Global

"The trappings of a state of siege trap us in a state of fear ..."

Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis open up their new collection of essays with the extraordinary speech - "A Prayer for America" - that Dennis Kucinich delivered two years ago, when the wound of 9/11 was fresh and the Bush Administration had just begun to serve notice how it intended to exploit it.

Engaged in a continuous PR blitz, presidential campaign strategists always strive to portray their candidate as damn near perfect. Even obvious flaws are apt to be touted as signs of integrity and human depth. Such media spin encourages Americans to confuse being excellent with being preferable.

     Eager to dislodge George W. Bush from the White House, many voters lined up behind John Kerry in late January. It’s true that the junior senator from Massachusetts is probably the best bet to defeat Bush -- and, as president, Kerry would be a very significant improvement over the incumbent. But truth in labeling should impel acknowledgment that Kerry is not a progressive candidate.

            AUSTIN, Texas -- Philanthropy may not be high on your list of Stuff to Think About -- except maybe to hope that some might be headed your way. But political philanthropy is in fact playing a large role in your life -- indeed, it is shaping the entire nation's life to an extent that deserves to be put on your list of Stuff to Think About.

            The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy is an outfit "committed to making philanthropy more responsive to people with the least wealth and opportunity." You probably thought that's what philanthropy was -- money to help people with the least wealth and opportunity. But to an amazing extent, you would be wrong. A report by the Responsive Philanthropy folks points out that more and more foundations and corporations are instead giving their money to conservative think tanks, which in turn use the money to push the right-wing political agenda.

My fellow American media consumers:

     At a time when news cycles bring us such portentous events as the remarkable wedding of Britney Spears, the advent of Michael Jackson’s actual trial proceedings and the start of the Democratic presidential primaries, it is time to reflect upon the state of the media union.

     The achievements are everywhere to be seen and heard.

     On more than a thousand radio stations owned by the Clear Channel conglomerate, the programming quality is as reliable as a Big Mac.

     In cities and towns across the nation, an array of outspoken radio talk-show hosts can be depended on to run the gamut from the mushy center to the far right.

     Television provides a wide variety of homogenized offerings. With truly impressive (production) values, the major networks embody a consummate multiplicity of sameness, with truncated imagination and consolidated ownership. These days, there’s a captivatingly unadventurous cable channel for virtually every niche market.

My dear friend and late Nation colleague Andrew Kopkind liked to tell how, skiing in Aspen at the height of the Vietnam War, he came around a bend and saw another skier, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, alone near the edge of a precipice. This was during the period of Rolling Thunder, which ultimately saw three times as many bombs dropped on Vietnam as the Allies dropped on Europe in the Second World War. "I could have reached out with my ski pole," Andy would say wistfully, "and pushed him over."

    Cast in the Gary Cooper role in this western drama is the American citizen, all of whom just wish to live the simple life. Unfortunately and unforgivingly, that myth is a bust. Yet, we are all living in a time when frontier- justice rules the day.          

    With the first vote cast in the Iowa Caucus, the horserace for the presidency begins in earnest. Honestly, even the most pragmatic citizen realizes that whatever the outcome on Election Day, it will be the result of nothing more than a “Hobson’s” choice, in that we are offered a choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all.          

    Folks, we are not witnessing the re-affirmation of “The Miracle at Philadelphia”. It’s more like being a voyeur to a surreal survival reality American Idol show. I’ve preemptively taken precautions and purchased, and am now donning knee-high boots.          

Dear Editor:

    I was quite impressed with the article by Harvey Wasserman, The states of Iowa and the union agree: Bush can be beaten of January 22, 2004.  Several of my friends have already received a hyper link to the article.
       In the past I have worked on several Democratic campaigns as a volunteer.  I am currently a church musician in St. Louis, Missouri. I along with many others have been extremely concerned about the direction in which the country has been headed under the administration of George W. Bush.  Thus, the detailed way Mr. Wasserman writes is most appreciated.  

    There are a few questions which have come to my mind.  The first question is:  Does Mr. Wasserman know of any organizations which would be capable of undertaking the kind of vote verification which will be needed in 2004?  I am sure there will be people willing to participate in such a task if it can be set up the right way.  

"Come November, we can expect Osama bin Laden to be miraculously "found" whenever Rove decides the timing is best."

"A terrorist attack will explode here or there precisely as the Democrats gather steam. Bush may dump Dick Cheney into a cardiac unit to grab headlines and expand his base. "

... and don't forget the possibility that the replacement for WMD hunter, Kay, is supposed to be a person skeptical of any WMD claims.

... just how wonderful it would be for Bush if this new skeptical hunter found significant WMD's ... imagine the weight it would carry for Bush

annoymous and frightened coward (sorry :-)

A note to Harvey Wasserman from North Carolina: You're wrong about the South. For one thing, in many states, white people are not even the majority, never mind white racists. For another thing, Southerners white AND black are deeply populist and traditionally Democratic. They just haven't recently been appealed to on a platform they can identifiy with by Democrats (a platform which would have a lot to do with economic issues and health care and education). No one has won the Presidency without winning the South for a long time. Forget the South is bad advice to Democratic activists. States that elected John Edwards and Max Cleland and Al Gore to Congress can elect a Democrat to the White House. Ya'll just need to get over your rebelphobia.

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin Cullowhee, NC