Choreographed Outrage
Not only was the massive Associated Press story-and-photo package to celebrate the 2,000th American death in Iraq written, edited, and shipped more than a week in advance, it seems the reaction to it has been pre-packaged as well.
Today, I was asked again to fill in the letters to the editor pages for tomorrow. I was told especially to find a prominent place for this letter, which has been sitting in the system for several days now, awaiting that 2,000th dead American:
And so forth, on through "the Bush administration is engulfed in scandal ... 'cook up' intelligence that supported invasion ... a crisis in democracy ... cabal in the highest levels of leadership ... their morale continues to drop as they find themselves to be occupiers rather than liberators, as they realize this war was never about freedom, but about oil and empire ... rein in a rogue government ... working to bring [the soldiers] home." More shibboleths than you can shake a stick at, if that's your idea of a good time. It concludes with this pitch:
It's signed by the head of the local "Coalition for Peace & Justice."
Nice to know who we're shilling for, and how far we'll bend over to accomodate them. Of course, since several prominent staff members are prominent members of that organization, this hardly is surprising.
Today, I was asked again to fill in the letters to the editor pages for tomorrow. I was told especially to find a prominent place for this letter, which has been sitting in the system for several days now, awaiting that 2,000th dead American:
Today there are 2,000 fewer U.S. soldiers to support, and thousands fewer Iraqis to "liberate." But let us not callously throw around numbers; for every casualty there is a story, an empty bed, and a grieving family. This is the human cost of war. It is the costliest of all human endeavors. If war is a necessary evil, then there must be a litmus test for its use, and this war does not pass by any standard.
And so forth, on through "the Bush administration is engulfed in scandal ... 'cook up' intelligence that supported invasion ... a crisis in democracy ... cabal in the highest levels of leadership ... their morale continues to drop as they find themselves to be occupiers rather than liberators, as they realize this war was never about freedom, but about oil and empire ... rein in a rogue government ... working to bring [the soldiers] home." More shibboleths than you can shake a stick at, if that's your idea of a good time. It concludes with this pitch:
I invite you to join us at 7:30 p.m. [fill in date to be one day after 2,000th dead American] at the Old Courthouse steps ... to mourn the fallen and stand for a different national and foreign policy.
It's signed by the head of the local "Coalition for Peace & Justice."
Nice to know who we're shilling for, and how far we'll bend over to accomodate them. Of course, since several prominent staff members are prominent members of that organization, this hardly is surprising.
