Reader Joann Geary writes to the Pilot:
Did Rhoades Forget?
From a registered Democrat:
Uh-huh. Sure.
In response to Dusty Rhoades’ March 19 column mentioning deviant behavior of high profile Republicans, he says, “... a black Democratic politician (say Jesse Jackson) accused of this sort of thing would be lucky not to be given a symbolic public flogging of Clintonian proportions.”
It was not so long ago that Jesse Jackson diverted monies from his tax-exempt organization, PUSH — The Rainbow Coalition, to support his mistress and their illegitimate child. Where was, where is, the rage?
Ummm....I don't know if you've been paying attention, snookums, but I hear about this from every Republican who ever mentions Jesse Jackson. Which was precisely my point.
Yet there are people who even now contribute to PUSH, which still has its tax-exempt status, and Mr. Jackson maintains his status as a clergyman. As for Al Sharpton’s criminal activities, we’ll save that for another day.
And George Dubbya Bush is still the President. Your point?
Friday, March 31, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Our Flexible President
Latest Newspaper Column:
You know, I think people are being a little unfair to George Dubbya Bush, at least in one respect.
One of the criticisms leveled against him and his administration is that they’re inflexible, that they never, ever change their minds. But in recent statements given by Bush, you can see lots of ways in which the president has been way more than flexible, especially given the history of the past three years of his Wacky Iraqi Adventure.
For example, back in 2003, President Bush was pretty definite about the connection between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. Not only did he waste no opportunity to mention Iraq and 9/11 in the same sentence, but he also sent this to Congress: “The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.”
Now, however, the president is showing great flexibility, so much that he’s even changed his mind about what he actually already said. “I don’t think we ever said — at least I know I didn’t say — that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein,” he insisted in a recent statement to the press.
He’s apparently also changed his mind about former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Back in 2004, when Allawi came to the U.S. and painted a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq, some, including then-presidential candidate John Kerry, dared question him. Bush spoke up in Allawi’s defense: “[Allawi’s] a brave, brave man. When he came, after giving a speech to the Congress, my opponent questioned his credibility. You can’t change the dynamics on the ground if you’ve criticized the brave leader of Iraq.”
Now, however, Allawi has warned that his country isn’t just on the brink of civil war, they’re already there. So our flexible Leader has adapted in order to sing a different tune. When asked if he agreed with Allawi’s assessment of the current Iraqi situation, Bush criticized Mr. Allawi firmly, clearly and unequivocally, “No, I do not,” he said. “There are other voices coming out of Iraq, by the way, other than Mr. Allawi.”
Ooh, snap! Take that, guy whose credibility could not formerly be questioned! Now that’s flexibility! Of course Iraq’s not in a civil war. They won’t be in a civil war until they’re dressing in blue and gray uniforms and one side is singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Duh.
And take Donald “Rummy” Rumsfeld. My goodness, no one can ever accuse Rummy of being inflexible.
Back in February 2003, Rummy was saying this about the coming conflict in Iraq: “It is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”
Now, of course, it’s three years later, and Rummy’s already told us it’s going to be a “long slog.” And George Dubbya is backing him up, saying now that the question of when the troops will finally leave Iraq will be decided by “future presidents and future governments of Iraq.”
That’s right, folks, the Bush administration, whose secretary of defense once told us that he doubted the conflict would last six months, is now talking about deployments that will end sometime after the inauguration of the next president — in 2009!
But the flexibility of the Bushistas doesn’t end there. On Feb. 2, 2006, when Rummy was asked by reporters at the Pentagon, “Is this going to be a long war?” he answered firmly, “I don’t think it is.”
It’s six months at the outside! It’s a long slog! It’s going to end sometime after 2009! But it won’t be long!
Inflexible? Gumby would be jealous at how flexible these people can be. Not only are they capable of changing their minds, they can do so from year to year, month to month, week to week and day to day. Then they can change them right back again.
Some people might call this “flip-flopping.” Some might call it “intellectual dishonesty.” The people who would say such things are probably liberal, and very likely French. I for one call it “strong leadership.”
After all, what says “strong leadership” more than a firm refusal to be fettered by the ideas and statements of the past, even ideas and statements that you yourself have previously declared to be your very own principles and beliefs?
