It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of
a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into
privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing
algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the
planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times. Today, the official campaign website of George W. Bush features a campaign video with the following image prominently displayed -- indeed, with the camera zooming in on it over 2 seconds:
"Visualize No Liberals." The words don't say "Visualize Liberals Losing," or "Visualize Liberals Being Outnumbered." The words say "Visualize No Liberals." It's not enough for the official campaign of George W. Bush that conservatives win politically. The campaign has endorsed a vision in which liberals are no longer present in America at all. Given that in the current climate liberals have no intention of going away, it stands to reason that for this vision to pass liberals would have to be removed. How would this be accomplished? To date, the official campaign of George W. Bush is mum on details, but we can imagine. For this message to be promoted by the official campaign of George W. Bush goes beyond the pale in suggesting the fate of a candidate's opponents. By choosing to endorse a vision of removing political opponents, George W. Bush's campaign subverts the ideals of reason, civility and democracy. When will the official campaign of George W. Bush apologize for promoting this message? Or, more tellingly, does it feel that it has nothing to apologize for? Comments:
Of course they feel there is nothing to apologize for. Bush and company belong to the same club of village idiots who publish Hannity: "Deliver Us from Evil : Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism," Coulter: "Treason : Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism," Savage: "The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith, and Military," and David Limbaugh: "Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity."
I agree this would be very concerning, but there's nothing gained in our cause by overstating this issue (the shot lasts *less* than 2 seconds, not more -- it starts on the stroke 19 seconds and cuts away before the timer hits 21), and it's one of dozens of shots of hundreds of motorcycles at a motorcycle rally and pig roast. It is not a CGI graphic overlayed on the rally footage -- it's a hand-drawn message on one rider's bike. That's all. I AM NO FAN OF BUSH's! But let's not do what they do -- let's not take some tiny, out of context blip of sound or video and try to ignite blind outrage with it. Are there bikers that feel that Liberals should be removed from the political process? Yup (at least one). And did GWB put this on his website? Yup. Does that mean he is guilty of promulgating it as an Official Message of his campaign? Well, if so, than by the same logic he is stating forcefully and explicitly a much more frightening Official Message (by virtue of repeated imagery and total time on screen): George W. Bush wants us to ride motorcycles and attend pig roasts. Over my cold dead vegetarian noise-pollution-reducin' body, Mr. Bush! - Tom K
But liberals do attack the right to worship. The 1st amendment is NEVER directly quoted by liberals in discussions related to religious practice. The only mention the phrase they choose to use is "separation of Church and State". That is not what the 1st amendment says. I won't even get into the second amendment and how it applies to gun clubs (see e.g. the county code(s) of Pennsylvania and the use of NRA sponsored gun clubs to be called up for public serrvice during times of emergency). Under Liberal thought the NRA is a radical group of war mongers. Finally, my favorite is the perception that all conservative Republicans are racists. I know because I have seen it, heard it and felt it. Strangely, I am a conservative republican who is married to a woman who has a much darker skin color than mine (in fact her grand mother was a slave). We have 2 children and live in a middle class neighborhood. Her mom lives in Harlem and she grew up on the lower east side of Manhattan working her way out on her own! She worked for all she has and doesn't understand why liberals feel that she should pay for someone to accomplish what she did without the receipt of government preferences. Treating people as individuals is unlike the liberal perception. I am tired of being referred to as a Nazi by people like Al Gore. Liberals merely use block voting to get elected and never treat minorities as equals. FYI my wife is even more conservative than I am. Signed, Sick and tired of liberal cry babys
I saw this bumper sticker this morning that said "Visualize No More Liberals" and as tolerant as I try to be to people with opposing views, this smacked me in the face. It may have well said "No more Jews" or "No more Hungarians" or "No more blacks" or worse. The sentiment is the same. I get such flack for suggesting that the Bush Reich promotes the same sentiment that leads to fascism once it becomes 'conventional wisdom'. I am 33 years old, and I become more fearful with each passing day that America will face another Civil War in my lifetime. So when Bush's SS comes to exterminate everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line, who's going to fight for us? Just some thoughts. Thank you. Post a Comment Here
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