George W. Bush: i'm lovin' it

for me, one of the great lessons of the bush victory is the power of brand identity. i believe an important factor in the election was bush's strength, not as a candidate, but as a brand. if there is anything we have learned in america in the last 40 years, it is that people love a good franchise. people may not love starbucks coffee, but if they are in a new town, they will typically go to a starbucks before some local coffee joint. People may not love california pizza kitchen, but they will eat there rather than some unknown restaurant across the plaza. ignore for the moment the psychology of this phenomenon, is there any doubt that bush benefited from it? now i am not making the argument that bush benefited as the incumbent. i'm sure he did. I suspect that some overlapping forces are at play in that advantage as in the one i am attempting to describe, but they are not the same.

sure you might think it's creepy, but this is the nike swoosh of GWB imagery

George W. Bush is not a candidate so much as a brand, or perhaps more aptly, a property or franchise of a popular brand, the GOP. there is a George W. Bush font- it's a serify thing that is both bold and classy. there is a George W. Bush hairstyle and suit. not only is there a branded imagery, there is a branded worldview: the other guys are bad. we are good. tax cuts are good. jesus is good. self examination is bad. you get the idea. most of all there is a George W. Bush vernacular. his simple language is as easy to digest as his imagery and worldview. there are repeated words and phrases. oh how they repeat and repeat. and not just from his mouth. condi, cheney, mcclellan, innumerable talking head floozies and a.m. jesters. it could drive you into bloggery. there is little that comes out of the man's mouth that is not a slogan, a platitude, or a combination of the two. it works for gap, tide, electronic arts, et al., and it works for George W. Bush. Of course speaking in platitudes is not new for politics, but has anyone done it as completely, and as successfully as the very healthy duck who is leading into that dark night?

the language is one of fear, faith, and salvation. this language can't be said to only appeal to christians. the christian story of the world has an appeal in the secular world as well. we all know who plays bealzibub and who plays jesus in George W. Bush's play, instantly. who here will claim freedom from the guilt and insecurities endemic to the judeo-christian view of human and god? George W. Bush's handlers understand that approval ratings and election results are the domain marketing, and all the psychology and cynicism that entails.

those fuckers.

happy birthday to me

some tidbits from my birthday to yours. this video clip made me feel a few different emotions, but mostly it made me laugh. escalation hit store shelves this week. so did half-life 2-- perhaps the biggest PC release ever. I got a look at it today and it lives up to all the fuss. It is wonderful. Between that and the latest installments of metroid, grand theft auto, halo, and metal gear, there is a glut of quadruple A titles. The bad news is they are all sequels... so the game play and characters are rehashes. The good news is these are the very best development teams in the world, and so far I'm having more fun with this crop of games than any that has come before. i seem to have be in a band again. this time it's shaping up to be coworkers. we've practiced a couple times and everyone seems to be really digging it. expect a show in a few months.

From Tuesday's Phil Hendrie

• "Justin McElroy: Halo 2"

  Because the Halo 2 video game is so important to his generation, Justin wants Friday to be a school holiday to celebrate it. In his eyes, Halo 2 is just as important as Veterans Day or when Kennedy was shot! -Listen using: windows real

A Letter from Bob Jones III to President Bush

"President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The media tells us that you have received the largest number of popular votes of any president in America's history. Congratulations!

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn't deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate. We the people expect your voice to be like the clear and certain sound of a trumpet. Because you seek the Lord daily, we who know the Lord will follow that kind of voice eagerly.

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

Had your opponent won, I would have still given thanks, because the Bible says I must (I Thessalonians 5:18). It would have been hard, but because the Lord lifts up whom He will and pulls down whom He will, I would have done it. It is easy to rejoice today, because Christ has allowed you to be His servant in this nation for another presidential term. Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years—a brief time only—to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.

Christ said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my father honour” (John 12:26).

The student body, faculty, and staff at Bob Jones University commit ourselves to pray for you—that you would do right and honor the Savior. Pull out all the stops and make a difference. If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical values, shed yourself of them. Conservative Americans would love to see one president who doesn't care whether he is liked, but cares infinitely that he does right.

Best wishes.

