures. This should serve as a lesson to the Democratic leadership in Congress that Republicans are not the least bit interested in bipartisanship or compromise. Democratic leader Harry Reid needs to absorb this lesson and begin to take a more aggressive stance in asserting the majority role in which he serves. When is he going to get tired of wiping the footprints off his damn forehead? And the rest of the Democratic caucus might want to start to take more seriously their obligation to protect free speech, as opposed to making vacant gestures that feign patriotism. Their record of abandoning Constitutional principles is disgraceful – from Habeas Corpus, to warrantless wiretapping, to relinquishing their jurisdiction on issues of national defense, to impeachment. When will they learn what their role is as members of an equal branch of government?

Update: MoveOn is fighting back with a petition drive that will be delivered to Congress:

“The U.S. Senate just told you to sit down and be quiet. They passed a resolution condemning MoveOn.org and it has one purpose: to intimidate all of us who care about responsibly ending this war.”

Sign the petition and join MoveOn. What better time to show support for free speech and a valiant organization that is fighting for it.


O.J. Simpson’s Attorneys?

Posted by on September 19, 2007 at 3:03 pm. 1 Comments :

nullOrdinarily I wouldn’t bother with O.J. Simpson except to point out how the press becomes obsessed with these brainless celebrity sideshows to the exclusion of real news. But I couldn’t resist this moment captured from MSNBC, identifying Simpson’s legal team. I’m sure the dentally-challenged lawyer with the “I (heart) Famous People” cap is a superb litigator.


Giuliani: I Am MoveOn’s Worst Nightmare

Posted by on September 19, 2007 at 9:09 am. 2 Comments :

The MoveOn advertisement challenging General Petraeus’ congressional testimony is continuing to stir up dust. After drawing heat from Fox News war apologists like Bill O’Reilly, and taking fire from Dick Cheney, and being threatened with deportation by John McCain, and having GOP congressman Tom Davis call for hearings, now another Republican presidential candidate has weighed in with a unique fund raising scheme.

Rudy Giuliani has already hit MoveOn with an ad that attacks both the advocacy group and Hillary Clinton. He has also made comments that trample that pesky Constitutional notion of free speech. Now he is on the attack again, this time wrapping his assault in a plea for campaign donations:

“Why is MoveOn attacking Rudy Giuliani? Because he’s their worst nightmare. They know Rudy is a Republican who can beat the Democrats.”

This radio campaign is accompanied by an Internet keyword campaign that delivers Rudy’s anti-MoveOn message when searching for either “MoveOn” or “Hillary Clinton” on Google.

Many candidates are using Google AdWords in their ad campaigns. But Rudy is using keywords that are associated with his opponents to bring attention to himself. In fact, searching for keyword combinations of his own name return only ads for his campaign web site with no mention of MoveOn or Clinton.

Several weeks ago, the media was aghast that John Edwards would include appeals for donations after he and his wife Elizabeth were attacked by Ann Coulter, though his fund raising was limited to his web site and emails to his supporters. Do you think the press will respond with equivalent indignation now that a Republican candidate is doing the same thing in an even more brazen fashion?


Sally Field’s Emmy Speech Uncensored

Posted by on September 17, 2007 at 9:50 am. 2 Comments :

In accepting her Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the matriarch in “Brothers and Sisters”, Sally Field delivered an impassioned tribute to mothers everywhere in a message that spoke of world peace.

Unfortunately, it was too much for the censors at Fox who cut Field’s comments at a critical point.

The video above is from the Canadian broadcast that aired the speech unedited. The nannies at Fox snipped the remarks for U.S. viewers as Field said, “If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn’t be any…” The expunged ending of the sentence was, “god-damned wars in the first place.” Was it because Fox thinks that Americans are just too fragile to be exposed to such fiery language? Was it because they were seeking to suppress legitimate dissent in a public forum? Tom O’Neil at the Los Angeles Times reports that it may not have been a matter of shielding the network from liability for broadcasting an obscenity:

“Technically, Field’s censored words are not profane. A 2004 FCC ruling specifically stated no objection to the use of “god damn” on TV when making a judgment on the uproar over Bono swearing at the Golden Globes in 2003 where he used more colorful language.”

Backstage, Field spoke with reporters and responded to the controversy that was already swirling:

“I have no comment other than, ‘Oh, well.’ I said what I wanted to say. I wanted to pay homage to the mothers of the world. And I very, very seriously think that if mothers ruled the world we wouldn’t be sending our children off to be slaughtered.” […] “If they bleep it, oh, well. I’ll just say it somewhere else.”

