Thursday, August 31, 2006
Desperate times, desperate measures
In the last few weeks, the Bush cabal has really kicked up the rhetoric. Along with the new catchphrase "Islamo-fascism", the neocons are increasingly making the comparison between Fascist Germany and Italy and the "war on terror". While this historical inaccuracy is nothing new, the vitriol, Orwellian language, and extent of fabrication behind the rhetoric is.
Don Rumsfeld's speech at the American Legion yesterday is a perfect example of the desperate state of the Bush cabal. They know that after Iraq, the pathetic failure of Katrina, and their blatant disregard for the Constitution, Americans are no longer blindly buying into the their lies. They also know that a Democratic majority in either the Senate of the House gives the Democrats the power to subpoena the executive branch, which means that the criminal methods they've employed since day one will be exposed to "the light of justice", as Bush used to say.
Comparing opposition to the Bush eternal war doctrine to the British government that appeased Hitler in the 1938, Rumsfeld said, "in any long struggle or long war, where any kind of moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere."
In other words, to question a horribly planned, unbelievably costly and deadly exercise in empire building is a sign of "moral or intellectual confusion". Besides being incredibly arrogant, this statement is also dangerous and strikingly authoritarian.
He went on to say, "The question is not whether we can win; it's whether we have the will to persevere to win. I'm convinced that Americans do have that determination and that we have learned the lessons of history, of the folly of trying to turn a blind eye to danger."
The beauty here is that Rumsfeld has set the stage for the downfall of his own morally and intellectually confused regime. If Americans do indeed have the "will to persevere to win", they will understand that the greatest danger we face is the very group of men that have hijacked our democracy.
For the future of the nation, we can only hope that in 68 days, enough Americans will understand that the threat this cabal represents is far greater than that of terrorism. Remember, the whole red state vs. blue state idea is bunk. It is just another method by which politicians and the media seek to polarize the public and maintain an atmosphere of hate and fear. The following image paints a more accurate picture.
This is a breakdown of the 2004 Election by county rather than state. It becomes clear that if there is a ideological devide in the US, it is urban vs. rural.
Finally, Keith Olbermann, who just might believe he's the reincarnation of Edward R. Murrow, has posted an outstanding rebuttal to Rumsfeld's speech on his MSNBC blog. Check it out.
Don Rumsfeld's speech at the American Legion yesterday is a perfect example of the desperate state of the Bush cabal. They know that after Iraq, the pathetic failure of Katrina, and their blatant disregard for the Constitution, Americans are no longer blindly buying into the their lies. They also know that a Democratic majority in either the Senate of the House gives the Democrats the power to subpoena the executive branch, which means that the criminal methods they've employed since day one will be exposed to "the light of justice", as Bush used to say.
Comparing opposition to the Bush eternal war doctrine to the British government that appeased Hitler in the 1938, Rumsfeld said, "in any long struggle or long war, where any kind of moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere."
In other words, to question a horribly planned, unbelievably costly and deadly exercise in empire building is a sign of "moral or intellectual confusion". Besides being incredibly arrogant, this statement is also dangerous and strikingly authoritarian.
He went on to say, "The question is not whether we can win; it's whether we have the will to persevere to win. I'm convinced that Americans do have that determination and that we have learned the lessons of history, of the folly of trying to turn a blind eye to danger."
The beauty here is that Rumsfeld has set the stage for the downfall of his own morally and intellectually confused regime. If Americans do indeed have the "will to persevere to win", they will understand that the greatest danger we face is the very group of men that have hijacked our democracy.
For the future of the nation, we can only hope that in 68 days, enough Americans will understand that the threat this cabal represents is far greater than that of terrorism. Remember, the whole red state vs. blue state idea is bunk. It is just another method by which politicians and the media seek to polarize the public and maintain an atmosphere of hate and fear. The following image paints a more accurate picture.
This is a breakdown of the 2004 Election by county rather than state. It becomes clear that if there is a ideological devide in the US, it is urban vs. rural.
