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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Friday, March 05, 2004 Dave Pell is uncharacteristically bitter in this week's Next Draft. I don't usually quote whole entries from other people's work, but this seemed to be worth passing on in its entirety:Let's start with the basics. They think you're stupid. At least that's what they think of you if you're an undecided voter in an important 2004 swing state. The Bush marketing machine, which just rolled out their first ads for the general election, doesn't think that you realize that September 11th changed the political landscape in this country. And they didn't even think that mere mentions of the event (such as ad voiceovers that read: "Then... A day of tragedy. A test for all Americans." or "Some challenges we've seen before. And some were like no others. But America rose to the challenge.") would be enough, so the marketing wizards behind the campaign saw fit to include a key visual. What is it? Perhaps, you might imagine, they included some video of President Bush visiting troops in Iraq last Thanksgiving. Or maybe they showed Tommy Franks standing next to the President as they announced Franks' leadership of the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. No. They didn't think that would do the trick. So instead they served up a picture of a small section of gutted concrete and twisted steel that was left standing at Ground Zero after the 9-11 attacks. It goes quickly enough that you might just pause to remember that terrible moment (as if you could have forgotten it) and not really think about it much more. Well think about it. Images From 9-11 are being used to market a product. Not a fund being raised for victims families. Not a tribute to firefighters or police officers who lost their lives. But to launch a political campaign. To paraphrase another ad campaign, images are everything. Let's start with the ones you haven't been allowed to see: The coffins of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq. We have been told that the American people will be required to sacrifice. Shouldn't part of that sacrifice be to at least allow the images of the real sacrifices being made by our fellow Americans to work their way into our living rooms and into our consciousness. Shouldn't we be asked to press pause on American Idol long enough to psychologically absorb a hint of the pain (the real pain, not the ad campaign pain with an authoritative voice reading over a carefully selected musical piece) being felt by those who have lost loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan? No. Why? Because those images don't sell the message. Well in my book, the images of the shattered shell of the World Trade Center do not sell any message other than the fact that for political gain, the Bush team is willing to turn Ground Zero into rock bottom. Karen Hughes insists that such complaints are just whining Democrats. "With all due respect, I just completely disagree, and I believe the vast majority of the American people will as well. I can understand why some Democrats might not want the American people to remember the great leadership and strength the President and First Lady Laura Bush brought to our country in the aftermath of that." I guess she's right. Because when I see those images, I think of the great leadership and courage of the firefighters who climbed up smoke-filled stairways and of families who wandered the streets posting fliers with pictures of their missing loved ones. Or maybe I think of my wife's friend who we simply call The Sarge who was shipped off to Iraq a few hours after his Valentine's Day wedding and didn't return for well over a year. But frankly, when confronted with those images, I never think of Laura Bush. Good to have that disconnect finally resolved. Monica Gabrielle (whose husband died in the twin towers) must be among those "Democrats" that Hughes is talking about. Gabrielle told the NY Daily News that: "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable." Sounds like she just doesn't want to remember the leadership shown by the President, huh? Same with Tom Roger whose daughter died in the attack: "To show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat." And firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens must be a real lefty because his response was: "It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place. The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics." We're in a national tizzy over the supposedly threatening indecency of a split second of a pop star's breast or a few words from a shock jock's mouth. Meanwhile those who are most offended by such violations of our airwaves are silent or even supportive when it comes to something as flat-out sick as this. This is not an argument that President Bush failed to show leadership in the aftermath of September 11th. It's about what is O.K. and what is not O.K. when it comes to selling a product -- be it a can of beer or a candidate for president. It's something this president speaks of often enough; a matter of simple right and wrong. Reminding us of W's leadership skills can be done without these images, which are of course forever etched in our minds anyway. Forget about the hypocrisy of co-opting the loss, sacrifice and courage of others in the name of self-aggrandizement. Let's just leave it at this. A President who feels quite at ease marketing his own faith should at least realize that some things are sacred. Unfortunately, Dave is preaching to the choir, because the Bush ad is aimed at those people who do see images of 9-11 as some kind of twisted icon of Republican power and might—"Remember the Alamo," and so forth. I'll rephrase Dave's final sentence: to a man who uses his faith as a marketing