This is the second instance of Emmy censorship this season, following Kathy Griffin’s remarks a night earlier when, mocking award winners who give credit to God for their victory, Griffin said that, “…no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” Isn’t it interesting that in both occurrences of a clampdown on free speech, a reference to God was a key factor?

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A Tale Of Two Rallies

Posted by on September 17, 2007 at 1:52 am. 1 Comments :

On Saturday, September 15, 2007, A rally was held in Washington, D.C. to protest the Bush administration’s policy of perpetual war. As has become routine in modern demonstrations, a counter- rally was quickly organized in support of the war and the continued deployment of American troops in Iraq.

The images here show how C-SPAN characterized the competing demonstrations. By labeling the events as either anti-war or pro-troops, C-SPAN leaves viewers with the impression that peace advocates are anti-troops. This is a dishonest portrayal of the peace rally whose participants included Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, and numerous other military organizations and individuals.

If you look at the pictures and not the labels, which side appears to be more aligned with the troops? C-SPAN should be more careful not to editorialize in their so-called non-partisan programming. And they must stop perpetuating the right-wing meme that if you favor an end to the war you are somehow opposed to the troops. The truth of the matter is that ending the war is the best way to show support for the troops.


Democratic Response Draws More Viewers Than Bush

Posted by on September 16, 2007 at 11:44 am. NO Comments :

When Bush addressed the nation last Thursday to persist in pushing his failed war agenda, he succeeded in pulling in a sizable portion of the television viewing audience. The only problem for him is that the response by Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed pulled in 7% more viewers.

Presidential Address – Thursday, September 13, 2007 (000’s)
Network Bush Address Dem Response
Fox News 745 813
MSNBC 455 446
CNN 454 507
Totals 1654 1766

Ordinarily, the opposition party response to a presidential address would be expected to lose viewers relative to the headliner from the White House. Just being competetive would be considered a victory of sorts. Consequently, these numbers demonstrate that there is significant curiosity in the TV viewing public as to the alternatives to administration talking points. The fact that the President can’t easily outperform an obscure senator that most of the country has never heard of, is proof that people are dissatisfied with his tired rhetoric.

It’s interesting to note that the greatest divergence in viewers in favor of the Democrats occurs on Fox News. So even Fox News viewers seem to be open to fresh perspectives and policies on ending the war. It’s too bad the folks at the Fox Entertainment Network didn’t think their audience deserved to hear Reed’s response. They were the only broadcast network to decline to air the Senator’s remarks. Still, more viewers in the cable news universe were exposed to an alternative perspective than to another of Bush’s robotic recitations of his standard pro-war litany.

This may also mean that the audience for the paid-for response by John Edwards might have drawn a larger than expected audience, validating his strategy and expanding the reach of the anti-war message. The other candidates, and the Democratic Party, should pay attention to these results and develop new tactics that make effective use of them.


Changing the World of Internet and Politics

Posted by on September 15, 2007 at 10:21 am. NO Comments :

PoliticsOnline is conducting a poll to…

“…help select the top 10 individuals, organizations and companies having the greatest impact on the way the Internet is changing politics.” The award “seeks to recognize the innovators and pioneers, the dreamers and doers who bring democracy online.”

Top 10 lists are always somewhat problematic in that they invariably include and/or exclude wankers and/or winners. POL’s list of finalists is an eclectic and international group of nominees that span broad cross-sections of politics, activism, and technology. Notable amongst the group are:

DailyKos: DailyKos has been at the front lines of the blogospehere and challenging the MSM at every front. DailyKos has led the way for citizens to engage in serious discussion about the most challenging issues the world faces today.

John Edwards: John Edwards works hard to communicate directly and succinctly by speaking through the internet about actual and desperate problems faced by all of us as we try to maintain our standard of living.

CNN: CNN made history on July 23, when it teamed up with YouTube to give voters from around the world an opportunity to directly ask the Democratic presidential candidates for answers to the pressing issues of the day.

CNN may be a dubious choice in that, while they did initiate an innovative partnership with YouTube, they also tightly controlled the selection of questions as opposed to letting the online community decide. But many of the remaining nominees from around the world are engaging in acts of citizen journalism, civic activism, and political reform. The list even includes the Foreign Minister of Sweden. However, everyone on the list is not necessarily a true Internet angel:

Cong. Ron Paul: Ron Paul voted against the amendment for internet neutrality which forsakes the free market in favor of government price controls, would chill investment in broadband network and deployment of new broadband services, would reduce choice for internet users and disrupts experimentation and innovation of the internet.

