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Michael Parker's Journal
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Tuesday, August 31, 2004 |
Can You Smell Me Now?
Of course you can't. But I'm not really asking you a question anyway. In fact, this isn't a question at all. It's the name of one of the 1,042 teams that just completed the adventurously fun 198 mile Hood to Coast relay race held in Oregon this past weekend, in which I took part in. I belong to the Utah team Leatherlungs and Jogbras.
(Teams comprise of 12 runners. Each team uses 2 vans, which transport 6 runners each. Each runner must run three legs of the 36 leg race from Mt. Hood, through Sandy, Gresham, Portland, Scappoose, St. Helens, Mist, Jewel, Olney, Astoria, Lewis & Clark, and finally to the beach in Seaside. A team takes turns running the race course day and night and day until they finish. Teams come from across the US, Mexico, Canada, South America, and Europe.)
Reading through a list of 1, 042 names is like reading a novel, a humourous one at that. I noticed that names were inspired from songs, movies, TV shows or commercials, politics, religion, gender-related terms , medical terminology, clever reworkings of cliches, and/or especially from the race itself.
Here is a list of my favorite names representing each of these categories. I do hope you read and enjoy them all. There are some mighty clever names:
Inspired from Songs, Musical Groups, or Musicology:
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Deadhead To The Coast
Dixies Midnight Runners
Twelve Elvises
Smells Like Team Spirit
This Aint No Disco
Twisted Blister
No Doubt
Weve Got The Runs
Hoody And The Go Fish
Crash Test Dummies
It Smells Like Team Spirit
Run Dmd
Get Me To The Beach On Time
Stayin Alive
Running On Empty
Bad To The Bone
Well Be Home For Christmas
Hippy Chicks
Inspired from Movies:
The Wild Bunch
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fit The Fat & The Elderly
Dead Lemmings Society
Mad Macs Road Warriors
True Grit
Better Than Bond Girls
Bring Out Your Dead
The Replacements
Dead Men Running
My So Called Legs
Boyz From The Hood
Desperately Seeking Seaside
Coast Busters
Fast & The Delirious
Dude Wheres My Van?
Crouching Runner Hidden Van
Twelve Monkeys
Angels And Insects
Sleepless In Scappoose
The Knights Who Say Knee
The Big Lubersky
Running Arizona
Hey Ho Off To The Beach We Go
If We Only Had A Brain
Inspired from Great Works: O Van Where Art Thou?
The Grapes Of Math
Reworkings of Cliches or Famous Sayings:
Spaghetti Set Go
Nacho Daddy
Houston We Have A Problem
Butts Sweat & Beers
Grin N Barrett
Road Kilts
You Can Run But You Cant Hide
Dont Be A Smart Pass
Bling Bling
Will Run For Beer
Religious Names: The Passion
Team Armageddon
The Amazing Grace
Fear Not The End Will Come
Team Godspeed
Isaiah 40:31
Team 666
The Saints Come Running In
Covenant Cruisers
God Seekers
Political/Historical Names: Weapons Of Ass Destruction
Rumsfelds Rear Admirals
The Donner Party
Gender/Sex Related: 12 Inches
Male Order Grooms
Four Jacks And A Jill
Newport Nauty Gulls &bad Buoy
Naked Love Pretzel
K Y Connection
Thongs? Boxers? Or Briefs?
Wood To Coast
A Dozen Butts & Nutts
Buns And Weenies To Seaside
6 Dudes And 12 Boobs
Tight Butts And Sweaty Nuts
The Tightie Whities
Medical Terminology/Body Parts/Bodily Functions: Dead On Arrival
Team Snot Rocket
Nike Dairy Airs
Toe Jammers
The Runs
Team Nads
Team Comatoes
Do You Smell Something?
I B Pro Fun
Too Much Fiber
Got Runs
The Trots
The Freudian Slips
Butt Butter
Chafed And Lubed
TV Shows/Commercials: Sole Train
Speed Racers
Masters Of The Universe
Thats All Folks!
Hollywood Squares
Oprahs Naked Book Club
Zero To 196 In 28 Hours
Can You Beer Me Now?
Can You Smell Me Now?
Femme Fatale
Live Long & Perspire
Scar Trek (This team was made of runners who have all had heart operations.)
Spongebob Slowpants
Mr Toads Wild Runners
Family Ties
All In The Family
Hood to Coast Related Names: No Walkin Til The Van Passes
Synthesis Of Beer And Insanity
Comfortably Numb
On The Verge Of Insanity
I Signed Up To Run What?
Everything Hurts
My Turn Again!?!
This Team Sucks
Call Me A Cab
Shouldve Been The Driver
Hood To Moist
Physically Bankrupt
Someone Call Me A Cab
Runs Well With Others
Oxygen Deficit
Too Stupid To Stop
On The Road To Recovery
Sultans Of Sweat
I Hurt You Hurt We All Hurt
Who Moved The Beach?
Whose Idea Was This
Shut Your Pie Hole And Run!
Hood To Comatose
I Thought This Was A 5k
Roadkill Again!?
Runnin 24/7
Kill Or Be Roadkill
Are We There Yet?
Mother Hood To Coast
Running For Krispy Kremes
Old Enough To Know Better
Speed Kills, Slow Down
Wheres Van 2?
P.S. Oh, by the way, here are the winners of the race, where they originate from, and their finishing time:
1. Ncic Allstars (Gladstone, OR) 17:36:08
2. Team Short Bus (New Paltz, NY) 18:21:28
3. Rabid Dog (Wilmington, NC) 18:31:23
4. Carolina Xc (Raleigh, NC) 18:35:57
5. Bowerman Ac (Portland, OR) 18:40:38
6. Synthesis Of Beer And Insanity (Florence, OR) 18:47:14
7. Class Act Is Back (Vancouver, WA) 18:54:15
8. Msu Alumni (Poulsbo, WA) 18:58:30
9. Santini Extra Virgins (San Francisco, CA) 19:12:01
10. Its Go Time Naked Lizards (Portland, OR) 19:18:31
P.S.S. I'll write more later on the course of the race, about team costumes and van decorations, and my experiences.
