Fodder for Thought

While out driving today, ramdom thoughts were coursing through my brain like heat lightening on a hot summer afternoon. One of them was so thought provoking that I just had to share it with you. More on the others later.
It has often puzzled me that a man (Boy George ) who for most of his life had little regard for religion, or the straight and narrow, has taken such a turn toward the right. What would cause someone to make such a drastic move? Why would a guy who clearly loves to party, loves to dance, suddenly find religion and make no move without listening to his other Father? Then out of nowhere this sneaking little suspicion began to work it's way through the cobwebbed pantry of my mind. What if it's all for show?
We have all come to think of Dubya as a dummy. Yet there was a time when he was considered too intellectual . You may not remember it but Dubya lost his first bid for the governorship of Texas. It seems the good folks in Texas found him standoffish and (hold on, wait for it...) TOO INTELLECTUAL ! Yep. I know, I was stunned too. He just flat out wasn't folksy enough. His political advisors told him he was going to have to dumb it down a little. Oh yes they did.
Apparently he took their advice to heart and subsequently won the next race. Like the faithful, ever vigilant pet, he learned his lesson. He's been dumbing it down ever since.
So lets take this to the next logical step. In 2000 it was clear many of the voting public were disgusted by the Clinton antics. They were looking for something fresh. Someone who could unite the country, someone with a clean cut, family image. Up to the plate steps none other than George W Bush. Son of a former straightlaced President. He had breeding, he had culture, he had political clout. However that alone was not going to be enough to take the White House away from the Democrats. After all the past 5/6 years had been like living in Camelot. The economy was flourishing, employment was up, the deficit was down. The only thing lacking was a sense of dignity and decency. George needed to find a way to bring the religious right into his camp. ALL of them, or at least as many of them as possible. So, instead of dumbing it down, he upped his Christian attitude. He became what the religious zealots wanted. While it didn't get him outright elected it did sway enough of the Supreme Court in Florida (and of course the ulitimate Supremes) to result in securing his place in the White House.
Of course one term was not an option. Therefore he has had to 'suck up' to the right as much as possible in the past 4 years. Thus the appointment of Ashcroft. But maybe deep down, just like he isn't really all that dumb, he isn't really all that religious. Maybe if he is actually elected (or manages to steal yet another election), his true colors with surface. After all what has he got to loose? He's not going to be President again. Of course he may want to be Governor of Texas again and barring that, maybe Florida, but for the most part his political career has peaked. So maybe this next four years the real Dubya will shine. Maybe the party boy will show those stiff, hard nosed, Repugnicans Republicans how partying is done. Wouldn't that be the ultimate payback? How sweet it would be to see them all have their self-rightous, assinine bullshit shoved right back in their faces by the very guy they put there.
What a freaking trip that would be. Party on Dubya, party on!!!

posted by wanda at 7:15 PM

Excuse me while I weep Celebrate

Today, I help register four new voters!!! All registered as Independents but they'll be voting Kerry come November!
Every new voter is a step in the right direction.
If I can do this every week between now and November, guess what?
ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!.

Come November here's my message to Bu$h & Co.

********

I talked to a 19 year old kid today(Friday) about registering to vote. In the midst of our conversation we got around to discussing the war. I mentioned the recent allegations of abuse by US soldiers toward the Iraqi prisoners in their custody. His response was "I know! Man ain't it cool? We need to do that shit to all them fucking A rabs!" He thinks Bush is hard core and we need 'more' ass kickers like him.
He made me ashamed to be from Alabama and American.
In all honesty I have to tell you that for the four people (two were college students, two were young men that went to school with my children) I did get registered to vote, I talked to at least 10 or 15 more who felt pretty much the same way he did (all of them male, most of them under the age of 30 and most of them high school dropouts). Fortunately not one of them wanted to get 'signed up' just yet. Maybe they thought I was registering them for the draft (several of them mentioned that they had never signed up with selective service). Which would mean they like Bush like to talk about being tough, as long as they are not the one's getting shot at. No big surprise there huh?
God help us all if these kind of people take over our country. God help us all.
posted by wanda at 4:20 PM

John Kerry For President!!!

