Who You Crappin?

Why does the media in this country persist on treating us like Catholic school children learning Bible stories for the first time?  Every single time I read an article, I find myself reflecting fondly on the story about Noah and his ability to get two of every animal in the world onto a boat with no food or way to live.  Not only that, Noah magically got these animals to screw producing more animals within the same amount of space.  Evangelical Republicans will insist that if Mexican immigrants can do it, so can Noah.

The media, once again, is "blowing smoke up our asses" in the most hypocritical way they know how.  We have heard these brainwashing vermin insist that the killing of Bin Laden has made us "safer."  They also insist that we should be more afraid now of backlash from Al Qaeda terrorists who finally have a reason to hate us.  The media is simply regurgitating the same bullshit that they spewed after Saddam Hussein was captured.

How the hell can we be safer and more in danger at the same time?  This country is full of idiots who will buy any tag line no matter how contradictory or stupid.  Advertisers are keen to this idea.  Unfortunately, so are politicians and "news" people.

The simple fact is, not only are these two assertions made by the media contradictory, they are both simply wrong.  Anyone who is pissed that Osama Bin Laden was killed by American soldiers, would not hesitate to attack us if they could whether we killed Bin Laden or not.  By the way, that same truth is also the reason we are not any safer than before. 

Let's consider these dumb arguments from the other side.  Can you imagine if Al Qaeda told its members that they would be safer because of the successful mission on 9-11 and right after that, they told these same members that they should fear American retribution?  Only one of those two could possibly be true.  But, what journalists are doing in America is a sales tactic I must tweak every single day in my profession.  Play on the fears of your client or in this case, your reader.  It will keep them buying.

When a client comes into my office to buy insurance, you would be amazed at their reaction when I bring up life insurance.  Now, they are guaranteed to die at some point in their life, but they have been trained by the media to accept bullshit.  The media will play on these fears.  "Buy a gun to keep burglars out of your house."  "Buy a ladder to keep on the second floor of your house in case of a fire."  "Don't drink coffee, drink tea."  "Prevent cancer with oranges and broccoli." "Buy our extended warranty plan."  The list goes on and on.

So when a client enters my office, their thought process is, "I can't die. I bought my gun, ladder, heart-monitor, orange juice, medicine, self-help book, 5-star safety rating vehicle, and body-bubble for my children.  Never mind that there is the scientific fact that they will still die at some point.  But, before they do die, corporate America with the help of the six o'clock evening news will make sure they leave their money to the corporate interests that are really killing them early in the first place.

Now, when the media trumps up terrorism, they are serving military corporatism.  They are basically saying, "Osama Bin Laden is dead because we spend $800 Billion annually on military contracts."  While this ridiculous assertion could not be further from the truth, people believe it.  The President has done his part in ramping down this fear campaign.  Not long ago, the American people actually suggested that we cut military spending to curb our budget problems.  Well the corporate interests don't want to hear that, so the terror alert must be raised now that Bin Laden is dead.  Oh, but don't worry because we are safer.  Are you kidding me?

We killed Bin Laden so Al Qaeda can no longer plot against us, but attack is imminent.  This tag line completes two tasks.  It keeps America afraid, while at the same time giving them a sense of security.  Taking both sides of issues is what America is famous for because we live in a weak-willed and weak-minded country.  The average American, including me, would not condone fighting in the Middle East for one second if we were the ones who had to do the fighting.  So why are we so comfortable about it when it is someone else that has to do it?

This brings me to another bit of empty rhetoric, "I support the troops!"  Oh really?  How do you support the troops?  Oh, I see, you put a bumper sticker on your SUV.  You patriotic American you!  And you say, "God Bless America" after every speech!?  Say it isn't so! The average American does not give a rat's ass about the troops.  If they did, they would support tax increases to pay for body armor.  But there again, they have been told by the media that we can fight unlimited wars while cutting taxes.  Then amazingly it is Obama's fault that we have massive spending deficits.

