A Letter From My Old Boss

To the Editor:
While the ultraliberal bias is on display on the editorial page and Readers' Page on a daily basis represented by vile anti-George W. Bush hate rhetoric (impeachment now argued) I suppose that from the party that has no ideas, and which is made up of far left fringe extremist groups, such behavior should be expected.
Many, if not most of the leftist writers, also demonstrate short memories regarding Iraq and WMDs. In the late '90s, there was an endless list of Democrats (John Kerry, just to mention one) who screamed to the heavens that Iraq did have WMDs and must be disarmed because Saddam was a security risk not only for the region but for the world as well. Kerry's warnings also included the use of American troops.
Now this very same group (forgetful of their own statements) whine that they were lied to by George W. Bush and that he had manipulated the intelligence in order to go to war.
In fact, the Democrats on the Intelligence Committee (oxymoron) had essentially the same information available to them. With any doubts, they had the power to call generals and other experts to testify.
It is tragic that while brave soldiers in Iraq are asked to risk death in their search for terrorists, many others actually consider that the very country that has given them freedom and liberty is the most dangerous country in the world and wish for the USA to be defeated.

William

Ok, gang, I'm back, though not totally up to snuff yet. Thanks for the letters of encouragement. They meant a lot.

Now, as for todays letter, I should clear something up right off the bat. I think Bill here is a guy I used to work with, and if so, he's a really nice guy. Top notch, shirt-off-his-back type. So if I go a little easy on him, bear with me. It makes me wish I still worked with him so I could set him straight on a daily basis... maybe he never would have gotten this far off track.

Okay, Bill, it's too bad we're not in contact anymore, because first of all, you'd probably be shocked to learn that I take such offense to your letter. Your belief that it is only "ultraliberals" who feel like Bush is a lying, piece of shit weasel is totally off base. I have yet to find anyone who is not a hard-line social conservative who can really stand up for him anymore. And hard-line social conservatives, while a loud bunch, are not nearly as numerous as their volume would suggest.

Secondly, the claptrap about Democrats "having no ideas" is complete tosh. Democrats do not control any branch of the government, at least at this point. God willing, there'll be a shift next year that will knock the shit-eating grin off the Republicans' faces long enough for them to clean out our party. But at this point, saying the Democrats have no ideas is just another cheap-shot by Republicans too busy smearing the left to do their own jobs. Democrats DO propose bills, Bill. They do it all the time. They don't come to votes, or they are voted down, because the Democrats do not control Congress. Remember, the Republicans will not even grant them the use of a room to meet in; a bully tactic that doesn't even make sense if the Democrats "have no ideas" to discuss.

Now, the noise coming from the far-right shills about Democrats who supported the war effort are really tough to crack, so I don't blame you for falling for it. But the thing they all get wrong is that those Democrats made the decision with the very same intelligence that the president had. This is, of course, nonsense. As the commander-in-chief, Bush had access to all sorts of classified information that Democratic lawmakers didn't. And since most information came through the White House before reaching those Democrats, it was pretty easy for the administration to filter out the information that didn't support the effort. What it comes doen to is that the information was wrong. Cheney said, quite clearly, that it was "certain that Saddam had reconstituted his nuclear program," something we now know was completely false. Either the administration fabricated the intelligence, or recieved faulty intelligence. Either way, the buck stops in that office. Shifting the blame to Democratic lawmakers is irresponsible, cowardly, and partisan in the absolute worst type of way.

Finally, Bill, I just want to point out that, just as each man is the master of his own fate, so too is every nation. If people we are supposedly helping believe that we're the most dangerous nation on the planet, shouldn't we take a minute to assess why that might be? If you can take a step away from the soapbox for a minute, and just look at what's going on, the truth is obvious. Our attempts to bring peace to a sovereign nation have brought it, probably irrecoverably, to the brink of civil war. Have we brought freedom to Iraq? Well, in a sense, but then, a large number of Iraqis have every reason to believe that "freedom" is the American word for "shitting in the street." Elections mean nothing if the country breaks down into civil war as soon as we leave, and it looks as though that's exactly what's likely to happen, no matter how long it takes. In our effort to shield ourselves from terrorists, we have destroyed a people and a country. Was it worth it? If nations, like people, are judged by a higher power, how will He look at our selfishness and cruelty?

An Appology

I appologize for the lack of content here over the last week. I have been pretty seriously ill, and since my job pays the rent and this blog doesn't, I've had to expend what little energy I do have there. Hopefully this will be cleared up this week and I'll be back to my old, snarky self.