9:48:35 PM  | |
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Wednesday, August 25, 2004 |
I will not be posting till Sunday because I'm participating in the Mt. Hood to Coast relay race, which starts Friday. It's the largest relay race in the world and over 1,000 teams from across the globe converge upon Portland and Northern Oregon to run it. Proceeds go to the National Cancer Society. I'm excited to be participating in this race for the second year. My team is loads of fun. It's a privilege to be running with them and for such a great cause.
Have fun watching the rest of the Olympics. I wish you all the best.
10:06:06 PM | |
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I shall not easily forget Sunday's Women's Olympic Marathon. It was marked for the history books from the outset of the Games, primarily because it would be the first time women would tread the birthplace of the marathon, the path the Greek army's messenger, Phidippides, ran from Marathon to Athens to inform the city that they were victorious over the much larger army of Persians in the battle of Marathon.
It would be historical, too, that a good majority of these women runners from 40+ nations would finish this course in less time than it took Phidippides to run it. (This fact, though, is not really fair because just two days before the run to Athens, he had just completed a 280 mile mission to and from Sparta to seek more troops in the upcoming battle. It is written that he ran this course in 36 hours.)
The event was also slated for Olympic history for other significant facts.
1. The course running from the village of Marathon to Athens is the hardest in Olympic history. Routes for the usual marathon run flat, with little change in elevation. This route, however, is all uphill from miles 6 to 20; and nearly steep downhill into Panathinaiko stadium.
2. And probably most significantly, this historical path of Phiddippides was to be graced by the fastest runners in the world, especially Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, who has the women's world record for the marathon at 2 hours and 15 minutes. She had won every marathon she entered. She was known as the queeen of the marathon.
Radcliffe was joined with the likes of Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, Elfenesh Alemu of Ethiopia, Mozuki Naguchi of Japan, and Deena Kastor of America.
It was an understatement to say Paula Radcliffe was favored to take the Gold medal. The buzz was was not that she would win the marathon but that she would rival the time of the best male runner.
In this land where drama were created, Radcliffe's journey to Athens befell a Greek tragedy of its own. With temps looming around 95 degrees, on an asphalt surface that even the cameras could pick up the waves of heat radiating upwards, Radcliffe took the lead early and tried burning out her competition. Even when the course turned up into the steep hills above Marathon, she was leading a pack of 12 runners. It seemed from these early miles, that Radcliffe's gait was odd, in comparison with the others in the lead pack. The commentators of the race explained that this was her natural gait, moving her head up to one side and then down to the opposite side with each stride. It seemed unnatural. It was as if she was pushing herself too fast up these hills and her head bobbling was the logical proof of it.
By mile 15, Japan's Noguchi took the lead and never looked back. Radcliffe quickly fell to a distant fourth. It wasn't until mile 21 that she seemed to be making a comeback, overtaking Elfenesh Alemu. But with less than four miles to run, Radcliffe suddenly stopped, bent over, and rested her hands on her knees. She stood straight and brought her hands up to her face. She was shaking and overcome with emotion. She started up again but after six or seven strides, stopped dead in her tracks. Losing herself in a wave of sobs, she withdrew from the tracks and crumbled onto the corner. The sign nearby read 36km.
Running a marathon takes strategy, perseverance, and preparation. Radcliffe never said why she took herself out of the race, though she made a comment that her legs grew weak around mile 16 and she couldn't regain any energy. Radcliffe also proclaimed that she would not blame her departure on the conditions, stating that she had prepared well for them. I wonder if Radcliffes departure had something to do with persevering to the end, knowing that she would not nor could not win the race. Having been called the queen of the marathon, perhaps she thought that she had let her country down and the emotion behind that thought sidelined her cold.
No matter her reasons, we cheered for her throughout the race. When she stopped running, we yelled at the television set "Don't stop. Finish the race." And we shed tears with her when she left the road.
Sometimes, races are not about conquering your opponents, they are about conquering your own self. And fans understand this. They don't only love their heros who win medals, they love them for giving it their all and crossing that finish line. Paula Radcliffe would have received a remarkable homecoming in Panathinaiko stadium.
Deena Kastor Wins the Bronze Because of Incredible Strategy
Her was an amazing feat of strategy. Kastor came from 28th place to take the Bronze medal.
With temps around 100 degrees just an hour before race time, Kastor sat in the waiting area with an ice vest on, trying to keep her body temp down. She chose to start conservatively. At race time, the temps were in the 90's and it would stay that way for 2/3 of the race until the sun went down. Kastor believed that those who started quickly in the first 20 miles of this race would lose it in the last six miles. Why? Because there were 14 miles of steep hills till mile 20. The final six are all down hill.
How conservative did she start? She was 28th after 3 miles. Moved up to 12th around mile 16. The lead pack had disintegrated by 19 miles. Kastor found herself in eighth position and picking of the runners in front of her. Here are some of her comments after the race:
"The smartest way to race is to pick off runners," said Kastor. "I started to get an adrenaline rush every time I saw girl in front of me."
With less that a mile to go, Kastor was on the heels of Elfenesh Alemu of Ethiopia, this year's runner-up in the Boston Marathon.
"Two different people told me that if I caught the girl in front of me I'd be in third, and then someone else told me I'd be in the fourth," said Kastor. "I didn't know until the announcer [in the stadium] said, 'Deena Kastor is going to get the bronze,' " she said. "I just cried my way around the track after that. ... When I heard that, I just lost all my emotions. I couldn't contain myself.
"My whole last lap I was just bawling hysterically," said Kastor. "I could barely push forward because I got so emotional. We may look like we are so alone out there, but I began to think of all the people who supported me in this."
