Tuesday, July 12, 2005

WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN...

Freedom is on the march all right--away from American citizens. A U.S. soldier was arrested for questioning the mission in his blog. The soldier's name is Leonard Clark, and one of his friends has been keeping up with this situation at his blog (scroll down a little).

Is that legal? I mean, I have no idea, but I wouldn't think so. Aren't soldiers supposed to disobey orders they know to be wrong? And wouldn't that require them to be critical thinkers? And might that critical thinking bring them to a place where they don't agree with the mission? Is freedom of speech signed away when you join the military?

If so, no wonder the National Guard didn't meet its recruitment goals again.

And if Bush didn't smear himself with the blood of 9/11 victims every time someone asks him a simple question, Karl Rove would be sooo fucked. But remember, we don't have to get him fired (though that's the preferred outcome) or have him resign (another nice possibility)--we just have to smash the windshield of their credibility. Maybe also slash the tires and put sugar in the gas tank of the Bush administration. So then the press and the public won't let Bush and company pass the inspection and won't give them an inspection sticker and Bush will then be given a ticket and have a court date set.

I know it sounds vindictive, mean, and nasty to say all that, but we don't make the rules right now. Our guys aren't in charge of all three branches of government, our guys aren't spouting their ideas on every backwoods AM radio station in southern Rubetown 24 hours a day, and so forth. They make the rules, and a big chunk of the rules have to do with ending civility and rational discourse. If we put on our best suit and speak in the most precise yet polite language there is, we will only be laughed at and called out of touch with the people--see Al Gore in Election 2000.

The current rules are to be folksy and perceived as down-to-earth. You also have to be willing to fight. Pleas for civility are seen as weakness. So we only have to break out our rhetorical brass knuckles long enough to kick these motherfuckers' asses bad enough that we can get things back to how they should be. You know, where we're in control.

Always remember and never forget:

Oh yeah, and don't forget that the facts were being "fixed around the policy."

Don't forget, Iraq had no WMD, no nuclear program, no chemical weapons.

Saddam was given the key to the city of Detroit in 1980.

George Bush lost the popular vote in the 2000 election.

Bill Clinton was America's favorite president out of the last three.

America is the only country in the world that has ever used atomic weapons against another country.

Writing was invented in the area where Iraq now is--between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

A Muslim born in Baghdad introduced algebra, use of zero, negative numbers, and so forth.

The Catholic church forced Galileo to recant his heliocentric theory of the universe.

3 comments:

Bert Ford said...

Congratulations, it is seldom that you see a leftist who owns the title leftist. I'm proud of you.
One of thing though: No a soldier may not disobey an order whether he agrees with it or not. A soldier must immediately obey any order of his superior. This is the system that protects your right to say whatever you want to in your blog. So, keep saying what you want to say. We, in America are blessed by patriots, and heros to express ourselves in any way we see fit. Enjoy, and revel in that right, but never forget, or denegrate the brave men that give their lives to stand between you (all of us) and the forces in the world that would take those rights away.

Anonymous said...

Hey Lefty,
I try to think of myself as the kind of guy who can admit a mistake when he’s made one, and in this case I think I have. Although I don’t completely take back my last comment, I do admit that I made that comment after reading only your last post, and not considering it in the context of your entire blog. Sort of a drive-by comment.
Sorry.
I have since taken the time to read your whole blog so I could appreciate it entirely in context.
I have to say, “Congratulations!” This is one of the funniest blogs I’ve read! Honestly, I almost fell out of my chair a couple of times.
Seriously.
You should take this on the road.
I don’t know what your delivery is like, but a couple of friends & I took time to read excerpts back & forth to each other, the results had us rolling on the floor. I got a stitch in my side & had to lay on the couch. I would compare you to a dispassionate Lewis Black, or Dennis Miller with a much smaller vocabulary.
Once again, kudos on an excellent, and entertaining blog.
You keep up those comic gems & I’ll keep readin’.
Later, buddy.
‘Bert

P. S.
Your nearly erotic obsession with Karl Rove is a wee bit disturbing.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Democracy fails because people like you. (Bert Ford)

"No a soldier may not disobey an order whether he agrees with it or not"

Is a soldier a mindless machine following directives without thought? When does their own personal intelligence and free will come into place?

The defence of your nation, the founding principles of your nation, AMERICA: is based on freedom and ultimately free will of all individuals.

Your blind faith in your government and your own moral righteousness is more disturbing than any "nearly erotic obsession with Karl Rove" could be.

People like you are the executioners of the universe. Mindlessly following noble sounding but empty missives and going through life feeling righteous having no regard of the suffering and hate left in your wake.