Dissento's (Culture) War Journal
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Will the Lies Never Cease?
I'm amazed at how the administration continues to lie, especially on stuff so easily refuted. What was Dick Cheney thinking on "Meet the Press" when he cited the Zogby poll about Iraqi attitudes towards the US? Of all the numbers compiled he picked the ONE that sounded best and ignored the rest. Then Bremer and Wolfowitz selectively discuss the Gallup poll leaving out mounds of important info. Here's some of the stuff from those polls that WE were not deemed capable of understanding:
1. Only 33 percent thought they were better off than they were before the invasion and 47 percent said they were worse off.
2. 94 percent said that Baghdad was a more dangerous place for them to live.
3. 29 percent of Baghdad residents had a favorable view of the United States, while 44 percent had a negative view. By comparison, France scored 55 percent!
4. 50 percent of Baghdad residents had a negative view of President Bush, while 29 percent had a favorable view of him. In contrast, French President Jacques Chirac drew a 42 percent favorable rating.
5. Asked whether the United States would help or hurt Iraq over the next five years, 35 percent said the U.S. would help but half said it would hurt Iraq.
And there's
plenty more courtesy of the Washington Post. Pay close attention to Cheney both lied about and distorted the stats on what type of government the Iraqis would prefer.
Dem Debate Quickies
Kucinich's closing was absolutely stunning, but country's just not ready for him (maybe 10 years from now). A couple times Clark gave some vague answers, but when pressed he got very specific and I thought did pretty well for his first time out. I love Dean's fieriness and I don't blame him for getting huffy with Gephardt. I'd be pissed too if I was mentioned in the same sentence as Newt Gingrich. Kerry was rather invisible. I hope the eventual winner considers making Edwards the VP because I can see him being a real strong candidate in 8 years. Why is Bob Graham still showing up? Is he going to get even 3% in NH? Carol and Al were good but mostly ignored. Lieberman had the only good joke: "It's been the middle class that's been plucked -- please note that I said 'plucked.'"
No hecklers this time.
Arbitrary Dissento Scoring:
Dean +4 (Still has spirit)
Lieberman +1 (Didn't get booed)
Graham -3 (Taking up space)
Edwards +1 (Where did he go wrong?)
Kucinich +5 (Music to our ears, but still no chance)
Sharpton 0 (Some good points wiped out by bad hair)
Mosley-Braun +1 (Legitimate beef about sparse questions)
Kerry 0 (Was he even there?)
Gephardt -10 (Cheap "Newt" shot)
Clark +7 (Didn't screw up!)
A Historic First for George Bush
Today marks the day when the first truthful utterance escaped George Bush's lips since occupying the White House:
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."
Here's the story
George and Laura have a good laugh on 9/11
Here's a partial transcript for the 10/2003 issue of The Ladies Home Journal. It speaks for itself:
Peggy Noonan (the interviewer): You were separated on September 11th. What was it like when you saw each other again?
Laura Bush: Well, we just hugged. I think there was a certain amount of security in being with each other than being apart.
George W. Bush: But the day ended on a relatively humorous note. The agents said, "you'll be sleeping downstairs. Washington's still a dangerous place." And I said no, I can't sleep down there, the bed didn't look comfortable. I was really tired, Laura was tired, we like our own bed. We like our own routine. You know, kind of a nester. I knew I had to deal with the issue the next day and provide strength and comfort to the country, and so I needed rest in order to be mentally prepared. So I told the agent we're going upstairs, and he reluctantly said okay. Laura wears contacts, and she was sound asleep. Barney was there. And the agent comes running up and says, "We're under attack. We need you downstairs," and so there we go. I'm in my running shorts and my T-shirt, and I'm barefooted. Got the dog in one hand, Laura had a cat, I'm holding Laura --
Laura Bush: I don't have my contacts in , and I'm in my fuzzy house slippers --
George W. Bush: And this guy's out of breath, and we're heading straight down to the basement because there's an incoming unidentified airplane, which is coming toward the White House. Then the guy says it's a friendly airplane. And we hustle all the way back up stairs and go to bed.
Mrs. Bush: [LAUGHS] And we just lay there thinking about the way we must have looked.
Peggy Noonan (interviewer): So the day starts in tragedy and ends in Marx Brothers.
George W. Bush: THAT'S RIGHT-- WE GOT A LAUGH OUT OF IT!
Thanks to Michael Moore for picking this up. Visit him
here.
The Jacket. Is. OFF!
Some great stuff here, about General Clark, taken from
his speech in Tennesse. A taste:
"What happened on 9-11, Mr. President? Why is it that eight months into your administration, why is it that there was no plan to deal with the number one threat that Bill Clinton's national security team warned you about when you took office?"
Rumsfeld never picks up the check
Many soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan,
are being asked to foot the bill for their hospital meals, even those who don't have feet:
To make a point about their objection, Young and his wife, Beverly, recently paid the $210.60 hospital from the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for a Marine Corps reservist who lost part of his foot during a recent deployment in which, according to Young, a 10-year-old Iraqi dropped a grenade in the staff sergeant’s Humvee.
As if eating army hospital food wasn't bad enough...
Cheech an Ashcroft's Nice Dreams
Remember those people who supported the Patriot Act because they thought it would only effect terrorists? They told us its use would be limited. They told us any number of lies to scrap the constitution.
