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Friday, Aug 06, 2004
Small Government
I've been thinking about how to explain to a Republican-leaning Libertarian why Bush is so bad. It might go something like this ...
I've also never been a big fan of either party, in part because I'm not a fan of big government. When the Republican party says they want small government, you know they're lying. They just want a different kind of big government. The two major aspects of this are fundamentalist theology enforced by law, and the military-industrial complex, which Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about in his farwell address.
I worked in the defense industry during the Reagan years, and let me tell you, I saw all sorts of money being spent on stupid things. Mass transit for missiles, outer-space laser beams, all sorts of nonsense. Vast sums of money went down the toilet, for no good reason. And Ronny didn't kill the Soviet Union. Gorbachev did it. Glastnost and perestoika did the trick, not Star Wars.
And don't forget the power of the religious right. Jerry Falwell, Pat Roberston and the like have access to the corridors of power through the Republican party, and want to impose their twisted beliefs on you and me -- like creationism. Hey, it's not the job of the public schools to teach supersition and ignorance. That's the job of the church.
But what motivated me to register as a Democrat for the first time is that lying sack of shit in the White House. I just don't know what to believe coming out of the mouths of any of these bastards. I may disagree with McCain on a number of things, but for a politician he shows some sense of integrity. In contrast, the Bushies will say and do anything. They're completely amoral when it comes to the pursuit of power.
The whole WMD thing in Iraq is perhaps the most blatant lie in what has become a pervasive pattern of deception. In the run up to the invasion, I always suspected that Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith and the rest were making it all up as they went along.
There were voices of dissent, saying, "Hey wait a minute, we took out all of Saddam's capabilities during the Gulf War and during the inspections." "Iraq is a broken country, not a threat to their nearest neighbors, much less the US".
But the administration was insistent. "We know where they are." "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." "He's got tons and tons of this stuff. Hell, we kept the receipts!"
When it became clear that this WMD blather was all bullshit, that they were talking out their asses, what's their defense? Incompetence? Like that's supposed to be better than lying?
And then they compound that defense by saying that everyone else fucked up too. "Well, Tony Blair was just as much of an idiot." That's supposed to help?
It's not very surprising to hear that kind of attitude from a C-student like G.W. Bush. For years he got through school with C's based on being a popular moron, a charming idiot, a cheerleader mimbo. He's asking to be graded on a curve, out of habit. Well, I'm sorry, when it comes to being President of the United States. we don't grade on a curve.
And frankly I don't believe he's quite that stupid. So it comes down to lies. Lies that killed 900 Americans for no good reason. That ain't what I call "small government."
I thought it would be good to have a guest blogger, just like those big time blogs sometimes do. From D, a rant on the Republican Loyalty Oath program ...
I Pledge Allegiance* to a Dick
I was driving home ruminating over the "endorsement of Vice Prince Dick and King George" thing. By the time I got home I was pretty irritated about the very concept let alone the reality of their existence. The level of arrogance that these people have is beyond belief. Well I did a little googling to see what the News coverage on this was. Here are some results...
The much read Wyoming Star had this little article..
Some Democrats seeking Cheney tickets had to sign oathDemocracy Now had this little bit on August 2nd ...
Bush Campaign Requires Loyalty Oath to Attend EventI had to dig to find this mention in the Washington Post.
Meanwhile outside Albuquerque, the Bush-Cheney campaign has come under criticism for requiring members of the public to sign a loyalty oath to the President in order to attend a campaign event held at a public middle school. Tickets were limited to past Republican supporters and to people who would sign the pledge. One local Democrat told the Albuquerque Journal "I am furious. This reminds me of communism. I am appalled. This is supposed to be a free country."
Republicans Sign Along the Dotted LineNow maybe my inexperience at digging things up in cyber space accounts for the seemingly light coverage of this despicable policy...I did my google search under liberal press covers loyalty oath....
*al·le·giance
Etymology: Middle English allegeaunce, modification of Middle French ligeance, from Old French, from lige liege
1 a : the obligation of a feudal vassal to his liege lord
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