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BARBWIRE
by
ANDREW BARBANO

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Expanded from the 11-14-2004 Daily Sparks Tribune
11-19-2004 Comstock Chronicle

This country is disgusting, abominable, an insult to the progress of humankind. This country makes me so angry that my blood boils to the point of hatred. And why not?

It's controlled by twisted religious zealots who use the government to impose their narrow creed on all others. The unquestioned leaders of this awful place believe in an ancient code of superstition which predicts that its religion will triumph with the coming of a fire in the sky.

Always looking for enemies within, this country spies on its citizens. Its media are tightly controlled by the powerful and reporters are increasingly sent to jail.

I find this country disgusting because it oppresses women, free thought and dissent. Civil rights and human rights are a memory in what once was a flourishing democracy before oil-hungry warmongers extinguished it.

I retch that this country spends so much money on weapons, especially of the mass destruction variety. I detest this country for promoting nuclear proliferation.

I am repulsed that this country is an incubator of all things unholy, creating and supporting terrorism and bloodshed. This horrible place has become an outcast among nations where once it was a beacon of democracy in a dark corner of the world.

This country has abundant natural resources but perverts their use in order to manipulate and exploit the people of other nations.

This country takes prisoners and holds them for years without trial or due process of law. This country lives in a constant state of fear and perpetual war.

This country is now run by hateful, blasphemous men who arrogantly assert that they speak for God. This country has long had cordial relations with dictators and sponsors of terrorism, often funding them handsomely.

This perverted place used to be called Persia and it's now known as Iran.

Americans will soon be asked to declare war on this country.

Before we do, look inward, Christian soldiers.

A TRUE ELECTION POSTMORTEM. Expatriate Nevadan Chuck Muth, who now works for hyper-conservative interests in DC, sent his entire e-mail list a copy of film maker Michael Moore's humorous "17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists." Muth's only comment, "enjoy." Moore's previous posting was more profound. In a Nov. 4 upload entitled "My first thoughts about the election," the Oscar-winning director simply reproduced the names of America's dead in Iraq, followed by "May they rest in peace and may they forgive us someday."  First, you cry, then you laugh. You will find all 17 reasons and the entire book of the dead linked at BallotBoxing.US under a chillingly appropriate graphic.

IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO DEPT. In the Nov. 6 New York Times, ABC News Director of Polling Gary Langer disputed the idea that "moral values" were the biggest factor in the presidential result. That story was generated by election day exit polls sponsored by the national TV networks and the Associated Press. Voters selected from a checklist asking which one represented "the most important issue in the election." The choices were taxes, education, economy/jobs, moral values or health care.

Langer, a member of the committee that formed the questions, opposed including the vague "moral values" along with specific issues. "Moral values is a loaded phrase, something polls should avoid. Imagine if 'patriotism' were on the list," he wrote.

"Pre-election polls consistently found that voters were most concerned about three issues: Iraq, the economy and terrorism When telephone surveys asked an open-ended issues question (impossible on an exit poll), answers that could sensibly be categorized as moral values were in the low single digits. In the exit poll, they drew 22 percent…One reason is that the phrase means different things to different people. Moral values is a grab bag…Fifteen percent of non-churchgoers picked it, as did 12 percent of liberals…This hotbutton catch phrase had no place alongside defined political issues…Its presence created a deep distortion, one that threatens to misinform the political discourse for years to come," Langer wrote.

The Associated Press later reported that "when they were asked an open-ended question about the top issue, Iraq and the economy moved past moral values. Iraq was picked by 27 percent, the economy by 14 percent and moral values tied with terrorism at 9 percent."

Open-ended poll questions can sometimes be quite revealing. When Nevadans were asked about the most important issues a year or so ago, nuclear waste was not on the radar screen. Without a pollster prompting responses with a checklist, nuclear waste didn't finish anywhere near the top 10. Sens. Reid and Kerry could have saved a lot of advertising money talking about something of more importance to the locals, especially Reno residents who don't fear nuke waste at all now that they will soon have their train trench to protect them.

BACK TO THE AIR WAR. I'll pontificate from the pundit gallery on Sam Shad's Nevada Newsmakers this Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. on KRNV TV-4. The show reruns at 9:28 p.m. on Charter cable channel 12 in Washoe-Carson-Douglas. Audio will re-air Sunday, Nov. 21, at 9:30 a.m. on KKKOH-780am.

Be well. Raise hell.

SMOKING GUNS Nevada GOP pressed to suppress voting till the polls closed Reforms demanded Judge's Ruling May Cause A Law Suit By James Steiner KOLO TV-8, 11-7-2004 Washoe judge says citizens may vote with registration receipt, even if name is not on voting rolls Democratic couple allowed to vote State Supreme Court declines to get involved Related article: If all votes were counted, Kerry won by investigative reporter Greg Palast NEWDoctorLawyerWatch.com NEWELECTION UPDATES @ BallotBoxing.US Propaganda for fun and profit Franz Kafka defeats Frank Capra The Silence of the Cows A Blow Against the Secrecy State: Federal government didn't even want to produce its photo ID law Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial 9-17-2004 Campaign 2004: Star Trek Virtual Politics Father Diamond is Spinning in His Grave Excerpt: All the President's Spin The Orwell Diversion by Alex Carey Review of Alex Carey's "Taking the Risk out of Democracy: Propaganda in the US and Australia" ORDER "Taking the Risk Out of Democracy" Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty By Alex Carey Edited by Andrew Lohrey Foreword by Noam Chomsky University of Illinois Press CNN's Lou Dobbs' new book "Exporting America" quotes Carey BEEN THERE, DONE THAT The 1994 Labor Day Barbwire introduces Alex Carey A brief history of neo-con PR and the roots of corporate propaganda PBS/NOW with Bill Moyers: Outsourcing American Jobs Apathy is never having to say you're sorry Federal Election Commission: Voter Registration and Turnout 2000

NevadaLabor.com | C.O.P. | Sen. Joe Neal Guinn Watch | Deciding Factors | BallotBoxing.US Barbwire Oilogopoly Archive

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