a party underwater
As the Republican party finally sinks into that vast ocean of ill-will it has generated over the past 8 years, it’s worth remembering that the elections of 2008 were simply the latest battle in a broader political and cultural war with historical roots reaching back many decades.
While the modern Republican party is apparently looking for a way to escape the toxicity they so adroitly and perhaps permanently attached to their brand, voters would be wise to remember the precedents in Republican governance that led us to this point and be cautious of any re-invention that does not specifically address the historical positions of the party with regards to these particular events:
McCarthyism and the Red Scare, Watergate and Nixon’s use and understanding of executive power, the Vietnam-era anti-war movement, the civil rights movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1964, the Church Committee and intelligence operations conducted by the government upon its own people, the Iran Contra affair and Reagan’s use and understanding of executive power; and George W. Bush’s use and understanding of executive power and the so-called “Bush doctrine” in consideration of the “Downing Street Memos,” the pre-emptive war doctrine, international law and the Geneva conventions, extraordinary rendition, torture, suspension of habeas corpus, warrantless illegal spying, FISA and the granting of retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies who knowingly violated the law.
CEO logic
If we learned one thing from last week’s meeting of the well-heeled and the well-jowled, it would that it’s not always easy to tell the two apart. If we learned anything else, it would be that CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors love their private jets –possibly more than they love their businesses.
“It would be insane if this country stopped designing and building automobiles and trucks,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). “It would also be insane if the top executives from the three automakers came here on private jets. I’m going to ask the three executives here to raise their hand if they flew here commercial. Let the record show no hands went up. Second, I’m going to ask you to raise your hand if you’re planning to sell your jet in place now and fly back commercial. Let the record show no hands went up. I don’t know how I go back to my constituents and say the auto industry has changed if they own private jets which are not only expensive to own but expensive to operate and expensive to fly here rather than to have flown commercial.”
“There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that they’re going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses,” Rep. Gary Ackerman, (D-NY) told the CEOs.
“It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious…couldn’t you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it.”
Watch full video of CEO testimony before the House here and the Senate here.
alan greenspan: standup comedian
In his recent testimony before congress, Mr. Greenspan came clean:
“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such as they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders.”
Hmm… so greed is an ineffective check on bad behavior? Curious.
Video of the statement is available here.
old sam pennybags
“WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
-Two time Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Major General Smedley D. Butler
headshot
There has been much debate within certain circles of society as to the precise effects of media upon their audiences. Do media create certain values and behaviors within their audiences or do they mirror existing values and behaviors according to audience demand? Are media simply reporting on the world at large, or in their selection, omission and portrayal are they helping to shape that world?
Hyper-sexualized and gratuitously violent television, music and video games abound, and are the most frequently discussed media elements due to their overtly controversial nature and accessibility to children. But outside seemingly isolated pockets of concerned parents, educators, and a small but growing group of media literati, there is precious little discussion about the potential effects of such media upon their audiences.
It seems unlikely that we will ever know the precise long-term effects of media upon our mental and emotional development, but lack of certainty in no way warrants the blatant lack of concern displayed by today’s media. It’s not as if there isn’t already a consensus that media can and do effectively alter the mindset of even grown adults. Consider the advertising or public relations industries, your company’s marketing department, or just take a moment and ponder the phrase “winning hearts and minds.”
In an age of carefully staged political events, propagandistic news reporting, and a near media blackout on our own military operations abroad, it seems worthwhile to consider again this one simple question: Do the media act primarily as a cause or as an effect in today’s society?
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