http://funsmart.diaryland.com/twotowers.html
...Well, I'm afraid that Bush may end up sacrificial scapegoat for US imperialism. http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/102003_beyond_bush_2.html Those in control of this empire are not about to compromise this empire. And this empire is not going to willingly let go of the second largest proven oil reserve in the world (Iraq). Bush served his purpose in advancing the interests of the Empire, but he and his administration have been too arrogant, too greedy, and too sloppy in covering their trails, so now the Bush administration has become too much of a liability to the interests of the Empire. The public demands someone's head, and the powers that be are willing to toss them Bush's to pacify them, so long as every important part of their plan is allowed to continue.
Even when Bush stages a phony capture of Bin Laden (I presume, in my cynicism, that they captured him long ago, or that he's a willing pawn) shortly before the election, this won't be enough to save him. The media, concentrated in just a few corporate hands, is allowing Bush to be criticized in a way that was impermissible a few years ago.
That says to me that the powerful are preparing for a Kerry presidency. If they weren't Kerry would be being lambasted as dangerously liberal, and from what I hear (I don't have a TV, remember?), that's not happening. Howard Dean was made into a laughing stock after just a minor screaming fit at one rally.
MoveOn PAC says: "Shut up and obey."
I attended a public "town meeting" on Monday night, put on by MoveOn PAC, with Michael Moore as the guest speaker. It was billed as a national online interactive meeting. The interface rocked-some kind of dynamically generated Flash updated in real time, with popup windows with photos and input fields and streaming audio. It had a map of the United States blossoming with little circles indicating where each participating meeting was taking place. To me, it seemed like the nuclear war simulation from War Games.
I went there because the flyer made it sound participatory, and I had a point of view to air. I wanted to say something like, "the United States has acted like a belligerent empire for hundreds of years, conquering land after land and committing atrocities. The Iraq war is but the latest episode in this long trend, and the Bush Administration is just a topical symptom of this underlying disease. The United States is now the lone superpower, with a military bases around the world. To undo the Iraq War, and prevent future wars like it will require unmaking the empire itself: closing the bases, destroying the weapons, and fragmenting the "homeland" itself, for we ourselves stand on conquered territory." I would have had to rephrase that as a question.
Moore only took the time to answer 3 or 4 questions from around the country-and dorky ones at that, such as, "does my one vote make a difference?" My answer: no. Aside from rare instances of close races, everything counts in large amounts. Years ago, I tutored reading to a nearly illiterate psychiatric invalid. He said that he pays no attention to politics, but still votes. He votes for whoever his friend tells him to. Presuming some right-winger was telling him how to vote, my vote would do nothing but cancel out my student's.
Though there was a microphone set up on stage, it was only used by the MC for a few announcements. There was never any opportunity for dialog in this meeting. Attendees were exhorted to sign up on a list and promise to register people to vote (for Kerry). At the end of Moore's address, the crowd was dismissed.
We should all sit quietly and listen to Moore. Even if I didn't have grave concerns about the one-sidedness of this forum, I'd want the masses to listen to someone other than Moore, who is scarcely brighter than the president.
I had to hand it to MoveOn PAC for the efficiency by which they are able to regiment dissent and transubstantiate it into enthusiastic support for the ruling elite.
I can't understand how these liberals can believe that Bush stole the 2000 election, yet express no concern that he might steal the election again in 2004. It's straight-up doublethink.
Moore said that since Kerry protested the Vietnam war and knows what war is like, he would never decide to invade a country for no good reason. BUT KERRY VOTED FOR THE IRAQ WAR!!! I don't use all caps lightly. I can't call this anything else but very willful ignorance. Steam coming out my ears, I shouted, "yes he would, he sure would!" in response to Moore's wishful thinking. This at least sparked an interesting dialog between myself and the couple sitting nearby.
Democracy, in any meaningful sense, is not taking your marching orders from central command (MoveOn PAC). That's as silly as supporting your president in a time of war.