Merely Wires and Lights in a Box. And, We Have Gotten Used to It

And, We Have Gotten Used to It: "I am reminded of the finest speech I ever heard on the subject of television journalism. It was given by Ed Murrow in 1958.

Murrow said, "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But, it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends ... otherwise, it is merely wires and lights in a box.""


   Dan Rather on ethics and journalism, the importance of journalism, and the shams that have been rammed down our throats for over a decade.
Click the link, read the whole thing. It is important. Not just to the World, the U.S. or to you, but to your kids. It is part of the legacy we pass on.
   I don't claim to be a journalist, or even a pundit, just a concerned, responsible citizen (and total prick) who wants to see evil punished, good rewarded, and stupid exposed....(and thinks he knows everything)
  I am posting this because there is no one out there who can say they know better than a guy like Dan Rather. No one. Not you, not me, nobody.
   If you are under the age of 40 then you have little or no concept of what network journalism is-and the bad-guys like it that way. It used to be that a major network anchor or reporter was a revered figure in society-and I mean revered. They were part of the face our nation showed to the World-with pride-constantly proving that despite missteps, political scandal, corruption, and wrongdoing, that, as a nation, we had our collective heads on straight. We proved this every night at 6:30pm when we sat down to watch the news because we had heroic figures that that risked their lives, reputations, and careers just to give us a good look at the World.A good look not only at the larger world, but at ourselves, our country, and the actions our elected officials took in our name.
Watching the nightly news used to be a form of national service.
   I know that normally I can be pretty vicious about many matters, but this...this is something that requires positive reinforcement and an education in pride: It is not shameful to err. Electing the wrong people, working for the wrong company, doing the wrong thing once or twice doesn't make you, your nation, or your fellow citizens bad. Blindly and ignorantly turning away from the truth because you are too much of a pussy to face facts is what makes you a bad person. Not doing the right thing because it isn't the right thing for you makes you a bad person.
   Never forget that just because you don't think that one president or leader isn't a bad person doesn't mean they won't inadvertently set the stage for the next evil tyrant. Even more than threat of violence against one's government, the threat of exposing and not tolerating bad acts is the thing those that would seek to destroy or enslave us fear.
  If you forget that, or choose not to believe it you are part of the problem-just like anyone who was 'just following orders'. You are no different.
I make no claim whatsoever to be a scholar of any sort. One of my friends posted this on Facebook 2 days ago-and though he and I have wildly different views on certain aspects of politics, he is a truly excellent person and extraordinarily sharp, educated, and well, read.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” Søren Kierkegaard

'via Blog this'

Time Magazine and Their Disgusting Osama Bin-Laden Cover....

   Now that much of the excitement, flush of relief, and initial controversy (including the mandatory conspiracy theories) surrounding the death of Osama Bin-Laden has died down, I would like to make some observations. 

   Yes, opinions are like assholes-and I can be an asshole, but I have some things to say about the matter and some related matters that I have yet to hear anybody speak about. 

   I am not saying I am the only person to bring this up. I am certain (-and hopeful) that in the analysis of this enormous event other people have mentioned the things I am going to mention. My concern is that I haven't heard  these things said yet and I think they are things that should be a more important part of the conversation. 

   To point up just why I think I have solid ground (or soap box) to stand on, let me give you my background on the subject of the killing of Bin-Laden....

   I was born a news junkie, into a family of highly educated news junkies. I was brought up to love my country to death even after excoriating her for her flaws-flaws which usually are the result of bad human behavior from my own fellow Americans. In another life I would have been an intel analyst, one of the minor support character-types in a Tom Clancy novel-and because I would have loved it so much, I would have fucking excelled at it. I read fast, I learn fast, and I can keep a ton of raw info bouncing around my brain and call it up on little notice.

    On the morning of 9/11 I was awakened by my girlfriend violently shaking me to consciousness on the couch. When I first opened my eyes I looked at her sitting rigid and tensely puffing on a cigarette. She looked sidelong at me and and pointed at the TV. I turned my eyes just in time to see the second plane hit. The first two things that went through my head were "wow! Thank God it wasn't a nuke..." and "Osama Bin-Laden". I was shocked, but not all that surprised. I knew who Bin-Laden was long before 9/11. He was first indicted in the US on June 8th, 1998 and placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list 364 days later. I had seen his face on the wall in Post Offices many times.