To include Paul on this list might have been justified for his focus on Internet campaigning and his popularity amongst the Libertarian blogosphere. But by citing his opposition to network neutrality as the reason for his inclusion, along with an argument straight out of the Telecom industry’s PR playbook, POL casts suspicion on the whole awards program. Nothing could have a greater negative impact on the way the Internet is changing politics than snuffing out network neutrality.

I may or may not agree with some of the other, more exotic nominees, as I am not an expert in international tech-affairs, but I am now more skeptical of POL’s intentions. That said, it probably wouldn’t hurt if more honest progressives were to go to the site and vote for DailyKos or John Edwards. That would send a message that real progressive online activism is flourishing and those who would slam the gates closed are floundering.


TV Guide Says Fox News Is NOT News

Posted by on September 14, 2007 at 1:58 pm. 4 Comments :

The debate over whether Fox News is a legitimate news enterprise has seized many in the press and academia. But the transparently partisan presentation in their reporting should make for a short and dull debate. Now, an uncharacteristically honest depiction of Fox News can found in an unlikely place.

TV Guide publishes the industry’s most widely read magazine of program listings and this is how they categorize news programming for their readers:

Note that according to the legend on the top right of the page, the purple highlighting designates a program as “news”. Then, scanning down to the listings, you will see that TV Guide does not consider The O’Reilly Factor to be a news program. However, glancing down a little further reveals that TV Guide does view Keith Olbermann’s Countdown as news. Dig even further than that and you’ll see that the entire Fox News schedule is not designated as news with the exception of Studio B with Shepard Smith. Even Special Report, the program anchored by Brit Hume, Fox News’ managing editor and chief Washington correspondent, is apparently not really news. On MSNBC, Countdown and MSNBC Live are the only programs tagged as news. But CNN’s entire broadcast day is identified as news except for Lou Dobbs and Larry King. (Source: TV Guide September 17-23, 2007)

Now, on a cursory level, that may just appear to be an obvious and objective evaluation of the content on these networks. CNN has always been a dedicated news programmer, just as Fox has always been a propaganda vehicle for the Republican National Committee. But there may be something more to this than just the labeling of program content.

Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc., the publisher of TV Guide, is owned by … wait for it … Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Murdoch sits on its Board of Directors along with News Corp. president and COO, Peter Chernin. The Board is chaired by Anthea Disney, a News Corp executive VP. So why would Murdoch’s own publication seemingly disparage the cable network he is working so hard to establish as a source of reputable journalism by declining to identify it as news? Could it have something to do with the fact that news programming routinely under-performs entertainment programming and that intentionally mislabeling Fox broadcasts could result in driving more viewers to their network? By extension, they could also be attempting to suppress viewers for their main competition, Countdown, by coloring it purple and diverting the broader interest entertainment viewers away from the program.

By owning both the networks and the publications covering them, News Corp. can circle the PR wagons around itself and effectively manipulate viewers, coverage, and potentially, ratings. TV Guide presently has almost 3.3 million subscribers. Although that is a 12% decline from the previous measurement period, it is still a significant audience. They also operate electronic TV Guides on cable, satellite, and the Internet, that expose them to another 82 million viewers. That reach allows them to define the market in ways that accrue to their own benefit. For example, look at how TV Guide describes the O’Reilly/Olbermann match-up:

The Factor: The bestselling author mixes news, interviews and analyses, and some of his most passionate commentaries, not surprisingly, deal with liberals (such as, to pick one name at random, Al Franken). The conservative guru’s `No Spin Zone’ has been the major factor in Fox News’ climb (past CNN) to the top of the cable-news chart, with some three million viewers nightly.

Countdown: The nightly news program ranks the day’s top five stories by what will likely be the next morning’s hottest topics for discussion. `It’s a hard-news broadcast produced and hosted by people who are uncontrollably silly,’ quips the wry Olbermann, who also conducts newsmaker interviews.

In short, The Factor is the number one show hosted by a popular and passionate bestselling author, while Countdown is a hard-news broadcast that is also regarded as “silly.”

This state of affairs is just another reason for rolling back the consolidation that has occurred in the media since the abominably irresponsible Communications Act of 1996 (thanks Bill Clinton). But in the short term, Murdoch and TV Guide need to be called to account for their abject dishonesty and their efforts to deceive the public.