Ho, Ho, Halliburton!
Christmas Comes Early for Bush and GOP Contributors at Americans' Expense
The MoveOn.org Voter Fund has launched a national cable network television and newspaper ad buy exposing "The most outrageous Christmas list in America," - a laundry list of early Christmas gifts from George W. Bush and the Republican Congress to their special interest friends and contributors in Washington, snuck into the proposed $820 billion omnibus bill.
"So who does President Bush think is naughty and nice?" asks the ad that appears in today's Washington Post. Both the national TV spot-which runs Tuesday through Thursday on cable stations-and the print ad challenge Bush Administration giveaways hidden in the omnibus bill: clearance for employers to strip 8 million workers of overtime pay, an FCC rules change that will permit epic media consolidation, and the renewal of no-bid contracts to Halliburton and other Administration-friendly companies.
The TV ad can be received tomorrow on the following satellite coordinates:
First Feed:
The MoveOn.org Voter Fund has launched a national cable network television and newspaper ad buy exposing "The most outrageous Christmas list in America," - a laundry list of early Christmas gifts from George W. Bush and the Republican Congress to their special interest friends and contributors in Washington, snuck into the proposed $820 billion omnibus bill.
"So who does President Bush think is naughty and nice?" asks the ad that appears in today's Washington Post. Both the national TV spot-which runs Tuesday through Thursday on cable stations-and the print ad challenge Bush Administration giveaways hidden in the omnibus bill: clearance for employers to strip 8 million workers of overtime pay, an FCC rules change that will permit epic media consolidation, and the renewal of no-bid contracts to Halliburton and other Administration-friendly companies.
The TV ad can be received tomorrow on the following satellite coordinates:
First Feed:
Dean and the Corporate Media Machine
Howard Dean is asking for media trouble.
On Dec. 1, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination went where few national politicians have dared to go -- directly challenging the media conglomerates.
Don’t get me wrong. Dean’s record in Vermont hardly reflects an inclination to take on corporate power. His obsession with balancing budgets and coddling big business often led him to comfort the already comfortable and afflict the afflicted. Low-income people suffered the consequences of inadequate social services.
But let’s give the doctor-turned-politician some credit for a new direction. Midway through his Dec. 1 appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” show, Dean said that he wants to “break up giant media enterprises.”
Dean went well beyond the hold-the-line stance adopted last summer by large majorities in Congress, who voted to prevent more media deregulation by the Federal Communications Commission. He declared that maintaining the media status quo isn’t good enough.
On Dec. 1, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination went where few national politicians have dared to go -- directly challenging the media conglomerates.
Don’t get me wrong. Dean’s record in Vermont hardly reflects an inclination to take on corporate power. His obsession with balancing budgets and coddling big business often led him to comfort the already comfortable and afflict the afflicted. Low-income people suffered the consequences of inadequate social services.
But let’s give the doctor-turned-politician some credit for a new direction. Midway through his Dec. 1 appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” show, Dean said that he wants to “break up giant media enterprises.”
Dean went well beyond the hold-the-line stance adopted last summer by large majorities in Congress, who voted to prevent more media deregulation by the Federal Communications Commission. He declared that maintaining the media status quo isn’t good enough.
The year democracy ended
As the year ends, 2003 will be remembered by
future historians as the year the pretense of
democracy in the United States ended.
Since the 1940s, conservatives have accepted the assumption of economist Joseph Schumpeter that democracy in a mass society existed of little more than the following: the adult population could vote; the votes were fairly counted; and the masses could choose between elites from one of two parties.
With the most recent revelations about the 2000 Bush coup in Florida disclosed in the shocking stolen Diebold memos, the Bush family has signaled that an authoritarian right-wing dynasty is the future course for American politics.
Since the 1940s, conservatives have accepted the assumption of economist Joseph Schumpeter that democracy in a mass society existed of little more than the following: the adult population could vote; the votes were fairly counted; and the masses could choose between elites from one of two parties.
With the most recent revelations about the 2000 Bush coup in Florida disclosed in the shocking stolen Diebold memos, the Bush family has signaled that an authoritarian right-wing dynasty is the future course for American politics.
Linking the Occupation of Iraq With the 'War on Terrorism'
Reuters is one of the more independent wire services. So, a recent
news story from Reuters -- flatly describing American military
activities in Iraq as part of “the broader U.S. war on terrorism” -- is
a barometer of how powerfully the pressure systems of rhetoric from top
U.S. officials have swayed mainstream news coverage.
