Atrios has links and videos of the Tillman hearings on misinformation from the battlefield; Tillman, you may recall, was the soldier who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan a few years ago. Jessica Lynch also gives an accurate account of her story. The common theme is that our government lied to us, intentionally distorting the facts to achieve propaganda goals. These are ugly stories of a government with no regard for the truth, except in how it can be twisted to support failed policies.
Why is this administration still in office again?
Kucinich Delays Cheney Impeachment Event as Veep Visits Doctor
Thats the big question isn’t it?
I’ve been in a bad mood the last week, and that is one of the handful of questions I’ve been beating my head against the wall over.
Its enough to make a body consider withdrawing away from active society and becoming some kind of techno-hermit.
But thats not useful…
Laura Bush Plans Impeachment Gala
Why is this administration any different than any other American presidency? I see a problem with the system and not necessarily the current players, although his use of “national security” as an excuse has become almost comical.
Do you really want to hear the answer to that? Ok. They’re still in power because people are willing to torture and kill for them. Any more questions?
Calling the government liars is a serious charge.
I prefer to think that they simply FRAMED the stories such that the general public wouldn’t have to put up with boring data dumps of truth.
saltatory wrote:
Why is this administration any different than any other American presidency? I see a problem with the system…
If you can’t see a difference between this administration and others then you’re just not paying attention. And what is the problem you see with “the system”?
The current administration is still in power because we haven’t wanted to remove it badly enough that we were willing to disrupt the functioning of society to do so.
Lying is fine, as long as it’s not about blow-jobs.
Well, every administration has had their downs and downs, but some are more downers than others.
The main reason this administration is still in power is because they have not pissed off anybody who matters.
There just aren’t enough American body bags for this war to really make people mad. That is, enough people who would and could do something about it. Bloggers and their commenters count for nothing.
With all due respect to the American People, most voters are only important on election day. The Dems have nothing to gain by actually running impeachment proceedings, since we’re only 1 1/2 years away from a new President. If the Dems don’t go for impeachment, what are you going to do… vote for a Republican?
Why is this administration still in office again?
Because we STUPIDLY voted them back in.
Not me. I have to live with the consequences of the vote. Kerry got Swift-boated, and didn’t respond appropriately, the way Obama appears like he will do.
Don’t look at me, I didn’t vote for them.
For the first time in my entire life (40+) years, I finally felt that I wouldn’t be throwing my vote away so I actually voted. To be sure my vote counted, I went TO the actual voting admin place because my assigned voting spot was a church (which I feel does not separate church and state) and because I refused to use the machines and wanted to vote on paper. I went way out of my way to vote and what did it get me?
Jury duty.
Screw it. I won’t bother wasting my time again, believe me.
Why is this administration any different than any other American presidency?
Well, how about the most appointees from Regent College?
Check this, from the Army officer who directed the official inquiry:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tillmanpart1
Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family’s unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.
In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: “When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don’t believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don’t know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough.”
Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans’ religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, “I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know.”
appalled:
Yep, we discussed that particular d’ed f-wit last year.
WHAT!?! The government used propaganda to get us to support this war?!?! Say it ain’t so!
But seriously–this is nothing new. With every war comes propaganda. What is appalling for us living in an open society with a free press is that we got took. The current administration made us all chumps, and we bought it. By we, I mean the barely half of the nation who voted for Bush in the last election. And the less than half of the nation who voted for Bush in the first election (by half of the nation, I mean those who actually took the time to vote).
What particularly pisses me off is those of us who dissent have been called “anti-American”. “If you aren’t with us, you are with the terrorists.” I can’t believe this black and white rhetoric still plays in this country. What also pisses me off is that, although I don’t consider myself either a historian or a war strategist, it was obvious to me (given our success in Vietnam) that this war had “QUAGMIRE” written all over it even before it began. It isn’t just how in the world did we elect this guy, but how in the world were our leaders so snowed by this guy?
The reason that this clown show is still in office is because very few families have a stake in this war. Without a Draft most Americans get a free ride, there are no affluent suburban families burying their children. I think a Draft is necessary to distribute the burden throughout society.
