Ron's Really Starting to Worry Me

Oy! This has been a trying week for me and I'm not in a great frame of mind so I'll try to keep this recap brief (though I can't say the same for my deeper thought rant...see below...and if you never read it, please read today's because I took extra time to transcribe quotes and fact check...like I wish actual media would do...but methinks I grumble too fast)... Um... Well first the good news- I was able to score the extra class that I wanted [Historiography & Historians], and it fit nicely into my schedule. I also started doing some research for a lengthy project about Presidential pardons that I hope to turn into something in the next few years (maybe a doctoral thesis? or just a regular flight of fancy??). Either way it has me motivated for a particular thread of inquiry and the longest journey begins with a single step...blah blah sanctimonious self-serving blah blah. See I told you I'm having a rough week. Even my good news doesn't thrill me. I saw "The Village" last week... (man is this one exciting email or what? I'm sure you're expecting like music or frolicking clowns or something by this point but it just ain't happenin' Sparky...plus in the words of David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap, "Clowns make people sick") Here's a random weird thought...if you mugged a mime would they make any noise? One would assume they would drop the charade of not being able to communicate to at least politely request that you stop beating them up...then again they could be slaves to their craft and stay 'in character'. Then again if they are the type to do that, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the police who did it, right? Now please, I implore you, do not go randomly pummelling mimes. No instead pick one particular mime out and stalk them relentlessly, then jump them when it is most convenient for YOU! I'm kidding, I'm kidding...except not really. (No seriously I'm just kidding) (Do it, you know you want to) (No, No) See, Al Franken calls that "kidding on the square". It's when you say something in a joking manner that actually you mean, but not really, but yes. Or that Eddie Izzard head nod bit? (I throw that out for my sister who loves Eddie Izzard as do I) So to recap, I don't want folks bludgeoning mimes on my authority then pointing the finger of guilt in my direction...besides it's probably legal to beat up mimes in Canada...it's sort of looser up here. But I really do. Ok, well if you've lasted this long with this email you're either a) enjoying it b) phoning the police or c) Googling your local "Mime College" to pick a worthy victim Either way, you're a committed sort and I applaud your 'moxie'...though I really don't know what that means...or if it is spelled correctly...and I don't have time to spell check...I saving my energy for the mimes. ahh...see how I brought it all together? that's the genius of comedy my friend! Well now I feel slightly better. Apparently the thought of inflicting pain upon grease painted weirdoes 'does something' for me. Or it just could be the medication. (At this point you have to be impressed that I've stretched the rather thin material of mime-beating into this long an email...impressed or annoyed...or frightened- tomato, tamahto) So it's raining now. I rarely discuss the weather with you folks because well...what does it matter what it's doing HERE since almost all of you are hundreds of miles..you know..NOT here (I just felt like not using the word away...it was an editorial choice on the fly and gave me that rather Chandler Bing-ish sarcasm voice I have). I mention the weather because as I watch my CNN I see an hurricane bearing down on Florida (notice how I used 'an' appropriately there?) Poor, poor Florida. It just can't catch a break. Hurricane, Hurricane, Gator Attacks, Hurricane, Disenfranchising African-American Voters, Hurricanes, Rickey Williams going off to Hong Kong to smoke pot, Hurricanes. I mean, what gives? Somebody's pretty p'od at Florida. I mean they are wildfires, earthquakes, and an actor-governor away from being California! I kid Florida for all their vote-finagling and California for all their vote-voiding...really...just kidding...on the square. This week's deeper thought: Spin, Spin, Huh??, or: Why I Threw Socks at Dick Cheney's Head This Morning Why? Well the fact that Dick Cheney is shamelessly mischaracterizing what John Kerry said the other day, and the media just doesn't call him on it, for starters. I've read 4 stories about Cheney's speeches over the last 24 hours, where he's criticizing John Kerry's "sensitive" comment and none of them...NONE mention the actual quote. Here see for yourself- [This is Cheney]: "America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive. President Lincoln and General Grant did not wage sensitive warfare -- nor did President Roosevelt, nor Generals Eisenhower and MacArthur. A 'sensitive war' will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek the chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more." Boy that John Kerry must have really said something stupid, kowtowing to the terrorists like that. I hate him. I'll never vote for a traitorous person like that for president...oh except... [Here's what John Kerry ACTUALLY said]: "I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side." But wait a sec...that's not what Dick Cheney said you said. Could he just be mistaken? Maybe Vice President Cheney wasn't able to get the full text the speech because he was in an "undisclosed location" again, hiding from the 'evil men'? That must be it. Except... Here's what Lynne Cheney said in response to Kerry's statement: "With all due respect to the Senator, it just sounded foolish. I can't imagine that al Qaeda will be impressed by sensitivity." See how insidious this is?? Where...WHERE...did Kerry say he wanted to impress "al Qaeda" with sensitivity? Kerry was talking about bringing our allies (our real allies not Tongo and the Solomon Islands) back to our side. I don't *infer* this mind you, I *know* this because it happened to be WHAT HE SAID!!! Let me check again in case I can't read...."