PT 9/11- it's all about what's IN and what's OUT

Yes, I watched it, and TIVOed it. Guess that makes me public enemy #1 around here at the moment, but if you'll bear with me for half a second, I'll lay out the barest of bare bones of why.

In short, I'm an oppositional researcher- it's what I do. I've been studying the tactics and cognitive undermining work done by those who are determined to gut the America we know and love for several decades at this point.

But tonight? Well, the Mouse must pay. Rat-fucking of this order must trigger consequences- and that means arguing from a position of strength and knowledge- not just blowing smoke out one's ass.

Follow me over the flip.

Arguing from the facts is nothing new for me. And yeah, in the course of trying to get facts, I've ended up some pretty strange places; such as actually ending up on some temporary version of 'Disney's side/supporting Disney's position' back when they were attacked by Operation Rescue/Operation Save America over Gay Days back in 1998. Disney was targeted, just as clinics, and bookstores, and other institutions and aspects of culture that have supported 'us' have been through the years. For more on that period and the interesting timing on the 'end' of the wingnut boycott, see the diary I wrote yesterday.

I was also in Jersey City on 9/11, seeing the smoke and aftermath with my own eyes, and then later returning home to the DC area and seeing the destruction at the Pentagon as well. No, I've not been to the field in PA, yet.

My position on Disney/ABC, far from a fixed stance, has to reflect current realities. So tonight, having just endured part 1, I'm just going to put a single meme out there to chew on.

Yes, I could write a massive blow by blow on the details of this migraine inducing butcher's hack of pseudo history, and in time, I'm sure some of us will.

But for tonight, I want to simply give you one very important key- this was about restructuring an entire cognitive framework, and it was done carefully, through the details of not only what was completely fabricated out of thin air, but also what details from actual history were and were not included.

This was about creating impressions and making associations in the mind of the viewer.

Just one of many important genuinely historical details they left in in service to that?

The recreated scene just prior to the millennium wherein Ahmed Ressam's arrest at the U.S./Canadian boarder is portrayed.

Yes, according to the 9/11 commission report (that is, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States) website, Ressam did indeed produce a Costco ID as part of the lead in to his arrest.

But, considering all the history that did not make the propaganda piece, this is an interesting choice of a history tidbit to leave in.

So quick, average American walking away from this, what is the IMPRESSION left?

'Terrorists shop at Costco'.

It may leave the impression of everytime someone were to walk into a Costco, a little cold shiver of having just 'crossed the trail of a terrorist' tingling down the back of their neck. While that may not be as clear for some people, living here in Maryland, and sometimes driving past places the 9-11 hijackers stayed etc can generate exactly those kinds of feelings- having on some level just crossed the path of a series of events and people that led to profound badness.

It's a familiar, everyday brand (and BLUE at that!) that makes Americans nervous at the notion of having had 'something in common with the terrorists!'.

And it piggybacks with other 'Costco/terrorist/fearmongering such as this- Costco/Terrorist candy scare urban legend or the recent trial of Ali Asad Chandia in the DC area, a former Costco employee.

The cumulative effect? The Costco brand over time and through repetition becomes associated almost unconciously for some Americans with 'terrorism'. The effect, whether intentional or merely as a byproduct of repeated rumours, inuendo, and continually bringing out details like Ahmed Ressam producing the Costco card in crap like this Disney/ABC filth is one of undermining a brand that is about as BLUE as we can seem to find these days.

My point? There's crap in this on so many levels, and most viewers simply soak in it.

•  it's not about first glance...

  ... it's about what the viewer ultimately walks away with- impressions- of brands, of history, of people.

  by stormcoming on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:12:00 PM PDT

  •  I can only speak for myself

    but the over-all impresssion I got was that everytime the plug was pulled on a chance to "get bin Laden," it was Tenet who pulled it.

    (Clinton had given blanket permission to get the SOB.)

    I found that intersting, given that Tenet was one of two Clinton appointees asked to stay on-board by the highly anti-Clinton Bushites.

    The other was Minetta, at Transportation, which includes the FAA, another agency faulted for 9/11.

    I have always thought it odd that the Bush administration would keep anyone on from the hated Clinton administration. Now, according to this docutrash, Tenet was the one that kept bin Laden in business. Kinda makes one wonder, does it not?

    Then, Tenet winds up taking the fall for everything; 9/11 and the pre-war Intel. bullshit, and receives the medal of freedom from Bush.

