It really is that stupid:
(added 10MAR2010) and then there’s this:
For a Democracy to be healthy, there needs to be a thriving, strong, and adversarial media that forces truth out from the dark corners of the government and keeps the people informed so they are capable of making educated decisions about who should be running the country (and, notably, who shouldn’t). Our current media establishment has failed in this regard. You want proof? Go no further than that many people in this country still think Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. If the media was doing it’s job, any myths which the government tries to peddle would be scoffed at and debunked immediately. Instead they fester like open sores on the body politic and are perpetuated by a broken, corrupt system that instead of questioning the powerful, allows itself to be coddled by it.
If you want to keep up with latest stories of our corrupt media, the best place is Glenn Greenwald’s Unclaimed Territory on Salon.com. Greenwald, a former constitutional law and civil rights lawyer, writes with rapier like precision about the failings of our media, the corruption and lawlessness of our government and the hypocrisy of our leaders. Most of the stories he covers are completely ignored by the mainstream media, so if you want to stay informed about these topics which the media talking heads want to ignore or wish away, Greenwald is the best place to start. I’ve linked to some of the more recent media critiques below the fold.
Everyone is talking about the fall of the Dutch government. I suspect it won’ change ery much. Tourists will continue to come and go. Trains will run on time and life will go on much as normal as it can here in Amsterdam.
Political crisis in the Netherlands as government resigns
The Netherlands is facing a political crisis and early elections after the centre-right government of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced it is resigning.
It comes after a row over the immigration minister prompted the D66 party to quit the ruling coalition.
It withdrew its support over Rita Verdonk’s tough stance on the citizenship of a Somali-born Dutch politician.
She had threatened to strip Ayaan Hirsi Ali of her citizenship for lying about her refugee status on arrival in the country in 1992.
Balkanende made the resignation announcement in parliament and afterwards said it was regrettable as the government was making progress with reforms.
Elections, initially scheduled for May 2007, could take place in September at the earliest.
Hirsi Ali resigned from parliament last month and said she would leave the Nethernlands after Verdonk threatened to withdraw her citizenship.The minister reversed her decision after Hirsi Ali submitted a statement saying she had not intended to lie to the authorities.
In this place where valor sleeps, we are reminded why America has always gone to war reluctantly, because we know the costs of war. We have seen those costs in the war on terror we fight today. These grounds are the final resting place for more than 270 men and women who have given their lives in freedom’s cause since the attacks of September the 11th, 2001.
– George Bush, Honors Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery, 29 May 2006
Reluctantly? Does he seriously think that anyone believes him when he says that? Yes, we releuctanly went into war with Iraq. Reluctantly. That’s the word I’d use. We reluctanly invaded the country only after we’d exhausted all diplomatic channels. We relunctantly invaded because Iraq had links to al Qaeda. And we reluctanly invaded because Saddam was going to nuke us. And we reluctanly invaded because people of the Middle East deserve freedom, the Almighty’s gift to everybody who lives in the world (unless your country isn’t sitting on a pile). Reluctant. Indeed. Reluctant.
If you want to keep up to date with the all the legal machinations of the Bush Administration and the twisted logic of his one-eyed defenders, there is no better place than Glenn Greenwald’s Unclaimed Territory. Glenn’s insightful commentary rooted in his remarkably deep understanding of constitutional law and keen eye for hypocrisy makes for some of the best reading on the web.
His entries are not short, so you’ll need to devote some amount of time to keep up, but it will be time well spent, because a few years from now when our rights and the democracy that we are so proud of and zealously try to “export” are appreciably eroded, you’ll wonder how it happened. But only if you do not read Glenn religiously, like so many people who are worried that our country is headed in a radically wrong direction.
If you like what you read there and want to support him, pick up a copy of his recently published book, How Would A Patriot Act?. I ordered from Amazon. It just came. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I will very shortly and let you know what I think.
A lifetime of sodomy, a deserved reward for fucking over so many people. (I guess we have to wait for the sentencing, but this is a great start).
Just like this. A picture really is worth 1000 words.
Apparently Vice President Dick Cheney shot someone over the weekend in a bizarre hunting accident.And now iIt seems that the boys at The Daily Show have manged to find some humor in it. Shit, can’t we let the VP maim people in peace?
New tomb found in the Valley of the Kings. Not royal, just connected. How cool is that?