The Pakistan Update

It’s one of the most beloved acts at the circus. A tiny car drives into the center ring. The door opens. A clown emerges. Then another. And another. And another. The audience howls. The clowns keep tumbling out. How can so many clowns fit into such a small space?

Once cold ask the same about Washington.

You see, politicians can’t agree on a budget. Congress and the White House have until Friday, April 8, 11:59:59 p.m. to sign off on an agreement. If no compromise is reached, at midnight the US government will officially run out of money and be forced to shut down.

Visa and passport processing will slow down. Income tax refunds will not be processed. National parks will close. Museums will close. Military personnel will receive half a paycheck on April 15.

Federal employees needed to provide service deemed essential to national security are classified as “exempt” and will be required to show up for work, but will not be paid until a new budget is passed – and even then payment could take weeks or months. Around 800,000 other “non-exempt” employees will be forced to take leave without pay, or furloughed. Congress will decide whether these employees will be paid at all.

A furlough is a grim business. Workers deemed to be non-essential will be given four hours to straighten up and lock their desks, change their voicemail messages and leave the building. They will not be permitted to use their government-issued Blackberries or access their work e-mail remotely (although enforcement of those rules will most likely be fairly lax). They cannot accept employment that will conflict with their government duties (not that there are any jobs to be had anyway). On the bright side, they can apply for unemployment, which on average pays out a maximum of $350 a week.

Meanwhile, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), is considering filing a claim under the Constitution’s 13th Amendment in the event of a shutdown.

The 13th Amendment became law in 1865, ending the practice of slavery and indentured servitude in the United States. AFGE lawyers say the law applies in the instance of a government shutdown since federal workers who are deemed “essential” to government operations could be forced to come to work without pay on the threat being fired.

David Borer, AFGE’s general counsel, said the federal government can’t force employees to come work without pay “under threat of physical or legal compulsion.”

So.

While federal employees spent the day calling their creditors and mortgage companies, Congressmen were keeping busy. Under the resolution passed Friday, a spending plan that was killed by the Senate last month would come back to life and become law, without the president’s signature, if the Senate does not pass a bill funding the government for the rest of the 2011 – a measure that is in direct violation of the Constitution. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a saucer-eyed Washington favorite, presented a draconian budget plan containing unsubstantiated figures that were scrubbed from the Web site of the think tank that provided them.

The battle over the budget appears to have come down to a war over the “riders,” or policy items attached to the overall budget that try to strip funding from certain programs. One of the riders, which would defund Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides family planning, is said to be the sticking point for both parties. Republicans want Planned Parenthood defunded because their clinics provide abortions. This stall tactic is cynical in the extreme, since Republicans are well aware that Planned Parenthood is prohibited by law from using federal funds for abortion procedures. Word is that Republicans are willing to strip the riders – for additional concessions to more cuts. In other words, extortion. So much for principle.

The Democrats, “led” by President Obama, have responded with great boldness – by caving. So far Planned Parenthood hasn’t been thrown under the bus, but that could change; after all, Obama’s favored negotiating tactic has consistently been to open talks by giving up his queen.

Not that Obama’s been idle. This week, the President took time out from negotiations to fly to New York to team up with Al Sharpton, one of the most controversial and divisive figures in the country. More importantly, his 2012 campaign will be all about change! Yes, the Obama/Biden brain trust has picked a new font – serif – for their logo.

So while federal employees fret, the politicians preen, diddle and posture.

But what’s the rush? If the government shuts down, they’ll still get paid – on time.

Tags: Barack Obama, budget, budget bill, democrats, federal employees, furlough, government shutdown, paul ryan, Republicans

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Hosni Mubarak is staying put.

Despite the totally predictable invitation of the Saudi government offering Mubarak a new home (where he could share his woes with Tunisia’s deposed president, currently in residence), Egypt’s former president wants to die in Egypt.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s military vowed to hand over authority to an elected civilian government in six months and ordered legal experts to draft a revised constitution in 10 days.

So far so good. But is it?

