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06/30/04 :: By William Hare The Latest From The Arnold WatchCategories :: Schwarzenegger, Arnold
Great things are emanating from The Terminator’s Bedouin-style smoking tent, from which he fearlessly governs a few feet from Sacramento’s State Capitol. You were informed at this site just recently about the intrepid promoter of family values’ latest ploy to save money. He proposes cutting the six-day waiting period for dogs and cats at state-operated animal shelters before destroying them.
06/29/04 :: By Tom Ball Avoiding a Public Relations Fiasco Creates a Public Relations FiascoCategories :: Iraq
Reminiscent of a back-alley drug deal, the Bush administration tossed the new Iraqi government the goods as they dashed out of sight -- two days ahead of schedule and in the virtual dark of (the American) night.
06/28/04 :: By Tom Ball Solicitor General Ted Olsen Announces Resignation: Here's the 'Real' TedCategories :: Bush Administration
When I initially created the reference "Mass Exodus: 85 (Now 86) High Level Resignations and Dismissals Plague the Bush Administration's First Term", I tossed in a line noting that a high profile Bush Administration member resigns approximately every 2 weeks. I had no idea that Solicitor General Ted Olsen would be the next to keep the streak running.
06/27/04 :: By William Hare Fahrenheit 9-11 is a Documentary MasterpieceCategories :: Media
I recently did a review on Bill Clinton’s memoirs on Amazon.com and soon discovered that among fellow readers 1) I was among the few that read the book at all, and 2) I was among the very few that commented on anything appearing on the printed page. One individual submitted a “review” in which he merely stated “Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar!”
06/27/04 :: By William Hare The Right is On the Run; Turn Up The Heat and Keep Them ThereCategories :: Tactics
The signs are clearly present. The right is terrified and is very much on the run. Analysts of right wing behavior can discern a clear pattern from recent events.
06/26/04 :: By William Hare New York Times: Stop Fawning Over Schwarzenegger and Start Analyzing His Policies!Categories :: Propaganda/Spin
Bill O’Reilly recently lamented that the New York Times has vacated its former position of being America’s great newspaper of fact and has become instead a liberal mouthpiece. Yes, Bill, we remember how the New York Times was in the forefront of turning Al Gore into, in the media’s jaundiced eyes, a “serial exaggerator” when he allegedly boasted of having invented the Internet and having been the true life example used by Erich Segal portrayed by Ryan O’Neal in Love Story. In the first instance there was egregious misquoting. Those of us who took the trouble to read the full quote in question know that Gore stated that he had voted in the Senate to provide the Internet’s original federal funding. Gore made no claim about being Erich Segal’s true-life lead character in Love Story. That erroneous claim resulted from a story in Gore’s hometown Nashville newspaper which he did not inspire and over which he had no control.
06/25/04 :: By Tom Ball Initial Returns for "Fahrenheit 9/11"Categories :: Media
As I argued in, "Tactic: See “Fahrenheit 9/11” on Opening Weekend", opening weekend revenues determine the life or death of any film. A strong showing will produce tons of media attention and possibly stimulate hundreds of new theaters to jump on the bandwagon. Help spread the word. See "Fahrenheit 9/11" this weekend!
06/25/04 :: By Tom Ball Mississippi Burning: Help Bring "Fahrenheit 9/11" To this Right-Wing StrongholdCategories :: Tactics
Listen up everybody. Let's try to bring "Fahrenheit 9/11" to Mississippi and allow these fine people to be enlightened by the reality of the administration that they support so strongly. This is how we will do it...
06/24/04 :: By Tactic: Know the Criticisms of "Fahrenheit 9/11"Categories :: Propaganda/Spin :: Tactics
Progressives at every level must be prepared to defend Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". This involves not only exposing the lies and misstatements intended to undermine Moore's credibility, but also keeping the focus on the big picture.