   I didn't lose anyone on 9/11, but it ruined my life financially-something from which I am just now, a decade later, starting to recover from. That being said, before I go any further, let me be clear, I hold Osama Bin-Laden personally responsible for his part in that. I know it is a selfish thing to say, but in addition to the evil he did, he harmed me and millions of others in more subtle ways. That is my bias. The man was scum. Period.

   I have to say I can see the point made by people whose belief is in non-violence and less use of kinetic warfare as a foreign policy tool. I can also see how people could interpret the killing of Bin-Laden as being on shakey legal and moral grounds. I don't agree, but I see their point I love them for their ability to not act on their more basic instincts. If there can be an argument made that it was a violation of the law then it should be followed though to it's conclusion-which, if it went to a trial would undoubtedly lead to a jury to find anyone charged as not guilty.

   Based on my education and experience, I don't think Bin-Laden qualified as a human being. I know the law sees it otherwise, but I don't believe there would have been any other way to handle him that would have caused less problems than this chosen course will. 

He was an animal walking around in a human skin-suit. 

I think he liked the power of taking life just the way serial killer does. 

Given his obvious intelligence, charisma, and leadership skills, if he had been more Gandhi and less Che Guevara, he might have had an influence over events that yielded net-positive results-especially considering his wealth and connections. 

Instead, he chose evil. 

True, ego-driven, megalomaniacal evil. 

He chose terror. He chose to strike fear into his enemies and even considered other Muslims, women, and children as enemies leaving scars on more than one nation, more than one age group, and more than one nationality. 

   One of my friends pointed out something while watching the kids in Georgetown climbing the rafters screaming 'VICTORY!': SEAL Team 6 killed the physical manifestation of the monster under the bed for just about any American under the age of 25. Not showing  pictures of his dead body takes away the power he could have extended from beyond the grave-and I am sure he figured we would parade the pictures around like we did with the bodies of Hussein & Sons thereby extending his power from beyond the grave.

   Not long after the killing of Bin-Laden, Time magazine put out a special edition commemorating the death of Bin-Laden. Perhaps they felt it was their duty-and perhaps it was, but the execution of this 'duty' is one of the most horrendously tasteless things I have ever seen in the mainstream press.

   The Time cover (and I am sure they are aware of this) shows him not as a person but as a disembodied, floating head, with a red 'X' spray painted across his face like a thug whacked by other thugs. It elevates him and lowers the people involved in the decision and  the raid and paints a picture that this is a game, that, as a nation, we are just childish in our approach to this. I am quite certain that the good folks whose boots are on the ground don't see it that way. I am equally sure those who lost their loved ones -or their ability to walk, or speak, or think clearly don't see it as a game either. They saw it as a deadly serious duty to their nation and the World. If they want to put up a picture and X-out OBL's face, then so be it,  they did all the work-all of it. Not the people at Time, not all the people who never watched the news, or failed to donate even a few meager cents to the USO or some other organization. I sure as shit had no part in it. This entire nation didn't mobilize and volunteer and insist on implementing a draft to flood foreign lands with millions of our soldiers to create a secure environment for the men and women out hunting the terrorists. No, we just reaped the benefits of their work-and then a bunch of folks ran around pounding their chests like monkeys as if they actually accomplished something. I don't want to diminish any sense of national pride in the folks that actually did the work, but this Time magazine cover is akin to some worthless gangbanger crossing out the tag of a rival he aims to kill-and most of those guys are either psychopaths or pussies. 

Neither are a label I want slapped on my country or my countrymen. I am ashamed that this cover may paint that picture of our troops. I have known a whole lot of men who have killed in combat-it was not a game to them.

   Time Magazine is was part of the face we give to the World as ours. After this disgusting display? I am not reading Time anymore-or at least until they find some way to redeem themselves.