9:57:31 PM | |
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Tuesday, August 24, 2004 |
First one to corroborate Keery's account was one of the editors of the Chicago Sun Times, a veteran by the last name of Rood. (I'll post more information on this later.) And now Jim Russel is making news with his letter to the editor of the Telluride Daily Planet, Colorado. Jim lays forth some pretty amazing wrath toward his fellow veterans and the president! Consider for yourself:
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to the new attacks on John Kerry's war record by a group calling itself the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." As for most veterans of any war and as people who know me will testify, it is not easy for me to talk about my experiences in Vietnam. However, because of these new ads and, I understand, a new book recently published by an old Charles Colson "Enemies List" hit man, I feel compelled to speak out. Unfortunately, the veterans featured in these attacks are being used by extreme right wing Bush supporters to spread their lies and malign John Kerry.
I feel that most of these veterans who are joining this attack are against Kerry for what he did after he was home from the war than for what he did in the war. If they are against him for his stance against the Vietnam War, that certainly is their right, but to spread lies and malicious innuendos about his time on the rivers of Vietnam is not morally right and does a disservice not only to Kerry, but to all those who served and were wounded or died in that war. The people who are using these veterans for their own means obviously do not care about that. They did the same thing to Senator John McCain and Congressman Max Cleland in 2000 with no remorse or care for the consequences.
To me what is worse is that by their silence, the current administration has not, with any real meaning, disavowed itself or distanced itself in anyway from any of these scurrilous attacks, past or present. I feel that this truly shows the Bush administration for what they really are and ultimately, who is truly responsible for these attacks.
Since I happened to be along on one of the "excursions" where the boats that we were on were attacked and after which Lt. Kerry was cited for valor, I thought it appropriate to give my recollection of that event. This happened on March 13, 1969. I was assigned as Psychological Operation Officer for the Swift Boat group out of An Thoi, Vietnam, from January 1969 to October 1969. As such, I was on No. 43 boat, skippered by Don Droz who was later that year killed by enemy fire. We were second in line while exiting the river and going through the opening in a fish trap when a mine blew up under the No. 3 boat directly in front of us and we started taking small arms fire from the beach. Almost immediately, another mine went off somewhere behind us. All boats, except the one hit, immediately wheeled toward the beach that most of the fire came from (a tactic devised by Lt. Kerry, I later learned) and commenced showering the beaches with so much lead, that it could probably be now mined there. The noise was of course, deafening.
Three things that are forever pictured in my mind since that day over 30 years ago are: (1) The No. 3, 50-foot long, Swift boat getting huge, huge air; John Kerry thought it was about two feet. (He was farther away from it than I). I think it was at least four feet and probably closer to six feet; (2) All the boats turning left and letting loose at the same time like a deadly, choreographed dance and; (3) A few minutes later, John Kerry bending over his boat picking up one of the rangers that we were ferrying from out of the water. All the time we were taking small arms fire from the beach; although because of our fusillade into the jungle, I don't think it was very accurate, thank God. Anyone who doesn't think that we were being fired upon must have been on a different river.
The picture I have in my mind of Kerry bending over from his boat picking some hapless guy out of the river while all hell was breaking loose around us, is a picture based on fact and it cannot be disputed or changed. It's a piece of history drawn in my mind that cannot be redrawn. Sorry, "Swift Boats Veterans for the Truth"- that is the truth.
To say that John Kerry or any of us were on that river to intentionally collect Purple Hearts really does every soldier and sailor, past and present, a disservice. We were going up those rivers (with an ongoing casualty rate of 86 percent at the time) on the orders of the same people who approved of Kerry's medals and who are now joining in the attacks against Kerry. Unbelievable.
I would hope that the American public sees these evil extreme right wing attacks for what they really are and also pray that the veterans being used by these unpatriotic right wing extremist political operatives will divorce themselves immediately from them and speak to the real issues as to why they oppose John Kerry. I just don't understand how anyone can align themselves with those who intentionally and gleefully painted a decorated triple amputee (Max Cleland) from Vietnam as unpatriotic. I think that this is the most disastrous, un-American thing that can be done to our servicemen and women, especially now with another unending war going on. Your ends cannot possibly justify these means. Come on!
Jim Russell, Vietnam veteran
These veterans coming out in defense of Kerry might be one reason why Bush broke his silence today and denounced the attack ads of all 527 groups, not specifically the Swift Boat Veterans. I do believe he lost the upperhand in this. Kerry's catching the sympathy of America. I think this Swift Boat ad, combined with Kerry's speeches today about the smear attacks of the GOP, will give Kerry the upper-hand later down the road when the Bush camp tries to bring up his war record or smear him in general.
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Monday, August 23, 2004 |
When Chris Hedges, author of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, was held captive in somewhere sixty miles north of Basra, his captors stopped to fill their canteens in some muddy puddles. Hedges explained that he knew that the water purification plants had been destroyed. He knew, because of this, the effect that water would have on their bodies, and those of the women and children who were also seeking water. It was at this time that Hedges remembered Auden's "Epitaph on a Tyrant," a poem he had memorized back in his youth.
Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.
-- W. H. Auden
As I searched the web today for the entirety of the poem, which, to my surprise is complete as shown above, I found this highly thoughtful and noteworthy commentary by Aseem Kaul. Kaul writes:
Perfection is the word. In six simple lines, Auden paints a portrait of a tyrant that is both human and absolute. Auden's tyrant is not a political machine - no mention is made of his military aspirations or his place in history. Instead we have a tyrant who is frightening precisely because he is so ordinary - he laughs, he cries, he seeks perfection, indulges his interests. He is not even the motive force behind the destruction he causes - he means no harm to the children, it's just that the momentum of his tears causes them to be destroyed.
What makes tyranny so terrifying is the idea that the fate of an entire country and all its people is governed by the magnified yet frail ego of a single individual. And that's exactly what this poem captures.
As I read Auden I think of the concept of awareness, how many people simply have no notion of how their actions or words effect those around them. It's nearly cliche to say that the single beating of a butterfly's wings creates a whirlwind on the other side of the world. But the concept is totally figurative. Our deeds, whether postive or negative, set in motion a chain of events that are likewise postive or negative in motion. This poem was a wonderful find today.
