Political Orbits: Looking Bad in the Shadow AND in the Light

Two weeks ago, the conventional wisdom was that the Clinton book tour would overshadow the Kerry campaign. What played out, instead, was a very effective promo tour carefully scripted to undermine President Bush in the most high minded and genial way. And, with the Fahrenheit 9/11 factor in play,...

Lead Photos: The Hand that Rocks the Hand Over

Although we’re rapidly becoming familiar with hostage photos, the specific content of one is always unique from another. Also, the selection of one specific shot over another or the specific composition of the shot will also carry particular associations. How would you read the political subtext of this lead...

Israeli Soldiers: There’s Shooting and There’s Shooting

One of the themes I’ve been tracking for the past few months is the “unofficial” circulation of wartime images. Although there have been many unofficial photos and video journals posted by and from soldiers over the past couple years, Abu Ghraib has brought the practice into sharper focus. The...

White House Still Working Out “Torture” Definition

In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the administration’s definition of torture. The law recognizes torture as the infliction of “severe physical or mental pain or suffering.” However, Jay S. Bybee, then a government lawyer, established in an August 2002 memorandum that only...

Pluck Of The Irish: Bush Faces Real Interviewer…For A Change

Can you name the one journalist in the world who has been able to publicly go toe-to-toe with President Bush over the war on Iraq?  Her name is Carole Coleman and she’s a correspondent for RTE, the Irish television network.  In a lead-up to Bush’s visit to Ireland earlier...

No Education Disaster Left Behind

Who made the biggest expenditure on political ads this month? It’s a group called Communities for Quality Education. CQE bills itself as a national education advocacy organization dedicated to advancing a quality public schools agenda. They are going after President Bush in several key states to educate the public...

EPA Commercials Short Circuit

We know the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency have a total disregard for auto emission and fuel efficiency issues. It’s pretty bad, however, when they actually flaunt the attitude in a public service announcement. The NYTimes reported today that EPA’s Energy Star group (responsible for encouraging home...

Big Day Approaches

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Big Day Approaches

Leading Photos: Superior Fighting Machine

This lead photo from Monday’s New York Times has been on my mind for a few days now. The caption reads: Sgt. Luke Wilson, who lost a leg in Iraq, walks with a device known as a C-leg while technicians use a computer to monitor it at Walter Reed...

Bush’s Monica Moment

Yes, it has been a year since memoryhole posted video documentation of how Bush reacted (or failed to react) to the news of the 9/11 attacks. In what is often referred to as the “first pass of history,” however, the country is only now beginning to fit the facts...

Terror Scorecard

This comment was originally posted on dkos under Tuesday’s entry titled “Decapitation.” It was authored by “theboz.” Too many people mistakenly think that al Qaeda is trying to scare us or get us to back down.  They know that won’t happen, and so they try to provoke us.  They...

Baghdad Freestyle

Michael Tucker, who had two stays in Iraq and was embedded during the second trip, is making a film about the war. His site, Gunnerpalace.com, is part journal, part overview of the project. What’s particularly nice are two video clips he shot. One involves a soldier playing a Hendrix-style...

Hapi To Have That Over With

Either Team Schwarzenegger is extremely good at managing the p.r., the press is not interested in getting after Arnold right now, or it’s some combination of both. Maybe someone can help me, but try as I might, I could not find one movie still of Arnold in the role...

Clinton Hype Outhypes Hype

“Clinton Mania Set To Rule” News 24 in South Africa shouts. The Miami Herald warns of the “Clinton Blitz.” “Love him or hate him,” the story begins, “you won’t be able to avoid Bill Clinton this week.” With his 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, and the release of his...

Saudi’s and Pakistani’s: What Goes Around Comes Around?

Credit goes to the 9/11 Commission for discovering these latest new orbits in the political planetary system. But then, will the discovery have lasting significance? Because the Administration seems to have gained a stronger hand over the news cycle over the past week, there is a perception in the...

Break

I have a few technical difficulties to work out. I will resume posting again tomorrow (Tuesday). Thanks!

UnKool

Hey, what happened to houseofmenthol.com? The cigarette manufacturer, Brown and Williamson, was nailed this week by a New York state judge for targeting cigarette sales to youths. Using “street marketing” techniques, the company was sponsoring a nationwide series of D.J. tournaments, branded as “Kool Mixx,” and had even begun...