Exceptional Media For An Exceptional Country

French voters, like the Greeks, just rejected austerity.

1943: "Four Freedoms" matchbook, printed for distribution in occupied France.
Library of Congress, FSA/OWI Archive

The horse race results from France were reported here; the word "austerity" was even mentioned. But the term is conveyed as a foreign word for a foreign policy; our considerate media spares American voters having their heads hurt by polysyllabic words in any context they could relate to their own economic circumstances. Besides, the story line has long been in place, with said media long ago following marching orders on The Issues That Matter To American Voters: cut taxes; a federal budget is exactly like a family budget, and the rest of the drill.

While we have ever-better methods of vote suppression being put in place, it turns out the French encourage voting, by having it take place on weekends (to the tune of 80% turnout).

In other media spectacles, there's been the impressive speed with which a previously unknown Chinese dissident was pushed into being a top story, day after day. He went to the U.S. embassy but wanted to stay in China, and then said he didn't want to stay—and, oh yeah: he just happens to be a campaigner against his government's abortion policy.

Clearly a set up, from the beginning. My attempts at finding connections led to two kinds of results: the "objective media" take—Huge story! Obama mishandled! Scandal!—and all sorts of Catholic and Protestant fundie anti-abortion material. Like most of us, corporate journos may never have heard of the guy before, but those fundamentalist groups sure knew him.

For days, the only questioning note I could find was this kos diary: "Something's amiss: Chen Guangcheng, Fox & Abortion". There, dannyinla references a Washington Post story that mentions this actor, based in a certain location—

MIDLAND, Tex. — One week ago, Bob Fu was an obscure crusader for religious rights in China. His nonprofit group, China Aid, improbably based in this dusty West Texas oil town, followed the plight of persecuted "house churches," opposed forced sterilizations and abortions, and promoted pen-pal campaigns for pastors in prison.

In the past 72 hours, Fu has become an international media figure at the center of the most sensational human rights crisis in China in a decade. It erupted when blind lawyer and dissident Chen Guangcheng fled house arrest and took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing — just as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was arriving this week for critical and wide-ranging talks with Chinese officials.

On the WaPo site is stephenslhs' comment from May 2—

In the past 72 hours, Fu has become an international media figure at the center of something the media is trying to make into something bigger than the Cuban missile crisis.

To which ChasL1 replied on May 4—

You don't say, google this "Bob Fu China Aid Southern Baptist Convention". The whole episode timed right before the China economic summit is no coincidence. The players are linked to the International Republican Institute as well as SBC - yes the Republicans, upcoming election. Poor Chen Guangcheng is a mere pawn.