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6:41:56 PM | |
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Sunday, August 22, 2004 |
1999 started with grand expectations. With sequels and prequels such as The Phantom Menace, Austin Powers, Toy Story 2, The World is Not Enough, and the return of Adam Sandler in Big Daddy, Will Smith in Wild Wild West, Tom Hanks in The Green Mile, and Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride, the industry was looking at one of the brightest box-office cash-cow possibilities in history. Little did anyone know that the industry would meet that expectation before the Thanksgiving/Christmas season.
However, 1999 will go down in history as one of the most unique in memory for a few reasons, 1) those unexpected films that became blockbusters, namely The Matrix ($171 million), The Mummy ($155 million), The Blair Witch Project ($140.5 million), The Sixth Sense ($282 million), and Stuart Little ($134 million).
2) It was the year that animation was king, in which The Iron Giant ($23 million), Princess Mononoke, Tarzan ($171 million), South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut ($52 million), and Toy Story 2 ($240 million) were as good, clever, well-written, and/or beautiful as their un-animated foes. In fact, Toy Story 2 won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical by beating the very noteworthy films Being John Malcovich, Analyze This, Man on the Moon, and Notting Hill.
3) It was also the year of the psychological horror flick, in which the films The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense were among the biggest box-office accumulators and that sank deep into the psyche of American society. Blair Witch became the top-grossing independent film of all time at $140.5 million; and Sixth Sense dominated the box-office at $282 million behind mega-monster Star Wars: The Phantom Menace ($431 million).
4) It was the year that the most memorable and celebrated films were not the blockbusters (e.g., The Phantom Menace) or those we expected to be blockbusters (e.g., Anna and the King, Snow Falling on Cedars).
The following is a list of the films I most cherished during the final year of the millennium. Check out my review of a few of these films in the navigation panel of my film page. One day soon I'll have a review for all of them.
10 Things I Hate About You
All About My Mother
American Beauty
Being John Malcovich
Boys Don't Cry
Bowfinger
Bringing Out the Dead
Cookies Fortune
Dogma
Dreamlife of Fishes
Election
Eyes Wide Shut
Galaxy Quest
Magnolia
October Sky
Princess Mononoke
Run Lola Run
Sleepy Hollow--Artistic and Set Direction
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
The Blair Witch Project
The End of the Affair
The Iron Giant
The Matrix
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Three Kings
Three Seasons
The Green Mile
Toy Story 2
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Saturday, August 21, 2004 |
Have you ever thought that you had discovered your purpose in life only to realize after a few years that you were wrong? Maybe it is not that you were necessarily wrong, but that once you had reached a certain point in your life, you felt your life was stagnating and that there was something you needed to incorporate to reach that new plateau, that new self.
I'm feeling this way at the moment. If I could explain how it feels, I would say it is like rock hunting along an agate beach. I'm looking for the most colorful and unique seaworn agates, hoping one of them describes what the direction in my life should be. Do I search for a more demanding job? Do I change vocations?
I pick up the best agates, put them in my pocket, and take them home. Late at night, I take them out and ponder over them, turning them over and again wondering which one is the secret to a new success. Finally, I pray: "God, reach through your secret veil and touch the stone that will make me whole. If you do not see any stone to your satisfaction, please transform them all to manna so I may have the sustenance to continue searching tomorrow."
11:48:35 PM | |
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Friday, August 20, 2004 |
From the Associated Press yesterday, Kennedy was not allowed to board a plane because his name was on the no fly watch list:
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard this morning from one of its own about some of the problems with airline "no fly" watch lists. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., says he had a close encounter with the lists when trying to take the U.S. Airways shuttle out of Washington to Boston. The ticket agent wouldn't let him on the plane. His name was on the list in error.
After a flurry of phone calls, Kennedy was able to fly home, but then the same thing happened coming back to Washington.
Kennedy says it took three calls to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to get his name stricken from the list. The process took several weeks, in all.'
I don't believe for a moment that Ridge and Co. mistakenly placed Kennedy's name on the list. This is more along the lines of a unconscionable practical joke are outright intimidation tactic. More importantly, this incident seems to be futher evidence that innocents are often the victims of programs such as this and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Check out Steve's excellent research and commentary over at Absit Invidia about the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
7:25:21 PM | |
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Though I liked my comments about the GOP tactics being reminiscent of high school cliques, Marshall’s similar comments are far and away better, further evidence of why Marshall....well....simply.....why Marshall is a god and worshipped by many as one of the best analysts around.
Consider for a moment what the big game is here. This is a battle between two candidates to demonstrate toughness on national security. Toughness is a unitary quality, really -- a personal, characterological quality rather than one rooted in policy or divisible in any real way. So both sides are trying to prove to undecided voters either that they're tougher than the other guy or at least tough enough for the job.
In a post-9/11 environment, obviously, this question of strength, toughness or resolve is particularly salient. That, of course, is why so much of this debate is about war and military service in the first place.
One way -- perhaps the best way -- to demonstrate someone's lack of toughness or strength is to attack them and show they are either unwilling or unable to defend themselves -- thus the rough slang I used above. And that I think is a big part of what is happening here. Someone who can't or won't defend themselves certainly isn't someone you can depend upon to defend you.
Demonstrating Kerry's unwillingness to defend himself (if Bush can do that) is a far more tangible sign of what he's made of than wartime experiences of thirty years ago.
Hitting someone and not having them hit back hurts the morale of that person's supporters, buoys the confidence of your own backers (particularly if many tend toward an authoritarian mindset) and tends to make the person who's receiving the hits into an object of contempt (even if also possibly also one of sympathy) in the eyes of the uncommitted.
This is certainly what Bush's father did to Michael Dukakis and, sadly, it is what Bush himself did, to a great degree, to Al Gore.
In other ways, Bush's bully-boy campaign tactics play to his strengths, albeit unstated and unlovely ones. Many of the polls of the president have shown that while people don't necessarily agree with the specific policies he's pursued abroad many also intuitively believe that there's no one who will hit back harder. There's some of that 'he may be a son-of-a-bitch but he's our son-of-a-bitch' quality to the president's support on national security issues.
This meta-message behind the president's attacks on Kerry's war record is more consequential than many believe. So hitting back hard was critical on many levels.
