Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal

“Mission Accomplished” George W. Bush will appear on an episode of NBC’s game show Deal or No Deal tomorrow night. Apparently, he’s honoring a veteran from Iraq, W.’s “no deal” of a fiasco. Hey, at least the costs of the war—deliberately kept out of the media spotlight—are alas receiving mass prime time coverage if only in a cameo moment. Too bad, though, that W. didn’t honor all of our Iraq Veterans—fallen and alive—more often, more seriously, rather than be so obvious to select the best Nielsen ratings publicity op available.

Boy blunder and his party stay true to form, though, making deals, re-shaping reality, and bilking the American public to suit their needs. And truth be told, they are pretty good at what they do: with Gas prices soaring, home mortgages foreclosing, spending power diminishing, the market yo-yoing, jobs terminating, Iraq burning, local municipal budgets shrinking, in a year when it would seem that the planets are aligned for the Democrats to take the White House, the Republicans are well positioned for Bush Term 3, with sold-his-soul McCain, a deal most Americans can’t afford.

But let’s face it: Part of this deal involves the internecine warfare in the Democratic Party. On one side there’s Clinton—amorphous lady hate who NOW casts her self as shot drinking, Crown Royale-ing, gun-slinging Scranton girl. On the other side there’s Obama—an elitist, non-patriot, 60s radical, non-wearing flag pin snob.  The least said about these false characterizations, the better.  

Divided and framed by the MSM, they and the party still stand…for now. But the question remains: can either one of them stand against McCain in the general, now that McCain has pricked his finger in blood rites with Grover Norquist, almost every agent of intolerance on the right whom McCain once disdained, the MSM goons—just take a look at Frank Rich’s column today, and a shadowy, quickly organizing attack-group resembling a Swiftboat junta for ‘08? A year to six months ago, the answer to this question would be yes. But as the Republicans do what they do best, as Clinton and Obama duke it out, as the MSM echo chamber continues emphasizing the unimportant while de-emphasizing the all-too-important, as the talking heads, led by Tweety Matthews et al, continue their “bromance” with McCain, chances are that what would be a “no deal” Bush Term 3 unfortunately might be the consolation “deal” we will have to accept.

Foreground & Background

Foreground & Background

Everyone—left, right, and center—are once again fixating on the Clintons. I can’t say I blame them entirely since Hillary blitz-krieged the Sunday morning shows last week and Billy did a lap dance or two today with George Stephanopoulos and Tim Russert. From last Sunday to this Sunday, it’s been a mainstream media, Clinton bookend bonanza. Extra, extra: Will Barack slam Hillary? Will Hillary slam Barack? Can Johnny be as tough as his wife on Hill? Will GQ remain emasculated or grow a pair to run that piece on Billary? NO WAY!: Rudy “call me” Giuliani will predicate his campaign on the ASSumption that he can beat Hillary? Wow, there’s a shocker.

Even in today’s New York Times, both Frank Rich, whose columns I savor, and mean girl Maureen Dowd, whose columns, as of late, tend to make me and several people I know sick, focus on none other than Hillary. It’s not that I mind the criticisms of the Clintons, or of Hillary, in particular. Quite frankly, many of them are fair and accurate—and not in a Fox fiction sort of way. It just amazes me how much the Clinton narrative, to borrow the rhetoric of Frank Rich, dominates the mainstream media foreground and all other narratives are assigned to the background, or better yet, to the media hinterland. Even Ahmadinejad’s crazy cameo—and even crazier claim of no gays in Iran—at Columbia had a short shelf life in the big, mainstream media scheme of things.

Meanwhile, in the media background more of our soldiers continue to die in Iraq and it seems that NO ONE—Democrat or Republican—has a lucid plan to get us the f**k out. Who knows what the deal is with the possibility of going to war with Iran? There continues to be “no-shows” of Republican candidates at minority-sponsored debates, although this IS the party of the BIG TENT—only if you’re white. Children in need might NOT get appropriate insurance because George W. Bush says that there’s a better way; remember: he’s the dude that insisted there WERE weapons of mass destruction. And who the heck knows what Condi’s up to; maybe she’s having more surgery finally to close that gap between her front teeth.

The bigger gap that concerns me is the enormous difference between the media foreground and background, between the OJ resurgence and the Iraq insurgence, between what’s over-emphasized and what barely registers as a blip, between the over-saturation of fake news and the drowning of real news…that should be “fit” to print.

And the Winner Is...

And the Winner Is…

As America eagerly awaits Britney Scissorhands’ opening act on the Video Music Awards tonight, as much of America longs to see who’s wearing what on the red carpet, as those of us striving to be 1% more conscious marvel at how George W. Bush will sparknote the General David Petraeus report, Osama Bin Laden clearly wins best performance in a video this year. How timely a release, right before the VMA’s themselves—is MTV losing its touch?; right before the 9/11 anniversary; right before the latest chapter of the neocon’s long day’s journey into Iraq.

