News of the Month

September 11, 2004

The biggest non-news event of the past month was the orgy of vituperation the Republicans held in New York City a week ago. Their keynote speaker was Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who is nominally, at least, a Democrat. After his speech, Senator Miller was a guest on CNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews.” Mr. Matthews tried to call the Senator on a particularly sarcastic remark he made, that John Kerry wanted to defend the country with spitballs. Miller replied by saying, “I think we ought to cancel this interview.” When Matthews wouldn’t let him weasel out of answering, Mr. Miller said, “I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.” And that’s the way the Republicans are seeing this whole campaign.

But what went on outside the convention, in the streets … and in the jails? Listen to these reports from Starhawk, a woman who was there, in the thick of it:

“The park in front of (St. Mark’s) church is packed with people, the street is lined with cops. Apparently the mass arrests began when the police just appeared out of nowhere and formed a line in front of one group of cyclists. … Here at St Mark’s, one activist got his bike pushed up against a police moped and the wheels got caught. The cop started beating him pretty brutally and a group moved in to protect him – then the cops let loose and began beating them badly. We’re hearing reports of compound fractures, bones sticking out of the skin.”

And:

“I was arraigned and released last night about 1 AM after thirty some hours in custody …. For now, there are still people in jail from the mass arrests on the 31st. Most were arrested for horrible crimes like walking on the sidewalk – swept up by police nets or corralled by the cops while they were perfectly legal. Many New Yorkers who were not in the protest were caught in the sweeps. We were held on Pier 57, now referred to as “Guantanamo on the Hudson” – a big pier full of metal, fenced pens with an asphalt floor soaked in diesel oil, a highly toxic and unpleasant environment.”

The biggest news, though, is the fact that between 500,000 (the New York Times estimate) and 750,000 (the NPR estimate) people showed up to say NO to Bush and his illegal war. How much of that made it into the American-Statesman? Into the network news? Even the hometown New York Times carried the stories well back in the News sections, well out of attention. Right-wing and Republican mouthpiece media such as the New York Daily News and Fox News covered the massive protests by calling the people in them “anarchists” and “violent.” B.S.

But, as we approach the 2004 election, we need to look back at the 2000 elections, and remember what happened then. You probably remember how Florida’s electoral votes put the Bush ticket “over the top” and – supposedly – “gave” the presidency to George W. Bush. But do you remember how he got those Florida votes? Remember the state troopers who set up roadblocks between Black neighborhoods and their polling places, preventing hundreds of Black citizens from voting? Remember the deceptive “butterfly ballots,” designed in violation of state law, that gave thousands of votes in Jewish neighborhoods to Patrick Buchanan, an avowed foe of Israel? [Even Buchanan said later that he couldn’t possibly have gotten all those votes legitimately.] And remember the thousands of (mostly Black) voters who had their right to vote removed in Florida because their names sounded like the names of felons in Texas? Remember the Republican staffers flown to Florida for the specific purpose of rioting outside the election offices, in order to make sure the recounts couldn’t happen? And do you remember the five Republican members of the US Supreme Court who really gave him the election – who made sure that this small-minded Texas dilettante “won,” no matter how the people voted?

We have to remember the “dirty tricks” – no, let’s tell the truth, the criminal actions – taken by W’s big brother Jeb and his cohort of felons in Florida. The truth is that those illegal actions constituted a coup d’etat against the United States – a successful revolution, with the explicit purpose, and the result, of overthrowing the legitimate government of the nation and installing the gang of corrupt cowards they call “neocons” into the most powerful offices in the world.

But remember, anyone who’s even thought of trying his hand at magic tricks knows that the first rule of the trade is misdirection – fooling observers into watching one thing while the real trickery is going on somewhere else. Florida is going to be under a microscope this year; Michael Moore is even sending a whole slew of camera crews down there to watch the election. Now, the power-mongers surrounding W are many things, but they are not stupid. They know all eyes are going to be on Florida. So do you think they’ll do their dirties in Florida this year, under the watchful eyes of everyone and his dog’s uncle? Hardly. Which other swing states do you think will get their “attention” come November?

Speaking of dirty tricks, I’m sure you’ve all heard of the infamous “Swift Boat Veterans for Bush” ad, demeaning John Kerry’s actions in Vietnam. The best description I’ve read of that piece of excrement is an editorial in the New York Times of August 27 by Bob Herbert. A few days before that editorial came out, the Times published two graphics. One showed all the links between the panderers of the ad and the panderers of the Bush; the other listed prior quotes from all the people in the ad in which they had actually praised Kerry’s actions in the war. Herbert said:

“Max Cleland, minus the three limbs he lost in Vietnam, showed up in his wheelchair outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, … to suggest that the president take the simple and decent step of condemning the slime that is being spread by Bush supporters against the war record of John Kerry.