7:11:58 PM | |
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Thursday, August 19, 2004 |
Gary Hart argued convincingly in a Salon article "The New Caesars" published today that our invasion of Iraq smells [my term] of imperialism and that we should not go the route of 65 B.C. Rome. Great read. Here is a taste:
Why should we care one way or the other [if we become imperialistic]? The answer is simple. The United States cannot be simultaneously republic and empire. For evidence, see Rome (circa 65 B.C.). We salute the flag of the United States of America "and the Republic for which it stands." Since the time of the Greek city-states, republics have shared certain immutable qualities: civic virtue or citizen participation, popular sovereignty, resistance to corruption (by special interests) and a sense of the common good. Empires consolidate power in the hands of the few; seek expanded influence, by force if necessary; export centralized administrations to foreign lands; dictate terms to lesser powers, and manage foreign occupied peoples for their own political and commercial advantage.
The Bush administration neocons claim none of these characteristics for their imperial actions in Iraq. They claim to want only what is best for the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people seem to be resisting, sometimes in murderous ways, these benign boons. Even more to the point, even if one were to concede the best motives to the neocons (and that represents a real struggle), the imperial project is not who we are or who we should wish to become. Woodrow Wilson cannot be claimed as prophet here, even cynically, for his internationalism was benign, not militaristic, and internationalist, not unilateralist. These are huge differences.
The imperial project is in direct contradiction to America's constitutional principles. We are a republic, not an empire, and we are a republic much in need of restoration, as the erosion of the quality of resistance to corruption and the erosion of the exercise of civic virtue testify. America's 21st century project should be restoring our republic, not projecting imperial power into venues we are, by our very nature, unequipped to dominate.
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Bush has yet to denounce the anti-Kerry ads created by the Swift Boat Veterans, a 527 group. Kerry explains that his silence on this matter suggests that Bush condones the ads, stating specifically "He wants them to do his dirty work."
I think Kerry is right in this assessment. Why, it is the same tactics we saw in the Republican Caucuses of 2000, in which Bush's henchmen smeared the then popular rival candidate John McCain.
Their tactic seems straight from the halls of high school--one group of kids is envious of the other groups achievements and sudden popularity so they belittle, make fun of, mock, intimidate, smear, and play practical jokes on them to get that sense of superiority. It's plain shameful that they are doing this to a legitimate veteran who received legitimate awards. (NPR reported this evening that a Washington Post article validates that what Kerry has said about his service indeed is true.)
Kerry's remarks to the International Association of Fire Fighters today about his service were noteworthy. Atrios posted them and I'd like to publish them here for your review too:
Over the last week or so, a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been attacking me. Of course, this group isn’t interested in the truth - and they’re not telling the truth. They didn’t even exist until I won the nomination for president.
But here’s what you really need to know about them. They’re funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know-he wants them to do his dirty work.
Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam.
As firefighters you risk your lives everyday. You know what it’s like to see the truth in the moment. You’re proud of what you’ve done-and so am I.
Of course, the President keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: "Bring it on."
I’m not going to let anyone question my commitment to defending America-then, now, or ever. And I’m not going to let anyone attack the sacrifice and courage of the men who saw battle with me.
And let me make this commitment today: their lies about my record will not stop me from fighting for jobs, health care, and our security - the issues that really matter to the American people.
The situation in Iraq is a mess. That is the President’s responsibility and he owes the American people an answer.
America is on track to lose more jobs than it’s gained under George Bush and he supports a tax code that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas. He owes the American people an answer.
Health care costs have exploded out of control. The President has done nothing and he owes the American people an answer.
The middle class is paying a bigger share of America’s tax burden. The President needs to answer to the American people why that is fair.
Unfortunately, those in the White House are coming from a different place than you and I. They see things a little differently than you and I. They tell us that today, when it comes to the issues that matter most, we’re getting the job done.
I guess you can say that Bush and Co. are right about one thing. They are getting the job done, the job of messing up every aspect of American life and government--education, economy, international relations, environment, health care, welfare, to name a select few.
7:47:56 PM | |
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Wednesday, August 18, 2004 |
Kudos to Chris Mathews of MSNBC's Hardball for calling Dowd, the Sr. Strategist for the Republican Party, on the carpet for the GOP's bad editing job on Kerry's anti-war statement on a Hardball show earlier this year. Let's just say that if this were a boxing match, Mathews would have been called the victor. Here is the text of the conversation. Enjoy. (Thanks to Atrios for pointing this out.)
MATTHEWS: Let me go to Matt. Do you believe that your candidate, the president of the United States, accurately reflected in his comment that John Kerry called himself-declared himself the anti-war candidate, is an accurate representative of that dial dialogue between myself and John Kerry?
MATTHEW DOWD, SR. STRATEGIST, BUSH-CHENEY ‘04: Yes. Obviously. The impression John Kerry was trying to leave when he was up against Howard Dean in the primary was he was the anti-war candidate after he voted for the resolution. That‘s obviously what he was trying to do. He was trying to leave the impression that he either was the anti-war candidate or was becoming the anti-war candidate.
MATTHEWS: Well, Matt, let me get back to what the president said in Sioux City, Iowa, last week. He said that 220 days ago, it seems to me referring to what John Kerry said on our program, that John Kerry declared himself the anti-war candidate. The question to John Kerry was about whether-let‘s listen to him again. Let‘s get his words now, John Kerry‘s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Do you think you belong in that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war? The way it‘s been fought? Along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean, and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?
KERRY: I am. Yes. In the sense that I don‘t believe the president took to us war as he should have, yes. Absolutely. Do I think this president violated his promises to America? Yes, I do, Chris. Was there a way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable? You bet there was and we should have done it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Let me go back to Matt, again, do you think that was a fair representation, what the president said about what John Kerry said to me?
DOWD: You asked John Kerry a yes or no question. You said, are you the anti-war candidate? And at...
MATTHEWS: No. I said are you one of those-are you one of the anti-war candidates?
DOWD: Yes. And he said, yes, absolutely.
