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to the media et al.-- (this is leading to a call for blasts to the media and your friends)
Brown, Chertoff, Bush et al. have ALL lied like dogs during the last 24 hours about what was going on, even while being contradicted by on-the-ground video and reports from the media in N.O.
They have claimed that no one could have foreseen the levee breaches; that no one had yet requested the National Guard, when in fact the mayor and governor had been pleading for them; that we had plenty of forces ready to act, when in fact they're available in inadequate numbers and many are still hours if not days away; that they were entirely ignorant of the concentrations of helpless folks at the convention center and in hospitals--how could they be ignorant, when WE all knew of them?; that they couldn't get into N.O. because it was too dangerous, even while the media were there, not to mention the thousands of law-abiding N.O.'ers; that we don't need the offered help from other countries; and otherwise acting like there's no big problem, or wouldn't be if those terrible "looters" would just stop shooting at would-be rescuers.
It's the same tactic this Admin has used throughout: just lie through your teeth, because reality doesn't matter so long as you control perceptions, and you can control perceptions pretty fully by just getting a chorus to consistently repeat over and over falsehoods that folks are likely to want to believe. I guess you just have to control perceptions sufficiently to take care of the things you care about, e.g. the Oil Ministry, or tax cuts for the wealthy.
This is the FASTEST I recall seeing the media start to call them out on this tactic--thank heavens.
But I'd still like for us to pound home to ALL the media and to others is that it absolutely NECESSARY that people be held accountable for these falsehoods, point by point, and that the record be CORRECTED.
This is not a matter of vengeance; it's a matter of our national physical and mental survival and welfare. As someone more eloquent than me said in something I read today, these lies have CONSEQUENCES. You can manage perceptions by lying, up to a point; but not hurricanes and dehydrated babies, and maybe not even economies.
There are two very bad consequences of NOT holding people accountable and NOT correcting the record. First, so long as we FAIL to hold people accountable for lies that matter, the liars will continue lying, because they've got everything to gain and nothing to lose by it. Second, the lies persist in the popular mind (which is why it would be so much better to just remove the incentive for lying by holding people accountable--once something's out there, however erroneous, it's virtually impossible to kill).
I think it's very important that we approach this in a kind of "truth and reconciliation" spirit. I'm very upset and angry about the terrible things that have happened while Bush has been in office, and I think this anger is useful up to a point, but that it is best channelled into action, rather than into personally attacking, say, individual Republicans in your workplace. I think we can win folks over now--but it's not helpful to inflict pain on others; rather, I think we need open arms, like Cindy. Anger begets anger; attacks beget attacks; and the last thing this country needs is more polarization.
To the point: If you haven't already blasted the media, your gov'l reps, and your friends about this stuff, I hope you will. And while I think the main thrust should be to offer help; I'd really like to make sure they're getting the information needed to see for themselves how many lies have been told in the last 24 hours. Pls help make sure they have all the info at their fingertips, and know we want them to report it!
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