“He didn't get very far. The president was busy vacationing and had neither the time nor the inclination to meet with Mr. Cleland, a former U.S. senator who was himself the target of vicious, unconscionable attacks by the GOP slime machine when he ran for re-election in Georgia in 2002.

“Later, at a press conference under the hot Crawford sun, Mr. Cleland told reporters: ‘The question is, where is George Bush's honor? Where is his shame? “Mr. Cleland reminded reporters of the scurrilous attacks by Bush forces against Senator John McCain in the Republican presidential primary in 2000 and said: ‘Keep in mind, this president has gone after three Vietnam veterans in four years. That's got to stop.’

“In what is surely the most important election of the last half-century, we seem trapped in the politics of the madhouse. What is incredible is that these attacks on men who served not just honorably, but heroically, are coming from a hawkish party that is controlled by an astonishing number of men who sprinted as far from the front lines as they could when they were of fighting age and their country was at war.

…

“The privileged classes no longer feel an obligation to put their lives – or their children's lives – on the line in defense of the nation. The very least they could do is insist that those who have put themselves in harm's way be treated with respect.”

Here’s an interesting fact that most people don’t know – Benjamin Ginsberg, the lawyer who recently resigned from the Bush campaign organization because of his involvement with the Swift Boat group, was also the connection between the Bush administration and Tom Delay’s successful fight to redistrict Texas last year.

Let’s see; ah: here are a few random George W quotes for your entertainment and edification:

“We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth in defense of this great nation.” – quoted in Bush at War by Bob Woodward.

“God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam Hussein, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East.” – quoted by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Oops!

More and more people are coming to their senses, and realizing that George W. Bush is a joke – a bad, dirty, dangerous joke, and a threat not only to this nation’s standing in the world, but to its safety. Conservative columnist Charley Reese says in his article “Vote for a Man, Not a Puppet”:

“It’s no wonder the president avoids press conferences like the plague. Take away his cue cards and he can barely talk. Americans should be embarrassed that an Arab king (Abdullah of Jordan) spoke more fluently and articulately in English than our own president at their joint press conference recently.

“People who think of themselves as conservatives will really display their stupidity, as I did in the last election, by voting for Bush. Bush is as far from being a conservative as you can get. Well, he fooled me once, but he won’t fool me twice.

“This election really is important, not only for domestic reasons, but because Bush’s foreign policy has been a dangerous disaster. He’s almost restarted the Cold War with Russia and the nuclear arms race. America is not only hated in the Middle East, but it has few friends anywhere in the world thanks to the arrogance and ineptness of the Bush administration. Don’t forget, a scientific poll of Europeans found us, Israel, North Korea, and Iran as the greatest threats to world peace.”

And never forget it – George W. Bush is certifiably, clinically insane, as I have reported for over a year now. Last month I quoted George Washington University psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank’s book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President, in which he diagnosed Bush as a “paranoid megalomaniac” and an “untreated alcoholic.”

But are the Democrats that much better? Let’s also remember that the “struggle” they put up to get their candidate the majority he deserved was pathetically weak. Instead of demanding a recount for the entire state of Florida – something that even a political novice knows should have been done – they asked for recounts in only four voting districts. And Al Gore – he hardly sounded like a man who had had the Presidency stolen from him; he sounded more like a fellow who had just lost a game of marbles. “Oh, well; maybe next time.” It almost looked as if he’d been paid to throw the election, and was getting set to enjoy four years of paid-up retirement.

So what’s the alternative? You know my answer: Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate. Michael is an incorruptible man who is truly dedicated to liberty. He deserves your support.

Oh, do you remember the 87 billion dollars that the compliant Congress gave our Emperor for his illegal invasion of Iraq? Turns out that about 10% of that, $8.8 billion, is … uh, missing. Listen to this, from a report by Sue Pleming of Reuters News Service on August 19:

“At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was given to Iraqi ministries by the former U.S.-led authority there cannot be accounted for, according to a draft U.S. audit set for release soon. The audit by the Coalition Provisional Authority’s own Inspector General blasts the CPA for ‘not providing adequate stewardship’ of at least $8.8 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq that was given to Iraqi ministries.

“Among (a) draft audit’s findings were that payrolls in Iraqi ministries under Coalition Provisional Authority control were padded with thousands of ghost employees. In one example, the audit said the CPA paid for 74,000 guards even though the actual number could not be validated. In another, 8,206 guards were listed on a payroll but only 603 people doing the work could be counted.

“Three Democratic senators – Ron Wyden of Oregon, Tom Harkin from Iowa and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota – demanded an explanation from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the use of the funds by the CPA, which handed over authority to the Iraqis in June. ‘The CPA apparently transferred this staggering sum of money with no written rules or guidelines for ensuring adequate managerial, financial or contractual controls over the funds,’ said the letter sent by the senators on Thursday. ‘Such enormous discrepancies raise very serious questions about potential fraud, waste, and abuse,’ said the senators.

