SWIFT BOAT MOMS IN WINNEBAGOS
or, THESE MOONBATS BITE (Part II)

I have a story to finish here, and I don't quite know how to do it. I've been immersed in the data stream for most of the day, now, and I've absorbed a nearly toxic dose of hate from right-wing websites. There are too many lies to even begin to untangle in any kind of rigorous manner: the simple fact is that tracking down these endless incestuous interconnections and front groups is akin to tracing the lineage of Qliphotic demons.

And he who touches is touched.

Where was I?

A. The Den of Serpents

First, a correction that will take us into it: The "front" group for all of this is "Move America Forward," and not, as I've erroneously reported "Move Forward America." The acronym is, therefore, MAF, and not, as I mistakenly stated MFA -- which are the initials for a phrase that describes these weasels more precisely, if less politely.

But the real reason that I can't seem to keep their name in focus is that it's transparently a ripoff of MoveOn.org -- which was founded (I've been there from the beginning) as a petition movement to MOVE ON and end the whole malignant impeachment. MAF is a hollow shell, a golem, an undead thing: a monstrosity that flickers in and out of existence in memory like a will o' the wisp.

MAF, as reported, was created out of whole cloth by Sacramento Political Consultants Russo Marsh & Rogers. According to Mike Malloy, when you call MAF, you get the RMR receptionist. We already know that RMR registered the domain, and covered up their involvement. But something came to light today that cements their connection to the "inner circle" of the GOP even more concretely:

According to Source Watch -- a project of the Center for Media & Democracy

Russo Watts & Rollins
From SourceWatch

Russo Watts & Rollins is a Republican political consulting firm based in Sacramento, California.

[edit]Personnel
Ed Rollins (partner)
Sal Russo (partner). Also a principal in Russo Marsh and Rogers.
Doug Watts (partner)
Bill R. Phillips (1987-88)
Nancy J. Risque was from June 1986 Vice President with Russo, Watts & Rollins, after which she went on to be Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary under president Reagan in February 1987. [1]
(http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource/speeches/1987/021887b.htm )

Retrieved from http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russo_Watts_%26_Rollins

And this:

Ed Rollins
From SourceWatch

Ed Rollins is a pollster and political consultant, best known for his work on the 1984 Ronald Reagan relection campaign and as Co-Chairman and Campaign Manager of Ross Perot's 1992 Presidential campaign. [1] (http://www.edwardsly.com/whitmanc.htm )

Following the 1992 elections, during a breakfast debriefing, Rollins admitted to journalists that one factor in the success of Christine Todd Whitman in the New Jersey governor's race against incumbent Democrat Jim Florio had been the distribution of "walking around" money to influential persons in inner-city precincts, including African-American pastors.

According to Rollins, workers who had been hired to help get out the Democratic vote were told, "How much have they paid you to do your normal duty? . . . We'll match it. Go home, sit, and watch television." In addition, Rollins said, "We went into black churches and we basically said to ministers who had endorsed Florio, 'Do you have a special project?' And they said, 'We've already endorsed Florio.' And we said, 'That's fine, don't get up on the Sunday pulpit and preach. . . . Don't get up there and say it's your moral obligation that you go out on Tuesday and vote for Jim Florio.'" Ministers who cooperated, Rollins said, received contributions to their "favorite charities." As a result, Rollins said, "I think, to a certain extent, we suppressed their vote."

Subsequently, the Democrats launched a lawsuit as Rollins' comments were alleged to be an admission of illegal behavior. When cross-examined by Democratic attorneys, Rollins claimed that his comments had been no more than part of a "psychological warfare" game he was playing with James Carville, the campaign manager for Whitman's opponent. A federal grand jury investigation proceeded, but eventually the grand jury concluded that no evidence had been presented to show that any laws had been broken.

A biographical note describes Rollins as having worked as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs in Reagan's first term and then as "the national Campaign Director for his 1984 re-election campaign". He then rejoined the Administration as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Political and Governmental Affairs. [2] (http://www.ashbrook.org/events/lecture/1992/rollins.html )

Prior to working for Reagan, Rollins worked as the Republican chief of staff, Principal Assistant to the Republican Leader, and Assistant to the Speaker of the California State Assembly.

"Rollins has held managerial positions outside of politics including stints as a university administrator, college instructor in Public Administration, Dean of the faculty of the National Fire Academy, head of Congressional relations for the U.S. Department of Transportation and as a management consultant to major U.S. and international Fortune 500 companies," his biographical note states.

Another unindicted co-conspirator from the Reagan era, in other words.

Now, the criticism might be made here, and following, that I am creating guilt by association, but I will argue that this approach is entirely fit and proper: these vultures have torn at too many carcasses together, for too many years NOT to appreciate the gestalt that they've created politically: the smears, the manipulation of media, of polling, of slandering and other dirty tricks to win at all costs. So, no, this is NOT guilt by association. It is merely shared complicity. So:

Meanwhile, Source Watch notes this about RM&R;:

Campaigns

In June 2004, RM+R formed a front organization called Move America Forward. Its stated aim was to "to stand up and support the brave men and women of our Armed Forces" [1] (http://www.moveamericaforward.org/ ). However its chief preoccupation seemed to be a campaign against the showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 (movie 2004) in movie theaters.

In July 2005, O'Dwyers PR Daily reported that "the Kurdistan Regional Government has hired Republican lobby firm Russo Marsh & Rogers to get 'free media' to promote the interests of the Kurds in the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq."

One goal of the Kurdish leaders is "the return of Kirkuk," an oil-rich northern Iraqi city populated by Kurdish and Turkmen people. O'Dwyer's notes that the head of RM&R;, Sal Russo, is no stranger to international politics, having "worked on the campaign of Violetta Chamorro in Nicaragua." The Kurdish contract was announced as Move America Forward, a group RM&R helped found and whose "chief strategist" is Russo, is going to Iraq. Move America Forward's "Truth Tour" is bringing conservative talk radio hosts to Iraq, to "report the good news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing from the old line news media." [2] (http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0705kurds.htm )

RM&R; principal Joe Wierzbicki told journalist Bill Berkowitz that his firm's Kurdish campaign "will thank the American people for supporting the war in Iraq, and encourage Americans to visit and invest in the Kurdish region."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russo_Marsh_and_Rogers

Yep. RM&R; is the "PR" firm for the Kurds, as of July. One might well ask HOW this plum assignment was procured. But that would imply that the Bush Administration is handing out contracts to its cronies, and, while I'm not going to go that far, here, you should note that the "PR" firm of Russo Marsh and Rogers has a vested financial interest in maintaining a US presence in Iraq for as long as possible.

But here, let me tie this all back to the Swift Boat Moms in Winnebagos, and Melanie Morgan, courtesy of (apparently) Michelle Malkin, posting on Sean Hannity's website:

"... Radio Hosts Joining the Caravan

Talk radio hosts are helping to promote this event -- with many joining the caravan along the way.

The caravan kicks off in San Francisco where Melanie Morgan of KSFO 560 AM will lead her listeners along the first leg of the caravan. Morgan will also travel to Dallas, Texas on Friday to join the final two legs of the caravan into Crawford.

http://www.ksfo.com/showdj.asp?DJID=11187
http://www.ksfo.com/Article.asp?PT=&id=108415

"For the past few weeks this nation has heard from those voices in America who advocate surrender in the war against terrorism. Now, it's time to hear from the other side of this debate. We are going to rally Americans together to show the terrorists overseas that our nation has not lost its resolve nor its nerve to prevail in the fight against their violent, extremist agenda," said Melanie Morgan who serves as Chairman of Move America Forward.

When the caravan arrives in Sacramento, California it will stop off at the studios of KFBK 1530 AM -- where KFBK's Mark Williams will interview the caravan attendees as he fills in for the "Tom Sullivan Show." Williams will get live reports on the caravan each day before he flies to Dallas, Texas on Friday to join the final two legs of the caravan into Crawford.

http://www.kfbk.com/markwilliams.html

"Since our region of northern California is the place Cindy Sheehan calls home, we owe it to the nation to present another voice from this area. That's why Deborah Johns, the Marine mother, and I are heading to Crawford, Texas. We have a message for the President and the American people: Now is not the time to pull our support from the heroic mission our sons and daughters are serving in Iraq," said Williams.

