November 20, 2005
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"History is clear, keeps repeating"
Even as the House of Representatives passes its version of the budget reconciliaton bill, taking yet more money from the poor and giving it to the rich (see BugGirl's blog for details), and even as those fascist pigs in Washington continue to bluff and bluster while prosecuting the war in Iraq and decimating the Constitution here at home, articles like the one below give me a tiny ray of hope that a few more Americans are beginning to awaken from their lethargic slumber and dimly recognize that the country they thought they were familiar with has been hijacked.
Incidentally, I saw a newspaper headline the other day indicating that OVER FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE are being held without legal recourse in the American gulag that stretches around the world. I thought maybe a few hundred, maybe a thousand. But over 50,000???? When will they come for you, gentle reader, and for me?
I saw another article somewhere the other day, whose last paragraph suggested that the day will come when we will remember this era in American history with as much shame as we now remember the McCarthy era. Truer words have never been spoken. If you didn't see the original article, remember that you heard it here first. I just hope that most of us will be ALIVE to remember this shameful era, period.
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Interesting rhetoric (Bush and Cheney "ranting") from a newspaper in a solidly Republican (although changing) area:
November 18, 2005
Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle
Editorial
History is clear, keeps repeating
The issue:
The administration's harsh Iraq rhetoric
Our view:
Responsibility for the war lies with President Bush
The more things change in Washington, the more they stay the same.
As politicians mislead and obfuscate - if not outright lie - tax dollars are wasted and precious American lives are often lost.
It happened in the 1960s when Lyndon Johnson led a weak Congress by the nose into a deepening Vietnam morass; it happened again in the 1970s when Richard Nixon conducted - and lied about - a secret war in Cambodia, and it's happening now.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney wrap themselves in the flag , bullying everyone, including a mostly supine Congress, into believing the nation's tragic misadventure in Iraq is a just cause.
The president can sternly lecture us from military bases across the country and Cheney can snarl his way from one friendly audience to another, but the fact remains: Rationale for going to war shifts like the desert sand, leaving the nation in a deadly conflict with no end in sight.
The president and vice president accuse those who question their conduct of the war of "rewriting" history and, worse, of being unpatriotic.
Even members of their own party are rebelling against such repugnant rhetoric. "The Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and should not be demonized for disagreeing with them," admonished Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a Vietnam veteran.
The Bush and Cheney ranting aside, history thus far shows:
- The administration almost from Day 1 had its eye on Iraq;
- The administration with absolutely no evidence continues to link Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 terrorists;
- The administration campaigned for and received from a puppy-like Congress authorization to attack Iraq;
- The administration, despite claims of existence, found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq;
- With no war-justifying WMD, the administration shifted its argument to ridding the world of a ruthless dictator;
- As the insurgency grew and the death toll climbed, the administration shifted again, arguing it is its mission to create a democracy in the Middle East.
History makes it clear that it was the Bush/Cheney team that led this country into Iraq.
They are responsible for the state of affairs we are slogging around in, to use Donald Rumsfeld's terminology.
The president, as he continually likes to remind us, is the commander in chief. This horrendous venture that has led to the deaths of more than 2,000 Americans and has brutally injured thousands more is of his making.
History shows he got what he wanted - a war with Iraq. No rewriting is necessary.
Comments (27)
Regarding your comments: Could you please elaborate on my "rigid world view"? I love to see it.
Thanks for linking me up on your blog! I am hoping that we can continue to educate people on the corrupt nature of our government, and how it can seriously hurt and affect millions. We need to see this with the urgency that it deserves. This is a great article. I have been pissed about the whole Bush/Cheney rhetoric of how people who question their evil are unpatriotic and are harmful to the country's moral. They lied. If we question them and hold them accoutnable, we are not unpatriotic, we are just exercising our rights in this so-called democracy.
I had no damn idea...fifty thousand? History was in my thoughts as well.this morning....... RYC...yes and the answer is close at hand.... I will speak not when provoked but when ready...a sound lesson I learned somewhere.. ,but can't just now recall where....Peace
Thank you for bringing this information forward on your posting here!!You are right that 50,000 is alot of people!!! Amazing numbers..With each day that passes lately I am more..and more upset ..It is very heightened this overall sense of frustration and outrage that I feel .Remember also,the 3rd anniversary of the Iraq Invasion is coming and there are many peaceful events to oppose the war and this administration.The date is March18-21..the biggest Rally will probably be in DC,I know that Chicago is planningas well as most major cities events!!I mention Chicago realizing you are in Illinois.
