What A Bizarre Week!
I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. All this “war of terror”, “keep our country safe”, “we’re listening for your protection!”, “getting them there so we don’t have to get them here”, “weak on terror”, “staying the course”.
And then the ports. And the promise of a veto if anyone sends out legislation so that it can be thoroughly investigated.
What?
What the heck?
This is that “trust us” hymn this administration has been humming since it took office.
Sooooooooo. Ok. Let’s see. You’re ok if you have money and a capital interest in our country? Regardless of where you’re from? Even if your affiliates are tied to the actual terrorist attack on 9/11?
I simply do not get it.
What did I hear bush say yesterday? That it’s pretty discriminatory to not allow a corporation to conduct business in our country just because of where it is located. There’s also the little bitty tiny fact that Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government- owned Dubai Ports World, the other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the US Maritime Administration. (are you seeing that cross contamination thing I’ve been talking about?) Gush Limp-paw said that when he was there (uh huh) it was more western than…Europe! Wow. There was even an allusion to Britain. How many terrorists does Britain have…are we going to cut all business dealings with them? Huh? Huh? Thought not. We would have to stop conducting business with ourselves if that were the criteria. The reasoning is like that crazy “twilight zone” spinning black and white spiraling thingee. I’m a bit dizzy now. The fact of the matter is simple. For herr bush free market business practices supercede EVERYTHING.
We have the very convenient indictment of three– is it Ohions, Ohionions, Ohionans…I’m not sure. Anyway we have three guys from Ohio conspiring to inflict havoc not only in the US but also abroad…to our troops. I feel like such a cynic. I do! I feel like no matter what’s offered up, I wrinkle my nose and get all squinty eyed. I don’t know if it’s because of the “LA saved from terrorist attack (four years ago)” or from what I heard yesterday that these guys have four or six indictments against them. Now, I’m no lawyer, but have you ever noticed how people get indicted on just an incredible number of infractions? This is mostly because a) they’ve done a lot of really really bad stuff and/or b) there is the distinct possibility that some of those violations will be dropped with a plea. Having a bunch of broken laws leaves you with a much better possibility of something sticking. So, if these guys were planning on not only national but also international mayhem, why so few counts? I think it doth smell quite fishy.
Of course, there is also the timing. Talk about your needle in a haystack! After listening to all of us talk for the past four years with our best friends or moms or partners or whomever, they found the three guys who were planning something. Hip hip hooray for the demise of privacy! It saved our lives! It saved the lives of our troops! And from all reports, it saved bush from getting whacked…..yeah. Hooray for that too.
I sure hope they don’t work at the ports.
Gulp.
That would be…awkward.
German prosecutors are investigating whether their government was involved, secretly, with the US in a case of rendition. Well, duh! Of course not! Bush, rice, cheney, and rummy all say we don’t do that! Big sillies!
The Clean Water Act is coming under fire in the Supreme Court. At least, publicly. The environment and the laws put in place to protect it, and those dependent on it, have taken huge KO’s under this administration. When smaller organizations finally win against these huge conglomerates, the CEOs head to their buddies in Washington and the laws are changed for them. Making the win for the little guy moot. Now we have some punk developer who defied everyone, refused to get a permit, and dumped a bunch of sand into a wetlands area. Because God knows, we need another strip mall. There’s the legal wrangling and finagling about the definition of a “tributary”. What is a tributary? Any body of water that runs into a navigable waterway. So, is a ditch a waterway? Even if it gets a drop of water per year?
Sheesh.
I wonder why I didn’t go into law.
That would drive me nuts.
The way I see it – does any part of that water go into any other waterway? If so, it’s a tributary. Considering the incredible jump in water pollution over the past six years, this is a huge deal.
But I’m telling you right now, this is going to be the demise of clean anything if the people don’t start paying attention. You might not see it now, but by the time you do see it, it’ll be too late. The dismantling of protections for the common good is absolutely unacceptable. Period. Read Crimes Against Nature by Robert Kennedy…I am losing valuable sleep over the facts in this book.
Documents in the National Archives are being sent back into “classified” status.
Airtight meat packaging is being pumped with carbon monoxide to keep it “red” for weeks. Yum yum.
And finally, now that the fervor has died over the veep shooting, I think it is important to analyze why such a big deal was made. Sure, cheney shot someone, didn’t have the right seven dollar sticker on his permit and on a Saturday afternoon had only one beer at lunch– all completely believable and understandable.
The thing is – the administration should look at this seriously because as silly as all of it may have seemed (and it was a bit silly at times) a very crucial sentiment is there. The secrecy, the denials, the dismissal, the trivializing, the lack of checks and balances and accountability in every aspect of this administration is getting really old. There is no trust. Acknowledging that the force-feeding of hunger striking prisoners in Gitmo Bay is not some grand sweeping “right thing to do”. It was the admitting of something we already knew. The problem has been, from the onset, a message of transparency but a reality of a black shroud over every conceivable tributary of our government. Covertness in government mandates suspicion, that’s all there is to it. I see it in my kids when they suddenly clam up and refuse to make eye contact. They won’t engage and they try to dismiss my suspicions with minimizing statements. Doesn’t work. Why? Because I know them, and I know when someone is trying to pull one over on me.
And someone is definitely trying to pull one over.