When are military governments in a rush to go, even in countries where opposition parties have been established? The Egyptian army receives billions of dollars from the US In “unconditional aid.” What are the chances that the generals will risk alienating the US by allowing the country to devolve into chaos?

And then there’s the media.

Why, after the military took charge, was there such reticence to use the word “coup” to describe what had happened? If coup is too strong a word, how about “soft coup?” Or would that contradict the narrative that pro-democracy forces have rid their country of a totalitarian government?

Finally, there’s the issue of the protesters. The story that held for 18 days was that the crowd was a peaceful group practicing the non-violent Ghandi approach. But was it really? Ask Egypt’s antiquities boss.

Or Lara Logan.

Celebrate Mubarak’s downfall. But take time to evaluate. And people of Egypt: proceed with caution.

Tags: Egypt, egypt army, egypt protesters, egypt protests, Hosni Mubarak, Lara Logan, Media, Saudi Arabia, US Aid

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This week, a young nondescript Pakistani-born naturalized-American citizen named Faizal Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to commit mass murder in Times Square this spring.

Faizal Shahzad is no Aafia Siddiqui. He did not attend a prestigious American university. He doesn’t have an advanced degree. He didn’t marry into a family that is the equivalent of terrorist royalty. When he arrived to begin his studies in the US he was just another South Asian guy with a cheesy wardrobe and a fondness for booze and girls — the Pakistani equivalent of The Situation. After his pitiful failed attempt to blow up his SUV, he confessed his deeds to police. No Dr. Aafia-like intrigues, no dramatic shootouts with American soldiers or law enforcement, no offer of help from the Pakistani government, and, most interestingly, dead silence from the Pakistani press and blogosphere about the case. Not even the bizarre exchange between Shahzad and the judge at his sentencing, surely one of the most colorful colloquys in recent legal memory, drew much attention (Shahzad’s transformation from fist-pumping party dude to jihadi-wannabe was nicely sketched out in a recent New York Times piece).

So why is Faisal Shahzad so damaging to Pakistan? Because he has tapped into the West’s worst nightmare: the sleeper agent. Unlike the 9/11 hijackers, Shahzad was not a temporary visitor. He married in the US, obtained a green card, found a job, bought a house, started a family and was granted US citizenship. As his anger mounted and his sense of victimhood became more pronounced, he continued with the naturalization process, absurdly claiming he wanted to be a US citizen so he could obtain a job in the Middle East. He could have packed up his righteous anger along with his family and headed home at any time. But he didn’t.

A vague terror threat in Europe with alleged Pakistani roots is one thing. Being afraid of your neighbor, a man who may have offered to mow your lawn or help you carry your groceries is quite another, particularly when you discover the despite the outward trappings of middle class comfort the guy next door wants to carry out homicidal fantasies.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani has his work cut out for him. Most Americans have never heard of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Many of those who have probably think of her as that crazy burqa-clad woman railing on in a courtroom. But Faisal Shahzad? Wasn’t he the hip young guy with the bluetooth in his ear wearing cool sunglasses? Will Faisal Shahzad, so adept at hiding his militancy and rage, become synonymous with Pakistan in the eyes of the average American?

Tags: Faisal Shahzad, Husain Haqqani, Pakistan, Terrorism, terrorist

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If Barack Obama hadn’t realized that the hope and change magic spell was wearing off, he was jolted back to reality by an unknown audience member at a recent CNBC townhall meeting.

The IED came in the form of Velma Hart. Who? Exactly. Velma Hart has become the face of a group that has been growing steadily in number over the past several months: The Disgruntled Obama Voter. In less than one minute, Velma Hart became Hans Brinker in reverse; unlike the Little Dutch Boy, she pulled her finger out of the dyke and let the deluge take its course:

Quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the man for change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. I’ve been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I’m one of those people and I’m waiting, sir, I’m waiting. I don’t feel it yet. While I thought it wouldn’t be a great measure, I would feel it in some small measure. I have two children in private school, and the financial recession has taken an enormous toll on my family. My husband and I joked that we thought we were well beyond the hot dogs and beans era of our lives. And quite frankly, it’s starting to knock on our door and ring through that that might be where we’re headed. And quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer honestly, is this my new reality?