I am very proud to have Senator Russ Feingold as a Wisconsin Senator,he was the only US Senator to vote against The Invasion Of Iraq. And he is one of the few that is not going to let The Patriot Act slide through at this time... People have to support the good leaders that we do have in office,it is hard to be on par with all of their ideals,and frankly its like you have to pick your poison..Meaning pick your most important issues that you are aligned with.... and realize it is impossible to see "eye to eye" in total with any incumbant or hopeful!!So pick what is the most important...at this time all people should be very worried about their civil liberties and this war.
.Each person one by one can make a difference..If anyone 6 months ago would tell me that I would be assissting in not one ..but two SenateCampaigns..I would have said ...Noway, I am working on Lise VanSusterens campaign for Marlland,and I just have committed time for Russ Feingold...Everyones efforts can make a very big difference.
I am amazed at your experience with the coat donations for Pakistan!! How strange,here we have certainly accepted gently worn outercoats..I have been mostly collecting medical suppllies. This must have been a real turn off when the response was like that.. At least you tried...
i always enjoy reading your blog@u$$!
I guess the biggest disappointment with today's tragic string of events is that it is being led by a man who confesses belief in Jesus Christ. I would expect this country to be headed in this direction being led by an atheist. But to confess publicly that you believe in the teachings of Jesus and then go out and do the opposite is quite disturbing. RYC, are we living in end times? Eschatology is something I really don't spend to much time looking at. But I do recall Jesus saying things like earthquakes, wars, and famines will happen in end times. But Jesus always told us to be ready and not focus on when and where. I have hope that we can change this course, maybe a false hope, but hope nontheless. If this country has to lose it's great power and all the blessings we have, than so be it. I am ready to go down that road if that is God's will, but I won't go down without telling the truth. BTW, Creed of Kings isn't worth your time, he won't listen and people like that are not worth your time.
Regarding your comments. Thank you. Here is my response.
Eccentrique stated the following:
It's quite simple, Creed my man. You divide the world, or at least America, cleanly into "liberals" and "conservatives", "Republicans" and "Democrats".
Creed of Kings: When I talk about 'libs' and 'conservs' ...um I'm talking about um ..'libs' and 'conservs'. I don't 'cleanly' divide them up with the eye of an absolutist and pronounce EVERYONE this or that. Do you evidence that I've done such.
Eccentrique stated the following: Then you proceed to try to demolish the straw man you've set up, which is the liberals/Democrats.
Creed of Kings: It's not a straw man. You've created the straw man in misunderstanding me. You've now got this narrow, but all-to-typical notion of a conservative.
Eccentrique: Your rantings bear little relation to reality, because reality is much more complex.
Creed of Kings: Oh no?! Complexity? Being that I'm conservative I just can't handle that ...you win! NOT. Up there you stated, "It's simple Creed my man." So which reality dust thou speaketh of? Could I say, "Your rantings bear little blah blah ...because simplicity is complexity?" I'm confused. Is it simple or complex? There is simplicity the other side of complexity as a famous guy once said. Perhaps I've been through what you consider complex and am basking in that happy simplicity on the other side of complexity. But, then, as the Buddhist say, "ignorance is bliss." What do thou speaketh of my man?
Eccentrique: In fact, much of what you say inverts reality in the nature of George Orwell's "1984". "War is peace", etc.
Creed of Kings: Much? How MUCH of my blog have you read? Or do you get what you think is the gist in this tiny entry and start knee jerking with labels and assumptions? I don't know what you are, but if you are 'liberal' (note the quotes) then you are closer than I to being a statist like the political party Big Brother in Orwell's classic 1984. More is thrown down the memory hole by revisionist of your ilk, or that ilk, if you don't subscribe to typically 'liberal' viewpoints, than those of my philosophy. A fine example is the democrats revising what they said in the build up to the war when they had EXACTLY the same intel as the Administration. And THEY voted to authorize use of force.
Eccentrique: Your assertion that conservatives "own no other ground" than conservative Talk Radio is illustrative of my point and your...what? Willful ignorance? Duplicity? Who do you think owns and runs all of the large corporations in America, including the media corporations? "Liberal Democrats" like, perhaps, Rupert Murdoch?
Creed of Kings: Better way to state it is that conservatives have a great influence over Talk Radio. They dominate this area. But, they don't pretend to be unbiased like CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC and MSNBC. FOX clearly tilts conservative. But, are you saying the clearly 'liberal' leanings of the others have no affect? That Americans can't be influence by the others but stiffen like zombies and walk to the tune Sean Hannity sings? Why aren't they equally influenced by Alan Colmes?
