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Blogfest 2005 - Nov 22, 2004 - Printable Version
- "Give the People What They Want"
by Mark Faulk
Monday, November 22, 2004: The 41st anniversary of the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I'm feeling a bit reflective at the moment, and I can't help but wonder how Kennedy, who was a hero to an entire generation of Americans, would have handled our current international situation. Sadly, we have no Kennedy to guide us today, but the legacy that he left us is clear, his words are unequivocal. Read what he had to say about war, and compare it to today's leaders. The contrast is chilling: "The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough --more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on --not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace."
~ President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, June 10, 1963
"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind."
~ President George W. Bush, Feb. 4, 2004
Still not convinced that we have slipped into the abyss of moral decay? If that's not enough, take a gander at this "news" that came out today:
Kennedy assassination re-created in video game
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A new video game to be released on Monday allows players to simulate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
The release of "JFK Reloaded" is timed to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy's murder in Dallas and was designed to demonstrate a lone gunman was able to kill the president.
"It is despicable," said David Smith, a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the late president's brother. He was informed of the game on Friday but declined further comment.
Kirk Ewing, managing director of the Scottish firm Traffic Games, which developed the game, said he understood some people would be horrified at the concept, but he insisted he and his team had nothing but respect for Kennedy and for history.
"We believe that the only thing we're exploiting is new technology," said Ewing, a former documentary filmmaker and senior executive with Scottish developer VIS, responsible for games like "State of Emergency." He said he sent Edward Kennedy a letter before the game's release.
Ewing said the game was designed to undermine the theory there was some shadowy plot behind the assassination. "We believe passionately there was no conspiracy," he said.
Traffic Games said the objective was for a player to fire three shots at Kennedy's motorcade from assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's digitally recreated sixth-floor perch in the Texas School Book Depository.
Points are awarded or subtracted based on how accurately the shots match the official version of events as documented by the Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy's assassination.
Shooting the image of Kennedy in the right spots in the right sequence adds to the score, while "errors" like shooting first lady Jacqueline Kennedy lead to deductions.
Each shot can be replayed in slow motion, and the bullets can be tracked as they travel and pass through Kennedy's digitally recreated body. Players can choose to see blood by pressing a "blood effects" option.
Players can view the motorcade from a number of angles, including the perspective of filmmaker Abraham Zapruder and a view from the "grassy knoll" where some conspiracy theorists believe a second gunman was stationed.
The game will be available via download for $9.99.
We have officially descended into the bowels of Hades....but on the plus side, I did come up with this great idea for a video game where the players get to be the paparazzi who ran Princess Di's car off the road and killed her. The best part is that since there were seven vehicles involved, players can compete against each other to see who can kill the Princess first. Good stuff, huh? Email me here and I'll have my heartless attorneys negotiate a deal. I'd prefer not to have to sell my soul to the Devil, but if the price is right.....what the Hell, let's talk!
Give The People What They Want Lyrics
By Ray Davies
Well, it's been said before, the world is a stage
A different performance with every age.
Open the history book to any old page
Bring on the lions and open the cage.
Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please
The Roman promoters really did things right.
They needed a show that would clearly excite.
The attendance was sparse so they put on a fight
Threw the Christians to the lions, sold out every night
Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please
Give 'em lots of sex, perversion and rape
Give 'em lots of violence, and plenty to hate
Give the people what they want
Give the people what they want
When Oswald shot Kennedy, he was insane
But still we watch the re-runs again and again
We all sit glued while the killer takes aim
"Hey mom, there goes a piece of the President's brain!"
Give the people what they want
You gotta give the people what they want
Blow out your brains, and do it right
Make sure it's prime time and on a Saturday night.
You gotta give the people what they want
Give the people what they want.
(Editor's note: This is an entry from The Faulking Truth blog, appropriately entitled "Blogfest 2005". If you'd like to spend more of your valuable time blogging, go to www.faulkingtruth.com/blog/ )
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