The Buzz Blog

While flying back from Boston on Friday, we watched a documentary on our laptop called "Hijacking Catastrophe," and were struck by the closing quotation from Kevin Danaher (of an advocacy organization called "Global Exchange").

Danaher noted that the Bush Cartel wants to subjugate Americans through fear. But this patriot isn't buying it. When he visits Washington, D.C., he often goes to the Jefferson Memorial, where Danaher is inspired by these words that ring the top of the memorial rotunda: “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

"We were the first nation state to establish the principle that sovereignty and the ultimate political power resides in we the people," Danaher says to close the documentary. "That's a fundamentally radical concept. These guys [the Bush Cartel] don't like the implications of this for the maintenance of their minority wealth and power."

It reminded us that the 2004 election is about more than issues that separate one party from another: it is about the very continuation of the great experiment in democracy that began in Massachusetts with the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord.

Ultimately, in 2004, we are up against an elitist group of megalomaniacs who believe that they are divinely chosen to rule, whatever the will of the people. The basic political philosophy of the Bush Cartel is that the people cannot be trusted with choosing a government, only God can. That is what George W. Bush thinks; that is what Antonin Scalia thinks; that is what Bush military appointees like General Boykin think; that is what Tom DeLay thinks.

The Bush Administration represents the most radical threat to democracy since the Civil War. In fact, the Bush Administration represents the losing side in the Civil War.

Remember that most plantation owners thought themselves good Christian men. They believed that they were fighting the Civil War to restore a Christian sense of order to the world, one in which they argued God stood behind slavery.

Today, we are faced with a group of Neo-Confederacy elitists who have contempt for democracy. They believe in one party rule mandated by God.

Government is too serious to be left to the masses, as far as they are concerned. That is why Antonin Scalia could feel he was doing divinely heroic duty in stealing the election for Bush, because, in his mind, it is God who chooses the ruler of America, not the people. And he believes, like Bush, that God's will is transmitted through him.

Scalia, Bush and Ashcroft have said that they see the Constitution as a divine document, and that their goal is to restore America to God's intentions. They won't let the will of the people get in their way.

Paul Krugman quotes Grover Norquist, the Svengali of the public policy arm of the vast right wing anti-democracy conspiracy, as saying that he will drown government through permanent one-party rule: "One of the steps for getting there is a permanent Republican government, in the sense of fifty-five Republican senators and a thirty-vote margin in the House and a Republican president for twenty years in a row."

The Bush Cartel and the vast right wing conspiracy are so blatant and open in their objectives to crush democracy that many pundits and Democratic leaders can't believe that they really mean what they are saying.

But they do. You don't casually steal an election. You mug democracy because you think that you are entitled to rule because you represent an elitist group privy to divine intention.

Krugman points out that he used to be considered radical for simply accepting the words of the people behind the Bush Cartel at face value. Other journalists and pundits would say to him, things like, "But they don't really mean that; it's just rhetoric." And Krugman would respond, in essence, "But they do mean it. They believe in what they are saying."

During breaks in the convention last week, the song "We are family" would often be turned on and the delegates would start to shake and wiggle around in front of their seats. The song is a popular affirmation of one the themes of the convention: We are one American family.

The Bush Cartel thinks otherwise. It believes in the model of government that prevailed for most of the history of the world -- that there are the divinely inspired rulers and there are the ruled, who do not have enough wisdom to choose their leadership.

Oh, yes, the Bush Cartel knows it must go through the motions of acting like it believes in the Constitutional process that underwrites American democracy, while it does everything possible to undercut our revolutionary heritage.

Right now, Jeb Bush is taking the same steps -- and more -- that he took to steal the Florida vote for George W. Bush, his brother, in 2000. Only now, he is armed with the block box burglary kit of electronic voting. Almost daily, Jeb is defiantly signaling that he will work from the same thief's playbook as 2000 -- and them some.

The same 5-vote majority that stole the election from Al Gore, by usurping state's rights and the will of the voters, sits on the Supreme Court.

The same pro-Bush television news media is in place, but even more partisan than it was in 2000.

Just remember this. The 2004 election is not primarily about public policy.

It is a referendum on the form of government created in 1776.

Your choice is between pulling the lever for democracy, or pulling the level for a self-appointed theocracy/plutocracy.

Tom DeLay says that it his mission as de facto controller of the House of Representatives to ensure that his Biblical worldview becomes reality in the United States.

Will the vision of democracy our founding fathers fought for survive the 2004 election?

Only if we can stop a broad daylight robbery in progress.

The revolution of 1776 was founded on this fundamental revolutionary thought: democracy is the sum of our votes. God has made no choices, or given any individual more divinity than another. Elitists shall not rule by self-appointment or bloodline.

The creation of this nation was a radical, revolutionary concept -- and it scares the heck out of the people in the White House.

For the sake of democracy, and in honor of those who fought to create and preserve democracy, we cannot let the neo-monarchy notions of the Bush Cartel and its supporters prevail.

BuzzFlash gets thousands of e-mails each week, and we get accused of a lot of things, but no one has yet called us sentimental.

With that in mind, after witnessing John Kerry's acceptance speech http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040730/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_kerry_text_1  at the Fleet Center on Thursday night, we'll say this: He had them from hello.

In a speech that defied expectations, Kerry delivered a masterfully crafted, confidently delivered tour-de-force presentation.  The speech accomplished multiple goals of reassuring a nervous nation about defense, inoculating the Democratic ticket from slimeball attacks by the Karl Rove character assassination squad, pre-empting the issue of patriotism, reframing the jobs issue to make Bush and Cheney appear to be the pessimists and so much more.

Part of that "so much more" is the real story.  This was a speech that was anything but the cautious words that the pundits had predicted.  Kerry tactfully, but directly, attacked Bush on the credibility issue on multiple occasions.  He also accused Bush of abusing the Constitution for political purposes and Ashcroft of not upholding the Constitution (although he didn't mention them by name in either case, so as not to appear to be "going negative.)  In fact, Kerry implied that the Bush Cartel was all geared up to bring the campaign into the gutter and urged Bush to run a positive race, based on bringing the country together, not dividing it.

He even indirectly evoked issues raised in "Fahrenheit 911" -- and in his experience as a senator when he investigated the Bush I Cartel BCCI scandal -- when he declared, "I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation, not the Saudi royal family."

From the moment Kerry arrived at the podium, saluted, and announced, "I am John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty," he had the placard waving crowd in the palm of his hand.  So call us sentimental, but this appeared to be a watershed moment when many people who thought that the wrong person got the nomination discovered that he turned out to be the right man after all.

There was something special that happened on Thursday night.  The Democrats showed that they could pull off a convention with class, dignity, and diversity -- and crescendo at just the right moment, with a knockout nomination acceptance speech by their presidential candidate.

And the candidate rose to the occasion in spectacular form.  He redefined the flag, patriotism, dissent, the Constitution, and military strength to be shared values not owned by either party.

"These aren't Democratic values," Kerry said.  "These aren't Republican values. They're American values. We believe in them. They're who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world."

As for the ongoing disingenuous, cynical, and duplicitious Republican mantra of supporting "family values," Kerry had a devastating rejoinder: "And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families."

The Senator from Massachusetts surprised everyone by giving the best speech of the convention; indeed, one of the best, if not the finest, political speeches we have seen in the past few years.  And that was a challenge given Barack Obama's standard-setter on Tuesday.  Kerry nailed an on-target script, delivered with authority, sincerity, and warmth, for a crowd that was prepared for pablum, but instead got the leadership that they were yearning for.

John Kerry had you believing what he said and believing that he believed what he said, which is highly unusual for any political speech.   And you know what, WE believe he believes what he said.  It was that kind of moment.

He accomplished a reframing of core Democratic issuses concerning democracy, the Constitution, national security, foreign policy, the public good, gender equality and civil liberties in such a way as to make these the values worth fighting for.  He embraced the goals of the Democratic Party as the dreams of Americans and the promise of a nation born of a revolution that began (as BuzzFlash noted last weekend) just a short distance from the Fleet Center.

And he eloquently dismissed George W. Bush's claim to be following the will of God (in fact telling people that God talks to him and tells him what to do) with the following words:

"And let me say it plainly: in that cause, and in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country."

So call us sentimental, but the Democrats appear to have gotten their act together.  Even the two Kerry daughters delivered personal comments about their father, perfectly attuned to the moment at hand.  Max Cleland, who introduced the presidential nominee, sitting in front of Kerry's swiftboat crewmates, had the crowd on its feet by building up Kerry's heroism, all the time letting the comparison to Bush's cowardice linger in the air. 