Bohenian Mama , has hit the nail squarely on the head with this post....

Setting the Record Straight

As most of my readers well know, I have not been an enthusiastic supporter of John Kerry. I was Howard Dean (for me Wanda, it was John Edwards) all the way because I felt that not only did the country need a change, but so did the Democratic party. It felt like the party just went back to it same old Washington insider/centrist leaning past with Kerry. Of course, in comparison with George Bush, John Kerry looks like a vast improvement in leadership and composure. But in the last week I've been watching as Kerry begins to take on the attacks that have been freely flowing at him the last month, and I am starting to be pursuaded that he is going to be a formidable candidate.

I couldn't understand why the Bush camp would open up the can of worms about past military service by questioning Kerry and demanding his full disclosure of his military records. He has done so, including his medical records. Not satisfied that he truly did serve with honor and distinction, they questioned his purple hearts, saying that at least his first injury "wasn't that bad." The question of whether they realize that a purple heart is earned by anyone who is injured in combat didn't seem to phase them, considering that not one of the top leaders of this current administration has ever seen combat... and in fact did everything they could to avoid it.

Then they started this whole ruckus over Kerry's wording about his medals/ribbons. Anyone in the military or the kid of anyone in the military (like me) knows that these two words are interchangeable. Not only did Kerry not lie or shift his story or "flip flop" but he boldly told the truth: he came home from serving in a devastating war and wanted to do everything he could to stop that from happening to other young men - the throwing of the ribbons/medals was an act of spontaneity during an event that was unlike political events of today, where everything is choreographed and scripted. He not only volunteered and fought in the war, but when he came home he took a courageous and honorable stand.

The RNC made a huge deal out of Clinton going to Oxford during the war, calling him a "draft dodger" and worse. And yet they are shocked - shocked! - that Bush and Cheney's records could be questioned - even after they've attacked Kerry on his records. But the republicans want us to measure John Kerry's past by today's politics (and at the same time leave the president out of it):

In the heat of a political campaign, attacks come from all
directions. That's why John Kerry's military records are so
compelling; they measure the man before his critics or his
supporters saw him through a political lens. These military
records show that John Kerry served his country with
valor, and that those who served with him and above him
held him in high regard. That's honor enough for any veteran.

Yet the Republican attack machine follows a pattern
we've seen before, whether the target is Senator
John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 or Senator Max
Cleland in Georgia in 2002. The latest manifestation
of these tactics is the controversy over Mr. Kerry's medals.

[...]

Republicans have tried to use this event to question
his patriotism and his truthfulness, claiming he has
been inconsistent in saying whether he threw away
his medals or ribbons. This is no more than a political
smear. After risking his life in Vietnam to save others,
John Kerry earned the right to speak out against a
war he believed was wrong. Make no mistake: it is
that bravery these Republicans are now attacking.

Although President Bush has not engaged personally
in such accusations, he has done nothing to stop
others from making them. I believe those who didn't
serve, or didn't show up for service, should have the
decency to respect those who did serve ? often
under the most dangerous conditions, with bravery
and, yes, with undeniable patriotism.

... that last word from the Supreme Commander himself, Wesley Clark.

I'm not so concerned about a war 30 years ago. I'm concerned about one going on right now. George Bush doesn't want us to see the coffins of the hundreds of dead coming home - yet he's willing to use a picture of a coffin of a fireman at 9/11 in a campaign ad. THAT'S the kind of character we should be questioning this election.

I absolutely agree with every word.

posted by wanda at 12:24 AM

I Coulda Told You That!

"If this 15-year-old kid in Prosser (Prosser, Washington) is perceived as a threat to the president, then we are living in '1984.'"
-- Kevin Cravens, friend of the unidentified boy who was questioned by the Secret Service , about anti-war drawings he did for an art class, one of which depicted President Bush's head on a stick (already I like this kid).
What I'm wondering is, how long will it be before we need someone to come in and save us from an evil, tyranical, dictator and his minions.

ps: I have discovered two great new blogs, Dean's World , and John Kerry's A Douchebag, But I'm Voting for Him Anyway. Be sure to check them out!
posted by wanda at 2:23 PM

To Whom It May Concern


The Orwellian Olsens
By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: April 25, 2004

It's their reality. We just live and die in it.

