October 28, 2006
Random But Insightful Thoughts*
Keith Olbermann: Bush is "lying"
Bob Woodward: Bush is in "denial"
They're both missing the point.
This isn't about Bush lying. All politicians "lie." And he's not in "denial," although I have proven that Bush is mentally ill
Bush knows that 60% of the country will never believe a word he says. But no matter how many "lies" he tells, no matter how many times he refuses to see what everyone else sees, no matter how many times he contradicts himself, no matter how many times he stands logic on its head, and no matter how many knots he spins himself into, he also knows that 40% of the country will believe every word he says. And that's all that matters to a President and political party that doesn't care about anything except keeping the base riled up and angry at liberals.
So Bush has no reason admit the truth, no reason to admit the obvious, and certainly no reason to admit he was wrong...about anything. Quite the contrary. He has great reason to be arrogant, obstinate, combative and duplicitous: to hang on to his base and make sure they go out and vote. That's what Republican spin does; and there's nothing more important, not even the lives and limbs of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (remember them?).
And because Bush, Karl Rove and the GOP have done such a great job yanking that leash they've attached to the noses of their brainwashed base - who they've gotten to sit, stay, and roll over on command - the spin couldn't work any better (if only they took their jobs half as seriously!).
For instance, when the "liberal media" reports some good economic news, or reports that Clinton had opportunities to kill Osama bin Laden, conservatives cheer it on. But when the media reports some bad economic news, or reports that "no WMDs were found in Iraq" - or Keith Olbermann or Jon Stewart catches Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld or Condoleezza Rice in blatant hypocrisy or a blatant contradiction - well, it's the "liberal" media and it can't be believed.
So Bush and the Republican Party can't lose! No wonder half the country believes WMD's were found in Iraq!
We can hand the moronic Republican base a mountain of facts, logic and evidence that proves just how corrupt, criminal, incompetent, reckless, irresponsible and disastrous Bush and the Republican Party is. I know I have. But it's like trying to reason with a hockey puck because conservatives will just cover their ears and shout "la-la-la-la-la....you're a liberal...la-la-la-la-la...you're a liberal!"...just like their trained to.
So the GOP has a great thing going because Bush can say the Earth is flat, 2+2=47, and the sun rises in the west and sets in the east - and question the patriotism of anyone that has the nerve to say otherwise - because he knows full well that his cultish base will not only believe it, but pick up his talking points word for word (December 2007 insert: Former White House Communications aide Dan Bartlett admits it) and shout them at liberals (which is what they live for. See conservative talk radio).
And in our polluted political world where there's no such thing a civil discussion or honest debate, that's all that matters. And that's exactly how the GOP wants it because if their base ever realized what the Republican Party is truly all about - insert hysterical laughter here - no one would vote for them ever again. So it always has to be about liberals.
Ruthless, authoritarian Arab regimes have been able to stay in power using the exact same tactics; only the enemy's are different - Democrats and liberals as opposed to Jews and Israel (the similarities to the Nazis are scary).
So this isn't about Bush "lying" or that he's in "denial." This is all spin...that only the ignorant and weak-minded are believing.
July 3, 2007 insert: With Bush commuting Scooter Libby's 30 month prison sentence, he not only needed to divert attention from the hypocrisy of it, but also needed to rile up his base at the same time. So the powerful GOP propaganda machine tried once again to make Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson, both public servants who did their jobs to the best of their abilities, the bad guys as if her "outing" was their (Plame and Wilson's) fault (remember, the Republican Party always needs an enemy). And that just gave the conservative base another opportunity to scream at liberals. Next time the enemy will be someone else.
July 7, 2007 insert: Didn't take long, did it? When Bill Clinton - the rights favorite whipping boy - offered his opinion on the commutation, it was the best gift the White House could have asked for because it gave spokesman Tony Snow the opportunity to slam Clinton. And that allowed the GOP base to continue screaming at liberals which is exactly what Snow's comments were designed to do.