“The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions.” I’ll bet not.

I trust you all remember that we are still pursuing our illegal war of aggression in Iraq? You’re probably aware of how many innocent civilians we’ve murdered in Iraq – as much as anyone can be, when the government refuses to even count the number of civilian they’ve murdered. But how many of you are aware of how horribly this nation is treating its very own combat troops and veterans? I’m sure you’re aware that we hit 1,000 dead Americans this week. But listen to this report of a gathering that was attended by some Iraq war veterans:

“A man came in and sat down who had what my Vietnam Veteran friend Lawrence calls the thousand-yard-stare, that faraway look as if your eyes were fixed on some horror no one else can see. He had bad teeth, and his head and his words kept jerking away as if were hard to stay still, stay focused. He is a veteran, named David, just back from Iraq. In four days of fighting in Fallujah, his unit had a 67 percent casualty rate. He was lucky, he tells me, he had a good wound, shot in the (rump), his hip broken, his wife was sobbing and grateful after months of snatched, hideously expensive phone calls, ‘I’m alive. I’m alive. At this moment, I’m still alive.’

“He used to run a business, he tells me, he’s a plumber, electrician, now he can’t work, his mind won’t function, but he’s organizing other veterans in the South Bronx and he’s very excited by permaculture. They’ve squatted a building because many of them have no homes. They don’t get paid enough overseas to support their families, and they come home to no jobs or jobs they can’t do because they have lost a limb or they’re in a wheelchair or they simply can’t focus through the thousand-yard stare. And they’ve got the violence locked inside them and it comes out on their wives, they’re shooting up and drinking to dull the pain, and they need food. They need jobs. They need to be able to walk in the door and say, ‘I’m home from work.’

“I knew it was bad, but not this bad. I can say honestly that I did everything within my power to prevent this war, and I lost. We all lost. But now David’s teeth are rotting from the toxins in the Iraqi soil left over from our depleted uranium bombs in the first Gulf War, and the ones we’ve dropped since and the awful food the army served them, and they’ve closed the Veteran’s Hospital, and they’ve got to wait months and months to even see a social worker. And he, mind you, is one of the victors.”

Finally, here’s an excerpt from a report on depleted uranium in the San Francisco Bay View, San Francisco’s Black newspaper. There’s a link to the whole article (as well as to the other articles I’ve cited) in the September “News of the Month” on my web site – go to www.tom-davis.org; select the “Liberty & Justice for All” link in the left frame, scroll down to the bottom, and click on the September 2004 entry. You’ll see what the ruling junta really thinks of its soldiers and veterans.

“Terry Jemison of the Department of Veterans Affairs reported this week to the American Free Press that ‘Gulf-era veterans’ now on medical disability since 1991 number 518,(000), with only 7,(000) reported wounded in Iraq in that same 14-year period.” (In other words, only 1 in 74 Oil War I disabilities came from wounds.) “This week the American Free Press (reported) that 8 out of 20 men who served in one unit in the 2003 US military offensive in Iraq now have malignancies. That means that 40 percent of the soldiers in that unit have developed malignancies in just 16 months.

“Since these soldiers were exposed to vaccines and depleted uranium (DU) only, this is strong evidence for researchers and scientists working on this issue, that DU is the definitive cause of Gulf War Syndrome. Vaccines are not known to cause cancer. One of the first published researchers on Gulf War Syndrome, who also served in 1991 in Iraq, Dr. Andras Korényi-Both, is in agreement with Barbara Goodno from the Department of Defense’s Deployment Health Support Directorate, that in this war soldiers were not exposed to chemicals, pesticides, bio-agents, or other suspect causes … to confuse the issue. This powerful new evidence is blowing holes in the cover-up perpetrated by the Pentagon and three presidential administrations ever since DU was first used in 1991 in the Persian Gulf War. Fourteen years after the introduction of DU on the battlefield in 1991, the long-term effects have revealed that DU is a death sentence and very nasty stuff.

Note – three administrations. Bush senior, for Oil War I; Clinton, for the illegal sanctions we kept in place against Iraq between the oil wars; and Bush junior, for Oil War II. Democrats and Republicans. It’s not just the Republicans – they’re just particularly obvious right now, because of their blatant malevolence and general incompetence in managing the government. No, the entire Federal government, all three branches, is shot through with corruption and arrogance. Michael Moore made the point that whereas 98% of members of Congress return to office, only 92% of the Soviet Politburo’s members did so. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Want to make a change? Remember, this year, in this state, there’s only one alternative to Republocrat corruption – the Libertarian Party and its candidate, Michael Badnarik.