[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
Yesterday was spent in a silent, sulking fury at the stupidity and dysfunctional American political process, the outright lying of Sarah Palin and the blithe acceptance of it by the American media intolerable to a sane Sunday. It’s a feature, not a bug, Atrios wrote, it infuriates Americans like me who happen to think Truth is absolutely vital to any human experience but pleases the Neanderthal obtuse authoritarian Republican base, in-love-with-Bush stupid to the very end.
"What are people on?" Asked a friend this morning, expressing a base bewilderment to the acceptance of Palin as a media darling that I’ve seen quite a bit in the last three days from sincere, hardworking Americans. Lying to someone’s face always means disaster to any American, but if you’re a lying Republican it gets you on, naturally, television.
The "painfully empty-headed" (Glenzilla) and "fucking idiot" (Atrios) Charles Gibson will shepherd Palin into television "journalism," in fact, he of that brilliant Disney team of Cokie Roberts (Jesus save us) and nauseating obsequious George Stephanopoulos. Gibson will "interview" Palin over the course of two days, then ABC will produce the propaganda as quickly as they can.
If you want to get lied to, watch American political news. If you want to get manipulated, deceived, distracted and your faith in American politics trashed tune in to ABC, CBS, NBC, it doesn’t matter. It’s been said and demonstrated a thousand times before (Iraq war, anyone?) yet the television propaganda goons don’t care, not hardly, they like it this way and think they’re doing a great job. Really.
After Election 2000 and reading Bob Somerby consistently I stopped watching television political news of any sort in 2002. I’m still utterly appalled at the NBC "journalism" I saw last Friday night on NBC, making the Everest assumption the reporting could be good 300 seconds of coverage could never, ever adequately address all the political nuances of the day. It seems impossible that before the internet this was all America had, God, it’s amazing we made it this far.
I do not plan on watching again anytime soon, no. Television degrades the American political experience horribly, outright lying is so okay if you’re a Republican, but worthy of impeachment if you’re named Clinton. How I pray with all my soul that Barack Obama is elected President so this odious lying and stupidity loses. Loses horribly and the perpetrators of so much that has gone wrong thrown out of power.
Have the best week ever, Left Coasters. I realize that damning television for Americans already reading in the internet is not the most effective of tactics for change, hence my sulking silence from yesterday, but it’s all I have.