....LMB: "The Politics of Smug"....

January 16, 2003

Can we please stop with the SUV bashing?

We all know that they are suburban mini-vans disguised as monster trucks so that daddy can run to the supermarket to pick up diapers and drop the girls off at soccer practice without feeling emasculated. They are so tall and wide that it's hard to see the other cars on the road. They use more gas than regular cars. And to the more scholarly, they are more dangerous to others in case of a collision.

And I hear many liberals trumpetting the cause these days. SUVs use more gas and "support terrorism." SUVs are more likely to kill in an accident.

... but they still drive cars themselves.

How about getting off your high-fucking-horse? Your car uses gas too. So you support terrorism a little bit less, way to go, Gandhi. Your car is a slightly safer death chariot than an SUV, you big brave rebel you.

Yeah, I hate SUVs too. But for those of you who wear your opposition like a badge of honor, cut it the fuck out.

Unless your only form of transportation is your feet or your bicycle. In which case, flame on.

Posted by Jake at 11:58 PM
Comments

Right on, Jake.
What a waste of good time and energy beating up on people who drive SUV's. Unless you're walking, blading, or riding, you got no right to throw stones. Even if you don't own a motor vehicle, put your energies elsewhere. There are plenty of real issues to protest about.

Posted by: jim at January 17, 2003 05:50 AM

I don't support terrorism. I power my car with my feet.

Posted by: Fred Flinstone at January 17, 2003 08:31 AM

i fucking HATE SUV's. i live in san francisco where there's nary a parking place to be found anyway, and these assholes drive all over the city like maniac's. that's not to say that MOST drivers in SF don't drive like idiots, but i feel more at risk when an SUV comes hauling ass up to a stop light and i'm not sure if they're going to actually stop or run it and kill me while i'm in the crosswalk.

i haven't owned a car in 12 years. i walk, bike, or take public transportation (electric powered, not gas) everywhere i go. i am sick of people acting like it's impossible to survive WITHOUT a car and especially without an SUV. no one fucking goes "off road" around here and they are incredibly dangerous and they do use a lot of gas, and i DO believe that since they're so big the drivers feel safer and therefore drive more offensively and put me at risk everytime i step outside.

that's just me though. and i love to complain.

Posted by: the evil queen at January 17, 2003 09:55 AM

For the record, I don't own a car anymore.

When choosing a car, one should consider safety, efficiency and environmental impact. But we (Americans) only consider how cool it makes us look (or how much it will hurt our pocket book if we're too poor to care about image.) When I did have a car a couple of years ago, I had a Camero. Yeah, I was a self centered dick and I looked cool. But I've learned since then.

We all need to re-think our fascination with Image. Anyone with the money to buy a big fancy SUV should seriously think about buying a hybrid car. And why not walk the three blocks to the store rather than waste gas?

Posted by: madprophet at January 20, 2003 02:51 AM

You SUV people, in the vast majority, are self absorbed, mindless of others safety, and cause of extra pollution, over what more likely than not, are feelings of gross inadequacy. Nobody is impressed, other than by your self indulgent stupidity. You ought to be made to drink an equal amount to the gas you waste.

Posted by: at January 21, 2003 08:30 PM

IF YOU BUY GAS YOU SUPPORT TERRORISM!

Check out DigiStain's spoof "If You Buy Gas..." It premiered on iFilm.com over a month before the SUV thing arrived. It's hilarious, incisive, and doesn't miss the point -- a real counterpunch to Partnership for a Drug Free America ads. "If You Buy Gas..." can be accessed online at:

http://www.geocities.com/digistain

Posted by: Digistain Productions at January 23, 2003 07:03 PM
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Lying Media Bastards is both a radio show and website. The show airs Mondays 2-4pm PST on KillRadio.org, and couples excellent music with angry news commentary. And the website, well, you're looking at it.

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Media News

December 01, 2004

Media Mambo

The Great Indecency Hoax- last week, we wrote about how the "massive outcry" to the FCC about a racy Fox TV segment amounted to letters from 20 people. This week, we look at the newest media scandal, the infamous "naked back" commercial. On Monday Night Football, last week, ABC aired an ad for it's popular "Desperate Housewives" TV show, in which one of the actresses from the show attempted to seduce a football player by removing the towel she was wearing to bare her body to him. All the audience saw, however, was her back. No tits, no ass, no crotch, just her back.