On a side note, for those of you who enjoy a unique computer game experience, may I suggest Lionhead's The Movies. As this brilliant clip shows to hilarious effect, it's not only a fun game, but can be great for making fun of morons. You'll see them offering up their reviews of the clip; they're the ones who don't get the joke, so don't realize they're being made fun of.

Kansas: Because They Didn't Have Enough of a Stigma Already

(Ed. Note: Due to local elections, there just aren't a lot of letters to use from the Post Standard. This story was found at CNN.)

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- At the risk of re-igniting the same heated nationwide debate it sparked six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

The 6-4 vote was a victory for "intelligent design" advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power...

...Supporters of the standards said they will promote academic freedom. "It gets rid of a lot of dogma that's being taught in the classroom today," said board member John Bacon, an Olathe Republican.

The standards state that high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that some concepts have been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology...

...In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.

The standards will be used to develop student tests measuring how well schools teach science. Decisions about what is taught in classrooms will remain with 300 local school boards, but some educators fear pressure will increase in some communities to teach less about evolution or more about intelligent design....

Okay, this isn't really a news blog, but I simply couldn't let this pass without comment. The comment goes something like this: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You know what really works well for any political or social movement? A reputation for being intellectually backwards. Now, I realize that this country is going through a terribly anti-intellectual phase, but that's different from people being willing to embrace something considered backwater and ignorant. There's a reason that, no matter how popular the "sport" becomes, we'll never have an ex-NASCAR driver as a President. Basically, this is like Kansas standing up collectively as a state, with it5s greasy mullet hanging out from its Caterpillar mesh cap and bud stains down its sleeveless white tank-top, and shouting to the world, "Durn tootin' we ain't havin' none a' that book learnin' roun' these parts!" Clap clap, Kansas. Clap clap.

Look, don't get me wrong. If the majority of Kansas's backwater hillbilly residents want to learn that science is stupid and useless, that's just fine for them. I'm sure they're going to see a massive influx of technology companies and high-income employment when their high-school graduates are turning in job applications that contain excerpts like:

"What qualities make you qualified for this position?"
"my daddy done tol me God says i need this here job."

Just imagine some poor kid coming out of the Kansas school system, getting into an Ivy league college, and arguing with their professor that science doesn't have to be proven with observational data. Like the accent isn't putting the kid at enough of a disadvantage to begin with.

John Bacon feels that this move "gets rid of a lot of dogma that's being taught in the classroom today." Yeah, I think kids today have had enough of that "evidence" and "fact" nonsense. Surely what kids need is less dogma in the classroom. Pseudo-religious indoctrination is definitely the way to go. My only real concern here is that this guy is considered intelligent enough by his community to be elected to the school board.

And they rewrote the definition of science! My God! I hope they've informed all of the major universities worldwide, because this could have dramatic implications. No longer will our scientists be confined to that stodgy old definition of science. Kansas has redefined it for them! Research not going as you planned? That's okay, no need to consider why! God just wants it that way! A cure for cancer? Stop all that expensive research and development, and get on your knees, sinner! I'm sure Thomas Edison would feel vindicated. Nobody ever believed him when he said God gave him the idea for the light bulb during a drunken prayer session.

I realize Kansas isn't exactly a metropolitan hub, and maybe something like this isn't so important in the long run. But I chose to see this as a good thing. This isn't a victory for the anti-intellectual Christian fascists. It's how they're going to hang themselves. Instead of just considering themselves lucky to get more attention than their numbers actually warrant, they keep pushing and pushing. Was Terri Shiavo not enough of an embarassment to these people? Do they not realize that Pat Robertson is the butt of more jokes than Michael Jackson? Evidently not. But let's see what happens when Kansas's best and brightest end up being laughing stocks. They call it Intelligent Design now, but we'll all get a good laugh when the students of Kansas schools find out they've been ignornantly misinformed.

A Slight Change

No post today, gang, and sorry for it. the Post-Standard didn't even run any letters to the editor today. That page was taken up by an image of the voting tables for local elections... I guess so people can plan their strategies ahead of time or something. Ah well.

I'm simply posting to announce a small change to the blog. I'm somewhat loathe to make this change, and believe me, as soon as it gets abused, it's gone. I have been informed, however, that this blog is a "guilty pleasure" for some (actually heard this twice tonight from two unrelated sources.) Now, I definitely want to allow for as much discussion as possible, but some of these folks feel they can't post unless it's anonymous for various reasons. So anonymous commenting will be allowed, until such time as it's abused and I don't want to deal with the issues it causes anymore.

