SPINNING THE WHEELS

SPINNING THE WHEELS
(A diffuse Rant)

By Peter Fredson

August 23, 2005

It is not only Lance Armstrong that makes wheels spin. George Bush has determined not to let reality intrude on his fantasy in Iraq, so he and his thugs engage in spinning the truth like Whirling Dervishes. He has decided to wage an intensive personality campaign, manic in intensity, in which he struts, swaggers, grins, smiles broadly, gives bear-hugs, stares intensely to show sincerity, and does his level best to show charm and positiveness.

He is determined to eradicate all negative aspects connected with his failing presidency, and concentrate on the few positive aspects. He figures correctly that being likeable, like Ted Bundy, will make some people forget or forgive his failures. We know that he has a wide following, called the True Believers, that are predisposed to forget and forgive in advance of any of his actions, like they did with Jimmy Swaggart.

He will not mention any of the real reasons why he invaded Iraq and let Osama bin Laden escape, but he will mention “Liberty, Freedom, and Democracy” to exhaustion. He will talk eloquently of giving sovereignty to Iraq while building several huge permanent military bases there, and expropriating one of Saddam’s palace for a 1,800 staff embassy. He will mention his eagerness to leave Iraq from one side of his mouth, while making plans to invade other countries from his bases in Iraq.

He will speak about “our brave boys”, and never mention that he lied in order to send them to their deaths. He will talk about reconstructing Iraq while his troops are busily engaged in bulldozing homes, smashing doors, blowing up installations, and killing everything that moves. He will talk about peace while ordering people to find or make pretexts to invade Syria and Iran.

He has espoused the successful Hitlerian technique of the Big Lie, in which a lie is repeated by himself and every member of his cabinet, given to the press over and over, and relayed to his True Believer sycophants so they preach sermons on the Blessings Bush is bringing to the Muslim world. His plutocratic friends now control most of the media, and when they decide to ignore anything negative it will vanish like snowflakes in August. They inform the public of the Bush mantra that “everything is going well.”

Any stores about abuse, torture, indefinite detentions, violations of civil rights, dissenter’s protests, corruption, are all comfortably filed away or shredded. Even Senators will show how trivial all criticism of Bush really is, and how any murderous actions taken by Bush thugs are really like college pranks. Officials fall over themselves in the mad rush to excuse the pranks and slime of Karl Rove and laud the heroic leader who has such a hard row to hoe.

He even has trained seal “reporters’ to make sure the news goes his way, and his bureau chiefs make up positive news stories about his accomplishments despite their failings. He seals embarrassing documents or alleged some sort of immunity for actions. For unknown reasons when he was a candidate he was not pressed about his youthful indiscretions, his service record, his sudden wealth, or anything of consequence. Rather his saint-like conversion and rebirth seem to have impressed influential people to the point that it seemed sacrilegious to question him on any substantive issue.

Double-speak is the way issues are presented. Social Security reform was first cast as privatization, but it soon became apparent that it was really piratization. Public money would be put into the tender soft hands of corrupt neo-cons and True Believers to “invest” at their discretion where it would soon disappear into their private bank accounts or magically be turned into mansions, Lear Jets, Mediterranean resorts, and other amenities. With neo-cons in control of the entire process, people will be left bankrupt, weeping, without pensions, penniless while the executives swill cocktails and laugh at the way they conned the public.

The murder of civilians is described as “collateral damage.” Body bags are now to be called “human remains pouches.” Or “transfer tubes.” Mass destruction by stealth is called poetically “Shock and awe.”

Any reader of the media can give a hundred more examples of deceptive language used by the Bushites. “Staying the course” means “We have no plan to stop the killing.” War is Peace, slavery is Democracy, sovereignty is complete surrender, Freedom is the freedom to follow orders, credibility is “shut up or we’ll throw you in jail indefinitely,” bullying is diplomacy Bolton-style.

“Our Brave boys” means “Don’t you dare criticize me or you will get them suckers killed.” “We’re all safer now,” means “Me and Dick and Donald and Karl but the rest of you are screwed.” “God Bless You,” means “Damn you critics to hell.”