GOP House Leadership ignores a pedophile
If a school principal learned that one of his teachers had engaged in sexual Internet chats with one of his students - and also learned that this teacher had a history of inappropriate contact with his students - and did nothing about it, how long would that principal have his job? Nuff said.
But I'll keep the Mark Foley cover up (July 2007 insert: and Scooter Libby's commutation) in mind the next time sanctimonious, self-righteous and arrogant Republicans accuse liberals of being "soft on crime."
Conservatives ask for apology from liberals
When Karl Rove wasn't indicated for his involvement in the leaking of Valerie Plame's name, pompous conservatives demanded an apology from liberals because they had accused Rove of being one of the leakers. But the lack of an indictment doesn't vindicate Rove at all (if it did, why hasn't he made himself available to the media so he can not only explain just how innocent he is, but to also get back at the evil liberals who smeared his name? The fact that he hasn't speaks volumes. And using the upcoming "Scooter" Libby trial as an excuse as to why he "couldn't talk about it" is too convenient, especially for a manipulative, conniving, vindictive political hack like Rove).But now that it has been proven by two National Intelligence Estimates that the Iraq war has "increased Islamic radicalism"
Keith Olbermann: Bush is "lying"
Bob Woodward: Bush is in "denial"
They're both missing the point.
This isn't about Bush lying. All politicians "lie." And he's not in "denial," although I have proven that Bush is mentally ill. This is about playing to your base with political spin. Nothing more and nothing less.
Bush knows that 60% of the country will never believe a word he says. But no matter how many "lies" he tells, no matter how many times he refuses to see what everyone else sees, no matter how many times he contradicts himself, no matter how many times he stands logic on its head, and no matter how many knots he spins himself into, he also knows that 40% of the country will believe every word he says. And that's all that matters to a President and political party that doesn't care about anything except keeping the base riled up and angry at liberals.
So Bush has no reason admit the truth, no reason to admit the obvious, and certainly no reason to admit he was wrong...about anything. Quite the contrary. He has great reason to be arrogant, obstinate, combative and duplicitous: to hang on to his base and make sure they go out and vote. That's what Republican spin does; and there's nothing more important, not even the lives and limbs of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (remember them?).
And because Bush, Karl Rove and the GOP have done such a great job yanking that leash they've attached to the noses of their brainwashed base - who they've gotten to sit, stay, and roll over on command - the spin couldn't work any better (if only they took their jobs half as seriously!).
For instance, when the "liberal media" reports some good economic news, or reports that Clinton had opportunities to kill Osama bin Laden, conservatives cheer it on. But when the media reports some bad economic news, or reports that "no WMDs were found in Iraq" - or Keith Olbermann or Jon Stewart catches Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld or Condoleezza Rice in blatant hypocrisy or a blatant contradiction - well, it's the "liberal" media and it can't be believed.
So Bush and the Republican Party can't lose! No wonder half the country believes WMD's were found in Iraq!
We can hand the moronic Republican base a mountain of facts, logic and evidence that proves just how corrupt, criminal, incompetent, reckless, irresponsible and disastrous Bush and the Republican Party is. I know I have. But it's like trying to reason with a hockey puck because conservatives will just cover their ears and shout "la-la-la-la-la....you're a liberal...la-la-la-la-la...you're a liberal!"...just like their trained to.
So the GOP has a great thing going because Bush can say the Earth is flat, 2+2=47, and the sun rises in the west and sets in the east - and question the patriotism of anyone that has the nerve to say otherwise - because he knows full well that his cultish base will not only believe it, but pick up his talking points word for word (December 2007 insert: Former White House Communications aide Dan Bartlett admits it) and shout them at liberals (which is what they live for. See conservative talk radio).
