November 6, 2006 at 21:30:19

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By Sheila Samples (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Sheila Samples - Writer

Under the Bush bridge
Lying, dueling-banjo words
Need a Fix. The Word.**

When I awoke on December 13, 2000, my first thought was -- this is the first day of the worst years of my life. I lay there, attempting in vain to come up with just one redeeming quality possessed by the foolish little brute illegally foisted upon this republic by five black-robed fascists -- just one sliver of hope for the American people to escape the impending disaster of corporate pillage and rape. There was none.

What a dirty, rotten way to start the day.

Each day has been nastier than the one before. Despair spiraling into dread before exploding into a cacophony of lies, deceit, filthy corruption, and nauseating perversion. And that's just the media. No entity is as ruthless nor works with more relentless fervor to protect the criminals in this administration -- and cover up their crimes -- than the US mainstream media.

And few are better at it than MSNBC's Chris Matthews who, after weeks of smearing Democratic candidates and praising their Republican opponents, finally gave up Saturday and declared if Tuesday's election "breaks bad for the president," the "world press, which is anti-American already, will jump on this and say Bush has lost his control over his own government. It'll look bad for the president and world diplomacy."

As a last resort before the elections, Matthews played the patriotism card that has been so successful since 9-11 -- if the Democrats win, Bush will look weak in a time of war. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for the terrorists. And the day before, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Cheney the Veep if the recent violence in Iraq that resulted in 105 American soldiers and marines being blown to bits in October was an insurgent "strategy" to influence the midterm elections. "Does that mean," Stephanopoulos prompted Cheney innocently, "that a Democratic victory is a victory for the insurgents?"

Bush tossed this particular talking point to the media during an Oct. 30 campaign speech at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro -- "However they put it, the Democrat (sic) approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses," Bush said with a smirk and a wink. "That's what's at stake in this election. The Democrat (sic) goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq."

Bullhorn politics.
Flaming world, smoke spewing souls.
Prosecute. The Word.

With few exceptions, the media is a "bully" bullhorn for the lies and deceit spewed from this administration, no matter how many innocent lives it costs. WMD in Iraq? You betcha. Osama Bin Laden is Saddam Hussein's bitch? Sure thing. Don't ask questions about what really happened on 9-11 -- No way. Forget Abu Ghraib -- the six or seven bad apples were brought to justice -- No problem. Don't humanize anybody getting slaughtered in Iraq; 655,000 or 30,000 -- what's the difference? They're dying because they want to be free, just like we are. If you gotta call 'em something, call them "insurgents" and call us"troops." And don't show any ugly pictures. Sir, Yes Sir!

They are desperate. The John Kerry fiasco last week is a shining example of just how down and dirty they're willing to go. In a botched one-liner, Kerry told a group of students -- "...if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Although they all knew at the outset that Kerry was taking a jab at Bush for getting "us" stuck in Iraq, which is what his prepared comments said, the networks, cables, right-wing radio, Internet websites, and even some Democrats, hopped on Kerry like chickens on a June Bug. "Kerry insulted the troops!" they shrieked, "leaving out that word broke the morale of 158,000 troops! The troops are doomed -- and all because of John Kerry!"

Perhaps to avoid insulting the troops, Kerry should have said -- "As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time." Or maybe he should have sneered at the 11 million Americans drafted during Vietnam as "draftees who added no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services over any sustained period of time, because the churning that took place, it took enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone."

Is it not an insult to the "troops" for the media to hide the return of the wounded, maimed -- the slain? Dead or alive, all are heroes. Where are the grateful masses who should be giving each one a hero's welcome? Having worked for the Army for 30 years, each day both a challenge and a delight, I can assure you the greatest insult to the "troops" is to have Commander-in-Chief Bush hide them from view, refuse to attend a single funeral of those he sent to theiir deaths on the basis of filthy lies, and then stomp around on the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery for 15 minutes a year while telling a pre-selected partisan crowd how he "grieves 'n mourns" for those who "died for a noble cause."

Screw him. And his little lapdog media, too. A media which was out to lunch on Oct. 10 when insurgents fired mortars and rockets into Forward Base Falcon where huge stores of ammunition, fuel, weapons, tanks and other vehicles were stored. The base erupted with immense explosions and huge fires that raged throughout the night, and could be seen for miles. Other than being used briefly as a backdrop during the initial report of the "incident," the fires and coverage of the deadliest Iraq disaster thus far disappeared from our view.

This is a huge story, reported by foreign media and throughout the Internet; yet, no US media dared touch it. No media dared report less than a month before the elections that more than 300 Americans were killed and 165 wounded, or that the bulk of US ammunition, equipment and supplies had been destroyed in one fell swoop. Photos of a convoy of large planes with Red Cross markings taking the dead and wounded to the U.S. military hospital at al-Habaniyah was more than American voters could take, and would give the terrorists a win...

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Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.