God bless our flexible President. And God bless America.
You know, I think people are being a little unfair to George Dubbya Bush, at least in one respect.
One of the criticisms leveled against him and his administration is that they’re inflexible, that they never, ever change their minds. But in recent statements given by Bush, you can see lots of ways in which the president has been way more than flexible, especially given the history of the past three years of his Wacky Iraqi Adventure.
For example, back in 2003, President Bush was pretty definite about the connection between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. Not only did he waste no opportunity to mention Iraq and 9/11 in the same sentence, but he also sent this to Congress: “The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.”
Now, however, the president is showing great flexibility, so much that he’s even changed his mind about what he actually already said. “I don’t think we ever said — at least I know I didn’t say — that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein,” he insisted in a recent statement to the press.
He’s apparently also changed his mind about former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Back in 2004, when Allawi came to the U.S. and painted a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq, some, including then-presidential candidate John Kerry, dared question him. Bush spoke up in Allawi’s defense: “[Allawi’s] a brave, brave man. When he came, after giving a speech to the Congress, my opponent questioned his credibility. You can’t change the dynamics on the ground if you’ve criticized the brave leader of Iraq.”
Now, however, Allawi has warned that his country isn’t just on the brink of civil war, they’re already there. So our flexible Leader has adapted in order to sing a different tune. When asked if he agreed with Allawi’s assessment of the current Iraqi situation, Bush criticized Mr. Allawi firmly, clearly and unequivocally, “No, I do not,” he said. “There are other voices coming out of Iraq, by the way, other than Mr. Allawi.”
Ooh, snap! Take that, guy whose credibility could not formerly be questioned! Now that’s flexibility! Of course Iraq’s not in a civil war. They won’t be in a civil war until they’re dressing in blue and gray uniforms and one side is singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Duh.
And take Donald “Rummy” Rumsfeld. My goodness, no one can ever accuse Rummy of being inflexible.
Back in February 2003, Rummy was saying this about the coming conflict in Iraq: “It is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”
Now, of course, it’s three years later, and Rummy’s already told us it’s going to be a “long slog.” And George Dubbya is backing him up, saying now that the question of when the troops will finally leave Iraq will be decided by “future presidents and future governments of Iraq.”
That’s right, folks, the Bush administration, whose secretary of defense once told us that he doubted the conflict would last six months, is now talking about deployments that will end sometime after the inauguration of the next president — in 2009!
But the flexibility of the Bushistas doesn’t end there. On Feb. 2, 2006, when Rummy was asked by reporters at the Pentagon, “Is this going to be a long war?” he answered firmly, “I don’t think it is.”
It’s six months at the outside! It’s a long slog! It’s going to end sometime after 2009! But it won’t be long!
Inflexible? Gumby would be jealous at how flexible these people can be. Not only are they capable of changing their minds, they can do so from year to year, month to month, week to week and day to day. Then they can change them right back again.
Some people might call this “flip-flopping.” Some might call it “intellectual dishonesty.” The people who would say such things are probably liberal, and very likely French. I for one call it “strong leadership.”
After all, what says “strong leadership” more than a firm refusal to be fettered by the ideas and statements of the past, even ideas and statements that you yourself have previously declared to be your very own principles and beliefs?
God bless our flexible President. And God bless America.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
CrimeSpot.net Hates Me
And I'm not sure why....I changed the blog name a few days ago, to honor the new book. For some reason, I stopped updating over at CrimeSpot.net, which was a drag because I'd been getting some traffic from there. So I changed the name back. Still not updating. And Graham won't answer my e-mails.
Sigh. Might as well leave the blog name where it was...
Sigh. Might as well leave the blog name where it was...
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
TODAY'S THE DAY!
Massive crowds swarm outside local bookstores, lining up for the release of J.D. Rhoades' latest Jack Keller adventure,
Good Day In Hell.
It's the official publication date for Good Day in Hell. All the cool kids will be getting it, so better snag your copy now before they run out.
