Keith Olbermann over at MSNBC tells the tale of how terrorism warnings issued by the Bush administration over the past few years have strangely coincided with either potentially damaging news about the administration, or positive news for the Democrats . In the video below, Olbermann details 13 clear examples of terror related announcements from the Bush administration that came within hours or days after negative news surfaced about the administration.
Is it possible that the Bush administration used terror threats, many of which were later proven to be totally false and misleading, to divert attention away from their own misdeeds and screw ups elsewhere? We could just consider it part of an ongoing pattern of propaganda by the administration. Remember, using messages designed to change people’s opinions or more importantly, BEHAVIOR is a fundamental part of the definition of propaganda.
def. – Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience.
I remember being told told to go buy duct tape and plastic drop cloths to protect my family from an impending chemical or nuclear attack, which turned out later to be verified as false. Yes, that whole week of water cooler discussion and hardware store excitement was the direct result of one of these announcements. Home Depot stock probably went through the roof.
I also remember as a child, being taught to hide under my school desk, to protect myself against a nuclear bomb attack. Living near one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants made us a huge target we were told. Niagara Falls was a vital target for the commies, it was REALLY IMPORTANT, and we were going to be targets our whole lives – just for living here!
Use common sense, and filter things you see on TV with natural skepticism. If it sounds like a bunch of hype, it very well could be. Your natural instincts are not fooling you.
There are a lot of things in the world to be afraid of – skyrocketing prices on food and everything else, the faltering economy, the death toll in Iraq, and people who would scare you into doing their will. You are far more likely to die in a car accident, fire, or murder, than by a terrorist attack according to statistics.
Watch the video.
