Long time Pioneer Press subscriber John writes in with this analysis of columnist Glenda Holste's seemingly non-partisan promotion of a new exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society.
I read Glenda Holste's "Unfiltered Facts" contribution on today's Pioneer Press Opinion Page. Something just didn't seem right about it. I couldn't put my finger on it, but once I subjected the column to blue-light examination -- you know, that crafty crime-scene scope with a UV powerlight that detects semen that Marg Helgenberger uses on CSI to find telltale stains -- I found undeniable evidence of subliminal messaging.
Writing about the Smithsonian Exhibit "The American Presidency" currently on display at the Minnesota Historical Society she notes:
Think of this encompassing view of the presidency as 'Extreme Facts Unfiltered'-- in other words, an unbiased look at the presidency.
Holste selects three displays in the exhibit, that span 215 yeas of the presidency, ostensibly supporting the spirit of the Pioneer Press "Unfiltered Facts" series. Here are her descriptions, with the subliminal messages bathed in the glow of the blue-light of truth:
To see Minnesota's first electoral votes cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, to see the inkwell from which he drew to write the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation (listen Black voters) is to see a direct connection between voting (Republicans will try to prevent you from voting) and historic outcomes in America (don't let them steal the presidency -- again).
To see a monogrammed Teddy Roosevelt bandanna is to
recall that our most visionary environmental and conservation president was a Republican (not like this Republican president who wants to dump mercury on public beaches). To see his imprint in this exhibit is to seek out gems like this: "It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it." (For "the people" not Big Oil and Big Timber.) T.R. said this on July 4, 1886, in Dickinson - then the Dakota Territory - at the top of the American Great Plains, at the edge of the Badlands where he is now honored (but no honor for this Republican environmental despoiler).
To see a cotton dress printed with blue McCarthy campaign emblems is to recall that the presidential election of 1968 challenged a sitting president in time of war. (Bush has completely screwed up Iraq. It's okay to kick the bum out.)
The themes (that show how dangerous Bush is) are as current as they were when Washington began this adventure in creating an executive who governs with our consent (not one who stole the election. Please, oh please, don't consent to give this guy another term).
Subliminal journalism should be beneath a mainstream media journalist. It's something a blogging "hobby hack" would do. (Read this blog.) I've been to a number of traveling Smithsonian exhibits, and I've found proximity to history to be inspiring (so is this blog) but seldom so partisan as Holste writes. Perceptive readers who can see through Holste's rhetoric without a blue-light (would enjoy this blog) will no doubt have the same experience viewing the actual exhibit (and reading this blog).
So much for subliminal journalism. (Read this blog.)
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