Thursday, September 28, 2006

just like in "Top Gun"

So I recently recovered an npr interview that I heard late at night earlier this week. On Sept. 20th the NPR program "Fresh Air" had an interview with Frank Rich. He has a book about how the Bush administration uses all sorts of propaganda to sell the war on Iraq. The interesting thing he talked about was the famous "mission accomplished" speech that Bush gave aboard that aircraft carrier. The time of day, the position of the ship, and the horribly inaccurate "mission accomplished" banner were all more orchestrated that we thought. Apparently they arranged with ship personnel to position the ship just right so you couldn't see the city of San Diego in the near background - thus giving a "victory at sea" feel to the event. Probably the silliest thing that they did was dress up George W. in that bogus fighter pilot suit, as if he just walked off the set of "Top Gun." They really made a Hollywood style production out of the whole thing, even by waiting for the time of day that produced the perfect lighting. So beware the mass media tactics of the Bush administration. And I'm sure Bush's portrayal of a navy fighter pilot left 'Goose' spinning in his fictional grave.

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