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Spinning Plates
April
16, 2004
By Jack Frost
"Anyone who makes those kind of accusations should have
some proof to back 'em up." - George W. Bush responding
to a reporter who'd asked about John Kerry's recent criticisms
of the Administration
"He must have a specially fitted uniform to hide balls of
that magnitude." - Bill Hicks
Lately it seems that every time we hear about a scandal
in the Bush Administration, we've barely had an opportunity
to inspect, much less digest, the one before it. The Administration
passes every one off blithely, usually maintaining a condescending
'deny everything' stance, liberally invoking the 'playing
politics in an election year' defense when questions and criticisms
become sticky. Character assassination has become par for
the course in attempting to undermine the validity of any
accusation.
It's been amusing to watch White House Press Secretary Scott
McClellan sweat his way through press briefings, lamely trying
to stick to the talking points while very obviously dodging
direct and important questions. Whether or not he knows this,
he really gives the impression that he's hiding something.
Colin Powell never gives a press briefing, instead leaving
it to the arrogant Richard Boucher to do Powell's deflecting
and condescending for him. Rumsfeld's briefings have dropped
off to almost none and it's clear he's uncomfortable having
what he said prior to the war quoted and thrown in his face.
And he never goes out to the podium alone, usually relying
on generals Dick Meyers or Peter Pace to hold his hand and
to cover for him after he throws a tantrum.
And what a juggling act that must be, trying to deflect
criticisms and pointed inquiries into a growing list of known
BushCrimes, including but not limited to:
- Being installed by a compliant Supreme Court after
a shady election in 2000;
- Cheney's refusal to release the names of the members
of his 'Energy Task Force' and what they discussed
- The financial collapse of Enron and that company's
status as a top contributor to the Bush campaign
- The fact that the Administration had been warned about
9/11 and could've possibly prevented it (not to mention
several other strange things that occurred that day)
- The Administration's subsequent stonewalling and underfunding
of the commission to investigate 9/11
- The speed at which Osama bin Laden evaporated as an
issue after he 'slipped through our fingers' in Afghanistan
while the volume was turned up on Saddam Hussein
- Bush Family business dealings with the Saudi Royal
Family, the bin Ladens and Saddam Hussein
- The half-truths, exaggerations and outright lies told
to Congress and the American people that have mired us
in an expensive invasion and occupation of Iraq, a country
that has since turned out to have been a threat to no
one (and so by extension, all deaths that have occurred
as a result are the indirect fault of the Administration)
- The corporations that have current and former ties
to several Bush Administration officials that have been
making hefty profits from the war, as well as overcharging
for services rendered (or not rendered, as certain cases
may be)
- The Geneva-convention-shirking, no-outside-contact,
indefinite incarceration of 'enemy combatants' in Guantanamo
Bay
- The Administration's obsession with Iraq before
9/11 and manipulations to make Iraq a priority afterward,
as documented by former Bush Administration officials
such as Karen Kwiatkowski, Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke,
among others
- The outing of Joe Wilson's wife (who was an undercover
CIA agent working to impede the proliferation of WMD,
no less) in retaliation for his debunking the Administration's
claims that Saddam had nuclear capability
- Passing a Medicare bill touted as benefiting seniors,
but which actually favors HMOs and pharmaceutical corporations,
after strongarming several Republican members to change
their vote and, intimidating an Administration official
to prevent him from revealing the bill's true cost
- The signed-by-the-Preznit release of a color-photo
laden, FY2005 Budget, which has been described by some
members on both sides of the aisle as the most fraudulent
document released since the FY2004 Budget. A budget that
doesn't even factor in the mounting costs of the wars
in Iraq or Afghanistan, for starters - not to mention
the misleading statements made about the state of the
economy
- Redacting 28 pages from a recent 9/11 Commission report
that could possibly illustrate the links between the Bush
Administration and the Saudi Royal Family (after all it
was Saudis, not Iraqis that pulled off 9/11) and severe
limitations placed on how long key Administration officials
will spend in front of the 9/11 Commission
- The Administration's involvement with the coup against
democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti,
and the aid it gave to his being ousted
The Administration is perpetrating so many things at so
many levels, all at one time, what concerned politician or
citizen could possibly keep up with it all? Could that be
part of the plan? To create so much static from so many nefarious
acts that not one can be focused on long enough to hold anyone's
interest, nor hold anyone accountable? Is it being done to
overwhelm the mind so it recoils from the idea that they're
really doing these things?
Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: the Bush Administration
is riding on suspension of disbelief.
How many more obscenity scandals, high-profile murders,
snipers or bigoted Constitutional amendment suggestions are
we going to have to suffer through before the media has to
actually give real attention to these issues? And if it finally
does, will we vote out the current Administration like they
did in Spain, or will we sit and watch another four years
of Bush like the spectators we've been trained to be?
How much longer are we going to endure the spinning plates
of this juggling act?
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