Confederacy of Dunces

“Just Part Of Bush's
Upside Down World
By Sam Hamod, PhD
12-6-4

To understand just how upside-down Bush has taken America, consider these simple facts:

1. Conde Rice, responsible to a large degree for ignoring warnings about a possible airplane attack on America, has now been elevated from National Security Advisor to Secretary of State. Add to this that Putin and others in the world have refused to speak with her because of their disdain for her integrity and intelligence; this leaves our foreign policy (already in the basement) in careless and dangerous hands. With her new authority, what new and tragic mistakes will she make as Secretary of State? Will she be as careless with information she receives from her subordinates as she was with the Clark and State Department she received prior to the 9/11 attacks?

2. Albert Gonzales, the man responsible for giving wrong legal advice to the Pentagon and to the Bush White House on the right to violate the Geneva Conventions at both Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture camps is now nominated for Attorney General. There is no telling how he,ll decide to violate our Constitution even more than John Ashcroft. What Civil Rights we have left may be eroded very quickly under his destructive hand. His new position gives him a very large budget, a cabinet position and thousands of lawyers to call upon to attack any area of the Constitution he desires. Our democratic future is on tenuous grounds.

3. Paul Bremer, the man who destroyed what was left of Iraq once he took over as 'administrator,' or as some called him, 'viceroy', who was unable to account for billions of dollars that was to go for 'reconstruction in Iraq', a man who helped to unite the Sunni and Shi'a (something no one had been able to do for over 1300 years) against the U.S., and a man who ran, in fear, to the airplane taking him back to Washington, DC in disgrace, is being given the valued, Medal of Freedom for his failures. Not only this, but he allowed the continued looting of archives, museums and resources of Iraq, while awarding billions of dollars of sweetheart contracts to his friends for the 'reconstruction of Iraq' now and in the future; seconded by the puppet, Allawi, his hand-picked 'prime-minister' of Iraq. If this continues, Bremer, who never before held a major position in life, may have to run for office as a senator or take a high-level cabinet position or be allowed as an 'expert' on Iraq on the fatuous 'talk shows' on cable TV - futures seats for failure.

4. General Tommy Franks, the man whose attack on Iraq was a misguided effort at conquering the country, instead destroyed all the Iraqi infrastructure of water, electricity, medical care, sewage disposal and cultural buildings - and was applauded by President Bush who said he "Knew Tommy Franks was the right man for the job. And you know why? Because he went to school with my wife, Laura!" General Franks, who had no real master-plan for controlling Iraq or for the correct number of troops to keep order in Iraq once his 'invasion' was complete, and who allowed all the Iraqi government and cultural buildings to be looted down to the ground, who ignored the advice of wiser and experienced military men, including the president's own envoy, General Zinni, about matters in Iraq, is now being rewarded with the prestigious, Medal of Freedom, as well. It seems failure is the primary criterion for receiving this medal these days. I wonder what it does to those who actually succeeded in something and were awarded the medals for something that actually aided "freedom" or our country?

5. General Ricardo Sanchez, the officer in charge of the privates and corporals who were given the go-ahead by him (and who are the ones being punished for Abu Ghraib) at Abu Ghraib, was brought back stateside to a 15-gun salute and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz are quietly trying to get him his 5th general star. My God, what would Generals Eisenhower, Pershing, Patton and Bradley think of this man becoming a 5 star general? How many of our generals fought and died in WWII and elsewhere to honor their ranks and their commands - endured death marches, torture and all else - for this disgraceful lot? What would this say about the integrity in our U.S. military? Just imagine, the failed Tommy Franks, the confused General Myers, the disgraced Ricardo Sanchez - these men lead our military - and yet we want the public and the world to respect our military?

These few matters, plus Bush's continual mantra that we are 'winning the war in Iraq' and we are bringing 'democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan,' and 'freedom to these people,' while we kill them in the thousands just because they resist our occupation and our domination - all these things help make up Bush's upside-down world. Sadly, this upside-down world view is being seconded and confirmed by the majority of our mass media and opinion-makers because our media is now owned entirely, and this includes even NPR and PBS, by the corporate rulers who benefit for this unending 'war on terror' that Bush has declared with the willing consent and obedience of the U.S. Congress and Senate.

While we pour billions into failed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, our economy is now on the 'watch list' of the IMF, our currency is downgraded to almost 'junk' status in world currency markets, our trade balance is precarious, our health care ranks among the lowest among industrialized nations, our care for the homeless and elderly has fallen off the map, our important educational structure is failing and lacking support, our infrastructure is in dire need of repair, our food and medical safety has been shown to be totally corrupted by pharmaceutical and hospital holding companies and our national and regional elections have been shown to be fraught with errors (so much so that many nations are asking sarcastically if they may come supervise our elections, much as America has done in 3rd world countries)"all this, and yet the people in America, led by the media and false advertising on all fronts and the continuous coverage of Bush,s speeches, have not awakened to realize that Bush has turned the country upside down.

Some have asked me why I, and others, keep writing our articles on the internet - it is because we have to keep speaking aloud so that others who have the same thoughts who do not write or speak for a variety of reasons, realize that they are not alone in their vision of truth and that they are not wrong because they can't believe the talk shows and their incessant distortions of truth.

This is also to keep others sane; some have written me saying that at times, they thought they had lost their minds because of the incessant media pounding of the Bush upside/down version of reality, but on reading my work and that of others like Alexander Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Jeff St. Clair and such sites as www.informationclearinghouse.info, www.counterpunch.com, www.aljazeerah.info, www.todaysalternativenews.com , www.rense.com, www.axisoflogic.com, www.ishmaelreedpub.com and the indymedia sites, they realized that they were SANE - it was just that the major media was wrong.

