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21 October 2003

Truth From These Podia

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner has published an analysis which suggests that the White House and Pentagon made up or distorted more than 50 news stories related to the war in Iraq.

A summary of his conclusions:

The United States (and UK) conducted a strategic influence campaign that:
  • …distorted perceptions of the situation both before and during the conflict.
  • …caused misdirection of portions of the military operation.
  • …was irresponsible in parts.
  • …might have been illegal in some ways.
  • …cost big bucks.
  • …will be even more serious in the future.

George Bush Rewards Senator Kennedy with Excellence in Public Service Award

Former President George H.W. Bush, that is...
When it was announced (with amazingly little fanfare) that the pugnaciously anti-Iraq war Democrat Kennedy had been awarded the 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service, so many jaws dropped all over Washington that usually voluble politicians were only heard swallowing their real thoughts.

Is he trying to send Junior a message?

13 October 2003

36 Reasons To Vote For Bush and Republicans In 2004

From an OpEdNews.com article by James Boyne.

My top three of his list of 36:

  • You think $900/month ($10,800/year) is a fair price for a health insurance policy.

  • You are planning to move to China or India and want a job with an American company there. (Working for 35 cents an hour with no benefits).

  • You don’t mind transferring your computer technology skills to serving coffee in Dunkin’ Donuts for $6.00 an hour with no health insurance.

6 October 2003

Pig Arnold and Conservative Hypocrisy

Once again, hypocrisy gushes from the lips and pens of conservatives. The latest example is the comparisons between celebrity gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's penchant for groping women and former president Bill Clinton's peccadilloes. Phil Boas, in a Arizona Republic editorial, argues that "Clinton paved the way" for Arnold and that his accusers were more credible and that Arnold has not lied.

Mr. Boas, please unlodge your face from that conservative kaleidoscope you have strapped on too tightly that has severely warped your perception. First, Mr. Schwarzenegger has been less than forthcoming about his transgressions, and has peppered a vapid "I've behaved badly sometimes" while denying the specific allegations. Sorry, but that does not qualify as coming clean with the truth. His admission of "behaving badly" without acknowledging individual instances is akin to previous politicians laments that "mistakes were made". Both figures only issued vague apologies after discovery was made.

Next, by granting credibility to Clinton's accusers, Boas committs another grave error. Joe Conason and Gene Lyons have done yeoman work in exposing how ludicrous the nature many of President Clinton's accusers were and how many of those charges originated with white supremacist organizations, intent on bringing down a popular leader in an extremist right wing agenda, no matter the truth. If one takes the time to study the facts of these reports, instead of beguiled by the headlines, it is clear that credibility is deficient in just about all of the charges brought forth.

Most important, however, is that Boas and others of his ilk disregard an essential difference between Clinton's faux pas and Schwarzenegger's unwelcome touching of intimate parts. Clinton's adulterous affairs were completely consensual and in the most celebrated cases, initiated by the opposite sex. That's in stark contrast to an ogre engaging in unwanted and undesireable clutching and grasping. One deed may indeed be morally condemning, but the other is a brazen act of sexual assault.