And in our polluted political world where there's no such thing a civil discussion or honest debate, that's all that matters. And that's exactly how the GOP wants it because if their base ever realized what the Republican Party is truly all about - insert hysterical laughter here - no one would vote for them ever again. So it always has to be about liberals.
Ruthless, authoritarian Arab regimes have been able to stay in power using the exact same tactics; only the enemy's are different - Democrats and liberals as opposed to Jews and Israel (the similarities to the Nazis are scary).
So this isn't about Bush "lying" or that he's in "denial." This is all spin...that only the ignorant and weak-minded are believing.
July 3, 2007 insert: With Bush commuting Scooter Libby's 30 month prison sentence, he not only needed to divert attention from the hypocrisy of it, but also needed to rile up his base at the same time. So the powerful GOP propaganda machine tried once again to make Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson, both public servants who did their jobs to the best of their abilities, the bad guys as if her "outing" was their (Plame and Wilson's) fault (remember, the Republican Party always needs an enemy). And that just gave the conservative base another opportunity to scream at liberals. Next time the enemy will be someone else.
July 7, 2007 insert: Didn't take long, did it? When Bill Clinton - the rights favorite whipping boy - offered his opinion on the commutation, it was the best gift the White House could have asked for because it gave spokesman Tony Snow the opportunity to slam Clinton. And that allowed the GOP base to continue screaming at liberals which is exactly what Snow's comments were designed to do.
GOP House Leadership ignores a pedophile
If a school principal learned that one of his teachers had engaged in sexual Internet chats with one of his students - and also learned that this teacher had a history of inappropriate contact with his students - and did nothing about it, how long would that principal have his job? Nuff said.
But I'll keep the Mark Foley cover up (July 2007 insert: and Scooter Libby's commutation) in mind the next time sanctimonious, self-righteous and arrogant Republicans accuse liberals of being "soft on crime."
Conservatives ask for apology from liberals
When Karl Rove wasn't indicated for his involvement in the leaking of Valerie Plame's name, pompous conservatives demanded an apology from liberals because they had accused Rove of being one of the leakers. But the lack of an indictment doesn't vindicate Rove at all (if it did, why hasn't he made himself available to the media so he can not only explain just how innocent he is, but to also get back at the evil liberals who smeared his name? The fact that he hasn't speaks volumes. And using the upcoming "Scooter" Libby trial as an excuse as to why he "couldn't talk about it" is too convenient, especially for a manipulative, conniving, vindictive political hack like Rove).But now that it has been proven by two National Intelligence Estimates that the Iraq war has "increased Islamic radicalism" (more terrorists are being created), and that there were no links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda - both contrary to what Bush has been saying all along - where's the apology from conservatives to liberals (and me!) who have been saying that all along?
Bush: "We're gonna stay the course in Iraq"
Bush and the White House are now denying that he was ever for "staying the course." But evidence to the contrary has easily been proven otherwise.
I'd go as far to say that the White House is even insulting the intelligence of their base with this one, but they don't have any intelligence to insult.
Be that as it may. When it comes to this administration, there's one quote that trumps everything they've said (or should I say "not said?") the past five years.
"Words mean things!"
- Rush Limbaugh, everyday during the Clinton years.
Where's the outrage?
When it comes to abortion, stem cells and pulling the feeding tube from "brain dead" patients, "pro-life" Republicans don't shut the hell up. But when it comes to over 20,000 senseless American casualties in Iraq - so far - hundreds of thousands of senseless Iraqi casualties - so far - and torturing prisoners, we don't hear a peep out of them.
Yup, sounds like Republican logic to me!
And you can be sure that if Clinton was responsible for this disaster, the GOP would not only have impeached him by now, but thrown him in jail a long time ago.
Yup, sounds like Republican hypocrisy to me!
Conservatives to liberals: "you're just blinded by your hatred for Bush!"
