Don’t Assume

Naomi Klein spoke in NYC last night, and warned the audience not to assume they are not on the government’s list of those who need a good torturing.

“We think we don’t fit the profile,” she said. “If we feel safe, we are banking on the racism of our government.”

Cool. But I’m not sure exactly what she means by this:

“Just like torture sends individuals into shock, events like Sept. 11 send whole societies into shock,” she said. “They lose their narrative. We need to start telling stories of why terror is happening.”

OK, I do get it. It ain’t Heidegger. But I’m not sure specifically what form such a narrative would take, beyond accepting our responsibility for screwing up the world and pissing people off. And wouldn’t it be just as valuable to reclaim our common narrative, the one where we’re the good guys who live in a free country and don’t do evil shit?

IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY NOW

Why Wait, Indeed?

“Our constitution is in trouble,” Kucinich said. “Are we supposed to wait for George Bush and Dick Cheney to attack Iran before we take action? We can’t wait. They’re already rattling the sabers of war against another nation. They lied to get us into a war against Iraq. They’re lying to push us into war with Iran. Why should we wait?”

Kucinich has sponsored two resolutions in Congress to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney: H. Res. 333 and H. Res. 799. He said he’s drafting an extended version relating to President Bush. It’s an issue that has divided Democrats. But more than a hundred people who gathered for the forum were on his side. [Link]

I don’t think Dennis Kucinich is electable. But that’s not for a lack of common sense, which in the matter cited above is formidable and admirable. Perhaps, if I’m right, it’s for a lack of presidential gravitas. But then George W. Bush has all the gravitas of a giant wad of cotton candy. He managed to get himself inaugurated, if not elected. So we’ll see. Maybe Dennis has a rabbit in his hat.

ode to the shrub

Well, personally I think maybe co-opting sacred scripture for rhetorical purposes is sacrilegious, but this is … amusing.

 23rd Psalm: 21st Century “American Standard” Version

The Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.
He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
He restoreth my fears.
He leadeth me in the paths of  international disgrace  for his ego’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of  pollution and war,  I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.
Thou preparest an agenda of  deception  in the presence of thy religion.
Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
My health insurance runneth into chaos~!!
Surely megalomania and  false patriotism  shall follow me all the days of thy term,
And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.

after such noise, what?

Well, I’ve been taking a break, letting my signal-noise ratio rest placidly in the comforting static. It’s all good. But now that the holiday is behind us, I guess it’s time to think about turning the Squelch up again, and seeking a little clarity. Inshallah.

A little somethin to whet your whistle:

The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior “righteous indignation” — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.
– Aldous Huxley, Chrome Yellow (1921)

What Goes Around

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – An admitted Mexican drug dealer shot by a pair of U.S. Border Patrol agents who were later convicted in the shooting has been charged with smuggling marijuana, authorities said Thursday. [Link]

Well isn’t that special. Ironic. Pathetic.

The scapegoating of Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos was a gross miscarriage of justice. Another in the unending litany of Bush’s horrors. He should have pardoned them.