tool, nothing is sacred. posted by Liz @ 9:16 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Dave Pell is uncharacteristically bitter in this week's Next Draft. I don't usually quote whole entries from other people's work, but this seemed to be worth passing on in its entirety:Let's start with the basics. They think you're stupid. At least that's what they think of you if you're an undecided voter in an important 2004 swing state. The Bush marketing machine, which just rolled out their first ads for the general election, doesn't think that you realize that September 11th changed the political landscape in this country. And they didn't even think that mere mentions of the event (such as ad voiceovers that read: "Then... A day of tragedy. A test for all Americans." or "Some challenges we've seen before. And some were like no others. But America rose to the challenge.") would be enough, so the marketing wizards behind the campaign saw fit to include a key visual. What is it? Perhaps, you might imagine, they included some video of President Bush visiting troops in Iraq last Thanksgiving. Or maybe they showed Tommy Franks standing next to the President as they announced Franks' leadership of the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. No. They didn't think that would do the trick. So instead they served up a picture of a small section of gutted concrete and twisted steel that was left standing at Ground Zero after the 9-11 attacks. It goes quickly enough that you might just pause to remember that terrible moment (as if you could have forgotten it) and not really think about it much more. Well think about it. Images From 9-11 are being used to market a product. Not a fund being raised for victims families. Not a tribute to firefighters or police officers who lost their lives. But to launch a political campaign. To paraphrase another ad campaign, images are everything. Let's start with the ones you haven't been allowed to see: The coffins of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq. We have been told that the American people will be required to sacrifice. Shouldn't part of that sacrifice be to at least allow the images of the real sacrifices being made by our fellow Americans to work their way into our living rooms and into our consciousness. Shouldn't we be asked to press pause on American Idol long enough to psychologically absorb a hint of the pain (the real pain, not the ad campaign pain with an authoritative voice reading over a carefully selected musical piece) being felt by those who have lost loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan? No. Why? Because those images don't sell the message. Well in my book, the images of the shattered shell of the World Trade Center do not sell any message other than the fact that for political gain, the Bush team is willing to turn Ground Zero into rock bottom. Karen Hughes insists that such complaints are just whining Democrats. "With all due respect, I just completely disagree, and I believe the vast majority of the American people will as well. I can understand why some Democrats might not want the American people to remember the great leadership and strength the President and First Lady Laura Bush brought to our country in the aftermath of that." I guess she's right. Because when I see those images, I think of the great leadership and courage of the firefighters who climbed up smoke-filled stairways and of families who wandered the streets posting fliers with pictures of their missing loved ones. Or maybe I think of my wife's friend who we simply call The Sarge who was shipped off to Iraq a few hours after his Valentine's Day wedding and didn't return for well over a year. But frankly, when confronted with those images, I never think of Laura Bush. Good to have that disconnect finally resolved. Monica Gabrielle (whose husband died in the twin towers) must be among those "Democrats" that Hughes is talking about. Gabrielle told the NY Daily News that: "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable." Sounds like she just doesn't want to remember the leadership shown by the President, huh? Same with Tom Roger whose daughter died in the attack: "To show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat." And firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens must be a real lefty because his response was: "It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place. The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics." We're in a national tizzy over the supposedly threatening indecency of a split second of a pop star's breast or a few words from a shock jock's mouth. Meanwhile those who are most offended by such violations of our airwaves are silent or even supportive when it comes to something as flat-out sick as this. This is not an argument that President Bush failed to show leadership in the aftermath of September 11th. It's about what is O.K. and what is not O.K. when it comes to selling a product -- be it a can of beer or a candidate for president. It's something this president speaks of often enough; a matter of simple right and wrong. Reminding us of W's leadership skills can be done without these images, which are of course forever etched in our minds anyway. Forget about the hypocrisy of co-opting the loss, sacrifice and courage of others in the name of self-aggrandizement. Let's just leave it at this. A President who feels quite at ease marketing his own faith should at least realize that some things are sacred. Unfortunately, Dave is preaching to the choir, because the Bush ad is aimed at those people who do see images of 9-11 as some kind of twisted icon of Republican power and might—"Remember the Alamo," and so forth. I'll rephrase Dave's final sentence: to a man who uses his faith as a marketing tool, nothing is sacred.