MATTHEWS: No. He said, I am, yes, in the sense that I don‘t believe the president took to us war as he should have.
DOWD: Chris, Chris when you‘re...
MATTHEWS: Do you think that‘s-let me go back to what‘s-let me -
· Matt. I want to be perfectly fair here. Let‘s go back to what you guys have. Eight million supporters of the president received a videotape. Now let‘s take look at the part of it. Here‘s a clip from a video posted on Kerryoniraq.com and produced by the Republican National Committee. Let‘s take a look at it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Are you one of the anti-war candidates?
KERRY: I am. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW: Do you think that was a fair cropping of what he had to say? You cut him off after he said, yes. And you did not let him continue on to say: "in the sense that I don‘t believe the president took to us war as he should have."
DOWD: Yes. Senator Kerry said, yes, absolutely, he was the anti-war candidate. So yes, of course it‘s fair.
DEVINE: Chris, it‘s pathetic. OK? And the reason that they‘re doing this is they‘ve got nothing to say about creating jobs, providing health care or dealing with any of the issues that the voters want dealt with in this election.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, Matt, are you going to have the president stop saying that John Kerry, on our show, on HARDBALL, because that‘s what he was referring to, clearly, 220 days ago when he said this, are you going to get him to stop saying that John Kerry declared himself the anti-war candidate, which is clearly not what he said because I used the word anti-war candidate and I referred to a number of them? You say what he said on my show and he didn‘t say that. That‘s all I‘m asking.
DOWD: Chris, I would love it if you would play the full 11-minute tape that shows Kerry‘s various positions on the war as it has happened the last two years. I would be happy for to you to play that tape.
MATTHEWS: That‘s an argument you‘re making. I‘m asking you, is the president going to keep saying that something that was said on this show wasn‘t said?
DOWD: Of course he is. Why wouldn‘t he, it‘s what Senator Kerry said?
MATTHEWS: Well, because you might show-why don‘t you show him a tape of the show for 10 seconds so he‘ll get it straight.
DOWD: People, if they want to sign on to our Web site or the GOP Web site, they can see the 11-minute video and they can judge it for themselves.
MATTHEWS: But you cut off the full sentence of John Kerry.
DOWD: Chris, I‘ll let people judge it for themselves to get the full picture.
MATTHEWS: But you don‘t-you can‘t-you‘re not letting them judge it for themselves because you cut off the tape. So it only showed the first part of the sentence so they wouldn‘t get to judge it for themselves, right?
DOWD: No. We have the whole sense of the tape. You just showed on it TV. I think anybody watching this on-tonight on TV would think that Senator Kerry declared himself the anti-war candidate. I don‘t see how anybody watching wouldn‘t tell that.
MATTHEWS: Would you like to have your sentences cut down like to a third of their length and let people decide on the first three or four words what you meant by the 20 words? Let me repeat it again, what he said. I‘m not going to argue this any further tonight. I think you guys should consider taking this off your loop. I think the president ought to be shown this tape so he knows what he‘s talking about, instead of having it fed to him by somebody who doesn‘t show them full sentence. Here it is. Let‘s take it in. Can we show the tape again of John Kerry, what his answer was?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Do you think you belong in that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war? The way it‘s been fought? Along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean, and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?
KERRY: I am. Yes. In the sense that I don‘t believe the president took to us war as he should have, yes. Absolutely. Do I think this president violated his promises to America? Yes, I do, Chris. Was there a way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable? You bet there was and we should have done it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Tad, this is being used to show that Kerry is a flip-flopper and whether he is or is not is not my concern. But my concern is that this show has been used to say that he is. He voted for the resolution. Personally, I have a big problem with that. It was fine. He clearly voted for the resolution. The president is saying he voted for the war. And then the president says after he voted for the war, he said on this show, he declared himself anti-war candidate which he did not do on our show. Tell me what you think about all this.
DEVINE: I think it is a gross distortion. I think it is part of a pattern. I think they‘ve spent $100 million trying mislead the American public and I think they‘re doing it because the president‘s policies have failed on the economy, on health, and on securing the nation. And so as a result, they‘ve resorted to desperate tactics of misleading the American people. It‘s what the Bush campaign is about and unfortunately, this is the latest example.
MATTHEWS: Matt, you‘re laughing. Go ahead.
DOWD: I‘m laughing because this is the same candidate that on national television at his convention said we misled the country in the war. He said that we took the country to war when we wanted to not because we had to. In the course of his Democratic primary, I‘m willing to bet you, if you go ask the Democratic primary voters if they thought John Kerry was the anti-war candidate, they would say that he thought he did.
And now in the aftermath, after the president and we pushed him on it. He said, of course I voted for the resolution. I would have voted for it even without the other information he said we needed. John Kerry knew what he was voting for. He knew what he was voting for in 1991 when he voted against the resolution to go to war. So he knows what these resolutions mean. He said in 1991, it was not to send a message but a vote for war.
MATTHEWS: Matt, there‘s a case where I agree with you. I think that the resolution was a blank check for George Bush to go to war. I completely agree with you. What I disagree with you is that you guys have accurately represented what was said on our program. That‘s what I‘m concerned with. Let‘s take a look. By the way, for people out there who want to judge this for themselves, we‘re going to post, using modern technology, that clip of my interview with John Kerry on our Web site so everybody can look at the whole exchange not just the cropped version put up by the Bush people. Hardball.MSNBC.com. Check it out for yourself.
9:32:33 PM | |
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Tuesday, August 17, 2004 |
Sunday evening, I was running the canyon path through the wooded picnic area of Bridal Veil Park. The park was alive with activity. A large group of adults congregated along the south side of the picnic area. Some of them had broken away from the main body, setting themselves apart into two groups and stretching the distance between them so they could successfully throw the football back and forth. Many retreated to less hectic areas of the park to mingle while some busily laid out a spread of treats and snacks.
The running path through the park was also busy with families, lovers, and runners treading up to and back from the waterfall. Families walked in small groups like a mini solar system--the parents at the core and the children walking around them like planets. A few kids however were like comets, darting out and away from the system, only to fly back into the system at a latter time, forcing everyone else to move or get caught in a collision. The runners, me included, darted back and forth on the path, running around and through these groups of walkers as if they were mere obstacles in a game. It's truly an act of perception--discerning peoples movements in relation to yours.