Talk show host Martha Zoller of WDUN 550 AM Atlanta/Gainesville is also heading to Dallas to join the final two legs of the caravan and she's invited her listeners to come down for the caravan and pro-troop rally in Crawford on August 27th -- to stand by her side.

http://www.marthazoller.com/

"I am going on the "you don't speak for me, Cindy" tour because of the American heroes who have lost their lives in the Global War on Terror. Casey Sheehan is an American hero and he had to live with the knowledge that his mother didn't understand what he was doing...he had to die with that knowledge, too. The media has elevated Cindy Sheehan as the voice of those families who have lost loved ones, but Cindy Sheehan speaks for a very small minority. We're going to tell the rest of the story now," said Zoller.

Also traveling from the Atlanta area is Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson (Ret. -- U.S. Air Force) who broadcasts "The Buzz Cut" radio show on the RighTalk Radio Network.

http://www.buzzpatterson.com/main.asp

Patterson shares something in common with the other talk show hosts heading to Crawford, Texas -- he just returned from Iraq as part of the 10-day "Voices of Soldiers" tour.

"Our troops serving in Iraq made it very clear that they believe in the mission they are serving in. We must stand by them now, for if we don't we only will embolden the terrorists who are doing everything they can to weaken America's resolve. If we turn our backs on the mission in Iraq now, then our sons and daughters who have been killed in this conflict will have died in vain," said Patterson.

Additionally, caravans to Crawford to join the August 27th rally are being planned from Louisiana, Florida, Connecticut and other areas throughout the nation. Many caravans are being organized in conjunction with the supporters of Free Republic at their website, www.FreeRepublic.com

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1467345/posts

Starting Wednesday this week, Move America Forward will begin airing a 60-second television commercial promoting the "Support Our Troops & Their Mission" rally in Crawford, Texas. The ad is expected to air nationwide on cable news networks. You can view the ad online at the Move America Forward website -- www.MoveAmericaForward.org

http://www.moveamericaforward.org/

Move America Forward will provide continuous updates on the caravan and rally at its website -- www.MoveAmericaForward.org
__________________
http://www.michellemalkin.com/

Do you recognize those radio hosts? Of course, you probably don't. They are the SAME radio hosts who accompanied Melanie Morgan (at taxpayer expense) to Iraq for the Right Wing talkers' "Truth Tour." And keep in mind that Melanie Morgan is the "Chair" or "Co Chair" or "Vice Chair" of Move America Forward, along with Howard Kahoolian, ex-California legislator, failed U.S. Senate candidate, failed recall gubernatorial candidate, and current leader of MAF. Kahoolian was prominent in the sound bites, today.

Now that you know a little about them, let's focus on one, in particular, Mark Williams.

B. Sacramento Republican Stooges

It's no accident that so many of the players here are intimately connected with Sacramento. RS&R; is a Sacramento "public relations" firm, of course. ("Public relations" here is strictly a PR euphemism for "partisan demons from hell"). And Ed Rollins was a Sacramento denizen who went to Washington with old Ronnie Reagan. As did Sol Russo start on Reagan's 1966 gubernatorial campaign.

And that brings us to Mark Williams, Sacramento talk show host, another Hannity wannabe in the city that spawned Rush Limbaugh -- remember that Limbaugh's format and radio success came with his Sacramento talk show. It was there that he coined "feminazis" and "liberal" as a dirty word.

When they kicked him upstairs directly to New York City, he left every crypto-fascist wannabe in Sacramento with the dream that he, too could someday be Rush.

And there is little doubt from Williams' demeanor that he cherishes the Dream. Here, to bring us current, is a partial transcript from his August 22 appearance on "Hardball" on MSNBC (Note, O'Donnell is guest hosting for Chris Matthews):

O'DONNELL: Let me bring in Mark Williams, who is a radio talk show host and is launching his caravan tour from California, heading to Crawford today.

Why have you launched this tour?

MARK WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, the pontifications of a self-serving Democrat political candidate notwithstanding, this tour is neither anti-Cindy Sheehan, nor is it pro-war.

I have not spoken with a single individual in the last three years who is pro-war, nor anybody who is anti-Cindy Sheehan. What we are against is the damage she is causing. I just got back from Iraq, talking with the troops, talking with the Iraqis. And I see the damage that's done by pathetic creatures like the woman I'm talking to and Cindy Sheehan.

(CROSSTALK)

O'DONNELL: What specifically do you mean, Mark?

WILLIAMS: I'm about to get to that.

When they get up there and they present this country as divided, as still arguing issues that were decided, debated and voted on three years ago, that both demoralizes our troops and invigorates the insurgency. And it's no mistake that the lion's share of the violence is in and around Baghdad. That's where there are more Western news cameras per capita than probably any other city on the planet Earth. Where they see this kind of division, they use it as a fund-raiser and a recruiting tool.

(CROSSTALK)

ROWLEY: Mark, if you don't mind, you're making the case that Cindy Sheehan is hurting the morale of our troops?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: She is aiding and abetting the enemies of this country and the people who killed her son.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Right now, Casey Sheehan is spinning in his grave.

O'DONNELL: Coleen, can I get your response to that?

ROWLEY: Well, I actually was called a traitor even for speaking out before the war was begun and cautioning officials that it would prove counterproductive.

If we fall into this other speaker's mode, we simply will not have a country that is acting judiciously, because we will all simply have to be quiet. We won't have our freedom of speech either and we will-none of us will be able to challenge incorrect and actually very dangerous policies.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Once again, this was debated, voted on, decided three years ago. We have men and women right now dying on our behalf and on behalf of the Iraqis.

It's our obligation as a society to stand up and support those men and women and make sure that the 1,800-plus who are now dead didn't die in vain. And I'm not quite sure what your alternative is, but perhaps we should open the doors to Saddam Hussein's prison cell, reinsert him as the leader of that country, allow him to start feeding people into wood chippers again feet first, give him back the chemical weapons and nerve gas weapons that the United States and that the United Nations was in there destroying, rescind the war authorization of 1991, and just go along our merry way, with our apologies to all of his future victims.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: What about the 300,000 in mass graves that he engaged in acts of genocide?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: If this was anything but an American action, the American left would be all over the White House to get involved in this country.

(CROSSTALK)

O'DONNELL: Coleen, can I ask you what is-please. You may respond, but, also, what is the alternative? The president saying again that we-that a policy of retreat and isolationism will not bring us safety. What is the policy of the Democratic Party? You're a Democrat. What is it? Cindy Sheehan seems to be advocating cut and run. Is that what you embrace?

ROWLEY: Well, I'm just going to back up.

The last speaker, of course, kind of exhibits this mentality that has not allowed us to have a fair debate. When he said that we debated this and voted on it, he is ignoring what most Americans know now -- now know, that the weapons of mass destruction arguments that were used were very misleading, false and deceptive.

WILLIAMS: Tell the 300,000 people of Saddam's chemical weapons.

(CROSSTALK)

O'DONNELL: Mark, she's allowed you to finish.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Why did John Kerry vote to authorize this war? Why did, through his entire presidency, Bill Clinton advocate taking down Saddam Hussein?

(CROSSTALK)

O'DONNELL: Mark, we play polite on this show.

Coleen, you may finish.

O'DONNELL: Yes, I'm going to go to your question, then, because, again, I think most Americans know that this was not presented in a very honest manner.

And I think there are answers now. I think we actually do have a potential to stabilize Iraq. That's what winning should look like. It should be stabilizing that country and stopping the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: And how do we do that? By cutting and running and leaving them to their fate? Well, that's exactly what we're doing.

I just came back from there. I saw the soldiers going out. I went out with them. I saw them giving food and candy and toys to the kids. I saw the Iraqis crowd around their Humvees and thank them for being there. I had Iraqis walk up to me and thank me for being there and telling me to tell America not to leave them to their fate. Stabilize it? That's exactly what we're doing.

But, at this point, I realize that I may have stretched your patience to the breaking point, and you are asking yourself, What does this have to do with Sacramento?

Well, let me answer that question and one more besides:

http://patriotwatch.com/YellowRibbon/_yellow1/0000001b.htm

Date: 18 May 2004

Deborah Johns was featured on the popular Mark Williams Show on KFBK tonight with an update from her son Will in Iraq and a progress report to KFBK's listeners on the Yellow Ribbon Day events.

Project leaders and staff should take advantage of the opportunity to briefly highlight your project for Saturday on Night Talk Live - 7 to 10:00 week nights. Tell Mark's listeners what your doing, why and your hopes for the future. Include your website www.patriotwatch.com and don't be shy to ask for volunteers.

