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Monday, Apr. 07, 2003 / 6:47 p.m. ~Mainstream's Gone Radical~ (This is my first chance to get online today - I've got tons of email to read, a reply from "Korn" - oh no! - and I'm watching the CBS Evening News, which is showing a little more objective reporting than usual. Seems as this thing drags on, they're easing off the America cheerleading, just a bit. What follows is just what was on my mind at work, earlier today...) Unfortunately I didn't see all of it, but what I did see of last night's "60 Minutes" was fairly radical, and mostly excellent. Surprise. They featured an Egyptian detainee, a man who was held in solitary (by the US), refused even a phone call, much less access to a lawyer. And another, of Arab descent, who was held SEVEN MONTHS, for basically no other reason than because he is of Arab descent. Horrible stuff, stuff I knew about, but they showed it on fookin' "60 Minutes"! Hallefuckinglujah!! And, they interviewed some guy, don't ask me who he was, but he was talking about the hell that will be the "Occupation" by "Coalition forces", how hated we are, the unrest that will occur when the "invasion" is over, and how the majority of our ENTIRE military forces will be needed to remain there, despite conservative estimates to the contrary. Hell, I thought I was watching the BBC. It was so cool. And Andy Rooney? I had no idea how he felt about the war/invasion/future occupation, but he blasted the whole thing! Again, unbelievable! He poked fun at the expression "coalition forces", ran a montage of clips of news reporters and Pentagon drones all saying it, one after the other, said how they make it seem like there aren't even any Americans over there! And� he unraveled the stupid "coalition of the WILLING", pointed out the little countries (Eretria?) that were strong-armed into signing away their 'support', mentioned our bribery, and threats, oh yeah, and said this grand "coalition force" is really US troops (I forget the number), 50,000 British troops, and only 2,000 Australian. That's it. He made fun of the graphics on the White House web page, the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" banner, and the overall 'slick selling' of the War/Invasion. It was great. Really, fucking Andy Rooney, who knew? I've stayed away from the TV news mags since the war started, just tuning into Fox News Channel on cable late at night to see why they're the top rated channel. OY! The graphics, the pro-war slant, it's something awful. NBC news had actual footage of the horrible 'friendly fire' accident last night (courtesy of the BBC), probably shot moments after the bomb dropped on the Special Ops and Kurds. (sorry, but wouldn't that be a good name for a band?) I mean they had footage of guys carrying off dead people, bodies dripping with blood and stuff. THAT's war, my friends. I was so glad they finally showed something awful in prime time. Enough of the soldiers silhouetted by sunsets. ENOUGH! Oh, and the David Bloom story, so incredibly sad, a fucking embolism, not even something dramatic like gunfire, or a bomb. They said he'd probably just been sitting in a cramped position for too long. And if he was complaining of leg pain 'for days', why in hell didn't anybody DO anything until he finally passed out? Man, oh man. So, that was me catching up on the TV news. I've seen nothing today, yet, haven't even been able to get online here on my breaks (I know! I haven't checked email since late last night! Withdrawal!! - I didn't know that was how to spell 'withdrawal', but MS Word set me straight) I gave Listerine the flyer for the march on the 19th, the one out here in our neighborhood, but then I said, "Of course it may be over by then", which is a thought, isn't it? Then what? Do we protest the occupation? What if the "coalition forces", okay, the US, has overtaken Baghdad by Saturday? Do we cancel the D.C. protest? I want it to be over, of course, sure, that's the whole point (!), but I've already paid for the bus. Maybe I'll just contribute, they need the money. Oh, Qwert would be so happy to know, it turns out the local organizers have been subsidizing bus tickets the whole time. They even say they will turn away NO ONE who wants to go. See? Man, she/he gave me such a hard time about that, calling me a Capitalist and everything. I'm not that bad, really, and the organizers are even better than I am. (insert winkey smiley here) 2:41 p.m., cubicle time. I got my auto tag renewal at lunch, with my check all made out for $10 over the amount, due to the fact I was getting it a day after the expiration date, but it turned out that since my birthday fell on a Sunday, I was good to go, $10 less. Make out a new check, but I saved $10 in penalties. I was actually suspicious that things seem to be going my way lately. Sort of like, okay, what's going on here? But I'll try not to think the worst is coming. My horoscope for Friday says I might 'fall madly in love'. Whoo hoo! That would be fun, I admit, but I've seen the people who get on the bus for D.C., and there's usually no one who's even single, much less appealing. We'll see. Cost of the War in Iraq
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