Libya-Morning Joe’s Cuppa Brainwashing Bloodlust & Banality (4-1-11)

(585 Obama-dumping days until 2012 election-Hugh's Obama's Scandals List)

I must object. Must write out my horror and anger about the callous and cavalier ... I can’t call it a discussion ... “orgy of banter”, maybe, I witnessed yesterday morning on MSNBC’s edition of Morning Joe.

My alternate title for this piece is, “Morning Joe, Ringside at the Coliseum with the Thumbs-downers”.

The topic was Libya, and to me their chorus cried, “WAR, WAR, WAR” under the pretext of examining what is happening in Libya. HAH!

Yes, there were plenty of cherry-picked informational updates coming at me but it was being pushed and pulled on a slippery slope of false and dangerous conclusions at breakneck, ominous speed. Covert cheerleading for war under the pretext of exploration.

These people, former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, regular and guest media people and some high profile pols, apparently have THREE hours, 6-9am, every weekday (DEAR GOD!) to drivel their dangerous, cavalier and shallow analyses (a/k/a establishment propaganda) of national problems into the minds of morning America??? No wonder American yahoo-ism is alive and well. The lively and earnest showoffs are normalizing the abnormal and dsyfunctional, which should be nationally discussed as abnormal and dysfunctional, with what is supposed to pass for sophisticated analysis but is really the most shallow, amoral commentary. For such things as the United States at war again. An illegal, manipulative, illegitimate war, again, but that didn’t seem to even make it to the discussion.

And I suppose that woman, Mika, is supposed to be the voice of morality because she stamps her foot every now and then and scolds the group to, say on this morning, not be “MEAN” about discussing Obama’s birth certificate??? Wow. Don’t be MEAN? Is that the best ya got, Mika? The voice of feeling womankind? Yech.

But, MSNBC is about politics, not news. Too bad our country is thirsting for real news and reality and moral sobriety. Not titillation and gossip and very slick sloppy PROPAGANDA!!! A brew of toxic and titillating sound bites about sound bites signifying anything or nothing or everything. Who knows after the brain-scrambling. What I do know, what my gut knows, is that Morning Joe is what the craven corporate media and the craven corporate government wants America to think. THE STATUS QUO GROUP THINK. Question authority? Not on that show. Not really. Pretend to and then not.

War with Libya and Gaddafi, full steam ahead.

When Scarborough demanded to know why we were in Libya, Mika’s reply was a meek, “Well, it is a humanitarian mission, and for oil, and ....” Cut off. Hmmmm. Apparently both reasons are good enough for her and them and not at all problematic. Though yes, Sam Stein did ask, “Then why not Darfur?” Did anyone soberly answer that one? No, but check it off. It seemed that the issue was addressed. But not really honored and explored. No time or really heart. Quick lip service. Appearance of exploration. Ask the questions but no answers. Not necessary.

My head was already not in good shape with a bad cold which is why I was up at that hour, my sleep times being turned around, but it began to roar listening to Joe, Mika, Pat Buchanan, Sam Stein, Kelly O’Donnell, Mike Barnacle, Al Hunt, Andrea Mitchell, Willie Geist et al. compete for air time. Like reality was a pinata and they all had their blindfolds on and their big old sticks out and were swinging away, trying to slam it for all they were worth.

I think their biggest service to the establishment is to “normalize” what should be upsetting and abnormal to the average citizen with half a conscience. Joke away any national anxiety. Well, if they aren't apparently too worried and go for the jokes (more Stewart and Colbert wannabes it would seem) then why should we lower-informed Americans get concerned?

I have been writing blogs about the hubris of Obama waging this war without Congress. Within 15 minutes or even 5 of the Morning Joe commentary Obama was painted as either maturely restrained (Mika) ... insisting he had resisted war for a good 31 or so days ... or as an overly restrained wimp (Pat B.) who sees him as having started something and now damn well better finish it. There was no choice. His macho was now on the line, and the macho of the country, apparently. This assertion was not seriously challenged. Just added to the mix of assertions either strident and outrageous or jocular and trivializing.

They wanted to discuss the CIA agents “on the ground” in Libya. Joe made a joke about them and how they must be wearing tassled loafers since Obama promised there would be no American boots on the ground. There were a few more jokes about bare feet and no boots, but no one seriously confronted the BIG LIE. American presence on the ground is happening, though the President denies it and the UN mandate forbids it. But what the hey.

Everyone wink wink knows the CIA is everywhere, has been running things in Afghanistan and that is how that started, and they are the good guys, apparently to theMorning Joe crowd. And it is a good thing, too, Andrea Mitchell provided since apparently the rebels are so inept that they are nearly blowing up hotels of foreign press because they are pointing the weapons the wrong way. Kind of Keystone Cops-ish these rebels who don’t know their asses from their elbows, who jump in their 1950 DeSotos (ha ha) and high tail it away from any bombing asap someone said. Somebody needs to help them.