On all of us.
I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. All this “war of terror”, “keep our country safe”, “we’re listening for your protection!”, “getting them there so we don’t have to get them here”, “weak on terror”, “staying the course”.
And then the ports. And the promise of a veto if anyone sends out legislation so that it can be thoroughly investigated.
What?
What the heck?
This is that “trust us” hymn this administration has been humming since it took office.
Sooooooooo. Ok. Let’s see. You’re ok if you have money and a capital interest in our country? Regardless of where you’re from? Even if your affiliates are tied to the actual terrorist attack on 9/11?
I simply do not get it.
What did I hear bush say yesterday? That it’s pretty discriminatory to not allow a corporation to conduct business in our country just because of where it is located. There’s also the little bitty tiny fact that Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government- owned Dubai Ports World, the other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the US Maritime Administration. (are you seeing that cross contamination thing I’ve been talking about?) Gush Limp-paw said that when he was there (uh huh) it was more western than…Europe! Wow. There was even an allusion to Britain. How many terrorists does Britain have…are we going to cut all business dealings with them? Huh? Huh? Thought not. We would have to stop conducting business with ourselves if that were the criteria. The reasoning is like that crazy “twilight zone” spinning black and white spiraling thingee. I’m a bit dizzy now. The fact of the matter is simple. For herr bush free market business practices supercede EVERYTHING.
We have the very convenient indictment of three– is it Ohions, Ohionions, Ohionans…I’m not sure. Anyway we have three guys from Ohio conspiring to inflict havoc not only in the US but also abroad…to our troops. I feel like such a cynic. I do! I feel like no matter what’s offered up, I wrinkle my nose and get all squinty eyed. I don’t know if it’s because of the “LA saved from terrorist attack (four years ago)” or from what I heard yesterday that these guys have four or six indictments against them. Now, I’m no lawyer, but have you ever noticed how people get indicted on just an incredible number of infractions? This is mostly because a) they’ve done a lot of really really bad stuff and/or b) there is the distinct possibility that some of those violations will be dropped with a plea. Having a bunch of broken laws leaves you with a much better possibility of something sticking. So, if these guys were planning on not only national but also international mayhem, why so few counts? I think it doth smell quite fishy.
Of course, there is also the timing. Talk about your needle in a haystack! After listening to all of us talk for the past four years with our best friends or moms or partners or whomever, they found the three guys who were planning something. Hip hip hooray for the demise of privacy! It saved our lives! It saved the lives of our troops! And from all reports, it saved bush from getting whacked…..yeah. Hooray for that too.
I sure hope they don’t work at the ports.
Gulp.
That would be…awkward.
German prosecutors are investigating whether their government was involved, secretly, with the US in a case of rendition. Well, duh! Of course not! Bush, rice, cheney, and rummy all say we don’t do that! Big sillies!
The Clean Water Act is coming under fire in the Supreme Court. At least, publicly. The environment and the laws put in place to protect it, and those dependent on it, have taken huge KO’s under this administration. When smaller organizations finally win against these huge conglomerates, the CEOs head to their buddies in Washington and the laws are changed for them. Making the win for the little guy moot. Now we have some punk developer who defied everyone, refused to get a permit, and dumped a bunch of sand into a wetlands area. Because God knows, we need another strip mall. There’s the legal wrangling and finagling about the definition of a “tributary”. What is a tributary? Any body of water that runs into a navigable waterway. So, is a ditch a waterway? Even if it gets a drop of water per year?
Sheesh.
I wonder why I didn’t go into law.
That would drive me nuts.
The way I see it – does any part of that water go into any other waterway? If so, it’s a tributary. Considering the incredible jump in water pollution over the past six years, this is a huge deal.
But I’m telling you right now, this is going to be the demise of clean anything if the people don’t start paying attention. You might not see it now, but by the time you do see it, it’ll be too late. The dismantling of protections for the common good is absolutely unacceptable. Period. Read Crimes Against Nature by Robert Kennedy…I am losing valuable sleep over the facts in this book.
Documents in the National Archives are being sent back into “classified” status.
Airtight meat packaging is being pumped with carbon monoxide to keep it “red” for weeks. Yum yum.
And finally, now that the fervor has died over the veep shooting, I think it is important to analyze why such a big deal was made. Sure, cheney shot someone, didn’t have the right seven dollar sticker on his permit and on a Saturday afternoon had only one beer at lunch– all completely believable and understandable.
The thing is – the administration should look at this seriously because as silly as all of it may have seemed (and it was a bit silly at times) a very crucial sentiment is there. The secrecy, the denials, the dismissal, the trivializing, the lack of checks and balances and accountability in every aspect of this administration is getting really old. There is no trust. Acknowledging that the force-feeding of hunger striking prisoners in Gitmo Bay is not some grand sweeping “right thing to do”. It was the admitting of something we already knew. The problem has been, from the onset, a message of transparency but a reality of a black shroud over every conceivable tributary of our government. Covertness in government mandates suspicion, that’s all there is to it. I see it in my kids when they suddenly clam up and refuse to make eye contact. They won’t engage and they try to dismiss my suspicions with minimizing statements. Doesn’t work. Why? Because I know them, and I know when someone is trying to pull one over on me.
And someone is definitely trying to pull one over.
On all of us.
Comments