Yup. Not only has Williams been working with Deborah Johns (the Swift Boat Winnebago Mom) but they've known each other for some time ... and not always for nice little photo ops.

Johns lives in the Sacramento area. Williams' station is in ... you guessed it ... Sacramento, California, the capitol of California, and home (formerly) to the Gipper and (currently) the Gropenator.

Oh, and KBFK?

"NewsTalk 1530 KFBK launched the talk radio career of Rush Limbaugh in 1984, where he tackled the issues of the day with tenacity and vigor. Since his humble beginnings in Sacramento, Rush's popularity has skyrocketed and he is currently broadcasting on well over 600 radio stations nationwide with an estimated audience of nearly 20 million people. There's no doubt that Rush Limbaugh is a powerhouse in AM radio, as well as a testament to talk radio."

from the KFBK website: http://www.kfbk.com/rush.html

C. The Plot Thickens

(At 3,500 words, we'll have to knock off for today and continue this in Part III. But meantime, here's a little teaser):

Deborah Johns didn't just appear out of nowhere, nor dids Cindy Sheehan ignite her anger. She's been an angry zealot for a long time now, and, as if it were surprising, in cahoots with Mark Williams, who currently warms the Rush Limbaugh chair at KFBK in Sacramento, California ....

Courage.
.

SWIFT BOAT MOTHERS IN WINNEBAGOS HIT THE ASTROTURF
or, I WONDER IF THEY TEACH THIS AT THE UO JOURNALISM SCHOOL? Part I

[Note: I threw the first draft of this blog entry away two days ago when my spider-sense started tingling, and it became obvious that there were deeper connections at work. At the time, there was very little about Move America Forward's "You Don't Speak For Me, Cindy" tour online, and happily, several media outlets have started looking at the whole substrate of this anti-Sheehan PR stunt, including Janeine Garafolo on today's "Majority Report" on AirAmerica radio. But, my hunches are usually good, and this one was. Much of the critical material and the connections only turned up after a couple of days of connecting the dots. There is something to be said for self-imposed deadlines and holds.]

This one is for Nancy Stapp, who asked me to talk about the "Truth Tour" of Iraq put together by "Move America Forward " about a month ago by KSFO radio talk show host Melanie Morgan to tour Iraq with Right Wing talk show hosts (including Vancouver "Oregon's" own Lars Larson until he cancelled).

When originally asked, I demurred.

At the time, I didn't know enough about it to comment intelligently, and, while it might seem the quaint practice of a bygone era in an era of news Creationism (or, if you prefer, Unintelligent Design), I operate from the dictum that FIRST you get your facts, and THEN you form an opinion.

I now have the facts about the Truth Tour, but, as our new Skiing Uphill motto is, "we serve no crime before its time," the bigger story was far less complete than it is now.

Well, the Orwellian-entitled "Truth Tour" produced any number of whoppers broadcast to the uncritical "true believers." One was that there was a HUGE terrorist training camp in Iraq (still looking for that 9/11 connection justification). Another was that the Iraqis were "60% trained." I presume that meant 60% of the Iraqi army was trained, not that the army was 60% trained. Yet another was that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction (see! they WERE a threat!).

Blogger "AltHippo" writes on TPMCafe:
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/8/8/14561/26055

"You may recall that upon returning from the Truth Tour, Michael Graham's world view was so enriched that he wrote: "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam." Graham was promptly suspended by WMAL here in Washington. Mr. Graham is the author of Redneck Nation, which I'm guessing is his autobiography."

Melanie Morgan wasn't alone on that tour, though. She was aided and abetted by California politician-on-the-make Howard Kaloogian. Indeed the radio photo-op for Operation Iraqi Freedom (originally entitled Operation Iraqi Liberation, until they realized what the acronym spelt) was put together by the organization that Kaloogian and Morgan figurehead for: "America Moving Forward."

And America Moving Forward was created by the Sacramento public relations firm "Russo, Marsh and Rogers."

And therein lies the rub: Russo, Marsh and Rogers is intimately connected with the national and California Republican party, but we'll get to that in just a moment. First, let's listen to them, in their own words: http://www.rmrwest.com/index2.asp

Experience Really Does Matter.

When it comes to winning elections, few firms can match the success of Russo Marsh + Rogers, Inc.

The experience of RM+R's staff is one of the greatest advantages you get when you recruit the Russo Marsh + Rogers team of political professionals and campaign experts.

The principals and associates at RM+R have been involved in more than 350 campaigns at the local, state, federal and international levels.

In addition to our experience in almost every state in the nation and in countries such as Nicaragua and the Ukraine, the expertise of RM+R's staff extends to every aspect of campaign strategy and design.

Specifically, the experts on our team have extensive skills in:

Message Development
Market Research Methodology
Audience Targeting
Coalition Building
Fundraising
Campaign Ground Operations
Public
Relations
All Advertising Techniques

RM+R understands the commitment it takes to run for office. And whether our client is political or corporate, we always give 110%.

RM+R provides its clients (ranging from County Supervisor to President of the United States) a solid strategic plan combining direct mail, fundraising, research, broadcast advertising, audience targeting, etc.

At RM+R we know that each campaign is unique and we are serious about winning. There are no simplistic formulas; creativity is essential.

With our strategy and skill at implementing the right tactics, RM+R is a proven organization with a solid track record of winning races.

Russo Marsh + Rogers, Inc.
770 L Street, #950
Sacramento, CA 95814

Telephone: (916) 441-3734
Fax: (916) 441-6057

Pay special attention to that fax number, because it's a key to all sorts of chicanery.

But here, let Keith Olberman (the only MSM newsman in America today who seems to have the cojones to actually report the news) of MSNBC report for you:

'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Aug. 24
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show
Updated: 11:06 a.m. ET Aug. 25, 2005

Meanwhile, there is the group that reversed the Sheehan equation and showed up in her home town of Vacaville, California, with a caravan of military families and conservative activists who proclaimed, "You don't speak for me, Cindy."

Several partisan Web sites reported that the anti-antiwar group Move America Forward was not quite as grassrootsy a response to Sheehan as it first seemed, that it had, in fact, been launched by a Sacramento public relations firm with strong connections to the Republican Party.

Those Web sites are right. While the online evidence has been scrubbed that the PR firm Russo, Marsh, and Rogers actually put up the Move America Forward Web site, Move America Forward still lists as its chief strategist and one of its board members Sal Russo of the PR firm Russo, Marsh, and Rogers.

And the Move America Forward fax number in that area code is 441-6057, while the Russo, Marsh, and Rogers fax number in that area code is 441-6057.

Well, that's kind of soft-pedaling it.

You see, RM&R; is more than a "public relations" firm. RM&R lists the "President of the United States" as one of its clients. And, they have run some presidential campaigns themselves, including those of Orrin Hatch and Jack Kemp.

On July 13, RJB posted this on http://whpsocal.blogspot.com (the blog "Words Have Power")

Move America Forward is a political astroturf organization that collects money and mailing lists for right wing PR firm Russo, Marsh and Rogers.

Move America Forward's current media focus is its so called "Truth Tour," a collection of right wing radio talkers passing on good news from Iraq. Billed as a "Voices of the Soldiers," the whole scam is designed to promote Move America Forward and their agenda. Kaloogian and his allies are using the military as a front for the vital fund raising work of the far right's propaganda machine.

If you haven't eaten yet, check out the Move America Forward site. It is dominated by the wall paper of the ultra-right, with a completely political focus.

Troops...troops..? Oh yeah, we have a coffee and cookie drive going for them and don't forget we need money for ads to get the UN out of the US. By the way, have you contributed to our campaign to oust Dick Durbin?

On July 4th -- Independence Day from those who seek to undermine our national resolve - we will begin a television ad campaign to hold Senator Dick Durbin accountable for his denouncement of our troops.

However, we need your help to raise the remaining money for airtime in just a few days time.

We are about $174,832 short of our initial budget for the ad campaign. That means we need just 6,993 Americans to contribute an average of $25 to the ad campaign.

And astroturf:

[ http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Kossary

Astroturfing

Producing the illusion of broad grass roots support by top down actions. For example: A templated Letter to the Editor expressing wingnut outrage at an imagined liberal offense that is duplicated and sent to city newspapers across the country as if it were penned by a local reader. Local papers never fail to publish the artificial letters and thus OpEd pages from coast-to-coast are carpeted with artificial grass or 'Astroturf'.