The President of the United States is a leader and a statesman.  His opponents are mentally damaged buffoons that have the Constitutional comprehension of a third-grader.  Not long ago, Eric Cantor insisted that a bill can become a law without the approval of the Senate and the President.  Can we say, "School- house Rock?"

The mass media now serves corporate interests, and the fact that they are owned by corporations is evident by their broadcasts.  They will start a news segment by saying, "A black man, age 24, shot and killed his girlfriend and her parents today."  But, when a rich person commits a crime you never hear, "A white male, age 58, embezzled $700 Million from his company costing 20,000 people their job today."  Even when a white person commits a blue-collar crime, his race is never brought into the discussion.  This is an intentional act portrayed by the media to make average Americans fear minorities.  Fear breeds capitalism.  The more afraid a person is, the more money they will spend in order to feel safer.

That brings us back to the reason that the media insists we are in more danger and safer at the same time.  If we are in more danger, it means that we need to spend more money on defense.  And if we are safer at the same time, it means that the gargantuan amount of money we have already spent is working.  The only way Americans will continue to support less defense spending is if we become comfortable.  When you are not a nervous wreck, you can analyze the probability of being attacked by terrorists and come to the quick realization that our bloated military budget is not what makes us safe or unsafe.  That kind of thinking is bad for business. 

For those of you who regularly read my blog, you know how I feel about militarism disguised as defense.  If we really are in danger of massive terrorist plots, the reason will be our military spending; not the lack of spending, but rather the overblown spending we have now.  Islamic terrorists hate the United States because of our constant involvement and presence in their affairs and in their holy land.  They could care less about our freedom or way of life.  If they cared so much about freedom, they would have attacked Holland, Canada, Switzerland, Finland, and a host of other free countries. 

This country has lost its toughness.  Americans are now scared little rabbits and corporations know it.  It is why pharmaceutical companies invent drugs to cure diseases that don't exist.  All they have to do is convince the scared little rabbits that they have the disease.  This task is much easier when you can manipulate the rabbits' trusted source of news.

The corporations in this country will continue to win the game as long as Americans continue to fear everything.  It is a vicious cycle that won't go away.  I am not very optimistic that we can ever get past the fear again. 

Obama Takes Out Osama

The entire country has heard by now.  The United States Armed Forces has caught and killed Osama Bin Laden.  I owe it to my readers to give my take on this historical event.  As usual, I do not see things as black and white.  I have many mixed feelings about the event and what is to come of it.  I do not believe the official story for one second, and I think that the President is being much more gracious than he should be.  I will examine the good, bad, and ugly sides of how this plays into the fake "War on Terror."

First, the good...

Barack Obama had probably the finest moment of his Presidency.  He learned of Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts in November and could have leveled the mansion at that point.  He chose not to, even though it would have created tremendous momentum for his Presidency and would have put the Republicans on the defensive, much like it is now.  He chose not to attack at that point because there would have been severe collateral damage.  He was able to minimize collateral damage and complete the mission with appropriate planning and execution.  I hope the liberals like me stop saying that Obama is just like Bush.  Bush would have had no regard for any civilians in this attack as evidenced by Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama was "cool as a cucumber" on television, even the night before at the Correspondence Dinner, as he lambasted Donald Trump and effectively ended any chance Donald Trump had in the Republican Primary, which was slim to none to begin with.  The President never even hinted at the fact that a military victory of this magnitude was on the horizon.  He acted like a statesmen as he has his entire presidency.  Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Obama is competent and well qualified for the position he holds.

The "Birther Movement" has been put completely out of commission, and the President will be all but assured reelection.  While the President is not the ideal liberal candidate we want, he is infinitely better than any of the buffoons the Republicans will run up there.  The President has passed some tough legislation at great political peril to himself and his party.  He will be looked upon by historians as one of our finest presidents, which will drive the right wing into further insanity.