And who are they? Who are the ones helping them I want to know, our not trustworthy for me CIA, but also who are the rebels the panelists asked. Nobody knew and this was kind of a big funny joke, too. And Andrea or someone asserted that it was good to have the CIA there to find out who they, the rebels, actually were. These rebels who we are already giving our big old and not so old powerful weapons to and the training by the bootless ones already, because this sure seemed a lot like Afghanistan when we supplied the Taliban with weapons long ago. Glenn Greenwald in his latest column speculated if President Chelsea Clinton would in a decade or two be sending troops into Libya to fight the people we had witlessly well-armed and trained in 2011. Osama bin Laden one of our more infamous graduates, by the way.

And then there was discussion of al Qaeda having infiltrated the eastern Rebels whom the US is enabling. “Traces” of al Qaeda it had been reported. But, no, Andrea Mitchell corrected, “flickers” of al Qaeda had been what the NATO commander had actually called it. So there was some laughter about the two words ... traces vs. flickers ... you know, you say potay-toh, I say potay-tah, etc., and then ... nada. On to something else? Oh, no wait. Andrea said that someone told her, darn, was it Hillary Cinton or someone, that the rebel leaders seemed “responsible men and women.” Whew. Well that should be good enuf for anyone, huh? So, topic of rebels kinda covered.

I myself was wondering about the rebels seriously myself. Something disturbing reported byAndrew Steele that the humanitarian mission was turning into a genocide because the US backed rebels were using Gaddafi’s use of African mercenaries as an excuse to terrorize refugees, students and workers from surrounding countries and according to a Nigerian journalist the number of these black-skinned victims of slaughter and rape was now in the thousands. Some of the survivors even had been assured when Gaddafi was fully overthrown they will surely be murdered. How unsettling that story was and is, but no mention among the Morning Joe folk. That didn’t make it to the ears or hearts of the American media elite. It sure would have been a buzz kill for the spirit of jocularity they like to uphold.

Joe S. seemed to be a master at crazymaking. Mocking how little is known about this war being launched, such goofy irony, eh, although Mika jokingly reprimanded it was actually an “engagement” and a giggling Andrea Mitchell provided Palin’s “squirmish” word. It is a "squirmish." Then a big laugh all around. Oh, back to Joe. So he questions the lack of information about the rebels but then he flashes great impatience over Obama's hesitation for full out war. At one point, very exasperated, he exploded to Kelly O’Donnell, “Is this about the President not wanting to upset Democrats more than anything else?”

There. There it was. The BIG TELLING MOMENT OF PROPAGANDA AND FALSE LOGIC. SO DANGEROUS. Suddenly, the political propaganda peeks above ground. That Obama won’t bomb the shit out of Libya and Gaddafi for mom and apple pie, the righteous thing, because Obama is afraid of the wimpy Dems. THEY ARE WRONGFULLY HOLDING HIM BACK FROM A RIGHTEOUS WAR. This message will be heeded by Americans and even by ambitious to be re-elected Obama and company, push him farther right. Those damn, weak on security Dems, sabotaging American will and progress. Joe S's magic and powerful message going out to politically terrify card-carrying Dems that once again they are or will be vilified as weak on the war on terror (shades of the Iraq garden path) as well as to bully and shut up presumably anyone in America with conscience, you know, the disenfranchised millions of us the media-ocracy won't even acknowledge anymore ... like not saying the name Rumplestiltskin.

These dead-hearted media stars make no mention of the million Iraqis dead and 4 million displaced by past and still occurring American war misadventures. God knows how many Afghans. God knows how many Pakistanis and Yemenis and Somalians and Libyans, already, etc. Apparently God only cares, too.

Amidst all this dangerous “parallel play” venting of the panel, Sam Stein begins to talk about the “dead zone” we are now in. And clearly the dead zone is the moment of confusion and moral ambiguity and bridge-time to pause and hopefully review this tragic situation we are in in Libya and not repeat the amoral parameters of the Iraq and Afghanistan tragedies. How many times must we wage war? How many people must die? Sam even said he was relieved the media was being skeptical about this Libyan involvement after Iraq and Afghanistan. I think he was serious. Anyway, as for this dead zone? The panel is not happy with its existence at all. NO!!! Mustn’t dwell in that place. Gotta go with war by the next commercial, for heaven't sake.

The US has conned the UN and insinuated itself in there, into Libya, with its craven international cohorts. And A.D.D. amoral American media elite and group-think followers can’t deal with the tension of Obama's trying to "regime change" by pausing even a sec, probably presuming some technicalities maybe or some other teflony and passive aggressive way if possible to control at least the juicy oil part of Libya and off Gaddafi. So Joe Scarborough overrides all his guests by demanding that Obama man-up and instead of lying, stop being a hypocrit and just come out and PUT THE DAMN BOOTS ON THE GROUND, THEY ARE THERE, ANYWAY, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKES. Cuz we Americans can’t stand liars, and go ahead and bomb the shit out of Libya and TAKE OUT GADDAFI. AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM IN ALL ITS GLORY. BULLIES AND KILLERS AND TORTURERS AND THIEVES WE HAVE NO PROBS WITH, US AMERICANS, BUT WIMPY LIARS. NO WAY!!!! (THAT JOE S. REALLY ROCKS!!!!)