Such reporting, with the matter-of-fact message that the Pentagon is fighting a “war on terrorism” in Iraq, amounts to a big journalistic gift for the Bush administration, which is determined to spin its way past the obvious downsides of the occupation.
Here are the concluding words from Bush’s point man in Iraq, Paul Bremer, during a Nov. 17 interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program: “The president was absolutely firm both in private and in public that he is not going to let any other issues distract us from achieving our goals here in Iraq, that we will stay here until the job is done and that the force levels will be determined by the conditions on the ground and the war on terrorism.”
Such reporting, with the matter-of-fact message that the Pentagon is fighting a “war on terrorism” in Iraq, amounts to a big journalistic gift for the Bush administration, which is determined to spin its way past the obvious downsides of the occupation.
Here are the concluding words from Bush’s point man in Iraq, Paul Bremer, during a Nov. 17 interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program: “The president was absolutely firm both in private and in public that he is not going to let any other issues distract us from achieving our goals here in Iraq, that we will stay here until the job is done and that the force levels will be determined by the conditions on the ground and the war on terrorism.”
To Hell and Back
Thanks to millions of real American patriots (peace, freedom, and environmental activists from every walk of life) the
truth about the ugly goals of the murderous Bush regime are being widely recognized.
In the face of the raucous and near-constant barrage of Republican neo-con lies and deceptions, as broadcast to us by the handful of fanatical right-wing billionaires that control our mass media, learning the truth about Bush is perhaps the greatest demonstration that our evolving democracy is still functioning.
In the face of the raucous and near-constant barrage of Republican neo-con lies and deceptions, as broadcast to us by the handful of fanatical right-wing billionaires that control our mass media, learning the truth about Bush is perhaps the greatest demonstration that our evolving democracy is still functioning.
Is Bush a "Dry Drunk"? This is a Serious, Not Just a Provocative Question
In a March 7th Bush Commentary, you note:
"Jack Beatty in the Atlantic Monthly: Beatty suggests ... Bush's apparent belief that God has appointed him to lead a global crusade against evil.
"He writes, 'If this is what Bush believes, if his talk of Armageddon is not just catnip for the religious right, then he is in a fair way to becoming the American Ayatollah.
"'Bush's belief in God is based on his personal narrative of divine salvation as a recovering alcoholic. He once told members of the clergy, 'There is only one reason that I am in the Oval Office and not in a bar. I found faith. I found God.'"
First, I highly suggest that the two previous articles noted in my piece GEORGE W. and ALCOHOLISM as published In Counterpunch be read. Michael O'McCarthy: Bush and Alcoholism (Counterpunch - October 19, 2002)
There is nothing, absolutely nothing to indicate in the lifestyle of George Bush that he is a "recovered" alcoholic. (As indicated above, Bush explicitly implies that he is alcoholic.)
"Jack Beatty in the Atlantic Monthly: Beatty suggests ... Bush's apparent belief that God has appointed him to lead a global crusade against evil.
"He writes, 'If this is what Bush believes, if his talk of Armageddon is not just catnip for the religious right, then he is in a fair way to becoming the American Ayatollah.
"'Bush's belief in God is based on his personal narrative of divine salvation as a recovering alcoholic. He once told members of the clergy, 'There is only one reason that I am in the Oval Office and not in a bar. I found faith. I found God.'"
First, I highly suggest that the two previous articles noted in my piece GEORGE W. and ALCOHOLISM as published In Counterpunch be read. Michael O'McCarthy: Bush and Alcoholism (Counterpunch - October 19, 2002)
There is nothing, absolutely nothing to indicate in the lifestyle of George Bush that he is a "recovered" alcoholic. (As indicated above, Bush explicitly implies that he is alcoholic.)
Media Clash in Brazil: A Distant Mirror
RIO DE JANEIRO -- After a quarter-century of intensive grassroots
organizing and a victorious presidential campaign a year ago, Brazilian
social movements are in a strong position as they push the left-wing
Workers Party government to fulfill its promises. The contrast to
Washington’s current political climate is as diametrical as the
opposite seasons of the two countries. Yet Brazilian activists are now
giving heightened priority to the same concern that preoccupies an
increasing number of people in the United States -- the imperative of
challenging the corporate media.
On the night of Nov. 10, at the headquarters of the Brazilian Press Association here in Rio, more than 100 activists gathered to help kick off the nationwide Campaign for Media Democratization. In spite of progress for social justice, Brazil’s mass media remain firmly in the hands of nine wealthy families intent on serving the interests of conservative economic elites. The contradictions between an ascendant democratic movement and a timeworn media oligarchy are extreme.