Sorry Mrs. Hart, this is reality, not new, not just yours, but the whole country’s. The campaign ended long ago. Democrats took control of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate. So what’s the problem?

Consider that Democrats are in the majority. Then take a look at the party’s recent record of failure. Failure to pass a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Failure to pass the Dream Act. Failure to address immigration reform. Failure to schedule a vote before the elections that would force the Republicans to defend and support continuing tax cuts for the rich. Failure to protect the public by plugging the enormous loopholes in the flawed health care reform bill (a piece of legislation that Democrats are touting as a “victory”). Failure to close Guantanamo. Failure to roll back the more egregious civil rights abuses of the Bush-Cheney era (indeed, we’re looking at an expansion of government snooping, not the other way around).

The country is unemployed, uninsured, showing up for Glenn Beck rallies and voting for Tea Party-backed certifiable lunatics, thieves and liars in the Republican primaries. It would stand to reason that faced with the frightening reality of having Senator Sharron Angle or Senator Christine O’Donnell would energize Democrats and send them in a rush to the polls in November. But the Democratic base, having been burned one too many times by a party terrified of failing to appear “bipartisan” and continually kowtowing to the most extreme instransigence of the opposition, isn’t terribly motivated to vote. Some have even had the temerity to question whether Obama intends to keep even a single promise he made during the campaign.

It appears that the White House has finally gotten the memo. Their solution? Like angry parents, the President and his VP have taken the unprecedented step of treating what’s left of their base like naughty children. “Stop whining” scolds Joe Biden. “People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up…if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place” says Barack Obama. What’s next? “Don’t make me come down there”? Confiscating the Playstation?

But not to worry – the Democratic party chairman isn’t asleep at the wheel. This month the DNC announced a bold, game changing strategy: Call a meeting, splurge on a graphic artist and unveil an exciting new logo.

Tags: biden, christine o'donnell, democrats, election, Obama, Republicans, sharron angle

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For the past several weeks, public has been treated to a spectacle that has swung between national security calamity and out-and-out farce.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has many talents and interesting qualities. His computer hacking skills are the stuff of legend. He is a master at media manipulation. His secrecy, his mysterious travel habits, his theatrics and his fear of assassination by U.S. government hitmen have given him a Jason Bourne-like quality.

So who is Julian Assange and, more importantly, what does he want?

Prior to getting into the Screw-the-Man game, Assange had created minor waves by publishing Scientology manuals and Sarah Palin’s personal e-mails on his site. Then he hit the motherload when he released “Collateral Murder,” a 17-minute video of an Apache airstrike in Baghdad. Edited by Assange and his team in Iceland, one of his bases of operation, the video went viral and generated weeks of discussion and debate (details about the clip’s production were detailed in a recent New Yorker profile of Assange). What disturbed many about the clip were the converstations between the soldiers reminiscent of the gallows humor familiar to “Law and Order” devotees. But missing from the video was a crucial element: Context. No background was given on what happened prior to the strike, why the pilots were given the green light to fire or how intense the insurgent activity activity was prior to the strike. To his credit, Assange released the raw unedited footage along with the edited clip.

Assange’s latest grenade came in the form of tens of thousands documents leaked to the New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel a month prior to making the documents public on his Web site — a time when Assange was supposedly a Jason Bourne-like fugitive running from U.S. government assassins. Assange had already created a minor drama by having his people leak the news that this spring Australian authorities had confiscated his passport in Melbourne. What was left out of the breathless story was that the passport was taken after Assange was told it was worn out, a totally routine practice, and returned 15 minutes later. At one point while collaborating with the papers on their stories Assange was sleeping on a New York Times reporter’s couch. Some manhunt.

