Perspective

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Editor’s Note: I know that President Obama wants to look forward and all and not dwell on the past and stuff like illegal invasions, the death of 100,000 Iraqis and the Proven FACT that America had a planned, organized, and well funded Official Policy of Torture…

…. But as his poll numbers plummet, (at the hands of pretty much the very same people whom ya know, did all that stuff) maybe he should reconsider and take a minute to remind people of The Republican Reign of Terror that we and the world just went through? You know, for some perspective??? Here, I will do my part below. And maybe, just maybe, one of these days we can get around to actually DOING something about the crimes and horrors of the Bush Years.)

A Blue Dress and the Supreme Court handed the Presidency to a drunken frat boy whose only interest was cutting the taxes of his Ruling Class buddies (Texas my ass, he is from Connecticut) deregulating energy markets and looking good to the other half of his personal base, the Religious Right, to make sure he got reelected.

“This is an impressive crowd — the haves and the have mores. Some people call you the elite — I call you my base.” –at the 2000 Al Smith dinner

Even something kinda importatnt like a daily intelligence briefing saying the USA was about to be attacked was something to be flippantly dismissed with a snide aside.

Until the planes hit.

Then it was panic time.

Dick Cheney, who had just recently finished up his secret energy meeting where Iraq was divided up amongst the oil barons and hearty congrats at blacking out California and screwing Grandmas for profit were extended to Ken Lay, was hiding in a basement under the White House and….depending who you believe, deciding or not deciding or not knowing whether to shoot down flight 93 before it crashed into him.

Bush was on Air Force One trying to decide WTF to do….besides changing his undies after fully realizing what had just happened….on his watch.

The worst terrorist attack on US soil took only a few hours before it started to turn into a plan to attack Iraq to show up Bush’s daddy, who hadn’t had the balls to go after Saddam. Whether his dad was just smarter or whether all the booze had killed too many of Lil George’s brain cells we will never know, but hell, HE was going in, dammit, no matter what it cost.

Bring It On, Dead or Alive…

“This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” –as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” –interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

Going in, dammit, no matter what it took, what…or who, it cost. Or what he had to do, what lies he had to tell, what lengths he and Dick had to go to justify it.

“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” –Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

After all, all of Dick’s Oil buddies were waiting to carve up the profits. Except of course, it wasn’t about the oil, it was about the threat to America from the WMD’s in a country half way around the world.

… we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud. …

Should we lie to congress, the American people and the UN? You betcha.

“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” –State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false

Should we TORTURE people until they say there is a connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam? Hell yes! Even if it takes 83 times, in contravention of even the fig leaf Bybee memo!

YES! We SHALL lie and torture and manufacture evidence so we can spend two trillion dollars, kill 100,000 Iraqis and 4500 or so coalition and American troops!

AND I got a cool souvenir pistol after brutally hanging the guy my Dad couldn’t get, hahahahahahaha!

Though of course, really and truly, I swear, I didn’t think it would be QUITE that hard to get my souvenir penis substitute!

“Oh, no, we’re not going to have any casualties.” –discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson in 2003, as quoted by Robertson

Really and truly! There was just one little glitch in there somewhere!

“I think I was unprepared for war.” -on the biggest regret of his presidency, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008

Ok, maybe TWO glitches…

“So what?” -President Bush, responding to a an ABC News correspondent who pointed out that Al Qaeda wasn’t a threat in Iraq until after the U.S. invaded, Dec. 14, 2008

But once I was in I was astayin, dammit!

“I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me.” –talking to key Republicans about Iraq, as quoted by Bob Woodward

Because, well, this is a Crusade and all and God Made Me Do It!  Literally! Really! I had No Choice…but to wage an illegal War of Choice…in direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Principles and that kinda stuff…GOD MADE ME KILL all those people!

Even though I am a COMPASSIONATE conservative, Godammit!!

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” –Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” –Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” –LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

“People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in’s house and say I love you.” –Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

We all get caught up in the zest of the moment, especially in blogland, where time is compressed. But in the middle of all that is going on now and the frustrations we face, let’s NOT completely move forward and ignore the past….for those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

And let’s give thinks that no matter how corrupt and bad and down right disgusting our government is now (since, after all a huge percentage of the people who allowed, enabled, or caused much of the horrors of the past eight years to happen…..are STILL there) at least we don’t have George “the Torturer” Bush to kick US around anymore.