In response to 30 minutes
I've read Lewis Lapham's article in Harpers and figured my response should be made on a fresh blog entry. Not because of anything earthshaking I have to say but because I feel strongly that this issue is critical to our country's future. Now I know that's a rather melodramatic come-on but I'm quite serious.
Lapham's article traces in detail the history of the Bush administration's involvement in Iraq. Most of us have heard the story and have probably forgotten most of it.
The key paragraph for me is this. After this Bush quote - "We're at war.....we must protect the country's secrets," Lapham says,
"No, the country isn't at war, and it's not America's secrets that the President seeks to protect. The country is threatened by free-booting terrorists unaligned with a foreign government or an enemy army; the secrets are those of the Bush administration, chief among them its determination to replace a democratic republic with something more safely totalitarian. The fiction of permanent war allows it to seize, in the name of national security, the instruments of tyranny." (my italics)
Pretty radical, eh? I'm not so sure.
Now I'm no card carrying republican, but I've always felt more akin to their philosophy than that of the democrats.
And I've always been willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt. I sometimes feel like his chief apologist in these debates.
But I wasn't real sure about this good ol' boy right from the get-go. The smirk was the first thing. And then his military record. For Viet vet such as me his behavior is really unforgivable - and Cheney's ain't much better.
But this whole deal with Iraq is out of control.
Other than my wife and my brothers and their wives, I don't know how the rest of you out in blogland feel about it. Maybe you don't feel much at all. (did i push your button?)
Some might say this isn't the proper forum but where better than here?
This bum has to be stopped and I think that talk, talk, and more talk keeps the ball rolling.
For those of you who get this Harpers issue, please note the ACLU ad on the page following the article. The White House phone number is given in hopes that you'll express your displeasure with illegal spying. The fact that I'm scared to call the number is very telling in itself.
Jim, not Marg
Lapham's article traces in detail the history of the Bush administration's involvement in Iraq. Most of us have heard the story and have probably forgotten most of it.
The key paragraph for me is this. After this Bush quote - "We're at war.....we must protect the country's secrets," Lapham says,
"No, the country isn't at war, and it's not America's secrets that the President seeks to protect. The country is threatened by free-booting terrorists unaligned with a foreign government or an enemy army; the secrets are those of the Bush administration, chief among them its determination to replace a democratic republic with something more safely totalitarian. The fiction of permanent war allows it to seize, in the name of national security, the instruments of tyranny." (my italics)
Pretty radical, eh? I'm not so sure.
Now I'm no card carrying republican, but I've always felt more akin to their philosophy than that of the democrats.
And I've always been willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt. I sometimes feel like his chief apologist in these debates.
But I wasn't real sure about this good ol' boy right from the get-go. The smirk was the first thing. And then his military record. For Viet vet such as me his behavior is really unforgivable - and Cheney's ain't much better.
But this whole deal with Iraq is out of control.
Other than my wife and my brothers and their wives, I don't know how the rest of you out in blogland feel about it. Maybe you don't feel much at all. (did i push your button?)
Some might say this isn't the proper forum but where better than here?
This bum has to be stopped and I think that talk, talk, and more talk keeps the ball rolling.
For those of you who get this Harpers issue, please note the ACLU ad on the page following the article. The White House phone number is given in hopes that you'll express your displeasure with illegal spying. The fact that I'm scared to call the number is very telling in itself.
Jim, not Marg
posted by Junglechina at 2/20/2006 07:14:00 PM
5 Comments:
James, thanks for reading the essay and for those perceptive comments. i'm finding more and more people here in the heart of somerset country's republicanville are finally turning on this administration. i have no idea what has taken so long but better late in a democracy than never.
call that number. write fuk you dick cheney on a thousand emails a day. write em letters. write em postcards. tell em you're an upper middle class american white man who fought in nam, runs his own buisiness, pays his taxes, and you've had enough. have no fear, they're just bullies. nixon's antics were child's play compared to these dudes.
what next? maybe we need to rethink the 2 term limit. certain bloggers insist rove has been talking about it.
i'm in the middle of a huge tome about fascist italy under mussolini from 1920 thru 1945. 25 yrs. of fascism. in italy. a country of pretty easy going people. scary shit what happened there. and it was all accomplished by the use of a single component: fear. it started with fear of economic collapse. then fear of foreign invasion. then fear of communists and socialists. then fear of your own neighbors.
i'm afraid of my neighbor. he's a local cop who had his reelect bush sign up for over a year.
Jim, I agree with you. Bush is the greater threat. Among many other things, he has admitted to wiretapping Americans without a warrant, a violation of the Constitution and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The White House is claiming that Democrats are the only ones objecting to the program, but there is strong bipartisan concern. Republicans like Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, John McCain and Arlen Specter have offered some of the harshest criticism of the program.
Anyone who agrees that Bush and Co. need to be stopped should take the time to write to their reps in Congress—especially the Republicans—and ask them whether they’re willing to stand up for the Constitution instead of continuing this cowardly toeing of the party line. Since they’re the majority, they’re the ones who have to lead the way to determining whether Bush broke the law.
Fella's there is plenty of fighting ahead for the good ole USA.Long after Bush and Cheney will be fightin.Its what we do.Look at Iraq as a place for the next "Greatest Generation" to hone their skills. Rich
you boys better pull up your dresses your paranoias showing
this is good that we have our own personal rush and sean right here on our family blog. keeps up the entertainment value.
the only difference is rush and sean get paid very handsomely to spew their ultra rightwing rhetoric that i doubt very much they even believe. nobody could buy that much bullshit. but they enjoy the celebrity and the big money and lots of pats on the back from the fatcats.
i wonder, what are your excuses?
did you read the essay? if so, do you really think it's okay to just toss it off as another abuse of power? don't you think they should be held accountable for drawing us into a war of their own fabrication?
i think your acceptance of the status quo is the real paranoia, and your flippant attitude nothing more than apathy.
in mussolini's italy the fascists often refused to sign their names to billboards, phamplets, and editorials.
do i smell a budding fascist in our midst? maybe he'll call uncle dicky c. and report that a bunch of jersey lefties are trying to undermine the war on terror.
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