From an editiorial in the New York Times entitled Soft On Crime:
Mr. Libby was convicted of lying to federal agents investigating the leak of the name of a covert C.I.A. operative, Valerie Wilson. Mrs. Wilson's husband, Joseph Wilson, was asked to investigate a central claim in Mr. Bush's drive to war with Iraq whether Iraq tried to purchase uranium from Africa. Mr. Wilson concluded that Iraq had not done that and had the temerity to share those conclusions with the American public.
It seems clear from the record that Vice President Dick Cheney organized a campaign to discredit Mr. Wilson. And Mr. Libby, who was Mr. Cheney's chief of staff, was willing to lie to protect his boss.
Gee, what did you have to hide, dick? Oops, I mean Dick.
Oh, yeah-- I forgot-- you're your own branch of the government.
From the same editorial:
Mr. Bush's assertion that he respected the verdict but considered the sentence excessive only underscored the way this president is tough on crime when it's committed by common folk...
But in this case, Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell.
Hmmmm... the United States caught in an unwinnable war.... the White House snarled in a messy scandal...Why do I feel like it's 1974 again?
17 comments:
You know what? It's worse than 1974. I don't think Nixon and his chumps were this corrupt, this self-serving, this fuck-off as Dick's boys. I'm so frickin' disgusted with it all.
I agree with Beth. Remember, a lot of the people in this administration are remnants of the Nixon regime. They've somehow managed to become more corrupt over the years.
If it's 1974 again, can't we at least have the music to go with it? It's the only thing that's going to pull me away from the incredible anger that I'm feeling.
I saw a political show about a year ago (and I wish I could cite which one) where they pointed out that Nixon's administration would be considered liberal in this rightwing environment.
Scary how far we've come ... backward.
You nailed it my man. You feckin' nailed it.
Yeah, it's amazing how Goldwater Conservatism is sounding so comparatively moderate nowadays.
I can't even believe all this crap, except that I can.
"..dick, Oops, I mean Dick."
Good shot, JY! The subject matter makes me sick, so thanks for the smile! How on God's green earth are they getting away with this shit? Silly-ass Bush administration won't need to mess with someone else's civil war - they're trying to start one of their own. How much more of this crap is this country going to take?
Yeah. It's definitely like 1974.
We can only hope it ends the same way -- wouldn't you love for Dick to be the new Spiro? And the Man Who Would Be King to be the new Dick, 1974-style?
The only word I can think of to describe this bunch accurately is "evil." They aren't just bad or corrupt, they are evil humans. They consistently make choices that I find to be unforgivable. God help us.
They're full of concentrated evil.
Is it too late to ask the Queen to take us back?
oooooooo I'd like to be British, even though they have all the extra U's in their words. Let's ask the Queen if we can come back.
Beth and Chris-
In conversations with both my father and my son (who is very knowledgeable about both history and politics) we've talked about comparisons and contrasts between Nixon and Bush Lite's administrations. Nixon's administration had tangible pluses: the 1970 Clean Air act, and other important environmental legislation; opening diplomatic relations with China; exiting Vietnam. I can think of nothing in this administration. Even No Child Left Behind, which should have been a good thing, has been botched.
There are members of the Nixon administration in this one-- Rumsfeld and Cheney, notably.
While Nixon surrounded himself with cutthroat businessmen in his cabinet, many of them have expressed regret about what they did-- notably Chuck Colson and John Dean. The latter has torn this administration and the neo-conservatives in general with his book "Conservatives Without Conscience."
And Beth, I had a bumper sticker on my car (it's worn off, and I haven't been able to find a replacement) that said "I Never Thought I'd Miss Nixon." He and his cronies look like bleeding heart liberals by comparison.
Samurai-
I think that 1974 was, of any year in pop music history, a year that had the highest highs and lowest lows combined. In the same year that Dylan's "Blood On the Tracks" and Gram Parson's "Grievous Angel" was a hit, "Kung Fu Fighting" was a number one hit for something like 12 weeks (though I do have to admit loving the song).
Remember what the Clash said about anger: "Let fury have the hour/Anger can be power/You know that you can use it!"
Van Monkerstein-
Thanks!
MacGuffin-
Before he died, Goldwater criticized this bunch mightily, saying they had gone too far to the right. This prompted my now-famous response "Barry Goldwater telling you you're too far to the right is like Keith Richards telling you to ease up on the booze and drugs."
Natalie-
It is like being in a bad movie, isn't it?
Just recite your calming mantra:
"1/20/09
1/20/09
1/20/09...."
Bubbles-
I swear to god, the guy's got a special team that works nights. I can see it now:
"Good mornin'! Y'all come up with some new ways I can f*ck up today?"
Erik-
Spiro was an amazing figure-- a vicious political thug, brought down by things he'd done on his road to power (extorting kickbacks from contractors for state highway-building jobs while he was governor of Maryland). You've got to admit, though, that Spiro was much more entertaining than Dick (Cheney) with his pronouncements against "Nattering nabobs of negatism" and such.
TenS-
They are, for sure.
I do take heart in the fact that people seem to be finally grasping what these guys are about. Let's hope they don't do too much damage before they're out.
Deadspot-
I've heard that Dick Cheney attended Evil College with Dr. Evil.
"I didn't go to seven years of Evil School just to be called Mr. Evil..."
Skyler's Dad-
There's a thing I've gotten in e-mail by John Cleese about the Kingdom taking the U.S. back because of our repeated failure to demonstrate that we can handle independence, including this war. My father sent it to me. I'll see if I saved it, or if my dad can send it again. It was very, very funny and accurate.
Lulu-
I'm willing to deal with the extra "U's", which I'm certain you already know that Daniel Webster arbitrarily removed in order to "American" our English.
The fact that we'll get way cooler accents and great music will be a big plus.
Um, that should have read "Americanize."
LOL. Yeah, I remember reading that. And Pres. Ford was critical posthumously which was kinda useless to the country I think.
Maybe, yes-- but it was typical of him-- he was old school. I think he did it out of a sense of having a little class. I think in the long run, it'll do the country good.
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