The only way that Bush and Cheney can win this election now is to steal it again, which Jeb has been working feverishly to do in Florida, using a variety of methods. http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=16606

Earlier on Thursday evening, Wesley Clark said, "Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people." The entire Bush Administration has been a fraud from the time that Nino Scalia spearheaded the theft of the 2000 election from the will of the American people.

Kerry warned Bush not to use wedge issues to create conflict among Americans, but that's not going to stop the knee cap busters over at the White House.  The Senator from Massachusetts should carry an olive branch in one hand and a tire iron in the other.  He's going to need to use the latter more than he thinks.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign is counting on an optimistic "stronger America, respect abroad, hope is on the way" theme to serve as a counterpoint to the Bush-Cheney campaign of fear.  "The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom," Kerry challenged in his speech.

But fear is the oil that makes the Bush Cartel engine run -- and it is going to become more desperate for a number of reasons. 

First of all, if Kerry and Edwards win, it is highly probable that large numbers of Bush Administration members, including Cheney and Bush, could eventually be indicted for crimes committed while in office. So, they are not going to walk away from power over their own futures without being dragged out of the White House.

Secondly, the radical Republicans ideologues and their rich contributors know that time is not on their side.  America is becoming more diverse and inclusive with each passing year.  In California, whites are now in the minority.  The Republican red meat issues do not appeal to a majority of Americans.  Their economic policies also negatively affect the vast majority of Americans. 

They only have a short window of opportunity to seize control of the government in perpetuity (they would hope) by controlling all three branches through planned manipulation of the public through fear mongering -- and by preventing Congressional investigations into executive branch wrongdoing and illegalities.  If they can keep their misdeeds a secret, they can continue lying -- and they can continue their Orwellian campaign of fear. But they can only accomplish this if they stay in power.

They know that the Democrats represent the majority of Americans on the issues -- and in terms of diversity of race, gender, class and faith.  Currently, America has a Democratic majority, if you counted all the votes.  So, the stakes for the Bush Cartel are clear -- and they know they can't win an election fought on the issues.

And then there's the media.  Cable television news (CNN, MSBC, and FOX), we understand from readers, started trashing Kerry's speech before it was even concluded.  They always go negative on the Democrats, while refusing to be critical of Bush even when his lies are blatantly exposed. It's the corporate culture, stupid!

Kerry's going to need a tire iron to fend off Karl Rove's character assassination initiatives and also to demand respect from the media.  He won't get it from the corporate owned television press, because they are in the tank with the Republicans, but he can brandish it anyway just to get them to back off a little.

If Kerry is elected -- despite whatever October surprise Rove and Cheney have planned (Bush just goes along with whatever they cook up) then we hope he doesn't take this "positive" outlook too far and back off investigating and prosecuting the crimes of the Bush administration.  And we hope that he appoints a new FCC director who will make sure that the fairness doctrine is reinstated -- and that media is diversified, not consolidated.

Oh, one more thing, John, if you manage to defeat the Republican evil doers by preventing them from stealing the election, make sure that you protect the freedom of the Internet after the inauguration.

BuzzFlash has a personal interest in the area, we can assure you.

Ernest Hemingway defined courage as grace under pressure.  Combine it with passion, wit, conviction and good judgement and you have leadership.

Last night we saw it first hand.

Normally, we put our reader comments in the mailbag (or the ones we can fit, since we receive more than 1000 e-mails a day).  But we thought that it would be timely to post a few selected e-mails indicating how our readers feel about the media coverage of the Democratic Convention.

Warning, we got some angry readers.  It could get nasty:

Dear Buzzflash, 

I am disgusted with the TV networks lousy coverage of the Democratic Convention.  Many people do not have cable, they rely on the networks for their news.   (What a joke!) 

After all the disappointing news coverage inthe last few years, finally the Democrats would be heard.  Many fine speeches were cut.  On the morning news the networks chose to show you what they decided after they edited everything down to nothing.  Katie Curic's BIG deal was a baseball field!

At a time of war EVERY American NEEDS to understand all the issues before they vote. Our networks thought that we should be watching old TV reruns.    It was said that there were more reporters at the Convention than delegates.  Watching the network news, you would NEVER believe it!  I just wonder how the networks will be covering the Republican Convention! I think we have lost another civil right - freedom of the press.

Disgusted
Connie Dirig

****

Dear Buzz,

So I flip on the TV this morning and start making my way through all the news shows. First stop I see E.D. Hill interviewing the Beltway Boys. So I stop because I see they are talking about Teresa Heinz. Oh, she's "self-indulgent", one says. The other concurs. I know, I know, why am I watching Fox anyways.

Next on the dial is MSNBC. There's Don Imus and his group of cronies showing footage of Elizabeth and John Edwards last night. But wait, they're not actually talking about anything important, they are making fat jokes about Elizabeth. "She eats to medicate," they say. Howls of laughter as usual. Where do they come up with such hilarity?

So I have been awake for 10 minutes and already I have heard the nominees' wives called fat and self-indulgent!

Let's try CNN. Oh wait there's Bob Novak, no thanks.

On to Katie and Matt. There's Katie interviewing Rudy Giuliani and he's calling John Kerry "the most liberal Democrat in the Senate" (only the thousandth time I've heard that one, and it's not even true), "flip-flopper," the usual, and there's Katie smiling and bothering not to probe further. She smiles and lets him go.

Bush doesn't even have to advertise or even bother with his GOP rapid response team. He's got Imus making the physical appearance jokes. He has Fox's cronies working around the clock to bash the candidates and anyone else that is associated with them. Oh, and Katie to ask the tough questions to the Dems and respectfully lets the Republicans make their points.

So I fire up the computer and there's Buzz, a friendly name. Ahhh, that's better.

Thanks, yall. You made my morning better. Tomorrow morning I'll come to the comp first and forget the TV all together.

Liselle Laraby

****

Again last night attempted to listen some of the Convention commentary on CNN, flipping back and forth from CSPAN to CNN. Finally gave it up because the only commentary CNN was providing during the Democratic National Convention was right wing hacks slinging their right wing mud at everything the Dems were doing and saying.

I don't know about the rest of the world but I am fed up with CNN and the bias of their anchors and their pseudo news reports! They might as well incorporate with FOX NEWS because the caliber of their reporting is the same.

Barbara (as in "The Daily Buzz")

****

Hi Guys,

I think what we need to do about the media, is start calling them the right wing media. No more "liberal media" start calling them what they really are.

I tried to watch the convention on PBS, but sadly they have to come in with comments after each speech, (as if we do not know what has been said), and tear the speech apart.

I am sorry that I missed Obama's speech, I hear it was sensational. I had to work the election in my precinct on that day. Hopefully I will find a transcript of it somewhere.

And isn't John Edwards refreshing after these boring illiterates in residence now. Boy could we use someone that can talk without a script and answer real questions, (which I am sure the right wing media will throw at them).

Shows we have brains! I also enjoyed the Howard Dean interview, he gave them the what for too.

Go Progressives, (we need to get a new word for liberal) and this could be it.

After all the right wing nuts keep changing the meaning of our words all the time, and then keep repeating them over and over and over. We can do the same thing.

Thanks for all the hard work Buzzflash. Could not make it without you guys.

Kay
Oklahoma

****

the media uses the republican talking points to promote their own agenda. they know very well why kerry voted against the 87 billion, they just like to pretend kerry flip flopped. it's like the al gore inventing the Internet, the media knew he never said it but they followed the repug talking points. cnn is getting worse and worse. they act like the want to be fox news. so all we have left is msnbc. we need another news network.

diane a
miami

 
****

And if you haven't read the reader contribution by Becky Burgwin, here are some excerpts:

"I Have Two Words for the American Media: SHOVE IT!"
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/07/con04318.html

Pat Buchanan came right out and said it. When asked how Teresa Heinz-Kerry’s retort to an editor of the Tribune Review compares to our VP telling Patrick Leahy, "Go F**K yourself," on the senate floor...Buchanan actually had the gall to say, "Well, an argument between two guys is understandable. But this woman needs to be watched. You know she has this huge fortune and she’s uppity and Americans need to keep an eye on her. She’ll come off in stark contrast to Laura Bush." Boy, that may be the smartest thing he’s ever said. She’ll come off as a stark contrast to Laura Bush. She’ll come off in stark contrast to Laura Bush alright. A talking parrot would come off in stark contrast to Laura Bush. My cat, Dewey, would come off in stark contrast to Laura Bush. A Stepford wife would come off in stark contrast to Laura Bush...well, you get the idea.

