Here's a quote I think sums up the Bushco strategy and the nature of most political discourse in this country quite succinctly:
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers." - Thomas Pynchon
Did Tommy nail that or what? I mean come on, it's blatantly obvious no matter what we are confronted with - terrorism, war, evil dictators, natural disasters, abortion, medical research, educational conundrums, oil shortages, brain dead invalids, supreme court judges, corrupt money grubbing CEO's, looters, and on and on and on - there is wave after wave of putrid political pundits, tawdry talkmasters, grubby gabfesters, carnivorous cronies, patsy politicians, crazed cornuted Christians, and of course licentious lobbyists all perched and ready to swoop in and blindfold us, give us a vigorous spin, whisper marching orders in our ears and shove us off in the preferred direction. I read the O'Reilly thread below and I find it very hard to believe anybody would take the guy, what he does or says, even remotely seriously. He asks the wrong questions with the obvious intent of getting the general public to ask the wrong questions, which not surprisingly a lot of people find despicable.
The key to the Bushco attack all the way through has been to get us asking the wrong questions. In the case of Iraq rather than ask the obvious questions they wanted us to ask:
"What kind of guy is Saddam?"
Answer: Evil
"What would happen if Iraq has WMD's?"
Answer: Evil mushroom cloud
but what about asking questions like:
What did Iraq have to do with what happened on 9/11?
Answer: Nothing
How would attacking Iraq improve our position in terms of combating organizations like Al Qaeda?
Answer: In no conceivable way. Why? Al Qaeda was not in Iraq. Nor did they have a relationship with them. When you misplace your car keys at home do you start looking for them by going to your neighbors houses and asking if you can search their home for your keys?
What effect will diverting funds to a war in Iraq have on our state of preparedness in terms of protecting American citizens at home and abroad?
Answer: It will leave us vulnerable in ways that could only be described in catastrophic proportions.
What will be the economic consequences of diverting funds to a war with Iraq be in the present, near future, and the long term, taking into consideration the current fragile state of the American economy?
Answer: Catastrophic. Sharply rising energy costs are an easily predictable certainty of such a venture causing Americans to not only have to pick up the burden through tax dollars but also by likely having to pay $5 per gallon gasoline prices and expect to see costs such as home heating double or triple in a short span of time. Energy pricing has what we could call a "trickle down" effect to all other industry as well, meaning expect to see sharply rising costs across the board. This is simple math an elementary school student could work out, so if you ever hear a politician say "We could not have foreseen this." or in some way attempt to tie the situation to a hurricane in the gulf...well...you can mark his or her name down in one of two columns, dishonest or stupid. In either case he or she is sending you a clear message: This is someone you don't want to cast a vote for next time out.
If we attack Iraq, what would be the timetable to build some sort of democratic state there that may in some way benefit our situation in the region?
Answer: Unknown but we would have to address such a timetable at a minimum in terms of several decades with a highly questionable outcome. It is easy to calculate that the economic burden to the United States to support such a timetable far outweighs even our most hoped for return. There is no solution to the fact that Iraq is a nation of Muslim sects that would likely at any point in time find an easy allegiance with Iran, the Taliban, or any other Muslim nation over the United States. Picture a group of heavily armed guys in turbans and big beards swooping down on the state of Texas and taking over with the idea they will not leave until they turn Texas into some sort of Muslim theocracy. Doesn't really work in your mind does it...that's pretty much where we are at in Iraq.
Somehow, even though I think most people- even Pat Brown - would find these questions I just raised reasonable they have been labeled "partisan rhetoric"...hhmmm how could that be?
Really though, I just want to leave you all with a bit of advice and that is simply the title of this post. Also, just for fun when you're out and about and mingling with your fellow Americans try throwing that phrase into the conversations you have just for fun. If someone says "Have a nice day!" after they sell you a cup of coffee rather than saying "You too!" pass on this little nugget. I want to see if we can get someone on FOX News to sign off using this phrase. Rather than "Good night and have a pleasant tommorrow" or "Courage", I think this suits the times.
