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BAGannouncements Photo October 31, 2005

Samuel, Bill and Rosa

Reviewing the Alito launch, the most interesting pics seemed to involve the judge’s family. Given that both of these photos featured Democratic icons, you have to wonder if there was specific intention to infuse the nomination with populist symbolism.  Especially in the latter shot, the choice to hold the...

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One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Lashes

If might sound like a throughly ignorant question, but a lot of people have been wondering why Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad drew world-wide attention last week for saying that Israel "must be wiped off the map." The statement was delivered in a keynote speech to a so-called “World Without...

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Scandal Focus Photo October 30, 2005

Your Turn: Rove View Mirror

If there's one image I found most interesting over the past few days, it's this one, from Friday's NYT — published the morning of the Fitzgerald press conference. Considering the number of photos I mull over, my reaction to this one was unique.  When I came across it in...

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Scandal Focus Photo October 29, 2005

Portrait of Conspiracy: The Cabal At Work

(click image for larger version) As more and more information spills out about the deception and double dealing involved in the selling of the Iraq war, you have a paper trail and you have a pictorial trail.  Of course, the two are profoundly different.  With the former, you get...

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Iraq and Afghanistan War Photo October 27, 2005

The New Republic Licks Judy Miller's Boots?

If I’ve discovered anything from running this site, it’s that photo analysis is not to be taken lightly.  (The other thing I’ve learned is that there is never a shortage of people who know an awful lot more about a picture than you do.) That said, I wonder what...

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Bush Focus Photo

Reclaiming The Frame

As Fitzmania builds and good liberals fantasize that Rove will meet a firing squad, my latest question is: Why would photographers suddenly be so interested in depicting reporters and other photographers crowding Bush and Cheney? As most truth is generally multi-determined, the answer to such a question likely involves...

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Iraq and Afghanistan War Photo October 26, 2005

A View Of The Square

Reading the NYT front page story yesterday about the car bombings in Baghdad at the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, I just didn’t imagine it that large.  It wasn’t until I saw the pictures that the scale really came home to me. In the article, however, The Times also made...

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Photo October 25, 2005

Bill Frist, Family Man

In my last Frist post, I proposed to undertake an “informal inquiry” into the personality of Tennessee’s junior Senator.  Specifically, the BAG was hoping to use available photographs to sharpen the understanding of who Frist is, and how he operates. In that previous entry, I presented a photo of...

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Media Focus Photo October 23, 2005

Fact Follows Fiction Follows Spin Follows… Huh?

Although not at the top reaches of the day’s news cycle, here are a pair of pairs which manage to tie-in Democratic and presidential politics, Hollywood, and the editorial influence of the ever more prominent news/newswire entity. Although I just noticed it last night, A.P. issued these two shots,...

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Spin Focus Photo

No Other Way To Couch It

At this stage of the nomination dance, why does the typical Harriet Miers photo still show her waiting alone outside some Senator’s door (and positioned so far away, no less)?  The answer — which some right wingers are desperately trying to justify as qualification — is that she earned...

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Uncategorized Photo October 20, 2005

Your Turn: They Don't Mug Like They Used To

When your mandate is to keep tabs on the political images of the day, people come to expect you’ll snag the more prominent ones. Maybe this shot is showing up "left and right" (or, at least, "left and far left") today.  Putting it up on the BAG, however, means...

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The Saddam Show

Visually, the coverage of Saddam Hussein’s day in court was interesting from a number of angles. (First off, however, I have to get your take on the "enclosure" that contained Hussein and his codefendants.  I know I have a number of readers in the Middle East, so perhaps someone...

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Culture Focus Photo October 18, 2005

If They All Do It…

I feel I’ve got to play devil’s advocate here. Dennis Dunleavy, a professor of communications at Southern Oregon University, picked up this story via Radar Magazine.  It concerns hip hop artist Beyonce Knowles, who fronts the latest issue of Vanity Fair.  In becoming the first black woman to appear...

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Miller Time

For my regular readers, I have a piece over at Huffington Post (link) that I’m really pleased with.  It involves some visual speculation about Judith Miller’s relationship with The New York Times.  If you like, I’d be happy for you to discuss it here.

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Portrait of Evil Vs. Evil Portrait

I’m no apologist for Saddam Hussein. At the same time, I cannot fail to give credit for the brilliant timing involved in flooding the news space with the sudden drum-beat of anti-Saddam hysteria.  My respects to the BushCo. managers as well as Iraqi insiders for so quickly changing the...

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Iraq and Afghanistan War Photo October 17, 2005

Extreme Home Make Over: Iraq Edition

On Saturday, I took notice of a couple images revealing a heavier U.S. military hand in the Iraqi elections than we’ve been led to believe.  In retrospect, what surprised me most about these images was they existed at all. It’s been a little surreal combing through the newswires in...

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Uncategorized Photo October 15, 2005

Harlan McCraney, Presidential Speechalist

I think my all-time most popular post is the one which promoted Will Ferrell’s parody of ranch hand George Bush (Will Ferrell “Pasturizes” Bush – link).  I thought the spot (created by now-dormant voter registration group American’s Coming Together) was the best piece of satire from the last presidential...

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Iraq Election:You've Got To Hand It To Them?

Most news accounts I’ve read have been reporting — as if boilerplate — that the American military is strictly intent on keeping away from, and out of sight of Iraqi polling stations.  (This has also been the policy in the previous elections held subsequent to the American invasion.) Of...

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