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Secret Dead Blog Interview: J.D. Rhoades
Duane Swierczynski, over at the always fascinating Secret Dead Blog, posts an interview this morning with your Humble Narrator, and has some nice things to say about Good Day In Hell. In return, I promise that I will devote my day to learning how to type "Swierczynski" from memory without having to check the spelling five times.
Thanks, Duane!
Thanks, Duane!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Why I'm Turning Republican
Latest Newspaper Column :
My good friends, I have a momentous decision to announce.
For years, I have proudly listed my voter registration as “Unaffiliated.” I’ve been proud of my stance as a political independent. But in these troubled times, with deep divisions that have rent our country, I think it’s time I made a stand and declared for one party or the other.
So I’ve decided to become a Republican.
I know this comes as a shock to some of you. And, I confess, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. After all, there are a lot of things that the Republicans have claimed to stand for lately that I don’t agree with: Teaching religious theories in the public schools. Warrantless wiretaps in blatant disregard of well-established law. Stuff like that.
But then I looked around and I realized that all of that stuff is just window dressing. The current Republican Party stands for just one principle. That principle is summed up in the acronym IOKIYAR, which stands for It’s OK If You’re A Republican.
I think, deep down, I’ve known about this for years. I mean, Republicans continued to lionize former Education Secretary William Bennett, even after it was revealed in 2003 that Bennett had lost up to $8 million at the Las Vegas gambling tables.
Now, if I were a famous Democrat, losing $8,000, much less $8 million, would get me pilloried by every right-wing pundit in Christendom. But not ol’ Gamblin’ Bill. It’s nobody’s business, right-wing pundits insisted. It’s a victimless crime, after all. What they were really saying, of course is: IOKIYAR.
Then there’s Rudy Giuliani. Rudy’s had, shall we say, a little fidelity problem. At one point, his wife had to get a restraining order to keep Rudy from moving his mistress into the mayoral mansion, considering that said wife and kids were still living in the mansion at the time.
If a Democratic elected official gets accused of a little extramarital hanky-panky in the house provided for him by the government — well, need I say more? But IOKIYAR! Rudy was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Republican Convention. He’s even being touted as a possible successor to Lord Dubbya Bush.
I could go on. Rush Limbaugh’s admitted prescription drug addiction. Sexual predator Bill O’Reilly’s obscene phone calls and falafel fetish. And, of course, there’s Dick Cheney’s whole shooting your buddy in the face and telling the police to buzz off till the next morning thing. These guys aren’t just tolerated by the GOP. They’re heroes.
I took note of all of these things at the time they were happening. Fool that I am, however, I never realized what IOKIYAR could mean for me personally.
But the scales finally fell from my eyes after I heard the story of former Bush domestic policy adviser Claude Allen.
Allen, a former aide to Republican icon Jesse Helms, a former Bush nominee for a judgeship in the Fourth Circuit, recently left his cushy job at the White House to “spend more time with his family.” Then, in a shocking twist, Allen was arrested and charged with, of all things, defrauding Target stores. Allegedly, Allen was buying merchandise, taking it to his car, going back in with the receipt, picking the same item off the shelves, and going to the service desk and demanding a refund.
Now, a black Democratic politican (say, Jesse Jackson) accused of this sort of thing would be lucky not to be given a symbolic public flogging of Clintonian proportions. It’s absolutely true that a person in Allen’s position committing this type of offense is showing signs of a serious mental illness and that he deserves our sympathy.
I doubt seriously, however, that a Democrat, if caught committing petty theft, could expect any sympathy from the compassionate conservatives of the right. But that’s exactly what Allen’s getting from no less a source than the president his ownself.
“If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen’s life, and that is really sad,” George Dubbya said after hearing the news.
And if Republican pundits and bloggers mention it at all, their tone ranges from sympathy for Allen’s plight, to suggestions that the crime was actually committed by Allen’s “Evil Twin” (no, I didn’t make that up) to (and this is the most common) indignation at those awful, awful, AWFUL liberals for daring to even bring this up.
And that’s when it hit me. The Republican Party is the place for me. Because whether it’s adultery, drug addiction, gambling or petty theft, you can always count on the party to pull together, circle the wagons and back you up.
