The New New York Times

by: Living Liberally

Wed Nov 12, 2008 at 18:30


Laughing Liberally To Keep From Crying
by Justin Krebs

This morning, a bunch of people got punked, receiving forwarded articles pronouncing: "Ex-Secretary Apologized for WMD Scare."

Following a day in which Bush expressed regret over "Mission Accomplished" and "Dead or Alive," it seemed plausible that Condi Rice was trying to protect her legacy too.

But when, on my way into the subway, I get handed a paper copy of the New York Times declaring "Iraq War Ends," I knew it was a prank.

A prank...except that wasn't really tricking anybody (we generally knew the war wasn't over, universal healthcare hadn't yet happened and Bush wasn't standing trial for war crimes).

A satire...except it wasn't really funny.  The reactions on the subway weren't laughter.

It was a parody...that elicited hope.
Living Liberally :: The New New York Times
This project, which seemed to be dropped on the unsuspecting public by the Yes Men, got us thinking...you know, the war could be over in and troops could start coming home in 6 months...CEO wages could be capped (especially as part of the bailout)...NYC bike lanes could be widened...and The Times editorial page could properly apologize for their complicity in the great Iraq deception.

Unlike the Onion which pokes at the truth with absurd headlines, this parody wasn't so far-fetched.  The articles suggest a world that hasn't come yet, and maybe isn't immediately within reach, but is a few steps away...if we keep progressive pressure on this administration.

I saw people reading this fake paper -- not because they were tricked, nor entertained...but because it invited them to dream of the world they would wanted to see.

And who doesn't like to imagine?

Tags: , , , , , , , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email
The New New York Times | 2 comments
Two in a week! (0.00 / 0)
The day after election day thousands of USA TODAY newspapers in at least a dozen cities were rewrapped with fake headlines. I'm enjoying this trend of reclaiming our media institutions, if only temporarily.

Join the fight to give students a real voice on campus: Forstudentpower.org.
I thought it was BRILLIANT! (0.00 / 0)
For the same reason you pointed out here, about being able to imagine that these things could truly be possible. It did what every other "Yes Men" prank has done, it got people thinking! Their genius is in providing just enough of the truth to make it believable too; as in, I thought it great that Bugliosi's book & case for prosecuting Bush was included in the article about Bush being indicted.

My favorite part (thus far anyway, I haven't yet enjoyed the ENTIRE thing) was an Op-Ed called, "The End of Experts?" that was supposed to have been authored by Thomas Friedman - LMAO!!! This was a wonderful example of how We the People can indeed take our media back, as Liberaltarian (above) points out.

For those of you that weren't lucky enough to have received a copy of this paper yesterday morning, here is the online version:

NYTimes-se.com

Be sure to check out the ads and other finer details too - truly excellent work!!!


We the People...participating in our democracy again!

The New New York Times | 2 comments
Donate to Open Left







QUICK HITS

Friends of the Earth thanks the OpenLeft community for the ideas you generate and your contributions to the progressive movement.
As an anti-spam measure, there is a 24-hour waiting period after registering before new users can comment.
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
LIBERAL INSTITUTIONS
STATE BLOGS
SEARCH

   

Advanced Search

Home | RSS/XML Feed | Register | Contact

  © OpenLeft 2007-2009, Powered by SoapBlox