October 18, 2003
Saturday Good Reads
Meteor Blades has an excellent suggestion about what to do with the American public's fascination with celebrity: create an aristrocracy that allows them to be the figureheads they should be without giving them responsibility for governing.
Michael Kinsley muses about George W Bush's complaints about news filtering (via Braganza). Bush wants his message be heard by the American public without any interference of those pesky reporters, but the President has no interest in hearing from the American public about their messages or concerns.
My next recommendation is not a read, but actually a listen: As this report from last night's ATC shows, Bush believes that if he continues to stay the course, that the American public will continue to support him, despite the growing numbers that believe the country is on the wrong track on both the economy and Iraq. After all, people like strong and consistent leadership even if they disagree with the policies. Can the big lie (Bush is a strong, capable leader) win out over common sense (the world is going to hell in a handbasket)? Clearly this is going to be the battlefield for the election next year.
Tristero discusses the hijacking of the conservative movement and finds that a true-blue conservative is utterly convinced Al Frankin is right. Of course, she had the experience of working for the sleazy Bill Sizemore (Oregon's tax crusader) and had testified against him when she discovered the fraud he used to sell his lies.
The leaders we conservatives have trusted have taken advantage of our trust to line the pockets of the wealthy and powerful, and it's time we rose up and drove out these greedy liars. They've hijacked and distorted our belief system for their own gain, and in doing so are destroying our credibility
Orcinus provides some context to the Republican penchant for "managing" Bush's public appearances by creating a bubble around him that excludes unsightly protesters. Certainly Bush's appearance in Portland last August had the protesters herded into to a protest zone that did not impinge on the President's space.
Bush's overseas tour is the subject of a couple of more interesting posts. Dave Johnson of Seeing the Forest has brought on a few new guest bloggers and Raena provides a Down Under perspective as they prepare for Bush's visit. Buzzflash says that Bush travels with a large group, but we, the American tax payer are not allowed to know who is travelling with him although we do get to pick up the tab.
More on Bush's filter: Is Bush's petulance starting to undermine his public persona? Liberal Oasis thinks so.
So what is happening with the 9/11 inquiry? Ruminate This says that it seems the FAA doesn't have any problem in providing information about ordinary incidents where a flight deviates from the registered flight plan, just those which relate to 9/11. Someday, if we can ever reclaim our country from these greedy radicals that have hijacked our country, perhaps we can discover the truth.
Some fine analysis on the problems with the right, the left and our American imperialism can be found on Hobson's Choice. Read parts I, II, III, and IV.
Posted by Mary at October 18, 2003 01:25 AM | TrackBack