Long ago Marshal McLuhan said it best: The Medium is the Massage. Fictions become facts, facts become doublespoke and ignored, and what matters most is perception management—the new “opium of the masses.” Our media continues to let the spin rip with more than two “turn tables and a microphone,” to tiptoe around surge supporters, and to indulge in the American Dream of everything is a-O.K.—don’t worry, be happy ☺. Just ask Britney or Osama for goodness sake—simply get extensions or die your beard to get your groove back.

And that’s exactly what we will witness in politics this week, as Frank Rich noted in yet another brilliant column today, “As the Iraqis Stand Down, We’ll Stand Up.” According to Rich, brace yourself for the 2002 play-book, the build-up-to-the-war plan, when you hear the words: “Anbar,” “bottom up,” “decrease in violence,” and “success.” Lo and behold, Senator John McCain stuck to the script in his interview with George Stephanopoulos this morning on This Week. Now I think McCain's performance in “Bomb, bomb Iran” should get an honorable mention.

But fear not, folks: I STILL WANT my MTV! And so should you.

9.15.07

9.15.07

As the days of Alberto Goneliar run short, we creep closer to a deadline in September: September 15, the day when General David Petraeus reportedly delivers his assessment on the surge to Chimpy, or better yet, he delivers Chimpy’s assessment to the American people. As Frank Rich has beautifully noted in today’s column, “Who Really Took Over During That Colonoscopy,” Chimpy’s War of Error’s latest missionary man, Petraeus, is not the savior Chimpy and the hawks would like him to be, regardless of their rock star mantra of Petraeus, Petraeus, please SAVE US!!!! You can almost imagine Senators Lindsey Graham and Captain LIEberman clapping their hands, doing a jig and singing a song, cheering Chimpy & Petraeus along.

One would think that the Chimpletons would pick a day different than the 15th and a month different than September. We all know that 15 recalls the tragic end of Shakespeare’s obdurate, isolated character Caesar, and we Americans certainly know that September reverberates with the haunting reminders of 9/11 and the wake of Katrina, two events that rate rather high on the index of recent tragedies. But in Bush’s world, in Bush’s brain, neither fact nor fiction matter; only what the decider says does. Beware of the "ides"* of September.

*Note: Yes, I'm well aware that "ides" refers to the 15th of March, May, July and October; it is actually the 13th in other months. I just "decided" to exercise some creativity to "catapult the propaganda."

Married to the Mob

Week in Rear View: Married to the Mob

Bada bing: Who would’ve thought that the ending to a popular mob series would capture the zeitgeist of the American political scene? Yes, many of our politicians—on both sides of the aisle—are no better than the shady characters in The Sopranos. In today's column, “Scooter’s Sopranos Go to the Mattresses," Frank Rich does a “buuuutifull job makin’” the connection stick. Fo’get ‘bout it!

But mob mentality is not new to America. Hell no! In fact, we, the American people, are unequivocally married to the mob, and this becomes abundantly apparent in our literature and in our every day lives. Just take a look. Need I remind you all of the old hags in The Scarlet Letter who wanted to brand Hester, the “shit don’t stink” East Eggers in The Great Gatsby who resented the G.’s new “monay,” or those heinous hypocrites in Jackson’s “The Lottery” who would stone their own mother just to blindly obey tradition? Mob rule is as American as apple-pie at Thanksgiving time, or as American as the NASCAR dads and those micromanagerial soccer moms—mob groups for a new, American century.

And Team Bush is no different. As Rich points out, that the Bush loyalists are pleading, f**king begging for Poopy Scooter’s pardon is the height of hypocrisy; do yourself a favor and get over to The Smoking Gun. Not only does this forgive-Paris-Hilton groveling reveal the administration’s blatant lies that led to Iraq, this also reveals how many self-righteous conservatives/neo-conservatives, and yes folks, establishment Democrats have no shame—not an iota. The “save Scooter” campaign truly sheds light on the “Kill Bill” hysteria, doesn’t it? Remember the Monica news hour update? The Monica minute? The Monica, genetic-material themed nano-second? The countless millions of taxpayers’ money that Kenny Star wasted? Sure, Billy bent the truth—and maybe a cigar or two—by questioning what the definition of is is, but this was to justify his own Bada’ Monica affair, not a Bada’ war, not a Bada’ 3,500 + troops dead.

As much as I admire Rich, though, there’s one crucial element of the American mob he neglected to emphasize: the mainstream media. Without them, Americans…won’t stop believing the fake news that fuels many lives of quiet desperation.