journal 5: KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN.1.26.7

Journal 5: KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

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1.26.7

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In a Democracy, the people get the government they deserve
- Alexis de Tocqueville

Once a nation of talkers, we have turned into a nation of watchers - once doers, we have become viewers.
- Benjamin Barber

All television is children's television.
- Richard P Adler

...pop-culture, it's what people prioritize in their lives. The truth is, as much as we want to focus on politics, the American people would rather watch television. As much as we want to talk about substance, they'd rather listen to music. So I have to know what they are watching, I have to know what they are listening to, and I got to know why.
- Frank Luntz (Frontline) Political Marketer

Civil Society

Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam was the book that got me interested in the insidious role of TV. Here, here, and here is a taste of his argument. In his book he catalogues the many ways that Americans are becoming less, and less civically engaged. He also makes a detailed argument as to why it is TV that is the culprit (shorter version in The American Prospect).

"Americans are more socially isolated today than we were barely two decades ago."

The effects of TV on voter turnout.

Al Gore Speech on the effects of TV on Democracy


More recently, Robert Putnam has argued that even non-political organizations in civil society are vital for democracy. This is because they build social capital, trust and shared values, which are transferred into the political sphere and help to hold society together, facilitating an understanding of the interconnectedness of society and interests within it.

"...the poll found that nonvoters are not just disconnected from politics, but also from their communities. Nonvoters were less likely to trust others, to have a strong support network of friends and family or to know their neighbors than regular voters were."


Amusing Ourselves to Death

Excellent Wikipedia description of "Amusing Ourselves to Death".
Neil Postman argues that TV, by it's nature, debases political discourse. That TV, by it's very nature, turns news into amusement and politics into entertainment.

He argues, by contrast, that the invention of the printing press had huge positive effects on society, allowing science, rationality, and democracy to flower. More reading leads to better cognitive skills and vocabulary (comic books have larger vocabularies than prime time TV).

Literary Reading in Dramatic Decline, According to National Endowment for the Arts Survey (2004)

Not reading and being illiterate are in many ways the same thing. So TV, by displacing reading as our primary source of information and entertainment has in effect returned our society to a pre-literate society (at least for the majority of citizens). This explains, I think, the level of irrationality and form over substance that has taken over politics in America.

From Death of Reading:

For example, the following statements were presented to members of a mostly preliterate tribe in a remote area of the Soviet Union: "In the far north, where there is snow, all bears are white. Novaya Zembla is in the far north, and there is always snow there." Then these people were asked what color the bears are in Novaya Zembla. A typical response, as reported by Father Walter Ong in his book "Orality and Literacy": "I don't know. I've seen a black bear. I've never seen any others. Each locality has its own animals." These people could not solve this simplest of logical problems.

It is not that such preliterate people are less intelligent than we are. They simply think differently -- "situationally." When words are written down, not just enunciated, they are freed from the subjective situations and experiences ("I've seen a black bear") in which they were imbedded. Written words can be played with, analyzed, rearranged and organized into categories (black bears, white bears, places where there is always snow). The correspondences, connections or contradictions among various statements can be carefully examined. As investigators such as Ong and anthropologist Jack Goody have explained, our system of logic -- our ability to find principles that apply independently of situations -- is a product of literacy. This logic, which goes back to the Egyptians, Hebrews and Greeks, led to mathematics and philosophy and history. Among its accomplishments is our culture.

And when written words are set in print, they gain additional powers. Our sentences grow even less connected to our persons as they are spelled out in the interchangeable letters of movable type. Our thoughts grow more abstract, more removed from the situations in which we happen to find ourselves. Superstitions, biases and legendary characters like dragons and kings have difficulty fitting into these straight, precise lines of type. Charts, maps and columns of figures can be duplicated exactly for the first time. According to seminal media theorist Marshall McLuhan and historian Elizabeth Eisenstein, the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment were both products of the printing press.


TV Electorate

"These dramas capitalize on psychologists' knowledge of the powerful--and sometimes scary--influences television can have on children and adults." It is these kind of results that so many people find compelling. If only the incredible power of TV could be harnessed for good! Unfortunately shows about people acting rationally and sensibly do not make good drama. The soap operas described in the above link, in addition to teaching safe sex, also include the standard soap opera fare, people (who happen to be beautiful and rich) acting badly.

