..with a little brass plaque on each one entitling it "Never Again...", eh, Doug? Or perhaps "Machines of Death from Times of Madness". Or "Failed Technologies On Display".

Klausewitz asserts the purpose of war, and all its devices, is to bring about a more amenable frame of mind on the part of the enemy. Madison Avenue has been doing that for a century now, and has never shot anyone, that they have owned up to. They may have caused a number of deaths from such side effects as cholesterol, emphysema and so on, but at least they managed the mindset of their target populations. So I think we're missing a bet. In the same sweep that we put all the IRS agents to work auditing waste in the Federal Gummint, we can overhaul the FCC and put all those artists, pollsters, bright campaign dreamers and persuasive models in short skirts to work selling the idea of lawful representative democracy and individual freedoms to the governments and populations of China, Iraq, Iran, etc. Once we get that rolling we can work out the core principles of economic sanity and pitch those as well. Then maybe a world-wide campaign on the equations of individual ethics...

(Screen zooms in on a stunningly strong-looking, handsome man looking out over a wide, beautiful valley, river in distance, spring breeze gently blowing. Model: "I've learned it the hard way. Maybe you won't have to. WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND! Now I've straightened myself out and made ethics part of my thinking... and you know what? It works for the good stuff in life, too!"
He smiles offstage left and holds out his hand, and a beautiful sloe-eyed brunette in a sunsuit comes trotting over, takes his hand, and leads him off down into the valley, staring meaningfully into his eyes. Voice-over: "Ethical choices really work!! Fade to blue.)

Woddya think? Will it fly in Kabul?


A