Assange’s recent document dump launched Assange into the publicity stratosphere. Initially the information contained in the documents was greeted with excitement, then a collective yaw. Upon closer scrutiny, however, the press discovered that some of the documents published on WikiLeaks contained a ticking bomb: The names of Afghan informats and their families as well as GPS coordinates of their locations. Initally Assange’s position was that he would “deeply regret” any harm caused by the disclosures. Gradually criticism of Assange’s decision to potentially endanger the lives of the Afghans started getting more intense and Assange began attempting to flee the kitchen. In a clumsy attempt to maintain the moral high ground, Assange told the press that many informers in Afghanistan were “acting in a criminal way” by sharing false information with NATO authorities. He added that the White House knew that informants’ names could be exposed before the release but did nothing to help WikiLeaks to vet the data. He insisted that any risk to informants’ lives was outweighed by the overall importance of publishing the information.

Assange’s claim that the White House was to blame for the exposure of the informants was a bit rich. He had already publicly blasted the New York Times for running their story by the White House before publication.

Assange is now involved in an amusing back-and-forth with the Pentagon. He has asked that the Pentagon help him review the remaining 15,000 documents he allegedly has in his possession. The Defense Department has responded by requesting that Assange return the documents. Perhaps they missed the memo about horses and barn doors. More to come.

So should Julian Assange fear for his life? Consider his history. He travels on a run-of-the-mill Australian passport. Since launching WikiLeaks there have been no reported instances of Assange being denied a visa. He has traveled around the world unmolested. He has never been questioned, detained or jailed. There has been no extradition order issued by any country. He has not been kidnapped or, obviously, bumped off. He participates in panel discussions and, when he has something to promote, makes frequent media appearances. After the documents leaked he surfaced in London, where following his press conference he gave back-to-back interviews for several days. No car chases, no multiple passports with false identities, no shootouts. He’s fairly out in the open for a man on the lam. Either he’s an escape artist whose talent surpasses Houdini’s or the assassins should bone up on their skills by watching a few episodes of 24. Or maybe the whole episode has been a bit exaggerated. Whether he winds up in jail, or even charged with any crime, remains to be seen.

The serious potential damage to the U.S. done by these documents is one of trust. If an Army private with a history of indiscreet behavior can allegedly steal documents so easily, turn to accomplices for assistance and then blab about his deed, what does that show our allies about the U.S.’s ability to keep secrets? How do we regain the trust of Afghans who risk their lives to assist NATO forces? The intelligence overall may be old. The headaches are new.

For a total transparency absolutist, Assange is mighty secretive about his operation. Maybe somewhere there’s a bright, hungry young journalist doing some digging. Maybe he or she will launch a Web site revealing Assange’s travel intinerary, his visa information, the GPS coordinates of his mother and son, the names and addresses of his paid and volunteer staff, a complete list of donors and his and WikiLeaks’ bank records. If that happens it’ll be interesting to see Assange’s reaction.

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Depending on where you sit, Sunday’s massive document dump posted on WikiLeaks is either a “move on, there’s nothing to see here” event, a national crisis or a clown show.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that the Afghan war logs do not compromise national security. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs characterized the leaks as “alarming.” In the third ring of the media maelstrom circus, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made the ominous announcement that there are more documents to come.

Today the Pentagon adopted a more urgent tone. Col. Dave Lapan, a Defense Department spokesman, said the military may need weeks to review all the records to determine “the potential damage to the lives of our service members and coalition partners.”

At least the Pentagon is now in line with its own melodramatic stance last month, when reports surfaced that investigators were launching an international manhunt for the WikiLeaks founder, a search that evidently proved unsuccessful despite the fact that Assange, an Australian citizen, travels frequently on a regular passport, participates panel discussions and accepts requests for interviews. Indeed, Assange was the subject of a recent lengthy and fawning profile in the New Yorker. Perhaps if the Pentagon had really wanted to track him down they could have asked CNN’s booking department for Assange’s number. Sadly, life is usually not as exciting as a Robert Ludlum novel. Julian Assange is no Jason Bourne.

