In Al Gore's magnificent treatise on government and the excesses of presidential power that he delivered a year ago, he used the phrase, "the consent of the governed." He called those of us who are the governed to seek within us the same spirit that steered our forefathers through the tossed and stormy seas of great change to birth a nation to now guide us to a new "golden age." His words were daring, bold, brave, visionary, and at the same time reminiscent of that very spirit that first saw us fighting an empire and changing the course of history. They were words that made me proud for the first time in a long time to be an American.

I must preface this by stating that what Al Gore did at NYU this past Monday was nothing short of heroic. And whether you agree with his proposals or not it cannot be denied that to come out and suggest solutions perceived as radical to the status quo way is absolutely refreshing and much needed in our national dialogue.

I had intended to write a piece on Cheney's speech in Vilnius yesterday and wrestled with the idea all afternoon and through the evening, at last too tired, too disinterested in the bastard to finish reading his painfully pompous and threatening remarks much less write about it I gave up.

Finally, I posted the whole sorry thing on my blog under the title "Cheney Lets Mouth Overload Ass, Full Text" and went to bed. To sleep, perchance to wake inspired.

This and other articles on propaganda are available at Mind Your Noodle

On Monday, December 5th, 2005 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave a speech at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced Studies.

The goal of this speech was rather direct, especially for Rumsfeld, who often requires an interpreter so that the rest of us can understand what he's really saying most of the time.  Rumsfeld broke from character a little to ensure the public that things in Iraq are going great, despite the negative poll numbers caused by all the "pessimistic... elites in our country."

This and other articles on propaganda are available at Mind Your Noodle

George Bush gave a speech yesterday at the Park Hyatt in Pennsylvania, as part of his four part series designed to muster support for his failures in Iraq.  It was smart, well written (by someone clever) and far more subtle and persuasive than any of his previous attempts.  He gets two propaganda thumbs up for this masterpiece.

Now let us dissect some of it, in order to understand a few of the techniques he utilized to mold our minds into something that he can be proud to call his own...

Take a look at how Rumsfeld uses statistical propaganda to twist the truth.  In an essay entitled "We Can See Clearly Now", essential spin techniques are broken down so that you can understand the dynamics of Rumsfeld's unique choice of language.

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