The sixth season opener last night
likely blew the heads off of el Rushbo, Ken doll Hannity and the myriad of maniacal
warmongers intent on keeping Gitmo open and renditions a main foreign policy
tactic. However, they were likely thrilled with the arrest of Palmer\’s sister
for shredding the employment records of the Muslim organization for whom she
worked. Right after that move she was arrested.
But imagine a known terrorist wanted around the world and targeted by the U.S.
for a military strike, who is suddenly befriended and saved by Jack Bauer! The
horror. No jihadist could ever want to change his stripes and turn in a fellow terrorist, now could he?
The wingnuts will go wild.
In fact, the wingnut blogger backlash has already begun, starting with Debbie
Schlussel. This should come as no surprise to anyone, because she was the one who recently used Barack
Obama\’s last middle name as a point of attack against the rising Democratic star. Now
she\’s got \”24\” in her sights. (NOTE & UPDATE: Obviously, it was Obama\’s middle to which I was referring. Obama\’s middle name is what Ms. Schlussel went after in this post, which is exactly where I pointed to in my original post on this subject. This fact is evident to anyone who wanted to see and read for themselves simply by clicking on the original link provided, which shows explicitly that Obama\’s middle name is what Schlussel went after. In addition, the title of the original post kind of gives the subject away: \”Barack Obama\’s Middle Name.\” So, obviously, saying it was his \”last\” name was a late night error, which I hope now has been explained enough for the wingnuts.)
Watch your back, Jack.
As we\’ve noted previously, executive producer and star Kiefer Sutherland
stated that this season the show \”will take a strong political point
of view.\” And judging from the trailer, we think it\’s just as we predicted–a
strong politically correct point of view. We were struck by the scene showing
the woman who, last season, was the head of Homeland Security in L.A. In the
trailer she is shown in the Oval Office, pontificating:\”There are people in this Administration who are willing to tear
up the Constitution!\”
That last line is a quote from last night\’s sixth season opener. It\’s right
on the money, too, especially on the art imitating life, imitating art angle.
I\’ve written before that Jack
Bauer is a Democrat. I wrote it after Rush Limbaugh claimed with great bravura
that Bauer was a tool of the right. After the first episode of the sixth season,
we have the proof. Bauer is indeed a Democrat. After learning that a former
Muslim terrorist being targeted is not the one responsible for the suicide bombings
throughout America, Jack Bauer escapes to warn him and work with him to find
the jihadist responsible. Can you imagine any wingnut having the brain function
or cognitive ability to hold those two conflicting ideas in his/her head at once?
A terrorist who can change sides and turn around his life of killings and suicide
bombings is just not something right-wingers can contemplate. To them, Muslims
and jihadists never change. Schlussel proclaims this season \”PC 24.\” It reveals the small minds ticking inside these
people, who never change course, have a moment of reflection, or consider the
duality in the world of terrorism, which could include a terrorist who comes
to the conclusion that blowing up innocents will not further his cause.
Drudge also had a blaring headline, as usual, blathering that \”The source claims executives are prepared for any fallout from local municipalities that may be on the receiving end of plot turns and twists. How many cities 24 puts on \’nuke alert\’ is unclear. FOX has set a highly-controversial espisode of 24 to air Monday night, opposite NBC\’s GOLDEN GLOBES. In 2002, White House officials questioned the timing and release of PARAMOUNT\’s action movie SUM OF ALL FEARS — a movie which depicts a nuclear bomb unleashed on an American sporting event! One senior Bush official, who spoke to the DRUDGE REPORT at the time, claimed the movie crossed over the line of civic responsibility and commerce.\”
People, it\’s TV.
The season also starts off by tracking closely a recent story in Newsweek.
… But he warned of future attacks. \”We don\’t want to acknowledge
we\’re going to get hit again in the homeland, but we are,\” he said. \”That\’s
a hard, ugly fact. But it\’s going to happen.\” Crumpton cited
no specific intel, but said the most worrisome scenarios involve lone operatives
who slip into the country and take directions through cyberspace. \”How
do you penetrate that?\” he asked. Citing family financial pressures,
Crumpton leaves office in two weeks. A State official, anonymous when discussing
personnel matters, said no one has been nominated to replace him, so it could
be a while before the post—a top counterterror job—is filled.
Using a real life example, it\’s one reason Pelosi\’s 110th passed the rest of the 9/11 Commission recommendations.
We\’re vulnerable. It\’s also important to note that Mr. Bush is leaving a top
terrorism post, the State Department terror coordinator, unfilled, according
to the Newsweek piece. That\’s unacceptable, but it\’s reality in Mr.
Bush\’s world of fighting terrorism \”over there.\”
What \”24\” did from the beginning is tackle territory no other show
in TV was touching. Terrorism and our ability to stop it and the people behind
the effort to keep an attack from happening \”over here.\” It caught
the imagination of tens of millions, especially in other countries, but also including some official terrorism experts and CIA
people, as well as alpha Democrats who love this sort of stuff.
But it looks like this season is going to be rough for the wingnuts to swallow.
They just aren\’t good at holding contradictory ideas in their heads at once,
especially on national security, which is as gray an area as you\’ll ever find.
Frankly, there are some weak-kneed Democrats who can\’t handle it either. Digressing once again to real life, it\’s like
the Democrats who think symbolism and a non-binding resolution on Iraq, which
includes only a Sense of the Senate, is enough to stop Mr. Bush\’s escalation in Iraq and beyond.
Jack Bauer would scoff at the idea. No doubt Jack Murtha will too. I\’m with
them.
But if you\’re like some who think all this \”24\” mania is absurd,
this post snippet is for you.
In related news, coming hard on the heels of Apple\’s unveiling of the iPhone,
a local cable channel ran an episode of Gilligan\’s Island today where the
Professor showed Gilligan and the Skipper how to make a radio out of coconuts!Developing….hard!
Part two of the season opener is tonight. Wingnuts better buckle up. The squeamish should not tune in. (The torture scenes are chilling, reminding us all, except the wingnuts, why we need the Geneva Conventions.) But those who delight in tales of intrigue, and have a functioning brain that works on more than a linear level, stay tuned. \”24\” is just getting started.
photo via RightWingNuthouse.
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