And if I have to listen to Chris Matthews ask one more person what they think of Teresa Kerry’s comment, I am going to throw something at the television. I think I’m finally convinced once and for all that he is a hack and really doesn’t have much to add to the political landscape right now. She was talking to a reporter from the Tribune Review, Chris. You know, The Tribune Review...owned by Richard Mellon Scaife. Earlier, you asked the women senators, "If Bill Clinton was such a good president, why was he impeached?" I have three words for you...RICHARD-MELLON-SCAIFE. Richard Mellon Scaife is a very dangerous man and he bankrolled the vast right wing conspiracy against Bill Clinton. Teresa has been misquoted and harassed by this newspaper for over 20 years. What she said was funny and insulting and not foul or dirty. She, unlike our current VP, has class.

If MSNBC can’t be trusted not to flog something like this to death when we’re on the eve of the most important election in the country’s history, then we’re in a lot of trouble. The American media seems to have evolved into a useless institution that is completely incapable of separating the wheat from the chaff. This is very scary.

Teresa has used her money and her brains and her heart consistently for good, for the environment, for those less fortunate and to keep the image of America as a giving, honest and altruistic country alive. DO NOT LET THE MEDIA TEAR HER APART. Don’t listen when they say "Beware. She’s a powerful, outspoken women with money." Tell everyone within earshot that this is 2004 and that powerful, outspoken women are not called bitches anymore. They’re called Governor, Chief Executive Officer, Senator, Supreme Court Justice and, yes, kick ass fighters. Pop culture is full of tough women. Hermione in Harry Potter...the smartest, the toughest and the bravest. Buffy...one tough cookie and the leader of this trend, our hero, Sigourney Weaver.

****

Dear Buzz,

Becky Burgwin's guest contribution, "I Have Two Words for the American Media: SHOVE IT!" is dead accurate. I am absolutely sick of all the mainstream media. I do not trust them one iota and I hold them in utter contempt.

The moral development of these media personalities has not progressed beyond grade seven, apparently. The attacks on Teresa Heinz Kerry would be laughable for their idiocy, but these resentful and unimaginative people seem to have to mob someone every other week. And they say women are mean! (Note that most of these attacks are led by very unattractive, threatened men--I include Ann Coulter in that group--often physically unattractive, but always attitudinally and characterologically unattractive.)

Here is a definition from the website of Mobbing USA. Mobbing is: 
 
EMOTIONAL ABUSE in the workplace.

"Ganging up" by co-workers, subordinates or superiors to force someone out of the workplace through rumor, innuendo, intimidation, humiliation, discrediting, and isolation.

Malicious, nonsexual, nonracial, general harassment.

Mobbing is central to the power-assertive tactics of Republicans. They cannot make a substantive critique of ideas because they are intellectually and morally limited, so they turn to a kind of gang-like intellectual and emotional bullying.

I began to figure out, when journalism melted down for once and for all after September 11th and we arrived at the neo-fascist synthesis of recent history that led us to invade Iraq for no good reason, that Democrats and liberals were acting like abused spouses. They acted chronically humiliated and psychologically beaten. They had internalized the endless shaming and taunting.

They seemed to spend all their time anticipating and ducking the next attack (when they weren't participating in attacking themselves). Of course, this behavior is the result of thirty years of psychological bludgeoning. Is it any wonder many of us are so angry?

I think it's possible that by the next election cycle the TV media will decrease in prominence and importance, while the Internet and independent media rise in importance. A lot of these people will lose their jobs. In the meantime, we must organize against them. They have failed in their public responsibility and as far as I am concern they have no right to use our airwaves.

A Buzzflash Reader

 
****

And then there is our reader contribution by Ruth Lopez, here are some excerpts:

"Note to Tom Brokaw: Why I get my hard news from Jon Stewart"
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/07/con04315.html

Sunday morning, wanting to see some of the run-up to the Democratic convention, I turned on CNN. There was Judy Woodruff, talking to a Kerry spokesperson. In thanking him for the interview, for her closing line, she said, "Spoken like a true, loyal Kerry man." Did I hear that right, I thought? Because it sounded to me like a backhanded way to imply that he said what he said just because he works for Kerry? A sly way to discredit the speaker; slip in the line, close the segment.

Then, because the Republicans have a "rapid response war room" at the Dems' convention, Ms. Woodruff interviewed one of the ex-Enron lobbyists that now have jobs shilling for Cheney/Bush. I waited to see how she would close the interview with him. First, I had to listen to the same old tired list of Republican "talking point" lies: Kerry voted to raise taxes 350 times (lie), Kerry is a flip flopper (lie), Kerry is the most liberal senator (lie, but I wouldn't care if he was). On and on, and not once did Ms. Woodruff challenge or question the statements made. When he was done, she thanked him sweetly for his time, as if it had been a burden for him to have had to do all that heavy lifting for lil ol' her. Yuck. I turned to MSNBC. No better. They were all so excited to have a "rabid response team" throwing them treats that they were practically salivating on their mics.

Later in the day, while watching CSPAN, there was Ms. Woodruff again, along with a panel of other esteemed TV news professionals: Brokaw, Jennings, Rather. They were discussing the sad state of news reporting during the lead up to war. Yes, they admitted that they all reported the war build-up wrong. They didn't ask hard enough questions. They were cowed by an aggressive and hostile administration. They were afraid to buck the hyper patriotism in the lead-up to the war.

Then, I almost choked on my pretzel, Brokaw bemoaned the fact that so many young people think that The Daily Show is an acceptable way to get real news.

Note to Brokaw, Jennings, et al. You didn't just misreport the insane drive to start an unnecessary, pre-emptive war, you were part of the hyper patriotic, jingoistic drumbeat. And it isn't just that you didn't do enough to question it, it's that you didn't do anything. And you still aren't. Your pathetic CSPAN mea culpa, seen by less than 1% of the country, is even less impressive when you go right back to your studio and keep carrying water for the Bush Administration, ala Ms. Woodruff.

****

Buzz,

I just wanted to throw my 2-cents in about the cable news coverage of the Democratic Convention. 

Last night, Al Sharpton gave one of the most passionate and rousing speeches in the entire convention.  After the speech, Wolf, Judy, and the gang at CNN spent 5 minutes talking about how the length of his speech would be a disaster because it may push John Edwards out of prime time.  Then they spent another 10 minutes talking about the damage he did to John Kerry by "attacking" Bush.

After getting disgusted with their drivel, I turned to MSNBC.  There, Chris "the whore" Matthews said over and over again to anyone on his "panel" who would listen that the Democrats were in trouble for giving Sharpton a podium to speak when he got his reputation falsely accusing police in New York City years ago.  He then interviewed Steve Buscemi and asked him over and over again about how the NYC Police and Fire fighters should be disgusted at the Democratic Party for allowing Sharpton to speak.  I don't remember Matthews having these concerns about Sharpton when he had him on his show during the primaries, but last night it was of utmost importance.

All I can say is thank God for PBS and C-Span.  The cable networks are doing their best to put a negative spin on everything and everyone concerning this convention.  I wonder if they will suddenly find their "objectivity" just in time for the Republican Convention in September.

Keith Riddle

****

Well, BuzzFlash has got some angry readers who are damned mad that multi-millionaire news anchors (or "news readers" as they say in Britain) are really just extensions of the White House and the RNC when it comes to political coverage.  I mean what does Tom Brokaw or Petter Jennings or Dan Rather ever really say that INFORMS us of anything?  If this is journalism, then selling drugs on a street corner is a legitimate retail business.

They are just a bunch of one-time journalists who now live on their laurels and their posh lifestyles, so out of touch with the average American that you could puke.  There is an elite East Coast journalistic bias.  The right wing is right. But it is a bias toward the Republicans and the right wing.  Calling the media liberal is probably the biggest Republican, right wing lie of all time. The media is in their pocket, bought and paid for.

And the mainstream media knows the corporately acceptable frame in which they can operate -- and that frame is quite simple: beat up on the Democrats with Republican message points and kowtow to Republican spokespersons.

Their have been two recent coups in America: the election of 2000 and the corporate consolidation of the media into an arm of the Republican Party. 

It goes without saying that the Democratic Party has been going through a prolonged identity crisis over the last 25 years.  Sitting through three nights of the convention, it appears, however, without the media filter, that this year it is returning to embrace, at least in part, its progressive roots.  The diversity of speakers at the convention, their commitment to civil liberties, to women's rights, to equal opportunity, to working for improving the public good, has been clear, loud and consistent. 

Although we haven't been able to watch television coverage of the convention, we have gotten a whiff of the"conventional wisdom" of the "pundits" being that speakers have been muzzled in order not to have Kerry appear too liberal.  Well, we guess those pundits didn't watch Al Sharpton speak last night, or Dennis Kucinich, or Elijah Cummings, or John Edwards, for that matter.  Diversity, equal rights for all, the sanctity of the ballot, opportunities for every American, regardless of income -- that is what is being emphasized. Yes, there are the repetitive tributes to Kerry as a war hero.  There should be.  And yes, there are ongoing references to creating "a stronger America," which is understandable, considering the situation that the Bush Cartel has got us into.

