Returns and Recriminations
It’s been just over a year since the last entry that I made and I can’t say that all that much has occurred. Primarily, my life seemed to grind to a halt sometime shortly after the conclusion of the British Open last year and it’s only now that I have found the need to write.
Is there anything that we missed while I was away? I suppose not; the war in Iraq rages, the politics of the capital grinds on, global warming seems to have taken on a new seriousness. In writing this I notice that quite a bit has happened in the last year; the boys on Iraq rotating into their third or fourth tour have had those same tours extended to 15 months, the suicide bombings go merrily on, the Democrats seized control of both houses of Congress in the November ballot and Al Gore won the Academy Award for his film on global warming entitled “An Inconvenient Truth”. Is this the block buster movie that posterity recognizes as the turning point on humanity’s view of the ecological impact of explosive industrial growth? Probably not, but this film plus all the hype that’s been percolating through the various world wide media outlets and an incredible intemperate summer has raised the public awareness of these issues into the forum of democratic debate. Sadly, democratic debate seems to be a commodity sorely lacking in this country at the moment.
The Bush Administration has, in fact reached the point that the White House press briefing has taken on the feeling of a daily psychotic break. It’s as if we’re watching the Iraqi press briefer during the days leading up to the fall of Baghdad. Americans? What Americans. In the White House it’s more to the tune of “Illegalities? Unconstitutional behavior? Corruption? Not here!” They say, they say. The answers to the Washington press’s queries fall into three categories: evasion, pointing culpability towards the Democrats or flat out lying. I find myself holding my breath waiting for the end of this administration and the pox that it had brought upon us. These folks have completely run amok. They do what ever they wish without the slightest thought of legality or precedence. They sign bills into law and then add executive statements that exempt the administration from having to abide by the law that was just signed. They have taken actions that have changed the course of this nation for ever. What they have done can not be undone. And yet the public stands idly by watching their rights and protections go straight down the tubes. It is amazing to realize that the reason for the lack of outrage is that the majority of the public doesn’t care. Perhaps a better description is that most are afraid to make a choice. I’m in the same school. I know that the whole right wing is a bunch of nasty scum, but I really can’t prove it. I want to point to a series of events that can not be twisted into anything else but the latest example of narcissistic hubris these animals have perpetrated.Guess it goes back to the Republican talking points that are so hard to refute: basic, common sense ideas that appear to hold an actionable sub context in a simplified assessment of an inherently complex situation. Perhaps it’s the messenger? Bill O, Rush, Pat Robertson, John Hagee. These people just ooze sleaze. There’s no point in going into what vile hypocrites all these vermin actually are, there’s a breaking news story on one of their infidelities on a weekly basis, it’s that they seem to get so much air time. If there’s air time, there’s an audience and the message is being communicated from sea to shining sea.
Maybe my attitude can be best described as some kind of malaise. Not something you can put your finger on or get a prescription for, but a general depression, a feeling of not so much of dread as remorse. No, that really doesn’t capture the feeling. The total helplessness of this Congress to bring the Bush Administration to account for their disastrous pursuit of domestic and foreign policies since the attacks of 9/11. They feel that they can ignore all requests from the congress under the guise of executive privilege. It’s totally unprecedented that an administration would completely refuse to appear before congress and testify. There is only one course of action left for the congress and that’s impeachment. Is going to happen? Not a chance in hell. The rich and powerful ordain this not to pass and it shall not. This really has become the establishment a fascist police state in this country and there seems to be a substantial and very vocal component of the electorate that thinks this is a okay. What is real disturbing about this crowd is that they proclaim themselves to be the true representation of all that is American. They can not, nor ever will, have the ability to see their actions for what they are, the embodiment of what a fascist state is. It is my hope to explore this further in later entries.
The photo that I’ve include can describe how the year ended. It’s rather rude to complain about the state of the nation and the rape of the sabines when I’m taking photos beside this popular edifice. Did you know that the Americans sent someone to blow this place up during WWII? The soldier they sent to do it managed to stall the orders until the danger had passed and there wasn’t a good reason to blow it up any more. Whatever.