...reached out to other nations and bring them to our side...", yep I was right. Oh, they say, he implied sensitivity to al Qaeda Um except... al Qaeda isn't a nation therefore he couldn't POSSIBLY have been referring to the terrorist organization when he used the word 'nations'. (/scratches head) Hmm...well what then do you suppose he meant? Clearly, Kerry was talking about diplomacy to regain the trust and respect of our allies and rededicate those forces to fighting terrorism...which is pretty much what a President should be doing. I mean unless we want to abolish the State Department...and recall all our ambassadors. Of course the Bush Administration has gotten REALLY good at creating an echo chamber. They take some part of a quote, discard the parts that don't fit their version of the facts and then dispense it as truth and repeat, repeat, repeat, until it all sounds plausible and you, the home viewed has heard it some many times that it becomes "fact". It doesn't take a FOX Secrets of Magicians special to know how and why they get this done...although when it comes to promoting the mischief of the Bush Administration...FOX would be apropos. I still support the war, because I believe we are better off without Hussein than with him and there was no way he was leaving without being taken down by the US...but all the post war planning that I read about before the war that convinced me this would be handled differently was a sham. In the end, I don't care that there's no WMD, except for the fact that it makes us look foolish and ruins any chance we have of getting other nations to believe us on Iran, Syria, North Korea etc. No, in my opinion it never should have been the primary cause- ridding the world of a murderous dictator and reintroducing democracy and human rights. That should have been the justification. Except that is something that traditionally Republicans don't support...they call that 'nation building'...more on that later. The UN, which levied sanctions against Hussein's government, should have been forced to admit that their oil for food program was a sham, which is why the sanctions weren't working, and that many countries (Germany, Russia, and France) were subverting the sanctions, helping Hussein steal from his own people. THAT should have been the justification also. Well that's two great justifications in my book. But Bush and Co didn't want to make the harder argument. They didn't want to present the complex (real) evidence, preferring to use the easy (sexy, fake, contradicted) evidence. Do I think they did it with malice? No. But I think they did it with cynicism in their hearts and a complete disregard for the American people...including the majority that didn't elect them. (yeah I know, I hate it when people drag that up usually...I'm just cranky today) I also think that it underscores the fundamental divide between Republicans and Democrats- they think short term, we think long term. From tax policy, to investments in education and job training, to health care; Democrats look at what long term effects policy will have. An example: Creating Head Start benefits long term educational opportunities for at-risk children so they are less likely to fail, fall victim to systemic problems in their communities, thereby lowering, potentially, crime rates, and creating better citizens- a small investment in the early years reaps the benefits down the road. That is an example of long term planning. (and, by the way, real family values) When it comes to the war, Bush and his advisors seem to only think about the 'war' phase with no thought to the 'peace' phase, because, in the nature of Republicans, is a distaste for 'nation building'. Want proof? Here's what George W Bush said when he was running for President in 2000: Oct. 11, 2000, in Winston-Salem, N.C., Bush said: "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building. . . . I think what we need to do is convince people who live in the lands they live in to build the nations. Maybe I'm missing something here. I mean, we're going to have a kind of nation-building corps from America? Absolutely not." Except now we're nation building in Afghanistan and Iraq (as we rightly should be). Saying you're against something, then turning around and engaging in that action...isn't that textbook definition of "flip-flop"? Well maybe not from an administration that: First opposed a Department of Homeland Security when it was proposed by Democrats...then supported it when it was overwhelming popular with the country First opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission when it was proposed...then supported it when families of the victims of 9/11 loudly demanded it First opposed extending the time period of the commission when they asked for it stating that they needed more time (largely because, btw the Bush White House was stonewalling the release of documents)...then supported it when it was clear people wanted a complete report. Now I don't know about you...but that is called 'flip-flopping'. Imagine what the GOP would be saying if Bill Clinton was in the White House...hmmm By the way, here's my all time new favorite Bush quote: "I’m not sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say this is the way it’s got to be. I want to empower people. I want to help people help themselves, not have government tell people what to do. I just don’t think it’s the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you... I’m not sure where the vice president’s [Gore's] coming from, but I think one way for us to end up being viewed as the ugly American is for us to go around the world saying, we do it this way, so should you. I think the United States must be humble and must be proud and confident of our values, but humble in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course." -also from the Oct 11 debate with Al Gore. Humble...even the most partisan Bushie can't honestly believe we've come close to being 'humble' Humble...you're either with us or against us Humble..."old world Europe" Humble. But not Sensitive!! Till Next Week Cheers, Ron ********** http://www.johnkerry.com/front/splash.html