Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Right Wing Derision. Joey Gibson: " For all you folks on the left that can't seem to count, 30 countries does not constitute "going it alone". I've got news for you, Joey.  If I were on the left, I'd be quite confident in my counting ability.  How many of those 30 are contributing anything?  Wow, damn, Eritrea is on our side.  By the way, did we offer them any additional food aid to secure that?  I wonder how many of the 30 would be there even in only vocal support if it were not for (call it what it is) bribes.  Gulf 1 was supported by a broad coalition of countries, skillfully built by a real leader (present Bush's father), and mostly paid for by them, to the tune of around 90% or so. I find that when the Right writes, or speaks, it is generally done in highly derisive terms, as if they have a monopoly on intelligence.  Here's a clue for you -- make your arguments.  Try to put them in some sensible context.  Back up your facts.  Do that, and you'll win me (and a lot of other, dare I say -- thinking? persons to your cause).  Don't show up with the weak bullshit.  You'll get stomped, if you try it. Speaking of stomped, I heard a typical example today on Bill O'Reilly's talk show.  He had a guest whose expertise on Mexico fairly far outweighed his own.  Bill was getting his ass kicked, knew it, and bailed out fast, cutting the guy off and dumping him off the air.  His explanation?  "Folks, you know that we want to get the other viewpoint on the air sometimes, but this professor from American University was just abusing the privilege"...and so forth.  I listen to Bill every once in a while because he zigs every once in a while when the Right thinks he should zag.  Guess my opinion of him went down a few notches today. This administration would have you believe that the French are responsible for the current situation, and no other.  Reality shows that the very vast majority of the world's population out there thinks that Bush is a bigger threat to peace than Hussein.  Offhand, they're probably right.  Bush is seeking a greater peace, of course, in the long run, but his methods are being questioned.  As they absolutely should be, when the leader in question's skills at public speaking and speech-rendering leave vast doubts about his ability to analyze anything, let alone lead a country. Is it really time to "pull together" and support the president?  I say that perhaps the left-leaning citizenry of this country owe the current holder of the office the same level of support and respect the right gave the precious occupant during his various crisis points.  The right discarded the notion of respect for the presidency during the last one, and has to live with that. This morning a co-worker accused me of having morals equivalent to Saddam Hussein; of being on the same level as him.  He didn't exactly do this, of course -- it was instead a general indictment of peace activists, directed more or less at "the left", whatever the hell that is.  It was done with notes on a wall, in the context of noting the humanitarian record of Herr Hussein's miserable excuse for a government.  Yes, I am quite sure that a poll of "the left" would yield ample support for Hussein.  I wonder who has killed more Iraqis -- the US, or Saddam Hussein?  My understanding is that at least 100,000 Iraqis were killed in the first gulf war.  They were soldiers, mostly, if you can call a dirty teenager with an empty gun in his hands and loaded ones pointed at his back a soldier.  Yeah, there are real soldiers in the Iraqi army, but not all that many.  I wonder how many Iraqis Hussein has killed -- probably more.  But we're certainly getting up there. One argument I am getting tired of is the "radicalization" of the Muslim youth.  The idea here is basically that they see the US kicking the crap out of yet another "Islamic" country, they get all upset, and become further radicalized.  I don't give a flying fuck abut what any stupid militant Islamic idiot thinks, and the fact that they feel "insulted" by everything that's going on.  I want to make it clear that, before I start blaming Bush too much, it's well understood that the inability of Arab and Muslim cultures to find a way to control their militant, violent internals has resulted in our militants gaining power.  You reap what you sow. It's gonna be a long time before this war lets us go.  Has Bin Laden succeeded in starting a war of the cultures?  Possibly.  Want to know how we win this war?  Before, during and after hostilities: By being true. By being honest with ourselves. By being GOOD. By having humility. By caring for others. Any American who cheers the deaths of Iraqis fully deserves the hatred the observation of that joviality will bring about.  This is, after all, a pre-emptive war.  It is not a war to be celebrated.  It is a sad inevitability -- a gamble that may, with enormous cost, result in positive changes in the Middle East. 6:35:13 PM