Art Pottery, Politics and Food

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

DUEL 2:
"Inner Boy” Tractor Maniac

Looks like a decision's been made by the Decider...

An interesting fact-blurring practice by the corporate media is usually argued as a simple difference of perception between people.
That difference of perception is, of course, one of degree.
But, for the sweating meat puppets of cable TV nooz and their sweatier print/radio counterparts, “degree” is a word banished to weather coverage.
A horrifying, or not, example can be found in the contrast between a Newsweek blogger’s perception of President Bush’s tractor ride, yesterday, in Peoria, ILL and that of the Los Angeles Times.
The blogger saw this:

"I would suggest moving back," Bush said as he climbed into the cab of a massive D-10 tractor. "I'm about to crank this sucker up." As the engine roared to life, White House staffers tried to steer the press corps to safety, but when the tractor lurched forward, they too were forced to scramble for safety. “Get out of the way!" a news photographer yelled. "I think he might run us over!" said another. White House aides tried to herd the reporters the right way without getting run over themselves. Even the Secret Service got involved, as one agent began yelling at reporters to get clear of the tractor. Watching the chaos below, Bush looked out the tractor's window and laughed, steering the massive machine into the spot where most of the press corps had been positioned. The episode lasted about a minute, and Bush was still laughing when he pulled to a stop. He gave reporters a thumbs-up. "If you've never driven a D-10, it's the coolest experience," Bush said.

The LA Times reports:

He climbed aboard, telling reporters, "I would suggest moving back. I'm about to crank this sucker up."
With that, the machine came to life, moving forward on its yellow metal treads, until the president brought it to a halt about 20 feet down the line and started it on a backward turn. When Bush climbed down from the cab, the inner boy was shining through, and a broad, sheepish grin crossed his face.
"Oh, yeah," he said.
"If you've never driven a D10," he told the workers and managers a few minutes later, "it's a cool experience."

Yes, a simple difference of perception which itself can be subjected to further conveniently perceptive differences.
I guess, even, “some people” might consider these differences more philosophical than the concrete proofs demanded by reality-based whiners:

Is this a tractor, which I see before me,
the starter toward my hand?
Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
a tractor of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppress'd brain?
--MacBush

Modified and Unmodified Images: AFP, Reuters
- posted by Sean @ 1:22 PM

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