Typical of soap operas, and much of TV drama is 'indirect aggression'."They successfully spread rumours, damage relationships, distort reality, and destroy the reputations..." Sound familiar? Could this help explain the public's tolerance for political "dirty tricks" and lack of ethics?

Could this lack of ethics on TV also help explain a 30 year increase in cheating? And a 10 year youth ethics decline? Note: ethics declines have real world consequences.


* * * * *

Scientists have concluded that exposure to violent TV does indeed lead to more aggressive thoughts, attitudes and actions (see Aggression & TV). So the fact that "by the time they are 11 years old, the average American child has seen on TV some 8,000 murders, and 100,000 lesser acts of violence and brutality" means that TV has created a more aggressive electorate. Could this also help explain the fact that the homicide rate nearly doubled from the mid 1960's to the late 1970's. In reaction to this huge crime increase, the public supported policies that have lead to a 335% increase in the incarceration rate. This has brought the crime back down to the early 1960s levels, but the United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. (For graphs see Aggression & TV)

Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences.

* * * * *

A more aggressive electorate, would also logically lead to increased popularity of more aggressive ideologies and policies.

"This study examines the relationship between young people's exposure to media violence and their aggressive political opinions (APO), which were defined as support for positions that involve forceful resolution to social or political issues."


* * * * *

TV Legitimizing Torture and disregarding civil rights: "Sadly, for decades the media model for a hero has been the rogue cop who lies, cheats, steals, bashes heads and generally trashes the rights and often the bodies of guilty and innocent alike, to catch some vile thug. From James Bond, to the Beverly Hills Cop, to the latest episode of "Law and Order," media cops have little use for such archaic concepts as "constitutional rights," "your home is your castle," or "innocent until proven guilty."

"...a sly male-revenge-fantasy film in more ways than one."

Dying and living in 'COPS' America


* * * * *

Regarding the 'mean-world' syndrome, a quote from Television and its Viewers: Cultivation Theory and Research (1999) page 49: "Gerbner and Gross reasoned that a heightened and widespread sense of fear, danger and apprehension can bolster demands for greater security; this in turn can mean greater legitimacy of the authority that can promise to meet those demands, creating conditions highly conductive to repression and undermining support for civil liberties. It can also mean greater acceptance of the use of violence as an appropriate means to solve disputes of international policy... or greater habituation to violence and passivity in the face of injustice."

* * * * *

This study shows a link between TV watching and consumerism. Could this help explain the public's national spending spree?

"The real concerns of yesterday's poor have become the imagined concerns of today's rich," said Dr Hamilton. "This 'deprivation syndrome' induces politicians to distort policy to reduce the burden of taxation and increase public payments to wealthy households."

"Frey found that heavy TV viewers were both more anxious and more greedy than were light viewers on the same incomes. They were also more scared about the outside world."

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With Americans spending over 4 hours in front of the TV every day, and with the fact that TV models aggression (both direct and indirect), and that TV encourages the contract effect, is it any wonder that Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago? Social isolation leads to stress. Could this help explain a stressed-out public?

Excessive Alpha brainwaves, engendered by TV, bring on a feeling of passivity. Also this study shows how TV encourages apathy. Democracy does not work with a passive and apathetic populace.

Uninformed Electorate

Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms in the First Amendment, but more than half can name at least two family members of "The Simpsons"

Our uninformed electorate - Bennett's research found that "most Americans were 'out to lunch' when it came to basic information about politics" in the most recent election year.

..young people are increasingly saying that they are learning about the campaign from comedy shows such as the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live. "But the poll finds that people who say they are learning things about politics on comedy shows don't know much about the current campaign."

How TV Teaches Stupidity

Dumbing-Down of America

As noted in Amusing Ourselves to Death, books brought about the "Age of Reason", TV on the other hand has brought about the "Age of Entertainment".

Attention-Deficit Citizenry. As Amusing Ourselves to Death points out debates, during the 1800's would last hours. The example he gave was a 7 hour debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas (and this was considered a short debate). Each speaker given at least one hour to speak at a time. Nowadays, debaters are allowed at most three minutes (so the audience doesn't get bored).

Generational Effects

As Robert Putnam pointed out, TV's effects differ from generation to generation. The "Greatest Generation" didn't watch any TV growing up, and was very civically engaged. The "Baby Boomer Generation" grew up with some TV (less civically engaged). And the "GenX Generation" which basically grew up on TV (apathetic and disengaged).

Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before (2006) Very readable sociology book. Jean Twenge argues that the children of the "Me Generation" have become the "Me Me Me Generation". Although based on solid research, she peppers the book with many quotes from TV and movies (as a reflection of today's culture).

Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News (2005) David Mindich finds that "In 1972, half of all college-age eligible voters participated in the presidential election; in 2000, only 32. The decline in voting in midterm elections is equally frightening: In 1974, 24 percent of eligible 18-to-24-year-olds voted; in 2002, that turnout was only 17 percent. Put another way, the 2002 figure means that for every young person who voted, five stayed home."

Youth turnout less than all other age groups - 2002 & 2004 (PDF)

..young people are increasingly saying that they are learning about the campaign from comedy shows such as the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live. "But the poll finds that people who say they are learning things about politics on comedy shows don't know much about the current campaign."


Propaganda / Political Marketing

Advertising, marketing and product placement techniques have become more and more refined and effective, and of course are being used to sell politics. As viewers tune out TV advertising more and more, marketers are turning to product placement. Notice how Al Gore was viewed much more favorably after the 2000 election when he went on Saturday Night Live, and his movie "Inconvenient Truth" came out. And of course there is Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California thanks to his media savvy.

Television and movies are not the only source of propaganda, but since Americans spend over 4 hours in front of the TV every day, it is the largest source. It is also the most effective source of propaganda, since TV puts the mind into a passive, receptive, alpha brain wave state.


Path to 9/11

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed

Fake News and other reasons not to watch TV news

Bush administration pays actors to pose as TV journalists

Propaganda - Wikipedia


How telegenic a candidate is, has become more important than his/her policies. During one of the first televised debates, John Kennedy was considered to have won because he looked better during the debate.

Pro-Torture Propaganda

24 Legitimizing Torture (Himmlers of Hollywood)

Softening Us Up for Torture, 24 Hours at a Time

24 as Pro Torture Propaganda - Media Matters

'24' hours of torture-loving

Is Fox's 24 an Advertisement for Torture?

24 & The Myth of the Ticking Time Bomb


Torture becoming entertainment:

Torture Movie

Torture: Just another plot device

The number of torture scenes on the networks last season grew at a rate almost double the previous two seasons.

Torture Isn't Entertainment except for fascists

Torture's Long Shadow

Cultivation Theory

TV has a huge effect on how people view society.
The result is a misinformed citizenry.

The cultivation theory asserts that heavy viewers' attitudes are cultivated primarily by what they watch on television. Gerbner views this television world as "not a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself" (McQuail 100). This created version of the world entices heavy viewers to make assumptions about violence, people, places, and other fictionalized events which do not hold true to real life events.

Atlantic Monthly article about George Gerbner

George Gerbner Website

More on Cultivation Theory 1

More on Cultivation Theory 2

Military use of cultivation theory


Examples Include:

The 'mean-world' syndrome 1

The 'mean-world' syndrome 2

TV Crime Reporting

CSI Effect 1

CSI Effect 2

CSI Effect 3 - scroll half way down

"Television may explain 10 percent of the belief in the paranormal."

"...found that seeing likable gay characters on shows like "Will Grace" had similar effects to knowing gays in real life. In one study, students with few or no gay acquaintances were shown 10 episodes of HBO's "Six Feet Under." Afterward, their levels of anti-gay prejudice dropped by 12 percent."

"Television viewers don’t develop their views about the president and national politics just by watching the news. New research suggests that crime dramas like NYPD Blue and Third Watch may have an influence on political attitudes as well."

Are movies, TV scaring off organ donors?

Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens’ Sexual Activity?

Ten troublesome trends in TV health news

Nursing & TV 1

Nursing & TV 2

Nursing & TV 3

Nursing & TV 4

Natural Environment

Pergams and another researcher set out to determine why visitation to national parks dropped 25 percent between 1987 and 2003.

Nature Conservancy President Steve McCormick said the study suggests Americans and their children in particular are losing their connection to the natural world.

Childhood pastimes are increasingly moving indoors - Free Range Kids versus Battery Cage kids

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2006)

TV Station Ownership

"We paid $3 billion for these television stations. We will decide what the news is. The news is what we tell you it is." - After Monsanto Purchase

The content of the Fox News Channel is a direct outgrowth from the views held by its owner: News Corp. and CEO Rupert Murdoch. Fox News Channel was launched in 1996 "as a specific alternative to what its founders perceived as a liberal bias in the American media"

Study shows Fox News viewers misinformed about war, Iraq, WMD

The Fox News Effect

Fox News - Effect on Voting

Media Consolidation by Ted Turner

The New Media Monopoly (Paperback)

Number of corporations that control the majority of U.S. media

"The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says."