They are wasting no time.
Here's a telling quote:
A North Carolina county prosecutor charged a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab with breaking a new state law barring the manufacture of chemical weapons. If convicted, Martin Dwayne Miller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crime that usually brings about six months.
I'm just suprised they didn't launch an $87 billion campaign to track down and capture Tommy Chong.
Run, Wesley, Run
I've been revved about Gen. Clark lately, especially since seeing him on Bill Maher's show. And now Michael Moore
wants him to run. Here, in MM's letter to the General, he points out some highlights:
1. You oppose the Patriot Act and would fight the expansion of its powers.
2. You are firmly pro-choice.
3. You filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the University of Michigan's affirmative action case.
4. You would get rid of the Bush tax "cut" and make the rich pay their fair share.
5. You respect the views of our allies and want to work with them and with the rest of the international community.
6. And you oppose war. You have said that war should always be the "last resort" and that it is military men such as yourself who are the most for peace because it is YOU and your soldiers who have to do the dying. You find something unsettling about a commander-in-chief who dons a flight suit and pretends to be Top Gun, a stunt that dishonored those who have died in that flight suit in the service of their country.
Who's Dumber? The guy who accepted the bill or the
guy on it?
Three's Company. Of the three celebrity deaths, Warren Zevon's is the most meaningful to me. I saw him in the Stone Balloon, in Newark, Delaware about 8-9 years ago and he was tremendous, even though he was sick. I'm only a recent fan of Johnny Cash, so I'm not going to get all maudlin about him, but I've been in impressed that he was able to stay so
cool in his old age and not turn into a parody like Tom Jones or Tony Bennet. As for John Ritter, Three's Company was, for awhile, my favorite show as a kid, even if I didn't get all the innuendo. And Ritter starred in my favorite
Buffy episode, "Ted."
A Mission from God!
Holy cow! God has deemed to comment on my blog:
Dissento - Hear me for I am your one true Lord and Savior (God). I have a mission for thou. I need thou to help spread my message. And my message is this: George W. Bush is my gift to the world and he will you away from evil. Yes, I have personally chosen that he be the vessel that delivers all true believers from the evils of terrorisms, taxes, environmental protection, and civil liberties. Yea, verily, he's my main man. In fact, I will ensure that he be re-installed into the presidency in 2004 by divine intervention. That's right, no need to vote for him. In fact, I want my faithful flock to stay home on election day as an act of faith. Spending sending prayers of thanks to me. And so I put it to all those who believe religion should dictate the laws of this nation to NOT vote in 2004. All those who believe that the muslims should be dealt with by "killing their leaders, invading their countries, and converting them to Christianity" to stay home. All those who believe a woman's place is at her husband's heel, to pop a squat. All those who beleieve Judge Moore is right on, to just chill on election day. Have faith in me, and all will be just swell. So sayeth the Lord.
Well, it's pretty clear. I've got to share the Word with every fundie, theocratic, born-again, pro-life, Flanders that they
must not vote next year!
Will you join me?
A Fair and Balanced Comment from God?
I have the feeling that I have some small role to play in the next election, but what-oh-what could it be?
Hey, where did that comment come from?
Arnold and Double Ended Dildos
It's been so long since my last entry I don't know where to start. So, randomly, I'll start with the education spending. Bush is cathcing some heat (from congressional democrats - bestill my beating heart!) about his "no child left behind" pledge. What? Just because he promised something, does that mean he actually has to pay for it? C'mon, George, did you think that we just be so deliriously happy about our great economy and our triumph over terrorism and our balanced budgets and equitable tax cuts that we just forget about this itty-bitty promise you made? Maybe some voters aren't as dumb as you think. Or maybe they are; we'll see next year.
What about the dems? He's still an enigma, but I'm going to lay out 7 points for Wesley Clarke. His hard-to-get act may be very astute. His piquing our curiosity in that slow, anticipatory way that a lover may let down her hair... unbutton her blouse... and then apply the KY to your, oh. Nevermind. Basicly, I'm looking forward to your 9/19 speech, but then we want to know what you stand for.
I'm offer up 500 points to the Kerry campaign if John will admit that his vote to support Iraq war was a mistake. Hey, lots of folks were decieved, JK. You'll build instant credibility. And get people talking about you again. While I'm at it, here's ten point for Dean, just for sustaining his momentum.
OK, OK, Fine - if you insist, you people can die
for our oil. You finally talked us into it. See ya.
Where's Arnie? What a piece of chicken shit. One debate? With questions in advance? He's made a fool out himself and anyone who would support him (and stop smirking FOX News --
that's an order!). Oh, by the way, the five candidates
actually talked about some stuff.
Film Stuff: I recently saw
Requiem for a Dream and I think it's a win for our side of the culture war. Oh, it's anti-drug message may seem conservative, but it's all in the delivery. Every knows that heroin is bad for you. But what's the more creative way to say that? Have Nancy Reagan wave her finger and lecture "Just Say NO?"
orrrrrr, conclude your cautionary tale with prison labor duty, an amputation, electro-shock therapy, and Jennifer Connolly on one business side of some double-ended dildo action. Yowza! I'll stick to the weed, thankyouverymuch. (Umm, except maybe for that last part...).
