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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I am a long time fan of the conspiracy theories, and it's kind of nostalgic to see some of this stuff so long relegated to the tin-foil hat crowd get an open forum on a relatively mainstream sight like Salon.com.
That said, I have to agree that this is all sound and fury representing nothing. The current massive inertia in Washington is a stone cold, absolute guarantee that no action will be taken.
Remember this: Politics is about power. As such, Main Core and all of the heinous domestic spying/Big Brother/surveillance state capabilties is not going to be seen as a scourge to be stamped out. It is and will be seen as a trophy to be won.
The Dems don't want to get rid of it. They want wrest control of it from the Repubs.
And as long as we are taking a peek down the Rabbit Hole, let's discuss the implications of a program like Main Core. Anyone here who thinks they are of legitimate interest to the government, raise your hand . . . that's right, they are only interested in deciphering the works of GoodCelery! and BeBop-O.
So who are they listening to? People far more interested in burning this motherfucker to the ground . . . AND (far more importantly) people with the power to change things. This is to say politicians.
Look at the scandals of recent years that have come to light. I think most notably of Eliot Spitzer, but you can also consider Larry Craig and Mark Foley as candidates. Wouldn't "Main Core" have made it much easier to connect the dots on these particular assholes? Especially Spitzer and Foley with their technology based sins.
Think of their careers as the corpses strung up alongside the road to Washington. Warnings to all the people who have been informed of what is known about them. The Administration (with its long, deep roots that predate W's sobriety by years) is not afraid to lay people low, even members of the Republican Party.
Look at the turnarounds by major Democratic figures. Pelosi's creepy "off the table" remarks coming out almost immediately after her designation as Speaker. Obama's violent pivot on all things FISA.
Even this Democratic Convention Tote Bag nonsense could be something they are being forced to do by something more than mere money. After all, a little fashion accessory is gutting the party's credibility in some circles.
The thing about conspiracy theories, what makes them so much fun to discuss over coffee or strong drink, is that there are always more dots to connect. You can always ask who watches the watchers and who pulls the puppetmaster's strings.
Is some of it true? Most likely a hell of a lot of it is true.
Can we confirm it? Not in a lock stock and admissable evidence way.
Will perpetrators ever come to justice? Don't be daft.
However, when investigating, when trying to cut through to the heart of this savage beast, names must be named. Stands must be taken. These things can only be confronted by people of tremendous courage willing to risk their lives for the truth.
Such people no longer exist.
A fluff piece like this, so poorly substantiated and so vaguely attributed (some paragraphs were so pronoun heavy I lost track of who said what) does nothing to substantiate these speculations.
In fact, long time conspiracy theorists will recognize in this many of the hallmarks of a classic disinformation campaign: plenty of juicy bits to become urban legends, couched in a completely useless melange of "he said the she said that an unnamed official from a certain office which will remain nameless said..." drivel.
This is a strawman argument that will be savaged among those who bother to take note of it. Still it was nice to see this stuff out there again.
Maybe I'll take another dive down the rabbit hole for old times sake.
The Clinton administration conducted warrantless searches in public housing, enacted the rendition program in 1995 (Michael Scheuer, the CIA agent who implemented the program, says he believes torture occurred during the Clinton years), and the intelligence regarding Iraq was consistent from Clinton to Bush 43. Yet Salon never took on the Clinton administration. This indicates that Salon is more interested in partisanship than it is in the facts.
George W. Bush is not intelligent enough nor Machiavellian enough to have the requisite abilities required to execute such egregious and diabolical abuses over the last eight years. Obviously, he had massive help; numerous hands were up his butt, moving his mouth and making those pronouncements.
Begin with the sinister and duplicitous Dick Cheney, add to him the scurrilous Donald Rumsfeld, Doug Feith, Alberto Gonzalez and the rest of that cabal of clowns and the true depth of the moral morass that is the Bush White House is only slightly plumbed.
As for whether or not any member of that nest of snakes will ever get justice, the Democrats seem unlikely to press the issue. Eventually, I'm sure, the seepage from the Bush maladministration will finally surface and his legacy will be assured: liar, bastard and vile poseur.
...is now being tracked. the truth is out there. forget about seeing it anytime soon, though.
The federal government keeps a record for each personal arrest. Not a conviction, the arrest is sufficient to create a file. I know this from person experience. When re-entering into Canada, I'm American,in 2003 the Canadian officials did a data search for me and come up with two arrests, one in 1988 another in 1996. Their was no conviction or trial involved and the cases were dropped or dismissed because they were bogus.
Ah so, this article raises to mind the possibility of dozens of permutations and combinations that may exist.
At least a few of which include:
---the pusillanimous visage of Gen. Michael Hayden once again rears it's ugly head.
---and this entire mess goes back at least to St. Reagan and his VP George H.W. Bush.
---and the enduring and ever pervasive Bush family of crime and criminals, including Jeb Bush who is just waiting in the wings for his chance to further fuck up the machinery of state and the fabric of our society.
---and exactly how are those who installed the racist St. Reagan in the WH involved in all of this. Those are Falwell and the Pope at the time, my religion. How are they involved and caught up in all of this mess to dismantle our society and damage the fabric of what is left of our society. Both religions are mega religions and handle billions of dollars. As the days and months and years roll by I am liking religion less and less.
Apropos of this last point, I am reminded of the Oklahoma preacher/televangelist who spoke against and warned that mega religions and mega churches may be contradictory and counterproductive (my words, not his) to society and religion and the teachings of Jesus. Because they, among other things, drain congregants resources in these tough times for American families. He also spoke to the issue that ,religions may be corrupted by vast sums of money and thus lose sight of their true mission.
Wow, was that pastor ever profound and prescient. He warned of the dangers involved. Though he himself was a televangelist his operation was quite small, by my observation. Though I only caught the last few minutes of his telecast, I would like to have heard much more and have been watching for him ever since.
No wonder "impeachment is off the table", some Dems are involved.
Permutations and combinations build up rapidly. The magnitude and the pervasiveness of this boggles my mind. Is their anything left of 'we the people' or have we become just so many cogs in the Republican party computers and their vast political machine.
Once again, I am reminded of the aphorisms that 'money is the root of all evil', and 'absolute power corrupts, absolutely'. These would seem to apply to the Republican party as their main goal in everything is the accumulation of money and the processes appertaining there to. And do these aphorisms apply equally well to the Repub party religions, Catholic fundies and evangelical fundies.
This is all quite amazing and almost beyond comprehension.
And once again my personal conclusion seems to apply, that "I have been scandalized and radicalized by my religion and my government" .
Pray for peace, though I do not think we will see any of that in the near future. The Bush family, the Republican party and their related religions are not through with us, our troops or the Iraqi people, yet.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