But the heart of the Democratic Party has been pretty much worn on the sleeves of an extremely diverse group of speakers.  The GOP show of inclusion in NYC is going to look positively Disney-esque when contrasted with the passionate commitment to an inclusive society evidenced during the Democratic Convention in Boston.  This may not come across in the television coverage, but it does in person.

Which brings us to a little pause for reflection here.  Before we left for the convention, we read through Garrison Keillor's new book, "Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts From the Heart of America ."  And it reminded us that THERE REALLY ARE a heart and soul to the Democratic Party (despite the irregularly beating corporate heartbeat of the DLC).  In his own inimitable way, Keillor reminded us about the sense of community, opportunity, equality and commitment to the public good that has been central to the core values of the Democrats over time.

Here is the review we wrote of the book:

As the Democratic Convention gets underway, we couldn't think of a more appropriate and moving book to offer as a premium than this heartfelt ode to the core values of the Democratic Party. We haven't been moved by a book as much since we read the anthology of Bill Moyers writings, "Moyers on America." Keillor and Moyers are adept at returning to their roots to explain their commitment to a pluralistic democracy in which each citizen is a member of a national community.

Keillor's rich voice makes him a natural for radio and "The Prairie Home Companion." But reading "Homegrown Democrat," you realize what an incredible craftsmen he is as a writer, his companion profession.

I don't know if any American could make a stronger personal testament to the importance that the Democratic Party has made in enriching the lives of Americans. Keillor is heartfelt, anecdotal, lyrically digressive, personally revealing, and deeply reflective on what it means to have grown up in a society that offered a poor Lutheran kid a door to the future.

Keillor's Democratic roots are deep, but it is clear that his experience as a student at the University of Minnesota awakened him to the wonders of a society that provided public benefits to all its citizens, regardless of their parents' social or economic status. It was at the University of Minnesota that Keillor realized the grandeur and nobility of what a democracy has to offer.

Community is at the center of Keillor's vision of the social contract that comes with living in a democracy -- and only he can use a St. Paul cafe that he frequents to demonstrate his point. Democrats value the local community AND the national community, while Republicans seek to separate the US (wealthy) from the THEM (the other 99% of America).

Yes, Keillor makes the case for being a Democrat far more strongly and eloquently than the Democratic Party could ever do. He forgives the party its flirtation with the corporate trappings of the GOP, because he is a forgiving man when it comes to people and organizations that have done so much good for their families and their nation.

Reading "Homegrown Democrat," you realize how much Keillor has never lost his sense of place in being a native Minnesotan and a member of the great northern tribe of guilt-ridden Lutherans. The Republicans give us photo ops and sloganeering when it comes to "the real America," but Garrison Keillor GIVES us the real America. He' s a man of the heartland who knows that we are part of one community.

He is, he declares, a Unionist.

If you ever have doubts about being a Democrat, this is the book to read. At points, you might wonder where Keillor is going as he launches off on what seems a digressive point; but, he's a master, he always knows where he's taking the reader. And where he is taking the reader is home, home to an America that is committed to caring for its own.

And one more thing. I can't recall any writer who can so lacerate the Republican Party and George W. Bush -- skewer, gut and filet them -- and yet you feel as if you are just taking a quiet stroll with Garrison down a wide St. Paul boulevard having a casual chat after attending church. Keillor exposes the Bush clan as rank shysters, philistines in the guise of religious fanatics, and betrayers of the public trust with such acumen and grace that it leaves you in dumbstruck awe.

"Homegrown Democrat" gives the Democratic Party something it should live up to, a gift of sorts from America's raconteur of the Heartland.

Indeed, Keillor calls his book just "a few plain thoughts from the heart of America." It's much more than that. It's patriotic, soulful, graceful, thoughtful, poetic, meditative and affirming.
Keillor brings us back to what is good and decent in our nation -- and the Democratic Party.

This book is like a good friend that raises up your spirits when you are in the midst of despair.

It's not a self-help book, no not at all.

It's just honest and true.
http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/04/07/pre04031.html
(End of review)

There are so many people in America this year who want to restore greatness to this wonderful nation and to do it as part of a community that unites rather than divides, that draws strength from our diversity, and that respects our individual rights.

The Democratic Party has spent many of the last 25 years wandering like Moses in the desert.  But it is time to come home to its roots.  It is time to remove Pharoah from his throne.

There are more than 5,000 delegates and alternates meeting in Boston this week who are ready to get the job done. 

Their only fear is that once again they might get mugged.  John Kerry will need to be every bit as tough as he is being portrayed.  When you are running in an election where the people in power are willing to rig the voting booth, you have to walk around with a tire iron -- and be willing to use it to protect the sanctity of one person, one vote -- and to ensure that all the votes are counted.

 
Just a short note about one of the many examples of how the Kerry Campaign appears to be employing some effective mass marketing strategies.  Remember that the Republicans have been successful at branding concepts and ideas by using simple (and deceptive) branding concepts.  The Republicans are all about selling a product, convincing many people that they need to eat corn flakes -- and then passing them a plate of dung.

The essence of American marketing is creating a branding identity that is catchy, simple -- and then repeating until it is seared into the subconsious of the consumer.  This is the basis of advertising, which is the engine that runs the American consumer society.  We consume so much in America not because we need so many things, but because advertising creates a perceived need.

This little lecture is just background to point out that the Democrats have generally resisted or been ineffective at recognizing this reality.  Whatever one thinks of the process, it is the way to reach the mass consumer market, which in this case, is the voter, particularly the swing voter and the marginal Republican voter.

During the convention, there are many indications that the Kerry Campaign has caught on.  One example is "The Real Deal" branding of Kerry and Edwards. 

For instance, during breaks in the speeches, a photo of a person will appear on the large screen behind the podium, along with their name and hometown.  It will indicate at the top of the screen that the person is a Republican.  Then a personal value of the person will appear under the Republican label. For instance, it might be a woman from Tampa who "believes in the right of women to make their own reproductive decisions." Then, with a drum beat in the background, a sentence will appear at the bottom of the screen.  "This year, she is voting for John Kerry."  And a slash is put through the word Republican, just as "The Real Deal" stamp (kind of like you find on beef) is seared on the screen with a final drum beat.  Meanwhile "The Real Deal" logo appears on the programmed strip of lit signage that circles the arena.

It's a small thing.  But it is simple, visually effective, and repetitive, while still being engaging.

Remember also that the personal anecdote sells in America.  Ronald Reagan, a man who was all Hollywood packaging, taught us that.  Learn from your opposition.

So "The Real Deal" combines branding with the anecdotal -- a winning combination in mass marketing.  Avoid such techniques at your peril -- however uncomfortable one may be with them in concept.

It appears that the Kerry image makers have caught on.

 
As you make your way to the Fleet Center, you pass the little trailer villages put together by big television stations as working sites for support personnel and production equipment.  There is usually a little banner outside each one, indicating the individual network, kind of an ad hoc address marker.  Inside the Fleet Center, there are more big media office rooms in a backstage press area.  On top of that, the biggest networks have their custom-made broadcast booths circling the arena.

For the three national networks, that's a lot of money invested for three hours of coverage this week.  Yet, the "big three" networks skipped Barack Obama's dazzling keynote speech last night.  Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw and the other aged, well-fed, multi-millionaire news readers claim that there's no news happening at the convention, so why bother to air a speech that might put a positive face on the Democratic Party and offer a vision for the future of the American people.  Why let them know more about the choices they are facing in November?

Really, now.  Granted, the speeches are part of a planned presentation, given that Kerry has been the party's nominee for months now.  But aren't all of Bush's speeches planned presentations, put together for media effect?  Even his so-called press conferences are scripted, with a list of which pet reporters to call on.  Aren't these the same three national networks that derive their White House news coverage pretty much from press releases and photo-ops put out by Karl Rove's operation?

I mean, it's a little audacious to call the "big three" networks news operations.  They have a ton of stenographers -- uh, we mean reporters -- but couldn't find real political  news if it him them in the face.  And what is a nightly news cast on the national networks but a series of brief stories strung together like a disposable edition of USA Today headlines? Call it "thong" news coverage. Very skimpy and very brief.  I mean, what does Tom Brokaw do besides read "news" scripts vetted to ensure that they don't upset the White House too much -- or the corporation that owns his butt, General Electric?

You'd think that with more than 5,000 delegates and alternates representing one of two of America's major parties gathered in one city, the "big three" networks might be able to do a four-night series on issues facing America -- and what the Democratic Party perspective is on them.  It might be time to inform Americans about what the nation is facing, and how one of the two parties is planning to deal with our country's future.  They might be able to focus on how the national issues impact individual delegates and intersperse these segments with the major speakers each evening.  But no, that would require working to obtain a story and to inform the public.  That might be too controversial and require some of their staff to actually break a sweat to get REAL news stories that involve critical issues relating to our nation's future.