Neo-Con Shuffle

(Ed. Note: It's been slow in the local paper, mostly due to minutae regarding local elections. This story was found on CNN)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats triggered a closed session of the full Senate on Tuesday in an effort to pressure the chamber's Republican majority into completing an investigation of the intelligence underpinning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Democrats complained that Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, has failed to move forward on a promised investigation into the handling of prewar intelligence about Iraq's suspected weapons programs...

..."I demand, on behalf of the American people, that we understand why these investigations aren't being conducted," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said from the floor as he invoked Senate Rule 21...

...The move caught the chamber's GOP leadership by surprise, and Frist said Democrats had "hijacked" the Senate with a "pure stunt."

"In recent history, this just hasn't been done. And this lack of respect, the lack of civility is a real affront," Frist said. He said Rule 21 had been invoked only rarely and with "mutual conversation" between the leaders of both parties.

"This is an affront to me personally," he said. "This is an affront to our leadership. It is an affront to the United States of America, and it is wrong."

Well, boo fucking hoo. What's the matter, Billy? Did the Democrats stomp all over your cadre? The weakness you Senate majority leaders are experiencing is getting more and more obvious, and this is one Republican who's happy to see you corrupt assholes crying on your subpeonas.

What is stunning is that the Republicans have been knocked for a loop, and it's obvious, because they are pretty much admiting a cover-up. There is no doubt that the war in Iraq is the top issue in America today, unless you're a radical evangelical Christian too worried about who's sticking what in which holes to be concerned with Americans getting new holes put in them every day in Iraq. Polls show pretty conclusively that Americans are less and less willing to buy the administration's bullshit. You've got pretty damaging evidence in the form of blabbing ex-staffers and documents like the Downing Street Memo. All this considered, Bill Frist doesn't feel that these investigations warrant the attention of the United States Senate. Well, that makes sense, if the Republican cadre is willing to cover up for the administration.

Let's not play the victim, Doctor Webcam. It's not like the Democrats really blindsided you. Calls for a probe on prewar intelligence and war profiteering have been coming up over and over again, with absolutely no action from the Republican leadership, who seem mostly concerned with appeasing the big monkey in the White House. Here's one example from June of last year, when a call for an investigation into Halliburton contracts was made: Story at CNN. Did anything come of it? Nope, because Senate Republicans blocked every attempt to start an investigation.

War profiteering is treason, you greedy fucks, and if this war was started on false information in order to line the pockets of oil companies and defense contractors, that demands action. The only way to find out if that is the case is to investigate it. If you're right, and there was no wrongdoing, think of how much fun you'd have rubbing it in Harry Reid's face. But we all know that's not how it would turn out, don't we?

In a certain sense, you almost can't blame the Republican senators... well, I mean, you CAN... I certainly do. But the truth is, if they allowed this investigation to go forward, they'd be crossing an administration that almost seems to revel in punishing anyone who gets in their way. Remember, this recent round started because the administration didn't like a report made by the husband of a CIA agent, and so put that CIA agent's life at risk forever. The problem is, there are just way too many Americans so caught up in defending the Republicans like they're the hometown heroes that they forget to demand the fucking truth. As long as they exist in such high numbers, the administration can get whatever they want from the senate Republicans by threatening to run someone else against them in the next primary.

Kudos to the Democrats for finally growing a set and demanding the truth. You need to stop being candy-asses and tell the American public that you are demanding the truth, and will not settle for anything less than a nonpartisan investigation into the events leading up to the war in Iraq. The neo-cons are already stunned from having most of their leaders indicted or investigated. These assholes have about as much credibility as a professional wrestling match. Now show some fucking spine and rally the people to start gathering torches and pitchforks.

Those of you citizens who aren't blinded by neo-con glamour need to start speaking up too. The era of politics being a taboo topic of discussion are over. The corrupt kleptocrats in charge count on the fact that Americans don't think critically on their own, and will fall for any nonsense Fox News spits at them. So get out there and speak up. Berate the guy on you block with the Rush Limbaugh bumper sticker. Call out that guy in your circle of friends who still talks about muslims who hate our freedom. We can embarrass these people into thinking critically. This is a democracy. We're all in charge. Stop falling into the trap of staying silent. All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. And Karl Rove is about as evil as they come.