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Southern
Style
by Rebecca Knight
"One can lie with the mouth, but with the accompanying grimace, one nevertheless tells the truth."
-- Nietzsche
Okay, who watched the Bush speech last Tuesday night? Come on, fess up now. Did you watch? How many can stand to watch Bush? It is a difficult task. His very demeanor is condescending and arrogant. It brings into focus his very nature. It distracts from what he is saying. It makes it difficult to give any credence to his positions. It undermines his credibility. But, pay attention to the details we must!
Yes, to use an old expression, the devil is in the details. The details have drawn much criticism and commentary. Every State of the Union address by a president is viewed critically, but one would struggle to find such an address that has drawn as much attention as this one.
It appears that Mr. Bush was somewhat less than truthful. Article after article, report after report has detailed the inconsistencies of his statements, how they lose validity when compared with facts. One has to wonder why the leader of the free world cannot just get up and tell the truth to the American people and the world. Could it be that the truth does not support his political agenda? Of course it could and with this president, agenda definitely takes precedence over the truth.
The Bush administration has cornered Iraq into a Catch-22 situation. If Iraq says they have no weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration contends that Iraq is lying and deserves to be attacked militarily. If Iraq admits they do have weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration contends that Iraq has been breaking sanctions and thus deserves to be attacked militarily. It is a no win situation for Iraq and a win-win situation for the war hawks of the Bush administration. It is the ultimate Catch-22.
The end result is war. War is the agenda and war is what we shall have according to Mr. Bush. Never mind the facts. Never mind the evidence.
UN inspectors immediately stated that Mr. Bush was wrong on some very relevant facts.
Mr. Bush said: "Our intelligence sources tell us that he (Saddam) has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."
Mohammed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that they believed the tubes were "destined for the conventional rocket program" and that "the tubes could be modified for uranium enrichment, but the process would be expensive, time-consuming, and detectable."
Mr. Bush said: "Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview."
Mohammed ElBaradei stated that it was unlikely his inspectors "could be fooled in the nuclear area on who is a scientist and who is not."
Now, let's keep this in mind: "The President considers this nation to be at war," a White House source says, "and, as such, considers any opposition to his policies to be no less than an act of treason."
Can there be a more dictatorial statement than that? That's right, Americans, keep your trap shut. Do not question. Do not disagree. You can be charged with treason. Forget about freedom of speech. Forget about the freedom to dissent. Stand at attention and salute the great George W. Bush, who apparently sees all, knows all, and will tell you exactly how things are. Forget about facts and accept the ideals of your commander in chief without hesitation! Uh-huh, just like the right-wingers did for Clinton, right?
Fuhgettaboutit! Forget about the fact that George W. Bush has approved
the option of a nuclear attack.
http://dynamic.washtimes.com/twt-print.cfm?ArticleID=20030131-27320419
Fuhgettaboutit! Forget about the fact that this recent New
York Times editorial calls into question the gassing of his own people
by Saddam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/opinion/31PELL.html
Fuhgettaboutit! Forget about the fact that the United Nations chief
inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, said that the U.S. was misquoting his
Iraq report.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804520548.html
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget about the fact that Mr. Blix said that he saw nothing to
prompt a war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/international/middleeast/31BLIX.html
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget that none other than "Stormin Norman" Schwarzkopf
advised not to rush into war.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2705275.stm
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget that even the families of the 9/11 victims are calling
for alternatives to war against Iraq.
ARTICLE
LINK
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget that the Iraqi military was basically decimated and possesses
no real ability to fight back.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2003/01/10/notes011003.DTL&nl=
Fuhgettaboutit! Forget that the Pentagon is discussing the possibility
of bulldozing American soldiers killed by biological or chemical
weapons into mass graves.
ARTICLE
LINK
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget that the plans for attacking Iraq call for dropping more
bombs in the first two days than in the entire forty
days of the first Gulf War.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/international/middleeast/02MILI.html
Fuhgettaboutit!
Forget about the fact that even the CIA and the FBI cannot agree
on Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/international/middleeast/02INTE.html
Yes, that's right just trust in our fearless leader pretending to be Marshall Matt Dillon, but more reminiscent of Barney Fife. You won't be able to after reading these scathing assessments of the Bush State of the Union address.
"I
Beg To Differ: The American Emperor Has No Clothes"
ARTICLE
LINK
"Presidential Posturing"
http://www.ourfuture.org/onmessage/borosage/1_29_03.cfm
For
the most complete dissection of the Bush State of the Union address
please read this one, if you read no other. From the Institute
for Public Accuracy:
"Responses to Bush’s 2003 'State of the Union'
Address"
http://www.accuracy.org/2003/
And most definitely just fuhgettabout the economy! Forget about the millions of jobs lost, the increasing deficit, and the tax cuts for the wealthy. Forget about the cuts to domestic programs required to fund the Bush lust for war and the preferential treatment of the most well off in our nation. Just forget the poor and the working class. Our current president certainly has!
The immortal words of the great reporter and columnist Helen Thomas, who has covered eight administrations giving her immeasurable credibility in assessing leadership on a national level, are right on point! Ms. Thomas recently said: "This is the worst president ever. He is the worst president in all of American history."
With all of the evidence, including the assessment of Ms. Thomas, there can be no doubt that the state of our union is complete and total disarray!
* * *
Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