"Mr. Berlusconi's investment company controls Italy's three biggest private television stations. And his appointees run the public ones. Opponents complained that an Italian voter could not escape blanket coverage favorable to Mr. Berlusconi."

An Interview discussing Mr. Berlusconi's effect on democracy in Italy

China: TV Dominates Information Sources

"In Russia the state has been tightening control over media ever since president Putin came to power. National television was by far the most important target, but rather than harassing journalists and editors, the Kremlin opted for controlling the owners - a method that has proved to be fairly effective in furthering the Kremlin needs."
via Trash Your TV Blog

"More than 80 percent of Russians get their news from national television networks -- all of which have come under Kremlin control in the past five years."

"President Hugo Chávez’s decision not to renew the broadcast license of RCTV, one of this country’s oldest television stations and a frequent critic of his government, has fueled a fierce debate over whether he is stifling dissent in Venezuela as he strengthens his control of the broadcasting industry."


Other ways that TV effects democracy


- An Excellent overview article:
The Nature of Television

- Because people are getting most of their political information from the TV, politicians are forced to spend huge amounts on TV advertising. The result is politicians more, and more beholden to special interests.

- America has become a celebrity obsessed society. What are effects of millions of people emulating narcissistic celebrities ?

- A depressed society: THE EVOLUTION OF DESPAIR

- Televisions (per capita) by country


Recommended Books

Bowling Alone (2000)

Amusing Ourselves to Death (1986)
About "Amusing Ourselves to Death"

The New Media Monopoly (2004)

Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before (2006)

Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News (2005)

Television and its Viewers: Cultivation Theory and Research (1999)

Brave New World (1942)

1984 (1950)

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)


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Friday, September 22, 2006 If it's good enough for our kids...
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-GOP)United States SenateDear Sen. Lieberman,I bet you're still all tingly after the fundraiser Mel Sembler held for you. After all, not only is Amb. Sembler one of Our Leader's greatest fundraisers, he's also the man who pioneered some of your favorite interrogation techniques--the so-called "strong methods;" things like humiliation, beatings, and shoving things up a suspect's ass. If it wasn't for Amb. Sembler's early experiments on children like "Donald," Richard Bradbury, and little Samantha Monroe, our nation might be decades behind in the race to perfect methods for causing pain approaching, but not equal to, that experienced during organ failure. Indeed, reading accounts made by his former wards is like listening to Abu Ghraib testimony.

"Donald:"
There were an immense number of times where I was forced to urinate and defecate on myself because they basically took my bathroom privilege away. I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom. And I witnessed a lot of other people in there ending up urinating and defecating on themselves because being in a restraint. They told you were too dangerous to get up and go to the bathroom, those who asked. If you asked to go to the bathroom, you were afraid because if you did ask, then you'd be afraid to end up getting your tooth through your lip and I had it done many times.
Bradbury:
You don't understand what they did to these kids. They put stuff up my butt.
Monroe:
...beatings, rape by a counselor, forced hunger, and the confinement to a janitor's closet in "humble pants" -- which contained weeks of her own urine, feces and menstrual blood..."It sticks inside you. It eats at your soul."
Now that your friend, Sen. McCain, has finally rolled over on Our Leader's torture bill, I expect that you'll be attending its signing at the White House, soon--at least, I hope that's the case given your support for torture in the past. You might consider inviting Ambassador Sembler along as well. It's only fitting that he be present at the moment his life's work becomes the law of the land.Heterosexually yours, Gen. JC Christian, patriotMore on Ambassador Sembler here, here, and especially here:
Only Ray Bradbury knows what documents he has found in the trash through the years, but the whole world knows that one day he found Mel Sembler's penis pump.[...]Bradbury says the pump belongs to him because the ambassador threw it away. The ambassador says it belongs to him and he wants it back.
Update: Lindsey's (Majikthise) father investigated Straight Inc. She writes about it here and here.
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot 3:41 AM Report to the General (44)
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Mary's last name was Knudson