Blog-whoring:
http://jamesbaugh.net/WordPress/?p=19
Here’s the post in its entirety without the links:
I must be stupid…
…because I do not understand why a man who lied about being fellated under his desk in the Oval Office gets impeached, yet a president who lied to get us into a war that has killed more good guys than bad guys is still sitting pretty.
Why, indeed, Jeb. Why indeed? Sigh…
And conservatives think liberal values are all messed up…sheesh…
Americans’ threshold for failure and curruption is pretty high, but there is a threshold. The poll numbers speak it. And rats are already jumping ship. Look at the Republicans who want Gonzales to step down because he “doesn’t recall” the facts. When this administration is over the Bush name will be dirt.
They’re still in office because it’s God’s will. Obviously we’re missing something.
Yo, what? The government lied, and you’re surprised? What the hell else do governments do? Let’s review:
* Vietnam War – Government lied about the Gulf of Tonkin incident in order to justify a war.
* Invasion of Grenada – Government lied about Communist threat in order to justify military action
* Gulf War I – Government lied about military build-up on the Saudi border and about Iraqi atrocities in Kuwait in order to secure a (narrow) vote in favor of military action.
So we see that there’s a reasonable history of lying about war, including in very recent history. Then there’s stuff like the Iran-Contra scandal, arguably as treasonous as anything the Bush Administration have done. There was some fallout for that, just as this administration has had some resignations, etc., but no one on top had to pay any consequences. Reagan even admitted that Bush Sr. knew about the whole arrangement, and yet the man WENT ON TO BE PRESIDENT. Holy cow! Why did this happen? The reason is obvious: there are no realistic checks on the power of the ruling class in this country. They can, more or less, do what they want. Just burn away a few lackeys if some scandal breaks, and you’ll be fine. The machine rolls on.
Why is the current administration still in charge?
That is easy. The answer is that the Democratic members of the Congress have no balls (except for Nancy Pelossi). The previous Democratic president gets a BJ and everyone is up in arms. Republicans lie to get us into a totally unneccassary war, and everybody rolls over, including the Democrats, who are totally ballless. (Funny that my spelll checker didn’t catch 3 L’s in a row. I guess balllessness is common enough these days to make it acceptable. Oh my FSM, now ‘balllessness’ is OK.)
We have no patriots, on either the left or the right. Everyone seems to be concerned with the fact that if the other guy received gratuitous oral sex, and they did not, he (or she) hould be impeached. This is hardly a sound principle to base a political philosophy on.
The second part of the answer is that a majority of Americans believe that this is sound principle.
So we should institute a system that the rich and connected can weasel their way out of, while forcing people to serve in the military and directly support military actions they may not approve of, and giving the politicians an endless supply of soldiers to play with?
Idiot.
Why is this administration still in office again?
Because the only available alternative is worse. Bush’s underlings are only liars. The opposition leaders are cowards and traitors.
The opposition leaders are cowards and traitors.
The ‘coward’ part is boring, but could you grace us with an explanation of how the opposition are ‘traitors’?
Wake up, Mama, there’s a Swift boat comin’ up the river…
Since The Atlantic Monthly is not The Nation, it was interesting that the cover story of the Jan/Feb Atlantic this year is “Why Presidents Lie”. Subtitle: From Washington to FDR to Nixon, presidents have always lied. Here’s what makes George W. Bush different. Unfortunately online reading for this article is limited to subscribers.
September 11 infected so many people with fear and a desire for revenge that too few Americans noticed that the call for war against Iraq made absolutely no sense.
But Americans are always ready to buy into bullshit. Does anyone suppose that there were many war supporters who accepted evolution, or atheists who advocated for war? It was a tribal struggle, and ours was the smaller side, a tragedy but not a surprise.
Does anyone suppose that there were many war supporters who accepted evolution, or atheists who advocated for war?
Christopher Hitchins, although his compatriots are few and far between.
