Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In
Notwithstanding my last post about wanting to take this blog in new directions, I just can't stop myself from writing about some of the more outrageous things that the Bushies are doing. And, since you hear so little about it in the mainstream media, I feel as though I have an obligation to keep getting the stories out to my readers.
Item: Bush's trip to Europe has been hailed throughout the U.S. press as some sort of diplomatic triumph. If you read what is being written about it in the European press, however, you get a somewhat different perspective. A great story appeared in Der Spiegel (which can be viewed online in English at www.spiegel.de) about the Bushies' plans for holding a "town meeting" in the Rhineland city of Mainz. The Germans were apparently quite enthusiastic about this, thinking that they would have an opportunity for a genuine, first-hand exposure to real old-fashioned American democracy!
The Bushies, however, had another idea. Bush's handlers asked the German organizers of the town meeting how they were planning on screening the participants in the event and how they would go about filtering out any thorny questions that Bush did not want to hear. The Germans were quite shocked by this, and said that if this was to be a free forum, it should be unscripted and open to all questioners. The German Ambassador to the United States told the Bushies, "Don't get upset with us if they ask angry questions."
Bush's folks didn't get upset at all. They just canceled the town meeting, and instead set up a carefully orchestrated "young leaders" forum (closed to the press and the public) consisting of 20 young German corporate executives carefully chosen by the conservative Aspen Institute.
It's a hell of a situation when we've got to rely on Germans to explain to us how democracy is supposed to work.
Item: Those good old Swift Boat veterinarians aren't going away. Charlie Jarvis, the genius behind the ads, is now heading up an outfit called USA Next which is trying to promote Bush's Social Security demolition plan by attempting to do to the AARP what the Swifties did to Kerry. Their first foray into the public arena was to run a series of ads saying that the AARP wants to abandon our troops in Iraq and promote gay marriage. Nothing like getting to the crux of the Social Security debate!
Jerome Corsi, the author of the disgusting Bush campaign publication "Unfit For Command," which effectively accused Kerry of cowardice and treason, is now coming out with a book asserting that the Democratic Party is being funded by Iranian mullahs and that the Democrats are giving nuclear secrets to the Iranians. Corsi's claim is based on the fact that a New York investor who made contributions to Kerry's campaign originally came from Iran. How's that for solid proof! How does Corsi deal with the fact that this individual is a strong opponent of the mullahs who came to this country because he was fleeing from religious tyranny? Details, details.
This individual is now threatening a lawsuit against Corsi. Lawsuits may well be the only weapon we have against the lying right-wing media. In the immortal words of my profession, "Sue the bastards!"
Item: Bush's trip to Europe has been hailed throughout the U.S. press as some sort of diplomatic triumph. If you read what is being written about it in the European press, however, you get a somewhat different perspective. A great story appeared in Der Spiegel (which can be viewed online in English at www.spiegel.de) about the Bushies' plans for holding a "town meeting" in the Rhineland city of Mainz. The Germans were apparently quite enthusiastic about this, thinking that they would have an opportunity for a genuine, first-hand exposure to real old-fashioned American democracy!
The Bushies, however, had another idea. Bush's handlers asked the German organizers of the town meeting how they were planning on screening the participants in the event and how they would go about filtering out any thorny questions that Bush did not want to hear. The Germans were quite shocked by this, and said that if this was to be a free forum, it should be unscripted and open to all questioners. The German Ambassador to the United States told the Bushies, "Don't get upset with us if they ask angry questions."
Bush's folks didn't get upset at all. They just canceled the town meeting, and instead set up a carefully orchestrated "young leaders" forum (closed to the press and the public) consisting of 20 young German corporate executives carefully chosen by the conservative Aspen Institute.
It's a hell of a situation when we've got to rely on Germans to explain to us how democracy is supposed to work.
Item: Those good old Swift Boat veterinarians aren't going away. Charlie Jarvis, the genius behind the ads, is now heading up an outfit called USA Next which is trying to promote Bush's Social Security demolition plan by attempting to do to the AARP what the Swifties did to Kerry. Their first foray into the public arena was to run a series of ads saying that the AARP wants to abandon our troops in Iraq and promote gay marriage. Nothing like getting to the crux of the Social Security debate!
Jerome Corsi, the author of the disgusting Bush campaign publication "Unfit For Command," which effectively accused Kerry of cowardice and treason, is now coming out with a book asserting that the Democratic Party is being funded by Iranian mullahs and that the Democrats are giving nuclear secrets to the Iranians. Corsi's claim is based on the fact that a New York investor who made contributions to Kerry's campaign originally came from Iran. How's that for solid proof! How does Corsi deal with the fact that this individual is a strong opponent of the mullahs who came to this country because he was fleeing from religious tyranny? Details, details.
This individual is now threatening a lawsuit against Corsi. Lawsuits may well be the only weapon we have against the lying right-wing media. In the immortal words of my profession, "Sue the bastards!"
posted by democratic core at 3:27 PM
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