Wednesday, November 23, 2005

"You can't separate peace from freedom"

Mike and I picked our topics tonight so be sure to check out his thoughts on the two items from Democracy Now! by visiting his site Mikey Likes It!


CIA Told Bush of No Iraq-Al Qaeda Links Ten Days After 9/11 (Democracy Now!)
A new article by investigative journalist Murray Waas in the National Journal says President Bush was notified ten days after the 9/11 attacks U.S. intelligence had no evidence linking Iraq to al Qaeda or the attacks. According to several current and former government officials, little evidence has emerged to contradict the assessment. One former high-level official said : "What the President was told on September 21 [2001], was consistent with everything he has been told since -- the evidence was just not there." The Bush administration has so far refused to release the briefing, not even as a redacted document. Administration officials subsequently ignored the intelligence assessments in favor of those that alleged Saddam Hussein had chemical weapons and ties to Al Qaeda. One of the key proponents of this theory was then-undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. In the margin of one of Feith's reports, Vice President Dick Cheney wrote: "This is very good indeed ... Encouraging ... Not like the crap we are all so used to getting out of CIA."


Rebecca covered this in "bully boy lied, people died." Mike and I both felt she covered it and wondered what we could add?

What strikes me is that most people who are Common Ills members will think "no sh*t" and most on the left in general will as well. But there is a significant number of people who, despite being exposed to one lie after another,


Remember that moment in A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson explodes and start screaming, "You can't handle the truth!" I'm wondering how many of those who refuse to face the truth about the Bully Boy can't handle it?


If that's the case, I think some are predisposed to block the truth and they will never be reached. They deal by suppressing. But what of the others?


I think a lot of people bought the propaganda that the mainstream media fed us: Bully Boy's a great leader, Bully Boy's brave, Bully Boy's selected by God.



Now the mainstream media defenders would say, "That was never presented as fact!"
But it was repeated repeatedly. Tim Russert asking Laura Bush if she felt God had picked Bully Boy. A right-winger on the show weighing in that yes, God had.


This nonsense was told and retold.


Defenders can argue "As opinion, not as fact!" But the opinions the mainstream media presented on Bully Boy were fawning with the occassional "Well . . ." The serious critics of this administration have had a difficult time getting airtime.


The propaganda mode was quite effective but truth does come out. Now that it's come out on the Bully Boy, I think there are people who are suppressing but that there are also people trying to reconcile the propaganda they were sold with the reality that they are now being exposed to.


I think more discussion and more truth can reach that subgroup but Mike thinks I'm being "too generous to a bunch of sheep." He may be right.


British Newspapers Threatened in Al Jazeerah Memo Case (Democracy Now!)
The British government has threatened to sue newspapers that publish contents of a leaked memo in which President Bush allegedly discusses bombing the Arabic satellite network Al Jazeerah. The government says it would take action under the Official Secrets Act, which makes it illegal come into the possession of government information without lawful authority. The British newspaper Daily Mirror disclosed the memo Tuesday. The paper based its a report on a confidential Downing Street memo that claimed Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair in April 2004 that he wanted to attack Al Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar. Blair allegedly talked Bush out of the strike, fearing revenge attacks. The Daily Mirror says it will comply with the government's threat against publication. But Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace said : "We made [the government] fully aware of the intention to publish and were given 'no comment' officially or unofficially. Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under section 5 [of the secrets act]." Two British civil servants have been charged in connection with the leak.


Again, Common Ills community members are thinking "no sh*t" because this isn't shocking. The Bully Boy wasn't the kind, caring, inspirational leader the propaganda mode promoted. He is a petty, vindictive, small minded man. His answer to everything appears to be to threaten. He does that with opponents, with the media, with other countries. Aljazeera has been a target of their rage for some time.


So it's hardly surprising that a Bully Boy would offer a plan to bomb the network. That's how he deals with things. And death has little value to him. His sister died when he was a child and instead of dealing with, he was spared the details. You can see a similar attitude today with his refusal to attend funerals for the fallen, the ones who died from his lies.

He ignores reality and all of his life that has been the biggest problem for him: reality slapping him in the face. When it does, he rages and blames instead of taking a self-inventory.


I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Let me do shout outs to Wally who blogged this morning about "the rules." Let me note Cedric who did a great mix tape last night.
Let me note Betty who called a few minutes ago ready to pull out her hair but determined to finish her latest chapter and get it up at her site. And let me note Kat who's blogged today and yesterday as well. And lastly but not leastly, let me note Seth who blogged today. Happy Thanksgiving to all of them and to you as well.

"Motto" (Mikey Likes It!):
The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.

"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center):
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
Malcolm X














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