Propaganda | buzz twang

Fox propaganda against Obama mirrors Kerry attacks

September 6, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

the mighty right wing machine rattles on and on

August 23, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

The other day on Hardball on MSNBC, an interesting moment occurred.

Chris Matthews and guests Howard Fineman and Andrea Mitchell started out discussing Obama’s looming VP choice, the various “front runners” on the “short list” (a completely made up list by the media, since no one has a clue, but they make it sound like they do.) and then they switched to discussing McCain’s choices for VP, (which they are equally as clueless about) in particular Joe Leiberman. It went like this:

FINEMAN: Well, I don‘t know. First of all, I think a lot of conservative activists, including Rush Limbaugh, wouldn‘t take Joe Lieberman, either. They respect him. The same with Sean Hannity. But they…
MITCHELL: They wouldn‘t take him. They‘ve already said (INAUDIBLE)

FINEMAN: They said they wouldn‘t take him…

It’s an extraordinary admission that went entirely overlooked. Here are three major media players discussing how conservative media pundits have a powerful role in choosing who will be the Republican choice for VP. The equivalent simply does not exist on the Liberal side. Which Liberal media pundit has that much power? None. An important point to remember in these times.

One of the basic tenets of the modern conservative movement is a hatred for the “mainstream media”. The “conservative wisdom” is that it’s riddled with Liberals and that Liberals control it. Far from the truth obviously.

Yet, by their own logic, Limbaugh is the enemy, since he is a member of the mainstream media who literally has a role in controlling our lives and our government functions. Yet, they don’t seem to mind. It’s about ideology of course. It has nothing to do with the higher ideals of democracy and freedom of the press and everything to do with limiting the message to only those ideals they profess, limiting it to conservative ideas. It’s basic fascism and eliminationism.

And, seeing it referred to in such a blase manner on Hardball was shocking to say the least.

When I was a boy, I would read about how military and press people had control of the process of government in the Soviet Union, and it sent a cold, rippling shiver down my spine that I always remembered.

That feeling has returned.

us versus them

August 22, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

A friend sent me a video that bothered me a great deal. It’s something I’d seen before, earlier this year. In a nutshell, it uses sugary music and mixes clean and dirty images to pound home the message that the evil Palestinian’s have killed 123 Israeli children since 2000. And, there are videos from the Palestinian side that demonize the Israelis for killing 1050 children, (Human Rights Watch numbers) using forceful rap music to present a different hipper attack, but one that is as dishonest and one-sided.

It’s bothersome for a pretty elemental reason: there are always two sides to every issue. And, that’s part of the problem with grey propaganda of this nature: It’s meant to portray only one side of a very very complicated issue. Especially egregious considering that it’s horrific that children are dying while adults argue about who is right.

Rather than get in a tit for tat who has suffered more, bigger numbers means bigger pain or higher moral ground argument, it’s best to remember that the fatal flaw in propaganda of this type is that it foments hated by hiding behind saccharine sweet music (or hip pop rap) and the faces of children juxtaposed with graphic horrors of destruction, of torn and twisted bodies. It offends on the most basic of levels. It’s only aim is to keep the fires of hatred burning. Yet, people eat the message up with a spoon, because it appeals to our basic fears and biases.

Serious issues deserve serious thought. Not propaganda that reasserts hatred in the guise of sweetness and light, or by asserting that people kill to “be cool”. People kill because they are detached from reality. Eliminationist rhetoric and You Tube videos that propagate eliminationist thought are a symptom of the inability to move beyond fear and hatred. And, that’s a huge problem. Especially when it’s packaged in a way that makes viewers feel they are watching something of depth, when they are being manipulated.

Both Israelis and Palestinians need to stop jockeying for the who has been victimized more award and start facing the bitter realities of what is going on and fight for solutions. Because they exist.

Anything less is insulting to the memory of those who have died on both sides and ensures that more will die in the future. And, that’s tragic.

And, unnecessary.

bush a liar or incompetent

June 17, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

In the LA Times, James Kirchick writes that Bush didn’t lie about the run up to war. He was simply given bad intelligence. So, Bush wasn’t lying, he was incompetent? Personally, I think it was both.

what would lester say?

June 12, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

Richard Hell writes about Lester Bangs. Stuff to keep the sanity fire burning.

Bush says “Fuck Sadaam!“, starts a war, destroys a country, people die, the world doesn’t like it, and five years later Bush says he regrets that people don’t understand him and mistakenly think he was a “guy really anxious for war”. You can’t make this shit up.

Five years after the fact the media tries to come to terms with it’s complicity in the deceptive run up to war in Iraq while another run up to a war with Iran, also ignored by the media, gets traction for reasons created by those who want perpetual war. Nice job if you can get it.

the obama is the antichrist list

June 12, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

The wingnut faithful have been amassing a pretty impressive list of what they see as “proof” that Barack Obama is evil incarnate. It’s the usual exercise in what the right wing does best: fear mongering. The concept that Obama is the “antichrist” has been a popular meme for awhile.

