Bush characterized this stupid waste of as a strong show of Bi-Partisan support. Fortunately, the media are, this time, covering the Democratic characterization of the bill as a political stunt.
Bush and his echo-chamber parrots talk about completing the mission, about staying the course. They accuse the Democrats of cowardice, of wanting to cut and run. Bush cites withdrawal as a "recipe for disaster." When it comes to recipes, Bush can't even boil water or make toast without killing troops, giving crooked corporations handouts and sending money to lying, corrupt church leaders who exhort their "sheep" to vote right wing.
The MISSION that is really Bush's agenda is destroying America-- cutting environment, cutting consumer and worker safeguards, protections from unethical, unprincipled corporations and wealthy. Staying the course means ignoring reality, ignoring evidence against the fantasy that created "the course." "The course" is the plan to distract Americans from massive incompetence, to distract Americans from plans to loot the treasury and resouces of the US in historic Bush fashion. Bush learned this model of looting as a governor. Spend $200 million, letting your supporters and contributors keep most of the profits and earn about 2-3% in profits. That's what Bush did by building a stadium, then selling his share in the team he owned that was connected to the stadium. Of course when you are talking hundreds of billions, you can settle for making a smaller percentage.
Staying the course means cleaving to the exhortations of disgusting, corrupted by money ministers of TV and radio ministries and megachurches that make their money by government handouts or by pounding the drums of hate, intolerance, apocalypse and annhilation.
Staying the course means being a Right wing Republican or Republicrat legislator who betrays constituents by continuing to support a corrupt administration, by making laws and budgets that hurt the most vulnerable.
There's been talk of cowardice lately. John Murtha has been called a coward. A Coward is a chickenhawk calling a decorated veteran of two wars, who has the courage to stand up and say a war is a mistake and should be ended. A coward is a drunk, abusive president using his press secretary to lie and call a hero names.
Matter of fact, when spineless, corrupt scoundrels, like the Republicans who have attacked John Murtha call people cowards, it is a badge of honor to be attacked by them. When Michael Moore is called an extremist by Bush, through his spokesman, it proves that Moore is speaking for the majority. (see his article.) It proves that the right wingers who are running congress, who are running down the US, running down our resources, running down our freedoms, running down our international reputation are the extremists, the terrorists, the criminals. Criminals. That's a strong word. but these are the people who are supporting torture, supporting imprisonment without rights, supporting vote theft and vote corruption like we've just seen the justice department support in Georgia, where poor people will now have to pay for voter IDs.
The good news is that more and more people are waking up, becoming conscious and aware that they have been screwed. Screwed. Sorry, if my churchgoing readers don't like the word. But screwed is what the remaining thirty some percent of the people in the US have been. They've been screwed and lied to and abused and then told they are doing the work of God, the work of the blessed.
It makes me think of the story of Abraham, who took his son to an altar, and put him on the altar, ready to sacrifice him to God, for his faith. Then, the bible says, God cut him some slack and let his son live. Well, it seems that these religious nuts, who make up about three quarters of the remaining Koolaid drinking Bush supporters, are putting the US on the altar, getting ready to kill it, with faith that their misguided, twisted ideas of what is spiritually correct will save their sorry asses. Blame religious frauds like James Dobson, religious idiots like Pat Robertson for feeding the ignorance and foolishness of these people. But don't tolerate them.
I rarely encounter these blind, running, cowardly koolaid drinking fools and scoundrels. But when I do, I promise myself, and you, that I will lay into them. I won't start an argument with them if I'm just doing a simple business transaction. But if they bring up anything political, ANYTHING, I will tell them they are in the minority. They are hypnotized, ignorant, and betraying America. I will tell them their president is a piece of fecal matter, a lying war criminal who should be in jail.
The time to hesitate is through. No time to wallow in the mire.
Jim Morrison, The Doors
WE are the answer. We are the solution and the future. It is time WE speak out, time we demand that the congress start the impeachment process. As we approach the next round of elections, for 2006, we must put every candidate to the test. Will you support a motion to impeach? Will you support the end of the Iraq insanity? And we must ask them to support honest, verifiable elections and serious revision and cleanup of some of our most ancient, out of date parts of our democracy-- dumping the electoral college, getting rid of gerrymandering, replacing state level partisan controlled redistricting that protects incumbents with nationally standardized redistricting that happens only once every ten years.
Yes, there are cowards in the USA, and in the congress. There are those who cut and those who run. The tide has turned. They will see their day-- their day in court, their day of reckoning as voters turn them out of office, their day of losing their majorities. We will prevail.