-- from the "Kossary" at dailykos.com]

But it really goes further than that: These "clients" of the Bush White House have been behind the "protest" that caused CBS to cancel its showing of the Reagan miniseries (Kaloogian and Russo, et al); the attacks on "Fahrenheit 9-11" and the Gray Davis recall. Kaloogian (the "Chair" of MAF) was the "taxpayer hero" who, well, read HIS PR:

Assemblyman Kaloogian made history as Chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, an effort which ousted Democrat Governor Gray Davis from office. Kaloogian set up the Recall Gray Davis Committee and its website, www.RecallGrayDavis.com, even fighting off members of his own party who were too timid to act. Davis became the first statewide elected official recalled in California's history.

Considering Ronald Reagan to be one of his political heroes, Kaloogian agreed to lead the Defend Reagan Committee (website: www.DefendReagan.org). He led hundreds of thousands of Reagan supporters across America to fight against the smear campaign waged against Reagan by CBS, Viacom and Showtime with their anti-Reagan production, "The Reagans." So many Reagan supporters flooded the offices of CBS and their sponsors with complaints that the movie was cancelled on network television. [from the recall website]

And from the defendreagan website:

Howard Kaloogian is Chairman of the Defend Reagan Committee (website: http://www.defendreagan.org/ ). He is a former California State Assemblyman (Republican) and was also Chairman of the successful Recall Gray Davis Committee, which in October recalled Governor Gray Davis from office -- the first time a governor had been recalled in California's history.

Defend Reagan Committee
P.O. Box 1445
Sacramento, CA 95812

And then, this damning little tidbit:

Sal Russo -- Chief Political Advisor

Mr. Russo has spent over 30 years in the field of political consulting and public affairs.

Mr. Russo began his political career as a special assistant to Governor Ronald Reagan after serving as a volunteer in his 1966 gubernatorial campaign. Mr. Russo later founded his own political consulting firm in 1976.

Sal Russo has been at the forefront of some of the most prominent national, state and local campaigns, including the election of Governor George Deukmejian (1982), Senator Alfonse D'Amato, New York (1992), Governor George Pataki, New York (1994), presidential bids by Jack Kemp and Senator Orrin Hatch and The Recall of Governor Gray Davis (2003).

So, these are much, much more than people "with ties" to the Republicans. These are Republicans who make their living from doing Swift Boat operations for the Rove Black Bag Unit of the White House and the GOP. In 2000, the pulled in over $2 million (the PR firm, not MAF) from strictly Republican candidates and campaigns.

Absent an actual pay stub, I couldn't prove in a court of law that Russo Marsh + Rogers are putting on these pageants on behalf of the White House, but their brags give the game away. There can be no doubt that the "smoking gun" in this PR game is in the hand of RS&R; -- a hand that's significantly clad in surgical gloves. Unfortunately, they didn't quite cover up all the traces.
According to "What Really Happened"
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

June 12, 2004
WHO PAYS THE BILLS FOR "MOVEAMERICAFORWARD.ORG"

A web site has launched a campaign to deter theater owners from showing Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9-11". A list of theaters currently committed to showing the film is provided along with exhortations to call and demand that the film be dropped. Some theater owners are reporting receiving death threats.

This web site, "www.moveamericaforward.org", is actually an alias for "www.moveamericaforward.com". A DNS check reveals that "www.moveamericaforward.com" is being run by a Public Relations firm out of San Francisco. [sic]

Registrant:
Russo Marsh & Rogers [emphasis added]
770 L Street, #950
Sacramento, CA 95814
US

Domain name: MOVEAMERICAFORWARD.COM

Administrative Contact:
Lorenz, Douglas [email protected]
770 L Street, #950
Sacramento, CA 95814
US
916-441-3734 Fax: 916-441-6057

[There's that fax number again!]

Technical Contact:
Lorenz, Douglas [email protected]
770 L Street, #950
Sacramento, CA 95814
US
916-441-3734 Fax: 916-441-6057

[There's that fax number again!]

Registrar of Record: easyDNS Technologies, Inc.
Record last updated on 18-Nov-2003.
Record expires on 18-Nov-2004.
Record created on 18-Nov-2003.

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.EASYDNS.COM 216.220.40.243
NS2.EASYDNS.COM 205.210.42.20
REMOTE1.EASYDNS.COM 64.39.29.212
REMOTE2.EASYDNS.COM 212.100.224.80

PDF file of original WHOIS info for MoveAmericaForward.org showing ownership and administration by Russo Marsh & Rogers.

Russo Marsh & Rogers is a political public relations firm with strong ties to the GOP. Sal Russo, a principle in Russo Marsh & Rogers, served as advisor for the "Recall Grey Davis" campaign.

So, I guess we know just who is behind the campaign of threats and harassment against theaters showing Moore's film!

UPDATE: Following the first publication of this article, the WHOIS database for moveamericaforward.org has been changed to conceal their links to Russo Marsh & Rogers.

Domain ID:D102814530-LROR
Domain Name:MOVEAMERICAFORWARD.ORG
Created On:18-Nov-2003 18:00:16 UTC
Last Updated On:12-Jun-2004 22:50:51 UTC

Expiration Date:18-Nov-2004 18:00:16 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R1247-LROR
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:tu48DTsaZ7dXgT7L
Registrant Name:Howard Kaloogian
Registrant Name:Howard Kaloogian
Registrant Organization:Move America Forward
Registrant Street1:P.O. Box 1863
Registrant City:Sacramento
Registrant State/Province:CA
Registrant Postal Code:95812
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.9164416192
Registrant FAX:+1.9164416057

[There's that fax number again!]

Registrant Email:[email protected]
Admin ID:tuW9UfAOApXQOh1k
Admin Name:Howard Kaloogian
Admin Organization:Move America Forward
Admin Street1:P.O. Box 1863
Admin City:Sacramento
Admin State/Province:CA
Admin Postal Code:95812
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.9164416192
Admin Email:[email protected]
Tech ID:tu92eyg19oABIqVC
Tech Nam
e:Howard Kaloogian
Tech Organization:Move America Forward
Tech Street1:P.O. Box 1863
Tech City:Sacramento
Tech State/Province:CA
Tech Postal Code:95812
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.9164416192
Tech Email:[email protected]
Name Server:NS1.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server:NS2.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server:REMOTE1.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server:REMOTE2.EASYDNS.COM

Note the phone number on the above record, 9164416192. It's actually the phone nuber of a BAR in Sacramento called "The Downtown Purgatory".! The FAX number 1.9164416057 is the FAX number for Russo Marsh & Rogers

ANOTHER UPDATE - The DNS record for moveamericaforward.org has been changed yet agian to remove all names.Nothing is left now but the name server lookups and the registration company. The registrar's name has been removed.

Sal Russo himself is still listed on the MoveAmericaForward site.

Note that the report came during the original MAF attack: Trying to get theaters NOT to show Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" in 2004. But RS&R registered the domain in 2003, evidently anticipating the creation of their astroturf golem. The coverup is probably more significant than the ownership information. It tells us a lot about how these people work, and think.

And now, on Saturday, their bogus group "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy!" will be holding a rally in Crawford, Texas tomorrow (Saturday). Michelle Malkin ... er, WHOOPS! Melanie Morgan will fly in to "lead" the "protest rally."

In other words, the PR arm of the White House, paid for by the White House, has put together a "tour" to protest the protesters. So watch the news media coverage of this phony event.

Oh, and note how close they come to the "10,000" counter-demonstrators they have been PROMISING during their tour from the Bay Area down to San Diego, and thence, over to Crawford, Texas.

Tomorrow: The Astroturf Thickens.

Courage.
.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDITS
or, THE WAR AD COUNCIL AND YOU (Part IV)
The Thrilling Conclusion

Is there a strange irony that Smokey Bear, created as a war propaganda symbol by The War Advertising Council celebrated his first birthday with a nuclear firestorm over Nagasaki, Japan? Perhaps it is a metaphor. It is a synchronicity that defies simple metaphor.

Combine it with this:

http://loper.org/~george/archives/2001/Jun/086.html

June 2001 Marketing and Advertising: Peddling Smokey the Bear

"The U.S. Forest Service is installing an animatronic Smokey Bear in the lobby of its headquarters building, a $55,000 Disney-like creation designed to greet visitors."