Well, let's see: Bush ignored the al-Qaeda threats in 2001 and because of his gross incompetence didn't even try and prevent the 9/11 attacks, deliberately lied the country into an unnecessary war in Iraq that has turned into a colossal disaster - and pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 2002 to do so which has created another disaster - has stretched the military dangerously thin, is responsible for the volatility around the world, destabilizing the Mideast, and creating more terrorists and terrorism, cut taxes during wartime, destroyed the nations credibility, exploded the budget deficit and debt, appeased the oil, coal, gas, timber, banking, insurance and pharmaceutical industries, turned his back on New Orleans, is spying on Americans without a warrant, rescinded habeas corpus, acted like a belligerent, spoiled child, hasn't admitted to a single mistake, and has played nasty partisan politics for the sole purpose of keeping his pugnacious base riled up and angry and liberals as if all that is our fault.
Liberals hate Bush? Gee, I wonder why.
But how come it's alright for conservatives to have a passionate hatred Bill and Hillary Clinton from the moment he announced his candidacy for President in 1991, but it's wrong for liberals to hate Bush when we have a darn good reason to?
Yup, sounds like more Republican hypocrisy to me!
For the most part, whenever Republicans ridicule Clinton, it's never about his intellect; it's personal - his affairs, Monica Lewinsky, Whitewater, he "didn't inhale," etc.
But that's all they can do since Clinton was a smart guy and a pretty good President considering the Republicans wouldn't let him scratch his nose without making a federal case out of it - literally (which was, and still is, designed to keep the GOP base riled up and angry at liberals because, again, that's all that matters).
But when it comes to liberals ridiculing Bush, it is about his intellect (or lack thereof) and disastrous record; rarely personal.
Speaks volumes, doesn't it?
Bush and the GOP: "Democrats want to 'cut and run' from Iraq!"
So let me see if I have this straight: it's wrong when Democrats want to "cut and run" from Iraq after more then three years of mounting casualties, but it was alright when Ronald Reagan "cut and ran" from Lebanon in 1984, just four months after the terrorist attack on their barracks.
Yup, sounds like more Republican hypocrisy to me!
GOP: "You can't negotiate with terrorists you stupid liberals!"
So ignoring Iran and North Korea as if they were the rival bullies on the other side of the playground were the right things to do? And going to war in Iraq without letting the inspectors do their job was also the right thing to do?
But I'd like to point out to Republicans that "negotiating" with our enemy's and doing everything possible to prevent confrontation and war was always at the forefront of American foreign policy; at least it was before these schnooks took over.
But let me see if I have this straight: it's prudent for us to act belligerent and be skeptical of the Iranians and Koreans, but when Iranians and Koreans act belligerent and are skeptical of us because they're facing a proven madman in the White House, they're "terrorists you can't trust" and we're not.
Yup, sounds like more Republican logic to me!
Bush: "North Korea defies international community"
So let me see if I have this one straight. It's wrong when Kim Jong Il "defies" the international community" but it's alright for Bush to "defy" the international community by invading Iraq...for no reason whatsoever.
Yup, sounds like even more Republican hypocrisy to me!
GOP: "North Korea, Osama bin Laden and 9/11 are Clinton's fault"
Fact: Kim Jong Il did not build nuclear weapons while Clinton was President.
Fact: Kim Jong Il has built nuclear weapons while Bush has been President.
In 1994 Clinton didn't have much of a choice - any deal was better then no deal. So in exchange for providing North Korea with two light water nuclear reactors, Pyongyang agreed to freeze their nuclear program. Had they resumed it, Clinton would have taken them out.
North Korea complied, at least until 1997 (Bush White House propaganda?) when they apparently began to enrich uranium. However, North Korea's recent bomb test wasn't uranium. It was plutonium, produced either during the current Bush administration or his father's.
So this isn't "Clinton's fault" at all. Not even close. And that's not the half of it.
While Republicans blame Clinton for "trusting" Kim and giving him the means to build "the bomb," it was Don Rumsfeld's company that sold Pyongyang the "design and key components for the (nuclear) reactors!" Talk about chutzpah!