While governments continue wringing their hands and chasing their tails, let’s consider what the documents reveal about the U.S. and NATO’s misadventures in South Asia: The war in Afghanistan is a mess. Corruption is endemic. Elements within the ISI were and continue to be in cahoots with the Taliban. Musharraf’s government punked the Bush administration on more than one occasion. These facts come as no surprise to anyone with a shred of curiosity and access to the Internet.

Since the start of the conflict in Afghanistan, American news organizations have routinely patted themselves on the back and lavished each other with awards for the brave, comprehensive war coverage provided by scruffy, unbathed embedded reporters.

So why are American editors and journalists so breathless about these leaks? Presumably the information contained in the document dump should have been old news to such seasoned hands.

One word: Vietnam.

Many of the editors and managers of American news organizations came of age during the Vietnam War. Many did not serve. They may have marched against the war. But they were too young to get involved in the pivotal journalistic event that changed the direction of the war and led to one of the great First Amendment showdowns in American history: The release of the Pentagon Papers.

Oh, to be employed by the New York Times or the Washington Post back then. Intrigue. Lawsuits. Indictments. The Supreme Court ruling. Richard Nixon on the ropes. Source Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office broken into by Nixon’s thugs. A time when journalism was bold, when men were men (metaphorically speaking), when publishers backed tough decisions and journalists had the power to change history. A time when reporters and their editors gave The Man the middle finger. A time when journalists didn’t consider themselves to be members of the PR wing of the Pentagon.

Contrary to folklore and wishful thinking there has never been a Golden Age of Journalism. But every day new opportunities arise for working journalists to demonstrate the fighting spirit of their predecessors. So what do they do when confronted with a tough story, or handed a scoop on a silver platter? Fold like tents, blame their lousy coverage on “budget cuts, “cave to the powers that be, blather about not wanting to “alienate their sources” and ask Dad for Permission to proceed. Here’s what the New York Times Executive Editor had to say about his paper’s responsibility to its readership with regards to the WikiLeaks information:

“…in our discussions prior to the publication of our articles, White House officials, while challenging some of the conclusions we drew from the material, thanked us for handling the documents with care, and asked us to urge WikiLeaks to withhold information that could cost lives. We did pass along that message.”

This from a man whose publication was one of three (Der Spiegel and the Guardian being the others) that was spoon fed the documents by WikiLeaks a month prior to publication, who now says his paper asked the source to cool his jets.

This from the man who described Paul Wolfowitz as “The Sunshine Warrior,” an establishment-coddling and spectacularly naiveIraq war supporter and the editor who was ultimately responsible for granting prime above the fold newspaper real estate to serial fabricator Judith Miller to publish the propaganda lovingly provided by neocons.

So while Bill Keller frets over his responsibilities as the editor of the Paper of Record and, perhaps, wonders how his reporters were scooped by an Australian computer hacker, maybe he and his fellow baby boomer colleagues should strip away the romance of the Pentagon Papers episode and instead focus on the hard work, sacrifice, suffering and bravery it took to publish the truth.

Tags: Afghanistan, bill keller, daniel ellsberg, Iraq, ISI, judith miller, julian assange, lyndon johnson, neocons, New York Times, nixon, Pakistan, pentagon papers, vietnam, Washington Post, wikileaks

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The brouhaha surrounding an explosive Rolling Stone profile, leading to the firing and retirement of General Stanley McChrystal, has had a fascinating unintended consequence. All of a sudden truth – or a form of it – has erupted in certain quarters. What a show.

The rare outbreak of candor started when freelance reporter Michael Hastings was granted unfettered access to commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal. What started as a normal interview turned into a month-long juggernaut of travel and drunken hijinks thanks to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The resulting profile yielded a veritable bevy of macho and shockingly candid quotes by McChrystal and his frat boy aides, who call themselves “Team America.” The General and his boys spare no one from their contempt, from Vice President Biden (“bite me”) to Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke to Ambassador Karl Eikenberry to National Security Advisor Jim Jones (“a clown”) and, of course, President Barack Obama. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen was spared. In other words, the gang Hastings was covering demonstrated their open contempt for their civilian counterparts and brought into stark relief the deep fissures in the U.S.’s team tasked to “win” in Afghanistan and Pakistan. All in all, the Rolling Stone article was a remarkable and revelatory piece of reporting.