We have blurred the line between fact and fiction, to our own peril. And, while the Deans of the University of Oregon Journalism School engage in public opinion spin to justify the inclusion of Public Relations in the journalism department, the War Advertising Council continues to target whomever they decide that Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo might be, whether litterbugs, drug users, mothers who don't teach their daughters math and science,

Of course,

"Smokey Bear has been one of the most successful public-relations campaigns in the country. In 1941, forest fires burned 30 million acres. Nine out of 10 fires were caused by people.

"Since Smokey came on the scene, wildfires caused by humans have been reduced by half, even though 10 times as many people use the national forest as did in the 1940's. In 1990, 5.4 million acres were destroyed by fire.

"And his words of wisdom are as widely recognized as the opening of Genesis. A survey a few years ago by the National Ad Council showed that 95 percent of adults and 77 percent of children ages 5 to 13 recognized his words of wisdom:

'. . . only YOU can prevent forest fires'."

http://www.neworegontrail.com/smokey.htm

So it's difficult to quibble with the seemingly positive effects of propaganda. But it's still lying, no matter how benevolent. And, too often, it turns malevolent.

Meanwhile, a Smokey Bear robot sits at a desk in Washington, D.C., greeting visitors to the Forest Service headquarters. The dead bear was buried in secret, then his grave was turned into a state park:

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/smokeybear/

WELCOME TO SMOKEY BEAR HISTORICAL PARK
CAPITAN, NEW MEXICO
"THE BIRTHPLACE OF SMOKEY BEAR"

Completed in 1979, the Park was established to honor Capitan's favorite son Smokey, the little bear cub that was found with burned paws after a 17,000 acre forest fire in 1950 on the Capitan Mountains near Capitan, New Mexico. After living in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. for 26 years, Smokey passed away and was returned to the Village of Capitan to be buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

Except that there's spin even in that:

http://loper.org/~george/archives/2001/Jun/086.html

"By 1975, Smokey Bear had exceeded his life expectancy, and plans were being made to send him back to his hometown of Capitan, N.M. Before plans were effected, however, he died. Smokey was transported at night back to Captain and buried in the forest in an unmarked spot. There was little publicity about this burial because officials did not want to take attention away from the fire prevention issue."

Buried in an unmarked grave, the original cartoon lived on beyond his namesake. And, in deference to his namesake, a State Park opened, to offer worshipful reverence for a dead black bear named "Hot Foot Teddy" by his rescuers, and exploited by the former War Advertising Council -- now The Ad Council -- for the remainder of his natural life. But it could have been worse:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/smokey.html

Smokey II, like his predecessor, was a cub rescued from a forest fire. However, Smokey II didn't catch on with the public. When he died, the Park Service didn't know what to do with his body -- so they burned it.

When the lie is all, the truth means nothing. It is incinerated as garbage.

And perhaps that's the metaphor.

When I visited the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. in 1974, the pandas were out of order (there was literally a traffic barrier with a sign saying that they were indisposed in some manner) but I did get to see Smokey Bear. He was an obviously sick animal, covered with mange, on a concrete floor with some hay thrown down, lying in his own urine and excrement. The stench was so powerful that I can remember it to this day. He was not a happy bear.

And I thought: Dear God, this is a national icon, lying in his own waste like an ignored resident of a cut-rate old folks' home. And I also thought: If Washington D.C. can do this to Smokey Bear, what treatment can we expect from it?

In March of 1974, Rep. Harold Lowell Runnels, the Democratic congressman from Lovington, New Mexico introduced a "sense of the Congress" resolution, 93rd Congress:

H.CON.RES.449
SPONSOR: Rep Runnels (introduced 3/20/74)

SUMMARY AS OF:
(AS INTRODUCED)

Expresses the sense of Congress that when Smokey the Bear [sic] goes to that great honey tree in the sky it is just and fitting that he shall be returned home to his place of birth, Capitan, New Mexico, for proper burial and a permanent memorial among the cool green mountains where he was born.

OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED:
Concurrent resolution to declare the sense of Congress that Smokey Bear shall be returned on his death to his place of birth, Capitan, N. Mex.

Runnels introduced the resolution twice more, and, finally, Concurrent Resolution 564 finally passed:

H.CON.RES.564 [Runnels' Resolution 560 had, similarly, failed in the early summer, aided by several cosponsors of both parties.]

STATUS: Floor Actions

introduced 7/16/74
7/16/74 Referred to House Committee on Agriculture
7/31/74 Reported to House, H. Rept. 93-1245
8/5/74 Measure passed House
8/6/74 Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry
8/29/74 Reported to Senate, S. Rept. 93-1129

After I visited Smokey that summer of 1974, the Congress expressed its wishes that the body be returned to New Mexico.

9/5/74 Measure passed Senate.

Congress had spoken.

There were no cosponsors, nor a great honey tree in the sky in the final version. So, I had arrived in time for the funeral arrangements to have begun.

But the public-serving lie valiantly marches on. The real bears have been unceremoniously dumped, as soon as their utility ceased as collateral on the governmental spokescartoon. But now "Smokey's" corpse is worshipped by visitors to his grave.

A brass plaque bears the legend: "This is the resting place of the first living Smokey Bear. In 1950 when Smokey was a tiny cub, wildfire burned his forest home in the nearby Capitan Mountains of the Lincoln National Forest. Firefighters found the badly burned cub clinging to a blackened tree and saved his life. In June 1950, the cub was flown to our Nation's Capitol to become the living symbol of wildfire prevention and wildlife conservation. After 25 years, he was replaced by another orphaned black bear from the Lincoln National Forest."

Knowing Smokey II's fate lends a ghastly caste to the testimonial, however.

So, is it crazy or is it evil? Or is it both or neither?

Courage.
.
NOTE: You really OUGHT to read "The True Story of Smokey Bear," the original 1954 comic that has been read by generations of American children. (You can still get it today, usually as a Forest Service freebie.) You can "read" the whole thing at:
http://www.chivian.com/chivian/s/SmokeyBearStory.html
And pay careful attention to the manner in which the cub "Smokey" is morphed into the cartoon "Smokey" without ever actually telling an untruth. Just walking VERY, VERY near the edge. Which is the point of propaganda:

"That's perfect! We'll name him after the symbol of forest fire prevention!"

"Well, how do you like your name -- SMOKEY?"

"THE NAME STUCK..."

Which is almost a ... well it isn't exactly TRUE, is it? And that's the point.
.
This has been a public service essay from Skiing Uphill and nobody's advertising council. But give blood anyway. And be careful with matches. OK? OK.
.

JUST A RANDOM THOUGHT
or, THE COWARD OF THE COUNTY, REVISITED

Well, listening to the actual news from Crawford, Texas -- where CNN radio's PR claim of "counter-protesters" is, at present, limited to a single person -- I realized WHY Bush hightailed his yellow hide offa the Ranch.

Because he took the White House Press Corps WITH him.

The Rovian brain undoubtedly realized that the trouble was coming from the fact that the entire White House Press Corps was stuck, cooling their heels in Crawford with nothing to write about except bicycles (a recreation stolen, insanely enough, from John Kerry last year), chainsaws and shotgun blasts.

And Bush has made sure that the WHPC is kept jumping, landing in Idaho, thence to Salt Lake City (where the protest turned out to be DOUBLE what the organizers put in a hopeful permit for), thence back to Idaho, thence to Boise to talk to a) a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention and b)a National Guard unit.

Hopefully, this will keep the press corps AWAY from Cindy Sheehan, Camp Casey, and ALL other countervailing points of view -- exactly as Bush hides from countervailing points of view in his choice of audiences and audience members. Evidently the idea that someone disagrees with him just gives him the heebie-jeebies. (No doubt due to his mature personality.)

Once before, he hightailed it when the heat was on him, jumping into the Texas Air Guard, and then jumping from the Texas Air Guard to get out of the Vietnam War (that he was publicly and snottily defending at Harvard, even as he was blowing off the final months of his Air Guard service).

So now he's hiding out (and hiding the WHPC) from mothers whose sons were killed as a direct result of his decision to invade a sovereign state (a war crime) that had not provoked us. Why, he might have to confront the reality that he'd ordered their sons to their deaths for nothing -- and ducking responsibility is the HALLMARK of this misAdministration.

But at least he's consistently yellow. There's something to be said for consistency.

Courage. (Except for Dubya the Younger, upon whom the advice is, evidently, wasted) .
.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDITS
or, THE WAR AD COUNCIL AND YOU (Part III)

So, what is the problem with propaganda?

