Inspirational . . .

MOTIVATIONAL POSTERS from an age that seemed to be more simple than ours. SLATE has an article by Rebecca Onion, “The Colorful Posters That Motivated Jazz-Age Workers To Strive” that is a delight. Do follow the link in the article to see a lot more of 'em.

But times change, and ninety years or so later, we arrive at de-motivational posters that appeal to those who are more objective about corporate realties. Apparently, DESPAIR, INC. was the first to create these, but the funny field has lots of other creators, as well, and a Google image-search can bring a smile to a cynic.

Lies with a tee-emm . . .

REALLY. From Michele Bachmann's Facebook page “Christians For Michele Bachmann”, an oeuvre apparently paid for by Christians for Michele Bachmann™. Love the tee-emm. The FB slogan is “Changing lives, one BachFann™ at a time”. More tee-emm.

Ralphie nails it . . .

I've always thought Ralph Nader was somewhat wonky, but this observation of his is a rather incisive summation of the Gopper psychopathy, IMHO. Thanks to Reader Supported News, for giving him the space, with a posting worthy of your contemplation, "Love, Corporate-Style".

Mitt Romney famously said during his most recent bid for the presidency: "Corporations are people, my friend." Perhaps nothing else better surmises the state of our country -- even the state of our culture -- than a prominent politician running for the presidency openly advancing such a flawed opinion. It is no secret that corporations now wield immense power in our elections, in our economy, and even in how we spend time with our friends and families. Corporate entities, in their massive, billion dollar efforts to advertise and "brand" themselves, not only want consumers to think of them as people, but even as "friends." If a corporation could hit the campaign trail itself, one could imagine it uttering the phrase: "Corporations are friends, my people."

BUT MOST IMPORTANT, is Ralph's call to the digital dugouts in the web-war for people's hearts and minds:

So let's conduct an experiment. The goal is to send a message to some of these giant corporations who are so obsessed with establishing themselves as your "friends" while taking advantage of our health, our workers, our electoral system, our government, our justice system and our economy. Take to the social media ramparts. Send out a tweet directed at the corporations you feel are the worst perpetrators of this snake-oily style of branding and question their worst offenses. Use the hashtag #corporatelove.

Don't forget Facebook. Go visit Nestlé or Monsanto and say hell-o.

Gopper disinformation . . .

THIS COULD BE a Photoshop confection, but it's entertaining to ponder.

It isn't your imagination, they really are talking to themselves

The SUN-TV news network was never intended to cover the news, it was intended to make the news. Some might even say make up the news, but what I mean is that the gang of clown-shoed commentators put together by right-wing Quebecor chieftain Pierre Karl Peladeau and former PMO flack Kory Teneycke are paid to act out and grab headlines, not to report the news.
Nobody watches SUN-TV outside of a few elderly shut-ins, the staff at QMI newspapers who are a captive audience, Blogging Tories and professional media watchers. 

Bill Brioux, a freelance TV writer for CP, owner of TVFeedsMyFamily.com and a former Sun Media TV columnist, has access to BBM numbers. He says the audiences for Sun News Network are indeed minuscule.

“Very few Canadians watch Sun News Network. A look at the BBM Canada overnight, estimated ratings for a typical mid-week night, Wed. Dec. 28, showed that their highest rated show was The Source with Ezra Levant at 10 p.m. with 38,000 viewers across Canada. ByLine with Brian Lilley at 9 pulled 35,000. Only 5,000 and 6,000 of those viewers were between 25 and 54, across Canada. There are more people, on any given night, in a mall in Toronto,” says Brioux.

So who does watch Sun News Network? “The vast majority of the few viewers SNN does get are way over 50, outside the demo advertisers want. So SNN draws enough on a nightly basis to fill a senior’s mall,” says Brioux.

He went on to say that after the top two shows, Sun News Network gets even fewer viewers. “Beyond Lilley and Levant’s shows—the two highest rated SNN offerings by far—everything else stiffs,” says Brioux. “Charles Adler has bombed from the beginning, drawing 8,000 at 8 p.m. and 2,000 at 11 p.m. on the 28th—and zero in the 25–54 demographic both hours, across Canada.”

As for David Akin’s Daily Brief, Brioux says 6,000 viewers tuned in over the supper hour. But the late-night slot tanked. “Daily Brief at midnight got zip and zip—so few viewers, BBM Canada could not measure them. The same night, CBC News Network peaked at 198,000/60,000 viewers.”

The idea behind the "news" network is to make a lot of noise through calculated and contrived outrageousness and get the other media in the country to pay attention. This results in the media that most people do watch and read - the CBC, CTV, Global TV, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Province et al - reporting "both sides of the story" and thus giving the radical right wing side of an issue equal balance with the truth, thus advancing the radical conservative neofascist agenda.
Every time Ezra Levant prances around in a fright wig or tells a foreign executive to go fuck his mother for opposing the destruction of the environment, every time some ignorant spokesbimbo insults a guest and spouts nonsense, every time Michael Coren tells the audience that real Canadians hate brown people and non-Christians --it makes the news, the blogs (including this one) go nuts and people talk about it.
With very few exceptions - and they should be ashamed of themselves - the people on SUN TV don't care about the news or journalism or truth - that isn't the business they are in. They will say or do anything to get covered by other media. They have to, because no one is watching them.
Essentially, SUN TV is engaged in cultural trolling and the way you get rid of trolls is to quit feeding them. So I call on other bloggers, other journalists, the real news media in Canada to stop giving these trolls the oxygen of public attention.
As long as the CRTC refuses to force cable companies to make them a standard station and force subscribers to give them money, SUN-TV will not turn a profit. Eventually PKP will get sick of shovelling money down a hole and Levant, Adler, Coren, Erickson and the rest will all be forced to go out and try to get real jobs.
And being a professional clown only looks good on a resume if you are applying for a job at Ringling Brothers or a rodeo.