Let's start with the basics. They think you're stupid. At least that's what they think of you if you're an undecided voter in an important 2004 swing state. The Bush marketing machine, which just rolled out their first ads for the general election, doesn't think that you realize that September 11th changed the political landscape in this country. And they didn't even think that mere mentions of the event (such as ad voiceovers that read: "Then... A day of tragedy. A test for all Americans." or "Some challenges we've seen before. And some were like no others. But America rose to the challenge.") would be enough, so the marketing wizards behind the campaign saw fit to include a key visual. What is it? Perhaps, you might imagine, they included some video of President Bush visiting troops in Iraq last Thanksgiving. Or maybe they showed Tommy Franks standing next to the President as they announced Franks' leadership of the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. No. They didn't think that would do the trick. So instead they served up a picture of a small section of gutted concrete and twisted steel that was left standing at Ground Zero after the 9-11 attacks. It goes quickly enough that you might just pause to remember that terrible moment (as if you could have forgotten it) and not really think about it much more. Well think about it. Images From 9-11 are being used to market a product. Not a fund being raised for victims families. Not a tribute to firefighters or police officers who lost their lives. But to launch a political campaign. To paraphrase another ad campaign, images are everything. Let's start with the ones you haven't been allowed to see: The coffins of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq. We have been told that the American people will be required to sacrifice. Shouldn't part of that sacrifice be to at least allow the images of the real sacrifices being made by our fellow Americans to work their way into our living rooms and into our consciousness. Shouldn't we be asked to press pause on American Idol long enough to psychologically absorb a hint of the pain (the real pain, not the ad campaign pain with an authoritative voice reading over a carefully selected musical piece) being felt by those who have lost loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan? No. Why? Because those images don't sell the message. Well in my book, the images of the shattered shell of the World Trade Center do not sell any message other than the fact that for political gain, the Bush team is willing to turn Ground Zero into rock bottom. Karen Hughes insists that such complaints are just whining Democrats. "With all due respect, I just completely disagree, and I believe the vast majority of the American people will as well. I can understand why some Democrats might not want the American people to remember the great leadership and strength the President and First Lady Laura Bush brought to our country in the aftermath of that." I guess she's right. Because when I see those images, I think of the great leadership and courage of the firefighters who climbed up smoke-filled stairways and of families who wandered the streets posting fliers with pictures of their missing loved ones. Or maybe I think of my wife's friend who we simply call The Sarge who was shipped off to Iraq a few hours after his Valentine's Day wedding and didn't return for well over a year. But frankly, when confronted with those images, I never think of Laura Bush. Good to have that disconnect finally resolved. Monica Gabrielle (whose husband died in the twin towers) must be among those "Democrats" that Hughes is talking about. Gabrielle told the NY Daily News that: "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable." Sounds like she just doesn't want to remember the leadership shown by the President, huh? Same with Tom Roger whose daughter died in the attack: "To show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat." And firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens must be a real lefty because his response was: "It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place. The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics." We're in a national tizzy over the supposedly threatening indecency of a split second of a pop star's breast or a few words from a shock jock's mouth. Meanwhile those who are most offended by such violations of our airwaves are silent or even supportive when it comes to something as flat-out sick as this. This is not an argument that President Bush failed to show leadership in the aftermath of September 11th. It's about what is O.K. and what is not O.K. when it comes to selling a product -- be it a can of beer or a candidate for president. It's something this president speaks of often enough; a matter of simple right and wrong. Reminding us of W's leadership skills can be done without these images, which are of course forever etched in our minds anyway. Forget about the hypocrisy of co-opting the loss, sacrifice and courage of others in the name of self-aggrandizement. Let's just leave it at this. A President who feels quite at ease marketing his own faith should at least realize that some things are sacred.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
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PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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