I'm harping on it, because there is a fundamental dishonesty in the whole Smokey campaign that exactly mirrors the dishonesty of nesting Public Relations studies in Journalism departments.

And because, sooner or later, the temptation to use those 'benevolent' lies becomes overwhelming. How many people know that the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement still hasn't been paid to local residents? That Exxon may well have spent more on their PR campaign after the oil spill than it did on the spill itself? That Exxon continues to order single-hulled tankers rather than the mandated double hulled tankers that are required (minus a compliant congress) in 2012?

Of course not. You've been watching the Public Relations department putting out how environmentally friendly Exxon is, while the Journalism department has been hitting the bong rather heavily for more than a decade. They are absent without leave.

Are you old enough to remember how we "free" Americans used to sneer, as a matter of course, at the "poor" people of the Soviet Union, constantly bombarded with Communist propaganda, fed a steady diet of lies in the "official" paper, PRAVDA (which translated ironically as "TRUTH")?

We snickered because we weren't being bombarded with a steady stream of propaganda like those poor dupes. We were soaking in FREEDOM and the free exchange of information, and the "robust public debate" that the Supreme Court so often cites in First Amendment cases. Yes, siree, none of that lousy propaganda for us. Well, if you don't count that Ad Council stuff as propaganda, of course.

If you need a contemporary example of WHY it's important to know the difference between what you know and what you THINK you know (which may not be, in fact, true), just look at the self-hypnotism of the Bush Administration in going to war with (not a threat) Iraq, and breaking off our pursuit of Osama bin Laden (definitely a threat).

Propaganda may do good things, but, ultimately it hides the facts from view, stifling debate and killing the fundamental ability of a free people to soberly and seriously decide their own fate. Propaganda is antithetical to self-governance; and it is antithetical to the facts, whether the facts are relevant or not.

As a propagandist, I could whip you into a frenzy by telling you that one of my employees, who was clearly against the way that I run my business, poured sand into one of my machines. I could tell you all sorts of things that would color that fact. That fact would be readily admitted even by the employee.

But, unless you knew that the machine in question was a cement-mixer, you might think poorly of that employee. We all agree on the facts. But the interpretation is the bailiwick of the propagandist.

The problem with the "Smokey" campaign is that it creates a whole morass of unintended consequences when the original goal was in making people aware of how easily humans can start forest fires.

And the (War) Ad Council has been deciding what our moral and social issues are ever since World War II. Quite aside from the obvious -- What the hell business is it of YOURS to improve my figure, morals, habits, behavior, language, etc. etc. -- the fundamental dishonesty of propaganda forces us to "behave" without allowing debate of the issue involved.

So, what happens when it's NOT an issue on which there is broad consensus (which, in the case of most of what the Ad Council promotes, there generally IS)?

The temptation to abuse the power and begin to propogate an unmandated political agenda becomes almost irresistable, as the reach and influence of the propaganda expands.

There are two current examples of the Ad Council's propaganda running presently that are a little disturbing.

You might recall that in 1986, there was a legitimate debate in this country as to how to address the drug issue. Ever since Nixon's commission on drugs had presented its findings (and, ironically, it was Nixon's resignation that derailed the implementation of those findings) the nation had been moving towards less criminality and more rehabilitation -- exactly as the Commission had recommended.

The upshot had been that our numbers of incarcerations diminished, drug use was going down, and rehabilitation clinics were doing their "power of the market" thing by proliferating.

And then, Nancy Reagan launched -- or was the spokesperson for launching -- the "War on Drugs." Suddenly the nation was galvanized into action. No politician could afford to be "soft" on drugs; congresses and legislatures outdid themselves in heaping on draconian measures to "win" the "drug" war.

And the Ad Council began churning out anti-drug messages by the score. The debate was ended, and the whole mindless "just say no" campaign failed miserably.

And, ever since, the Ad Council has dutifully churned out an endless series of PSAs about frying eggs and brains, with little effect, except to draw the snickers of a whole generation, and more.

And yet, that propaganda was effective. The whole question of taking the sane path or the punitive path was over, as far as the Ad Council was concerned, and America marched boldly forward, eternally improving its citizens, whether they desired improving or not.

I like to think that the debate on HOW to best treat the epidemic of drug use OUGHT to have taken place. And yet, we are inextricably set on a road that favors bullets over hospital beds, prison over recovery, and slogans over rehabilitation.

And then the resource gates were thrown wide open. Ecology was "nutty," and pollution and clear-cutters were invited to, well, pollute and clearcut with impunity.

And the [War] Ad Council has thrown in its two cents worth.

You have, perhaps heard the commercials. I once wrote a reductio ad absurdam in NEW WEST Magazine back during the Carter Administration entitled "Why The World Won't Work," but it was mere circular reasoning as humor: there's a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza.

But the Ad Council has come up with ads for -- of all people -- The American Red Cross that basically puts forward an "all ecologists are NUTS" agenda while eventually asking for the noble cause of donating blood, using circular arguments to prove futility.

I won't recap the radio commercials here, but what I WILL do is show you the print ads that I'm sure a lot of you haven't seen.

Click here: http://www.hartwilliams.com/images/treehugger.jpg

What you see is a clearcut forest strip, with one "treehugger" environmentalist chained to a slightly taller stump. The protestor is dwarfed by the immensity of the sterile swath of the clear cut.

http://www.hartwilliams.com/images/treehugger-detail.jpg

Take a close look at the "treehugger" -- and note that the downloadable .PDF file from the Ad Council site entitles the file "blooddonation_print_treehugger.pdf" -- and tell me what's being communicated: It's pointless. Give up. You can't stand up against the giant trucks that obviously ravaged the land with you on it.

This is a particularly shocking image. It's meant to be in "fun" one would suppose that the rationalization goes. But the meaning is clear. Oh, by the by, if you care, give blood, which will DO MORE GOOD than protesting.

And this propaganda is supposedly a freebie to help the Red Cross -- about which no one has a beef. Like firemen, the Red Cross is sacrosanct. Everybody loves them.

But the War Ad Council has decided to make its point by derisive images of "idiots" who try to stop pollution. One radio ad talks about a fellow who's trying to stop stores from carrying sweat-shop jeans. Then the "humorous" denouement when all the letters he's written have funded a kid clear-cutting a rain-forest to earn enough to buy a pair of sweat-shop jeans.

Ha ha.

Give blood.

Another variant has an "Erin Brockovich" type woman getting a plant shut down that has been, literally, killing and deforming, and giving cancer to children. The "humorous" irony is that when the plant is shut down, the cancer-stricken children can't get medical care because plant employees were the only people with health insurance, and they've all been laid off.

Yeah. Kids dying of cancer and mercury poisoning is FUNNY? That's just the knee-slapper to end all knee-slappers. Just remind me NOT to offer any of these fellows the Thanksgiving prayer. Lightning would surely smite us all.

Here is the print ad. http://www.hartwilliams.com/images/pollution.jpg

You see a woman standing, again, in an utterly desolate parking lot, outside a plant whose multiple smokestacks belch pollution. The barren parking lot covers more than half of the portrait's vertical space. The smokestacks dwarf her. By creating a sense of Brobdingnagian immensity, the poor Lilliputian female protester is consigned to irrelevancy.

See the closeup view: http://www.hartwilliams.com/images/pollution-detail.jpg

The legend reads: "Saving the world isn't easy. Saving a life is." And beneath it, in smaller type: "Just one pint of blood can save up to three lives."

Sorry, but that's "Loose lips sink ships," and that Cocker Spaniel puppy with the Gold Star all over again. There is a brutality in the assault on the sensibilities that it presents, and, worse, the campaign attempts to refute the entire history of American activism, protest and social change.

Were this ad to have been hatched in, say, 1950, when Smokey was morphed into a "real" bear, the ad might have looked like this:

A lone black man in a giant stadium. The seats are filled with white sheets, all wearing hoods, and each holding a noose. Now, shoot it wide angle, to EMPHASIZE the smallness of the black man, and the immensity of the White Sheets, and now let's add that Ad Council message:

"Saving the world isn't easy. Saving a life is." And beneath it, in smaller type: "Just one pint of blood can save up to three lives."

(Tomorrow: we bring the tale to a close, with stunning revelations as to the nature of the bear's death, burial and resurrection as a State Park. And, the Smokey Robot, in Part IV, the finale. Don't worry. It's already finished.)

