Well, that didn’t take long. In his first major ad wave, Dubya touts the endorsement of the WTC, to the anger and consternation of the families of 9/11 victims. Trust me, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better: If it helps get him elected, Dubya and his ilk will be bathing in the blood of the fallen by the end.
Tag: Fear-Mongering
State of Fear.
In case you missed the State of the Union address last night, this cartoon anticipated the upshot: terror, terror, terror, 9/11, 9/11, fear, fear, fear, steroids, thank you, good night, and God bless the USA. It’s wonder they didn’t pass out little bloody shirts for the Congressional GOP to wave in unison. Well, while this New York Times news analysis of the speech sounds like it was written by the Bush campaign (he “quickly turned” to domestic issues? What is Todd Purdum talking about? Dubya was blathering on about scary, scary terrorists for at least 40 minutes), I gotta think that this speech might’ve played badly to any voters out there concerned about the economy, and this year as always, it’s still the economy, stupid.
A Dixie Chick’s Revenge.
Clear Channel is sued by Roxanne Cordonier, a South Carolina DJ and the 2002 state Radio Personality of the Year, for firing her for her anti-war stance. The suit also alleges that Cordonier “was forced to participate in a pro-war rally.” I’ll have to keep an eye on this one.
Enemies in our midst.
“If I felt that my neighbor of 10 years was doing fundraising for a group, I’d turn ’em in…[the FBI will] just investigate them, and if you’re wrong, you’re wrong. And if you’re right, that’s a big thing!” In other words, report your neighbor! What’s the harm? Suspicion breeds confidence! The Voice‘s James Ridgeway notes the proliferation of Cat Eyes, a neighborhood “civil defense” group encouraging citizens to look out for suspicious behavior. Underneath the spreading chestnut tree…
More! More!
Like a junkie looking for another fix, Ashcroft takes time away from putting down gay pride events to beg Congress for increased powers in fighting terrorism. If the death penalty doesn’t even work as a deterrent in “normal” crime, why would it stop terrorists?
Round 1.
Well, after watching a rebroadcast of Saturday’s first Democratic debate on C-Span yesterday…
The Top Tier: I’d have to say it’s still a three-man race for my vote right now among Kerry, Dean, and Edwards. I personally thought Edwards came off the best, although he benefited greatly from being the first Dem to step “above” the Kerry-Dean fracas. As per the rap on him, Kerry seemed somewhat bored and remote, while Dean – who usually says the right things on paper – appeared pugnacious and self-satisfied. To my dismay, Dean seemed even less personable on the telly than Tsongas did back in the day. So, of the three, I thought Edwards seemed like he had the best chance of not being pigeonholed as a Standard-Issue Out-Of-It Liberal in a debate with Dubya, and he seemed much more comfortable using populist rhetoric than Gore ever did. To my mind, Edwards wins Round 1, although obviously we have quite a few more rounds to go.
The Rest: If I had to pick a fourth choice, it’d probably be Moseley-Braun, who got in the best line of the evening with her Florida recount gag. (“People said that the black vote would decide the election of 2000, and it did…Clarence Thomas’s.“) Gephardt seemed a bit weary of primary shenanigans, Lieberman (who inexplicably is getting the best post–debate press) is in the wrong primary, and Bob “Live in Fear” Graham, Al Sharpton, and Dennis Kucinich were too busy playing Orrin Hatch, Alan Keyes, and Gary Bauer respectively. Didn’t much care for Stephanopoulos as self-proclaimed Kingmaker either (although I guess ABC had to use someone in their stable, and he was the most likely candidate), and I found his “I speak for the electorate about your foibles” routine in Pt. III to be wildly unproductive, if not downright insulting. While his characterizations of the candidates’ flaws might have occasionally been on the money (although occasionally they weren’t…who says Lieberman is too nice to be the Democratic candidate? Too theocratic, perhaps – too Republican, for sure – but too nice? That softball was a gift.), more time spent on issues and less on inside baseball would surely have been in order for the first debate.
Return I will, to old Brazil.
Two links stolen from Genehack to give you a creepy feeling in the pit of your stomach: 1) Dubya declared yesterday “Loyalty Day.” 2) The State Department thinks Canada cares too much about civil liberties. A connection, perhaps?
The Republican Pastime.
I knew there was a good reason I didn’t like baseball. Apparently the Hall of Fame has cancelled a Bull Durham retrospective because (gasp!) Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are against the war. (The Hall of Fame only allows in all-American racists, drunks, and wifebeaters, not peaceniks.) Tim Robbins wrote a nice reply: “Your subservience to your friends in the administration is embarrassing to baseball and by engaging in this enterprise you show that you belong with other cowards and ideologues in a hall of infamy and shame…Long live democracy, free speech and the ’69 Mets; all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in.” You go, Tim. As Spike Lee pointed out in the first five minutes of He Got Game, basketball is the true American pastime nowadays anyway.
Radio Ga-Ga.
Radio conglomerate Clear Channel’s role in promoting the war, as noted earlier here, has raised new concerns in Washington about consolidation of the airwaves. Closer to home, the Voice isn’t very happy about the company’s major push into NYC.
High-Power FM.
Paul Krugman explores Republican radio conglomerate Clear Channel’s role in inciting pro-Bush rallies around the country. (Via Medley.) You have to wonder if the people smashing Dixie Chick paraphernalia felt even a little bit sheepish. After all, it’s not like they’re French or anything.