The Prince of Peace's Terrible Swift Sword


Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Middle Ground
There's a lot of talk, recently, about bipartisanship and "finding the middle ground." I often wonder what that means exactly. When I see a Joe Lieberman or a John McCain speak about bipartisanship, they usually mean that Democrats should get in line and support one of Our Leader's policies.After the last election, franco-filmmaker Michael Shea decided to travel into the Heartland to see if he could find a middle ground between his liberal views and those held by patriotic Christianists. He approached the task earnestly, knowing, as only liberals can know, that if people just sat down and discussed their differences reasonably with each other, they'd find that they shared a lot of the same basic values. Indeed, he was certain that the commonalities would outweigh the differences. He was wrong, and the film he made during his journey, Red State, documents how he finally came to the realization that there is no middle ground between the faith-based and reality-based communities.This is a dangerous film. It exposes our private views--the ones we seldom share with the unchurched--for all the world to see. It could prove to be a very powerful mobilization tool for leftists and secularists who are clever enough to share it with their friends or show it at regularly scheduled events like Drinking Liberally or conversation salons.Imagine if you will, how the French would react to the following exchange between Shea and Gladys Gill, the State Director of the Mississippi chapter of Concerned Women For America:


Mrs. Gill: I think we lost more than we gained with civil rights. I hope to see them repealed. [...]Mrs. Gill: Well I don't know where you folks were when we were trying to hang on to state's rightsShea: I was two I think.Mrs. Gill: Yeah, right Shea: In fact I was born in the year the Civil Rights Act was passed.Mrs. Gill: Yeah. Right. So you don't remember what life was like when we had liberty to do what we needed to do in our own lives.
You won't find that kind of honesty on the CWA website, because the public isn't quite ready for it. We're getting there with the help of traditionalists like George Allen and Conrad Burns, but we still have a way to go before we air these kinds of views in prime-time. The same is true of the comments Boise Republican activist Dennis Mansfield, made in the film:
Those of us who are conservatives and call Christ the king of our lives realize that we really serve a kingdom and not a democracy. In a sense we're citizens in two cultures at the same time. We are Americans, but we really realize that the longer, bigger picture, sort of the eternal picture, is that we're also citizens of a king, and his name is Christ; his name is Jesus. [...]Christ is love, but he's also the god, Jehovah, that had tons of people taken out because of their complete idolatry.
Here again, it's not time to us to fully spring Republican Jesus on the public, at least not until Our Leader makes a few more of his "crusade" speeches.So while I urge you to buy a copy of Red State to help you better understand our values, I hope you'll guard it carefully. We can't allow it to get into the hands of our domestic enemies. We haven't finished marketing the Christianist States of America. It's better to keep these kinds of views to ourselves until we're ready.
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot 12:08 AM Report to the General (60)
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Monday, September 18, 2006 Joe's divine right to park where he pleases



