An Attempt To Criminalize Debate and Dissent (CS)
Next up, Thoughtcrime?
Some Conservatives have a new favorite word they like to toss around... A new label they like to pin to any of their enemies. Not in the know? Confused? Well, today's cover of the New York Post will help you out in big, bold, black print:
This accusation coming from the right (parroted by pundits and politicians, "justified" by a falsified quote from Abraham Lincoln) is about as responsible and thoughtful as the Post's front page is classy.* They conveniently forget the truth on the ground, the various reports coming from Iraq. They conveniently forget all studies that indicate our fighting in Iraq has been a massive motivator for Al-Qaeda recruitment and terrorists in general. If the critics of the war were so inclined, they could probably make the same accusations based on these reports and evidence, that it is staying in Iraq which is aiding the enemy.
All this furor over a non-binding resolution, the political equivalent of picking lint out of your belly (slightly above "staring at one's own-navel" which is the equivalent of doing nothing at all). I would actually hope that they would do MORE to get our troops out of Iraq. It'd be great if Congress were capable of doing something real and productive which would not only help our troops and help our standing in the world, but also help our actual ongoing conflict with terrorism and extremism. But as it stands, this is simply a rebuke. A criticism. Hanging and imprisoning those who might criticize the current government is something to be expected of a Fascist state. It's this sort of talk that makes me less afraid of what might possibly be aiding the enemy from without because of the budding/fermenting rhetoric of the possible enemy from within.
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*Perhaps they aren't serious about this treason accusation, sandwiching it between celebrity junk about spousal abuse and some sort of trailer trash's bout with rehab. Then again, these seem to be the things the Post takes VERY seriously with their journalistic integrity equal to a drunken gossip with a grammar school education.
This accusation coming from the right (parroted by pundits and politicians, "justified" by a falsified quote from Abraham Lincoln) is about as responsible and thoughtful as the Post's front page is classy.* They conveniently forget the truth on the ground, the various reports coming from Iraq. They conveniently forget all studies that indicate our fighting in Iraq has been a massive motivator for Al-Qaeda recruitment and terrorists in general. If the critics of the war were so inclined, they could probably make the same accusations based on these reports and evidence, that it is staying in Iraq which is aiding the enemy.
All this furor over a non-binding resolution, the political equivalent of picking lint out of your belly (slightly above "staring at one's own-navel" which is the equivalent of doing nothing at all). I would actually hope that they would do MORE to get our troops out of Iraq. It'd be great if Congress were capable of doing something real and productive which would not only help our troops and help our standing in the world, but also help our actual ongoing conflict with terrorism and extremism. But as it stands, this is simply a rebuke. A criticism. Hanging and imprisoning those who might criticize the current government is something to be expected of a Fascist state. It's this sort of talk that makes me less afraid of what might possibly be aiding the enemy from without because of the budding/fermenting rhetoric of the possible enemy from within.
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*Perhaps they aren't serious about this treason accusation, sandwiching it between celebrity junk about spousal abuse and some sort of trailer trash's bout with rehab. Then again, these seem to be the things the Post takes VERY seriously with their journalistic integrity equal to a drunken gossip with a grammar school education.
posted by Craig at 11:19 AM
4 Comments:
This front page is obscene.
The really obscene thing is that covers like this are par for the course for the NY Post... and yet it's still the paper you'll see more widely read than any other in the city.
The practice of putting a sharply partisan editorial on a front page is not a new phenomenon and also not exclusive to right-wing rags.
It's actually almost a relief that such an insane sentiment is still acceptable to be expressed so loudly, that, in other words, the authoritarian forces of neither party has been able to cow the other side into submission. The Left responds in equal kind with persistent calls for impeachment of virtually everyone in the Administration and accusatory allusions to their participation in serial murder, in blogs and in the editorial pages of the many major (neo)liberal-run newspapers.
Americans have also been leveling charges of treason at each other since the nation's inception, over issues from war to trash collection. The right of each man to casually call his neighbor a traitor is a sacred institution at this point.
I'm more struck by the boldness of this from a business perspective. Sixty percent of the country is solidly against the war and favors withdrawal either immediately or gradually. I don't think it's loopy to suggest that probably more like eighty-five percent of New Yorkers would fall in that category if asked. Does the Post really want to call the bulk of its readership out as traitors, a class for whom the Constitution prescribes the death penalty?
Or do they suspect, as I do, that readers seeking serious reporting and opinion aren't the ones picking up the Post?
rush limbaugh is GOD!
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