dkmnow (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dkmnow) wrote,@ 2008-10-23 18:49:00 |
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Katie Couric's Terrorphobia Inc.
To be fair, most of the corporate media float these sensationalist red herrings almost to the exclusion of all else. Nevertheless...
Tonight on CBS News, Couric plugged an upcoming segment promising to examine the presidential candidates positions on what she called "one of the most serious threats to this country, Islamic extremism."
My immediate reaction:
NO, Katie. "Islamic extremism" IS NOT "one of the most serious threats to this country." Statistically, by your own logic, such "serious threats" should include, as equally dangerous, the likelihood of allergic reactions to peanuts, and auto accidents involving deer on American roadways [1]. A much bigger threat -- indeed, a genuine "existential threat" -- is posed by deceitfully alarmist rhetoric peddled-for-profit by the corporate media, power hungry politicians, and the all-consuming National (in-)Security Industry.
Now I'm searching in vain to rent a billboard, as I always want to do when this bogeyman gets trotted out. As usual, I'll just have to settle for breaking things instead. Gah!
[1] A False Sense of Insecurity, John Mueller, Ohio State University - Department of Political Science, Regulation, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 42-46, Fall 2004 PDF
See also:
Terrorphobia: Our False Sense of Insecurity, by John Mueller
http://www.the-american-interest.com/ai
Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them, by John Mueller. (more)
To be fair, most of the corporate media float these sensationalist red herrings almost to the exclusion of all else. Nevertheless...
Tonight on CBS News, Couric plugged an upcoming segment promising to examine the presidential candidates positions on what she called "one of the most serious threats to this country, Islamic extremism."
My immediate reaction:
NO, Katie. "Islamic extremism" IS NOT "one of the most serious threats to this country." Statistically, by your own logic, such "serious threats" should include, as equally dangerous, the likelihood of allergic reactions to peanuts, and auto accidents involving deer on American roadways [1]. A much bigger threat -- indeed, a genuine "existential threat" -- is posed by deceitfully alarmist rhetoric peddled-for-profit by the corporate media, power hungry politicians, and the all-consuming National (in-)Security Industry.
Now I'm searching in vain to rent a billboard, as I always want to do when this bogeyman gets trotted out. As usual, I'll just have to settle for breaking things instead. Gah!
[1] A False Sense of Insecurity, John Mueller, Ohio State University - Department of Political Science, Regulation, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 42-46, Fall 2004 PDF
See also:
Terrorphobia: Our False Sense of Insecurity, by John Mueller
http://www.the-american-interest.com/ai
Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them, by John Mueller. (more)