Retail Politics
John N. NordstromDirector, Nordstrom Inc.1617 Sixth AveSeattle, WA 98101Phone: 206-628-2111Fax: 206-628-1795Dear John,Given the terrific success of Nordstrom’s stock over the last five years, I can certainly understand your decision to donate money to Washington State Initiative 920 (I-920) campaign that would repeal the State Estate Death Tax. In fact, I noticed in the most recent Public Disclosure Commission report that you have contributed a total of $75,000 to the I-920 campaign.Please don’t concern yourself, John, that Nordstrom’s customers will perceive you as a skin-flint tax dodger, or as anti-education just because I-920 will gut State revenue for education. I really believe that once your customer base understands the fine, Christian patriots that have put this campaign together, they will see that you are part of a bigger, more glorious movement.I am referring, of course, to the fact that the sponsor, campaign manager and chairman for I-920, Mr. Dennis Falk is head of the Washington State John Birch society and part of the Christian Patriot movement, as well.Since your generous contributions are now part of Mr. Falk’s salary, I think you deserve part of the credit for the resurgence of constitutionalist, survivalist, and militia organizations in Washington State. Indeed, your customers may well view you as an ambassador in the causes of the John Birch society, the Posse Comitatus , the Christian Patriots, and the larger Christian Identity movements .If I-920 passes, I think you should celebrate by marketing a commemorative line of Christian Identity merchandise in Nordstrom stores all over the country. I’m thinking things like camouflage bibles, “Soldier Jesus” bobble head dolls, and survivalist flasks with tiny metal communion cups. I think they would be a big hit with your new customer base.Your verily,Darrylhominidviews.comUpdate: Emails were bouncing, so I've put the contact information for the corporate headquarters in the header.
posted by Darryl 2:04 AM Report to the General (18)
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Sunday, September 17, 2006 Of Boobs and Bulges
Dr. OfglennInstawifeDear Dr. Ofglenn,Although I am as shocked as anyone that a woman would dare appear with a former President without first binding her breasts with an ace bandage, I think you and Ofwaterpic are missing the most important aspect of this story. Indeed, yea "heh" and "indeed," I'm amazed that it was the boobs in the photo that caught your attention rather than greater, more obvious danger displayed on either side of those iniquitous breasts.Of course, I'm referring to the crotchal bulges thrust mockingly at us by the men at each end of the Francoblogger flock. Make no mistake about it, these are not mere random packages, they are deliberate bulges, displayed to taunt and humiliate good, patriotic men like your husband and myself. And, by God, they served their purpose. The bulges haunted my dreams last night. They hunted me down in the misty recesses of my unconscious, and upon cornering me, pointed their gigantic four-inch appendages of evil at me screaming in the language of our enemy, "J' ACCUSSE, GENERAL, J' ACCUSE!"I imagine Glenn suffered similarly. I hope you now understand why he woke up in a cold sweat, shaking, crying, and demanding that you acknowledge the fact that a man's size is too often exaggerated in our culture. And I hope you answered his pleadings with kindness and understanding, because the worst is yet to come.I know, because I've been here before. The mojo of the francobulge is very powerful. Now that it has conquered our dreams, it will invade our waking thoughts, beating down our will by playing it's image on an unending loop inside our heads, until we give in and one day awaken naked on the floor of one of those bars where everyone dresses like a biker but no one owns a bike. That's when the truly hellish part begins--the self-recrimination, the doubts about orientation, and the repeated trips to Seattle or Knoxville seeking redemption from the man who spanks people with a spatula for money.So perhaps you should forget about the breasts and concentrate on Glenn. He needs you now more than ever.Heterosexually yours (in a way of which my wife, Ofjoshua, would approve).Gen. JC Christian, patriot
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot 3:24 AM Report to the General (50)
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Sunday, January 21, 2007 Binge & Purge Presidency
Image © Austin ClineOriginal Poster: National ArchivesClick for full-sized Image
Critics often describe the Bush administration's conception of presidential power as involving an "Imperial Presidency," but I wonder if it might be more accurate to refer to it as the Binge & Purge Presidency. Wikipedia lists the DSM-IV-TR criteria for bulimia nervosa as consisting of binge episodes involving a "sense of lack of control," followed by "recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior" to prevent the obvious consequences from binge eating. It also says that "[b]ulimia is often less about food, and more to do with deep psychological issues and profound feelings of lack of control."Bulimia is a serious medical condition and not something that should be taken lightly; nevertheless, I think that there are more than a few coincidental parallels between binge and purge behavior when it comes to eating and some of the "binge and purge" behavior we see on the part of the Bush presidency. Since bulimia is considered fundamentally a psychological disorder and is similar to mental illnesses like obsessive-compulsive disorder, we shouldn't be surprised to find similar patterns of behavior outside the usual context of eating and food.Recently we witnessed the administration launch a new "binge" by sending more troops into harm's way in Iraq. Now, the administration is involved in a "purge," which is the elimination of independent U.S. prosecutors who might investigate and turn up wrongdoing by some Republicans, including those in the administration. