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Beginning the Barbwire's Silver Anniversary Year
Barbwire by Barbano premiered in the Daily Sparks (Nev.) Tribune on Aug. 12, 1988, and has originated in those parts ever since. Tempus fugit.

You can't handle the truth
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the 8-19-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune
Updated 8-22-2012

Copyright © 2012 Woodrow Barlettani for The Daily Sparks Tribune

Lying drives the American economy. The public wants to be lied to.

Which store would you rather patronize, the one that quietly notes everyday low prices, so come in anytime? Or the one with the muscle-throated announcer who screams "the greatest sale in our history ends at midnight Saturday!"

JC Penney just found that out the hard way. A few months ago, the venerable chain trumpeted a new strategy of everyday low prices with few if any discount sales. They changed their logo to JCP and started running pretty ads with pretty young people and lots of white space.

The public reacted with one-handed clapping. White space begets white noise. Americans want technicolor wardrobe malfunctions, ear-breaking buzz, sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll, smash-bang flying car crashes, lying, cheating and stealing.

That's entertainment, dammit.

My favorite hard-sell advertising line is "never before, never again, this is it."

Well, at least until next week.

Many customers want to be ripped off. Some gullible dorks will only buy heavily advertised brands even though generics are just as good and often the same thing with a different label.

Some really believe that if they are not paying an exorbitant price, the product just can't be very good. (A lot of people get married for basically the same reason, but that's another column for another time.)

A few years back, a world class New York museum announced establishment of satellite galleries in major malls.
When a reporter asked why, a curator groused "shopping is the principal cultural activity in the United States."

The mallrat mentality paves the way for election of exorbitantly priced politicians. Candidates who raise little campaign cash are trashed as non-viable and irrelevant by money-driven media satisfied with reporting simple "horse race" numbers about contributions, polls and ad spending.

As comic wise man Bill Maher opined, "Americans don't do nuance."

The truth is dangerous. Witness Walter Mondale. Who?

"I'll raise taxes and so will he. He won't tell you. I just did," he said in accepting the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

President Reagan butchered him with the quote. After the election, Reagan proceeded to raise everything: taxes, the deficit and the national debt.

Even in the depths of depression, governors, presidents and prime ministers have to be gaga cheerleaders and assure people that things are getting better. ("It's morning in America.")

Myth Rumpney channels King Ronald the Vague when he says "America's greatest days lie ahead," the operative word being "lie."

Think the truth is your friend?

The man who will give a truthful answer to the following question has not yet been born: "Honey, does this make my ass look big?"

Amazing TV offer, quantities of this special factory purchase strictly limited, first-come first-served, no reasonable offer refused, profit is forgotten, at-cost near-cost or below-cost, we're overstocked, seller very motivated, make offer, what do I have to do to get you to buy today?

All this is not far from "vote for me and I'll set you free," as The Temptations once sang.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in England, afraid for his life if he is extradited to the U.S. Once upon a time, we shielded dissidents. Anybody remember Hungarian Cardinal Josef Mindszenty?

Wikileaks sparked the Arab spring and showed us that foreign policy is based on lies. American diplomats report the truth in internal communications while publicly backslapping and schmoozing bloody dictators.

The establishment just can't handle the truth. Assange now stands tall in a rogues gallery of great outsiders: Copernicus, Galileo, Jan Hus and Drs. Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren. Who?

The latter are Australian physicians who were ridiculed and threatened with loss of their licenses because they advanced a theory that went against the prevailing orthodoxy. They said that many ulcers were caused by a treatable bacterium.

Marshall finally resorted to infecting himself to prove it. They were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

They could handle the truth.

Most U.S. political leaders cover their asses by lying to us.

After all, it works with wives trying on new dresses.

NO RESPECT DEPT. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley just released a poll showing her slightly ahead of Sen. Dean Heller statewide. Actually it was probably a tie, as no margin of statistical error was disclosed.

The pollsters' summary and her own campaign's press release mis-spelled her name. A bunch of times.

Berkley's whiz kids should be schooled in the old political axiom: Call me a son of a bitch, just spell my name right.

INJUSTICE DELAYED. It didn't occur to me until I was posting last week's web edition, but Paul Ryan is simply Sarah Palin in long pants.

WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION. If you've missed the eight-part (so far) Barbwire series, you will find it archived at NevadaLabor.com.

Next month, one of my predictions comes true. The Washoe County School District will announce a basically flat graduation rate for the latest year.

Former school superintendent Heath Morrison blew town after two years of juggling the books, stalking praise and hustling awards, then leaving us hicks holding the bag.

SUPPORT THE NEVADA CITIZEN TV PROJECT to re-establish a non-corporate community channel. You may donate at ReSurge.TV or contact me.

Thank you.

Be well. Raise hell.

____________
Andrew Barbano is a 43-year Nevadan, chair of the Nevada César Chávez Committee, producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration, first vice-president and political action chair of the Reno-Sparks NAACP, labor/consumer/civil rights advocate, member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO and editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. Check local listings for other Nevada cable systems. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Daily Sparks Tribune since 1988.

Smoking Guns... Followed by a moon shadow TRAVUS T. HIPP, 1937-2012 ADIÓS, COMPADRE — Our friend Travus, 75, passed away peacefully between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. PDT on 18 May 2012 at his home in Silver City, Nevada. The sun is in eclipse as I write this at 6:30 p.m. on May 20. CHANGE OF VENUE (5-22-2012) — Adiós in Silver City, Nevada, Saturday, May 26, 2012 —> Updated 5-27-2012 — > The auld church where Travus lived and died proved too small for the expected multitude, so gathering, gnoshing and remembering commenced at the Silver City Community Center, 385 High Street, at 10:00 a.m. PDT. The graveside memorial service began at High Noon. Travus was buried next to his rock star companion Lynne Hughes, a short walk away. My remembrance of Lynne from the 3-21-1993 Daily Sparks Tribune has been linked to Travus' formal obituary at this website. All memories accepted for permanent posting hereat. Stay tuned for pictures and stories of the appropriately rainy day. Thanks for all your kind words. Keep up the good work and the good fight. Be well. Raise hell. Andrew Barbano Barbano remembers the artist Reno Gazette-Journal 5-25-2012 NEW — Travus' life story and obituary Travus' last column in the 5-20 Daily Sparks Tribune Debra K. Reid photo / Sparks Tribune Jan. 4, 2009 Travus T. Hipp & Tales of Nevada's Futures Passed Expanded from the 6-3-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune      At bottom, he was an artist who used his voice to soar and slice, a tenor for the tenor of our times. Many of his mourning California listeners talk about the vocal spells he wove, how he soundly organized the noise of daily life into music that entertained, engaged, enlightened, educated, enthralled and occasionally enflamed. [From the saga of Travus T. Hipp and contributions by The Barbwire to the May 25 Reno Gazette-Journal and May 26, 2012, Daily Sparks Tribune.] POWERFUL PUNDITORY PANJANDRUMS: Compelling guest commentary including random samplings of the wisdom of Travus T. Hipp Nevada Press Assn. annual award winners announced. HAT TRICK: Barbwire takes first place three years in a row. The winning entries Suing for Schools: The 20-year shuck Expanded from the 2-21-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune Click here to view the show on your desktop RED flags flying low over Sparks Expanded from the 1-10-2010 Daily Sparks Tribune The wrath of self-righteous racism Expanded from the 11-8-2009 Daily Sparks Tribune Government contacts Nev. congressional delegation Nevada Legislature State of Nevada Secretary of State Carson City Clark County City of Las Vegas Douglas County Reno City Council Sparks City Council Washoe County Commission Washoe Registrar of Voters The campaign against forcibly-paid newspaper obituaries And they wonder why the newspaper business is dying?   The Dean's List    The Dean of Reno Bloggers could very well be Andrew Barbano, self-described "fighter of public demons," who started putting his "Barbwire" columns online in 1996 and now runs 10 sites. RENO NEWS & REVIEW, 11-9-2006 The 2009 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners Tony the Tiger & the flaky NFL Barbwire / 11-30-2008 Deregulation is never having to say you're sorry Barbwire / 8-3-2008 Nevada: A good place to visit, but do you want to live here? Barbwire / 6-15-2008 The 2008 first-place Nevada Press Association award winners The price of a piece / 6-17-2007 Boxing Pandora /9-23-2007 The Lady in the Red Dress 10-28-2007 1997 Pulitzer Prize entries ...and more ammo Economist: This is a true depression Elliott Parker Guest Editorial / Las Vegas Sun / 11-27-2011 The plight of the paper pushers The great recession made bashing public workers a national sport Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review / 11-23-2011 Bury the Bad News with Rose-colored Reporting How urgent can economic troubles be if leaders say things are getting better? Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review / 11-23-2011 Fact-free nation: Inside the lie machine Mother Jones Magazine May-June 2011 / Cover story and in-depth analysis Bill Moyers: Welcome to the Plutocracy Money fights hard and it fights dirty Speech delivered at Boston University on 29 Oct. 2010 Part of the Howard Zinn Lecture Series Barbwire Corporate Welfare Archive Cabellyup.com From clear-cut forests to dirty Gulfstream waters, this land belongs to old BP TOLJASO LONG TIME AGO BP/ARCO: The greasy root of our evils Barbwire / Daily Sparks Tribune 9-10-2006 The awful truth — Read it and weep, fellow suckers Labor Day 2009: Rise of the Vampire Corpobots Expanded from the 9-6-2009 Daily Sparks Tribune Angry Americans and Freudian fraud Using war to market cigarettes Expanded from the 8-23-2009 Daily Sparks Tribune BARBWIRE Nevada Corporate Welfare Archive Propaganda fuels gasoline price fixing Barbwire 8-14-2005 Donate to the cable ratepayer legal defense fund at our PayPal-enabled ReSurge.TV Consumer War Room Phillips, Kevin; Numbers Racket: Why the economy is worse than we know Harper's Magazine; May 2008; page 43 Phillips has authored numerous books on history and politics over the past 40 years. His most recent, Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism, was published by Viking on April 15, 2008. NAOMI WOLF: Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps There are some things common to every state that's made the transition to fascism. Author Naomi Wolf argues that all of them are present in America today. Alternet 5-20-2007 Johnson, Chalmers; REPUBLIC OR EMPIRE? A National Intelligence Estimate on the United States; Harper's magazine; January, 2007. I love it when heavy hitters validate what I've been saying for years in the tiny Sparks Tribune. Barlett, Donald L. and Steele, James B.; America: What Went Wrong? (1992); America: Who Really Pays the Taxes? (1994); America: Who Stole the Dream? (1996) ; Andrews & McMeel/Universal Press Syndicate. Review of Alex Carey's Taking the Risk Out of Democracy: Propaganda in the US and Australia The Orwell Diversion by Alex Carey Excerpted from the book available below 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      SEE ALSO: Lapham, Lewis H.; Tentacles of Rage: The Republican Propaganda Mill, A Brief History; Harper's Magazine cover article; September, 2004, page 32.      By one conservative estimate, the corporate right has spent about $3 billion over the past three decades manufacturing public opinion to suit big business goals. Lapham's number covered the early 1970's to the present day. Alex Carey noted that by 1948, anti- New Deal corporate propaganda expenditures had already reached $100 million per year, not adjusted for inflation, for advertising alone. (Carey, ibid; page 79)      Adjusted for inflation, that 1948 $100 million becomes $801,659,751.04 in 2005 dollars. Conservatives Help Wal-Mart, and Vice Versa As Wal-Mart struggles to rebut growing criticism, it has discovered a reliable ally: conservative research groups. New York Times 9-8-2006; Free registration may be required.       BARBWIRE: Labor Day '94: People vs. corporate con job, 9-4-94 Chilling forecasts from Alex Carey       BARBWIRE: The Nevada Republican Party Becomes Communist, 3-30-97 A prescient Plato on the dangers of oligarchy The sands of time do not cloud the long memories of the sheiks of Araby Barbwire 9-10-2006       Rinfret, Pierre A.; Peace is Bullish; Look magazine, 5-31-1966

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Copyright © 1982-2012 Andrew Barbano

Andrew Barbano is a 43-year Nevadan, editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org; and former chair of the City of Reno's Citizens Cable Compliance Committee, He is producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration and serves as first vice-president, political action chair and webmaster of the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us.

Barbwire by Barbano premiered in the Daily Sparks (Nev.) Tribune on Aug. 12, 1988, and has originated in those parts ever since. Tempus fugit.

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