It’s rather fascinating, because they can’t go after Obama for being a man of color, (at least not directly, but there are those who do.) so they pretty much throw the kitchen sink at him. Race is always implied and under the surface. The end run on attacking Obama is overkill of the highest order to be sure. And, most of it is guilt by association or basic “Obama is: “——” unless he can prove he is not.” An essential part of the right wing smear machine’s arsenal of propaganda weapons.

So, I’ve decided to keep a running list of it all. Just for fun.

I’m no doubt missing a lot of great examples, so, if you have any, please leave them in the comments with supporting links. Thanks.

Obama is:

An implied drunk who has “fallen off the wagon” with… cigarettes.

A Marxist.

A dictator in waiting.

Not a “real” American because:
– may have been born in Kenya.
– middle name might be “Muhammad” and not “Hussein”.
– middle name is “Hussein“.
– first name was changed from “Barry” to “Barack”, not because he decided he wanted to change to reflect his pride in his ancestry, but to hide something nefarious.

Is a Muslim.

Is a Muslim Apostate.

Is a terrorist.

Is a “Manchurian Candidate“.

Is Jimmy Carter. (Proposal and in Practice.)

Is “naive“.

Is “corrupt“.

Was “too girl crazy” as a youth.

the eliminationist tactics of falafel bill o’reilly

June 12, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

Watch the two videos, contrast and compare. It speaks volumes:

O’Reilly’s version of it:

Note the fear mongering, the obsfucation, the cherry picking. Most of his viewers eat it up as the truth. Nuff said.

thugs in the white house

May 29, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, Matt Drudge has had “Scott the Snitch” on his propaganda site all day, an attempt to paint former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, who has a new book coming out that is not kind to his former employer, as a turncoat. It’s rather interesting for a couple of reasons.

The word “snitch” is a pejorative that means “informant”, and in it’s most popular usage is associated with criminals and mobsters who break with their masters and turn. So, in a sense, Drudge is implying that the White House is mob like. It’s an appellation that isn’t really used in any other context other than refering to informing on others where a crime has been committed to denigrate that person. The appropriate term here would be “whistle blower”. But that doesn’t serve Drudge nor his masters.

And, of course, the White House are following the party attack line, calling McClellan “disgruntled“, or “out of the loop” or insert ad hominem here. No doubt he’ll be “insane” by the end of the media cycle. Look for the Freepers and extremist wing nut blogs to fill that hole with bile.

Keep in mind, the only news here is that it’s a former loyalist saying that the Bush White House chose propaganda over policy. We’ve heard this accusation before. The propaganda over policy issue, and why is was implemented, was a topic on this blog nearly FOUR YEARS AGO, and the facts bare this out. It was an attempt to polarize the public with fear and solidify and maintain power in that manner.

Ultimately, history will tell the story of whether George W. Bush was simply over his head, or a willing puppet who stood by playing golf and spouting propaganda while Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld implemented disastrous policy. Personally, I think Dubya is an ideological tool of Cheney. Not smart enough to engage policy in any meaningful manner, he simply agrees with whatever Dick says and catapults the propaganda like a good doggy.

Not a bad job if you can get it. Alas, the real world is a bit more serious than this piss ant approach to to governing and policy. And, we will pay the price for the insipid, emotional playground politics of this White House.

We already are.

"in the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

May 2, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

Remember those words above, spoken by George W. Bush, on May 1, 2003.

What does his paid lap dog PR person have to say about the “mission accomplished” debacle?

“President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said `mission accomplished’ for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. “And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.”

Ah, yes. The banner was not specific enough. Of course, the preznit still said: “in the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” So, I guess it’s safe to assume that the preznit’s PR dupe is either an idiot or a liar or both.

Well, let’s look at the specific facts and see how accomplished this mission has been. (Courtesy of Iraq Campaign)

The Cost of War Since ‘Mission Accomplished’— May 1, 2003 — April 24, 2008

US TROOPS KILLED IN IRAQ ————————- 139 ————- 4,051
(as of 4/21/08)

US TROOPS WOUNDED IN IRAQ ——————–524 ————- 29,780
(as of 4/15/08)

IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED IN THE WAR ———– N/A ———— 150,000
(World Health Organization)

RAQI CIVILIANS FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES —N/A ——- 4.7 mil
(United Nations)

US TROOPS DEPLOYED IN IRAQ —————– 150,000 —–155,000
(Brookings Institute, Iraq Index)

FOREIGN TROOPS IN
“COALITION OF THE WILLING” —————— 23,000 —– 9,852
(Brookings Institute, Iraq Index)