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales promises that no prosecutors were forced out for the sake of politics, but how can he be believed? He wouldn't even tell the Senate how many have left and his boss won't let the Senate (in most cases) confirm the replacements.This doesn't mean that Gonzales is lying, though — remember that he is capable of interpreting the Constitutional ban on suspending habeas corpus ("Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.") as not preventing the president from denying habeas corpus to anyone he pleases. It doesn't say "right," therefore the Constitution doesn't say that every person in the U.S., or even U.S. citizen "is assured the right of habeas corpus." If he sincerely believes that the president can deny habeas corpus to anyone at will without violating the ban on suspending habeas corpus, then he can believe anything.Psychological disorders are usually associated with a person experiencing severe distortions of reality. People suffering from bulimia and anorexia typically can't see themselves for what they really are — they perceive themselves as fat even if they are severely malnourished, let alone if they simply look normal. In the Bush administration, we shouldn't doubt that many are capable of looking at themselves and perceiving themselves as defending civil liberties even as they dismantle and undermine our rights, as expanding democracy in the Middle East even as they pave the way for new theocratic regimes, and as protecting Americans against terrorism even as they enhance the recruitment efforts of extremist groups.How many different situations can you identify where the Bush administration has launched on some sort of binge, but then shortly thereafter engaged in some sort of "inappropriate compensatory behavior" like a purge in order to either distract attention from or avoid the consequences of that binge?
posted by Austin Cline 8:00 AM Report to the General (19)
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Saturday, January 20, 2007 Department of Book Reports
Afghanistan-A Book Review of The Places In BetweenAfghanistan has always seemed a remote and mysterious place to me. I knew a little, a very little, of its history, a history that has been wrapped up with many other places and cultures, including the Greeks (Alexander stopped in while on his way to India), the Persians, the Mughuls, the British, the Russians and now ourselves. I knew that in the initial Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, Holmes was able to deduce that Watson had recently served there during the Second Afghan War. I grew up in a predominantly Jewish suburb in Los Angeles (ok, it was Encino, have your chuckle and get over it). So while in the sixth grade when an Afghani family moved there and the fraternal twins, Khan and Shari became my classmates, they seemed exotic and I was curious... I'd ask them questions about their homeland and about Islam, but they were secular Muslims, and really didn't know much about their religion and I doubt that they attended mosque. They seemed to be more interested in being adolescents, which seemed to be the right thing to be interested in. I knew it was a region that always resisted its conquerors, that the Russian attempts at subjugating the area ultimately played a large role in the fall of the Soviet Union. And I knew it was the country the U.S. invaded, driving out the Taliban, in our "search" for Bin Laden, the country where Pat Tillman, the man the Bush administration wanted to turn into a poster boy for its agenda, but inconveniently was thwarted in doing so.Fortunately, the many holes in my ignorance of Afghanistan, the Mid-East, and its cultures and peoples have been very ably filled by Rory Stewart in The Places In Between (Harvest Books $14.00) paperback. (The slide show at the site is fascinating).Stewart is an inveterate walker. Previous to his Afghan adventure, he had spent sixteen months walking across Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal.With the fall of the Taliban, he thought he could complete his Asian sojourn by walking from Herat, on the Afghan western border near Iran, to Kabul, close to the Afghan border with Pakistan. In January of 2002, after cajoling Afghan officials, dealing with its security forces, and being told that such a walking tour was too dangerous, that he would be killed along the way if he left, Stewart did depart, becoming the new government's "first tourist". And it was dangerous. The Taliban though routed from Kabul, still controlled many areas, towns and roads. Winter was arriving and the mountainous roads could get very cold... On his way Stewart encountered tribal chieftains, Taliban, Sunnis, Sh'ia. All had stories about the Russians, the Taliban and, now, the Americans. (Although Scots, himself, he was often mistaken for being from America.)He was also adopted by a mastiff that Stewart named Babur, the first Mughal emperor of the early 16th century. Babur himself is an interesting minor character. This man had written his memoir and had followed the same route that Stewart himself planned to travel. Stewart wisely gives us excerpts from Babur's travelogue along the same path and the observations are still insightful.Stewart's own writing is graceful and clear. Though he is not sure why he is undertaking this journey, he probably express his mission best when he tells the newly installed leader in Herat, "...I am hoping to show my people what a wonderful place Afghanistan is." With an emphasis on the wonder, he succeeds.
The General here. I've asked SeattleDan and SeattleTammy to do book reports on Saturdays so that you can witness for yourself just how cunningly seditious mystery and non-fiction writerslamunistofascists can be.I've also urged them to remind readers that they can buy these books by ordering them from SeattleDan and SeattleTammy at Jackson Street Books in the hope that they'll become rich enough to afford to become Republicans.Of course, if you'd rather support a giant mega-corporation rather than a small independent book store owned by a couple of francohippies, you can order it through this Amazon link. I love Amazon, mostly because they give me a kickback when you purchase through that link, but also because I look forward to the day when they and Wal-Mart control all the book sales in our great nation. We'll all be on the same page then, by God.
