[lbo-talk] Tariq Ali's piece at Counterpunch

Dennis Perrin dperrin at comcast.net
Wed Dec 17 09:54:08 PST 2003



> Do you seriously, even for a nanosecond, think that Iraqis could
> bring the likes of Rumsfeld to justice? If you do, I want some of
> those drugs.
>
> Doug

Not only that, but look at what American elites have in mind for "liberated" Iraq -- privatization, corporate rule with a civilian veneer, and the smashing of democratic self-rule, as evidenced by the recent arrests of union activists and the theft of files, among other outrages.

Yes, every Good American today knows that "we" are bringing nothing but Civilized Values to the New Iraq -- and Iraqis better like it, or else.

Watched "LA Confidential" this morn (a great movie to lift weights to -- you wanna match Russell Crowe's ferocity), and I was thinking of how we're gonna democratize Iraq when we have such a rich history of corruption ourselves -- from the state to the police on down. Then I remembered a CNN article I read years ago about James Ellroy covering the 2000 political conventions. Now, Ellroy is pretty conservative politically, but how can you not like a guy who sees things the way they are?

On the US political process: "It's all about big money -- big, big, big, big, big money. It's about putting out guys who are economically palatable, ramming them down the public's throat. Their agendas vary only slightly."

On George W. Bush: "Daddy's boy. ... Absolutely enraged underneath his placid surface . . . A: He's trying to look like John Wayne, who squinted a lot, and B: He's trying to show -- unsuccessfully -- cognition, (being) a really thoughtful guy. Instead, of course, what he really is -- a stupid numb-nuts."

On Al Gore: "I don't think he knows what his ideas are exactly because he has revised them to suit the consensus of the moment so many times. I think he's going to get his (butt) handed to him." On Bill Clinton. "I am a professional Bill Clinton hater. I hate (him) with an absolutely biblical fury, so I will be pleased to see his successor go down in flames."

And then the crowning quote:

"I love America with a passion. But this is a dark, screwed-up place, and anyone who doesn't think so is criminally insane or retarded."

DP



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