Let me get this straight. CBS falls for a bogus document about George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service and all hell breaks loose. Republicans demand an investigation and that heads roll, and so there is an investigation and heads roll at CBS.
Okay. Fair enough. But wait. Wasn’t CBS’s false report about the same guy who took the world to war based, at least in part, over a false document that purported to show Iraq had bought uranium yellow cake from Niger?
Yeah, I am pretty sure I’m right about that. Bush even featured that document in a State of the Union message, if my memory serves me. Yep. Just checked. He did.
Well, so I’m just scratching my head here wondering about proportionality. Dan Rather doesn’t like George Bush – no secret there. So when a document that he wants to believe is true falls into his hands he acts on it. Bad Dan. Bad. No, seriously, that was bad.
Okay, but then we have George W. Bush who we know hates Saddam Hussein. No secret there either. And, when a document falls into his hands that he wants to believe he acts on it.
The two cases are similar except that in the first case no one died. In the second case roughly 200,000 people died – and more die every day.
Still, it’s the guy who made the deadly mistake who gets his knickers in a twist at the guy who made the non-deadly mistake, and heads roll. But no heads roll for the deadly mistake.
I’m just thinking out loud here, trying to grasp the enormous gap between the reaction to the two cases, the sheer chutzpah, the shameless lack of shame, the shitafruckingmuthaduckingassasukingroveadickingbushalyingdoublecrossingorwellinging of the way these two events were handled.
Dan Rather, George W. Bush. Both men are ninnies. But only one killed or maimed nearly a quarter million people the past two years for reasons that have proved to be false. Only one used false information as a pretext for war. War…you know, where people lose arms and legs and die. He led us into a real, honest to god, blowing up, blood and guts, civilian killing and maiming, war – based on false info.
And, while Dan Rather at least apologized for his mistake, Bush refuses to do so. Heads have rolled, just not at the White House or anywhere else in the Bush administration.
But wait, it gets worse. While four people were fired at CBS and Dan Rather forced into early retirement, just the opposite happened over at the White House. Over there Bush awarded the guy who came up with the false WMD documents, George Tenet, the highest civilian medal for his service. The snookered awards the snookeree. No shame. No accountability. No wonder this administration opposed the World Court of Justice.
Is it just me, or is something just all catawampus? If you followed the news you would think that these two stories had no relation to one another at all. Nothing in common. Nothing worth a mention. In fact the non-CBS mainstream media took obvious delight in reporting CBS’s disgrace and subsequent groveling. They gave White House mouthpieces all the air time they wanted to perform ugly little victory dances and make pompous, self-righteous pronouncements about CBS’s mistake.
But not one.. not a single one of those blow-dried, over-paid, stuffed-shirt/blouse, thumb-sucker anchors thought to ask them why Rather’s mistake, letting himself be suckered by bad documents, was a disgrace but Bush starting a war over false intel wasn’t. Instead they just let the White House shills kick CBS in the ribs while it was down with total impunity.
That’s all I have to say on that subject. Thinking about it any more just makes me want to drink myself senseless.
Meanwhile In Other News
No WMD? Yep.
Oh, crap! Seems I was wrong. I am forced to revisit the WMD issue one last time. Yesterday it was reported that last month the US quietly ended its search for Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Oh, you missed that White House news conference? No you didn’t. There was no news conference. You can bet your sweet bippy there would have been one had they found a single WMD, but they didn’t. So, no news conference. No White House spokeshills on the news. The whole reason we went to war turned out to be wrong, but the White House had nothing to say about it until asked. And when asked what did they say?
“The President has been clear on this. Iraq is better off today than it was when Saddam was in power and, even knowing what we know now, he would do the same thing.”
Yep. That’s what the White House said. Now, what if Dan Rather had said that, even though he now knows the documents he used for his story were false, he would do it again? Hmmm.
Torture
Remember last week when Attorney General nominee, Alberto Gonzalez, said that he and President Bush opposed all forms of torture? That was lie. We learn in today’s news that, at the urging of the White House, Congressional Republicans scrapped a legislative measure last month that would have imposed new restrictions on the use of extreme interrogation measures by American intelligence officers – methods human rights groups uniformly agree constitute torture.
Gonzalez is expected to be confirmed it would appear we are about to replace the current psychiatric case, John Aschroft, with a liar. Is lying a conservative value? Do you Red State Republicans teach your kids that God wants them to tell the truth all the time, or just when it’s convenient? Just wondering. I mean you guys were all steamed up over Bill Clinton’s lies.
So, are Republican lies venal sins and Democrat lies mortal sins? Wink, wink, nod, nod.
Party Hardy
Hey, I haven’t gotten my invite to the inauguration. Of course I also didn’t donate a zillion dollars to the Bush reelection either. But those who did got their invitations. And all you have to do is read down the list of who they are and how much they gave to turn you into a socialist.
The nuclear industry is there. President Bush supports lowering barriers to building nuclear power plants. To show it appreciates that the nuke industry lobby coughed up a $100,000 to help pay for his inauguration. “He's a big supporter," said John E. Kane, chief lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute. "Our donation is just a small way of supporting him."
Hey, why not ask George if you can put one of your reactors in Crawford.
“Wall Street investment firms seeking to profit from private Social Security accounts; oil, gas and mining companies pushing the White House to revive a stalled energy-subsidy bill; and hotels and casinos seeking an influx of immigrant labor are among the 44 interests that have each given $250,000 and the 66 that have donated $100,000 to $225,000. And the money keeps pouring in.” (Washington Post)
Well, the Post should know. Even the Washington Post wants to be on the winning side. The Washington Post Co. has pledged $100,000 to the inauguration, which it’s reporters will be covering with all the impartiality they can still muster.
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens gave $250,000 to the inauguration. Pickens played a major role in the election by giving $2.5 million to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group used the money to attack John F. Kerry's record in Vietnam. He gave another $2.5 million to the pro-Bush action committee, Progress for America.
In all the bill for the party stands at about $40 million, not counting the $12 million District of Columbia taxpayers will have to cough up to provide security.
Basta! See you tomorrow.
Raconteur at Large
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