So, we carry on, as best we can-for your sake and for the sake of what is left of our democracy. All we ask is that you pass our articles on; for all of our sakes. Perhaps then, others will understand just how upside/down America has become. No, I am not saying we have ever been as good a country as we thought we were, or wanted to be-it's just that many have done the best they could to improve it; it appears Bush and the media are doing/or allowing, all of what we are supposed to be and supposed to value to go upside/down.


_____

Sam Hamod is an expert in world affairs; he often writes on the Middle East and Islam, but also on American social and political concerns. He is the former editor of 3rd World News in Wash, DC; he taught at Princeton, Michigan, Iowa and Howard. He is also editor of www.todaysalternativenews.com . He may be reached at shamod@cox.net”

“Giddy yap !!”

“I've yet to read the book of this title. Maybe someday.”

“Who gives a rip who this guy is or what his credential happen to be. Conveying him as a source without an exaggerated perceptive agenda is laughable.”

“th - you actually read that?”

“Can't say that I read more than half of it. After reading the intro, "To understand just how upside-down Bush has taken America, consider these simple facts:" I guess I expected conclusive factual evidence. Foolish me.”

“I stopped reading at the Condi Rice being stupid comment. They let real idiots be professors at Stanford.”

“Just kiddin'! :)”

“Good way to get around the auto-censor Nigal.”

“Very reasoned and high class rebuttals coming from the peanut gallery today.”

“Good book, bad thread”

“Just trying to be humorous SH. :)

You have your opinion and are free to express them.”

“Very reasoned and high class rebuttals coming from the peanut gallery today.
solitary hiker
12:39:44 PM
12/08/04

Any comment would be reasonable to a cut-n-post from alternativenews.com.”

“I wouldn't say Condi Rice is stupid, maybe evil.”

“The man never said Rice was stupid. He said
"Conde Rice, responsible to a large degree for ignoring warnings about a possible airplane attack on America,"

It's a fact that she would not testify under oath during hearings in the Senate about what imformation was given her by the Clinton administration via Clark etc. On either Frontline or Bill Moyer's PBS show "Now", the evidence was very strong against her and the whole Bush team about what they ignored.
>
But nevermind, IMO* Bush true believers would pooh-pooh anyone or any evidence damning him. They just don't care.

* Sol Rule Disclaimer
The above post is strictly the opinion of solitary hiker and should not be considered as fact. Likewise the post does not reflect the views or opinions of Trail Talk and/or Matt, the webmaster.
last edited: 12/08/04 1:51:57 PM”

“"...others in the world have refused to speak with her because of their disdain for her integrity and intelligence; ..."

I thought they were implying stupidity.”

“dayhiker,
Thanks for helping me keep this thread up towards the top of the list today. I want as many BUIs as possible to read it.

"others in the world have refused to speak with her because of their disdain for her integrity and intelligence; ..."

I stand before you humbly corrected. That mad Russian did imply she was a lying, conniving, stupid beeaytch!”

“Earth to SH. Not many people actually read these lengthy cut-n-posts. I don't.”

“BUI's?

The mad Russian might be correct. I don't know didly about her other than what's shown on local news. The local media is giddy over her since she's from Birmingham.

I don't know how familiar any of you are with the 16th Street Church bombing in B'ham in the 60's, but Condi is in the same age range as those girls were. For someone growing up in B'ham as a young black girl to go on to be Secretary of State is pretty inspirational regardless of how you feel about her politics.”

“The liberal policy of demeaning, whining and slander is working against them :-)”

“DH,
BUIs....hmmmm ....I'll tell you about BUIs on another thread.

Condi Rice is a role model for all women. I have nothing against her in that position, but she was picked by Bush as Sec of State because she would tow the Bush line on foreign policy issues. Colin Powell didn't always do that which caused mucho friction with the Axis of Weasels (Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rove, Cheney). People in the State Dept. looked up to Powell. Plus he was IMO* a lot smarter than Bush. That was the last straw for W!

bbw,
The above cut and paste was not intended for Bush true believers. I know that you get your facts from FOX News and Rush Limbaugh.

*Sol Rule Disclaimer
The above post is strictly the opinion of solitary hiker and should not be considered as fact. Likewise the post does not reflect the views or opinions of Trail Talk and/or Matt, the webmaster.
last edited: 12/08/04 3:21:05 PM”

“Will Powell run in 2008?
Would he make a good Pres?

Can he run? Wasn't he born in Jamiaca?

I hoped he would run back in 2000. I recall the first time I heard that W was running and that he had a ton of cash behind him. My response was, "Who, WTF?"
last edited: 12/08/04 3:29:12 PM”

“Anyone want to take a shot at my previous question?”

“Powell can run, he was born in New York, not Jamaica, his parents were immigrants. Sure he'd make a good President, why not?

Will he run? No, he has no chance of getting the nomination and I don't think he's a big enough fan of political bs to deal with running for President.”

“I was hoping that he would run back in 2000.”

“I think Powell has already stated he won't run.

There has been one Democrat who said he is thinking about it. It was the Senator from Delaware..Biden (I think)”

“I'm certain Biden will run.

Right now I'd also expect Chuck Hagel, and Guliani to also be running.”

“I heard that Biden called a press conference to announce that he would announce whether he'd run or not in 2 years. Pretty funny.”

“I think that Lindsey Graham will run. And I think he'd be tough to beat.”

“bbw,
The above cut and paste was not intended for Bush true believers. I know that you get your facts from FOX News and Rush Limbaugh.
solitary hiker
3:18:45 PM
12/08/04

That statement is as false and misleading as your original cut and post.”