HOLY SHIT! Suddenly, as the veil of time drops...it's 0ctober 3rd...2001:
"Q -- ask your average American to do besides spend, to help?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the average American must not be afraid to travel. We opened Reagan Airport yesterday for a reason -- we think it's safe, and that people ought to feel comfortable about traveling around our country. They ought to take their kids on vacations. They ought to go to ball games. The Mayor wants them to come to the Yankee games, of course. (Laughter.)
MAYOR GIULIANI: The World Series.
THE PRESIDENT: The World Series, yes. (Laughter.) No question he's an incurable optimist. (Laughter.) But people ought to -- listen, we ought to be aware in America -- we are aware; how can you not be aware that we've entered into a new era. The imagery is vivid in people's minds. But nevertheless, Americans must know that their government is doing everything we can to track down every rumor, every hint, every possible evildoer. And, therefore, Americans ought to go about their business. And they are beginning to do so. "
No wait...its today.
"'But this is a different kind of war. In the past, there was troop movements, or, you know, people could report the sinking of a ship. This is a war that requires intelligence and interrogation within the law from people who know what's happening. . . . Victories you can't see. But the enemy is able to create death and carnage that tends to define the action.
And I think most Americans understand we're vulnerable. But my hope was after 9/11, most Americans wouldn't walk around saying, 'My goodness, we're at war. Therefore let us don't live a normal life. Let us don't invest.' Mr. Bush calls it an 'interesting contradiction' that he wants 'people to understand the stakes of failure' in this conflict. But on the other hand, he also wants 'the country to be able to grow, invest, save, expand, educate, raise their children'. This is another way of saying how hard it is for a democracy to maintain support for a war without a tangible, ominous enemy such as the Soviet Union or Imperial Japan.
Could he have done more, as president, to win over more Democratic allies? 'I met with a lot of Democrats over the course of this war, and'--he pauses for the longest time in our interview--'you know, it's hard for me to tell, Paul, whether I could have done a better job. . . . I don't know. I just don't know'."
Interesting discussion at Qando over these statements.
It goes without saying that, with a crucial midterm coming up, the GOP and the President are scrambling to save their sinking ship, so it makes sense to revisit some of BushCo's greatest hits: However, I have the feeling this particular reissue will do as well as the Paris Hilton record.
Monday, September 11, 2006
From Darksyde on this solemn Anniversary.
Erudite as usual:
"Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 03:26:45 AM PDT
Five years ago this very morning we stood transfixed in horror as seemingly surreal events unfolded before our eyes. It seems like only yesterday, and yet so long ago, that terrorists trained and funded by Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda working out of Taliban controlled Afghanistan viciously attacked our nation. Almost 3,000 innocent Americans died under that barrage of human-guided missiles. Even now the grim toll rises, as rescue workers and victims alike are still suffering from the devastating effects of oily black smoke and poisonous gas, unleashed from the blazing wreckage of airplanes and buildings.
Our President promised that the perpetrators would be taken "dead or alive" and that he would 'get the people that knocked these buildings down.' A few months later, President Bush was asked about that pledge:
Link Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
Bush: I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.
From the same press conference:
Bush: I want to reiterate what I said the other day. Our policy is to deny sanctuary to terrorists anyplace in the world, and we will be very active in doing that.
From this week:
Link--The clandestine U.S. commandos whose job is to capture or kill Osama bin Laden have not received a credible lead in more than two years.
Link--US president Bush on Thursday cautiously endorsed a truce between Gen Musharraf and pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan even as terrorist violence soared ....
America deserves better."
Relatedly:
"CBS Corp. said on Saturday it would broadcast the documentary '9/11' on the Internet as well as the airwaves after several affiliates said they would delay or forgo the award-winning film because it includes profanity [...]
The American Family Association, which describes itself as a Christian organization promoting traditional values, has called on CBS stations to forgo or delay the '9/11' broadcast."
Donald Wildmon is afraid that the "potty mouthed" heroes (police and fireman) will scar the children. Evidentally, the sight of people jumping out of buildings with their skin on fire is fine, just not the "Oh Fuck" response of those looking on.