No, no, no, that's not "news."  That's creating an informed public, which is exactly what television "news" does not want to do.  They want to surf the news cycles with trivial, sensationalistic, and catty news stories and commmentary.  They want to keep viewers attached to the tube to boost their advertising dollars by providing "infotainment," not news or insights into our nation's public policy challenges.  Michael Jackson is news.  Kobe Bryant is news. Laci Peterson is news.  Bill Clinton's little fellatio episode was news.

But the future of America?  That's not news.  That's just BORING!

Long ago, television news stopped being about news and started being about engrossing the viewers through flimsy speculative opinion about the character of public officials, rather than about their policies.  I mean, why are the big three networks here at all? What's the point.  They could just have a pool camera and stay home.  They don't plan on developing any stories that might actually deviate from the media "conventional wisdom" that is doled out to them through RNC and White House message points.  So what's the point of pretending to "cover" the convention?

There are supposed to be something like three media-related people in Boston for each delegate.  Many of them are print reporters -- and a few, very few, Internet sites like BuzzFlash (including a handful of bloggers). We found some of the print people and television news researchers in a room reserved for filing stories.  It's supposed to be a place a reporter, like BuzzFlash, can go to send stories over the Internet or to use to call information into the "home office."  But if you don't get there first thing, all the seats and phone lines are taken for the rest of the day by media people who appear to be covering the convention by watching the television monitors placed in the room.  Duh, couldn't they do this from their living room?

Actually, this is not an unusual occurence.  At large events of any sort, where there is limited room access, reporters are housed in tents and watch the actual political event on television screens. So the images and words on television become the basis for stories that you read.  It kind of seems like news masturbation, except most of it isn't even news, it's infotainment or, in the case of the White House, "govertainment," as BuzzFlash has come to call it. 

Okay, before we get into our "three stars and a hunk" commentary, we just wanted to ask, "Okay, this is a free country, but couldn't they just declare the Fleet Center in Boston a 'No Bill O'Reilly' zone?" Honestly, FOX News has a big showy booth inside with the slogan "We Report. You Decide." displayed all over it. And you can see O'Reilly in there gesticulating like a toy terrier on speed, or a drunk at a bar -- you know, the kind of guy whose wife has just kicked him out of the house and he's cursing her out over a few boilermakers to anyone who will listen. And you know what, you just want to go up there and kick his chair out from under him. Not that we mean any harm to him. It's just the chair that would take a licking. And if he complained about tumbling to the ground, we would just yell, "Shut up, this is our convention hall!"

Now that we have gotten that off our chest, night two of the Democratic Convention saw the emergence of three stars -- and a hunk. Hey, is BuzzFlash getting cheesy or what? Okay, the hunk -- every convention has one -- was Chris Heinz, who introduced his mother. The guy is handsome as heck -- and worth a fortune. Tell Jeb's son, the kid who broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment, to eat his heart out.

Now, we're done with our tabloid journalism for the moment.

Onto the stars.

The first and foremost star of the evening was, of course, Barack Obama. We're a little biased, because we know him a bit -- and he's going to be our home state senator and all. (BuzzFlash is based in Chicago.) But the guy was incredible. He's got it all: delivery, poise, charisma, language, overarching themes, and good looks to boot. And he beat the expectation's game. You know, the one where everyone says how great a person is going to be. And then, when they are just good, people are disappointed.

Well, Barack WAS great. This guy knows how to tell the American story through his own life and through the lives of people whom he has met on the campaign trail. Here are some excerpts of Obama's keynoter:

"I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to he self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

***

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted — or at least, most of the time.

***

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America — there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!"

(End of excerpts.)

 
Let's just say Barack hit a home run and then ran out of the park to catch the ball! And not too long ago, this guy lost a Congressional primary battle to Bobby Rush and was practically broke. Whoa, what a difference a couple of years makes. As Barack would say, only in America. People all around us were muttering things like "this guy is going places" or "he'll be running for president some day." The guy just didn't miss a beat.  Okay, a star is born.

Our second star of the evening was 12-year-old Ilana Wexler, who founded "Kids for Kerry." Apparently, Teresa Heinz Kerry (who we'll get to in a moment) was on a stage with Ilana in her home state of California and recommended that she speak at the convention, in prime time, just after Ron Reagan and just before Teresa herself. Talk about pressure!

But this kid was as confident as Barack. She made George W. Bush look like the worst student in a public speaking class. Ilana even knew how to wait for the applause to die down a little bit in order to get her punch lines heard. When she scolded Dick Cheney for saying a bad word on the senate floor that she would receive a time out from her parents for saying, the place went up for grabs. And when she went on to say that she thinks, as a result, that the vice-president should get a time out, the Fleet Center rocked with laughter and cheers. There'll be a dozen Hollywood agents camped out in front of Illana's door before she returns to California.

And then, our third star, is none other than Teresa Heinz Kerry. She told her story, the story of an immigrant to America, the story of a fighter against apartheid in South Africa (where she went to college after leaving her native Mozambique), the story of a woman who wants to work toward the day when a woman who speaks her mind is treated just like a man who speaks his mind, with respect and a level playing field.

Teresa became a star by beating the expectation's game too. Conventional wisdom had it that she would speak fast, digress and say something outrageous. But she was insightful, warm, sincere, and on message. Like Obama, she came off as the embodiment of the American dream, someone who values liberty and freedom even more, because she wasn't born into it. And she's certainly a symbol of unifying Republicans and Democrats, given that her first husband (killed in a plane crash) was a Republican Senator and her current husband is a Democratic Senator.

We'd love to see her debate Laura Bush. You could just see the "deer in the headlights look" in Laura's eyes before she was even asked her first question. Hey, we can dream can't we?

You'd think Republicans would love Teresa. After all, she can AFFORD to be herself. But they have taken to attacking Heinz Ketchup, which she doesn't run and which gives primarily to Republican candidates. Talking about biting off your nose to spite your face!

I guess the next step for the barbarian House Republicans will be to ban ketchup with their "freedom fries." (Some Republican birdbrains are actually producing "W" ketchup to replace Heinz ketchup.)

But we digress.

Although we thought Teresa Heinz Kerry was a star, a lot of white male media pundits and the anti-Hillary nuts are going to probably come out of the closet again. Any woman with an opinion is distasteful to them. And Heinz Kerry isn't about to rein herself in and become a Stepford wife.

It's really a battle between modernity and Biblical female subservience. That's the Teresa Heinz Kerry/Laura Bush match up in a nutshell.

But the whole Bush Cartel is a "roll-back-the-clock" assault on social progress -- and an effort to impose a religious fundamentalist perspective on the nation. Bush's personal war against Islam is kind of like the Taliban Christian fundamentalists versus the Taliban Muslim clerics. No, we don't think that this is some sort of demented theory.

Yes, there are terrorists who want to kill any American they can. Al Qaeda is among that group. But Bush's personal war on terrorism is really a combination holy war and war for profits.

Which leads us back to Teresa Heinz Kerry. A wife with strong opinions doesn't have much of a place in the world of the American Taliban Christian fundamentalists.

That means the Democrats are going to have to get a lot of women to the polls who aren't interested in being subservient Stepford wives. And they are going to have to be prepared for the white male bilious attacks on Kerry because he has an independent-thinking wife, which is what was behind a lot of the anti-Clinton venom. That's just the reality that is going to come with the territory. So the Kerry people better come out swinging and crush these guys before they get out of the gate, although they already are.

And don't forget that there are many working class women who can be threatened by a wealthy, free speaking first lady.  So Teresa is going to have to woo women who work blue collar jobs to help support their families.  Let's just hope she doesn't say, "I don't sit around baking cookies." 

No offense, Hillary.  We love you.  But career-minded, wealthy Democratic women need to reassure working class and poor women that you empathize with their situations, which are a lot more survival oriented.  Hillary learned her lesson from 1992 and took the right approach when she ran for senator from New York.  But the Republicans will try to exploit a class wedge between Teresa and working women, trust us.  They will paint her as snooty, elitist and out of touch with their values and economic challenges. (Of course, it's a cynical and exploitative strategy, but remember that we're talking about Bush Cartel Republicans who have no ethics.) Just remember what they did to Hillary.

