Friday, January 12, 2007
A few things to get off my chest
I guess I've got to get back up to speed somewhere, so encased herein are some observations and things on my mind for the past few weeks:
See the new plan. . . new, plan, new: I must admit I'm somewhat torn about Bush's 'new plan for victory' in Iraq. I think its chances of working are very slim at best, and I'm sure that it'll happen at the expense of many US and Iraqi lives. But from a historical perspective, I worry. The whole notion of how the "troops were sold out in Vietnam" at home echoes in my mind. It helped in some ways usher in the Reagan era, the whole America's standing tall and proud and no longer emasculated thing. I also think back to the end of World War One (bear with me here).
The German High Command knew the jig was up in late 1918, but couldn't admit error, let alone defeat, as their enemies were rapidly starting to penetrate the fatherland's sacred borders. So they let the peacenik civillian types do all of the surrendering, allowing the Generals and others to maintain a "the left sold out the military" notion, which was picked up eventually by a young vet named Adolf Hitler, who made it one of his big selling points in the 1930s. Oh, and those folks who did sign the Armistice were later assasinated by right-wing groups with military associations. Just a Santayana moment that we should at least be aware of.
Jury Duty redux: Just a courthouse observation-- If you're walking around the courthouse and you're not a juror, cop, or lawyer (all easily identifiable) I assume you're a witness, a defendant, or someone there to give support and maybe vouch for a friend. If you fall into any of these categories, please help yourself or your friend by not wearing a Scarface T-Shirt or giant pot-leaf gold necklace. You can't believe how many of both of these accessories I saw during my visit, or given the circumstances, maybe you can.
Best Radio Gaffe of the New Year: I awoke early in 2007 to hear Morning Edition announcer Steve Inskeep saying: "The body of President Bush continues to lie in State in the Capitol Rotunda, um, President Ford, Ford! Sorry about that." Calling Doctor Freud. . . Keep making 'mistakes' like that, pal, and you'll be reporting from Guantanamo indefinitely.
They grow up so quickly: Speaking of Gitmo, birthday greetings as our nation's own gulag turned a precocious five-years old yesterday. We're spending $125 million (Halliburton contract, natch') to build a courthouse there, because TeamBush knows that if any of them were brought onto US soil some bleeding-heart, constitution-loving pinko judge would dismiss the cases and probably allow them to sue the US govt for abuses suffered under captivity. So instead we build this kangaroo-courthouse even though only 80 of the current 400 detainees will ever really be charged with some crime and actually tried. What about the others? Well, it turns out these folks, aka "among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the Earth," we send to other countries, knowing they'll be freed. Easier than saying "oops!" or "I'm sorry," I guess. Just like fishing; 'Catch-and-release'. . . only with bearded, brown people.
I guess I've got to get back up to speed somewhere, so encased herein are some observations and things on my mind for the past few weeks:
See the new plan. . . new, plan, new: I must admit I'm somewhat torn about Bush's 'new plan for victory' in Iraq. I think its chances of working are very slim at best, and I'm sure that it'll happen at the expense of many US and Iraqi lives. But from a historical perspective, I worry. The whole notion of how the "troops were sold out in Vietnam" at home echoes in my mind. It helped in some ways usher in the Reagan era, the whole America's standing tall and proud and no longer emasculated thing. I also think back to the end of World War One (bear with me here).
The German High Command knew the jig was up in late 1918, but couldn't admit error, let alone defeat, as their enemies were rapidly starting to penetrate the fatherland's sacred borders. So they let the peacenik civillian types do all of the surrendering, allowing the Generals and others to maintain a "the left sold out the military" notion, which was picked up eventually by a young vet named Adolf Hitler, who made it one of his big selling points in the 1930s. Oh, and those folks who did sign the Armistice were later assasinated by right-wing groups with military associations. Just a Santayana moment that we should at least be aware of.
Jury Duty redux: Just a courthouse observation-- If you're walking around the courthouse and you're not a juror, cop, or lawyer (all easily identifiable) I assume you're a witness, a defendant, or someone there to give support and maybe vouch for a friend. If you fall into any of these categories, please help yourself or your friend by not wearing a Scarface T-Shirt or giant pot-leaf gold necklace. You can't believe how many of both of these accessories I saw during my visit, or given the circumstances, maybe you can.
Best Radio Gaffe of the New Year: I awoke early in 2007 to hear Morning Edition announcer Steve Inskeep saying: "The body of President Bush continues to lie in State in the Capitol Rotunda, um, President Ford, Ford! Sorry about that." Calling Doctor Freud. . . Keep making 'mistakes' like that, pal, and you'll be reporting from Guantanamo indefinitely.
They grow up so quickly: Speaking of Gitmo, birthday greetings as our nation's own gulag turned a precocious five-years old yesterday. We're spending $125 million (Halliburton contract, natch') to build a courthouse there, because TeamBush knows that if any of them were brought onto US soil some bleeding-heart, constitution-loving pinko judge would dismiss the cases and probably allow them to sue the US govt for abuses suffered under captivity. So instead we build this kangaroo-courthouse even though only 80 of the current 400 detainees will ever really be charged with some crime and actually tried. What about the others? Well, it turns out these folks, aka "among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the Earth," we send to other countries, knowing they'll be freed. Easier than saying "oops!" or "I'm sorry," I guess. Just like fishing; 'Catch-and-release'. . . only with bearded, brown people.
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