TOTAL DIRECT COST —————————– $53 bil —– $525.9 bil
(Brookings Institute, Iraq Index)

IMPACT OF THE WAR
ON THE US ECONOMY —————————– N/A ——– $1.3 tril
(Congressional Joint Economic Committee Report)

COST OF IRAQ WAR TO THE AVERAGE
AMERICAN FAMILY ——————————– N/A ——– $16,500
(Congressional Joint Economic Committee Report)

AMERICANS WHO APPROVE OF BUSH’S
HANDLING OF THE IRAQ WAR —————-72% ———— 33%

PRICE OF OIL ————————————–$26 / bbl ——$119 / bbl
(Department of Energy)

Nuff said.

all the media madness you can stand

May 1, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

all kinds of media mayhem swirling around the dead corpse of reality:

Seems that child TV star Miley Cyrus, who is 15 years-old, has been used and abused by the adults around her, and everyone is blaming her for it, or each other, except for Jamie Lee Curtis, who knows a thing or two about this stuff. It pretty pathetic that people feign outrage that a 15 year-old girl showed some skin in an industry that literally thrives and survives on it. You can’t have it both ways people. Get a grip.

Oh wait. I forgot where we were… And, of course, there’s just oodles of money to be made. Feh.

It appears that a Hillary Clinton supporter at the National Press Club may have helped facilitate the Jeremiah Wright appearance. And, considering that Hillary has secured the endorsement of Satan’s personal ball washer Richard Mellon Scaife and has actually sat down for an interview with America’s Own Adulterous and Sexual Harassment poster boy, the Falafel himself, the cretin of all media, Bill O’Rielly, I feel completely comfortable saying that it official: Hillary Clinton has gone to the dark side. The appearance on O’Rielly is a completely obvious attempt to keep the Wright issue afloat. And, of course, Fox is more than willing to assist, since they want her to be the nominee and go agasint McCain in the fall.

Add to this the fact that Rush Limbaugh is supporting her candidacy and it leads yours truly to to surmise that the Clinton campaign is either colluding with three of the most fascistic elements in the right wing echo chamber, or she’s being used by them. Personally, I think it’s the latter. Conservatives are scared of Obama. They don’t know how to beat him. They’ve wanted Hillary as the nominee for years. They feel they can beat her hands down.

So, the Clinton campaign: Gone to the dark side or dupes?

meet the new boss, same as the old boss

April 20, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

The New York Times has come out with a really good article with supporting video that looks at how the Pentagon manipulates news and information to their advantage, and did so during the revolt of several generals. This is a continuation of a a pretty important issue that I’ve written about in the past:

“The BBC has a report on the “Information Operations Roadmap” which…

…calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military’s ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.

Here’s a PDF of it. Read it for yourself. This is part of the Rumsfeld plan to control information, as David Miller put it:

The concept of ‘information dominance’ is the key to understanding US and UK propaganda strategy and a central component of the US aim of ‘total spectrum dominance’. It redefines our notions of spin and propaganda and the role of the media in capitalist society. To say that it is about total propaganda control is to force the English language into contortions that the term propaganda simply cannot handle. Information dominance is not about the success of propaganda in the conventional sense with which we are all familiar. It is not about all those phrases ‘winning hearts and minds’, about truth being ‘the first casualty’ about ‘media manipulation’ about ‘opinion control’ or about ‘information war’. Or, to be more exact – it is about these things but none of them can quite stretch to accommodate the integrated conception of media and communication encapsulated in the phrase information dominance. [...]

Traditional conceptions of propaganda involve crafting the message and distributing it via government media or independent news media. Current conceptions of information war go much further and incorporate the gathering, processing and deployment of information including via computers, intelligence and military information (command and control) systems. The key preoccupation for the military is ‘interoperability’ where information systems talk to and work with each other. Interoperability is a result of the computer revolution which has led to the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’. Now propaganda and psychological operations are simply part of a larger information armoury.

Such is the state of affairs in a country run by the war business. Truth is the first casualty.

A taste for torture

April 17, 2008 by DJ Lanphier

The simple fact of the matter is: we are better than torture. We are, or at least we once were… The country that held the moral high ground during the Nuremburg trials would not condone torture of enemies. Torture was the tactic of savages, of the evil Japanese Empire, the Nazi’s, the Soviets, the Red Army, the Khymer Rouge…

Not the USA.

Robert Greenwald has a new video, which is directly below.

Digby is keeping this issue on the fire, by posting some posts from the past. Here’s one that I wrote two and a half years ago as well.

Hot topic at: Empty Wheel, and Think Progress, and Open Left and Attytood.

This shall not stand. Our failure of a president supports torture. We do not. Write to your local press or nearest media outlet and let them know.

Then, get thee over to Condi Must Go and sign the petition.