Not that I’m planning any of those things, of course, but, you know, stuff happens. And it’s got to be a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that, whatever your personal failings or peccadilloes, IOKIYAR. Next week, I’m headed down to join up.
Now if I could only get my wife on board with this …
My good friends, I have a momentous decision to announce.
For years, I have proudly listed my voter registration as “Unaffiliated.” I’ve been proud of my stance as a political independent. But in these troubled times, with deep divisions that have rent our country, I think it’s time I made a stand and declared for one party or the other.
So I’ve decided to become a Republican.
I know this comes as a shock to some of you. And, I confess, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. After all, there are a lot of things that the Republicans have claimed to stand for lately that I don’t agree with: Teaching religious theories in the public schools. Warrantless wiretaps in blatant disregard of well-established law. Stuff like that.
But then I looked around and I realized that all of that stuff is just window dressing. The current Republican Party stands for just one principle. That principle is summed up in the acronym IOKIYAR, which stands for It’s OK If You’re A Republican.
I think, deep down, I’ve known about this for years. I mean, Republicans continued to lionize former Education Secretary William Bennett, even after it was revealed in 2003 that Bennett had lost up to $8 million at the Las Vegas gambling tables.
Now, if I were a famous Democrat, losing $8,000, much less $8 million, would get me pilloried by every right-wing pundit in Christendom. But not ol’ Gamblin’ Bill. It’s nobody’s business, right-wing pundits insisted. It’s a victimless crime, after all. What they were really saying, of course is: IOKIYAR.
Then there’s Rudy Giuliani. Rudy’s had, shall we say, a little fidelity problem. At one point, his wife had to get a restraining order to keep Rudy from moving his mistress into the mayoral mansion, considering that said wife and kids were still living in the mansion at the time.
If a Democratic elected official gets accused of a little extramarital hanky-panky in the house provided for him by the government — well, need I say more? But IOKIYAR! Rudy was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Republican Convention. He’s even being touted as a possible successor to Lord Dubbya Bush.
I could go on. Rush Limbaugh’s admitted prescription drug addiction. Sexual predator Bill O’Reilly’s obscene phone calls and falafel fetish. And, of course, there’s Dick Cheney’s whole shooting your buddy in the face and telling the police to buzz off till the next morning thing. These guys aren’t just tolerated by the GOP. They’re heroes.
I took note of all of these things at the time they were happening. Fool that I am, however, I never realized what IOKIYAR could mean for me personally.
But the scales finally fell from my eyes after I heard the story of former Bush domestic policy adviser Claude Allen.
Allen, a former aide to Republican icon Jesse Helms, a former Bush nominee for a judgeship in the Fourth Circuit, recently left his cushy job at the White House to “spend more time with his family.” Then, in a shocking twist, Allen was arrested and charged with, of all things, defrauding Target stores. Allegedly, Allen was buying merchandise, taking it to his car, going back in with the receipt, picking the same item off the shelves, and going to the service desk and demanding a refund.
Now, a black Democratic politican (say, Jesse Jackson) accused of this sort of thing would be lucky not to be given a symbolic public flogging of Clintonian proportions. It’s absolutely true that a person in Allen’s position committing this type of offense is showing signs of a serious mental illness and that he deserves our sympathy.
I doubt seriously, however, that a Democrat, if caught committing petty theft, could expect any sympathy from the compassionate conservatives of the right. But that’s exactly what Allen’s getting from no less a source than the president his ownself.
“If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen’s life, and that is really sad,” George Dubbya said after hearing the news.
And if Republican pundits and bloggers mention it at all, their tone ranges from sympathy for Allen’s plight, to suggestions that the crime was actually committed by Allen’s “Evil Twin” (no, I didn’t make that up) to (and this is the most common) indignation at those awful, awful, AWFUL liberals for daring to even bring this up.
And that’s when it hit me. The Republican Party is the place for me. Because whether it’s adultery, drug addiction, gambling or petty theft, you can always count on the party to pull together, circle the wagons and back you up.
Not that I’m planning any of those things, of course, but, you know, stuff happens. And it’s got to be a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that, whatever your personal failings or peccadilloes, IOKIYAR. Next week, I’m headed down to join up.
Now if I could only get my wife on board with this …
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)