The families who had their lives destroyed on September 11, 2001 will at least have some closure.  For the longest time, they must have felt like their family members died in vain.  Their increasing frustration with the Bush Administration and his horrific bungling of this situation will now be put to rest.

The bad...

Obama's speech was lacking a clear indication that we can now leave Afghanistan.  I am not very optimistic at the prospect that Obama is even willing to have that discussion at this time.  Obama's continued failure in this area will be the death of his Presidency and the Democratic Party.  The liberal base is expecting these senseless wars to end now.  Even my Republican friends are not quite sure why we still have the presence in the Middle East that we do (hypocritically so but accurate nonetheless).  Obama has done nothing to curb war profiteering which is at an all-time high.  Is he so beholden to these corporations that have America by the nut-sack that he can't or won't end these wars?

Once again, the national media has gone to sleep.  The President was given a pass on lying just because the lies were convenient and didn't hurt any one's feelings.  The lies, however, were obvious and no one in the mainstream media has the "balls" to ask the right questions. 

The first question should be, "Mr. President, you gave credit to the Pakistani government for helping the United States in a joint effort, but how is it that Osama Bin Laden was able to hide basically right out in the open without us knowing for so long? Were the Pakistanis really on our side, or are you just saying that?"  It sounds to me like the Pakistanis were more of a hindrance than a help, and it is the duty of journalists to find the right answers to this question.

The second question should be, "Mr. President, is it appropriate to credit George Bush with this capture even though his administration clearly allowed Osama Bin Laden to escape? Do you know why Mr. Bush shut down the task force that was in charge of finding and killing Bin Laden?  And, what exactly are you giving Bush credit for?" 

Really, what does President Bush deserve credit for?  By his own admission he gave up looking for Bin Laden.  It was not important to him at all.  The media dropped the ball at that moment, and they are still dropping it today.  Does President Bush really deserve accolades for creating a quagmire in Afghanistan to catch and kill one man and then promptly failing?  If that is the case, why doesn't Mr. Obama also credit Bill Clinton who actually tried to catch Bin Laden but failed and didn't start a war to do so?

The ugly...

Republicans are so filled with hate and rage that the socialist foreigner once again cleaned up after a Bush disaster.  The calls by the President for the country to once again come together will fall of deaf ears amongst the right wingers. 

It has started already.  This morning I logged onto foxnews.com and the headlines read, "Americans Put on Alert Amid Warnings of Al Qaeda Retaliation."  Already, the Faux News right wing machine is trying to drum up as much fear as they can.  Instead of praising the effort by President Obama and the United States military, they are choosing to ramp up stories about attacks that are never going to come.  The message is clear, "Did the socialist do the right thing by killing Bin Laden?" 

Also, while CNN and MSNBC promptly showed video footage of the celebration outside the White House, Fox refused to show it as usual.  These sickening bastards need their charter revoked.  They are not, nor have they ever been a news organization, and they should not be naming themselves as such.

By now it is apparent that the Republicans will indeed lose the presidential election in 2012.  Their only hope is to smear Democrats enough to where they can maintain control of the House and possibly gain control of the Senate.  Mark my words, the 2012 election campaign will be the ugliest slime fest the American people have had to endure in a long time.  The Supreme Court has ensured that the lowest dregs of our society will be controlling the message.  Goodbye decency!

And finally...

To my readers, please continue to ask tough questions of your government.  Never take what they say for face value.  Dig deeper even though what exists under the surface may be unpleasant.  Catching Osama Bin Laden, while a historic event and probably the largest victory for our military since the Berlin Wall fell, is merely a symbolic victory.  Catching and killing Osama Bin Laden will not change military policy, and it will not get us closer to energy independence.  It won't bring back the lives lost on 9-11, and it won't take away the damage done by senseless and useless wars.  It isn't even changing the conversation in Washington.  Obama is still sticking to the stupid and fake "War on Terror," which is just another phrase for "Military Industrial Complex."

Congratulate the President today, but start hitting him again tomorrow.  You owe it to your country and to the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces.