progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital
For those of you who are interested in understanding the government’s use of propaganda, I’d recommend this essay on Orwell’s 1984. This excerpt particularly struck me:
Although the regime appeared repressive to Smith, it was not this feature which bothered him as much as the
lying, rewriting history, misrepresentation of current events and facts, and endless sloganizing designed to entrap the subject masses. Smith was an employee of the Ministry of Truth and was often responsible for editing and rewriting information. , He was painfully aware of the manipulation of the truth. Big Brother’s henchmen had not yet perfected their psychological techniques to the point that they could resolve effectively the dissonance between knowledge and belief. Smith knew the propaganda was false and the slogans meaningless, yet even he was expected to believe and trust.Repression and prevarication are devices commonly used by the powerful to assert legitimacy since the exercise of power never benefits the powerless as much as the powerful. Those who hold power customarily must rationalize a privileged position which is never fully deserved.
Propaganda is a common tool of the powerful. It’s used to rationalize the continued existence of the powerful. And, it’s the enemy of understanding.
One of the reasons I bring this up is because of two blog posts I read this morning. The first from the Archcrone:
The Pentagon has a new operation, “Communications Outreach,” formerly known as “Surrogates Operation.” This is an attempt to work with talk radio hosts and bloggers to spread the “good” word about the debacle otherwise known as the War in Iraq.
The second is from Open Left:
However, a quick review of Google news results for Edwards haircut shows immediately that it is a right-wing smear job that the corporate press is happily reporting. Who is talking about the Edwards haircut? Why, Forbes, Powerline, the Daily Telegraph, Fox, Real Clear Politics, New Busters, the Politico, Town Hall, the New York Sun, Rush Limbaugh, American Spectator, Hot Air and Human Events. Al Gore must be watching this with a real sense of deja vu.
Are the entities that Chris Bowers lists acting either as an extension of the White House, the RNC, or other right-wing entities? I think it’s likely. Others likely identify more with the clan (I said “clan” not “Klan”) nature of politics, and smearing someone, or twisting the facts in order to “win”- whatever “winning” might mean in this sense- justifies their actions to themselves. To the list I’ll add NRO, Michelle Malkin, the Druge Report and Instapundit.
Here, I’ll just add that my objection to these blogs and media sites isn’t that I disagree with their opinions. It’s that I find what they do reprehensible. Distorting the truth for money or for sport. Which in the end serves to keep those who are undeservedly powerful in power.
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hip·po·pot·a·mus n. A notion, perhaps distinct from conventional wisdom, that needs to be verified by reality-based scrutiny.
95. Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.)
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
You can try Counter Culture coffees at: - Baked and Wired, 1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, 202-333-2500; www.bakedandwired.com [Link]
In sum, we concluded that the evidence showed that Goodling violated both federal law and Department policy, and therefore committed misconduct... [Link]
The best way to make sense of this legal tangle is to mouse over the title of an individual scandal, which will highlight everyone implicated. [Link]
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We're asking you to put some of the money you plan to give Obama "in escrow" until he demonstrates progressive leadership on the issues we care about, like warrantless wiretapping. [Link]
The report notes that the administration has gone to “unprecedented lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost” of the wars. [Link]
"We see a tipping point occurring right before our eyes," Hansen said during his appearance at the National Press Club. "The Arctic is the first tipping point and it's occurring exactly the way we said it would." [Link]
It appeared to confirm for the first time in an official examination many of the allegations from critics who charged that the Justice Department had become overly politicized during the Bush administration. [Link]
"After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be ans [Link]
It gives me a terrible mental image of the whole country linking arms and goose-stepping in unison, with the politicians out in front doing a straight-armed salute. [Link]
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In a subsequent e-mail to the employee, Cargol described himself as “a rub-your-belly, grab-your-balls, give-you-a-hug, slap-your-back, pull-your-dick, squeeze-your-hand, cheek-your-face, and pat-your-thigh kind of guy.” [Link]
Democracy Now! Radio and TV News [Link]
Let's take a look at how the Los Angeles Times covered the new Senate Intelligence Committee report on the claims made as part of selling the Iraq war, and compare it to how the editorial page of the Washington Post, by which I mean Fred Hiatt, sees the e [Link]
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" an [Link]
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