So, I'm watching actual broadcast television at home the other night for the first time in, I don't know, months and months, and a commercial catches my attention. The is particular commercial features a man who served in Iraq (his name is John Kriesel, by the way), and who lost both legs in the process, telling us to support the war there.
He says he joined after 9/11 for the sake of his sons, which is a noble thing indeed. He says he knows "what he lost" (his legs), which is tragic and heroic at the same time. So now I'm watching intently, this man has paid a high price and (apparently, I can't say for sure from a 30 second TV spot) served honorably. I may not agree with the war, but my beef in with the men who sent the troops there with lies and poorly conceived plans, not with the troops themselves, who are only doing their duty. He is a hero like so many others.
But then he drops two bombs:
First he claims that "if we pull out now, everything [he] has given and sacrificed will mean nothing". Second, he says "THEY attacked US". He ends by saying "this is no time to quit, this is no time for politics".
If that doesn't make your stomach churn, you're not paying attention.
First, the charge that leaving Iraq will render this man's loss meaningless. This is a bald faced attempt to use emotion to push a political agenda. It is also untrue, or at least misdirected. The implication is that the people who are protesting the war, who think that it is a bad idea and want to bring the troops home, are dishonoring the troops by doing so. That logic simply doesn't track. By serving honorably and following the orders of his superiors, this man's sacrifice - and that of others - is patently meaningful, and nothing can take that away. Right or wrong, his nation called and he answered and he did his part. For that he is a hero, and nothing can take that away. It is cheap and dishonest to claim otherwise.
The real question is whether or not the entire endeavor, and the sacrifices made, were worthwhile. If invading Iraq was a bad idea, if being there is a bad idea, then the whole enterprise has not been worthwhile, and has been so from the beginning. If all of that is true, then this man's sacrifice is already a waste and a tragedy, and nothing that happens now will change that either. Directing that kind of anger and frustration at people who are pointing out, after the fact, that the whole thing was a mistake is misguided. It's the people who sent the troops into Iraq in the first place that are to blame. They have the blood of 2000+ Americans on their hands and should answer for that.
If I tell you to cut off your arm because something good will happen, and afterwards someone else points out that I was lying, would you blame them for rendering your actions worthless? No, of course not, it's my fault, not theirs. If the decision to pull out is made, then yes that is a statement that the sacrifices made were not worthwhile (though not meaningless), but it is the people who sent our troops into this situation who are at fault, not the people trying to correct the mistake, if there was one.
The second statement mentioned above is far worse, because it is an outright deception meant to perpetrate a lie, and is thus despicable. Iraq did not attack us, we attacked them. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Nothing at all, period. If you believe that it did, then you have been had. Don't believe me? President Bush himself has said that there is no connection, though only after implying such a connection repeatedly. For good measure, here's Dick Cheney denying a connection as well (video), all the while attempting (poorly) a Clinton-esque attempt to make two issues out of one in order to save face.
Let's be clear: Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, they did not attack us, we attacked them. Right or wrong, we are the aggressor, not them.
Given that a high percentage of Americans still believe this nonsense, commercials like this are obvious attempts to play not only on the nation's emotions, but also its ignorance. In effect, they are threatening us with the "unpatriotic" label by exercising our rights and disagreeing with them, and then saying we're too stupid to think it out for ourselves. It's offensive and disgusting.
Ending the commercial with the words "this is no time for politics" is just icing on the cake. The ad was part of a $15,000,000 ad campaign by a group call "Freedom's Watch", a Republican lobbying group headed up, in part, by Ari Fleischer, one time White House Press Secretary. This is a man who once said: "If Saddam Hussein indicates that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is violating United Nations resolutions, then we will know that Saddam Hussein again deceived the world. If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world." He operates solely on rhetoric and political dogma, twisting reality to fit within predetermined political "truths", rather than the other way around. Every word he says is tainted by politics.
Watch the ad below and see for yourself. Most importantly, get the facts and think for yourself.
