Propaganda & Eggs
By Cheri Roberts-Piper MTR News
With the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war approaching we now know the Bush Administration at the very least had everything Dead Wrong about Iraq, WMD’s and the so called evidence used to rally the citizenry in order to invade with American support.
The alleged existence of WMD in Iraq after 9/11 was marketed to the American people by the White House Iraqi Group (WHIG), along with corporate owned media.
The WHIG and the Bush Administration fed the fear and angst caused by the Sept. 11th attacks and the 2001 Anthrax attacks (FBI case name Amerithrax) by creating increased fear of another immanent attack - possibly with small pox, or even a nuclear bomb emphasized by their use of the forged Niger Yellow Cake document as evidence of such.
With Bush’s October 8, 2002 speech to the American people where he said,
“we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud”.
paired with then Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 2003 address to the UN Security Council was enough to garner the support they needed from Congress and the American people to go to war against Iraq.
After all these years one would think American’s would be more aware their government misled them however the propaganda can still be found in unusual places sowing seeds of hate and irresponsibly perpetuating the Iraq lie.
While having dinner last week at Johnny Dee’s - a local high desert CA restaurant, the MTR News crew was more than surprised by a few of the restaurants prominently featured menu items.
They have a hamburger called The Patriot Burger which by itself is not a big deal however on their breakfast menu we can see their patriotism is marred by ignorance and propaganda. They have a featured dish they have named Freedom Flag Wavers (formerly their French toast). A little propaganda with your eggs anyone?
Here is some background Johnny Dee’s should consider along with immediately correcting their menu:
France – along with many other countries, refused to support any U.S. proposals in the UN Security Council to invade Iraq. They refused because no factual, accurate or compelling evidence had been presented. In a February 2003 joint declaration by Russia, Germany and France, Jacques Chirac stated,
“As far as France is concerned, we are ready to envisage everything that can be done under UNSCR 1441. ... But I repeat that every possibility offered by the present resolution must be explored, that there are a lot of them and they still leave us with a lot of leeway when it comes to ways of achieving the objective of eliminating any weapons of mass destruction which may exist in Iraq. I'd like nevertheless to note that, as things stand at the moment, I have, to my knowledge, no indisputable proof in this sphere".
As we know now, Chirac and the others were absolutely justified in not supporting an Iraq invasion at that time. We also now know the Bush Administration knew that those UNSC member countries were justified and didn’t care if we received their support or not. The government of the United States said publicly, and the British pledged privately, that they were willing to invade Iraq with or without Security Council authorization.
The anti-French sentiment broke out almost immediately beginning with many US groups calling to boycott French goods and businesses. Groups also called for the removal of that country's name from products sold in America causing the French’s Mustard company to hire a PR firm and release a statement saying,
"The only thing French about French's Mustard is the name," the company announced.
Clarifying the name came from its founder, Robert T. French and that the mustards roots were in NY not France. The mustard-maker had said it felt obliged to hire a PR company to set the record straight after some media reports suggested it should be boycotted because of its "French" links.
Many restaurants around the country started renaming foods on their menus most notably started by Neal Rowland, the owner of a fast-food restaurant called Cubbie's in Beaufort, North Carolina. He began a renaming movement by selling his french fried potato strips under the name "freedom fries". Rowland claimed he was just trying to be patriotic and supportive of President George W. Bush after Powelle’s UN presentation.
If that is indeed the case one has to wonder if Rowland’s consumption of FOX news is equal to the sales of his Freedom Fries because in March 2007, Rowland obtained a U.S. trademark registration for the mark "freedom fries" even after it has been widely proven the evidence to invade was hogwash proving France was right all along.
This same anti-French sentiment was communicated via the Internet and repeatedly referenced and pushed by 24-hour news networks like CNN and Fox News. Even the Pentagon and Congress unfoundedly joined in this slanderous attitude towards France.
On 11 March 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-North Carolina) declared that all references to French fries and French toast on the menus of the restaurants and snack bars run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to rename French fries "freedom fries". This action was carried out under the authority of Ney's position as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration although it never received a Congressional vote.
And yet, in May 2005 – two years later, Representative Jones, realized and admitted the United States went to war
"with no justification", and said of the "freedom fries" episode,
"I wish it had never happened."
Another year later - by July 2006, the House had quietly changed the name of the food in all of its restaurants back to "French fries" and "French toast"
I went back to Johnny Dee’s to take a few pictures of their menu for this story. A couple employees saw me and became leery. I asked my young waitress if there was a manager or owner around, flashed my press credentials and said I had a few questions. She replied there was no manager or owner around, but that she was the owner’s daughter. I told her that I was curious about their menu, next thing I knew she disappeared into the back a few minutes later out came a manger, an older woman who immediately had an attitude with me. I explained why I was there and said I would like to be fair and could she make a statement as to why they still had propaganda on their menu after all these years. She was not happy at all and said it was their way of being “Patriotic”. She immediately began dialing the owner on her cell phone and asked me to wait for the owner to arrive stating he would be there in thirty minutes.
While waiting patiently I took my camera and locked it in my vehicle in case the owner tried anything.
After nearly 45 minutes the owner arrived. He was a very tall man named Val Christianson – older, full of energy and personality. His wife came with him but didn’t join us, instead she sat frowning in a booth a few spaces behind me. The owner wasn’t too keen on talking to anyone in the media. He said the media had lambasted him in the past when he had run in a local election. He asked to see my credentials, which I showed him.
From the beginning this man was very derisive about the press and sarcastic about being interviewed. He didn’t want to talk about why I was there. He didn’t want to hear my questions let alone answer any of them. In fact he said I couldn’t interview him unless it was being recorded and he received a copy first. He continued to sit and talk AT me about how lousy media was. I found it quite ironic considering FOX News was playing on the television set above his head. I mentioned that, but he had no comment.
I asked him about the Freedom Flag Wavers (formerly French Toast), casually reminding him where the anti-France backlash began. He laughed. I told him even the Congress member who started the whole thing was sorry and had the congressional menus changed back years ago. He said he didn’t know that and laughed some more. I said that in light of Congress being apologetic and stating there was no justification didn’t he think he should update his menus. He said no. In fact the only comment he was willing to make on the record on the subject of disseminating propaganda via his menu was that he did it,
“Because I want to do it.”
Mr. Christianson has no plans to change the menu to something more appropriate.
Shame on you Johnny Dee’s for being irresponsible and continuing the lies, slander and propaganda. The blood of American’s and Iraqi’s are served on your plates with an unhealthy side of hatred towards an innocent country. You have a moral obligation and a patriotic duty to correct your ignorance and attitude as presented on your menu. Freedom doesn’t come in a batch of greasy FRENCH fries or a serving of sugar sprinkled FRENCH toast, instead it comes from facts, personal responsibility, and the courage to tell the truth.
