The Big Time Messenger Blames the Small Time Messengers

Our sage of conventional foreign policy wisdom, Mr. Jim Hoagland offered these comments in his recent Washington Post column:

"The most vindictive bloggers and many others eager to push the mainstream media, established politicians or other remnants of the status quo off a stage that they want to occupy smash reputations with abandon to call attention to themselves. What do they have to lose in the unpoliced badlands of the ether? They contribute to a general deepening of cynicism in the land at no perceived cost to themselves.

But deeply polarized nations that devote an inordinate amount of their time and energy to hunting and prosecuting both real villains and convenient scapegoats -- at the expense of failing to recognize and respect heroes and helpers of the common good -- do pay an enormous collective price. Such nations descend into easily manipulated despair and resentment that inevitably lead to ever-greater destruction. Americans would do well to ponder that in a summer of doubt and division."

I am not one to deconstruct line by line the comments of our pundit class as other bloggers may. However, these comments do deserve some response from one of the so-called "vindictive” bloggers who promulgate "in the unpoliced badlands of ether."

Columnists like Mr. Hoagland have been found out. He was wrong about Iraq War. He was wrong about George Bush. I am not one to tar and feather someone for his or her views. I will not engage in name-calling. But he is wrong and for many of the conventional wisdom pundit class, this is a very hard pill to swallow. When the vast majority of Americans know that this Iraq thing is a "bad thing," are they being "vindictive" when they disagree with the administration's policies?

The cynicism Mr. Hoagland decries was not invented by the bloggers from "the badlands of the ether." Its roots are in the false and erroneous reasons created to start the Iraq War invented by the neo-conistas and carried out by the Bushie sycophants. Every justification for the war, every policy adjustment during the war, and every benchmark established to measure progress has been either been proven false or is failing. Its not surprising that reasonable people watching this morass unfold become a little suspicious, little jaded.

Mr. Hoagland ends his piece with “Such nations descend into easily manipulated despair and resentment that inevitably lead to ever greater destruction.” I say who is manipulating whom? Again, his so called “despair and resentment” are not the result of bloggers. The deepening sadness and nihilism readily apparent in the body politic is because most Americans have lost confidence in our ruling classes to solve the Iraq mess. The bloggers of ether land are only an artifact of this deepening despair.

Instinctively, we know the Iraq morass will hurt our standing in the world for decades. We know the war has created more people who are willing to strap bombs on themselves, walk in to crowds and kill innocents. We see the carnage and billions of dollars lost or squandered. Our country is moving into unchartered waters with no one to guide us.

Mr. Hoagland and his ilk have led us to this dark and awful place and do not have the courage to stand up and admit they were wrong. Nor do they really have idea how to get us out. I find it ironic that one nationally recognized messenger, James Hoagland, uses the old canard “to blame the messenger.” This war and the lack of national leadership have created the despair and resentment he decries and not the Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo or Firedoglake.

A Little Irreverence to Start the Weekend!

The Beautiful People of Washington DC..An Classic Oxymoron!

The "inside baseball" publication for all those who need to know about politics in DC is "The Hill." The journal has just released its most important investigative article in years listing the 50 most beautiful people on capitol hill. Anyways, I just wanted everyone to know that 30 of the 50 selected in this prestigious competition were Democrats.


Unfortunately, Congressmen Steve Chabot and Congresswomen Jean Schmidt, both from my hometown of Cincinnati, did not make the list. I wonder why? Do Democrats have more cute genes?

It's a Fun Day, a Family Day

Our friends in the New Hampshire Republican Party are planning a fundraiser for the whole family. Participants are invited to come and learn how to shoot machine guns and Uzis. What a wonderful way to celebrate the 2nd Amendment! The organizer, Mr. Jerry Thibodeau, calls this outing "a fun day, a family day."

I wonder if Mr. Thibodeau will invite Dick Cheney to join the festivities?

ObBushcation-The Politics of Dismeaning

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004


Rather prophetic wouldn’t you say? I do not want to dwell on the stupid things that come out President Bush’s mouth. There are far too many websites that provides extended lists that continue to grow and grow and grow.

His misquotes, examples of incoherent logic, and, at times, fabrications have really served him well. His inability or unwillingness to provide a cogent, complete argument for any of his policies has permeated his administration for the past 6 years. It has severely damaged the ongoing political discourse in this country. We have such low expectations for him. When he ignores facts or makes up his own somehow we have been trained to give him a pass. When he changes his justification for the war in Iraq (almost daily), we have collective amnesia. Somehow we forget his spurious talking points about Iraq’s WMDs or nuclear programs, links to Al Qaeda, or need to create democratic institutions. They are in yesterday’s news cycle. And besides, we don’t expect W to have the ability to link today’s sound bites to yesterday’s sound bites. He has mastered the art of low expectations and intellectual dishonesty. W is winking at us as he reads the prepared statements some speechwriter puts in front of him. His frat boy demeanor only reinforces the notion that he is play-acting and bored with it all. We turn away fully aware that he doesn’t mean what he says.

