Ripple effect

[whometense]

I hate to be today's Debbie Downer

but here are two scary examples of the way the Bush administration's governance style has rippled out into the world.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/001196.php

Here are some comments that have been shared with TWN this morning and yesterday:

"Wolfowitz is not talking to his VPs. He is withdrawing -- and instead using Robin Cleveland and the likes of Kevin Kellems to do his bidding, and they are building massive ill will inside the Bank."

"He is appointing political hacks into positions that should be filled by highly qualified personnel through competitive and transparent processes."

"Cleveland and Wolfowitz talk about anti-corruption and good governance, but she herself was in the midst of the Boeing tanker scandal and he is appointing a hack at the director level, circumventing the VP, and making this same hack his Senior Adviser. Cleveland in particular rankles as she is the single most arrogant and abusive person at the senior level of the bank without anything to be arrogant about. She makes John Bolton look sheepish."

"Wolfowitz is Sovietizing the bank by placing his political watch dogs in key positions in the bank -- and is more interested in political symbolism than the substantive work and challenges of the Bank."...

...This simmering tension between Wolfowitz and his staff seems to be deeper and more serious than even the drama of staff reorganization can explain.

Wolfowitz may be showing his stripes now -- and may be finally tilting the Bank into a groove where it becomes a harsher instrument of U.S. foreign policy -- rewarding friends and punishing those who don't fall into lockstep behind George W. Bush's vision.

And here: http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10749

The Arsonist
In his first six months at the UN, John Bolton has offended allies, blocked crucial negotiations, undermined the secretary of state -- and harmed U.S. interests. We expected bad; we didn’t expect this bad.

By Mark Leon Goldberg

Any of that sound familiar?

[paulk]

1. overload

every day it's a new outrage -

my wife and I were talking about this over breakfast. There was something in the paper - I don't even remember
what it was - one of those page 30 stories about something the Bush junta had done...

argh!!!

It's going to take a generation to undo the damage these... fuckers... have caused.



--------


I will have two glasses of wine with dinner tonight!

[jenndar]

2. It sucks, but

it's such an argument for why young people don't even have the luxury of getting disillusioned with the political process anymore. The need for change is an urgent one.

[paulk]

3. I had a conversation with a nineteen year old yesterday

at my store... she had just moved to Denver from Wichita, KS - and even though she hated the conservatism
of her home state, she was completely apathetic about politics - quote - "the votes of young people don't even count" -

That bothered me a lot - usually I'm pretty good at talking to people about politics - but, I made no headway with this person...


How do you get younger people to realize that they can make a difference? How do you make that argument - I mean - this person was 14 when Bush got selected - she has nothing to base a "good/bad president" analysis on.


make that three glasses of wine...

:)

[whometense]

4. I'm with you.

I have three young adult children of my own, and even though they are all Kerry fans, (it's not genentic - I've brainwashed them all :evilgrin:) it's a daily struggle to fight the apathy and cynicism that come from 5 years (and counting...) under the most brazen, cynical and just plain evil governance anyone could have imagined.

It's really tough. I feel so sorry that this is all kids have known.

No wine for me, though - I'm going to see Mark Morris dance tonight (well, his company, anyway). That's good for all the spiritual elevation I need. Thank god for the arts.