Mumia
Abu-Jamal's Radio Broadcasts
Bushisms
[Col. Recorded
9/12/04]
If I were in
a radio station, instead of a prison cell, I would be able to pull
up, from old newscasts, the quotes I'm about to share with you.
But I'm not;
so I can't.
As a guy who
grew up listening to, and working in many radio stations, I know
the importance of using sound, so I must apologize. That said, I'll
do my best.
As the presidential
election nears, I want to reacquaint you with the true, real words
of the President, as drawn from various print and broadcast sources.
Again, these
are real quotes. These are the words of George W. Bush:
1) Bush on
dictatorship; [Fr. CNN, 12/18/01]: "If this were a
dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier ....just so long
as I'm the dictator."
2) Bush on
the 'War on Terrorism'; [Int'l Herald Tribune, 10/18/01]:
"People are going to get tired of the War on Terrorism."
3) Bush on
WMDs; [In Denver,Co. (9/27/02)]: "For the sake of your children's
future we must make sure this madman never has the capacity to
hurt us with a nuclear (pronounced: 'nuke-a-lar') weapon or to
use stockpiles of anthrax that we know he has."
4) Bush -
State of the Union Address; [1/20/04]: "Already, the Kay
Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related
program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq
concealed from the UN. Had we failed to act, the dictator's WMDs
programs would continue to this day."
5) Bush, on
the armed resistance in Iraq; [4/11/04]: "This violence we've
seen is a part of a few people trying to stop the progress toward
democracy. In Fallujah, south of Baghdad, these incidents were
basically thrust upon the innocent Iraqi people by gangs, 'violent
gangs.'"
6) Bush on
ex-CIA chief, George Tenet; [US News & World Report, (2/16/04),
p. 6]: (To GOP insiders at a retreat in Philadelphia): "You
need a CIA that's gonna slit a guy's throat." [A moment later]:
"...Bring 'em to justice."
7) Bush on
winning the 'war on terror'; (4/13/04): "One of the interesting
things people ask me ...is, 'Can you ever win the war on terror?'
Of course you can."
8) Bush on
winning the 'war on terror'; [In reply to question from NBC reporter
to the question, "Can we win (the war on terrorism?";
8/30/04}: "I don't think you can win it."
There is something
almost surreal about the President of the United States, and the
things that he says.
If ever there
has been a subservient, servile, craven media, how they have responded
to what the President has said tells the tale.
Part of it,
of course, is the corporate control of the media.
Part of it is
also the aura of fear that has permeated the national media since
9-11.
CNN's chief war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, spoke of that
fear on CNBC in 2003: "I think the press was muzzled, and I
think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television
and, perhaps to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by
the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News."
Amanpour added,"...[I]t did, in fact, put a climate of fear
and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast
work we did." [From: Peter Johnson, "Amanpour: CNN
practiced self-censorship," *USA Today*, 9/15/03, p.4D).
That fear hasn't
ended, but sits at every desk of every major (and many minor) journalist
in the country.
It is the fear
of portraying the administration honestly; it is a kind of protectiveness
over the Bush Regime, for fear of being called disloyal.
It is a fear
of offending a powerful, unbridled regime, and what that might mean
to one's career.
It
is a fear of the bosses, who, in this new media universe, own various
medias, and control whole areas, like never before.
Copyright
2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal
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Submitted by:
Sis. Marpessa
Text
© copyright 2003 by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the author.
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