Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

Management of the media has evidently inched even higher on the Republikans' agenda. A pre-election, unflattering portrait of the Reagans is nixed for broadcast, PBS is forced to censor gay content and hire right-wing talking heads, National Public Radio is warned to avoid criticizing the President, Dan Rather is pushed out after disparaging coverage of W's Vietnam AWOLness, and Newsweek is pressured to retract a trouble-making story from the Quantanamo concentration camps about a toilet and the Koran (as tho the dog-crate prison cells and routine torture are lesser concerns).

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Even right-wing press outlets are capable of displeasing the White House's propaganda meisters. A recent cartoon from the rabidly right Washington Times depicted Pakistan's military dictator Pervez "Who Needs Democracy?" Musharaff as an attack dog on President Bush's leash, snarling at bad guys (presumably those opposed to warmongers like Bush and military dictators like Musharaff...).

Cartoonist Bill Garner evidently did not realize, however, that dogs are not esteemed in certain cultures; some Pakistanis took exception to their dictator being portrayed as a cur, and the resultant protests created something of an international brouhaha.

Dawn is a dog lover, but respects those who might feel differently. The truly offended party, though, would seem to be Britain's Tony Blair. After year's of brown-nosing and asskissing, he's earned his monicker as Bush's poodle....