Finally, Keith Olbermann, who just might believe he's the reincarnation of Edward R. Murrow, has posted an outstanding rebuttal to Rumsfeld's speech on his MSNBC blog. Check it out.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
I, absentminded
It occurred to me today, nine days after I revamped this site, that (1) if you change your website's URL and (2) want people to actually read your mutterings, then you need to inform them of the change.
Now for the minutiae of my life:
Still jobless, but I do have one or maybe two promising leads (hopefully not in the Glengarry Glen Ross sense).
Frozen Home Run Inn pizzas are better than probably 90% of most delivery pizzas. It also occurs to me that I've never had a fresh HRI pizza. Regardless, I need a job so I can afford to eat at Lou Malnati's. You gotta have goals.
I hope everyone caught two things on the news yesterday: First, Bush squirming as Brian Williams asked him about his foray into French existentialism. Bush dodged that question, but did say that he recently read "three Shakespeares". Sure you did, George. Click here to watch the clip.
Second, the CNN anchor who was heard calling her sister-in law a "control freak" on national television because she left her microphone on in the bathroom. This is almost as awkward as listening to Bush try to talk.
That’s all for the moment.
I'll end this with a few photos from my Spanish conquest.
Lunch in the Museo de Jamon in Madrid
The world's most visited construction site - aka La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
And lastly, Joe expresses his feelings about Barcelona with an interpretive dance on Plaza del Sol.
Now for the minutiae of my life:
Still jobless, but I do have one or maybe two promising leads (hopefully not in the Glengarry Glen Ross sense).
Frozen Home Run Inn pizzas are better than probably 90% of most delivery pizzas. It also occurs to me that I've never had a fresh HRI pizza. Regardless, I need a job so I can afford to eat at Lou Malnati's. You gotta have goals.
I hope everyone caught two things on the news yesterday: First, Bush squirming as Brian Williams asked him about his foray into French existentialism. Bush dodged that question, but did say that he recently read "three Shakespeares". Sure you did, George. Click here to watch the clip.
Second, the CNN anchor who was heard calling her sister-in law a "control freak" on national television because she left her microphone on in the bathroom. This is almost as awkward as listening to Bush try to talk.
That’s all for the moment.
I'll end this with a few photos from my Spanish conquest.
Lunch in the Museo de Jamon in Madrid
The world's most visited construction site - aka La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
And lastly, Joe expresses his feelings about Barcelona with an interpretive dance on Plaza del Sol.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Hello me, it's me again
Once again, I've been shamed for my lack of devotion to this blog, this time by having my inaction discussed at a brunchtime roundtable. I am a bad person.
So here it is:
First off, a new title: The Virtual Panopticon had to be retired since I no longer work there. I welcome comments and criticism on my new choice.
Second: a descriptive quote has been added. It comes courtesy of Jamal Quest, who was commenting on the nature of the universe. Any offense taken by creationists or followers of other such bogus ideologies is intended.
Third: a new color scheme - I gots to keep it fresh.
Fourth: yes, the title of this post is a reference to a Megadeth song.
Highlights of the past week(s):
Historical Revisionist Coughlen discovered that the skateboard played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War. Apparently, it was responsible for the transport of the smallpox vaccine that Washington insisted on, and Nathanael Greene’s ability to run the Brits ragged in the hills of South Carolina. Also, American troops were paid with hard candy, whereas the Brits were given booze. The Pentagon would be wise to follow these examples of how to wage war. Mr. Coughlen’s groundbreaking dissertation The American War of Independence Revisited: Butterscotch, Big Air and the Birth of a Nation will be printed by Oxford University Press in March 2007.
Around 4am Sunday, I found myself arguing the finer points of Peak Oil with a middle-age alcoholic woman. In what I futilely hope is the most absurd statement I’ll hear from a non-politician, she swore up and down that she currently lives completely independent of oil. Needless to say, she became quite hostile when a slew of things made from petroleum – the plastic cup in her hand, the plastic chairs we sat in – were pointed out for her. I found it unnecessary and even cruel to mention the car in which she was about to leave.
The moral of this story: some people don’t have like to have their worldview challenged.