The article had Washington scratching its collective head. What was McChrystal thinking? How could he have let his “boys” engage is such juvenile behavior in the company of a reporter? The hapless press aide who arranged the interview was the first casualty of the public relations disaster. Eventually McChrystal’s head would roll as well.

When the backlash eventually ensued it was not McChrystal’s judgment that was questioned. Hastings became the designated whipping boy.

And what a backlash it’s been. The Washington press corps has taken particular umbrage that a freelance reporter from an unserious, hippie magazine would have the gall to print such an article so embarrassing to its subject. One former Pentagon correspondent chimed in:

The dirty little secret among beat reporters who routinely travel with top military officials is that there’s a unwritten code, a general understanding, that off-color jokes, irreverent banter, and casual conversations are generally off-the-record, or on the deepest of background, unless otherwise agreed upon.

There was navel gazing about the “complex” relationship between source and journalist. There was an utterly bizarre column in the New York Times opining that Hastings broke the rules of etiquette by violating McChrystal’s privacy. Reporters were shocked that Hastings would commit the unimaginable gaffe of burning his bridges in such a spectacular matter (Hastings has made it clear that he has no bridges to burn).

But the most spectacular statement came from CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, the same Lara Logan who “reported” a shameless profile of Blackwater (now Xe) founder Erik Prince, an interview with questions so soft and revealing so little substance that it could have been produced by Blackwater’s PR department. Logan’s statements on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” were the clearest demonstration of the unhealthy dynamic between the mainstream press and the powerful subjects they cover. Her shockingly McCarthy-like observation that “Michael Hastings has never served his country the way McChrystal has” should ring a warning bell at CBS and serve as an indication that perhaps Logan would be better off running the Pentagon’s Public Affairs office instead of posing as a reporter.

What seems to have been forgotten is that Rolling Stone gave McChrystal the opportunity to refute the article and the quotes before going to press. The General gave the publication the thumbs up. By his own admission he voted for Barack Obama. Evidently he banned Fox News from his headquarters. The General is no babe in the woods when it comes to the media. He shrewdly manipulated the press on a number of notorious occasions, including the Pat Tillman scandal and detainee abuse. He also used the media to strong arm Obama into writing the General a blank check for his operation in Afghanistan.

The only member of this mob who retained his dignity was Hastings himself:

Look, I went into journalism to do journalism, not advertising. My views are critical but that shouldn’t be mistaken for hostile – I’m just not a stenographer. There is a body of work that shows how I view these issues but that was hard-earned through experience, not something I learned going to a cocktail party on f*****g K Street. That’s what reporters are supposed to do, report the story.

So McChrystal is off to write his memoirs and serve on corporate boards, the press have covered themselves in shame and, if there’s any justice in the world, Michael Hastings will be nominated for the Pulitzer. But there’s a silver lining to this clown show.

The U.S. Constitution gives the President, a civilian, the power of Commander in Chief. In that capacity he has the authority to fire military commanders at will. Never in the history of the Republic has an aggrieved military man attempted to overthrow the civilian who has the final word. Generals who felt the tug to aspire to that office have run for it. Some have won, some have lost.

It’s gratifying to know that when it comes to transfer of power, the cynical American public can rest assured that it won’t come at the barrel of a gun.

Tags: Afghanistan, Featured, Jim Jones, Joe Biden, karl eikenberry, mcchrystal, michael hastings, Military, NATO, Obama, Pak US relations, Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, rolling stone, US Army

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What sales tactic is the most persuasive? Which emotion, when exploited, motivates human beings to reach for their wallets – or their guns?

The answer, of course, is fear.

And fear, when stoked by demagogues and poured over a volatile flammable mass only needs one match to create a frightful conflagration.

Witness the American “Tea Party” movement, a ragtag group whose initial goal of protesting the bank bailouts has devolved into a mass movement featuring silly costumes, misspelled signs glorifying racism and paranoia, and sometimes weaponry.

