Corporate symbol?

He comes along at a special time of the year with a long beard and distinctive costume. He has mythical powers. Authority figures use him to scare the naive into behaving the way they want them to. He judges who is naughty and who is nice. He is associated with religion but obviously believing in and celebrating him has nothing to do with religious observance.

People carry out deeds in his name and give him credit. Adults, say they don't believe in him but they still give him credit for powers no man could possibly have.
Osama Bin Laden can no more hurt you in your home than Santa Claus can put presents under a billion trees in one night.

Does it really matter who is wearing the beard and costume?

Santa Claus, the ideal of giving, is good and noble and worthwhile. Santa Claus the commercial icon, Santa Claus the expectation, is a product of corporate advertising and commercialization designed to separate guilty parents from their money and bury them beneath a mountain of glitzy junk produced in China at the behest of American profit centers.

Osama Bin Laden, the criminal, is a man that needs to be brought to justice. Osama Bin Laden, the myth, is a creation of those with a vested interest in war and fear. He is becoming an American corporate symbol for insecurity and fear; the kind of manufactured fear that the gun makers and insurance companies and health care vendors prey upon; the kind of fear and "reptile brain" behavior that has sold millions of vehicles that look like armoured cars and are called "sport utility vehicles"; the kind of fear Gulianni and Thompson are bringing front and center in the GOP.

How long before a man in the Osama suit replaces the Republican Elephant? How long before the Hummer people have their vehicle in war zones chasing "the bad guys". How long before Bin Laden suits replace the ducks and geckos? Not long I'll wager, not long.

Sunday, the Eleventh of Road Trip

Thank your lucky stars that you don't live here. The cold war between the Religious Right and the Politically Correct has taken a new and horrifying turn. One of those fire n brimstoners discovered that some months of the year are named after pagan Gods and emperors. They hired Karl Rove's consulting company to get the names changed. He got all of the radio blabbers talking about the right to make a date without religion. All of the interest groups got involved. Last week the Constitutional Amendment passed and the States have the right to name the months for themselves.

What a mess!!

Proposals came in from every state each and every one voted for a new naming system.
Now January, which was named after the Roman God Janus is called Washingtary in the plains states and most of the Midwest. In the Pacific and north east its called Firstuary in Texas its Austinuary, In Utah Younguary, In the South Jeffuary and in Florida it's just Oh-One.

The choice for February is narrower either Presuary or just MLK

March, named after the Roman God of war was more complicated. The South wants to call it Lee, the North, Grant and the west, Jerry Garcia.

The origins of April are less clear but the consensus is that has something to do with love and spring. The Red states wanted Easter Month, The Supreme court nixed that, the West wanted Gaia, nixed also, Mothers month was in the running but that was found to be to easily confused with the new name for May so most folks just call it Oh-Four.

Due to intense lobbying from the retail industry May and June are now simply known as the Mom and Dad, Most want to call August, Road Trip or Vacation.

September, October, November and December, all named after numbers, but not the right numbers in the sequence generated a surprising amount of debate.

Should they be 07, 08, 09, and 10 as originally intended? 09,10,11, and 12 was also suggested. Some suggested presidential Nicknames Ike (Eisenhower), Jack (Kennedy), Teddy (Roosevelt) and Abe (Lincoln) were the consensus picks. But the Right and the PCs had a conniption when everyone else went out and got drunk on the Fifth of Jack.

Of couse there were those who want to name November, Thanksuary; October, Scaruary; September Laboruary or Workuary and December, Holidaze. Maybe December and November should be combined and called "Spendapalloosa".

Anyway what it boils down to as usual is that the fringes have something to scream about and the politicians have something to take our minds off the corruption and incompetence. So really, little has changed.