Cassandra's Curse

[chiburb]

A beautiful, must-read on today's DU front page! Probably Plaid Adder's best yet...

Snip:

This past Sunday George W. Bush appeared on Meet The Press on NBC. During that hour, a number of amazing things happened:

• A major media figure working for one of the Big Three news networks (I don't count Fox) asked questions that were openly critical of the Bush administration's case for the war in Iraq.

• Bush was forced to respond to them.

• George W. Bush openly acknowledged that Saddam Hussein never posed an imminent threat to the safety of the United States.

• Both participants in the interview spoke from the assumption that Saddam Hussein never actually had the weapons of mass destruction that were cited as the major cause for the war in Iraq.

• A major media figure actually pointed out some of the, let us delicately call them 'contradictions,' between what the Bush administration has said and done in the past and what it is saying and doing now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/plaidder/04/12.html

[Snow]

1. Absolutely - outstanding writing,

and really (here comes some Quaker-speak) speaks to my condition. That's exactly how I was feeling last year, so I really appreciate hearing the note of hope. At some point I hope the missing column gets recovered from the plaidder memory banks, too.

[chiburb]

2. I realize that the "snip" doesn't even...

BEGIN to give a flavor of this masterpiece, but where to start? I'm keeping this one kicked 'till next Wed.

[NJCher]

3. belief systems

It is very interesting that Plaid Adder writes about belief systems and how it impeded the American understanding of why this war was going to be fought.

Yesterday on public radio I heard an author of a new book on belief systems talk about this very phenomenon. I tried to remember the author because I so wanted to post about this book here but alas, I've forgotten it and not even a search at the radio station's Web site, NPR or even BN could turn up the book.

But the belief systems which Plaid Adder describes so well are known to Rove and his team of propagandists and they played this like a harp. The author of this book said that even when evidence is presented to the contrary, people will not believe it because it does not fit into their "frame."

I agree this is an outstanding column. I, for one, will be sending it everywhere. I'm even going to ask my writing classes to read it for the exceptional way in which she brought in her quotes (that's what my students are studying now).


Cher

[chiburb]

4. I heard that same interview....

He was a Prof. of Linguistics at UC Berkely, a liberal/progressive who gives the right-wing kudos for defining the "frames".

As for Plaidder's piece today, I've sent it everywhere too, and I've already heard back that it's being forwarded further...

[NJCher]

5. thanks, chiburb

Maybe I can track it down with that information.


Cher

[earthman dave]

9. Could that be George Lakoff? eom

[chiburb]

10. You got it!

BERKELEY – With Republicans controlling the Senate, the House, and the White House and enjoying a large margin of victory for California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's clear that the Democratic Party is in crisis. George Lakoff, a UC Berkeley professor of linguistics and cognitive science, thinks he knows why. Conservatives have spent decades defining their ideas, carefully choosing the language with which to present them, and building an infrastructure to communicate them, says Lakoff.

The work has paid off: by dictating the terms of national debate, conservatives have put progressives firmly on the defensive.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

[Plaid Adder]

6. Thanks, guys

It took me a long time to write, so I'm glad people are reading it. I actually do feel hopeful. It's a weird experience, I'll tell ya.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Snow]

7. I remember when the bombing started, I was following that blogger who

was supposedly in Baghdad - "Where's - somebody"...and the pathos as he wrote that 'B-52's have left Scotland - should be here in 6 hours - - They should be here in 3 hours - - " and then the bombing started, and the guy stopped blogging. He turned up again a few weeks later, but even at that....it was a week when I went around so full of rage, and shame, and sorrow. I spent some time looking for some music (classical) that would express that. Didn't have a lot of success, although Britten's War Requiem comes close. Rachmaninoff's Vespers helps a lot, also.

[Jax]

8. That article was Outstanding Plaid Adder

:thumbsup:

It is a must read!

Many, many thanks to you for your continuing steller efforts here at DU.

Jax

[Cassandra]

16. I always love being talked about.

;-)

[Jack Rabbit]

11. Well done once again, Pladder

I think Bush should make more TV appearances. Every time he does, he falls five points in the polls.

Let's get him a weekly series!

[chiburb]

12. Back to the top...

'till next Wed.
Feel free to help.

[chiburb]

13. Another little kick... n/t

.

[chiburb]

14. Last one before tomorrow's column....n/t

.

[proud patriot]

15. Yes excellent read

:thumbsup:

I'm reminded of the line in Spiderman.

"With great power comes great responsibilty
that is my gift and my curse."