Against my better judgment, I spent some time in foreign territory this evening. Enticed by The Political Teen's
What's the Problem with Intelligent Design?, I bravely entered a rightwing blog.
Things were going quite well. Turns out, I wasn't the lone voice from the left. In a tag-team fashion, we answered the blogger's query. Overcome with a sense of blather ennui, I glanced to the side to see if the ads on the darkside look like the stuff we have.
For the most part, it's just like our stuff - but opposite.
* I love Bush * Eighty more years * Only 20 shopping days 'til 9/11 * Terror Terror Terror Vote Republican or You May Die * Gas Masks Half Price * Republican Sized Penis? Get as big as a Democrat, Guaranteed.
OK. I made those up. The rest are real. First, I spotted an ad that lets you choose who you think (not real thought - the rightwing you've been told what to think) is the biggest liberal. There were three choices: Ted Kennedy, Hillary, and our own Markos! Obviously, Ted Kennedy, right? He must be at least 250 pounds.
Then I saw it, and it was stunned:
Iraq's chances of thriving are much better than most of the media would have us believe. The New Iraqi Dinar is unbelievably affordable. The same amount that was once equal to over $82,000 can now be purchased for around $45. But, what happens when the oil really starts to flow?
Here's part of the pitch:
The free world is behind Iraq.
Thirty-eight nations have reduced the debts owed to them in an effort to bolster Iraq's economy. Billions of dollars are being invested by international firms to create Iraqi markets. 18 billion dollars has been given to Iraq by the US State Department to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. They are receiving aid monetarily, militarily or both, from most of the countries in the free world.
Sounds like a deal! Get your share of Iraqi aid!
Let's say you decide to err on the side of Iraqi prosperity. You take advantage of the 100 year low value and buy 2 million Iraqi dinars.... A few years from now, you see a program on A&E portraying the lives of average Iraqis. You see people drinking locally bottled, genuine Pepsi Cola; not the ersatz they'd been consuming for years. They are buying their cars from Baghdad Mitsubishi.
You'll know your investment has paid off by watching basic cable?
Organizations like Operation Iraqi Children working with the US military, are helping to shape a new generation of freedom loving Iraqis. It won't be long before these kids take their place in society. They will recall their childhood as the time when powerful Americans released them from the grip of a bloodthirsty madman... picture of muslim girl waving the US flag
Amazing. I did not know it was possible to cry AND vomit at the same time!
We are freedom loving Americans that believe a liberated, resource rich Iraq can become a force in the world economy. We believe the efforts of the coalition are noble, and will be effective.
We are not professional financial consultants or Wall Street gurus. We can't predict the future or offer any investment advice.
But we will bet on Iraq.
So, you don't have a job but you may have a wicked gambling habit. You sound like the kind of guys that would benefit from a little military discipline. Of course, if you're white male Republicans then your role is to believe in the effort. If only you guys grew up poorer, with few options but military service.
Praise God for Fox News and their dedication to bring the liberation right into your livingroom. It's just like Sunday football and they're waiting for your wagers!
George Bush has already bet $300 billion. Maybe there's an RNC office pool. This could explain their wildly insane optimism -- it's just plain ole team spirit -- and there's more riding on this war than we ever knew.
My tone is glib, but I honestly don't know how to react to this blatant callousness. Not only is this a scam that feeds on the uber-patriot, but does so with a lack of compassion for people who have suffered there and here. People like Cindy Sheehan, who was put through hell because her cause attracted real and imaginary allies.
Their rules now apply: guilt shall be assessed by association. The bloggers and commentators who have allowed advertisers like http://betoniraq.com to feed from the misery of a war that has claimed 1,800 American and countless other lives are without shame.
We are at the end of a week that saw an unprecedented demonization of the once sacred mother-child bond. On national television, I heard news that yet another tragedy in Cindy Sheehan's life would end her vigil. News alert finished, the first words uttered in regular programming indicate just how low they can go: "Cindy Sheehan is pathetic."
A word to any Republicans who read through this diary without dismissing it as typical left-wing bullshit: You need to rescue yourselves. The people who respresent you in office and in the media are revolting sociopaths. There is no other way to describe people who can dish out cruelty for entertainment, look for the cash cows in a deadly war, and blissfully ingore emotions and clear evidence that a change is needed.
Are you proud of what you have seen. Do you find this type of advertising acceptable?
How do you change the hearts of the souless? It seems the right has passed a threshold of decency that cannot be ingored. By any code, one of god or not, we are witness to moral bankruptcy on a wholesale level.
Please, help spread the word about this kind of advertising. Make the right face their own demons for a change.