As for the rest of the evening, just some brief comments:

• Ted Kennedy effectively made the case that Massachusetts is the cradle of liberty and equal rights (which BuzzFlash noted in this blog on Sunday). If Massachusetts is so hated by the right wing Republican Bush Cartel Taliban, the question is why. Can we say to Bush and his partners in extremism, "You hate Massachusetts for its freedom." We think we can.
• Ron Reagan made an articulate, forceful argument for stem cell research and tipped his hat that he will support Kerry-Edwards without mentioning them by name. The Dems got Ron Reagan; the Republicans get Zell Miller. The Dems come way out ahead on this one.
• Howard Dean got his due on Tuesday. The man who energized the Democratic Party looked relaxed and sincere as he urged Dems to unite behind Kerry and Edwards.
• On another note, we should point out that the Kerry Campaign has been, shall we say, a little aggressive in enforcing message discipline. You may not have noticed, but there are no printed signs for any other candidates. Before each major speaker, Kerry volunteers distribute signs appropriate for that speaker to the entire arena. Signs for other candidates are confiscated at the door of the Fleet Center. In fact, delegates who were elected on behalf of other candidates have taken to handwriting messages about their former candidates and holding them up. As long-time advocates for Democratic Party message discipline, we think that this decision by the Kerry camp was perhaps a bit over zealous, shall we say. We understand the intent, but it's hard to criticize Bush for enforcing sham "free speech" zones and prohibition of Kerry T-shirts at Bush speaking engagements when you can't bring a Dean sign into the Convention Hall. In fact, in a row we were sitting in, someone was reduced to passing around Dean stickers smuggled into the Convention Center. Come on, Kerry Campaign, you're doing a great job at message unity, but this is a little hard to swallow, as is the grim "free speech zone" that looks like detention camp, outside the Fleet Center.

But back to the opposition. All sorts of mainstream papers are delivering free daily editions to convention participants. If you want to know why readers and viewers of Murdoch-owned media are so ill-informed about the truth -- and about the Democrats -- consider these two different list of front page headline stories: In the Boston Globe, you will find "Kennedy leads the attack"; "Kerry Backs Extending Mandate of 9/11 Panel; and "For Texas Delegates, a Lonely Role." On the cover of Rupert "Dr. Evil" Murdoch's New York Post, you will find just two blaring headlines: "Revealed: The Case Against Jacko"; and "Britney's Grim Grave." In the Post, coverage of the Democratic Convention doesn't begin until page 6, and then it's basically just two pages of biased reporting, mostly trashing Teresa Heinz.

Well, it's Wednesday morning and onto Day Three. Tonight Edwards will make his acceptance speech -- and tomorrow Kerry has his defining moment.

Overall assessment: the Democrats are unified; the Kerry campaign is running a tight, well-coordinated Convention; and the Bush slimesters are going to target Teresa, just as they did Hillary, to rile up the wounded egos of white males who feel psychologically embattled by women and minorities.

The ticket of the day on Tuesday, outside of the convention itself, was an afternoon forum put together by "Take Back America," one of the leading progressive advocacy groups that have emerged to counter the right wing think tank/coalition/Republican/media machine.

At 2 PM, they paired Howard Dean and Michael Moore in a standing room only presentation (as an overflow crowd stood outside the hotel). The ballroom at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge was steamy as the media in attendance nearly squeezed out the activist crowd yearning for some "frank talk" after the carefully controlled messaging of the main show at the Fleet Center.

A relaxed, smiling Howard Dean talked unity and jabbed Bush, even invoking the "F" word (fascism), while mentioning that he probably shouldn't be saying such things.

Dean touted his ongoing grassroots efforts to encourage activists to run for political offices from zoning boards to the White House. Don't even be scared of running in the South, Dean urged the activists. "We need to take the progressive message to Mississippi," Dean said. Yes, you might not win the first time around, he noted, but eventually the progressive message will resonate, because it appeals to the working people of America.

In essence, most Americans don't know what being progressive or liberal is; they just react to the negative association created by the Republicans and media about the names. They react to the right wing partisan packaging, not the content of the box.

Dean drew roaring support when he repeated one of his "controversial" statements that America is less safe since Saddam Hussein has been captured than it was before the Bush Cartel public relations event.

The crowd rose to its feet as Dean exhorted, "We need to stop being afraid." (And he also revealed that Kerry told him that he would sign national healthcare coverage legislation.)

And then, after a panel discussion among progressive leaders (including Robert "an economist is a person who doesn't have the personality to be an accountant" Reich), it was time for Michael.

Michael, our own anti-corporate, anti-Bush teddy bear, who did a stint at Mother Jones Magazine, is our progressive star of 2004. He's done the unthinkable: put together two progressive political documentaries that have grossed millions and millions of dollars. ("Fahrenheit 911" has grossed over $100 million as of this posting and he predicted it will take in more than a quarter of a billion dollars after all rights are sold.). Michael has done what no documentary filmmaker has done before, let alone a working class hero and advocate. He has made his politics -- in Hollywood parlance -- bankable.

He has a branded persona, yes, but one that pushes at the edge of the envelope, one that creates new paradigms, one that breaks through the Republican "survival of the richest" veil foisted upon us by the corporate media.

Rather than describe Michael's presentation, we thought that we would just offer a few choice quotations (by the way, it was announced that he is showing "Fahrenheit 9/11" film in Crawford, Texas, this week):

"It's all over but the voting."

"The true patriots are those who think it is important to ask questions, to dissent when necessary."

"There's an unstated villain in 'Fahrenheit 911' and that's the media.... It outs them as cheerleaders for the administration, as shills for war, journalists who fell asleep on the job, who didn't ask the hard questions. The one thing I hear over and over again when I listen to people come out of the theater is, 'I never heard that on the news.'"

"Members of the Press: We need you. Don't ever send us to war again without asking questions. You do us no service by hopping on a bandwagon....Or you're just afraid of being accused of being un-American if you ask the hard questions of the administration. That's not un-American; that's patriotic."

To the audience: "Of course, you've always supported the troops. You didn't have to prove that. They are the ones that come from the other side of the tracks, the very people that the Bush administration is abusing. You do not support the troops when you send our young men and women to die in order to enrich your supporters, the Halliburtons of the world. That is un-American."

"General Electric owns NBC. They have $600 million in contracts for the Iraq war. They are war profiteers. So I'm not surprised that NBC news isn't exposing the truth about the Iraq war....You haven't been embedded, you just got into bed with the wrong people."

"Most Americans are liberal and progressive. There are just a minority of people who hate....They are not patriots; they are hatriots. We are the patriots; they are the hatriots."

"Who are the 50% who don't vote? They are the ones most hurt by the Bush Administration....I think that we are going to see a significant number of them leave their houses and vote on November 2nd. You won't see that story reported because they are focusing on 'likely' voters. People are angry. They want Bush out of the White House. They want to send their kids to college. They want to be able to go to the doctor. This is not a 50/50 country."

After Michael learned of the leading NASCAR driver who saw "Fahrenheit 911," took his crew to see it, and liked it, Michael said, "I sure hope George Bush wasn't eating pretzels when he learned about this."

"This whole experience with Disney not releasing the film. The film has gone on to make more money than any Disney films this year. [I was a bit surprised] because the corporate world has always let greed overcome any distaste they have for me."

"Thank God for Canadians. They are like us, only better. They are like the Boston Red Sox. Their time will come."

"The Saudi Royal Family earns over 30% of Euro-Disney. They wrote Michael Eisner a check for $300 million to bail out the project. And who put the deal together? The Carlyle Group."

"The other side is not going to go peacefully....They are not going to go without a fight, and they are better fighters than we are. They are up at 6 in the morning trying to figure what minority that they are going to screw today. Our side, we never see 6 in the morning, unless we've been up all night. They are going to be out there lying and smearing -- and we have to fight them with the truth. There can be no stopping."

"We are going to see Republicans for Kerry movements across the country. There are some good Republicans....All we have to do is show that George W. Bush has taken money from them and their grandchildren."

"Here's my message to John Kerry and the rest of the Democrats. You will not win by being weak-kneed and wimpy. If you move to the right, thinking that you will pick up a sliver of votes from 'likely' voters, if you give up your principles and move that way, the base will stay home....If you don't have a message that will show African Americans how their lives will be better, they will not turn out on election day. And you will not win this election."

"A word about Ralph Nader [boos from the audience]. Yes, the Republicans do love Nader. I just came from Michigan, and they got him on the ballot. I tried to explain to Ralph that the Democratic Party of 2004 is not the Democratic Party of 2000, and they have moved toward the progressive side. Even the Al Gore of 2004 isn't the Al Gore of 2000....So my appeal to the Nader voters, to the Greens out there, is that we have a different job to be doing here. My message to Ralph is, 'this is so un-cool to be doing this.'"

Moore was unapologetic about his support of Kerry, explaining that Kerry voted for the war authorization bill because Congress was lied to by the White House, just like the rest of us were lied to.

(We apologize to Michael if we didn't get every word exactly right. By the way, this is a guy who looks exactly the same in person as he does in his films -- baseball cap, paunch, slouch and all. And he doesn't need a microphone.)