By the way: They're running ads to support a war? What has the political system in this country come to that wars are being branded and marketed? For members of a party that supports free markets, the current administration is doing an awful lot to subvert the will and judgement of the people. Simply disgusting.
EDIT: By the way, that tag at the end "Call your Congressman and Senator 1-877-222-8001" is another deception. The number goes to an operator who asks you if you think the war is a good thing or not. If you say no, you get hung up on, if you say yes, they forward your call to Congress. That's clever, actually.
The real numbers, by the way: Senate (202)224-3121, House of Representatives (202)225-3121
2007-09-07
A big, big day for Apple and the iPod
Wednesday was yet another exciting day for fans of Apple, in particular of Apple's dominant iPod music player. In particular, there were three announcement that excite me to no end.
iPhone Price Reduction - To cut right to the biggest announcement of the event, for me at least, the 8GB iPhone now costs $399, a price drop of $200. A lot of people are pissed about the "$200 early adopter tax", but Apple has offered them $100 in Apple Store credit to help alleviate some of the burn. Some still might not be happy, but then you got what you paid for at a price you were obviously willing to pay at the time, that's capitalism. For my part, I'm thrilled, as I may be able to afford one now, especially because the refurbished iPhones on Apple.com are down to $349 now. Woot!
iPod Touch - Second only to the iPhone price drop is the announcement of the all new iPod Touch. It's basically an iPhone without the phone (or camera, or bluetooth), and is available with twice the memory. The iPod Touch features the same interface as the iPhone, and includes WiFi abilities, allowing you to get online from any wireless hotspot. This is big news because many people have been asking for an iPhone without the phone, and also because once again Apple has leapfrogged past the competition in terms of interface design and capability. Comparing the iPod Touch to similar devices, one has to wonder how the others missed the mark so completely.
The classic example is going to be Microsoft's Zune. MS had a huge lead on Apple with WiFi capabilites and did nothing with it. The iPod Touch allows you to browse the internet using a full browser, and lets you browse the iTunes Music Store remotely (more on that later). The Zune lets you "squirt" songs from player to player. Hmm... For $7,000,000,000.00 a year in R&D, you'd think someone at MS would have thought of that first.
Apparently, they also can't hire a decent interface or hardware designer to save their lives. I mean, seriously, just look at the iPod Touch next to the Zune (and an old iPod, for comparison, note that they're not to scale):
Even the old iPod looks outdated by comparison to the iPod Touch. The Zune, well, the less said the better. I can only imagine that the atmosphere at Microsoft (at least the part that made the Zune) is bleak. This is all not to mention companies like Creative and Archos, who keep coming out with competent products that just can't seem to get any attention.
iTunes WiFi Music Store & Starbucks - Using the iPod Touch or iPhone, you can connect to the iTunes Music Store from any WiFi hotspot and buy songs, which will be synced back to your computer when you get back to it. This is huge for Apple, and a brilliant move. So long as you're in a WiFi area, you can snag music almost without thought. Hear a song you like on the radio, or in a store? Just go ahead and buy it right there. Not to beat up on them too much, but why didn't Microsoft think of this one too?
Also announced, in select Starbucks (starting only in major cities over the next year or so), you can purchase music you hear playing in their locations using an iPod Touch or iPhone, right then and there. Upon reflection, this is a bigger deal that I first thought. I couldn't care less about Starbucks, really, and besides that sort of technology won't be hitting Maine until, well, never as far as I can tell. But here's the thing: Apple has just created a whole new revenue stream for itself and Starbucks, one that consumers will likely appreciate since it's convenient, and satisfies the desire for instant gratification. It's brilliant, really, and I can only imagine it catching on with other retailers.
And that's the cool part. Imagine being at a concert and being able to buy the albums of the bands on the bill right there. Imagine listening to the radio and being able to buy any song you hear on the spot. Between the technology being rolled out by Starbucks, and the iTunes WiFi Music Store, there's no reason this and more can't happen. Once again, why isn't Microsoft already doing this? They have so much more money and infrastructure than Apple, I can only imagine they could pull this off just as easily. I'd feel sorry for MS except that they have every advantage, every reason to be on top, and they still can't pull it off.
