You and Whose Army?
Nine weeks til elections…are we safe(r)? How do we tell?
Now Bush and his cronies come out on the offensive, wrongly labeling dissent as “appeasement” and demonizing anyone who don’t agree with their neo-fascist policies.
Secret prisons.
Wiretapping.
Legalizing torture. Read the rest of this entry »
In the Land of the Blind…
“I mean, we’ve got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money,” Rumsfeld added. “He’s a person who was elected legally – just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally – and then consolidated power and now is, of course, working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others.”
So says the Secretary of Idiocy.
One question Mr. Rumsfeld.
If, as you say, that Chavez is similar to Hitler because he was elected legally and then consolidated power, then what does make Bush, who won the election illegally in 2000? Well I suppose that would make him WORSE THAN HITLER you dumb bastard. And talk about consolidation of power?!? Where have we seen more of it than in the Bush administration and their strong-arm techniques around the world and here at home, and there ever less transparent actions!!! To compare Chavez, or Morales or even Castro to Hitler is obtuse, offensive and just plain moronic. You cannot go around talking about democracy this, democracy that, and then when leaders whom you and the administration don’t like are elected, talk about their likeness to Hitler. They were elected legally, more than your fearless leader can say, and the reason leftist governments are being elected at quickening pace in Latin America is BECAUSE of the sort of covert, democracy killing actions that the populations of Latin America have seen enacted by Republican American government especially in the Reagan administration, but also in the Bush administration. What worries me is the way this country creeps closer and closer to a police state. Perhaps you should keep your nose here in the ever-worsening sphere of American politics, rather than making rash, stupid statements about Chavez, et. al in Latin America. Perhaps you should watch them to see how democracy really works you arrogant pig.
So ends the gospel.
Updates and Downdates
Light bulbs overhead…things are very busy…school, work, writing, band, etc. lots of good stuff going on…haven’t had much time to blog lately but worry not more wonderfully sarcastic posts are sure to come…what can be said for the state of the union right now…its fucked beyond belief…the president is a lunatic, the world is getting ever hotter, environment being destroyed, the poor can’t afford to heat their houses, and hooray the house just passed a bill to cut those pesky Medicare benefits and student financial aid subsidies…its good to know the president wants to fuck over the older AND the younger generations…you see folks, that motherfucker’s a uniter, not a divider, so worry not…don’t look…think…speak…blink…you’re liable to be secretly imprisoned…your phones are tapped…your every move watched…don’t worry…think…speak…blink…this is all on candid camera for someone else’s amusement…close your eyes…have another beer…watch your American Idol…it’ll all be over soon…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…
Big Brother
Judge James Robertson of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resigned in protest of Bush’s secret spying program. This is worrisome in the fact that not only are our military, intelligence, judicial, and even some legislative bodies revolting against the president’s over-reaching presidential powers, but its also worrisome because it seems obvious that there must be illegality in the way the president has acted in this instance.
At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan was asked to explain why Bush last year said, “Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so.” McClellan said the quote referred only to the USA Patriot Act.
This doublespeak hair-splitting is increasingly damaging to the sort of credibility our government, especially the executive branch has as a democratic institution. If there are those ways by which the president can get legal wiretaps I see no reason why he shouldn’t use those channels rather than the clandestine ones. And don’t tell me that this illegal secrecy is needed to fight Al Qaida, because getting a court order from the court if it is a necessity should not be any obstacle and it covers your bases and adds credibility to your case and actions. If this was a matter of fighting the terrorists then why haven’t we seen better improvements in homeland security as recommended by the 9/11 Commission. No, this is more about presidential (and vice-presidential) power, than security.
By usurping the powers that provide checks and balances to the executive branch, the White House is in effect making itself ripe for abuse and corruption (which I think has most certainly already happened). As out clueless leader looks around the world for new places to “spread democracy” to, one cannot even feign shock to see the sort of anti-Americanism that exists in the world, especially the Middle East. Now I am not condoning this anti-Americanism (because that is what Republicans LOVE to jump on to accuse liberals of “treason” and other such bullshit), but it certainly isn’t totally unfair to see why people doubt America’s motives when the president and his ilk lie to their own people and subvert the same democracy they tout to the world as being so unique to America.
I wholeheartedly support investigation into this secret spy pogrom (oops I meant program!) as well as CIA secret prisons.