06/24/04 :: By William Hare How do you Energize the Political Process? How About Bill Clinton for Vice President?Categories :: Tactics
A recent national poll reveals that Bill Clinton’s presidency is viewed favorably by 62 percent of Americans. Couple this with the fact that Clinton had a higher support figure upon leaving office than even Ronald Reagan. Also, see how the entire political process has been energized by his reemergence this week to promote his memoirs. An intriguing prospect arises. Should the two-term ex-president, whose national stewardship was viewed by better than sixty percent of his countrymen as successful, be John Kerry’s choice for vice president on the Democratic ticket this year?
06/23/04 :: By Tom Ball Administration Lied About Successes in the War on TerrorCategories :: Bush Administration :: Lies :: Terrorism
On April 28, 2004, the State Department announced that newly available figures on global terrorism had declined dramatically. Senior administration officials touted the findings as evidence of Bush's success in countering terrorism. Problem is, the figures were completely wrong.
06/22/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: See “Fahrenheit 9/11” on Opening WeekendCategories :: Bush Administration :: History :: Tactics
Michael Moore’s newest bush-throttling, truth-bearing documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11” is inundated with such “old news” revelations. Revelations of which the American public should be boldly aware before entering the polling stations in November.
06/22/04 :: By William Hare Right Wing Republican Flag BurningCategories :: Tactics
The Republican right has freely exercised the vicious propaganda ploy of seeking to co-opt the American flag while seeking to define liberal opponents as anything from indifferent to the nation’s basic values to outright treason, as evidenced by speeches of Senator Joseph McCarthy and books by Ann Coulter. While the Republican right has denounced as despicable the act of flag burning, a close analysis reveals that this pompously self-righteous group has engaged in perennial flag burning, not of the overt kind, but symbolically.
06/21/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: Implement Radical Policy in Baby StepsCategories :: Iraq :: Propaganda/Spin :: Tactics :: Women's Rights
Technique: Focus on Major issues piecemeal. Do not address them as a controversial whole. Instead, focus on the least objectionable parts. Once these have been accepted, then it is much easier to lead logically from the accepted piece to the more controversial whole.
06/19/04 :: By William Hare Clinton's Attack Dogs and "Casting the First Stone"!Categories :: Hypocrisy
Bill Clinton is back in the news with the publication of his long awaited autobiography. The warped mentality of the so-called “Moral Majority” was never more evident than when the attack dogs of the far right, bolstered by economic might supplied by reactionary billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, nipped at the heels of the popular president and sought to impeach him.
06/18/04 :: By Delton Murphy Righting The Right's Wrongs: Torture and the Do-GoodersCategories :: Bush Administration :: Iraq :: Military
As TortureGate continues to unfold, each day brings forth startling new discoveries as well as a fresh batch of illogical lies and media manipulation.
06/17/04 :: By William Hare "It's the Blood, not the Dress Stain, Stupid!"Categories :: Propaganda/Spin
In Bill Clinton’s 1992 winning presidential campaign adviser James Carville achieved enduring recognition with the famous strategy saying he tacked up on the wall of the Little Rock war room, “It’s the economy, Stupid!” The succinct message was that the overriding issue gripping the attention of Americans in the election was the economy. Now a new message should be appropriately delivered to the partisan Republican ranks, “It’s the Blood, not the Dress Stain, Stupid!”
06/17/04 :: By Tom Ball Liars: Cheney Lies On Monday. 911 Commission Outs Him on TuesdayCategories :: Lies
The 9/11 Commission issued a statement today crushing the Administration's assertion (stated just yesterday by Dick Cheney), that Iraq had ties to al Qaeda.
06/17/04 :: By Tom Ball "America - Love it or leave it!": New Slogan of the Free Speech MovementCategories :: Philosophy :: Tactics
I think "America- Love it or leave it" should become the slogan of the free speech movement. As the freedom to speak one's views is surely one of the most cherished of our individual liberties, is it not clearly those who would attempt to silence the voice of others who are out of place here?
06/16/04 :: By William Hare Russo's Double Play TryCategories :: Propaganda/Spin
Russo and his Republican allies are using the same tactic employed by Karl Rove and George W. Bush. You avoid honest debate and instead fall back on a huge cash reserve to attack. They are unaccustomed to nothing but rigged games played with a stacked deck. The time to stop them is now!
