Theological thinking

/
The Rise and Fall of America's Political Right - The Smirking Chimp
What distinguishes Bushism from old-line Republicanism and reasonable conservatism is not the names on their beliefs, it's the quality of their beliefs. The beliefs of Bushism are theological.

Theological thinking creates powerful and convincing rhetoric.There are two reasons for this.

People with theological beliefs don't mind lying. It's for the greater good.This has been combined with the corporate attitude toward truth: "Coke adds life!" It doesn't matter if it's true or false, or absolutely meaningless. If it moves the product, that's what you say.

The result is spinning, which is more effective than straight-out lying. For years, Bush was a master of spin. If you analyze his speeches, it is exceedingly rare to find an outright lie that you can nail to the table. Yet he was able to lead his listeners to conclusions that were absolutely false.



Command and Control

/
Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda - CNN.com
Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

The Office of the Commander in Chief has the power to overrule other government ministries, according to U.S. military and intelligence sources.Those sources say the 24-member office is abusing its power, increasingly overriding decisions made by the Iraqi Ministries of Defense and Interior and potentially undermining the entire U.S. effort in Iraq..

A senior Iraqi army officer told CNN that the presence of theAmericans was preventing the actions of the Office from being devastating, but he worried about what would happen when U.S. forces ultimately leave Iraq. At that point, the officer says, there will be no restraint on the activities of the Office.


That's the way to do it #267

/
Rachel from north London (who got married last Saturday) has been doing sterling work today popping up on radio and TV in the wake of the terrorist convictions to press her, and other 7/7 victims' demands for a public enquiry:
I have just been carried over the threshold of our house by my gorgeous husband, put down my bags of wonderful wedding presents, jumped into a suit and am off to do interviews in ten minutes. You can see me and some of the other survivors and families on BBC News 24, ITN, ITN Special investigation tonight, C4 News, Newsnight, BBC London early evening news programme, Panorama, CNN, BBC Breakfast, various radio stuff, and you'll see us all again tomorrow, when the stakes will be raised.
I've just seen her performance on Newsnight and Paul 'Guido' Staines she was not! :)

Congratulations and well done!



I say a little prayer for you

/
The Village Voice: The Bush Beat
Ex CIA boss George Tenet tried to rewrite his own role in history by going on TV and calling the Iraq invasion "a national tragedy" that even he knew four years ago was unwarranted and unjustified.

On February 5, 2003, Colin Powell made the Bush regime's case for war at the U.N. Security Council, even (straight out of Jonny Quest) showing slides of cartoony drawings of mobile WMD labs racing across the Iraqi desert.

The next day, February 6, was the National Prayer Breakfast, where the blood lust was palpable.
Tenet spoke at the prayer breakfast... The CIA director walked to the podium and, with no introductory remarks, intoned his own cartoonish view of the world:

God teaches us to be resolute in the face of evil, using all of the weapons and armor that the word of God supplies.

In chapter six of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we're told, Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stance against the devil's schemes.

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore, put on the whole armor of God so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of justice in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace.

Take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and pray at all times.


Yes. I think that's clearly a dissenting voice. If only they had listened...