The common theme is that our government lied to us, intentionally distorting the facts to achieve propaganda goals. These are ugly stories of a government with no regard for the truth, except in how it can be twisted to support failed policies.
Why is this administration still in office again?
I think you’ve answered your own question there… They’re still in office because they’ve been “intentionally distorting the facts to achieve propaganda goals”.
Propaganda works.
But of course that’s nothing new… See Gulf of Tonkin, The Maine, St Ronnie’s Nicaraguan hordes only “two days march from Texas”, the Red Scare, the Yellow Peril, the Missile Gap, etc, etc, ad nauseum…
What’s more in the news over here is the British soldier who was killed by Americans — and the fact that the British army went out of its way to cover this up until the soldier’s family finally managed to force an inquest, and (more to the point) the fact that at every step of the way the American army has been refusing to cooperate or provide necessary documents or paperwork, even now.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/16/news/britain.php
“Friendly fire” is a stupid concept, but we all know that it happens. It’s the denial and coverup which REALLY pisses people off.
That press is free, but it self-censors.
Ironically this is the consequence of the fact that it’s all in private hands (except PBS). You make the greatest profit if you say what your listeners/readers/consumers want to hear. After 9/11, at least, Murdoch and the other conglomerates believed the Bushevik point of view was popular, so they made it their own.
Has never worked. I’m with Caledonian on this one.
This kind of stupidity belongs into the 19th century.
That press is free, but it self-censors.
Ironically this is the consequence of the fact that it’s all in private hands (except PBS). You make the greatest profit if you say what your listeners/readers/consumers want to hear. After 9/11, at least, Murdoch and the other conglomerates believed the Bushevik point of view was popular, so they made it their own.
Has never worked. I’m with Caledonian on this one.
This kind of stupidity belongs into the 19th century.
Where I found the testimony regarding Tillman to be compelling and interesting, and sickening, and rather pointed, to me, the Jessica Lynch story pushes the administration into a deep corner I don’t see how they get out of.
So Lynch wasn’t Lady Rambo, and they delayed her rescue for a day so they could set up the video production… That’s just a designed lie. This was like a planned bank robbery produced by the highest powers within this government. It’s disgusting.
This is really status quo for this government, and I tell you, anyone who signed on with Bush and is a neocon is automatically protected. Will Wolfowitz resign? No. Will Gonzalez? No.
Will any of the BANK ROBBERS who MADE UP F-ING LIES about Tillman and Lynch be forced out? Well, if they can find someone who’s not a neocon to blame, SURE, someone will.
Lynch even went so far as to say “Rumsfield”, and she sounded like she had to avoid spitting when she said it. I imagine I’d have the same problem, after she came back and realized that she was Rush f-ing Limbaugh’s hero, that she was all they could talk about on Fox.
I keep telling myself that Bush isn’t that bad, but it could be up to 600,000 dead in Iraq because of a series of lies. In the eyes of many in the world, what we did in Iraq was nothing less than a blitzkrieg.
I’m waiting for impeachment proceedings to begin. Even if they started them 2 weeks before the end of his term, I’d take it. And it has to be both Bush and Cheney.
It’s the patriotic thing to do.
Jessica Lynch, I thank you for finally opening my eyes as far as they can open. You ARE a hero, but for nothing like the reasons Limbaugh wanted you to be.
Jessica Lynch is a truly great American.
I feel pretty sure the Tillman family is, too.
I think a Draft is necessary to distribute the burden throughout society.
Posted by: Paul T.
The draft does no such thing. Please take a look, even a cursory look, at the Selective Service System. All a draft will do is condemn more of the same low income, low education and low awareness citizens to military service.
Being of a darker hue will ensure service, and not on favorable terms.
You want the same people who administered the recovery from Katrina and the War on Iraq to have the power to compel young people to serve?
I was involved with the draft during the Vietnam War. It does not ensure equal sacrifice. And BTW where is the oversight for local draft boards? I don’t think there is any, beyond how much drag you have at the local level.
Debbie Schlussel weighs in:
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/hey_jessica_lyn.html
Typical.