Large Corporations are not media. That's what I was talking about specifically when making that point. They are not huge influencers of the politically mindset of the public.
Eccentique: Good grief. It wouldn't surprise me to hear you say next that white males are an "oppressed minority".
Creed of Kings: Good grief. It wouldn't surprise me to hear you say next that conservatives want slavery. I think it was back in the Jurassic era that 'libs' started that mantra about white male anger, which also accompanied a complete misunderstanding and mischaracterization. But, they'd rather label and knee jerk than used their espoused understanding and sensitivity.
I think the only thing worth me commenting, I have already put in Anna_Lanche's site - about comments made back in NZ when Bush was about to be elected and about the silly notion that Bush (or America - whatever) can be compared with Frodo. My opinions on this have pretty much been voiced elsewhere and I am getting tired.
Well, I feel vindicated in that I was not hallucinating in the flipflopping justifications for invading Iraq.
See, I'm not stupid after all!
Ha ha ha!!
I am glad to have read this today
There is nothing more important that information and its effects in allowing more people to begin to see what is happening. Now
Being drawn into polar argument over fixed mental positions is largely a result of our egoic cultural conditioning. Fun to watch.. Even if dramatic
If commonality of understanding emerges so much the better... but without the meme to escape our cultural conditioning that is seldom the outcome
Our culture itself is so misaligned from reality it no longer recognizes the significance of present moment, and is hopeless lost in a mind made egoic matrix of insanity ..a disease pointed to by the phrase... cognitive temporal identity disorder.
The system of control
It is interesting how all the issues in the media are slight mis representations of each position... designed intentionally so that we seem to be morally compelled to take sides on an issue which is so gray, that taking one of the polar positions will assure some ambiguity and most significantly taking either side will guarantee opposition...
Such is the nature of the beast...divide the people ... and they can easily be lead
Dear John,
You are correct about the masseuse. Another good blog, as always.
D.I. Edifice
Propellarheads featuring Shirley Basey
History Repeating
Thanks for your comment on my site. You have such an informative site. I live in Plano, TX & it's rough being one of the few democrats there.
The difference between republicans and democrats is the difference between one guy hitting you with his left or his right fist.
John
Just came by to sat hello
not in a political frame of mind this day
but I would like to say that you inspired the poem
and no I will not date them
I thought it was 1000km from Romania. Now, I'm confused
Are you trying to get credit for more than semi-fluent?
We will look back at this era as the last ditch effort to hold onto a time when this country was great. A time when we talked less and acted more. A time when we stood with dignity and honor and respect. A time when we understood that compassion and strength are each no good without the other.
We belong in Iraq. Twist the reasoning any way you want, but that's all you'll be doing. The original mistake was in not finishing the job the FIRST time we were there. Congress didn't want us going in and taking out Saddam. They wanted us to go in and liberate Kuwait and the the hell out. We should have run them over when we had the chance.
When the uprising happened during the Clinton years, he didn't take advantage of the situation to help them as they'd been promised during the Bush 41 years. There's another mistake.
And after years of running away from every terrorist attack, every threat of conflict we needed to make a stand. We needed our words to mean something. Rattle an old dog's cage long enough and eventually he'll react. We were a joke to the rest of the world.
The sad fact is that so many don't want this to succeed. It doesn't make any sense. Why would you not want a democracy in the middle of the middle east? Why would you not want an ass like Saddam out of power? Isn't a prison cell the best place for him (next to a firing squad of course)? Or would it simply make you happier to have a donkey in the White House?. (I for one could care less about party affiliation. I care about action and results.)
With headway being made every day, opponents of the war struggle harder and harder to find anything negative to report. They count the deaths of service men and women with glee, praying the number will climb to prove they are right.
I rarely buy into consipracy theories. A better explanation for a great many things is usually the failure of a system. I don't believe in demonizing opposing political views.
You want to talk about what's wrong with politics? I'll sum it up for you in a nutshell: the border. Everyone's too chicken shit to touch it because they don't want to lose the hispanic vote. Sometimes its okay to make a decision because it's the right thing to do and damn the popularity contest. Then again, we've had a number of leaders through the years that did that, and the public ended up loving them. Reference Ronal Reagan and Harry Truman (the last true great from either party).
