STAND UP TO WAR PROFITEERS
George W.’s war in Iraq has not been good for the thousands of Americans killed and maimed there, nor for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed or forced to flee their country. Bush’s war has not been good for America, either, for our global reputation has been trashed, and we are more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than before.
In fairness, though, I must concede that George’s Iraq attack has been awfully good for one group: Pentagon contractors. For the makers of weapons, profits are up, stock prices are soaring, taxpayer dollars are gushing their way, and there is no end in sight for the “good times” that they are enjoying.
For example, in the past year, such war corporations as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and General Dynamics have seen their stock prices jump by about a third as Wall Street investors have turned giddy about the financial prospects of the war machine. And why wouldn’t war speculators be giddy? Bush says he’ll bog us down in that civil war for years to come, even escalating our military presence and asking Congress to dump another $100 billion into Iraq this year. While war is hell, Pentagon contractors see this news as manna from heaven.
But what about those pesky Democrats who won control of Congress and are making noises about a staged withdrawal and threatening to investigate war profiteering? No problem. Corporate lobbyists note that Democrats, like Republicans, take campaign funds from these same contractors and that such presidential hopefuls as Sen. Hillary Clinton don’t want to appear “soft” on defense – so they expect the war funds to keep flowing and maybe even increase. As one industry analyst smugly puts it: “I think Democrats will be on good behavior as long as the war continues.”
“Good behavior?” To push Democrats to stand up for the American people instead of Bush and his war profiteers, call Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities: 212/243-3416.
IGNORING PARIS
Stop the presses! There’s been a stunning breakthrough in news coverage by America’s establishment media, and it deserves headline treatment. In a bold journalistic experiment, the Associated Press, which feeds stories 24/7 to thousands of media outlets, recently did the unthinkable: It imposed a one-week ban on any stories about Paris Hilton. Yes, the media phenomenon who’s famous for being famous, the celebrity’s celebrity who gets pandering media coverage for – well, for just being there – was to be ignored. For a week! Could AP stick with it? Would the Earth wobble on its axis if this party-going heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune did not get her daily dose of glamour coverage? Would anyone care? Or even notice?
During Paris blackout week, AP courageously let Hilton’s 26th birthday pass with nary a mention. She had a fab birthday bash in Las Vegas, but, uh-uh, not one word about it issued from this brave news source. Then she had a second birthday blowout at a Beverly Hills restaurant, where one of her friends got ejected for insulting Paula Abdul and Courtney Love – yet AP stoically let it pass, refusing to rise to the bait of this delicious celebrity gossip.
Interestingly, AP’s editors report that during the Paris-free week, not one of its worldwide media customers begged for a Hilton story or inquired about the lack of same. Not that this “celebutante,” as she’s called, got zero coverage that week, since other media outlets maintained their all-Paris, all-the-time focus. For example, Us Weekly has an item and/or photo of Hilton in practically every issue. “People now come to expect to see pictures of her,” says an editor of this celeb magazine. “People are fascinated by [her].”
People? I’m not. Are you? OK, AP’s ban was only for a week, but it does offer hope that if the media coverage went away … maybe she would, too.
For more on Jim Hightower’s work – and to subscribe to The Hightower Lowdown – visit www.jimhightower.com.
This article appears in March 30 • 2007.