Excerpt
Chapter One Fort Knox Guarded by a Chihuahua
"You give us the money. We give you the truck.
Nobody gets hurt."
--Advertisement for the 2003 Hummer SUV
The Hummer SUV pictured along with this snappy ad copy is a massive fortress-like vehicle--something suitable for, say, taking the whole family for a spin through downtown Baghdad. With the playful, whimsical look of a Brink's truck, the Hummer practically sings out: "Out of my way, motherfucker." There's no mistaking you'll feel safe inside. But, of course, the joke in the ad turns on the old bank robbery line: if everybody just co-operates, "nobody gets hurt." That's where the fine line between sassy advertising copy and outright lying is crossed. In fact, huge gas-guzzling SUVs like the Hummer are one of the fastest-growing causes of global warming, with its potentially catastrophic impacts for human life on the planet.
Here then is how the ad should read: "You give us the money. We give you the truck. Everybody gets hurt."
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If nothing else, Washington's saber-rattling against Iran in the spring of 2005 should have evoked a sense of déj