While Republicans can openly and with applause deny soldiers equal rest at home for equal days in hell, the Democrats, gutless and apprehensive, are once again lulled into interpreting “supporting the troops” means suppressing dissent and kowtowing to Bush’s brood of enablers.
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Bush sycophant, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, through his absurd Senate Amendment 2934, took out his zealous militarism and ire on Moveon.org for the group’s questioning of the neutrality of General Petraeus’ report last week on Iraq through a newspaper ad.
The amendment states “To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.” It passed by a vote of 72 to 25, with 22 Democrats joining bloodstained hands in this shameful exercise that makes a mockery of democracy.
The same Senate that can't assemble enough compassion to restore Habeas Corpus, or provide weary troops with enough rest and time to spend with their families, implausibly found the time to condemn and deride a popular anti-war message that a clear 72-percent of Americans now find agreeable.
Interestingly, Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd voted against this revile bill, yet Joe Biden and Barack Obama abstained from voting. Further, not one Republican broke ranks or voted against Cornyn’s jingoistic rant, while the Democrats fractured and scattered to three different corners.
What the Senate did today, in a sickening, sad salvo, was abandon all philosophies of independent thought and ridiculed any encroachment of skepticism. Foolishly, and quite transparently, the Senate vainly attempted to hide that General Petraeus’ report was little more than a political stunt by the White House. Petraeus’ day on Capitol Hill was also an inane exploit to whip up, yet again, false patriotism for a failed and now perfectly hideous war of agressision and occupation of a foreign land.
Senate Amendment 2934 is analogous to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which aimed to smother disapproval of John Adam’s Quasi-War with France. Cornyn’s act of blind loyalty is far more seditious than any newspaper ad that brings into question an unconvincing and dubious speech by a military general turn partisan hack for a flailing Bush administration.
Visions of Ray Bradbury’s character Guy Montag, the anti-intellectual fireman, who is the central protagonist in Bradbury’s enduring book Fahrenheit 451, should instantly comes to the reader’s mind. As should Faber, Fahrenheit 451’s ex-English professor who knows the wrong in his world but is too fearful to act. Montag, through chance fate with a little girl, begins to understand that mindlessness and totalitarian governments are the true shackles of ignorant oppression, not books, contemplation or vagaries about human life.
Unfortunately, Montag’s courage to finally speak the truth is a lesson Democrats can’t seem to grasp. In the meantime, Cornyn’s uncritical loyalty demonstrates his authoritarianism is uncompromising and bitterly immovable to the end.
Perhaps the suggestive narrative Bradbury finally hints at, that Montag’s world suffers a total collapse and must be rebuilt from scratch, is a direction America must move in before we all awaken to the detrimental elements of elective tyranny that disgracefully shrouds all of us now.
http://www.ranellirants.blogspot.com/
Frank J. Ranelli is an opinion editorial writer, a research author and critic. He is a former senior editor and current feature writer for the popular online news website, OpEdNews.com. His erudite and chic style of writing has been lauded and extensively published in a variety of news outlets and across the Internet. These include the Naples Daily News, The Online Journal, Information Clearing House, Alternet, The Smirking Chimp, Diatribune, and the former progressive journal of thought, Wicked Philosophy. Frank is currently working on his upcoming book, Rise of the Authoritarians, and is participating as a co-author in prominent philosopher Russell Blackford's anthology, Voices of Disbelief.
It's very ironic that the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1796, actually targeted Jefferson and the Republicans to stop them from speaking out against the Adams administration.So they are now using the very same rhetoric used against them at the birth of this country!! Here's an interesting excerpt from the Bathroom Reader's Institute-
By the time the Alien and Sedition Acts expired or were repealed four years later, only one alien had been deported and only 10 people were convicted of sedition, including a New Jersey man who was fined $100 for publicly "wishing that a wad from the presidential saluting cannon might 'hit Adams in the ass.'"
Now it seems they're turning into Fahrenheit 451's "firemen", instead of the fire gecko it's a flaming red elephant and they started with the Bill of Rights!!
Petraeus is merely the scapegoat, not a betrayer or traitor, he's doing what a good military officer does...FOLLOWING ORDERS!!
JUST IN FROM STALINESQUE MEDIA NETWORK: Stephen Colbert bashes digg and bloggers saying that they are lazy isolationists.(I still like him though, I'll forgive him this time :) )
On the Daily Show Pres. Clinton said that most of Congress is "sleep deprived" and speculated this as a possible reason for irrational thought in government. "Good excuse" for the Dem's who side with this kind of malfeasance!!!
In short, we should have stayed with the Articles of Confederation in 1777. The people should have volunteered their own time and money to the army to stop the tyranny, instead of counting on the government to do it for them!!! (sheeple then too!) baaa!!
Great piece Frank!!
by (8 articles, 4 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 143 comments)
on Friday, September 21, 2007 at 6:10:59 PM
Well said. I agree that the only way may be to start from scratch. This "system" is so deeply corrupt that true democracy, IMO, may truly be lost.
I disagree, however, with something Anton said. In fact, it is an idea that I find to be a fundamental flaw in our society and our government.
" Why is Congress voting on whether we have free speech?
The Constitution gives us that right!"
What hubris on the part of our "founding fathers", and on the part of modern government, to think that freedom of speech is a right that anyone is given, or that can be taken away from anyone. By my very ability to think, and to speak, it is a basic element of my humanity. It is not a right given by any man, or by any group of men. It is not something I would fight to the death for because a piece of paper 220 years old says that I have a right to it, it is something I will fight for because God (or, for those of you who do not believe in the Lord, a birthright) meant for me to have the right to it.
by
Karma Rox (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments)
on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 10:52:29 AM
