Curiosity Re: [lbo-talk] NYT editorial on terror bill

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 9/28/06, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> I would think that newspapers make a difference, if they do make a
> difference, only collectively, over a considerable amount of time, on
> general response to the world, but make no difference whatever on
> specific issues on a specific occasion. It would be interesting to try
> to formulate The Message which u.s. papers, collectively, over periods
> of years or decades, issue. That formulation would be the answer to the
> question, "What difference do newspapers make?"

1.  "The United States is the greatest nation in the world, and
Americans are freer and richer than any other people in the world, so
the rest of the world envy us."

2.  "The United States is obligated to make the rest of the world
better -- bring freedom and democracy to them if possible, or
establish stability at least.  Those who think neither is possible are
selfish isolationists or racists who believe that the rest of the
world do not want or deserve freedom and democracy."

3.  "The US military exists to defend American freedom.  Anti-war
protesters owe their right to free speech to US troops and their
sacrifices."

4.  "In our dealings with the rest of the world, we are always
well-intentioned, if not always effective."

5.  "The rest of the world complain when Washington intervenes, and
they complain when it doesn't intervene.  Damned if we do, and damned
if we don't."

6.  "When civilians are killed, they are either killed by our enemies,
or they are caught in a crossfire between our enemies on one hand and
our troops or our allies on the other hand."

7.  "Our enemies always attack us first.  We only respond in our self defense."

8.  "Our enemies almost always attack civilians intentionally, while
we never kill them on purpose.  When civilians are killed by our
troops or our allies, that is because our enemies used them as human
shields, trying to give us a bad name."

9.  "Our enemies treat their own peoples worse than we treat ours and
even theirs."

10.  "The 'international community' means either the US, the UK,
Western Europe, and Japan, or just simply the US and the UK."

11.  "Israel has the right to exist, but no other state outside the West does."

12.  "Our allies abroad are moderates; our enemies are extremists."

13.  "Our enemies are the worst dictators who have the worst human
rights records."

14.  "We have the right to influence elections abroad through our
money; foreigners don't have the right to influence elections here
through their money."

15.  "We have the free press; our enemies have only propaganda."
-- 
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
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