Mornin', Clownies! I was watching the DNC last night on CNN. I saw some good speakers, and bad. I heard some truth, but a lot of party rhetoric. I saw one painfully long monologue by John Kerry about how Bin Laden was caught single-handedly by Obama, crawling through the desert with a knife in his mouth...Rambo style. We get it. We got him. Nuff said. That is barely a policy and hardly a platform. The previous nights where much of the time was spent dissecting the lies of the Republicans and of Mitt Romney was time much better spent. The bottom line, is that I passed out before Obama...which is no big deal. I know what Obama stands for. I'll watch the speech later today and feel better for it. Tune in early next week if you want to hear about how the Democratic and Republican parties are killing your America! Srsly.
None of that is what I'm here to talk about. I kept seeing these commercials all night. They were really getting into my head! One was called (wait for it...inhale deeply and say it very breathily with me...) Dreams...............(ahhhhhhhhhh). Sounds great doesn't it? It reminds me of puffy clouds and soft pillows; fuzzy kitties and fluffy puppies! Here's the link! Dreams...............
So let us please look at some of the brilliant imagery shown in this 30 second America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) propaganda film:
A dad and kid stunned by the awesomeness of an American flag which looks to be hung outside of The Brady Bunch house.
Fresh graduates and minority newlyweds.
A single, successful woman working on her tablet and a young college-aged girl doing her laundry in a laundrymat.
Texting. Is that phone powered by natural gas? If so, I want one.
Cue the bus.
Let put on the kettle for a boil!
Minority mom shopping with baby.
A city at night.
Happy, blue jean wearin' old white guys working down to the fact'ry.
A shiny new power plant, poised in front of a cerulean sky, bellowing something...'sokay, it's just water vapor and condensate.
Power plant workstation.
Hey look! I see windmills and solar panels under Ferris Bueller skies. These guys are alright!
Turn some knobs and check the gauges.
(At this point we hear about how all energy development can be risky, bet we've already been dazzled at this point. If we're concerned about the risk then we're against single mothers, clouds, blue skies, workers, job creation and minorities.)
Asian family watching TV in the future.
(Now we hear that responsible gas production is not a dream. So the short is bookended with the concept of dreams. The dreams of financial and emotional success for struggling Americans and the dream of clean, safe, natural gas.)
Last image? A single gas drilling rig standing over fields of gold at dusk. The words we hear over this last image? "Putting us in control of our energy future, now."
Who is us? America? I don't think so. Us is the gas industry. No, that is not bad grammar. I'm trying to make a fucking point here. This commercial is bloody brilliant. All of us are one of the people we saw in this commercial, or at least someone we might run into at the MVA, or possibly avoid at the grocery store, or who might cut us off on the way in to work. The people in this film are struggling to make it, but workin' hard just like you and me! Some of them have made it, probably in large part due to the natural gas industry.
These are some of the companies who are behind ANGA:
Cabot Oil and Gas
Chesapeake Energy
Encana
These are just the ones that affect this clown directly.
Here's the full list from ANGA itself. - Behind ANGA
I'm not down on natural gas. I study natural gas. I teach a class about natural gas. I can tell you when the 1st natural gas pipeline was installed and where. FYI...it was made of pine logs and leaked like a sonofabitch. You have no fucking idea how much natural gas is used by the International Allied Entertainers and Amusements Guild (Local 8, represent!) Forget about seltzer water...my industry absolutely depends on natural goddamn gas.
What bothers me, is that the companies listed above do not care about your safety and health. We're not talking about Gasland here, folks. Fuck Gasland. Gasland is awesome, but flawed. We're talking about an industry that has been allowed to bypass nearly every environmental law designed to protect people like you, from companies like them. Laws that protect your water, air and environment in general have been totally bypassed to allow these money grubbing energy giants to stroll in and rape your earth at will, or for a little money for the land owner. So don't be suckered in by...Dreams...(ahhhhh). Call your congresspeople. Make them work for their money for once. Let them feel your anga (look at what I did there). See what legislation that restricts the Oil and Gas Industry from killing your rivers, and mountains, and lakes, and aquifers, and trees is getting voted on. Read it, and tell your elected officials that it is time to toughen up on oil and gas. We need that stuff, but not at the cost of our own health, lives and environment. Your intelligent comments and input are somewhat welcome in the comment section below.
Caustic the Clown
P.S. Eschew propaganda in all its forms. It is everywhere and it is designed solely to brainwash, corrupt and subvert you.
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