As I run, I focus on the path ahead of me, except when I get close enough to runners or walkers running the opposite direction. I usually look their way and greet them. Of course, sometimes when I am deep in thought or in a faster pace that doesn't allow me to break the rhythm of my breathing, I won't say anything. I'll just nod or smile.
As I was running through the park, taking a mental note of the activity going on about me, I suddenly passed a family going the opposite direction and noticed something disturbing.
I noticed a thin African American boy, probably twelve or thirteen years of age. His eyes were wide with interest in me. That's what caught my attention first, his eyes and face. His eyes looked down to his chest. My eyes followed suit. I noticed the movement of his left hand. It was playing with something wrapped around his right wrist, which he held up close to his chest. It was at this time that I noticed he was attached to a leash that was being held close by an overweight white woman. Her husband, who seemed overweight also, walked on the other side. And if I recall correctly, there were a few of their offspring (all younger than the African American boy) walking with them. None of them were wearing a leash. They didn't have a dog.
My first impression was to cry out "Why is he wearing a leash?" But by the time I was thinking this, I had passed them. I thought to myself that I should turn around and confront them. But I had to dodge another group of walkers. My instinct disappeared.
The image of his eyes and the leash he wore plagued me the remaining quarter of a mile to the falls. I decided I would go back and find them. Turning around, I picked up my pace and returned to where I saw them in the park. They were nowhere to be seen.
I ran through the parking lot, trying to see if I could see anyone who fit the description. I tried to check a car and a mini-van that were leaving, both with out of state licence plates--Idaho and California. Both had tinted windows so I couldn't see in the rear seats. And because I didn't get a good look at the faces of the woman and man, I was left with nothing except for a broken spirit.
I have studied and been taught principles that should have prepared me to be an advocate of what is right--to help those in need. At least that's what I have prided myself about. And yet, when the opportunity to help someone occurs before my very eyes, I freeze and let him slip away. I should have given voice to my initial impression and at least requested information from the parents.
As I ran the remaining three-and-a-half miles down the canyon, I considered questions about what I saw. What foster parent or parent of an adopted child allows a child to wear a leash? Why was the woman holding the leash so tightly to her side? Why were the other family members overweight but him?
More than this, though, the vision of those eyes looking at me haunted the path. I saw them in the faces of the walkers and runners I encountered down the path. I saw them in my wife's face as I walked into the house and explained what I had witnessed and failed to do.
I have convinced myself that he was revealing a secret to me. It's not good enough reasoning otherwise. We can't make a difference standing mute at the sight of what offends us.
11:26:44 PM | |
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Wednesday, August 04, 2004 |
I'm heading off on vacation till August 16th. If I can get setup to post using my laptop (and depending on whether the beach house has Internet access) then I will attempt blogging. If not, have a great week watching the Olympics. Take care.
10:53:04 PM | |
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If I had the time right now, I'd love to add a few things to this list. But I don't....so I won't. I noticed it over at Rayne Today, who copped it from Calypso Dragon 13.
1. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
3. Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness.
4. "Standing Tall for America," means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.
5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
6. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
7. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
8. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.
9. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
10. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
11. HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.
12. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.
13. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.
15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.
18. You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have a right to adopt.
19. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.
20. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
10:46:18 PM | |
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MoveOn and PAC have put together a concert tour focused on getting Bush out of office. Look at the line up of bands:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Babyface, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, My Morning Jacket, Keb' Mo' and Bright Eyes.
A MoveOn email quotes Mike Mills of R.E.M. saying the following about the tour: "...this unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction."
But check out what Bruce Springstein says on his website about participating in the event:
"I think that the government has drifted too far from American values. After 9/11, I was like everybody else -- I supported going into Afghanistan, and I felt tremendous unity in the country that I don’t think I’ve ever felt exactly like that before. It was a moment of great sadness, but also tremendous possibility. And I think that was dashed when we jumped headlong into the Iraq war, which I never understood, and I talked about that on the road. I never understood how or why we really ended up there. We offered up the lives of the best of our young people under circumstances that have been discredited. I had to live through that when I was young myself, and for any of us that lived through the Vietnam War, it was just very devastating."
"Along with that, the deficits, the squeezing of services like the after-school services for the kids who need it the most, the big windfall tax cuts, the division of wealth that has threatened our connection to one another over the past 20 years that is increasing…. these are things that as the election time neared -- I couldn’t really keep true to the ideas that I’d written about for 30 years without weighing in on this one."
"I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before in my lifetime. I think that the freedoms that we’ve taken for granted -- I spoke about this on the road a little bit, too -- they are slowly being eroded. In the past I've gotten involved in a lot of grassroots organizations that sort of expressed my views, and where I thought I could be of some small help. I guess I’ve been doing that for about 20 years, and that was a way that I was very happy to work. I always believed that it was good for the artist to remain distant from the seat of power, to retain your independent voice, and that was the way I liked to conduct my work. But the stakes in this one are just too high. I felt like, given what I’ve written about, the things that I’ve wanted our band to stand for over the years, it’s just too big a battle to lay out of."
..."Myself, I like John Kerry a lot. I don’t think he has all the answers, or that John Edwards has all the answers, but I think they have the experience, the life experience, and I think they have the sincerity to ask the hard questions about America and to try to search for honest solutions. I believe they’re going to do that. And I don’t feel that way about the guys who are in there right now. I feel that trust has been broken, and there’s no going back."
(Thanks to Geraldine Sealy of the War Room 2004 for pointing this out today.)
I was hoping to see these names as well -- Outkast, Josh Groban, Usher, Linkin Park, etc. The list seems to be lacking ethnic/cultural diversity. But I can understand if these bands are already on tour.