Crossposted from the Woodshed
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The Big Lie Dep't.

TRUTHOUT has a great article by Dr. Cynthia Boaz, "14 Propaganda Techniques Fox "News" Uses to Brainwash Americans" that is worthy of your attention. Here's the first five:

1. Panic Mongering
2. Character Assassination/Ad Hominem
3. Projection/Flipping
4. Rewriting History
5. Scapegoating/Othering

Click on the link for the rest, and explanations.

Don't be a Sucker!

This bit of film was produced in 1947 by that notorious gang of liberal pinkos, the United States War Department. Does any of it sound familiar?



Let me be perfectly clear -- this is exactly where wedge issue politics leads. It is all part of a divide-and-conquer strategy to make sure we are too occupied with fighting our fellow citizens and neighbours to notice that the wealthy and powerful are bleeding us dry and making the lives of millions more difficult so that they can enrich themselves. The income gap between the top and bottom of the economic ladder is larger than it has ever been in North America and poverty is at an all time high in the United States as the middle class is being systematically eroded by debt and economic mobility is being stifled by the high cost of health care and education. But any suggestion that the rich are mercilessly exploiting the poor is greeted with pearl-clutching about "class war" and accusations of socialism by the people controlling public discourse.
We are treated to the latest tawdry escapades of people like Paris Hilton and reassured that the system works and is fair when she gets arrested for possession of cocaine, but ask yourself whether a 30-year-old hispanic hotel chambermaid with a couple of prior convictions would have gotten off as lightly in the era of zero tolerance? And while we are fed scapegoats ranging from Muslims to Mexicans, from "Cadillac-driving welfare queens" and "secular liberals who want to take your guns" to "ivory tower intellectuals" and "crooked unions" --we very rarely hear about the new robber barons like the Koch brothers, and when we do, the pushback in the media is massive and immediate.

We are being played for suckers.

(crossposted from the Woodshed)

But seriously, folks . . .

We've seen a lot of these around.

Do visit the gallery at oldamericancentury.org — great stuff.

An unnecessary message from Gordon O'Connor

This morning, along with a corporate tax form, this little piece of information arrived in the mail. (Click to enlarge)

I don't mind information, but the propaganda nature of this little blue slip of paper is more than just factual information.

The Canada Revenue Agency, in its role of dealing with taxpayers, cannot assume a position of determining what does or does not benefit those taxpayers.

It implements policy; It does not judge its worth.

I would have had no problem with an information bulletin which announced the changes in a matter-of-fact manner.

This little blue slip however, is a policy statement accompanied by political propaganda.

If this is to become routine, O'Connor might want to include, above his signature, that most economists disagree with the reduction of the GST as sound tax policy.

It's a first. Brought to you by the perpetual election campaign of the Steve Harper Party of Canada.

Update from Cheryl: Being in the accounting business, I'm inundated with mail from CRA detailing changes in tax laws, updates, etc. This ridiculous insert was in a GST news bulletin I received today. When Dave saw my slack-jawed reaction, I told him that this was an absolute first in all my 25 years of receiving mail from CRA. Stevie baby does it again (maybe the most surprising thing was that they didn't blame the Liberals for something or another in the insert)

Stockwell Day: The consumate liar

Perhaps you remember this about Stockwell Day. Or maybe this. If not, then perhaps, this. All of them pale when compared to the blatant abuse of a government resources by Day when this appeared on the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada website.

OTTAWA, February 23, 2007— Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision regarding the constitutionality of the security certificate process as set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

“We have just received the Supreme Court’s decision. We are reviewing it carefully.

The Government intends to respond in a timely and decisive fashion to address the Court’s decision. The Court has given the Government one year to address the concerns it has raised with respect to the process for hearing confidential information. In the interim, the security certificate process remains in place.

The security certificate process has been in place since 1978 to protect Canadians against threats to their safety and security.

At a time when the Opposition Parties are being soft on security and soft on terrorism, Canada’s New Government remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard national security and is committed to working with all its partners to protect the safety and security of Canadians.”

Does Day mean, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition? Is he using a government resource for Conservative Party purposes? Does Day know the difference between government policy and parliamentary debate? Does he understand that using a taxpayer supported website for purely party purposes is the same breach of trust as getting on a government aircraft for party electioneering?

Stockwell Day has already been exposed as a racist, a homophobe and a liar. And now, he is bringing a debate from the floor of the House of Commons to a website paid for by the taxpayer.

Abuse of power and an inappropriate use of government resources.

Stockwell Day is so stupid, so childish and so wrapped up in himself that he hasn't the mental capacity to understand the difference between policy and politics.

It's time this ridiculous excuse for a human being was dispatched.

Write him here, and demand that he apologize. It may do no good since Day believes he holds his office by Divine Right, but do it anyway. While you're at it, it might be worth pointing out that all those billboards in the Okanagan with his picture on it are harming the economy of the area. People come there to sample the wine - not be bombarded with images of a narcissist asshole.

Oh, and in the event the Harperites try to hide what Day has done, Liberal Catnip has the screenshot, just for posterity.