At the Unique Thrift Store in Joliet, I managed to find a mint condition copy of George W. Bush – A Heroic First Year (© 2002 The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.). I knew that a book about Our Fearless Leader, published shortly after 9/11 by the conservative and jingoist Reader’s Digest would be bad. But nothing could prepare me for how bad it really is.
The first lines of the book’s prologue:
There are moments in a man’s life when the gravity of the occasion can be energizing or overwhelming, awe inspiring or paralyzing. At these times, the people counting on him need to know what choice he will make. Will he embrace the challenge, or will the challenge debilitate him?
Then, describing the scene on September 14, 2001, at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC:
Seated next to Laura was George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Never breaking his glance from the altar in from of him, “41” as the father is warmly referred to by the men and women who work in his son’s administration, reached over and grasped the hand of George W. Bush. That was the moment.
Ugh. This third-grade level of drivel continues on for another 60 pages. I’m not sure how I’ll make it through.
There are 78 days until Election Day. Are you registered to vote? If so, are you actually going to vote? If not, James Madison will powerbomb you.
And finally, I’d like to offer my congratulations to Jeff and Tasha, my cousin and cousin-in law, respectively. On Friday August 18th 2006, their son, Vladimir Roland Waske was born. As they say in “the streets”, big up yourself, little Vlad.
So here it is:
First off, a new title: The Virtual Panopticon had to be retired since I no longer work there. I welcome comments and criticism on my new choice.
Second: a descriptive quote has been added. It comes courtesy of Jamal Quest, who was commenting on the nature of the universe. Any offense taken by creationists or followers of other such bogus ideologies is intended.
Third: a new color scheme - I gots to keep it fresh.
Fourth: yes, the title of this post is a reference to a Megadeth song.
Highlights of the past week(s):
Historical Revisionist Coughlen discovered that the skateboard played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War. Apparently, it was responsible for the transport of the smallpox vaccine that Washington insisted on, and Nathanael Greene’s ability to run the Brits ragged in the hills of South Carolina. Also, American troops were paid with hard candy, whereas the Brits were given booze. The Pentagon would be wise to follow these examples of how to wage war. Mr. Coughlen’s groundbreaking dissertation The American War of Independence Revisited: Butterscotch, Big Air and the Birth of a Nation will be printed by Oxford University Press in March 2007.
Around 4am Sunday, I found myself arguing the finer points of Peak Oil with a middle-age alcoholic woman. In what I futilely hope is the most absurd statement I’ll hear from a non-politician, she swore up and down that she currently lives completely independent of oil. Needless to say, she became quite hostile when a slew of things made from petroleum – the plastic cup in her hand, the plastic chairs we sat in – were pointed out for her. I found it unnecessary and even cruel to mention the car in which she was about to leave.
The moral of this story: some people don’t have like to have their worldview challenged.
At the Unique Thrift Store in Joliet, I managed to find a mint condition copy of George W. Bush – A Heroic First Year (© 2002 The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.). I knew that a book about Our Fearless Leader, published shortly after 9/11 by the conservative and jingoist Reader’s Digest would be bad. But nothing could prepare me for how bad it really is.
The first lines of the book’s prologue:
There are moments in a man’s life when the gravity of the occasion can be energizing or overwhelming, awe inspiring or paralyzing. At these times, the people counting on him need to know what choice he will make. Will he embrace the challenge, or will the challenge debilitate him?
Then, describing the scene on September 14, 2001, at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC:
Seated next to Laura was George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Never breaking his glance from the altar in from of him, “41” as the father is warmly referred to by the men and women who work in his son’s administration, reached over and grasped the hand of George W. Bush. That was the moment.
Ugh. This third-grade level of drivel continues on for another 60 pages. I’m not sure how I’ll make it through.
There are 78 days until Election Day. Are you registered to vote? If so, are you actually going to vote? If not, James Madison will powerbomb you.
And finally, I’d like to offer my congratulations to Jeff and Tasha, my cousin and cousin-in law, respectively. On Friday August 18th 2006, their son, Vladimir Roland Waske was born. As they say in “the streets”, big up yourself, little Vlad.
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