Do I love GWB? Nope. Do I think he's wicked, evil, malicious, or that he led us into war under false pretenses? Nope. Do I think that this war is going badly? Nope. I'll take the first hand accounts from friends and family over there fighting before I'll buy into what professors who's jobs are all about theory and tenure. I'll take the word of the Commander in Chief over those that think the Pledge of Allegiance is unconsitutional. Not because I think they are right or wrong, but because they are OBVIOUSLY out of touch with reality.
Just because you have a cause doesn't mean that you are standing up for something righteous. Sometimes you are just being ridiculous. The flower children were wrong, boys and girls. Just because it feels good doesn't mean it's right. Sometimes doing what is right is the hardest thing of all.
you know they are just grinding the pens for this little era of history!!!!
jm
well, I sometimes give NC to some of the freshmen in my class, but then again they didn't catch me on the French grammar
Where are you in Illinois?
As for heaven, it's as far as I want it to be.
I have been reading your comments..and I noticed that DJDashRiprock has the strange ability to discern not only what is seen and hear ,such as expressions of frustration about the war...and intent.He seems to think he can read the minds..and know the hearts of people who have raised objections to the war. I would not presume that I know what conservatives feel...I listen to what they say...and assume they have the same good intentions I do,I raise objections to thier thinking only. This kind of bluster,,,where character is under fire rather then ideas under scrutiny is what makes true discourse about the war so difficult,I will of course suggest to him at his site that he is taking the focus off of the real matter at hand when he digresses from his arguments this way. Respectfully
OK I hate making typos...I mean dern it...he can not only see and hear what we say and write...he can also know our motivation? Thats what that first dern sentence was suppose to say....
The DJ, I'm sorry to say, is too uninformed for me to dignify him with a response. I wouldn't know where to start. But thank you for your comment, Mia.
"We were a joke to the rest of the world."
No, the Bush administration has made the U.S. a joke. Polls show that China is now more favorable than the U.S. among many in the global community, as we recently read in the news.
vituperrious
Vi`tu*per"ri*ous, a. Worthy of vituperation; shameful; disgraceful. [Obs.]
a response to your comment to MD. Just in case you thought no one was reading!
I'm sure you've read Dick Clarke's book "Against All Enemies," in which he painfully documents how terrorism gained its footing in the Middle East. Sadly, this country was a major force in arming Saddam in the first place as well as financing Al Quaeda (indirectly, of course, but that's no excuse). It was appalling to read that Rumsfeld was the Presidential envoy sent to Saddam to show the U.S.'s support. (See my 8/11/05 posting: GPSpacey)
Too bad that our history classes in schools don't teach you anything close to the truth. All we learn is about Boston Tea Party; Civil War; WW I; WW II, where US heroically liberated Europe and Asia from evil Nazis and Japs, according to textbooks; Vietnam, usually in variation of Saving Private Ryan-esque view...
As much as I am disgusted with the current climate of politics, this country has its strengths and virtues. Let's hope that tide will turn soon and the goodness will be seen over the cronyism and ignorance.
It is interesting to observe how BugGirl's comment is proven true so quickly! You've questioned, you've thought critically, and you were attacked by jingos pert near right after.
We are not permitted to question our government without the expectation that we will be impugned for the questioning.
This era will by no means be thought of as a time when America stood for honor and respect of anything without a price tag. Eventually, if the transcripts are not altered, the facts will bear this out. This the time when strength is thought of only as might. Compassion is strength.
Ah yes... we see it all so neatly packaged here: what we believe is what we believe and no one shall ever change our minds. Makes me wonder why anyone bothers. By reading carefully and inferring intent, I've done nothing different than what has been done on this very page. I stand behind my assessment of what I've seen from many people, both from this site and from real world experience.
I will say this: I am aware of the mistakes of this country in allowing terrorism to take hold. Now we have the well-armed equivalent of a spoiled child trying to get it's way. You don't correct that behavior by giving him what he wants, he'll just want more and do it again. Why? Because it worked the LAST time, that's why.
Ask yourself this question: Why does Hillary Clinton so staunchly oppose a withdrawal (read: surrender) from Iraq?
If I answer that question I could go with a right-wing demonizing answer and bring myself down to the level of childish complaining seen here and say that it's because she wants to be the next president. OR I could go with an answer that gives her the benefit of the doubt... something along the lines of: She's been in the Oval Office and she knows what's at stake. She knows we cannot fail in the middle east without having severe and immediate repercussions.
So, maybe she has enough character to stand up for something she believes in. Or maybe she knows she's gotta win elections in New York, home of the WTC. Or MAYBE she would do ANYTHING to be the first female president. I'm curious what everyone here thinks.
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