Is this the most meaningful thing he can say-or do- concerning this epoch in our history? how about doing the Christ-like thing...speaking truth to power, and calling off the FCC/Moral Majority. Was a nipple really that serious as to have local affiliates scared of folks like you, who might call the dogs on them, for showing history? Is this being "Christian", speaking truth to power, or is it another example of the right wing speaking "power as truth". I'm betting on the latter.
Of course, Wildmon and Bush have lots in common, namely that they are "Christian" in name only, and as such, they always speak "power as truth".
So, while reflecting today, look at your reflection: How have you aged in five years? I'm not talking about gray hair, receding hairlines or proceeding waistlines. How has the last five years treated you? I know I feel old. Tell us...
Update: Driftglass has some poignant thoughts, Five Years On, with a little help from the Thin White Duke.
"Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 03:26:45 AM PDT
Five years ago this very morning we stood transfixed in horror as seemingly surreal events unfolded before our eyes. It seems like only yesterday, and yet so long ago, that terrorists trained and funded by Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda working out of Taliban controlled Afghanistan viciously attacked our nation. Almost 3,000 innocent Americans died under that barrage of human-guided missiles. Even now the grim toll rises, as rescue workers and victims alike are still suffering from the devastating effects of oily black smoke and poisonous gas, unleashed from the blazing wreckage of airplanes and buildings.
Our President promised that the perpetrators would be taken "dead or alive" and that he would 'get the people that knocked these buildings down.' A few months later, President Bush was asked about that pledge:
Link Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
Bush: I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.
From the same press conference:
Bush: I want to reiterate what I said the other day. Our policy is to deny sanctuary to terrorists anyplace in the world, and we will be very active in doing that.
From this week:
Link--The clandestine U.S. commandos whose job is to capture or kill Osama bin Laden have not received a credible lead in more than two years.
Link--US president Bush on Thursday cautiously endorsed a truce between Gen Musharraf and pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan even as terrorist violence soared ....
America deserves better."
Relatedly:
"CBS Corp. said on Saturday it would broadcast the documentary '9/11' on the Internet as well as the airwaves after several affiliates said they would delay or forgo the award-winning film because it includes profanity [...]
The American Family Association, which describes itself as a Christian organization promoting traditional values, has called on CBS stations to forgo or delay the '9/11' broadcast."
Donald Wildmon is afraid that the "potty mouthed" heroes (police and fireman) will scar the children. Evidentally, the sight of people jumping out of buildings with their skin on fire is fine, just not the "Oh Fuck" response of those looking on.
Is this the most meaningful thing he can say-or do- concerning this epoch in our history? how about doing the Christ-like thing...speaking truth to power, and calling off the FCC/Moral Majority. Was a nipple really that serious as to have local affiliates scared of folks like you, who might call the dogs on them, for showing history? Is this being "Christian", speaking truth to power, or is it another example of the right wing speaking "power as truth". I'm betting on the latter.
Of course, Wildmon and Bush have lots in common, namely that they are "Christian" in name only, and as such, they always speak "power as truth".
So, while reflecting today, look at your reflection: How have you aged in five years? I'm not talking about gray hair, receding hairlines or proceeding waistlines. How has the last five years treated you? I know I feel old. Tell us...
Update: Driftglass has some poignant thoughts, Five Years On, with a little help from the Thin White Duke.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
What the Fuck?
Yikes.
I can't think of anything else at the moment...No Fucking Way!
If this is true...Christ, it's worse than I imagined.
I can't think of anything else at the moment...No Fucking Way!
If this is true...Christ, it's worse than I imagined.
Walt Disney was a Fascist
This network TV tripe will probably not get pulled: ABC is owned by Disney, and they refused to distribute, via Miramax, Fahrenheit 9/11.
Uncle Walt, of course, was a reactionary conservative in his day, if not pro fascist, and his legacy, one of phony nostalgic "family fun" and simulacra sanitized snow white, seems to extend to all areas of the media giant. Liberal Hollywood, indeed.
This is, of course, their right to do so, but to claim that this shit is "True" is nothing more than the "Triumph of the Swill", an election year attempt to pin the whole thing on Clinton. Funny, isn't it, that all of this coincides with BushCo's "new" spin on the mess that helped create. Equally funny is how the advance copies were distributed to all company men.
According to Salon.com's editor, its worse than that. Nice...a five hour campaign commercial for the GOP.
