By now, you've probably heard about the News Propaganda story. You know, the one about how we invaded Iraq to bring them free speech and a free press - only to plant stories in their newspapers about what a swell job US forces were doing in Iraq.
This story did not surprise me. Psy-Ops and propaganda are part and parcel of every war (as is torture that includes forcible gang-rape.) If you were aware that such violations of the Geneva Convention *does* happen with the USA at the helm, then maybe you should've been fighting the war *before* it happened. And now that you know, maybe you'll be quicker to Stop the War Before it Starts next time around.
The only thing that surprised me about this story is where I first heard it - on the Don Imus show. More liberal than conservative but still a far cry from Al Franken, Imus in the morning tsk, tsk'd this story with a zeal bordering on real fury and outrage. It was fun to listen to, and to me, further proof that Patrick Fitzgerald is the real David to the Bush Administration's "Goliath", creating a chink in their armor that will only get bigger and bigger and bigger.
The real question - is there any proof yet that Bob Woodward wrote the story for the military? And how much access did he get for doing it?
In other news:
Recently, a friend of mine was stepping out of the BART Station in San Francisco, only to be assaulted by just the kind of dumb-ass radical I used to be, holding up a flyer and chanting, "Stop the racist execution of Tookie Williams." For those of you not so hip to hip-hop heroes, in 1971 Williams was among the co-founders of the LA street-gang "the Crips," and in 1981 was convicted of murdering four people. Twenty-four years later, he's on Death Row awaiting execution, and such heavyweights as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the rapper Snoop Dogg are rushing to his aid. Snoop Dogg himself is a former member of the Crips (go figure) who was denied the right to visit Williams because of his own criminal record, but Dogg has used his hip-hop millions to ask Gover Gropinator to go easy on his homie.
Along with the Bloods, the Crips were one of the biggest street gangs in the nations in the 70s and 80s. And while the CIA may have brought the crack and heroin into America, it was these cats who sold it to thirteen-year-old kids throughout the projects. Now, a certain faction of liberals would have you believe that Tookie Williams is a "hero", a "leader," and a "role model" for black youth.
Bullshit. Fighting for Tookie Williams is white liberal guilt nonsense, IMHO, and a total waste of activist resources. It's a goddamn shame to see resources of publications like The Nation wasted on this absolute nonsense. It's why we lose and lose and lose. Tookie Williams is *NOT* a retarded black man with a 78 IQ who accidentally killed someone a 1974 shooting in a single botched robbery attempt. This man founded and grew an organization that made drive-by shootings a common occurence in the ghettoes of America. Can you be "for peace" and "for Tookie"? I don't think so.
Note to the kid at the BART station: go find some *truly* unjust Death Row inmates to agitate for. Rallying around Tookie is like stumping for John Gotti - and he doesn't need your help, because he's already dead.
Technorati Tags : Iraq, Imus, gangrape, psy-ops, franken, fitzgerald, woodward, BART, Tookie, Tookie+Williams, Snoop+Dogg, Bloods, Crips
ps: This probably marks the first and last time (maybe) I'll link to GOPbloggers or conservatives of any color, but for more on Tookie & the dumb-ass morons trying to save him, check out Kinshasa on the Potomac's Assclown of the Week Award.
And how about A Black Conservative Perspective.
And check out My Big Fat Expensive Lesbian Wedding too.
