Are we getting confused here? Could this guy please make up his mind and stop changing his opinion twice in 96 hours. Is he losing and will lose what you cannot lose, or is he wining and will win what you cannot win? I don´t get it, but this somehow feels like he is flipping it and will flop.

August 31, 2004
Remarks by the President of the American Legion

In this different kind of war, we may never sit down at a peace table. But make no mistake about it, we are winning, and we will win.

August 31, 2004
Press Gaggle by Scott Mcclellan

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that it’s the President making it crystal clear that not only are we winning it, but we will win it.

August 30, 2004
Exclusive interview with ‘Today’ host Matt Lauer

Lauer: “So I’m just saying can we win it? Do you see that?”
President Bush: “I don’t think you can win it.…”

Cont. reading: Flip Flop (Re: Goalposts)

Use as you like …

by anna missed

Last night Maureen Dowd was on both Charlie Rose and the Letterman show simultaneously. I´ll bet she has not been on any TV show in probably 10 years, which brought to mind both the media and the fact that on both shows she was asked how George Bush could put John Kerry on the defensive about the latter much more illustrious military career. Her rather lame answer to the question, was that Kerry himself was, a little lame. It would seem that this issue might harken to the larger conundrum of how Bush manages to keep the dialectic away from himself the man, and, turn it against Kerry the man. In some ways this is essentially the Teflon effect, that Reagan pioneered, and now Bush is using to greater effect (is this why Bush himself likes to identify with Reagan?)

So, coming from visual arts, I, would put forth the notion that the Bush (Rove) Administration has stolen, at least metaphorically, a page from the book (myth) of Andy Warhol. I know this sounds bizarre, but, Warhols career was essentially founded on two factors that might shed some light on this inexplicable issue.

Cont. reading: George Bush == Andy Warhol?

In yesterdays USA Today Michael Moore says The GOP doesn’t reflect America. He claims that most Republicans are not in line with their party on most issues, but their reason to vote for the GOP agenda is:

Money. That’s what it comes down to for the RINOs. They do work hard and have been squeezed even harder to make ends meet. They blame Democrats for wanting to take their money.

Is it really this easy?

Is this not more about fear of insecurity which lets people vote for the party they assume will make them more safe? If so, what part of the fear is real and what part is induced by propaganda?

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders … All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism.”
Herman Goering during the Nuernberg trials

October 9, 2003
President Discusses Progress in Iraq

And beyond Iraq, the war on terror continues. There will be no quick victory in this war. We will persevere and victory is certain.

Cont. reading: Moving the Goalposts

For the Republican delegates the question is: “Did he deliver?”

Thank you for this honor.
Together, we will renew America’s purpose.
…
So tonight, we vow to our nation we will seize this moment of American promise. We will use these good times for great goals.

We will confront the hard issues, threats to our national security, …
…

Cont. reading: Rep Con 2004

There are many pieces coming to light about the spy case involving the Pentagon´s Iran specialist Franklin.

Josh Marshall, Laura Rozen and Paul Glastris have been on the case for some month and their new Iran-Contra II? piece in The Washington Monthly gives the best background along with Laura´s writings in her weblog War and Piece and Josh´s in his Talking Points Memo.

Cont. reading: Blow Off

“Starving the Beast”, is the view that taxes should be cut in order to force severe cuts in public spending. It is the unannounced policy of the Bush government and the Republican party, camouflaged as supply-side economics. Here it is for once coming nearly undisguised, delivered through an unsuspicious messenger.

Cont. reading: Framing the Death of the Beast

Various Views and News …

Some read:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Al-Qaida may attempt to attack Veterans Affairs hospitals as an alternative to more heavily guarded U.S. military installations, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warn in a new nationwide terrorism bulletin.

Cont. reading: Your Weekly Terror Threat

What better way to avoid talking about the nations dead of a war that started 17 month ago, than to talk about the survivors of a war that ended 375 month ago. The mailman may help Kerry for now, but the next round of ads will work on Kerry´s anti-Vietnam actions and will continue to lower his ratings.

Cont. reading: The Mailman

by anna missed

Pentagon officials today indicated that the current deployment of an additional 90,000 troops to Iraq is proceeding according to plans that were revealed three weeks ago. Forces that were deactivated from Korea, Germany and other European military bases have received their one week reorientation training and are currently in route to Kuwait to await final orders. Following the two Shiite uprisings in October and the joint Sunni- Shiite revolt in early November outgoing Bush administration officials say that in order to keep the promised January 30 election schedule on track additional security was needed.

Cont. reading: NEWS SERVICE … DECEMBER 8, 2004

For reference you may want to read Oily Thread I.

Could we also put a bit of water into this one? Water is often essential to get oil out of the ground. It is as scarce as oil and is the cause of many conflicts. Like the oil industry, the water industry is an interesting field for investments.

“The funding of America is an accident waiting to happen.”

Economist Stefen Roach warns of a near term crash of US assets.

The current account and trade deficit of the US are funded through foreign private savers and Asian central banks who buy US assets. There is an imbalance, when foreign savers increasingly pay for US consumption and an adjustment is needed.

“All the classic symptoms of a US current-account adjustment are now evident. At the same time, the stewards of globalization — the IMF, the BIS, the OECD, and even the Federal Reserve — are now all on the same page in sounding the alarm.

Politics could correct a big part of the imbalances, but tax increases and spending reductions are unpopular with the elecotrate, so this will not happen. The only way Roach sees the correction to be done is by a drop in US asset values, stocks, bonds and the balloned housing market.

When will this happen?

Cont. reading: Dow 6,000

News and Views …

anti-Iraqi Forces describes nationalistic Iraqi insurgents fighting against a foreign occupation as in:

11th MEU battles anti-Iraqi forces in An Najaf.

This is my favorite example for the application of Orwellian Newspeak

The basic idea behind Newspeak was to remove all shades of meaning from language, leaving simple dichotomies (pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness, good thoughts and thoughtcrimes).

Please help me to collect more examples of contemporary Newspeak. Please include:

• the Newspeak wording
• its real meaning
• a link to and/or a citation of an application

A friend will use the collection in a class about 1984.

Thanks!

Looking at the Sunday Talk Shows guest list, the Swift Boat theme is played on. Why has the Kerry campaign not been firing against this with full wrath?

Kerry calls on Bush to stop personal attacks is just lame, as are attempts to stop the smear ads through courts. The general election theme is about leading and defending the people through offence, not about ´calling on Bush´ and ´going to court´.

Kerry should accuse Bush personally of smearing all veterans and all current soldiers. Bush´s campaign supports and facilitate denying the correctness of military records for achieved medals. There is enough material to make a direct Bush campaign involvement play in the media.

The method used on this issue is a hallmark of Rove´s operations. There will be more, much more like this coming in the next weeks. If the Kerry campaign does not learn how to counter such stuff immediately, they lose their defence. If the campaign does not learn to attack with the same ruthlessness, they lose their offence too.

In this election losing either the offence or the defence is sufficient to lose the game.

This from the lead paragraphs of today’s New York Times: U.S. Now Said to Support Growth for Some West Bank Settlements.

The Bush administration, moving to lend political support to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a time of political turmoil, … In the latest modification of American policy, the administration now supports construction of new apartments in areas already built up in some settlements, as long as the expansion does not extend outward to undeveloped parts of the West Bank, according to the officials…

Translation:

Cont. reading: Benign Social Genocide

“The thunder of teen sexual activity and dating behavior may signal the lightning of substance abuse”
Joseph A. Califano, Jr. –
Chairman and President of CASA

Cont. reading: Teen Sex