Sincerely your friend,

Bob Jones III President

BJIII:lw

PS: A few moments ago I read this letter to the students in Chapel. They applauded loudly their approval.

When I told them that Tom Daschle was no longer the minority leader of the Senate, they cheered again.

On occasion, Christians have not agreed with things you said during your first term. Nonetheless, we could not be more thankful that God has given you four more years to serve Him in the White House, never taking off your Christian faith and laying it aside as a man takes off a jacket, but living, speaking, and making decisions as one who knows the Bible to be eternally true."

mark crispin miller @ PBS

"So there's often a kind of official and systematic rebelliousness that's reflected in media products pitched at kids. It's part of the official rock video worldview. It's part of the official advertising worldview that your parents are creeps, teachers are nerds and idiots, authority figures are laughable, nobody can really understand kids except the corporate sponsor. That huge authority has, interestingly enough, emerged as the sort of tacit superhero of consumer culture. That's the coolest entity of all, and yet they are very busily selling the illusion that they are there to liberate the youth, to let them be free, to let them be themselves, to let them think different, and so on. But it's really just an enormous sales job." a great read. if you've seen the frontline documentary there is more here. If you haven't, check it.

"Apparently it is more moral to start an illegal war, invade a country, occupy a country that did nothing to us; kill thousands of people ... all based on falsehoods trumped up by President Bush and his hawk advisers,' she said. 'He told one falsehood after another to get us in a Vietnam-style quagmire. We have lost our moral compass. We used to be mankind's greatest hope; now we are despised around the world" -- Helen Thomas

Global Warming Exposes Arctic to Oil, Gas Drilling

"Warmer temperatures could raise global sea levels by as much as 3 feet. Such a change would threaten coastal cities, change growing patterns for vegetation and destroy habitats for some wildlife, but an energy-starved world would have new areas for oil and gas exploration, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report. "

voting our values

a bad day for the world

if the aliens were enroute to land in washington and give us entry into the galactic community, they turned around early this morning. the whole world is scared and sad and dissapointed in us. i feel ashamed of my country this morning, i really do. right now we are like a drunken father who refuses to admit he has a problem... nonono, things are dandy, give us some more of that please. we gave the finger to the world because we didn't have the guts to admit we fucked up. we gave the finger to the world and it probably feels good to a lot of people. or we just think george bush talks to jesus or some shit. in the words of bill hicks, "how far up your ass does this guys dick have to be, before you realize that he's fucking you?" i believe this election came down to neither issues, personalities, nor principles. it came down to psychology. i am too tired and sad to analize it more deeply, but i think the country was unwilling to admit its enormous strategic and moral mistakes. from a psychological perspective, it is easier to ignore certain facts (for example, that bush tried to prevent and independant 911 comission and then first tried to appoint HENRY MOTHERFUCKING KISSINGER to head it) then it is to reorganize your beliefs about right and wrong. the bans on gay marriage as also disheartening. i would say that such laws are unamerican, but right now it feels like that would be a lie. such laws ARE what most americans seem to want. If they are stuck down by the supreme court then it will only have been by the protections afforded by our government that they were struck down, and that is sad in a way too. However, the cases better get there fast, because the supreme court is in big trouble, and so are we.

i got to vote! still finishing JO:E

today we ride

this is it. the last day. the day where we will discover if we did it. yes, today, tuesday, november 2, Joint Operations: Escalation will go gold master. it's awful timing, and it means i probably won't have a chance to vote. i tried to move my registration near work but no dice, and i just can't leave tomorrow. It would be like leaving the opening night of a play if you had an important part to play and no understudy. i'll avoid the temptation to rationalize or explain this here any further, but i feel you all should know that unless i get lucky and can leave work in time to make it to west la, i wont vote tomorrow. meanwhile it really is an important day for the nation tomorrow, and i encourage all who can vote to do so. not only do we get to fire bush, we get to fire:

• donald rumsfield
• condoleza rice
• dick cheney
• tom wolfowitz
• john ashcroft
• colin powel

and countless others whose names i do not know. awesome. also like a said the post before i for really graduated jesus christ. also halo 2 is november 9th also half-life 2 also my life also trips to places