10:39:20 PM | |
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Tuesday, August 03, 2004 |
Mark Kleiman has a great post regarding the ideal of respect, imparticularly in light of how this Administration defines it. Consider this:
....If you treat others with contempt, you deprive them of the option of respecting you while maintaining their own self-respect. If they're too afraid of you to return your contempt, then hatred is the only remaining option. The lack of respect for the rest of the world that has marked the Bush foreign policy from its inception has left as its legacy the contempt of most of Europe (look how heavy a political burden it is to be a Bush supporter even in the UK) and the hatred of the Muslim world. Sometimes it's necessary to incur the wrath of others; the problem with the current Administration is that they seem to glory in it.
Contempt for others sometimes comes from a lack of real self-respect, from a self-concept so uncertain that it must prove its toughness, assert its masculinity, by "dissing" others. Real self-assurance is generous of spirit.
Amen, Mark! Read the rest of his post, A Decent Respect.
9:39:33 PM | |
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Monday, August 02, 2004 |
Recently, Lucas and Company revealed that the title of Star Wars Episode 3 will be Revenge of the Sith. 1) YAWN! 2) Either it was copped directly from "Revenge of the Nerds" or it just sounds too much like that title. Either way, not good.
Also recently, AFI penned Darth Vador as the greatest villain in film history. Well you sure wouldn't know that from the latest two episodes of Star Wars. There simply is no logical psychological transformation taking place from the Annie of the first episode to the one we see fall in love and throw tantrums in the second episode. What I'm trying to say is that Darth Vador was a dynamic character; Anakin Skywalker is a paper cutout.
In light of the Revenge of the Sith, I have come up with some of my own titles (stealing titles of some of the greatest films). Enjoy!
Apocalypse A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away
Annie Get Your Light Saber
Annie Flies Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Annie Goes Goth
Annie Without A Cause
Annie Becomes a Dead-beat Dad
Annie Strikes Back
Annie Gets Really Mad
The Sith Connection
End of An Empire
Death of a Jedi
Return of Another Mediocre Film But At Least This is the Last One
Crouching Jedi, Hidden Sith
Gone With the Force
Anakin Skywalker and the Master's Light Saber
Princess Amidali and the Seven Jedi
Star Wars Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Focus on the Special Effects
8:30:54 PM | |
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I agree with Sydney's take on Kerry's speech. From Salon's article Reclaiming "Democracy Itself":
...Kerry had to present himself as the most capable of mastering these crises. And he had to prove his credibility simply through his words. He had to create the event that would determine his future and in effect the nation's completely alone. "Never has there been a moment more urgent for Americans to step up and define ourselves," Kerry said in his speech.
And Kerry did more than that for himself, his candidacy, the Democrats and the campaign. Facing the action, as when he turned his Swift boat in the Mekong to attack the enemy, he seemed suddenly to course with adrenaline. His meandering sentences of the past were replaced by a crisp fluency. With withering disdain that never stooped to insult, he set himself against Bush and his works. The Democrats gasped and were held breathless at his daring in attacking the religious right and its intolerance, in directly addressing Bush by name and demanding that he cease desecrating the Constitution (well understood as nailing Bush for his support for an amendment against gay marriage), in defending science against Bush's cynical suppression, in holding Bush to account for his arrogant and incompetent conduct of the Iraq war, and in his forceful advocacy of economic equity and national health insurance as a right. Each phrase, delivered with self-confident force, succeeded in diminishing Bush and lending Kerry stature....Time and again, Kerry represented himself as the future president.
7:01:50 PM | |
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Eat your heart out Lucas!
Shrek 2 took in $1.3 million dollars over the weekend to gross an overall box office total of $432.4 million dollars, passing "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" to become No. 4 on the all-time domestic chart.
6:51:13 PM | |
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After capitalizing off of Reagan's passing, the GOP can't get it right with the Reagans. Within the past week, for instance, Nancy Reagan politely refused an invitation to attend the GOP convention later this month. The Democrats, on the other hand, have picked up Nancy's cause for stem cell research, which they should do. But, to top of the discontent surely has to be Ron Reagan's vocally negative comments regarding the current administration. The latest blow has just been published in the September issue of Esquire--the article "The Case Against George W. Bush." In a nutshell, Ron Reagan says this Administration is one big lie. Consider these two paragraphs:
Politicians will stretch the truth. They'll exaggerate their accomplishments, paper over their gaffes. Spin has long been the lingua franca of the political realm. But George W. Bush and his administration have taken 'normal' mendacity to a startling new level far beyond lies of convenience. On top of the usual massaging of public perception, they traffic in big lies, indulge in any number of symptomatic small lies, and, ultimately, have come to embody dishonesty itself. They are a lie. And people, finally, have started catching on.
And consider this incredible opening:
It may have been the guy in the hood teetering on the stool, electrodes clamped to his genitals. Or smirking Lynndie England and her leash. Maybe it was the smarmy memos tapped out by soft-fingered lawyers itching to justify such barbarism. The grudging, lunatic retreat of the neocons from their long-standing assertion that Saddam was in cahoots with Osama didn't hurt. Even the Enron audiotapes and their celebration of craven sociopathy likely played a part. As a result of all these displays and countless smaller ones, you could feel, a couple of months back, as summer spread across the country, the ground shifting beneath your feet. Not unlike that scene in The Day After Tomorrow, then in theaters, in which the giant ice shelf splits asunder, this was more a paradigm shift than anything strictly tectonic. No cataclysmic ice age, admittedly, yet something was in the air, and people were inhaling deeply. I began to get calls from friends whose parents had always voted Republican, "but not this time." There was the staid Zbigniew Brzezinski on the staid NewsHour with Jim Lehrer sneering at the "Orwellian language" flowing out of the Pentagon. Word spread through the usual channels that old hands from the days of Bush the Elder were quietly (but not too quietly) appalled by his son's misadventure in Iraq. Suddenly, everywhere you went, a surprising number of folks seemed to have had just about enough of what the Bush administration was dishing out. A fresh age appeared on the horizon, accompanied by the sound of scales falling from people's eyes. It felt something like a demonstration of that highest of American prerogatives and the most deeply cherished American freedom: dissent.
Dissent, indeed!
6:42:00 PM | |
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