One thing to remember about Michael Moore, one important thing. As the Democratic Party shunned talking about class issues, Michael kept pushing them back on the table. He's made the dire economic conditions of Flint, Michigan, representative of issues affecting all working class and working poor Americans.

There are signs that the Democrats finally realize that they cannot evade the impact of the class warfare waged by the Republicans. Much is owed to Michael Moore for that development.

"Take Back America" is sponsoring a series of panels on afternoons before the convention. They are to be commended. 

Anyone who reads BuzzFlash knows that we have often criticized the Democrats for underestimating the importance of the visual image in a day when television is the primary vehicle for influencing voter perception. 

The Republicans are masters at using advertising techniques (the same kinds that have persuaded millions of millions of Americans to smoke and die early deaths -- just think Marlboro Man (George W. Bush) here).  The GOP knows how to sell "perceived need"  for a product (i.e., Bush) -- and then pull a bait and switch.

Well, the class act performance at the Fleet Center on Monday night proved that the Democrats have finally gotten the message: image counts.  Heck, segments of the evening (timed for hourly television breaks) weren't just on time; some even ended early!

The Fleet Center is one big Hollywood Set, from the the circling message and image board that lines the upper tier -- that moves froms stars and stripes to tag lines like "A Stronger America" -- to the Hollywood set that serves as the stage, the Dems have gotten the message: ideas are not enough.  In a society whose main pastime is entertainment, you have to produce a compelling image.  Good Lord, if only ideas mattered, how could half of this country still be thinking of voting for Bush?  That guy hasn't had an idea since he tried to punch his father out (the former president) after smashing a family car into the garage during a drunken spree in his 20s.

Yes, the evening even included Al and Tipper Gore reenacting their famous lip lock from the 2000 convention -- and they did it twice! 

Speeches were short and crisp -- and on message.  Even Bill Clinton kept to the schedule.

Tesitmonials and compelling personal stories were projected from remote locations on the largest screen I have ever seen.  All sorts of coordinated visual images complimented the mood of the moment on monitors of varying sizes unobtrusively placed around the main speaking areas.

There was a classy, moving tribute to the victims of 9/11 that will make the September Republican coronation in NYC look like shameless exploitation, which is exactly how Karl Rove has planned it. 

It was clear from the Fleet Center crowd that they were going to be very unlike Democrats usually are.  This year, the debates over party platform planks -- the policy differences that so often leave the Democratic Party dying of a thousand self-inflicted infighting cuts -- were overlooked out of a united desire to rid America of the anti-democracy, inept, wallet-stuffing, insufferable Bush Administration.  The arguments over policy can wait until Kerry is inaugurated.  That's the imperative here.  That's the bottom line.

Although a Boston Globe delegate poll found that 95 percent now believe the United States should never have gone to war in Iraq, they were more than willing to cut Kerry and Edwards some slack. If it takes a little finessing to win over some working class voters (fearful because Tom Ridge keeps popping out to keep them scared with his alerts), then so be it.

This year, it's all about winning, and image building, and outfoxing Karl Rove and his brown shirts.

In one of the recent documentaries on Bush, one critic notes that in 2000 the Bush Cartel saw itself fighting a war to win the election, no matter what means were used.  Ethics, the law, justice, actual vote counts -- none of this was of any interest to the Bush crowd.  They'd kick you in the groin and then complain to the referee for not calling a penalty on YOU!  Meanwhile, the Dems, led by the principled Al Gore, played by the rules.

It was like Al Capone's enforcers playing a football game against a group of Quakers.

But, last night, you got the sense that things were going to be a little different this year.  Many Democrats and Independents have been critical of Kerry for not being hard hitting enough against Bush, for lacking passion, for not going for the jugular.

But as you walk through the Fleet Center and see photos of Kerry running for various offices, of his Vietnam protests, of him investigating the BCCI scandals, you realize that he IS a fighter.  He's just got a different style.

For Kerry, justice and vengeance are, as the expression goes, best served cold.  And that's the way he wins too.  You can barely hear him coming up behind you, but, by then, it's too late.

Ask William Weld and some of Kerry's other opponents.

We might yet be proved wrong. But Monday night at the Fleet Center, you felt something was stirring in the air, a confidence that Democrats haven't felt in quite some while -- and they left feeling the same way.

Everything from the smiling volunteers to the superb scripting to the dazzling visuals worked.

Can this kind of competence, momentum and energy be maintained over the next three days?

We'll see.  The future of democracy depends upon it.  The people in the Fleet Center are the ones responsible for taking on the Al Capone squad and beating them in the 9th inning, with whatever it takes.

And you got the feeling that this time the Democrats were going to come it at with "strength and wisdom," as Bill Clinton noted of John Kerry.

BuzzFlash also advises that they bring their bats to Floridas, just in case the Tom DeLay anti-democracy SS division shows up again.  The Republicans regard democracy as an inconvenience.  The Democrats regard it as birthright that comes with citizenship in this great country.

It's something worth fighting for -- and that's what you felt like last night.

A good political program saves the best for last -- and Monday night was no exception at the Fleet Center in Boston.

From 4 PM there had been speakers, including a toned-down, but effective Al Gore. (Everyone dutifully stayed on message, and the new passionately indignant Al Gore had to obviously pull some of his punches.)

But after 10 PM EST, the triple punch began.

First, a Vietnam swiftboat crewmate of John Kerry's, Reverend David Alston, brought the house down with his forceful account of Kerry's heroics. It was as if he was giving a Sunday morning sermon about heroism and the strength of character, building upon the metaphor of who is best equipped to be the captain of our nation's ship.

Then Hillary Clinton came forward to introduce her husband. Maybe they don't like Hillary in Tuscaloosa, but the Dems can't get enough of her. In an era of concern that the party might not be hitting back strongly enough, Hillary represents the "give as good as you get" wing (a small group that could fit in a closet) of the Democratic Party -- and she's a woman to boot, which is why they hate her in Tuscaloosa to begin with.

And then it was time for the Big Dog -- and the man had the audience from the moment he stepped on stage. This guy doesn't just embrace the podium; he wraps his arms around the entire arena.

After the pro-Bush media pundits analyze the Big Dog's speech, they'll reduce it to the moronic question of whether or not having Bill Clinton speak will hurt Kerry with conservatives and independents. Okay, the guy brought eight years of prosperity, relative peace, justice, and modernity to this country. If somebody isn't going to vote for Kerry because Bill Clinton spoke at the convention, they weren't going to vote for Kerry anyway. Because they are too stupid to see what is for their own good, given that subconscious racism, fear of strong women and gun worship cloud their judgement.

Let's just say, if every American were in the Fleet Center when Bill Clinton spoke on behalf of John Kerry, the election would have been over. He closed the deal. The Big Dog left the wimpy, mommy's boy, rich kid Bush in the dust.

Bill Clinton was self-deprecating, expansive, and sweeping in his knowledge. The guy could swat away Bush's inability to handle world affairs like a mosquito.

But Bill, like all the other evening's speakers was there to tout Kerry, and he not only touted Kerry, he made anyone who would vote for Bush sound like someone voting for his own hangman.

As for the Bush Cartel questioning Kerry's credentials on national security, Clinton curtly noted that unlike the current White House resident, Kerry proves that "strength and wisdom are not opposing values." Ouch!

"They need a divided America but we don't," Clinton said by way of explaining that the Republicans can't rule honestly because their real interest is in the upper 1% of wage earners, so they can only continue governing by dividing the country (on cultural values wedge issues.)

If you didn't see the speech, all we can say was that the master was at the top of his game.

As one of our readers Ron Brown, noted:

"The major speakers at the Democratic Convention Monday night were all great. But the real master of oratory, Bill Clinton, made one of his greatest speeches. No one compares to him, least of all GW.

I hope all of you listened to him compare the values of the Democrats to those of the Republicans. And he included himself along with Bush and Cheney when it came to dodging the draft, saying John Kerry could have also, but he said "Send me." And his account of Kerry's military service was very stirring, as was his entire speech. I doubt there is even one other person alive today who can give a speech like Bill Clinton. He makes Bush sound like the village idiot. Like FDR, he would have been reelected again and again without the two term limit which Republicans demanded.

Maybe we will once again see more of WJC when Democrats return to the White House."

 
Our first media myth of the day debunking. Although there are plenty of plain clothes security people at hotels -- and security at the convention itself is alleged to be tight -- Boston looks nothing at all like a fortress. In fact, well, it looks like Boston. The only difference we noted driving in a shuttle van from Logan Airport was that a lot of Bostonians have left town, because they were scared away by all the talk of Boston BECOMING a fortress. It's kind of like the whole Tom Ridge Crayola color alert scare thing in a nutshell.

