The Billiken's Bluff

Someone had to say it.



I said it two weeks ago and someone finally picked up what I was putting down:

This government is powerless. Fuck semantics. Shit is nervous over there. This is a Civil War.

I don't know that this will make a difference, but if the US.gov makes this distinction (admission) maybe they will look at alternate exit strategies like splitting the country into thirds or who knows what? (saying sorry wouldn't hurt)



I saw this story break on MSNBC, NBC's cable news brethren, at 9:00AM on Monday. Amy Robach, the newscaster, interviewing some former Army General.



She asked him what made this a civil war, why wasn't the government acknowledging that this was a civil war, what does this mean, et al.

The General began responding and I heard the sound of air bubbles surfacing.



A pop up graphic appeared in lower left hand corner of screen complete with its own graphic bubbles as wallpaper. A factoid informing the viewer that the General fought in the Gulf War or the General went to high school with Danny Glover or the General shares a birthday with General Custard.



Out of place. Not befitting of the gravity the National Broadcasting Company was trying to convey. This was not a small announcement. They were taking an editorial position on the War. They consulted experts, former military brass - sat in board rooms, made PowerPoint presentations and came to the executive decision that they would be THE media outlet, print, broadcast, whatever that took 3 years of caution, political correctness, media even-handedness and throw it to the wind.



They took a stand, proclaimed their position, tried to shape policy and the hearts and minds of US and Iraqi citizens. They tried to do this and then broke the story (to me at least) with a gurgle of air pocketed in water and a silly pop up window. A small point, for sure, but when someone can't get the minor details right, can't set the proper tone (or even understand the tone for that matter) the rest of the argument starts to crumble. A little bit of food on the chin that just won't go away, residual from that business lunch, and you can't look at the person without laughing anymore regardless of what wisdom they are speaking.



Savvy?

If the Gray Lady had the marbles to declare it a civil war she would have probably done so in a more serious way and not turned their first interview, the day of NBC's proclamation, into a VH1 I Love the 80s segment. She has good posture and a stately presence, in print.



or maybe she wouldn't have.



There is an awful lot of that Dick_&_Rummy_speak, nursery rhymes and fables, a lot of pouting of the lips and temper tantrums - playful and child-like from that Gray Lady, sometimes.