The Outlaws
Mar 27th, 2006 at 9:11 am by Susie
The Times has a story today based on the other Downing Street memo, and the amoral bastards who tricked us into war:
Stamped “extremely sensitive,” the five-page memorandum, which was circulated among a handful of Mr. Blair’s most senior aides, had not been made public. Several highlights were first published in January in the book “Lawless World,” which was written by a British lawyer and international law professor, Philippe Sands. In early February, Channel 4 in London first broadcast several excerpts from the memo.
Since then, The New York Times has reviewed the five-page memo in its entirety. While the president’s sentiments about invading Iraq were known at the time, the previously unreported material offers an unfiltered view of two leaders on the brink of war, yet supremely confident.
The memo indicates the two leaders envisioned a quick victory and a transition to a new Iraqi government that would be complicated, but manageable. Mr. Bush predicted that it was “unlikely there would be internecine warfare between the different religious and ethnic groups.” Mr. Blair agreed with that assessment.
The memo also shows that the president and the prime minister acknowledged that no unconventional weapons had been found inside Iraq. Faced with the possibility of not finding any before the planned invasion, Mr. Bush talked about several ways to provoke a confrontation, including a proposal to paint a United States surveillance plane in the colors of the United Nations in hopes of drawing fire, or assassinating Mr. Hussein.
They do what they want, when they want it. They make up evidence, they ignore laws, they always know best.
If this isn’t anarchy, what is it? And what exactly is it that our Congress does to stop this, to earn their comfortable paychecks?
We are losing our country before our very eyes. The press is gingerly climbing on board but it may be too late. The paycheck economy (the one that affects most of us) has been devastated; we live in constant uncertainty. Most countries hate us. The world climate is rapidly decomposing while the administration still plays semantic games.
They are smash-and-grab thugs whose mantra is greed and whose weapons are ballpoint pens and electronic voting machines.
Sometimes it’s so frustrating, I feel as if every major organ in my body will explode. What, exactly, is that will finally let people know enough is enough? When the Pentagon calls in airstrikes on their own suburban development?
People have this Saturday-matinee picture in their heads of what a coup looks like. It involves black-and-white footage of modern-day Nazis, and tanks in the street. They believe those who destroy our democracy will telegraph their intentions in such a way that any action movie fan will easily identify the bad guys.
It never occurs to them the bad guys won’t sell themselves as such, because we are a nation largely immune to political nuance. And that is why we are watching our great democratic experiment being flushed down the bowl.
God help us.
Where are our orange ribbons? Who will make our national call to arms? We are all so numb, so convinced of our own helplessness, we don’t know what to do. We have no real leaders anymore; their courage extends only to what keeps them “politically viable.”
Where is the person of stature who will hold the press conference, say “That’s enough, the crooks have to go” and call for a national strike? What does it take?
That’s the scary part, Susie. Fascism won’t arrive like an avalanche. Slowly but surely our freedoms erode and one day we’ll be saying what happened?
To your question at the end: I have long thought that there there is a level of celebrity that would allow a person to swoop in and claim a general election on the basis of fame and likability. (Unfortunately it happened with the wrong kind of dude in California a couple of years back, but it obliquely proved my point.) Right now I see two people who could do this:
1. Oprah Winfrey.
2. Tiger Woods.
If they weren’t so unapologetically rich (and therefore possibly not bothered by the consequences of an aristocracy) they would easily be able to rally enough fans and followers to do anything they wanted.
No reasson to get all worked up. Before we denounce the coup we need to have a hearing on the coup. Carl Levin was making a point along those lines just this weekend.
While I haven’t quite given up all hope that eventually there will be prosecution for war crimes, part of me realizes that unless they are sentenced to death we will be paying all of these crooks fat pensions long after they are out of office, assuming we can get them out of office.
In the meantime, I sent off a letter to my Senators…..
“Senator,
As a citizen of the United States, and a resident, citizen and registered voter of the state of Illinois, I am writing you to express my support of the Motion to Censure President Bush introduced by Senator Feingold, and expressing my wish that you will support it also.
Not only has President Bush admitted to ignoring the laws and Constitution of our country by ignoring the FISA courts, his “signing statement†attached to the renewal of the “Patriot Act†defiantly claims that somehow the President has the authority to follow the law only when he wants to, and can bypass both the Legislative branch in making laws, and the Judicial branch in interpreting them. It amazes that any discussion would be needed at all on this matter since it is clearly a matter of what is right and what is wrong. The Administration has clearly stated what it has done, and it is not only wrong, it is illegal.
While I believe that Censure is a woefully inadequate measure to take against the blatant disregard for the Constitution that the President swore to uphold and to protect, it is past the time that persons of integrity stand up for what is right, and to speak out for the principles that our nation was founded upon. I am writing this so I can tell my children, grandchildren, and myself that I did not just sit idly by while our President ignored our laws and attacked our freedoms and Constitution. I hope you may give the same message to future generations.
There have been efforts to label the Censure motion as partisan politics. I would hope that men of principles and integrity belong to more than one political party. If not, then at least there would be a distinction between the party with principles and the party with none.”
Dear Susie,
Fine article. I teach ethics, and have spent the past years trying to make the same points with my students.
Bush and company, are vicious, war-mongering, lying, murdering thieves.
As others have said, they are trying to institute an economic and political fascism, here, and elsewhere.
They have declared war on federalism and the U.S. Constitution, and with the ‘religious right’ (sic) are the greatest danger to the welfare and peace of the world today.
Thanks again,
Richard
The problem is that the propagandizing has gone on for so long, UNCHALLENGED by the media or the Democrats, that many Republicans can’t conceive that their leaders are corrupt traitors.
This is what make their removal so difficult.
[...] Susie Madrak wrote today, People have this Saturday-matinee picture in their heads of what a coup looks like. It involves black-and-white footage of modern-day Nazis, and tanks in the street. They believe those who destroy our democracy will telegraph their intentions in such a way that any action movie fan will easily identify the bad guys. [...]
Read the “update” on this post to see how the Times, while trailing months behind others with this story, is still lying and enabling the Bush “administration.”
Oprah, only if she can see past her love affair with herself. I hoped she would speak out, but she is to comfortable with her life. Have not been a big fan for a couple of years.