Yes, for a whole hour this afternoon, Fox News Channel featured a segment called "America's Future: The Terror Threat." They interviewed a lot of random people, mostly McCain campaign advisors, and tried to paint a picture of each presidential candidate's readiness to fight the "war on terror" which we're apparently still fighting, according to Fox. (Last I checked, we were occupying a country which had nothing to do with 9/11, and still making a mess in Afghanistan--if that's a justifyable war, then I'm a flying squirrel.) It shouldn't be a surprise that Fox thinks McCain is ready and willing to continue the "war on terror," and that he's the guy who will keep America safe from future attacks. Obama believes racially profiling Muslims in America is unfair and blatantly racist, but McCain camp sees nothing wrong with it. In fact, his advisor said it is necessary because you have to "go where the problem is." (Then maybe we should start profiling evangelists for running child porn rings out of their compounds since that's where the problem is. I swear, look it up.)
The second half of the segment features stories of foiled attacks here in the US since 9/11. Full of sketches of traditional looking Islamic men and women in jails and courtrooms, the show tries to remind us that we are still not safe from terror attacks from the "scary" middle east. "While there hasn't been an attack on America since 9/11, it is important to remember that they've tried, there have been dozens of busted plots on US soil." Throughout the show, Fox flashes images of nuclear power plants, tall buildings, national landmarks intertwined with clips of terrorist training camps and Islamic radicals toting machine guns running up sandy hills. The intentions here are blatantly obvious.
The point of this show is to keep America afraid. The "fear" tactic worked for nearly 8 years, why not try it again? If we're still living in fear of another attack, then naturally we need to elect the guy who will keep us the safest. Before every commercial break, the segment features polls that ask questions like, "Which candidate do you trust to keep America safe?" and "Which candidate would you rather have as the president if America is attacked again?" The breakdown always looks something like this: Obama 35%, McCain 55%. And the number of each sequential poll seemed to lean increasingly toward McCain. Magic? Something like that. Perhaps the 10% unaccounted for think Governor Palin would be best suited for the job. Yikes.
And saving the best for last, the show rounds out the hour with a spotlight on Iran. The narrator tells us Iran now contains and supports terrorists and training camps, and has plans to create nuclear weapons in the near future. According to Fox, Iran is a big threat, and they essentially tell us that Iran will continue to be a threat until we take care of the problem. We know Iran has been on the minds of those oil thirsty Republicans for a long time now. I think there was a famous senator who recently sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." Hmm...
And saving the best for last, the show rounds out the hour with a spotlight on Iran. The narrator tells us Iran now contains and supports terrorists and training camps, and has plans to create nuclear weapons in the near future. According to Fox, Iran is a big threat, and they essentially tell us that Iran will continue to be a threat until we take care of the problem. We know Iran has been on the minds of those oil thirsty Republicans for a long time now. I think there was a famous senator who recently sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." Hmm...
While the whole show is completely transparent to me (and hopefully you), a scary number of Americans watch and believe Fox's rhetoric and twisted reporting. So, make sure you still have your terror attack kits in your closets, and plently of canned foods and bottled water just in case. Be afraid, people. Be very afraid.
1 comment:
sometimes i wish you were a flying squirrel. but then the cats might try to eat you. that would be terrible.
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