The awful truth is that his limbo stick of intellectual curiosity is so low we don’t even try to reach down to pay attention anymore. And sadly, his administration is filled with others who have adopted his reality stretching tactics I call obBushcation. His bagman Alberto and our Attorney General is W’s master student. Tony Snow, Stephen Hadley, Condi Rice, and Fran Townsend would all get passing grades at W’s school of diminishing rhetorical returns.

They too have given up making a real sense. They now understand that the goal is just to say something, anything that promulgates fear or perpetuates the cult of low expectations. Intersperse hot buttons words such as Terror, Al Qaeda, 9-11, with non-sequiturs such as “fight them there so we don’t fight them here,” “We have confidence in (you fill in the blank), he/she did a marvelous job presenting the administration’s case,” or “Leaving now will create a haven for _____.”

The Washington Press Corp has given up trying to hold W and minions to any kind of intellectual standard. It really isn’t surprising that Lindsay’s, Brittany’s and Paris’ escapades are given as much print and air time as W’s policy pronouncements. They all are fluff and lack substance. The twenty-hour news cycle and the plethora of newspapers, magazines, talking head shows need to fill up the space.

W has created obBushcation. Is it premeditated or just fortuitous? Either way it continues to work very effectively.

"Iraq is a very important part of securing the homeland, and it's a very important part of helping change the Middle East into a part of the world that will not serve as a threat to the civilized world, to people like—or to the developed world, to people like—in the United States." —Washington, D.C., April 3, 2007

We just roll our eyes and groan.

Playing the Race Card

I recently had a heated discussion with some friends about race and how it affects our work lives, politics and the broader popular culture. Frankly, most everyone at the table was suffering from some form of “race fatigue.” We think of ourselves as reasonable and socially responsible liberals and yet, when the topic of race comes up our reactions and comments are grounded in those deeply rooted prejudices we all learned at an early age.

It is the nature of prejudice and how we have internalized so many negative stereotypes and fears during our developmental years that shape our reactions as adults. Whenever we have a “racially tinged” experience, we often throw out our adult reasoning and react to the situation in a manner that reinforces our collective prejudices. It’s insidious and very frustrating.

Once those prejudices are deeply planted in our collective psyches, they never go away!

I made the statement that so much is about race in all that we do or experience. Not surprisingly, I did not get a ringing endorsement from my friends. I heard, “I’m tired of people playing the race card.” “When will we ever get over it.” “How long will we need to live with affirmative action?” “How long will I have to be held responsible for all the past injustice?” “I am tired of all it!” It is race fatigue in all its shapes and forms.

Frankly, I sympathize with those sentiments. I too suffer from race fatigue. I was not advocating that we need to own all past injustice or permit race to be used as excuse when it isn’t appropriate. Although I didn’t do a very good job, my general point was that the issues of race continue to permeate all aspects of our lives. We cannot escape it.

Even when someone exclaims that the race card is being played out, this is again is a clear example of how race is still part of our collective experience. Prejudice becomes racism when those who hold power use their power to control those whom are the objects of their prejudices. The long years of institutional racism and oppression have left their scars on both sides of the equation-for the oppressor and the oppressed.

The race card can only “be played” in a racially, overheated context. The race card is not an invention of the oppressed. Its roots are in the nature of structural racism that has flourished in this country for over 230 years. Without that racial pathology, my friends and I would never so readily label a person’s actions as “playing the race card.”

As the dominant culture we grant privilege and dole out punishment. It is not surprising that the oppressed have defined their relationships with us by using our structural racism to their advantage. I probably would to if I could get away with it.

We all find our ways to rationalize our shortcomings. Who among us wants to confront our own deficiencies? Placing blame is easy. Children learn the behavior at a very early age. Politicians practice deflection everyday. Drug addicts and alcoholics have mastered the art.

Isn’t it rather interesting that whenever a person of color justifies his or her shortcomings by declaring racism, we are the first to label it? Playing the race card is just another American past time of placing blame and not taking responsibility.

When members of the dominant culture engage in inappropriate behavior, they often plead that they are not responsible for their failings. David Vitter blames the press for hounding him about his sexual indiscretions. Ted Haggard and his followers can always turn to Satan for a good excuse. Mark Foley can obscure his pedophilia by declaring he is an alcoholic. I am sure each of these guys would have used the “race card” if they could. Unfortunately, they are the ones who set up the rules in the first place. The oppressors can’t blame the oppressed for their collective failings.

Yes, the race card is played more often than it should be. Unfortunately, there are acts of racial injustice and discrimination that always give fodder for future card players. Without a legacy of institutional racism and our deeply ingrained prejudices, “the race card” would not exist.

My Fortune

I just came back from lunch. Normally, the place I go to has good, moderately priced Chinese food. I haven't been there for several months. Unfortunately, with many restaurants, things changed very quickly. It was not very good.

I did though open my fortune cookie. Here is my fortune: "You are the center of every group attention."