Catpaw – diary of an angry cat

I realise this is old news, but what can I say – the Right Wing have been busy lately. Last week former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani went on “Good Morning America” and made this bold statement:

“what [Obama] should be doing is following the right things that Bush did.” (I’m working on figuring out what those things were. If I figure it out, I’ll let you know) …”We had no domestic attacks under Bush, …We’ve had one under Obama.”

Later he amended the statement by saying he had omitted to include the words “since 9/11″. Oh that makes it all right then! We’ll just forget about Richard Reid the shoe bomber shall we?

Former Bush press secretary, Dana Perino, said in November that the Clinton administration was to blame for the 9/11 attacks, which occurred  8 months after Clinton left office. I guess Bush should be forgiven for not having enough time to read the security alerts regarding Al Qaeda – the two syllable words must have stumped him. Bush was given a briefing a full month before 9/11 occurred, entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”, yet the Bush administration did nothing to stop the attacks. It came out later that, despite growing concerns and warnings from the intelligence community in the US, the Bush administration didn’t follow up the warnings, nor did any of Bush’s advisors try to discuss the issue with the President again. Despite the overwhelming evidence that a terrorist attack did occur on US soil under the Bush administration, in November, after the Fort Hood attack, Perino said “We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during Bush’s term”.

Are these people memory impaired? Or are they laying the groundwork for the next election by reworking history? Not a group to let facts stymie them for long, they simply prevaricate (if you are a Bush/Palin fan, you might want to buy a d-i-c-t-i-o-n-a-r-y). If you repeat the lie enough, you begin to believe it. As will large numbers of voters. In rehabilitating George Bush’s reputation, they are making it easier for Palin (or any other far right candidate) to establish the moral high ground for any future elections. What’s next? Burning all the footage of 9/11 and all books that mention it?

Did you know Somalia had a Minister for Tourism? I almost fell out of my chair in disbelief this morning when I read that. Can you think of a tougher job? Who would want to visit? With each tourist visa do they issue a flak jacket and your own personal bomb disposal unit? Is one of the tourist highlights the public stoning of some poor woman who contravened one of Al Shabab’s archaic and barbaric laws? Or better yet, can we play pirates for a day? I’d personally love to attack a French warship … oh wait, that was already tried and it really didn’t go over well.

With the hardline extremist group Al Shabab gaining so much control of Somalia, I think I’ll leave this country off my “must see list”

Rhode Island Senator Rod Driver has offered to donate money for every second George Bush, Condoleeza Rice and Dick Cheney hold their breath while being waterboarded. He said he would donate $100 per second to whatever charity the unholy trinity chooses.

Nice to see American ideals of right and wrong creeping back into the political arena.

Waterboard for charity

As if being in Afghanistan isn’t dangerous enough, a group of Evangelical US soldiers are making the situation even worse by promoting their own evangelical agenda.

Soldiers were handing out bibles to this very, very conservative and largely illiterate nation. Just having a Bible in their possession could jeopardise the lives of the poor Afghan that does not understand they are being used in a new cold war between the Taliban and the Christian Right.  A number of accusations have flown in the past few years over the hijacking of the military by right wing Christian groups, this is just the latest. Listen carefully to the tape and you will see the soldiers involved know they are violating military policy, and to compound the violation, talk about ways of circumventing them. The US military said the Bibles in question have been destroyed. But a new question comes to mind: how has the US military allowed such open prostylization to occur?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905

Peggy Noonan, Republican speechwriter and pundit, made this statement on the weekend concerning the Obama administration’s release of torture documents:

“Some things in life need to be mysterious,” “Sometimes you need to just keep walking. … It’s hard for me to look at a great nation issuing these documents and sending them out to the world and thinking, oh, much good will come of that.”

If the Republicans had discovered the Democrats were sanctioning torture, you bet your ass they would be releasing all the documents.

I’m a bit baffled how any member of the human race can maintain torture is just one of those little mysteries in life – it implies the torture somehow enriched someones existence. Her statements also have this little worm of deceit lurking in it that is saying by facing up to the nation’s use of torture and letting the light of day in, somehow, the Obama administration is being UnAmerican. True American’s would “just keep walking”.

Yes folks, turn a blind eye to what went on, “Move along, nothing to see here. It’s all over. Just keep moving along folks”. Don’t stop too long or you will see just how heinous the use of torture is. And when that moment arrives, there will be a reckoning. After years of employing torture, the Bush administration had bugger all to show for it. Torture someone long enough and they’ll tell you anything to stop it. Doesn’t mean you are getting the truth, just hearing what you want to hear.

The Republican party expended far more energy on Clinton’s extra marital affairs than they did protecting Americans from the erosion of freedoms and assaults on the US Constitution. They just marched in line with the Homeland Security fear mongers rather than risk questioning what was happening. Torture was just the cost of doing business.

It takes more courage for a nation to face up to it’s dark past. It takes none to bury it.

If this were true, then why did the Republics so blindly follow the Bush administration into launching a war?

Where were the Bush children – all the Bush clan! Did any Bush except for Bush Senior serve in any war?
Where were all his advisors’ and their children?
Cheney’s family? Any serving there?
Any other advisers? Any??
Conspicuous in their absence.

Mitt Romney, failed candidate for the Republican leadership said “My sons are adults. They’ve chosen not to serve in the military in active duty and I respect their decision in that regard. … And one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I’d be a great president.” S’alright, someone else’s children will die or get maimed in their place.

Republican leaders saw no problem in allowing a government with no experience in a war situation to blissfully send troops off to war, but suddenly this is an issue because a handful of Republican children are off to serve?

What comes clear is it’s okay to send the less privileged to fight a war they started. And the precious few who’s sons/daughters are in Iraq have blinkers on.