March 22, 2006

• Yeah, thats great. She's saying the same thing a lot of us have been saying for about 3 years now. Now what can we do about it? Because I'm sick of talking and I'm sick of being angry. Are there barricades to be manned? Are we going to take up arms and put a stop to our government? Or are we going to keep running our mouths about how disgusted we are hoping that evil doesn't steal the next election?
• Indeed.
• You know, I'm pretty fucking tired of hearing, "oh, I don't like torture!" and "oh, the war was a bad idea!" and "oh, the environment is going to shit!" and "oh, Bush is spying on his own people!" The rest of the world has been waiting for you people to clean your act up and we've seen nothing. From my perspective, it doesn't matter that Bush's approval numbers are down to the mid-30s, because time and time again, the American people have shown that they are unwilling to actually hold the Bush administration accountable for anything. You'll just grumble and bitch some more about how none of this was in your name while Rome burns. You want a solution? How about actually doing something? No more wimpy feel-good protests, no more armchair governance from your celebrity blogs, no more three-day outrage over every scandal that comes along. Put your money where your mouth is and prove to the rest of the world that the United States isn't simply the next in a long line of fallen empires. Show us why we shouldn't cheer for the barbarians at your gates.
• >Are we going to take up arms and put a stop to our government? I would guess no. While many of us are utterly disgusted with the way the experiment with democracy is proceeding, I suspect the number of us who are so put out by it as to be ready to get shot over it closely approaches zero. I would guess that most people will continue to place their faith in the idea that meaningful change can be accomplished by voting for it. On bad days I suspect that this is no longer true- that Big Oil, Big Defense, and Big Whoever are now running things- that in the absence of an honest press and a skeptical public, dollars have been allowed to replace votes as the fundamental units of political power in the US. Now, if everybody in the country was asked to help foot the bill for the war by paying, say, an extra $1000 in income tax this year, then you might see armed rebellion...
• You want a solution? How about actually doing something? Like.....? Any concept of how hard it is to get rid of an administration as thoroughly entrenched as this one is?
• I think he means something a little more proactive.
• Chrom, while you're waiting for Americans to effect change from within, maybe you can do something from outside America. Maybe you can stop drinking Coke and Pepsi, stop watching US movies and television shows, stop using Google and Windows XP (or your Mac). Americans fret that thay are addicted to foreign oil, but the rest of the world is addicted to America, even as they root for the barbarians at the gate. This isn't a US thing, it is a world thing, and we all need to work for a better way.
• You're making the very-understandable but nonetheless fatal mistake of using logic. Visit the "Democrats Suck" thread for more on how to out-unreason-the-newspeak-right. Let's join the POTUS' press conference yesterday, now in progress. Veteran reporter Helen Thomas is asking why Bush went to war in Iraq. Can you spot the grinding of gears in Bush's head as he switches from lie to disinformation to outright dissociative cognizance? . . . . . . [Finishing stock question on Iran] Helen. After that brilliant performance at the Grid Iron, I am -- (laughter.) Q You're going to be sorry. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: Well, then, let me take it back. (Laughter.) Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it? THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- [internal dialogue: what to say?] I didn't want war. [*ding!* A lie!] To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect -- Q Everything -- THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please. Q -- everything I've heard -- THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. [internal dialogue: downshift: disinformation] No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. [Ed. note: What??] My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. [9-11 reference! Everybody drink!] We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think [*beep* level 2 talking point, deploy:] we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. [Ed. note: we realized killers could destroy innocent life. And we're old!] And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.
• (Cont'd) [internal dialogue: reasons for war - ummm] Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq [What??] -- hold on for a second -- [internal dialogue: Shit! Something's not right. Bring up Bin Laden.] Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country. THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. [*beep* initiate dissociatve break] They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained -- Q I'm talking about Iraq -- THE PRESIDENT: [internal dialogue: slap this uppity peasant!] Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans. [internal dialogue: Shit, where was I? Oh - she's fuckin' asking about Iraq. Okay George, here we go:] I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences -- Q -- go to war -- THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, [*beep* initaite talking point] we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, [internal dialogue: Stick the finish with a lie!] and the world is safer for it. Q Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld -- (laughter.) Q Thank you. THE PRESIDENT: [internal dialogue: *whew* I think I covered that up pretty well.] You're welcome. (Laughter.) I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it. (Laughter.)
• i did some quick calculations on how many hydrogen fueling stations could have be put in place for the current cost of the iraq war. based on data here (PDF) and a current estimate of 249 billion dollars expenditure on iraq, it appears that it would have been possible to have built over 210,000 high-capacity hydrogen refueling stations. each station could provide fuel for over 1400 cars, allowing the infrastructure to support over 300 million vehicles.
• >a current estimate of 249 billion dollars expenditure on iraq, That's the lowest estimate I've heard in some time.
• Maybe you're thinking of future costs, STB? costofwar.com says 249 Brazilian.
• Yeah, I was thinking of eventual costs. I have a feeling there's a Mastercard joke in this somewhere that ends something like, "Finding out you wrecked your economy so your government could turn attack dogs loose on naked prisoners in the name of democracy: priceless." Sorry- not funny, I know, but a body's gotta laugh at something.
• May I point up thread to Stan the Bat's first post rather than repeat it? FuckBush