On the night of Nov. 10, at the headquarters of the Brazilian Press Association here in Rio, more than 100 activists gathered to help kick off the nationwide Campaign for Media Democratization. In spite of progress for social justice, Brazil’s mass media remain firmly in the hands of nine wealthy families intent on serving the interests of conservative economic elites. The contradictions between an ascendant democratic movement and a timeworn media oligarchy are extreme.
The steady theft of our name
One of the worst things about today’s ultramodern systems of
communication is hiding in plain sight: They waste our time.
Sure, gizmos like computers and cell phones and pagers can be real time-savers. But what’s less obvious is the great extent to which high tech keeps us waiting.
Whether you’re rich, poor or somewhere in between, time probably seems to be in short supply. And when intrusions keep draining away precious moments, you probably feel some combination of annoyance, frustration and anger.
The overwhelming nationwide response to the new do-not-call registry is a form of national rebellion against corporate time-stealers. “We need to appreciate the magnitude of what has happened,” writes Fortune magazine senior editor Geoffrey Colvin. “America’s stampede to zap telemarketers is a true grassroots movement, and a huge one. It shows how extraordinarily deep and intense people’s feelings are about this seemingly minor issue.”
Sure, gizmos like computers and cell phones and pagers can be real time-savers. But what’s less obvious is the great extent to which high tech keeps us waiting.
Whether you’re rich, poor or somewhere in between, time probably seems to be in short supply. And when intrusions keep draining away precious moments, you probably feel some combination of annoyance, frustration and anger.
The overwhelming nationwide response to the new do-not-call registry is a form of national rebellion against corporate time-stealers. “We need to appreciate the magnitude of what has happened,” writes Fortune magazine senior editor Geoffrey Colvin. “America’s stampede to zap telemarketers is a true grassroots movement, and a huge one. It shows how extraordinarily deep and intense people’s feelings are about this seemingly minor issue.”
Coulter's Right-Wing Drag
Ann Coulter is the Right kind of woman. Strutting her political stuff, all flowing hair and short skirts, Coulter validates right-wing misogynist bluster and class arrogance. Ms. Coulter mistakes capitulation for independent thinking, when in fact, as long as she echoes Dennis Miller or Bill O'Reilly-attacking anyone who questions American aggression abroad, claiming that Bill Clinton lies with ease, and chanting "classic liberal scandal!"-she'll have a job. To be sure, it is a lucrative career move; reactionary polemic pays well.
Like Dennis Miller, whose transformation from liberal stand-up to conservative rant man boggles the senses, Ann Coulter has broken the code for success in the American hyper-conservative media: embrace the ideology of the moment and claim it as one's own. In the world of mostly male, self-important talk television, female collusion makes an if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em kind of sense. In this case, like Camille Paglia, for example, a woman spouts the illiberal ideas most damaging to other women and earns access to those prizes-wealth, television face time, book contracts-largely controlled by men.
Like Dennis Miller, whose transformation from liberal stand-up to conservative rant man boggles the senses, Ann Coulter has broken the code for success in the American hyper-conservative media: embrace the ideology of the moment and claim it as one's own. In the world of mostly male, self-important talk television, female collusion makes an if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em kind of sense. In this case, like Camille Paglia, for example, a woman spouts the illiberal ideas most damaging to other women and earns access to those prizes-wealth, television face time, book contracts-largely controlled by men.
More issues in the business section
AUSTIN, Texas -- Holy smoke! I know hellzapoppin' with the news here lately, but let's try keeping our eye on the shell with the pea under it. Fascinating as all this inside-D.C. stuff is about Rummy and Cheney, and who leaked the CIA agent's name, there's some major stuff being buried in the business section.
The manipulation of mutual funds -- nice, safe, comfortable old mutual funds -- is a story heating up nicely. In addition, if you are following the trial of Frank Quattrone in the nasty case of manipulating high-tech IPOs, you already have been whomperjawed over the goings on.
Add The New York Times Sunday account of how states and municipalities have been talked into bond issues by investment banking firms to cover pension costs, with highly unfortunate results, and you have a creepy and getting-creepier picture of the entire financial services industry.
The manipulation of mutual funds -- nice, safe, comfortable old mutual funds -- is a story heating up nicely. In addition, if you are following the trial of Frank Quattrone in the nasty case of manipulating high-tech IPOs, you already have been whomperjawed over the goings on.
Add The New York Times Sunday account of how states and municipalities have been talked into bond issues by investment banking firms to cover pension costs, with highly unfortunate results, and you have a creepy and getting-creepier picture of the entire financial services industry.