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A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Iraq
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BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by W. O. Coach
Here I was, innocently making my way to the liquor store to pick up a fresh supply of groceries, when the portable radio on my car's passenger seat bleated out a news bulletin that the United States of America had followed through with it's threat to drop several tons of ordinance on a bunker in Baghdad, which sorta rhymes with ragtag.
I had to listen to the news on the portable, because I'd previously lost it a few days earlier listening to Rush, and took it out on what was once a perfectly good car radio in excellent working condition. But that's another story.
Like most people around the world, I'm sure, I asked myself how in the heck did we get to this? Why in the name of one's personal favorite religious icon would America want to come crushing down with all the might of the world's most advanced and sophisticated weaponry on an isolated tin pot dictator? Yeah sure, he's not a very nice guy, but a clear and present danger to the United States of America? He doesn't even control the northern or southern parts of his own impoverished country. At best, he's like the Governor of Baghdad.
The news made me so angry, I drove right past the liquor store and had to make a fancy U-turn to get back to my originally stated purpose for being in the car in the first place.
As the weight of the news settled in, my anguish turned to one G. W. Bush and his handlers who were only in position to make this decision because of a one-time, no precedent allowed decision, rendered by a blatant 5 - 4 conservative, partisan-leaning Supreme Court. Talk about the fix being in.
But returning home, happy to know I could put groceries on my family, a funny thing happened. Was this really Bush's fault? Sure, he never mentioned Iraq or Hussein during his 2000 presidential run and many suspected the issue became important only because his approval ratings were plummeting as a result of his domestic and foreign policy bumbling. And he gave us clues. Remember, "y'all check my record in Texas" during the debates. I did and it gave new meaning to atrocious. I can't believe Laura voted for him. Put George W under oath, and if he is really born again, he might have to admit he didn't vote for himself either.
The fault as to why we sit where we are, pariahs in the international community, the real butchers of Baghdad, is not George W. Bush's fault. Americans would have known better in 2000 if only they had the real story. They didn't because the U. S. media was complicit in distorting the news. The U. S. media is the main culprit. They fooled all of us. Why?
Follow the money.
They didn't make Gore look badly because they failed to run Clinton out of office. They didn't cover for Bush because they thought he was a homey nice guy. They did it for the money. Thanks to repealing the Fairness Doctrine, ten companies for the most part control all the news in the United States. The news divisions of most media sources were never expected to earn a profit, until now. War and recession sell. Peace and prosperity are boring and a non-starter. Instead of just reporting the news, the media has to fabricate it for ratings to sell advertising.
No?
Explain a right wing bible-thumping tobacco lawyer like Ken Starr scrounging through every trailer camp in Arkansas trying to find someone, anyone, who would lie about Clinton's complicity in Whitewater. Imagine, spending seventy some million dollars to prove a guy who lost thousands on the deal is a thief. Enter the liberal rag New York Times. And even after an initial investigation and two Independent Councils exonerating the Clintons, the New York Times is yet to apologize. Liberal biased media.....puh-leeze.
Don't ask me how, but this brings us back to the invasion of Iraq. CNN, Fox, MSMBC are 24/7 on Iraq. If it wasn't for Iraq, what else would they cover? More Clinton?
So here, finally, is the funny thing. I'm not going to watch cable TV news anymore. I'm not going to watch network news either. I'm not even going to buy a newspaper. From here on in I'm going to get my news from the internet. I may check out the odd newspaper online, or watch movies, but not a single advertiser is going to get a nickel from my news gathering as long as the internet is out there and it's free.
I don't recommend this form of protest to anyone else because I do believe in paying for fair services rendered. But until TV shows understand that news is news, and that their job is to report the news and not fabricate it, and advertisers are willing to support news programs based on that premise, I'm outta here. Meanwhile, it doesn't hurt people of like mind to contribute to sites like Bartcop and BuzzFlash. MWO too if they'd accept it.
Have a nice day and try not to listen to your car radio between the hours of noon and three pm ET.
W. O. Coach
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
Articles in the BuzzFlash Contributor section are posted as-is. Given the timeliness of some Contributor articles, BuzzFlash cannot verify or guarantee the accuracy of every word. We strive to correct inaccuracies when they are brought to our attention.
