BUSH BLOG - Archives: March 2003

What is idiotic about these comments attributed to the Governor of Minnesota is not so much how ridiculous it is to charge a fee to people who are being arrested; and it isn't the annoyance of having experts in law tell us that the Governor's comments are an affront to free speech and the Bill of Rights. The idiocy comes in having the Chief Executive of the State of Minnesota so ignorant of the laws governing the United States of America that he would even make these comments in the first place! Shouldn't elected officials be required to know something about the laws they've sworn to upheld?

Idiocy is not only found in politics. It is found in the press, as this story shows. Others feel that suspending a journalist for making offensive remarks is a curtailment of free speech. I suspect it all depends on if you were doing the speaking or not.

Here's a short article from ORION Magazine [March/April 2003] that doesn't pull its punches. "If we Americans are split into two meaningful camps today, it is not right versus left. The two camps are these: the political awake and the hypnotized - hypnotized by television and other mass media that dangle packaged candidates and oft-told lies..." If the current assault on the Bill of Rights can forge a bridge between thinking persons of any political persuasion it should show that, "What we are seeing now from the far right is not conservatism at all. It is fascism."

Are you concerned with the way Bush throws around comparisons of his enemies to Adolph Hitler and the Nazis? This site proposes that Bush's claims may be an example of "the pot calling the kettle black." And this reporter thinks that Bush, Blair and Saddam might end up as cell mates should an International War Tribunal be called.

For those of you who don't know. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 [aka Patriot Act II], section 501, would make you a person without a country if you provide "material support" to a group that the Justice Department has designated as a "terrorist organization." So, let's say you send a donation to a non-profit group in the USA without bothering to check the organization's legal activities. And let's say that the Justice Department has deemed this particular group a "terrorist organization" because they think this group shouldn't be doing such un-American things as promoting peace and protesting wars of invasion. You could then be deported "by inference."

But, Hey! You've got nothing to worry about if you're innocent. Right? Because, if you were innocent, no one would come to your door in the middle of the night and haul you away to jail. And when your friends and family came to the jail to ask your whereabouts, you wouldn't have to worry about them being told there is no record of your arrest. And even if they did arrest you, they wouldn't have to tell your friends or your attorney. You wouldn't have to worry about this at all unless you read Section 201 of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003. Section 201 [Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information] would specifically and broadly permit secret arrests by your government of its citizens [and non-citizens].

The Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald reports that parents are warned by police not to bring their children to peace protests because, "demonstrations could turn violent." Yeah; got to watch out for the police. They might lose control and hurt people.

Also, as this columnist from the Sydney Morning Herald points out, "No matter how you look at it, it's a cheap war." It seems that, "Much, if not most of the money, will be covered by the increase in the Government's tax collections caused by the higher world price of oil [which itself is caused by the war's disruption - actual or expected - to oil flows from the Middle East]. Of course, US taxpayers will be footing most of the bill for the war. Bush wants $75 billion for 30 days of fighting. Imagine what $75 billion could do for you. Think of what it could do for Mr. Cheney's old firm, Halliburton.

This is what the Panama "War" and getting rid of Noriega was all about. Wasn't it?

This just in. Michael Moore's acceptance speech for the Oscars. I didn't see the awards but a reliable source sent this to me.

America is truly the land of the free and home of the brave. In time of war, dissent attracts the attention of police, as this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shows. Twenty-one protestors were arrested in relatively quiet day of protests in downtown Seattle yesterday. Of that number, 16 were arrested for blocking traffic.

According to this CNN report, "In Washington, President Bush said any Iraqi officials involved in mistreating prisoners "will be treated as war criminals," and [Army Lt. Gen. John] Abizaid said showing prisoners of war on television was a "clear violation" of the Geneva Conventions." I would have thought that this is exactly what the public should see. If you send people into war, you should be very clear on what happens to them - they get killed and shot at. The enemy is obviously not going to be very friendly when they catch you.

And here we learn that the stock market is unhappy about war in Iraq. While Bush gives tax cuts to his buddies and spends the wealth of our nation to a wage war with questionable objectives, he continues to ignore two great dangers. The first is our plunging economy, and, by extension, the economy of the world. The second is North Korea. Remember them? The ones with proven possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction?

"The most striking thing about this war, among many striking things, is that it is unprovoked on the part of Iraq," says Howard Zinn in this interview from The Progressive.

Bush is a big supporter of the military and of our veterans as this link shows. And he believes our vets should be big supporters of his "borrow and spend" policies. Bush wants vets to help shoulder the cost of fighting this, and future wars by having their health benefits cut. Which makes perfect sense since 60 million other Americans lack any kind of medical coverage. Why should veterans be any different?

Did you notice something in this speech by Bush giving Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to get out of Dodge before sending in the cavalry to liberate all the widows and orphans? "And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning: In any conflict, your fate will depend on your actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people." Now, call me a cynic. But why did Bush admonish Iraq not to destroy oil wells BEFORE he warned them about using weapons of mass destruction? Would this have something to do with setting his priorities?

"Loyalty to my country; always.

Loyalty to my government; only when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain

Wounded British soldiers condemn "cowboy" US pilot in this story. "He had absolutely no regard for human life." Well; Duh!