No one complained.

The next Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh told his shocked viewers how the woman had appeard in the commercial "buck naked".

Then, the FCC received 50,000 complaints. How many of them actually saw this commercial is anyone's guess.

The article also shows the amazing statistics that although the Right is pretending that the "22% of Americans voted based on 'moral values'" statistic shows the return of the Moral Majority, this is actually a huge drop from the 35% who said that in the 2000 election or the 40% who said that in 1996 (when alleged pervert Bill Clinton was re-elected). This fact is so important I'm going to mention it over in the main news section too.

Brian Williams may surprise America- Tom Brokaw's replacement anchor, Brian Williams, dismissed the impact of blogs by saying that bloggers are "on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem." Which is really funny, coming out of the mouth of a dude who's idea of journalism is to read words out loud off a teleprompter. Seriously, if parrots were literate, Brian Williams would be reporting live from the line outside the soup kitchen.

In related news, Tom Brokaw has quit NBC Nightly News, and it appears that unlike his predecessor, the new guy can speak without slurring words like a drunk.

PR Meets Psy-Ops in War on Terror- in February of 2002, Donald Rumsfeld announced the creation of the Office of Strategic Influence, a new department that would fight the war on terror through misinformation, especially by lying to journalists. Journalists were so up in arms about this that the Pentagon agreed to scrap the program.

Don't you think that an agency designed to lie to the public might lie about being shut down, too?

This article gives some examples about the US military lying to the press for propaganda and disinformation purposes.

Tavis Smiley leaving NPR in December- African-American talk show host Tavis Smiley is opting to not renew his daily talk show on National Public Radio. He criticized his former employers for failing to: "meaningfully reach out to a broad spectrum of Americans who would benefit from public radio but simply don’t know it exists or what it offers ... In the most multicultural, multi-ethnic and multiracial America ever, I believe that NPR can and must do better in the future." He's 100% correct. NPR is white. Polar bear eating a marshmallow at the mayonaise factory white. And the reason it's so white is that it is trying to maintain an affluent listener base (premoniantly older white folks) who will donate money to their stations. This is a great paradox of American public broadcasting, that they have a mandate to express neglected viewpoints and serve marginalized communities, but those folks can't donate money in the amounts that the stations would like to see.

U.S. Muslim Cable TV Channel Aims to Build Bridges- it sounds more positive than it is "Bridges TV" seems to simultaneously be a cable channel pursuing an affluent American Muslim demographic, and a way of building understanding and tolerance among American non-Muslims who might happen to watch the channel's programming. I was hoping it would be aimed more at Muslim's worldwide, but it ain't. Still, I'd be interested in seeing how their news programs cover the issues.

Every Damned Weblog Post Ever- it's funny cuz it's true.

Wikipedia Creators Move Into News- Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created collectively by thousands of contributors. It's one of those non-profit, decentralized, collective, public projects that show how good the internet can be. Now, the Wikipedia founders are working on a similar project to create a collaborative news portal, with original content. Honestly, it's quite similar to IndyMedia sites (which reminds me, happy 5th birthday, IndyMedia!). I'll admit, I'm a bit skeptical about the Wikinews project, though. IndyMedia sites work because they're local, focused on certain lefty issues, and they're run by activists invested in their beliefs. I'm not sure what would drive Wikinews or how it would hang together.

CBS, NBC ban church ad inviting gays- the United Church of Christ created a TV ad which touts the church's inclusion, even implying that they accept homosexuals into their congregation. Both CBS and NBC are refusing to air the ad. This is not too surprising, as many Americans are uncomfortable about homosexuality, and because TV networks are utter cowards. But CBS' explanation for the ban was odd:

"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples...and the fact that the executive branch has recently proposed a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast."

Whoa, what? First of all, the ad does not mention marriage at all. Second, since when do positions opposite of the Executive Branch constitute "unacceptable"? This doesn't sound like "we're not airing this because it's controversial", this sounds like "we're afraid of what the President might say."

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