Courage.
.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDITS
or, THE WAR AD COUNCIL AND YOU (Part II)

[NOTE: In a vain attempt to keep this blog to more manageable reading sizes, we here at Skiing Uphill are initiating a policy of breaking up longer postings. As a result, this is now Part II of III. Hey! It's an epic journey from Tojo to Saddam. No sense in scrimping on details. And you're definitely getting your money's worth. It is, after all, free.]

I will note here that there exists a longstanding controversy on schoolyards across America. "Smokey Bear" or "Smokey THE Bear"? Here, the authoritative answer:

http://www.smokeybear.com/vault/name_main.asp

In 1952 Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote the anthem that would cause a debate among Smokey enthusiasts for the next several decades. In order to maintain the correct rhythm, the writers added a "the" between "Smokey" and "Bear." As testament to the song's popularity, Smokey Bear became known as "Smokey The Bear" to many adoring fans, but in actuality his name never changed, and he is still known correctly as Smokey Bear.

But I grew up in a forest service family, and have always known that the cartoon mascot that the War Ad Council dreamed up was called "Smokey Bear." Indeed, from 1960 onward, we -- my brother and I -- probably owned every kind of Smokey swag that the government put out: comics, book covers, pencils, books, pocket protectors, etc. etc. Instead of a teddy bear, I had a Smokey Bear, whose hat mysteriously disappeared years before the plush pseudo-animal ended up at a garage sale.

So I grew up in the cult of the Bear.

http://www.smokeybear.com/vault/wartime_prevention.asp

[During] World War II ... in 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced near the coast of Southern California and fired a salvo of shells that exploded on an oil field near Santa Barbara, very close to the Los Padres National Forest. Americans throughout the country were shocked by the news that the war had now been brought directly to the American mainland. There was concern that further attacks could bring a disastrous loss of life and destruction of property. There was also a fear that enemy incendiary shells exploding in the timber stands of the Pacific Coast could easily set off numerous raging forest fires.... With this is mind, the Forest Service organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign with the help of the Wartime Advertising Council.

Posters and slogans were created by the War Advertising Council, including "Forest Fires Aid the Enemy," and "Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon." By using catchy phrases, colorful posters and other fire prevention messages, the Advertising Council suggested that people could prevent accidental fires and help win the war.

And, as noted, they came up with Smokey in 1944, the alleged brainchild of one illustrator, Rudolph Wendelin, who, though rumored for years to have been a Disney cartoonist (thus, garbling the whole Bambi-to-Smokey PR transition by the War Council) was a forest service artist.

http://forestry.about.com/cs/foresthistory1/p/rudy_wendelin.htm

Artist Rudolph Wendelin helped conceive and draw the U.S. Forest Service mascot and spokesman "Smokey The Bear" for 40 years. Mr. Wendelin took "Smokey" from bear cub to animated protector of U.S. Forests.

Wendelin began his career in 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with the U.S. Forest Service as a draftsman and illustrator. He transferred to the Washington D.C. office in 1937. Serving in the Navy during WWII, he rejoined the USFS again as illustrator back in D.C., helping launch the Smokey Bear project and painting Smokey in hundreds of situations that highlighted natural resources conservation and the prevention of forest fires.

Then, having proven that cartoon characters (Bambi) could be effective, and having generated their own (Smokey), the propaganda flacks seized on a bear cub in New Mexico.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself, because we're talking about the War Advertising Council, not Smokey Bear (Or, as I called him before I could enunciate properly: 'MO-ki-bear). Having been so successful in their various wartime propaganda efforts, the liars of the War Ad Council decided to contribute their professional mendacity to serve the public good. They became the Ad Council.

You might remember some of their campaigns: This is your brain-this is your brain on drugs; the crying chief, Iron Eyes Cody pollution ad; McGruff the Crime Dog, Woodsy Owl, and the various Smokey wannabes (they may well have created, and then MURDERED MOST FOULLY Mr. Zip). Virtually any time you hear a Public Service Announcement, you'll hear at the end, "Brought to you by the ***** and the Ad Council."

But you know what? It still ain't journalism. It's propaganda. And, most perniciously, it's propaganda "in the public interest" or, in their own words: "As the leading producer of public service advertisements (PSAs) since 1942, the Ad Council has been addressing critical social issues for generations of Americans." http://www.adcouncil.org/

Their "addressing" of critical social needs consists solely of taking a position, and then ladling on the propaganda. We'll get to what's running right now in a minute, but first, let's see what these cynical manipulators of public opinion did to Smokey.

The cartoon character did his job for six years, toiling in the public sector -- later protected by Congress from Public Domain exploitation as an "exclusive" property of the Forest Service, rather than a public domain property, like, say Apollo moon landing photographs and movies. We paid for Smokey, but, in a very real sense, we don't own him. Still, the USDA licenses its merchandising rights to Smokey pell mell, and finding, say, a Smokey beach towel is no problem.
And then the propagandists got a stroke of luck: A little bear was rescued from a forest fire. It had that "White Chick missing in Aruba" ambience, and the media jumped all over it. Here's the short version:

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/pop/smokey.htm

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES!

Smokey the Bear (sic)

In the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, a black bear cub found himself in a forest surrounded by flames. To escape the fire burning around him, he climbed up in a tree. By the time the fire fighters found the scared and hungry cub, the forest was charred and blackened. The firefighters, park forest rangers and the warden were so moved by the bravery of this little cub that they named him Smokey. They put him on a plane and sent him to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to live.

"Smokey the Bear" becomes a symbol for forest fire prevention.

[Note that the website uses the incorrect "Smokey THE Bear" appellation. And note that it is MYTH. "Brave" bear? "Found himself surrounded"? How could anyone know this? Was the bear debriefed after the fire? Well, consider for a moment how EASILY these rational absurdities slide down the mental gullet, anaesthetized throughout our lifetimes by endless PR and minimal journalism.]

But take a look at the longer version, and bear in mind (pun intended) that the Lincoln National Forest fire was in 1950, and that Smokey allegedly gushed forth from Wendelin's pen in 1944.

[ http://www.epcc.edu/ftp/Homes/monicaw/borderlands/13_Smokey_Bear.htm

Smokey Bear: A Legend Is Made By Cesar Rodriguez

In May of 1950, a blazing inferno ripped though the Lincoln National Forest, engulfing everything in its path. Acre after acre, the forest was rapidly consumed by a ghastly man-made fire. Every firefighter from miles away was summoned to help out -- one of the worst fires in New Mexico's history. Soldiers from Fort Bliss and school boys were excused from their duties and classes to help fight the blaze.

The fire burned over 18,000 acres. Amidst the devastation, firefighters found a tiny bear cub clinging to the top of a tree.... In 1944, the National Ad Council [sic, it was the War Advertising Council] came up with the idea of using a bear to symbolize fire prevention. On August 9, 1944, the Smokey Bear campaign was born. Smokey was named after a fearless New York firefighter and hero, Smokey Joe Martin. This campaign was fully implemented before the little cub was found in the Lincoln National Forest.

[...]

The cub was taken to a veterinarian and treated for burns. He spent the next couple of weeks recuperating with Ray Bell, assistant warden of the New Mexico Game and Fish Department....

Kester Kay Flock, Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forests, suggested that the cub, then being called "Hot Foot" because of his badly singed feet, be taken to Washington D.C. The National Ad Council [sic, The War Advertising Council] wanted to make him a living symbol of the fire-preventing bear.

[Or, as one writer puts it, rather more succinctly: "Firefighters found a orphaned bear cub. They called him Hot Foot Teddy..." -- HW]

Smokey Bear was not one person's idea. The credit actually goes to three men: Bill Bergoffen, Don Belding and Rudolph Wendelin. Wendelin, the artist in the group, is the man who drew Smokey ...

So, was Wendelin Smokey Bear's creator? According to the Department of Agriculture, it was someone else:

http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/1999/03/0077

the Death of Harry Rossoll, the Creator of Smokey Bear
Release No. 0077.99

Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
on the Death of Harry Rossoll, the Creator of Smokey Bear
February 28, 1999

"I was saddened to learn of the passing of Harry Rossoll. Mr. Rossoll was the father of Smokey Bear, a beloved national treasure.

"Mr. Rossoll's creation proved that public service announcements can have a significant and lasting impact on our nation. Smokey Bear, created decades ago, has saved human and animal lives. America's forests and wilderness are better protected from fires today, in part, because of Smokey Bear's successful education efforts.

"We are certainly a better nation because of Harry Rossoll's creativity. His work will always be appreciated, but he will be missed."

