Friday, November 25, 2005

The Bad News

While everyone not participating in National Buy Nothing Day is probably pillaging the aisles of their favorite local front for sweatshop labor, I chanced upon this sentence (on page 2) in today's Washington Post which reminded me of how hard it is to get your government to react to you:
In Vietnam, there were 20,000 fatalities by the 1968 Tet offensive, a psychological turning point in the war, when a similar percentage of Americans called that conflict a mistake.
The last U.S. serviceman to die in Vietnam was killed in April, 1975, bringing the total to over 58,000.

We now have 2100 dead and 16,000 wounded U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Will we not be able to extricate ourselves from this disaster until a proptionate time and number have been lost? Does "stay the course" mean another 4000 will die?

Put it to the leadership that way, those of you in the mainstream media. Go ahead. I dare you. I dare you.

And in the same article, White House official whiner Dan Barlett cried about the way things seem to work in our new media-rich environment now that Chimperor Chimpie is considered honest and trustworthy by less than 40 percent of the American people:
White House counselor Dan Bartlett acknowledged the concern. "I do think that it demonstrates that if you spend enough money and repeat the charge enough, the old political axiom in Washington can come true: that charges left unanswered can stick," he said. "That's why we felt it important to marshal a vigorous defense by calling out our critics and the transparency of their charges."
So, big money, lots of repetition makes things seem true. Gee, I wonder who perfected that tactic? Paging Mr. Rove! Paging Mr. Rove! Call from Herr Goebbels! The burning black courtesy telephone in hell is available for you.

4 comments:

Neil Shakespeare said...

Amazing how they can parrot their own tactics in their own defense. They are so baldfaced it's stunning.

Olaf said...

It's hard to tell if they are crazed fanatics blind to the irony of their complaints, or knowing hypocrites, more corrupt than the public imagines or the media will reveal.

Neil Shakespeare said...

Crazed fanatics or knowing hypocrites. Now there's a fun choice!

Olaf said...

Well, then on the dems side there are the ambitious collaborators, the timid wimps, and the pandering putzes.