Bottom line is that Clinton had Korea under control and maybe if Bush picked up where he left off, we wouldn't be in the position we are today.
But because of Bush's crazed bellicose attitude, he gave Kim and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a reason to reconstitute their nuclear programs. They already saw Bush invade one "axis of evil" that didn't have nuclear weapons and they weren't about to make the same mistake. And with Bush was bogged down in Iraq, they knew he couldn't do anything about it.
But somehow North Korea's all Clinton's fault.
July 2007 insert: More here.
As for al-Qaeda, they didn't really become "al-Qaeda" until 1998 when they attacked the American Embassy's in Africa (Hezbollah was behind the 1996 attack in Saudi Arabia, although al-Qaeda may have played an "unknown" role).
Clinton did respond to those attacks but all he got to show for it from the GOP was their typical immature ridicule. They accused him of Wag the Dog and blasted him because he mistakenly hit a pharmaceutical factory instead (hey, nobody's perfect. But for some reason only Democrats have to be. And even if they were, Republicans would still find fault. How else would they be able to keep their base riled up and angry at liberals?).And after the USS Cole was attacked in 2000, Clinton wasn't sure if al-Qaeda was behind it. Richard Clarke did present a plan for invading Afghanistan, but the Clinton administration didn't want to hand the incoming Bush administration an ongoing war as they entered the White House.
So if Bush is so "tough" on terrorism - and so quick to use the military to "protect the country" - why didn't he go ahead with Clarke's plan before September 11?
At least Clinton took the al-Qaeda threat seriously. Bush ignored it. And while Clinton did try and kill bin Laden, he never had a clear shot at him due to vague intelligence, a concern for "collateral damage" and the CIA.
That certainly never stopped the Republicans who have always blamed Clinton for "passing up opportunities" to get bin Laden, and point to an offer by Sudan to hand him over. Half of that is true, the other half is a GOP lie.
Osama bin Laden was "offered" and a deal was "turned down." However, it wasn't Sudan making the offer and it wasn't Clinton refusing it; it was the Taliban who made the offer and - get this - George Bush who turned it down!
Yup, sounds like even more Republican hypocrisy and chutzpah to me!
My God, if hypocrisy and chutzpah were dirt the Republican Party would be the biggest mountain in the world!
Under the circumstances Clinton did as good a job as he could. He was dealing with North Korea and had his eye on al-Qaeda. But he wasn't going to bomb Korea - unless they used the reactors to build nuclear weapons - and he wasn't going to invade Afghanistan because there wouldn't have been any public or Republican support behind it (unless, of course, he made up a reason such as Afghanistan having WMDs and was an "imminent threat." But Republicans would have been skeptical anyway, saying it was only meant to divert attention away from "Monica.").
And yet, bin Laden and 9/11 are Clinton's fault.
You know, I wish Republicans would stop screwing up so much so often because it's the Democrats that always get blamed for it!
If all this isn't enough...
Iraqi police, who we "liberated," who our brave soldiers are bleeding and dying for, who are our supposed allies in this war, are - get this - firing on American soldiers! And we had to raid their offices inside the "secure zone!" (the final minute of this video clip).
And that wasn't an isolated incident.
Also...
In Iraq "...30 percent of all contracts, including U.S. Government led contracts paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars, goes to al Qaeda."
In case you did a double take on that one as I did, let me repeat that. "...30 percent of all contracts, including U.S. Government led contracts paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars, goes to al Qaeda."
And Republicans have the nerve to say that Democrats "support the terrorists."
This is insanity, madness and incompetence on an exponential scale. But Bush and the GOP don't care because - stop me if you heard this - spin and keeping their mindless, gullible and insolent base riled up and angry at liberals is all that matters.
It's now official. The Bush White House and Republican Party/Cult are more then just scary.
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