In The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything (2004), Joe Trippi gives a strong inkling of how the internet can shatter the status quo and transform global communications and the political process. Trippi (his real name!) worked with Howard Dean, only to see the latter's presidential bid derail due in large part to the infamous "whooping" incident -- and that was before YouTube. Dean, you may recall, was one of the few serious candidates to openly oppose the Iraq War. Certainly his whoops and hollering made good copy on cable news. But now, with the Iraq fiasco in full throttle, it's G.W. "mission accomplished/bring it on" Bush who looks the fool -- to virtually everyone with a pulse. And yes, we are in the beginning of a series of revolutionary cycles that can go in any number of directions, depending on how people act and how much we can play to the internet's strengths via blogomania and everything else.
Meanwhile, this brilliant statement from U.S. Major General William Caldwell: "The death and violence in Iraq are bad enough without this outside interference." Doh! He is so blind he can't even see that the U.S. presence is also "outside interference"? The place is already a bloodbath, and that's with The Surge. Orwellian word games don't amount to a hill of beans on the killing floor. Howard Dean was right all along. 2008 ought to be an interesting year, but first we have to make it through the rest of 2007.
Today's Rune: Possessions.
March to the sound of the guns!
8 comments:
You really know lots about many subjects. That is cool!
What's even cooler is that you are right on the money. The INTERNET can be an oppressor by diverting us from Real Events, or free us by getting is more involved in the political process. These GOONS who dictate war to us, with their Orwellian war games are condescending, and it needs to be said again and again.
People need to wake up and stop their operations. How is this fool continuing to rule and ruin your great country's name?
And did you see the below story of an ex-Marine Professor who criticised Bush
being prevented from flying?
Freedom of speech - eroding? Come on, don't let it happen. (unsure about the backfround of the case - but it's worth having a look)
http://balkin.blogspot.com/2007/04/another-enemy-of-people.html
It's gonna be a long stretch...
Strike that last comment due to a typo.
If the internet can expose a president's sexual encounters, it should be able to expose another president's incompentence.
Thank you all for your comments. Danny, I did a little research and it seems the good professor is legit, now living in NM, with books on law and wiretapping (from the 1960s), etc. If he hasn't already, he should take this up with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Jim: I attempted to take you up on this and was trying to look at the official White House website, the speech in July 2003 where he goaded the Iraqi insurgents and Al Qaeda to "bring it on." My computer crashed as it launched. I rebooted and my anti-vitus software announced that a TRACKER had been installed. After twenty minutes, I THINK I was able to remove the spyware.
Warning: be careful if you explore the official White House website. Seems shifty while the current president is in office.
Bush actually said something closer to "Bring 'em on!"
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