posted by SeattleDan 4:57 PM Report to the General (21)
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Dinesh D'Souza caused 9/11
Dinesh D'SouzaHead Scribe, The House Of ScaifeDear Mr. D'Souza,I've been a big fan of your work since the eighties, back when you seized the English language for conservatism and made it safe to hurl racial slurs on campus once again. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to read your latest book, The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11. It was encouraging to see someone finally blame sexually permissive liberals for the acts of terror we experienced on that terrible day.Sadly, my respect for you was shattered today when I learned that you are a hypocrite. You betrayed yourself when you allowed a reporter to see your carpet. Its leopard print design is the same as that favored by the most morally suspect Hollywood celebrities, stars like Liz Taylor, Rip Taylor, and Twiggy. Obviously, your carpet preference serves as proof that you suffer from some twisted need to engage in all manner of unspeakable acts of perversion--acts so vile, a very disgusted Jesus commanded Saddam bin Laden to take out the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.Someday, you'll pay for your perversity. I just hope God isn't politically correct, because I want to hurl slurs down to you as you toil in Hell.Heterosexually yours,Gen. JC Christian, patriot
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot 2:14 AM Report to the General (39)
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Thursday, January 18, 2007 Del. Hargrove discovers another use for his whacking stick
Frank HargroveVirginia House of DelegatesDear Delegate Hargrove,I salute you, sir. It takes a lot of courage to stand up on Martin Luther King Day and tell the brown people of your state that they just need to get over that whole slavery thing. That's especially true in these times when the white Christian male suffers from so much persecution.That act alone is enough to earn you a spot in your local heritage appreciation society's Great Hall of Kleagles. But you didn't stop there; you went on to indict the Jews for murdering Jesus. It was a shrewd move on your part. By doing so, you angered one of the Jewish delegates, causing him to accidentally betray their greatest weakness, a weakness you then immediately announced to the world: Jews have thin skin.Now that you know their weakness, you can use it against them. All you need to do is take your brown people whacker--the stick you use to beat uppity brown people when they try to drink from your water fountains or complain about the deer heads you stuff in their mail boxes--and turn it into a Jew poker, just like the ones your ancestors used in the old country. Heterosexually yours,Gen. JC Christian, patriotA helmet tip to commenter ThomasAllen.
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot 12:06 AM Report to the General (50)
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007 The wussification of America
I think most of you know that I monitor Radio France to gather evidence of their sedition to use on The Great Day of the Rope. Well today, Sam Seder read the following story about Our Republican Lord and Savior and then spent the rest of his show mocking good, manly Christians like myself.
The strobe lights pulse and the air vibrates to a killer rock beat. Giant screens show mayhem and gross-out pranks: a car wreck, a sucker punch, a flabby (and naked) rear end, sealed with duct tape.Brad Stine runs onstage in ripped blue jeans, his shirt untucked, his long hair shaggy. He's a stand-up comic by trade, but he's here today as an evangelist, on a mission to build up a new Christian man -- one profanity at a time. "It's the wuss-ification of America that's getting us!" screeches Stine, 46.A moment later he adds a fervent: "Thank you, Lord, for our testosterone!"It's an apt anthem for a contrarian movement gaining momentum on the fringes of Christianity. In daybreak fraternity meetings and weekend paintball wars, in wilderness retreats and X-rated chats about lust, thousands of Christian men are reaching for more forceful, more rugged expressions of their faith.Stine's daylong revival meeting, which he calls "GodMen," is cruder than most. But it's built around the same theory as the other experimental forums: Traditional church worship is emasculating.Hold hands with strangers? Sing love songs to Jesus? No wonder pews across America hold far more women than men, Stine says. Factor in the pressure to be a "Christian nice guy" -- no cussing, no confrontation, in tune with the wife's emotions -- and it's amazing men keep the faith at all."We know men are uncomfortable in church," says the Rev. Kraig Wall, 52, who pastors a small church in Franklin, Tenn. -- and is at GodMen to research ways to reach the husbands of his congregation. His conclusion: "The syrup and the sticky stuff is holding us down." John Eldredge, a seminal writer for the movement, goes further in "Wild At Heart," his bestselling book. "Christianity, as it currently exists, has done some terrible things to men," he writes. Men "believe that God put them on earth to be a good boy."Says Christian radio host Paul Coughlin, author of "No More Christian Nice Guy": "The idea of Jesus as meek and mild is as fictitious as anything in Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code.'"

At one point a patriot called in and took Seder to task for defending pink-tied girlymenislamunistofascists. Seder responded by asking if the man ever felt like he was becoming a little feminized, and, well, you have to hear the call for yourself. Here it is with a few photos and video clips added for your enjoyment:http://www.airamericaradio.com/, with Sam Seder, 1.16.7