Long story short, Apple is on top of the world and they're still going strong. Expect to see competitors (like Microsoft), and suppliers unhappy with Apple not letting them gouge customer (like NBC) continue to try and knock Apple down. So long as they can keep doing what they're doing, innovating and doing more with less, expect to see Apple remain on top.
iPhone Price Reduction - To cut right to the biggest announcement of the event, for me at least, the 8GB iPhone now costs $399, a price drop of $200. A lot of people are pissed about the "$200 early adopter tax", but Apple has offered them $100 in Apple Store credit to help alleviate some of the burn. Some still might not be happy, but then you got what you paid for at a price you were obviously willing to pay at the time, that's capitalism. For my part, I'm thrilled, as I may be able to afford one now, especially because the refurbished iPhones on Apple.com are down to $349 now. Woot!
iPod Touch - Second only to the iPhone price drop is the announcement of the all new iPod Touch. It's basically an iPhone without the phone (or camera, or bluetooth), and is available with twice the memory. The iPod Touch features the same interface as the iPhone, and includes WiFi abilities, allowing you to get online from any wireless hotspot. This is big news because many people have been asking for an iPhone without the phone, and also because once again Apple has leapfrogged past the competition in terms of interface design and capability. Comparing the iPod Touch to similar devices, one has to wonder how the others missed the mark so completely.
The classic example is going to be Microsoft's Zune. MS had a huge lead on Apple with WiFi capabilites and did nothing with it. The iPod Touch allows you to browse the internet using a full browser, and lets you browse the iTunes Music Store remotely (more on that later). The Zune lets you "squirt" songs from player to player. Hmm... For $7,000,000,000.00 a year in R&D, you'd think someone at MS would have thought of that first.
Apparently, they also can't hire a decent interface or hardware designer to save their lives. I mean, seriously, just look at the iPod Touch next to the Zune (and an old iPod, for comparison, note that they're not to scale):
Even the old iPod looks outdated by comparison to the iPod Touch. The Zune, well, the less said the better. I can only imagine that the atmosphere at Microsoft (at least the part that made the Zune) is bleak. This is all not to mention companies like Creative and Archos, who keep coming out with competent products that just can't seem to get any attention.
iTunes WiFi Music Store & Starbucks - Using the iPod Touch or iPhone, you can connect to the iTunes Music Store from any WiFi hotspot and buy songs, which will be synced back to your computer when you get back to it. This is huge for Apple, and a brilliant move. So long as you're in a WiFi area, you can snag music almost without thought. Hear a song you like on the radio, or in a store? Just go ahead and buy it right there. Not to beat up on them too much, but why didn't Microsoft think of this one too?
Also announced, in select Starbucks (starting only in major cities over the next year or so), you can purchase music you hear playing in their locations using an iPod Touch or iPhone, right then and there. Upon reflection, this is a bigger deal that I first thought. I couldn't care less about Starbucks, really, and besides that sort of technology won't be hitting Maine until, well, never as far as I can tell. But here's the thing: Apple has just created a whole new revenue stream for itself and Starbucks, one that consumers will likely appreciate since it's convenient, and satisfies the desire for instant gratification. It's brilliant, really, and I can only imagine it catching on with other retailers.
And that's the cool part. Imagine being at a concert and being able to buy the albums of the bands on the bill right there. Imagine listening to the radio and being able to buy any song you hear on the spot. Between the technology being rolled out by Starbucks, and the iTunes WiFi Music Store, there's no reason this and more can't happen. Once again, why isn't Microsoft already doing this? They have so much more money and infrastructure than Apple, I can only imagine they could pull this off just as easily. I'd feel sorry for MS except that they have every advantage, every reason to be on top, and they still can't pull it off.
Long story short, Apple is on top of the world and they're still going strong. Expect to see competitors (like Microsoft), and suppliers unhappy with Apple not letting them gouge customer (like NBC) continue to try and knock Apple down. So long as they can keep doing what they're doing, innovating and doing more with less, expect to see Apple remain on top.
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