OK. So Harry Rossoll created Smokey Bear???

But what about this?

Early posters featured Bambi, but the campaign soon switched to America's favorite toy animal--the bear. In 1944 illustrator Albert Staehle drew the first Smokey, a big-eyed, round-nosed bear in a park ranger's hat. The bear was named for "Smokey" Joe Martin, the former assistant chief of the New York City Fire Department.

-- From "Smokey Bear -- A friend of our forests for more than half a century," by Holly Hartman

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/smokeybear.html

OK. There is serious intent here, and we're not going to run down a complete exegesis of the origins, rumors, myths and half-truths in the pantheon of Smokey Bear mythology.

Smokey Bear was created by the War Advertising Council, probably by committee, because that's how Madison Avenue types work.

My point is this: when you begin in lies, and continue in lies, it is not surprising that facts become flexible, malleable, and quite mutable.

The War Advertising Council created Smokey Bear to help with the war effort. They kept going with Smokey Bear because it served their and the Government's mutual needs. The Bear himself is responsible for much good, and little ill, and my purpose here is not to praise Smokey, but to bury him.

[Note that "Smokey has inspired firefighting animals in other nations. Ecuador has a firefighting parrot. Japan has a firefighting squirrel. Australia has a Smokey Koala." -- http://www.neworegontrail.com/smokey.htm ]

(Tomorrow, with any luck at all, the SENSES-SHATTERING CONCLUSION -- to cop a lick from Stan Lee -- PART III)

Courage.
.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDITS
or, THE WAR AD COUNCIL AND YOU (Part I)

There is a difference between evil and crazy. One can be crazy without being evil, but, it might be argued, one cannot be evil without being, in the final analysis, crazy.

Or, put another way, there is something fundamentally insane in the concept that lying can be both beneficial and maelevolent. That the truth can be distorted either for good ends, or for bad ends. Whether that is evil or crazy remains to be seen.

There is a bit of a tempest in the University teapot here in Eugene. George Beres, a writer who obtained a journalism degree, worked as a "sports information director" for most of his career at various universities, and then, after he retired, got back to journalism has raised an issue that gets to the fundamental heart of journalism as it's practiced in this country.

The University of Oregon Journalism school also comprises the Public Relations school. Beres argues -- nearly irrefutably, I'd suggest -- that journalism and public relations (OK: let's call a spade a spade here and call it propaganda. "P.R." is a PR euphemism) that journalism and propaganda are diametrically opposed to one another; they are antitheses, opposites, irreconcilables.

The current and former heads of the department replied with glib sophistries, saying that it's great that propaganda students study with journalism students, so they can learn how media works, and THAT THE PROPAGANDA STUDENTS WILL, BY OSMOSIS, PICK UP ON ALLA THEM HIGH-FALUTIN JOURNALISTIC ETHICS. (emphasis to paraphrasing added).

Propaganda means lying. The most effective propaganda, the gurus of Madison Avenue insist, is to tell as much of the truth as you can. But the determining factor is "what do you mean, 'that you can'?"

PR (or propaganda, or "spin") is a form of deliberate lying to a purpose. It means that you require the recipient of the information to make the decision that you want them to make.

In its current manifestation, propaganda appeals directly to the reptile brain: sex, power, property, dominance. Thus, you chew spicy gum because you will mate with a fashion model. This is absurd to the rational brain, but to the reptile brain, this is a truth -- utterly illogical though it may be -- and men buy the gum. And women buy the gum. (You'll note that I didn't note the gender of the fashion model.)

Public Relations means never having to say that you're sorry -- unless, of course, saying you're sorry about one thing will distract from a bigger thing, or sell more gum.

Journalism is purportedly about finding out the truth and presenting that truth to the public. Superficially, at times, the twin pursuits might seem compatable, mostly because they make use of the same office equipment: copiers, printers, typewriters (word-processors), photographic hardware and software; and they use the same means of transmission. They show up at the same events. They often quote one another incestuously.

I once typeset for military contractors in Orange County, California, and one manufacturer of TOW missile parts, to help push their budget requests and increase congressional orders wanted a headline story torn out of the NEW YORK TIMES above their budget request data. Chop-chop, because the hearings were a day or two away, so they would have to airlift the two-hundred print run (they printed for very small audiences of Washington insiders) to D.C. right away.

A US helicopter had shot down something or other ... using TOW MISSILES! (A free bathtowel with every missile purchased! Start your collection today!)

But quoting journalists to further PR ends is as common as dirt. As is quoting press releases (the original "P.R.") ubiquitous in the "truth" seeking world of journalism. Lazy newspaper writers and magazine editors crib large chunks of press releases, uncritically, all the time.

Which is why siting a propaganda school in lockstep with a journalism school is like hiring the fox to guard the henhouse. Worse, it's training the lockpicks alongside the locksmiths. The lockpicks have several lovely years of learning to understand EXACTLY how the locksmiths create their locks, without the lockpick ever having to reveal any of their tricks.

But this is common practice across the U.S.A. The term "communications" is spot-welded to "journalism" and voila! You have a modern media school. Only problem is that the quaint notion of "truth" and "facts" goes by the wayside.

Which is, I would argue, the endemic pestilence of our body politic. We no longer argue about the "truth." We argue about the "spin," with one notable yahoo going so far as to call his propaganda show (think of Joe Pyne) the "no-spin zone." And, of course, he merchandises t-shirts, caps, coffee mugs, mouse pads and a whole mountain of ephemera with the "no spin" logo.

Spinning about not spinning is a feral sort of Zen: an infinite regression in which the dual casualties are truth and balance.

After all that spinning, who can keep their balance, after all?

And the dizzying array of public relations spin arises to vertiginous heights, defying any attempt to chronicle. One can only characterize.

Once upon a time, youngsters, we were engaged in a desperate two ocean struggle against Japan and Germany. And we called it World War Two (although "World War, Part II" might have seemed a better and certainly more accurate title).

And propaganda was desperately needed, to keep up public morale, to inform and to instruct. You've no doubt seen the posters, many of which have been photoshopped into anti-Bush posters. "Loose lips sink ships," was their first poster/campaign, and, thereafter, those sorts of things. One was a sad-eyed cocker spaniel puppy staring out at the viewer from behind a window display of a gold star on a blue field. That symbol -- which everyone understood meant that the household in question had lost a son in the war --was artfully juxtaposed with a sad, impossibly cute puppy.

The appeal was utterly emotional. How could you turn down that newly widowed (un-mastered?) puppy, blond and petit bourgeois? Symbol of home, hearth, mom, apple pie and baseball.

That came to us, as did a bewildering array of posters, ads, movie spots (no TV, then) and radio "PSA"s (Public Service Announcements) from something called "The War Ad Council" -- a group of advertising men put together to coordinate and generate war propaganda.

During the last years of the war, they were asked to, and dutifully obeyed, creating an advertising campaign against forest fires. Some say it was because so many city folks were camping in the forests, and leaving fires that grew into forest fires that a war-depleted country didn't have the manpower to fight.

The first poster showed one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death, a skeleton in a cowl, riding through a forest exploding in flames, with a torch. "DEATH RIDES THE FOREST ... WHEN MAN IS CARELESS," it read.

Another poster showed Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo in grotesque caracature with the legend: "OUR CARELESSNESS ... Their Secret Weapon! Prevent Forest Fires."

It was probably effective, but just a little too spooky for a nice homefront propaganda campaign.

So, the next year, still during the war, they came up with a new approach, and a new poster. According to

http://www.smokeybear.com/vault/bambi_bear.asp

Walt Disney's motion picture, "Bambi" was produced in 1944 and Disney let the forest fire prevention campaign use his creation on a poster. The "Bambi" poster was a success and proved that using an animal as a fire prevention symbol would work. A fawn could not be used in subsequent campaigns because "Bambi" was on loan from Walt Disney studios for only one year; the Forest Service would need to find an animal that would belong to the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign. It was finally decided that the Nation's number one firefighter should be a bear.

On August 9, 1944, the first poster of Smokey Bear was prepared. The poster depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. Smokey Bear soon became popular, and his image began appearing on other posters and cards.....

I will note here that there exists a longstanding controversy on schoolyards across America. "Smokey Bear" or "Smokey THE Bear"? Here, the authoritative answer:

(Stay tuned for the CLIFFHANGER and the amazing denouement of our tale in PART II, tomorrow)

Courage.
.