Uncle Walt, of course, was a reactionary conservative in his day, if not pro fascist, and his legacy, one of phony nostalgic "family fun" and simulacra sanitized snow white, seems to extend to all areas of the media giant. Liberal Hollywood, indeed.
This is, of course, their right to do so, but to claim that this shit is "True" is nothing more than the "Triumph of the Swill", an election year attempt to pin the whole thing on Clinton. Funny, isn't it, that all of this coincides with BushCo's "new" spin on the mess that helped create. Equally funny is how the advance copies were distributed to all company men.
According to Salon.com's editor, its worse than that. Nice...a five hour campaign commercial for the GOP.
Nevermind what they're selling...it's what you're buying?!?
Have you been buying this National Security jag the GOP has been selling lately? Time magazine thinks maybe not:
"And it's not just Bush's handling of Iraq that Democrats are targeting but also the larger war on terrorism. Democrats have begun to echo a message template e-mailed to them by party leaders: 'President Bush and his Republican Congress have not learned the lessons of 9/11 and, as a result of their failed policies in Iraq and in the War on Terror, America is less safe'. This is where the White House does not want Democrats to get traction. If Bush's Iraq policies are a tough sell with voters, at least he has enjoyed credibility as a terrorism fighter overall. During the summer, Republican consultants watching focus groups of married women with children, a sector that strongly supported Bush's re-election, found that the mothers often asked questions about Iraq like 'Does this go on forever?' But if the women were reminded of Iraq in the context of a war on terrorism—say, by being shown a video of a plane flying into the World Trade Center—their opposition waned."
Here's the crux of that matter: Despite the fact that nearly everyone who isn't brainwashed, including the President (who might be) concedes the fact that Iraq did not attack on September 11th, the administration is banking on folks not caring about "facts" and how these "facts" illuminate the "stupid and dangerous" school of Foreign Policy that we have endured for 6 long years that has virtually resigned our country to many long years of antipathy and violence.
So, if you've been in a cave or something, let me tell ya that the War in Iraq has nothing to do with the War on Terror...correction. It didn't. Now it does, because the unmitigated sectarian Rochambeau going on there now, with our sons and daughters caught in the crossfire, has made things worse, and everybody, less safe.
"And it's not just Bush's handling of Iraq that Democrats are targeting but also the larger war on terrorism. Democrats have begun to echo a message template e-mailed to them by party leaders: 'President Bush and his Republican Congress have not learned the lessons of 9/11 and, as a result of their failed policies in Iraq and in the War on Terror, America is less safe'. This is where the White House does not want Democrats to get traction. If Bush's Iraq policies are a tough sell with voters, at least he has enjoyed credibility as a terrorism fighter overall. During the summer, Republican consultants watching focus groups of married women with children, a sector that strongly supported Bush's re-election, found that the mothers often asked questions about Iraq like 'Does this go on forever?' But if the women were reminded of Iraq in the context of a war on terrorism—say, by being shown a video of a plane flying into the World Trade Center—their opposition waned."
Here's the crux of that matter: Despite the fact that nearly everyone who isn't brainwashed, including the President (who might be) concedes the fact that Iraq did not attack on September 11th, the administration is banking on folks not caring about "facts" and how these "facts" illuminate the "stupid and dangerous" school of Foreign Policy that we have endured for 6 long years that has virtually resigned our country to many long years of antipathy and violence.
So, if you've been in a cave or something, let me tell ya that the War in Iraq has nothing to do with the War on Terror...correction. It didn't. Now it does, because the unmitigated sectarian Rochambeau going on there now, with our sons and daughters caught in the crossfire, has made things worse, and everybody, less safe.
Saturday, September 9, 2006
Unions
Next time some jag decides to run their mouth about Unions killing the Automotive Industry, consider this:
"As Ford Motor Co.'s new chief executive, Alan Mulally is staring down a long road as he seeks to turn around the ailing auto giant. But two weeks into the job, he'll be able to bank the lion's share of the $20.5 million he will receive in the first year.
That amounts to $56,164.38 for each day of the year. "
Obscene, really.
"As Ford Motor Co.'s new chief executive, Alan Mulally is staring down a long road as he seeks to turn around the ailing auto giant. But two weeks into the job, he'll be able to bank the lion's share of the $20.5 million he will receive in the first year.
That amounts to $56,164.38 for each day of the year. "
Obscene, really.
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