End of the Semester

All work for the semester must be submitted before noon on Tuesday, May 13th. You can leave your work in my mailbox in the American Studies office or under the door of my Academic Village office B113. If you have any questions or problems please send me an email as soon as possible.

Thanks for all of your hard work and contributions to the class this semester.

Bush has media walking............

"How to balance it's obligations to hold President Bush accountable while respecting the challenges he faces at a critical time in history."
(Bush has media walking a fine line, by Peter Johnson, 3/9/2003


All this article is about is how the journalist really cannot have the freedoms that they think they have as a reporter. They must respect and know that their are rules to being a "good" journalist. Somehow the article and the class has allowed me and I hope others to see that media and propaganda is not a bad thing, but something to keep your eyes open too. We must learn and cut apart everything we see and hear in the news and readings we take in each day. Johnson speaks about how the President answers questions about the war and how the war really contradicts putting anything stated by the president in jeopardy.

Thanks for Posting!

The last class of the semester is on Tuesday, May 6th. Thanks for posting, the blog is officially closed for the semester. See you in class on Tuesday. I will be in the classroom on Thursday, May 8th from 2:50pm-3:20pm to collect your papers.

Mixed feelings with U.S. In Iraq

There are mixed feelings about the U.S. going to Iraq to help for liberation. With the death of around 58 Iraq civilians in a Baghdad market Arab media is angered and blame it on a stray U.S. missile, whether or not the deaths were caused by an Iraq boom or a U.S. missile, this event stirred up a lot of angry media towards the U.S.. "Yet another massacre by the coalition of invaders...," (Images of Destruction Inflict Setback for U.S. Propaganda War, by Michael Dobbs and Mike Allen).

Despite the tension their are some Iraqis that helped the U.S. tear down Hussein's portrait in Safwan. Many Iraqis were happy that the U.S. came, with one Iraqi civilian saying "Iraq wants to be free," ( Images of Destruction Inflict Setback for U.S. Propaganda War, by Micheal Dobbs and Mike Allen). When U.S. troops arrived in Iraq, Iraqis greeted them with smiles, but within the week, Iraqis were shouting against U.S. troops.

""News accounts today paint a vivid picture of joy and relief inside Iraq," announced the Global Messenger, an internal White House publication designed to coordinate its media message, on the third day of the war, "American and coalition troops are being welcomed by smiling Iraqis.","... "But by the seventh day, networks were carrying pictures of dozens of Iraqis surrounding the first humanitarian aid trucks to reach Safwan. Instead of greeting the U.S. troops as liberators, they were shouting anti-American slogans," (Images of Destruction Inflict Setback for U.S. Propaganda War, by Michael Dobbs and Mike Allen).

It is clear to see some Iraqis support the U.S. and some do not. The Arab media does a good job of creating additional tension between Iraq and the U.S.. This in a way sets back the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq having the U.S. to work harder explaining themselves and getting better reviews. Though whatever the conflicts are with the U.S. and Iraq involving the war, the U.S. was/has been sent to Iraq on a mission, though their will be the consequences of damage and deaths to U.S. soldiers, Iraqi soldiers and civilians, whether it be accidental or commanded on by either side. And though it is upsetting and devastating to read or see, people have to realize that anything could happen when in war or on the battle field.

Convincing Virtue

"When one nation is bombing another, it is difficult to convince the bombed of the virtue of the bombers." (In the War on Terrorism, a Battle to Shape Public Opinion p. 7)

The first of several meanings that go along with the word virtue is the quality of being morally good. Virtue also has to do with an angel of the fifth highest order (theirs 9 orders of angels altogether if you're curious).

So if virtue is always associated with the best and purist elements of life how can bombing or war or destruction be virtuous. Also how does bombing become alright, because we got bombed first?

I don't know if we should be allowed to say its okay to bomb a group of people for whatever the reason. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done and I'm not saying war isn't at times necessary.

What I'm trying to say is lets not sugarcoat it by saying "We had innocent people die first" or "This group of people is being led by an evil dictator so we're liberating them."

Let's not tell the innocent people that it's okay to bomb them. Let's not apologize before we do it. Let's not justify it by any means. Let's just do it and then after we made our point, whatever it is, say "We're sorry for fucking up your day" and go home.

No leaflets dropped from planes. Don't give them any canned food or blankets because they lost their homes. If we're going to be cold let's follow through with it. You don't see anybody else helping out, or stopping us for that matter, so what difference does it make if we leave the country in ruins.

They're going to be pissed off at us either way.