    Does this seem suspicious to anyone else? WTF is going on here?

    by TDW on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:36:56 PM PDT

  •  what gets me is how afraid...

    ...all these action men become at the hint of taking matters into their own hands and getting a slap on the wrist from a supervisor.   laughable stuff.

    I also loved how the Northern Alliance were Halo team blue and Al qaeda were Halo team red.     They kept capping each other's bases.  I had to laugh.

    by Salo on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:38:09 PM PDT

•  Well I hope that

  too many people here wouldn't be upset for you watching it. It is incumbent upon us to read their websites, their books (for free), etc so that we know what they are saying and selling. That is elementary.

  by niteskolar on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:16:47 PM PDT

•  since you can get 3 lbs. gourmet coffee for $6.00

  At Costco, let the fools shop somewhere else.  Let them shop at walmart and drink folgers.  See if I care.

  by yet another liberal on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:20:35 PM PDT

•  Nice catch

  I'm hesitant to recommend it for fear of Costco picking up the shit.  And you're right, one could write for DAYS about the legion of screwed-up shit in this movie.

  by rlamoureux on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:21:15 PM PDT

•  Product Placement

  There must be Costo lawyers who can connect the dots and sew up a flashy libel suit.  This kind of gratuitous corporate assasination must be easy to prove to a TV savvy jury.

  by odenthal on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:27:26 PM PDT

  •  'Anti-product placement' was more my point.

    As for lawyering at it- producing that Costco card at the border at least, is what actually happened, so I'd think not much a lawyer can do about that.

    by stormcoming on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:30:49 PM PDT

    •  You don't know lawyers

      Lawyers can razzle dazzle this into a corporate drive-by, serving the interests of godless terrorists.

      Who approved the script? Isn't it true that they shop at Walmart? Why were the show's ties to Walmart hidden? Why wasn't that revealed to the American People? The same American people, many of them hard working Costo shoppers, who suffered so much on 911 and are now libeled by your disregard for their patriotism.  This is outrageous. Broadcasters have responsibility to uphold the sanctitiy of commerce, the backbone of our national security, during a time of war. This willful slander of fellow Americans is tantamount to treason.

      Were any muslims involved in this production? Were their clearances vetted by Homeland Security? Maybe there are encoded messages in this broadcast.  It would be just like them to use a widely seen patriotic program to distribute instructions to their sleeper cells.  They would aslo have reason to sew suspicion, divide Americans.

      It is time to come clean.  Who approved the use of Costco's good name? Who was present when it was discussed? We have the scripts drafts. What other companies names were considered but not included?  

      I'm not a lawyer; don't play one on TV; but I have seen good ones and it's breathtaking magic as they mold a jury's mind like chewed gum.

      by odenthal on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 10:19:32 PM PDT

•  Did they libel Bill Clinton? American Airlines?

  The Washington Post?  Somebody suggested they changed it enough that they didn't libel Madeleine Albright or Sandy Berger.

  I tried to tape it, on four VCR's, and they all either failed to start or insisted on running at the fast speed so I missed the third hour.  (My VCR's probably did my mental health a great favor.)

  by david78209 on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:35:47 PM PDT

•  I see nothing wrong either with you watching it

  or with you TIVOing it. As my husband pointed out, why not watch it? After all, we feel it was stupid when the religious right screamed about Last Temptation of Christ when it seemed none of them had even seen it.

  I tried to watch it, but got bored after about an hour. Too many people and I was losing track. Maybe because I had a busy day and I was tired. My husband made it to the end. He said it ended at 20 minutes before nine - maybe because they made a lot of cuts? ABC news commented on some of the content and Richard Clarke was on and commented more. I didn't see that so am not sure if any of this covered enough.

  I watched enough to see them getting their shots in on justification for (warrentless?) wiretapping American citizens and the Freedom Act. So even in the first hour, it was already showing its politcal bias.

  Anyway, don't apologize for watching. Since they went ahead and showed it, we might as well know what's in it and know if it's objectionable.

  by paluxy1945 on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:43:17 PM PDT

•  speaking of what's left out...

  Does anyone know if this moment made it into the ABC piece(of....)?  

  by scronk on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:49:04 PM PDT

•  While I would have no trouble believing

  they would love to hurt sam's club's big competition, I have a hard time believing they are gonna be very successful.  Every where I go, everybody LOVES Costco.  Political leanings, religious affliations, across the board I have never heard one person say anything bad about Costco.  (Since I have lived in seven or eight states and two European countries in the last twenty years, this covers quite a diverse group of Americans...).  Of course, if they have never been to Costco, I immediately offer to take them, thus hopefully creating new customers for this terrific, and blue, company.

  by jules too on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 09:55:15 PM PDT

  •  Blue?

