8.16.2006
PSA = BS
It on appears on teevee every night, late at night, in the hopes that anxious insomniacs, blurry-minded drunks, and half-sleepy sheeple won’t detect its disingenuousness.
“Hi, Mr. President,” says some high school girl off camera. “My parents believe that eating meals together will make our country strong. Is this something that you did when you were a kid?”
President Boob is strutting back and forth on stage in front of a crowd of fawning Republicans, going along with the set-up, letting the girl recite her prepared statement. Then, on cue, the Commander-In-Chimp manages to remember his line, despite a rocky start:
“I—I—I—I did eat with my family, so long as my mother wasn’t cooking.”
Suddenly Godzilla – oops, I mean Barbara Bush – pops on the screen. “It’s not good to make fun of your mother,” she sniffs, “even if you are president.”
Really. Well, it’s not good saying Hurricane Katrina victims huddled in a relocation shelter are a lot better off than they were back in New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana. Of course, poor people are the onus of the American royal class, noblesse oblige and all that, sniff, sniff.
Anyway, as the public service announcement glibly rolls on, Barbara talks about the importance of families having meals together, photos of the Bush clan when Prez Boob was a boy, all sitting around the table, sharing a Norman Rockwell moment. She states that children who eat more often with their families are less likely to smoke, drink, and use drugs.
Really. What about your son George? Stories of cocaine use and his troubles with drinking, at least one DWI arrest. Yup, family meals really kept him on the straight and narrow. (Also helped him to maintain his high IQ.)
Next thing you know, they’ll be running a PSA saying any kid who buys drugs is funding international terrorism. Oh, wait, they already did one.
How about a PSA that says that when an American citizen pays his taxes, he’s funding international terrorism. After all, think of that photo from the Reagan era, Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with the USA’s best buddy, Saddam Hussein. And don’t forget our other best buddies from years ago, the Taliban.
No, they couldn’t run a PSA like that. It would be truthful.
8.14.2006
Voices From NENYland
So what is it like living in the northeastern corner of New York State? What great thinkers reside in that place they call God’s Country? As a public service, Anti-Press is honored to share some excerpts from recent letters to the editor of the Plattsburgh Paper. Such astute acumen must not be hoarded like precious jewels of wisdom.
This comes from a letter published 8/13/06:
“The present occupant of the White House tried to have international nations [sic] by, or rent, our port systems, and too much uproar had him retract his offer.
“His latest attack to we the people, was or still is, to again to have foreign nations [sic] buy or rent our infrastructure, mainly all tunnels and highway systems in these United States…
“And let’s not forget eminent domain, the disease that takes away property that is within [sic] families for generations. The state and civil governments bend to corporate America, perhaps for a price? Wake up, America, time is short, the Lord is on his way back.”
As I said, they call this area God’s Country. Here’s another excerpted letter to prove this point. The letter appeared on 8/12/06:
“…The smut sellers that the mayor allowed near shopping centers only help and promote [sex] crimes to happen. Selling pornography at shopping centers is a pathway to sex crimes and they are inviting the problem.
“If mayors keep carelessly allowing disgusting decay of decency, smut in our cities, you can expect crimes against women and children to get worse. Pornography is an immorality, a sin against God…”
And let’s not forget NENYland’s political pundits. These excerpts are from a letter to the editor dated 7/30/06:
“The Democrats consider George Bush to be Werebush, shape shifting creature of the night. In their liberal delusions, he can appear as Richard Nixon, Joe McCarthy, or Adolph Hitler as he stalks the White House halls plotting absolute dictatorship.
“What this view of the president really proves is that the Democrats are empty suits (panty hose, in the case of Hillary Clinton) held up solely by the gases of their own decay…
“Their all-consuming hatred of Bush has brought these Democrats to the point that they would rather snuggle with terrorists who bathe in camel urine than admit that this president has done anything right…”
And to wrap up this random selection of local voices, let me offer some advice:
When visiting NENYland, please set your watch back to 1953.
8.09.2006
If The Jackboot Fits…
In Plattsburgh, NY you have the college and the city. The college is referred to as Plattsburgh State. The city can be referred to as Plattsburgh Police State.
Word on the street: don’t take photographs.
For example, check out this story by someone who has been the focus of some inappropriate attention.
The cops like to bully photographers. It’s part of a trend across the country. Are the cops suffering from 9/11 paranoia or are they haunted by the specter of Rodney King? Or are they just bored and like to flex their legal muscle for personal entertainment? Or maybe the significant other had a headache again, no sex for a week, so it’s time to take out some frustration on Joe Citizen.
Anyway, if you like to take pictures, don’t do it when the Peeburgh cops are around. They will try to browbeat you. “What are you doing?” “You not allowed to take that shot.” “I want to see what you’ve been shooting; show me on your camera’s screen.”
Of course, there’s this document called the Constitution. The cops will trample both you and it if you go along with their bullying.
I wonder if the cops are using the same kind of intimidation against members of the mainstream media. I wonder how many images are suppressed, images that the public has a right to see.
I would advise shutterbug tourists to stay the hell away from Plattsburgh, NY – unless you like to be treated like a terrorist for just taking a snapshot. I would advise all photographers, amateur and professional, to avoid this crypto-Nazified pissantville until the city police decide to treat law-abiding citizens as human beings with rights.
And if the police bully you in an unconstitutional way, make sure to let others know. Announce it loud and clear. When the word gets out, that will keep more tourists away. Let’s hit them where it hurts – right in the wallet. After all, the true God of America is The Almighty $.
