Stupid, Secretive, Surly, and Sadistic

Part One - Stupid and Secretive

"Civilization is peace, war is barbarism." Frederic Passy winner of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. More on nonviolence

When Karl Rove stated that after 9-11, liberals wanted to get bin Laden into therapy whereas conservatives wanted to kill bin Laden, he was half correct. After 'shock and awe', liberals wanted therapy, not for bin Laden, but for Bush, Cheney, Rove, the neo-conservatives, and the neo-neanderthal chest thumping right. We still do. The Nation, Rove on the Couch

There is an repugnant phenomenon taking place in public discourse. A public figure can make a mud slinging statement and then he or she can simply sit back, relax, and watch the mud take on a life of its own. This is aided by a magnificently flawed main stream media, ever on the lookout for insults, points of contention, friction, hysteria, and all things salacious and consequently newsworthy.

No one bothers to go to the source and challenge the original mud itself. If you've got the microphone then you must be a demigod, and who can argue with that.

For example, look at one clear statement from GW Bush.

From CNN on 2-25-04 Bush calls for ban on same-sex marriages

"But Bush said the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and laws banning same-sex marriage in 38 states "EXPRESS AN OVERWHELMING CONSENSUS IN OUR COUNTRY FOR PROTECTING THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE."

The polls do slightly back Bush on this issue, at this point in time. Polls on gay marriage

What is noteworthy about the statement is that it loudly exclaims the fundamental point that Bush understands the notion of an overwhelming consensus. Well gee, if Bush understands the notion of an overwhelming consensus then why are American troops still in Iraq? Polls on Iraq The overwhelming consensus wants the troops out of Iraq.

The President is playing the 'alert to the overwhelming consensus card' and the 'stupid to the overwhelming consensus card' at the same time. Such is the prerogative of a decider. Yet he gets a pass on both counts. No one bothers to point out the dissonant, partisan, and polarizing decision making process. Its like a bad joke told without the punch line.

The articles on the secretive nature of the Bush administration are coming out in bushels:

Secrecy Under Scrutiny "The pace of classification has escalated dramatically year after year and has now reached a record level--nearly 16 million new secrets annually......We will simply assume that the most important political decisions are out of reach and beyond our ability to affect."

White House Follows New Path to Secrecy "In the past year, lawyers for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney directed the Secret Service to maintain the confidentiality of visitor logs, declaring them to be presidential records.... The decision made the logs exempt from a law requiring their disclosure to whoever asks to see them."

Notice that the decision once again exempts the Bush administration from the law, placing Bush and Cheney above the law even though they are supposed to be working for us. Being above the law is a theme of this White House. Actually becoming the root source of all law appears to be this administration's goal.

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive

Here Bush sets into motion the final piece of the dictator in waiting scenario. The directive allows Bush to take control of all branches of the government in an emergency.

The list does not bode well:
-An administration with the least popular President in decades, who is simultaneously removed from any of the implications of that non popularity.
-An enemy that is ill defined, diffuse, and can pop up anywhere.
-Iran, which is clearly in the gun sights, and already primed by the main stream media as the new sharpest point of the axis of evil.
-A proclivity towards squelching dissent, removing basic American rights like the right of Habeus Corpus, along with illegal surveillance and wiretapping.
-A Presidential personality that does not do well with outside advice, democratic process, or diplomacy except when partisan objectives are possible.

And here's the biggest problem - This is all a big secret, nobody knows about it except for the progressive blogosphere.