    Well.... I'd say more purple-ish... Their book selection - one of the most important book selling sources in the nation often carries more "Red" titles than Blue.  They fastideously didn't carry F-911 at least not when it debuted on DVD.

    but on the other hand, their employees are reportedly happy (much to Wall Streets chagrin) and loyal and productive.

    by chipoliwog on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 10:25:36 PM PDT

    •  oh, come on.

      Costco one of the most important book selling sources in the nation?  I don't understand exactly what you mean, and I buy a whole hell of a lot of books.  Not as many as I would like from Costco, because while they are cheaper, there is not a huge selection.  Same goes for their DVD selection.  We always peruse the books and DVDs at Costco, but if we are shopping for books we hit Barnes and Noble.  

      by jules too on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 12:33:42 AM PDT

      •  Forgot to add --

        the Costco in my area generally does not have much of a selection of red books, and I don't remember ever seeing any of Ann Coulter's drivel there.  Good enough for me.

        by jules too on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 12:35:02 AM PDT

      •  Just ask 60 minutes

        This was discussed in a 60 Minutes piece on Costco. Costco has around 40 million members and its book table is considered very important by booksellers as to what catches the public's attention. In the 60 Minutes piece, the book buyer was highlighted as an important person (powerfull) in the book industry.

        by chipoliwog on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 04:35:57 AM PDT

        •  okay so this is too late to matter

          But I will say it anyway.  The Costcos I have been to, in three different states in three different regions of the country have not had huge piles of red books and no blue books.  Yes, they have red books, there are people who like to read them and so it is only right that Costco would carry and sell books their members want.
          To condemn a store as red because they don't refuse to sell any book that does not meet with your approval is stupid.  Costco has good business practices, the CEO is not paid millions of dollars, service/prices/quality are better than anywhere else.  

          by jules too on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 08:51:38 AM PDT

          •  I didn't say Red! :-)

            I said purple.  But then its only my impression.  I completely agree with you that Costco is a fine solid company. I am a loyal shopper there.  I was simply making an observation based on what I've observed in several stores about what is available for purchase in books and videos.  Just simply not as Blue as I would like.  

            by chipoliwog on Tue Sep 12, 2006 at 08:01:07 PM PDT

    •  The Color of Costco

      Keep in mind, I never said Costco was perfect, I just said it was about as Blue as we can seem to find these days.

      Here's buyblue.org's Costco profile.

      by stormcoming on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 01:58:01 AM PDT

•  Punishing ABC/Disney

  My personal punishment started tonight by my blocking all Disney owned channels on my TIVOs. For how long they will be blocked remains to be seen.

  I would hope that Disney should be put on notice that the Democratic Party will seek legislation when it regains the Congress in matters of broadcast and other areas of interest to Disney that will not look favorably on such as say: re-instituting the Fairness Doctrine or the station ownership formula etc. Quite frankly I would hope that Party officials speak bluntly to Disney Executives about either playing fair or being prepared to be dealt with "un-fairly".  

  Unfortunately, it is now too late for Disney to do a mea culpa.  They were warned and lobbied extensively about this.  Their collusion with the dark forces can only bring on themselves  scorn and retribution.

  by chipoliwog on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 10:09:06 PM PDT

  •  I want hearings and sworn testimony

    on the exact decision making trail that led to this travesty, and every cent of finance that funded it.

    by LondonYank on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 11:42:59 PM PDT

•  Taped, but haven't watched.

  I don't have cable, or TIVO, or Dish, or anything that anybody could use to monitor what I watch. Just regular TV and a VCR.

  I am going to file an informal FCC complaint, and for that, I need an actual reference.

  Except for the taping, I have stopped watching ABC. Actually, between writing e-mails, making phone calls, and life stuff, I haven't had time.

  As soon an as the tape is recorded, ABC goes off the menu.

  by Heyroot on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 10:55:52 PM PDT

•  With out Taking or Watching

  I will make up my own mind. The only way to know your enemies is to take with them or watch them.

  by army193 on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 11:00:18 PM PDT

•  Walmart must be behind this somewhere . . .

  as they are the anti-Costco and Bushista favorites.

  by LondonYank on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 11:40:21 PM PDT