If you were a tourist, it would be a great time to take a stroll around the tranquil, playful Boston Commons or a walk down the Charles River.

On another thought, the right wing Taliban Bush Cartel Republicans are going to do everything to turn Boston into some sort of symbolic liberal bogeyman. We don't get it. It's a prosperous city full of nice people, kind of a mellow, smaller New York. Bostonians are Northeasterners with the civility and friendliness that we see so often in our home base of Chicago.

How can you be down on a city and state that were the birthplaces of democracy and the abolition movement? Well, if you are the Neo-Confederacy "God has chosen me" party (AKA the GOP), these are bad things, apparently. The Republican Party, in large part, has spent the last 40 years refighting the Civil War. They want to put enough reactionary, plantation-style judges on the Federal Court to avenge the surrender of Robert E. Lee. Scary stuff.

As long as we're rambling, we should note, for those who haven't attended conventions, how wonderfully, well, democratic, they are. You can find yourself in a cab with a senator or having breakfast next to a big city mayor, or the head of a labor union, or a woman small business owner with the delegation from Guam. It's like a huge college reunion (with 35,000 attendees), full of official  and informal gatherings, parties, forums -- and, of course, unless we forget, the ACTUAL convention at the Fleet Center, where Bill Clinton leads the roster of speakers tonight.

While we are getting ready to go over to the convention hall, we thought BuzzFlash readers would like to see what the press is provided as background information. Here is what the Kerry campaign sent out about Monday night's speakers and themes:

Not that we would be the ones to think that the large salaries of the TV anchor person pundits pumping up Bush's image everyday have anything to do with their pro-White House bias.  I mean, who could suspect such a thing?  These people are touted as unbiased, neutral talking heads full of non-partisan hot air, but could their salaries and class influence their coverage?  Or is it just that General Electric, Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch, Time-Warner and the like sign their paychecks?

As we watched some of the Sunday morning coverage of the upcoming Democratic convention, we couldn't help but be struck by how seriously these blowhards take the Bush administration, as if they have no memory of his failings and lies.  Today's spin was that the 9/11 Commission warned that a big terrorist attack was coming soon, so wouldn't that make voters more likely to stick with Bush? 

Excuse us, but Bush didn't protect us from the last one did he, even though he and Condi were warned about terrorists hijacking planes in the U.S.  And terrorist incidents have risen since Bush's "war on terrorism" commenced.  And Iraq has become a haven for attracting and creating terrorists.

But the news anchors know that they are safe going with the White House/GOP spin.  Their big fat paychecks will keep coming.  If they happened to give some context to the news and point out the failings of the Bush administration, its daily contradictions and lies, its failure to protect America, well they might be out of job.

And if they were fired for telling the truth and giving some honest perspective to the ineptitude and deception of the White House, how much money would they lose?

According to the book "News Flash" (2004), by Bonnie Anderson, here are examples of some of the salaries that would be at risk if mainstream television news personalities told us the truth:

Peter Jennings 
$10- 11 million

Dan Rather
$7 million

Tom Brokaw
$7 -8 million

Katie Couric
$12-15 million

Paula Zahn
$2 million

Don't expect these folks to be rubbing shoulders with the working people of America.  They travel strictly first class and expect to be treated like stars.  Their wealth is dependent upon continued employment by corporations that support the Republicans and the Bush Cartel at the expense of our national security.

BuzzFlash can't say conclusively that their salaries influence their biased punditry, but we'll just ask you to use the common sense test and make your own judgments as you listen to them continue to provide Bush with credibility as someone who can protect our national security, when he puts this country at grave risk everyday because of his rash, politcally and ideologically motivated actions.

The first loyalty of a Republican is to the Republican Party and not America.  And the first loyalty of most of the millionaire talking news heads is to towing the company line, which is to look out for the interests of the Republican Party.

You do the math as you watch these elitists perched on chairs high above the Fleet Convention Center acting as if they are professional journalists. 

It would be easy to become jaded about covering the Boston Democratic Convention. 

Nowadays, it's pretty much the conventional wisdom that each party gathers every four years to package its candidate for the consumer market.  Conventions have become -- as Andrew Card said about the Bush Cartel campaign to "sell" the Iraq War -- product rollouts.  In this case, however, the products are candidates for the President of the United States.

And there is much truth in this.  Especially since the modern media is essentially a vehicle for "branding" candidates, just like the way in which products are advertised: through the establishment of a certain image and then repeating that image again and again until it is seared into the subconscious of the consumer.

That is why the Bush Cartel so cynically and erroneously spent millions of ad dollars and hours of media shill time trying to brand John Kerry as a flip-fopper.  Because, in today's advertising and message-point repetition driven political scene, you have to create an image and then market it like detergent.

In modern politics, voters are the consumers -- and the candidates are the products that we are given to select from. 

Many modern voters can't see what's in front of them -- a lying, inept, cynical, pathological, radical, dangerous, unpatriotic administration of Barbary pirates who use cultural wedge issues to cynically exploit middle class and working poor whites.  What they see is what they are sold through political advertising and the distorted prism of the overwhelmingly pro-Bush and pro status quo mainstream media.

Which brings us back to why we are NOT cynical about the Democratic Convention that will unfold in Boston on Monday.  Because conventions can  be a time to reflect upon what a national political party stands for at its core, what values and principles it has championed over time.

Yes, the Democratic Party has failed an identity test at times in recent years.  It has sometimes left part of its soul behind as it tried to pursue the corporate support that holds up much of the Republican Party.  But it was an errant walk on the wrong side of tracks, doomed to failure. 

Because in its heart, the Democratic Party is not about protecting the interests of big business through regulations that stifle competition (which is what the modern incarnation of the Republican Party is about.  No, the GOP doesn't stand for free markets.  It stands for fixed markets that guarantee decreased competition, so that its big contributors can be assured large market shares without having to innovate or lower their prices.  This then leads to CEOs being paid millions of dollars in salary for companies that are so poorly run that they lose money. That is the business model Bush uses to run America, but we digress.)

No, the Democratic Party, when it shines, is about community, opportunity and individual rights. 

Are we a nation that respects the individuality of all its citizens, believes in their equality, and champions a national community that benefits from diversity, innovation, opportunity and economic competition?  Then we are Democrats.

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yes, remember that the American Revolution began just miles away from the Fleet Convention Center in Boston, where the first shots in the war against the oppressive King George were fired by Massachusetts liberals, not sanctimonious hypocrites who lived off the sweat of slavery in the South.

The Republican Party has become the party of choice for stifling the market place, imposing the perceived "values" of the minority on the majority, believers in a theocracy, believers in a plutocracy, liars, warmongerers, fanatics, subconscious racists, and people who believe that the phrase "the public good" is some sort of concept created by "evildoers."  And to boot, they support an inept approach to national security that leaves our nation vulnerable to internal and external fanatics.

And what kind of party makes an unpassable amendment to ban gay marriages a center piece of its presidential campaign?  As one wag recently noted, if Bush were sincere about trying to "save" heterosexual marriage, he should have supported a constitutional amendment to ban divorce.  But that would have affected too many Republicans!

The modern Republican Party has little respect for individual rights.  It is a Big Brother theocracy that wants to jettison the Constitution and replace it with a plantation-era Bible. It believes in opportunity only for rich white people and diminishing futures for every other American.  It believes in a community of the rich and "saved," and damnation for everybody else.

The Democrats believe that this nation prospers from embracing its diversity, fostering individual liberties, using the government to offer oppurtunity, and celebrating the community of citizens known as America.  It is the party that REALLY believes in the Constitution, that REALLY takes freedom and civil liberties seriously.  It is the party that respects the next person's opinion and their rights.

The Republicans have become modern day Tories, seeking to assert an individual world view and theocratic outlook on a nation that doesn't want to be shackled by an "all knowing" government.  The nations of Europe tried that approach and these non-democracy governments eventually collapsed, because dictatorships (call it a monarchy or call it communism) ultimately implode of their own failures and inertia.

We had one-party divine rule in North America once, and that's what led to the American Revolution.

So it is fitting that this year's Democratic Convention is being held in the city that most symbolizes the first shots fired for freedom at Lexington and Concord. 

John Kerry is called a Massachusetts liberal (with a sneer) by the Karl Rove media spin shock troops.  He is called a "centrist" Democrat (with a sigh) by many progressives.

We'll just call the war hero a Patriot, a Unionist, a believer in the public good.  

Like  all good Democrats, he believes in a national community, in the value of individual faith, in economic opportunity.

He will accept the nomination of the Democratic Party in an area rich in Revolutionary tradition, of people who valued freedom over individual self-gain and a totalitarian religious perspective.

Once again, Americans will formally begin the struggle to rid themselves of the tyranny of King George.