06/16/04 :: By Tom Ball Action Alert: Campaign to Support Michael Moore and "Fahrenheit 9/11"Categories :: Activism :: Media
Farenheit 9/11 opens on June 25th...but the number of theaters that will show it is still up in the air.
A movement is afoot to minimize the number of theaters that ultimately show this film, the Palme d'Or winner at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The organizers of this partisan movement are attempting to undermine the credibility and marketability of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11".
06/15/04 :: By William Hare Steve Forbes on ReaganomicsCategories :: Philosophy
Last week in the midst of the post-mortem discussions about Ronald Reagan and his political legacy Steve Forbes appeared on CNN with Wolf Blitzer. The former presidential candidate and staunch advocate of the regressive flat tax discussed Reaganomics with the usual dodgy rhetorical dance steps of its apologists.
06/14/04 :: By William Hare The Arnold Media Two Step: Softball Mr. Muscles, Downplay His OppositionCategories :: Campaigns
My last column on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first successful run for office focused on the media’s oversimplified pseudo-analysis with the result of a dumbing down of American democracy. The lowest common denominator is frequently explored, touting celebrity and ignoring or oversimplifying the basic issues that should determine election results.
06/13/04 :: By William Hare Wise Words from Ronald Reagan Jr.Categories :: History
Ronald Reagan Jr. struck a poignant note in his eulogy to his deceased father. It is a comment that should be embraced regardless of religion or politics, and is highly applicable to today’s America.
06/12/04 :: By Tom Ball Death is Death: Terrorism vs. Military StrikesCategories :: Anti-War :: Philosophy :: Propaganda/Spin
Which is worse, death by terrorism or death by military strikes? Is there a difference? And if there is, does that difference matter? Do you think the families of the victims of either methodology feel any less pain and suffering because of the capabilities of the killer?
06/11/04 :: By William Hare Jefferson to Schwarzenegger and the Dumbing Down of AmericaCategories :: Elections
When President John F. Kennedy hosted a dinner for Nobel Prize winners he remarked that never before had so much cumulative brain power been assembled at the White House “except for those occasions when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” The witty comment was apt. Jefferson helped found the Democratic Party, wrote his country’s Declaration of Independence, served as America’s third president, as well as founding the University of Virginia. He was also an architect, designing the domed Virginia state capital as well as that of Virginia University, along with his home in Monticello. He was also a lawyer, a legal scholar, a philosopher, a diplomat, and inventor. Jefferson is also noted for saying that if it came to a choice of having a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government he would infinitely prefer the latter over the former.”
06/10/04 :: By Tom Ball Hannity and Colmes Downplay Their Opponent's RhetoricCategories :: Tactics
The other day, I wrote a piece titled Tactic: Downplay the Opponents Rhetoric that essentially showed how the legitimacy of your opponent’s argument can be undermined by simply ignoring the substance of his argument while providing a vitriolic or dismissive attack on your opponent’s words (or underlying agenda or other peripheral, easily attacked attributes) rather than acknowledging the facts and logic of your opponent’s argument. Luckily, Fox News Celebs, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes were gracious enough to provide us with a vivid and timely example of this tactic at its best.
06/09/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: Choose as Your Spokesperson, a Representative From Your Weakest DemographicCategories :: Tactics
Make a point to notice that the proportion of women and minorities on TV talk shows representing Republicans is far out of proportion with the percent of the Republican constituency accounted for by them. Seeing such diversity on talk shows and editorial pages confuses the public and clouds the lines between the conservative and progressive ideologies.
06/08/04 :: By William Hare We Are Still Paying for the Reagan LegacyCategories :: History
Before anyone gets drugged under the ether of coverage concerning the greatness of the Reagan Legacy, take a step back and initiate a reality check. Reagan was an actor who played his greatest role as president and much of what emerged from his two terms in office, and is being repeated to date, is predicated on the building base of fantasy that enhanced his popularity.
06/07/04 :: By William Hare Cheney Questioned in CIA Leak ProbeCategories :: Bush Administration
We have an interesting update to the “Is Another Watergate Beckoning?” story. Today’s USA Today reports via Associated Press the questioning of Vice President Dick Cheney in the continuing investigation by the Office of Special Counsel into the leaking of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame by columnist Robert Novak.