In Bushworld, our troops go to war and get killed, but you never see the bodies coming home.

In Bushworld, flag-draped remains of the fallen are important to revere and show the nation, but only in political ads hawking the president's leadership against terror.

In Bushworld, we can create an exciting Iraqi democracy as long as it doesn't control its own military, pass any laws or have any power.

In Bushworld, we can win over Falluja by bulldozing it.

In Bushworld, it was worth going to war so Iraqis can express their feelings ("Down With America!") without having their tongues cut out, although we cannot yet allow them to express intemperate feelings in newspapers ("Down With America!") without shutting them down.

In Bushworld, it's fine to take $700 million that Congress provided for the war in Afghanistan and 9/11 recovery and divert it to the war in Iraq that you're insisting you're not planning.

In Bushworld, you don't consult your father, the expert in being president during a war with Iraq, but you do talk to your Higher Father, who can't talk back to warn you to get an exit strategy or chide you for using Him for political purposes.

In Bushworld, it's O.K. to run for re-election as the avenger of 9/11, even as you make secret deals with the Arab kingdom where most of the 9/11 hijackers came from.

In Bushworld, you get to strut around like a tough military guy and paint your rival as a chicken hawk, even though he's the one who won medals in combat and was praised by his superior officers for fulfilling all his obligations.

In Bushworld, it makes sense to press for transparency in Mr. and Mrs. Rival while cultivating your own opacity.

In Bushworld, you can reign as the antiterror president even after hearing an intelligence report about Al Qaeda's plans to attack America and then stepping outside to clear brush.

In Bushworld, those who dissemble about the troops and money it will take to get Iraq on its feet are patriots, while those who are honest are patronizingly marginalized.

In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq, even as they increasingly merge the two in America.

In Bushworld, you can claim to be the environmental president on Earth Day while being the industry president every other day.

In Bushworld, you brag about how well Afghanistan is going, even though soldiers like Pat Tillman are still dying and the Taliban are running freely around the border areas, hiding Osama and delaying elections.

In Bushworld, imperfect intelligence is good enough to knock over Iraq. But even better evidence that North Korea is building the weapons that Saddam could only dream about is hidden away.

In Bushworld, the C.I.A. says it can't find out whether there are W.M.D. in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are W.M.D.

In Bushworld, there's no irony that so many who did so much to avoid the Vietnam draft have now strained the military so much that lawmakers are talking about bringing back the draft.

In Bushworld, we're making progress in the war on terror by fighting a war that creates terrorists.

In Bushworld, you don't need to bother asking your vice president and top Defense Department officials whether you should go to war in Iraq, because they've already maneuvered you into going to war.

In Bushworld, it's perfectly natural for the president and vice president to appear before the 9/11 commission like the Olsen twins.

In Bushworld, you expound on remaking the Middle East and spreading pro-American sentiments even as you expand anti-American sentiments by ineptly occupying Iraq and unstintingly backing Ariel Sharon on West Bank settlements.

In Bushworld, we went to war to give Iraq a democratic process, yet we disdain the democratic process that causes allies to pull out troops.

In Bushworld, you pride yourself on the fact that your administration does not leak to the press, while you flood the best-known journalist in Washington with inside information.

In Bushworld, you list Bob Woodward's "Plan of Attack" as recommended reading on your campaign Web site, even though it makes you seem divorced from reality. That is, unless you live in Bushworld.

***********

If you enjoy living in this ' Koolaid inspired world, then by all means, vote Repugnican Republican. It's only going to get worse. I promise you.
When historians look back and ask "how did things go so wrong in the greatest country in the world...", the answer will be , 'the people weren't paying attention or else they just didn't care enough to try and stop them'. What a wonderful world we are creating for our children, grandchildren and the generations to come.

***********

posted by wanda at 8:56 AM