Fanatics and Fools
So now the ultra-conservative religious right is bitching about Christmas. They are bitching because retail stores are more and more calling their holiday sales just that, holiday sales. And schools recess for winter break. What is the problem you might ask? Apparently the religious right is appaled at multiculturalism. They believe America should put the Christ back in Christmas and do away with “happy holidays” wishes, and basically eradicate the mentions of other cultural holiday such as Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc. To them, only their precious Christ holiday matters. Other cultures can just fuck off. The problem with this notion. America is chock FULL of other cultures and the fact that retailers and schools are wising up to the fact that their consumers and students might not be Christian nuts has clued them in to being more culture conscious or inclusive. But the Christian right pegs it as a loss of morals and a loss of the “true” meaning of Christmas. Oh fuck off! I’m sure that they all lead perfectly sacred Christmas lives and don’t partake in the rampant consumerism that is the Christmas holiday. Please. Perhaps instead of worrying about putting Christ back into Christmas, they should worry about putting themselves back into Christ’s teachings and love. Now as an ardent atheist I obviously find this whole debate comical for a more detached reason. But I won’t go into it now. But when these gay-bashing, misogynist, racist bastards even start talking of Christ I want to just vomit. They talk about Christ like he’s a brand new Corvette they’re using to impress their dates and get laid. They wave him around and wear him around their necks like a Cracker Jack prize. THEY have lost the meaning of Christ, and though I don’t believe that Christ, if he existed, was anything other than a man, I still see the fundamental horror in the way they use him and his image to get votes and further fuck up this country. The GOP and the Religious Right have forsaken their God, His Son, and teachings by their most heinous attacks on the rights and right to exist of others. They have taken teachings of love and forgiveness and used them to frighten and terrorize their followers into submission. Unfortunately, with their puppet in the White House, the ony kind of Christian that gets news is the fundamental evangelical. The idiot Creationist in Intelligent Design clothing. The Christian that hates is much more newsworthy (because one is our president) than the countless other moderate and liberal Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc seeking to build bridges and create a place where someone can be religious and pious and gay. Or have an abortion. Or be of another skin color than white. Just as I despise the terrorists who day in and day out strike and kill our American and allied soldiers fighting for a war of lies, I also hate the faux Christian who stands on his soapbox on Capitol Hill and from his television studio at CBN and spews vile and venomous hatred to those he or she is entrusted to lead to Heaven through love and forgiveness. They are just as much terrorists. And their kingdom must come down as well. It is destroying our country. I leave you with paraphrased words someone once said. The only true Christian is Christ, for he’s the only one to suffer and die on the cross. Perhaps these fundamental evangelicals should practice some humility as they attempt to take away the rights of those they fail to dialogue with and even try to understand. God fucking Bless.
Stars n’ Stripes
The President and his administration would urge you to forget any mention of the misuse and misrepresentation of intelligence before the war. As this presidency ails and fails the president seeks to deflect attention away from himself and his cabinet and the falsehoods they pushed as certainties by railing against democrats who voted for the war, but are now criticizing the lies and doublespeak of the president.
This irks me in two ways. No one, and this includes the president, or Congress, or whomever, has the power to say who can and cannot criticize the war. Because of the fact that Congress was fed lies by the president and his administration about WMD’s and trumped up charges that Saddam had collaborated with Al Qaida, many Congresspersons went along with the president. The president also used his post-9/11 political collateral and high approval numbers to bully congresspersons into agreeing with his position or else be charged as cowards and soft on terrorism which would ultimately affect them come election time. With this heinous threat and the falsehoods Democratic congresspeople faced, it is not unfair to assume that they would of course go with what the intelligence said and agree to aggression against Iraq. Given the pressure and the mistruths its no wonder they voted for the war. Yet though I am very, very left leaning, the Democrats cannot be let off so easily. Since 9/11 they have given Bush and his administration and reptiles like Tom DeLay and Bill Frist every opportunity to take their false moral high ground and lay claim to patriotism without even the slightest fight. Though Bush lied about intelligence, any senator or representative should have the common sense not to rush into war and should have seen that Bush had no plan and that this war was a terrible ruse. Those who voted against the war cannot be said to have voted against American security, but merely to have voted against rushing into war without further intelligence, justification, and proof. Thus the democrats, who have recently recovered some semblance of a backbone, who voted for the war should have had the foresight and perseverance to challenge the president openly rather than rushing to war.
Now as for President Bush’s comments that those who are questioning his administration’s motives and justifications for going to war as undermining the war effort and the troops’ morale, this is just ludicrous. This is just a hop, skip, and jump away from saying that those who question the war are de facto “enemies of the state” and having them sent to secret camps to have bullets put in their head in the name of national morale and security. We already have the secret prisons, perhaps the executions aren’t far behind…
The president needs to come out from behind the stars n’ stripes and stop blaming those who disagree with the unjust war he has waged, and the torture he has condoned. And its high time for Democrats to stop hiding behind their “outrage” and stand up to the president’s bullshit charges.
Words in Progress 