06/07/04 :: By William Hare Is Another Watergate Beckoning?Categories :: Bush Administration
The widely discussed decision of George W. Bush last week to hire private counsel James E. Sharp prompts one to wonder if another Watergate is beckoning, and much sooner than later. As John Dean mentioned in his column at FindLaw.com, the idea of Bush taking this step as a purely precautionary measure is highly unlikely. It appears far more plausible that the old maxim of “where there’s smoke there’s fire” instead applies.
06/06/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: Be AggressiveCategories :: Tactics
Being aggressive helps push the debate to an issue most favorable to you. It puts your opponent on the defensive and gives the impression that you are tough, that you will not be someone's doormat.
06/05/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: Be BoldCategories :: Tactics
Most people are not bold. For when bold acts are executed, there are consequences. Often negative. In reality, we may think of bold things but rarely bring them to fruition. Why is that? Generally, people want to avoid tension or conflict and be liked by everyone. People are concerned with what others will think of them. Often, the mere anticipation of criticism is enough to thwart any attempts at boldness.
06/04/04 :: By William Hare Ladies, They Invaded Iraq for You!Categories :: Hypocrisy
Were it not for the gravity of the situation, I would find the current Republican talking head television scene funnier than Saturday Night Live at its most rollicking. Last night’s appearance by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Chris Matthews’s Hardball provides a recent case in point.
06/04/04 :: By Delton Murphy Voting Wrongs: How Touch Screen Voting is a Catastrophe in the MakingCategories :: Election 2004 :: Elections :: Government :: Republicans :: Tactics
If the Canadians can use paper ballots in their presidential election and count their votes in four hours, why are we having such a difficult time counting and deciding how to count our votes in the United States? When did this become so hard for us to do?
06/04/04 :: By William Hare The World Needs International Order, Not a Religious CrusadeCategories :: Anti-War
When General William Boykin spoke out recently and described the war on terror as a religious crusade, my surprise was that there was any surprise. General Boykin was not out of step; he was clearly in step with Bush administration policy. George W. Bush, after all, has stated his belief that God tapped him to be commander in chief. Fast buck televangelist Pat Robertson has recently furnished his vigorous assent, stating that Bush will prevail in the November election in a landslide because God has ordained it. Bush also believes that one cannot reach heaven without accepting Jesus Christ.
06/03/04 :: By William Hare Is Tenet Bush's Designated John Dean?Categories :: Bush Administration
As Richard Nixon began sustaining the first injurious fallout from the Watergate Scandal, the repercussions of which would ultimately topple him from power, his strategy was to present White House Counsel John Dean as designated administration sacrificial lamb. In his address to the nation announcing resignations in the wake of developing disclosures, Nixon praised close subordinates H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman as dedicated public servants. In his counsel’s case, he stated tersely, “John Dean also resigned.” The statement was as subtle as the proverbial sledgehammer, and was meant to be as harsh as its delivery denoted.
06/03/04 :: By Tom Ball Tactic: Downplay the Opponents RhetoricCategories :: Tactics
Technique: Dismiss, berate, minimize or otherwise talk down any nonsupportive evidence or opinions thrown your way. Claim that the news or accusation is silly, irrelevant and/or unimportant. Whatever it is, it's silly. Stress that this is merely a distraction technique intended to take the focus off the true issue. At this point you state what you want the "true" issue to be. Of course this will be an issue that is to your advantage.
06/02/04 :: By William Hare Bush's Dangerous Rush to TheocracyCategories :: Bush Administration
A staggering nexus would be created if neoconservative jingoism is harnessed to Christian fundamentalist dogma. Religious myth would accordingly be linked to the most sophisticated as well as destructive modern technology. This is the most frightening element of the Bush rush to theocracy.
06/01/04 :: By Tom Ball GOP Flaunts Positive Effects of Global WarmingCategories :: Global Warming :: Satire
In a stunning turnaround, Republican officials yesterday took time from their busy Memorial Day schedules to not only admit that global warming is a part of reality but also to tout its benefits to the world.
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