Untitled Document
Death is Patriotic
TV talking heads aren't terribly bright, however smooth their on-air
delivery. During the first Gulf War, I did a lot of shows, both national and
local, and I was mildly astonished by just how stupid many of those hosts were.
Of course, they were conditioned to be that way, 'else they wouldn't have been
given access to whatever level of mass communication they occupied.
I once did a morning show in Connecticut, double-teamed by a flesh-and-blood
Ken and Barbie, and tried to explain to them and their viewers why the corporate
media acts as a state press during wartime (or anytime, for that matter). Glass
eyes. Blank stares. I believe a tumbleweed blew across the faux living room
set. They simply didn't understand what I was talking about, even though I spoke
in English, and refrained from any high falutin' pomo rad-speak.
When I went back to the Green Room to collect my coat and satchel, their next
guest, Vincent Bugliosi, author of "Helter Skelter" and the man who
claims he would've gotten O.J. Simpson convicted, shook my hand, patted me on
the back, and said, "Boy, what a couple of dopes. Wish me luck." And
off he went, game face on, to engage that dim, but finely manicured, duo.
To be honest, I don't mind that TV hosts are largely empty vessels through
which conventional wisdom and related clichés flow. The uncurious and
gullible must earn a buck like the rest of us. But when hosts get aggressive
or try to show that they know What's Going On, that's when you hit back and
push them against the wall to remind them that their main purpose is to fill
airtime between commercials. Chances are you'll be cut off by the producer or
director, but that's okay. If you're gonna get the TV ax, do it on your terms.
If nothing else, it gives the folks at home something interesting, perhaps even
educational, to watch.
Michael Berg, father of Nicholas Berg, who was butchered, allegedly, by Musab
al-Zarqawi, employed this tactic on CNN the other day; and it prompted host
Soledad O'Brien to reveal her inner-jihadist as she prodded and pushed Berg
to take some kind of pleasure in Zarqawi's death. It was one of the more despicable
public displays I've seen of late, necro-porn and tribal hatred passing as "journalism."
Of course, O'Brien, being a pro, tried to shade her rancid opinions by pretending
she was playing devil's advocate. But it was clear that O'Brien was expressing
her personal feelings, and Berg, to his credit, forcefully but diplomatically
shoved O'Brien's bile back down her throat. He was a lot more patient than I
would've been, that's for sure.
While it's easy to mock O'Brien for her public embrace of death, she
certainly didn't set the prevailing mood. When the US Government is waving graphic
pix of a dead Zarqawi in front of any available camera, what a dopey TV host
does is of no serious importance -- it's mere ideological backwash. Still, it
does help to remind us that American elites, and some not so elite, are as barbarous
and vengeful as those they say are uncivilized. I'm somewhat surprised that
US military officials didn't sever Zarqawi's head, pack it in ice, ship it overnight
to DC and have Rumsfeld or Tony Snow or some other administration figure hold
it up by the hair and encourage the Beltway press corps to file by and spit
on it. God knows Soledad O'Brien would've been first in line, just to prove
her patriotism if nothing else. Hey, there's still time. Think of the ratings!
Zarqawi was a thug and a murderer, and if there's any awareness after death,
he's probably chuckling to himself about how the infidels are stealing his act.
Dennis Perrin lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and can be reached
through http://redstateson.blogspot.com
____________________
Read from Looking Glass News
CNN cuts Inflammatory Interview with Michael Berg Re: Zarqawi
http://www.lookingglassnews.org/viewstory.php?storyid=6321