Those who wish to turn away from the Tea Parties and their embarrassing antics will find little solace in the Republican party. A recent Harris poll reveals that two-thirds of Republicans think Barack Obama is a socialist, 57 percent a Muslim—and 24 percent say “he may be the Antichrist.” Not surprisingly, respondents without a college education are vastly more likely to believe such claims, while Americans with college degrees or better are less easily duped.

To quote the 19th-century educator Horace Mann, “Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge.”

Of course, the media don’t help.

It’s easy to blame FOX News and talk radio for this sorry and dangerous state of affairs. Their right-wing propaganda draws a large and loyal audience. But CNN, MSNBC and other mainstream networks are also to blame. By treating the more mentally unstable and incoherent members of the lunatic right with deference and respect in order to present “balanced” coverage, they have bestowed a kind of legitimacy on paranoid hate-mongerers, racists and the flat-out ignorant. Having a person on to argue that Barack Obama is not a native-born citizen of the United States serves no newsworthy purpose. It is an act of sheer provocation and showmanship.

Consumers of Pakistani media are probably familiar with this phenomenon – demagogues blathering nonsense from their media perches; the spreading of rumor and conspiracy as fact; an apparent lack of editorial control on the irresponsible material being broadcast or printed; blaming outside forces (Jews, the CIA, the Mossad, RAW) for internal problems, thereby alleviating the public of any responsibility for an ensuing catastrophe; suspicion of The Other…the list goes on and on.

So to those who think the Kerry-Lugar Bill is a Trojan Horse masquerading sinister imperialists scheming to erode your sovereignty, meet your comrades in arms: The Tea Party attendees who think passing universal health care will lead to death panels, fascism and Nazi death camps.

Tags: antichrist, CIA, CNN, Fox, ISI, jews, Kerry Lugar Bill, kerry-lugar, Media, mossad, MSNBC, Obama, Pak US relations, Pakistan, Pakistan Media, Republicans, tea party, United States

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Every now and then there are moments in the American media that defy description. Nevertheless they must be addressed.

Case in point: Washington Post “media critic” Howard Kurtz’s article today about FOX News Channel’s “reporters’” growing discomfort with the shenanigans of FNC darling Glenn Beck, he of the mighty chalkboard of insanity, his ludicrous fits of crying, his manic desire to be a political player, the fearmongering, paranoia and Stalin-Mao-Hitler-Marxist-Communist-Racist-Obama-hating cavalcade of madness. The meme that Beck is merely an entertainer and that FOX personalities are worried that the new star on the block could damage its relationship with the White House and the channel’s reputation are laughable at best. (more…)

Tags: American media, bill clinton, Featured, Fox, Glenn Beck, Hillary Clinton, Howard Kurtz, Howell Raines, New York Times, Pakistan Media, President Obama, Washington Post

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In the Old Testament, a young shepherd vanquished a formidable giant in the Valley of Elah.

At the 2010 Oscar ceremony, David again triumphed over Goliath with a stone called “The Hurt Locker.” The flood of awards moved viewers around the world. Underdog stories are always good for a tear or two, much like the joy many felt when the scrappy, almost-straight-to-DVD “Slumdog Millionaire” ate the field’s lunch last year.

You may be wondering why a column traditionally devoted to American politics is focusing on Hollywood. The answer is simple. Apart from the battles over legislation and election season, no event in the US is more political than the Oscars. This year was no exception.

It’s likely that Cameron’s epic “Avatar,” the highest-grossing movie of all time and the end result of over a decade of work, lost for the simple reason that Hollywood doesn’t much like James Cameron. Jealousy always comes into play. Stephen Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director for “The Color Purple”, which, like “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker”, was also nominated for multiple Oscars. (more…)

Tags: Entertainment, Featured, Films, Hollywood, Iraq, Jordan, Movies, Oscars, The Hurt Locker

Posted in Blog, The Ballot Box | 1,334 Comments »