Too bad, though, Joe does acknowledge to an audience probably as dizzy as I am (even without cold and flu) we don’t have anyone to replace Gaddafi with. Ahem.

I turned it off angrily after 15 minutes. I think hearing about Donald Trump being a “birther”, contending something is wrong with Obama and that birth certificate and hearing that over 50% of the country distrusts Obama on that score further depressed me. Dear God. Obama is declaring war without consulting Congress and droning people and honoring the imperialist power hungry and avaricious corporate profiteering needs of sociopaths but America is hung up on his birth certificate and that conspiracy drivel. Who cares about massive theft, violence and genocide, eh America? You keep looking in the crimeless shadows and ignoring the real crimes.

Oh yeah. Now I remember exactly when I clicked the tv off. It was after Pat Buchanan had asserted that the U.S. was now metaphorically “pregnant”. We couldn’t turn back the clock on the CONCEPTION and war was inevitable.

Peace doesn’t have a chance with people like this, does it? Louise Hay, famous humanist, once asserted that “The point of power is always in the present moment.” A good message for disaster-easing. But this philosophy is not so to egotists. They are too busy racing back to the future to repeat the same iconic failures. No room for humble exploration of reality when the ego is expanding exponentially.

A few hours later I went back to the podcast of Morning Joe on my computer. I couldn’t sleep. I was curious about something. The drumbeat about how "Gaddafi must go" was so powerful throughout it I wanted to see how many times or how stridently it actually had been said in that fifteen minutes of Morning Joe.

The UN resolution was that civilians should be protected. The coalition of the supposed willing, an arm-twisted minority, is in there protecting (but really enabling) the non-Gaddafi civilians who are rebels in a civil war helping them kill other civilians -- and I am not defending Gaddafi as a leader -- but setting out the scenario. The coalition is not supposed to be providing armaments let alone boots on the ground according to international law of the UN as far as I can see.

But the “Gaddafi must go” drum beat was so forceful in those 15 minutes of air time. That is the goal, actually Obama’s expressed goal, and war mongers will work their way back to rationalize and justify more lawlessness by our President, and attacks on him even from a contingency of even more lawless types like Palin and McCain and the other neocons, to keep the permanent warring going. Gaddafi must go.

Violence to whatever country is in our lock and load hungry sites, the demonized-flavor leader or country going down for that decade, year or month is a collective American addiction. The targets seem to be coming up faster and faster, don't they? Velocitized imperial violence.

I jotted down from the podcast in those first fifteen or so minutes the number of times and phrasings of that “Gaddifi must go” drumbeat as best I could. I am sorry. I omitted to write down a few of the speakers, thought I would remember who they were, and can't now. I might have missed a few "take out Gaddifi"s too. But the gist is clear.

29 seconds: (quoting Zakaria) ... “dislodge Gaddafi regime”
45 secs: (Pat Buchanan) I think you’ve got to get rid of him.
1:09: (Pat B.) But he said Gaddafi must go.
1:14: (Mika) Put some CIA agents on the ground and have them TAKE HIM OUT. Oh ... wait (smiles at camera)
3:54: (Joe S.) Gaddafi has got to go.
8:26: overthrow of Gaddafi
8:43: (Sam Stein) ....end has got to be to remove Gaddafi.
8:57: (Joe S.) .... come out and say we’re going to take out Gaddafi.
9:10: (Joe S.) Gaddafi cannot survive.
9:24: (Pat B.) He is gone, if we have to send the Marines up to Tripoli and take him out.
10:35 (Pat B.) He is now our enemy.
11:20 (Pat B.) The guy has to go.
12:24: ... on the world stage. Obama vs. Gaddafi.
13:04: Barack Obama vs. Gaddafi. He cannot survive.
13:05: Let’s stop playing games. Let’s stop playing no boots on the ground.
13:45: He cannot survive.
13:52: Gaddafi cannot survive.

No need to consult Congress. The matter has been seemingly explored ad nauseam the first fifteen minutes of Morning Joe. What is the delay? Bomb away! America is behind you, Barack, and if you don't, there is a neocon waiting in the wings.

Wow. Not one mention of the loss of human life, either American or Libyan. Not even close. No mention of U.S. or international law.

A shining collection of American humanitarians these people are not. Beware of their American-yahoo amoral group think! Beware the PR Drumbeat, all those who presume power or presume to confront the powerful. If you inconvenience the pimping powers behind these propagandists, YOU ARE DEAD MEAT. MIGHT MAKES RIGHT, apparently. There are so many professional apologists for death and destruction to set you up.

Apparently the world is America's video game and it wants to play, play, play, kill, kill, kill.

In fifteen minutes the panel committed to full out war with Libya. It was downright hypnotic.

3 hours a day, 52 weeks a year it is on??? Dear God!

[cross-posted at correntewire and sacramento for democracy]