strange as it may sound but this article will help Bush immensely with voters in mid-western states.
Posted by john at October 16, 2004 03:44 PMUnfortunately, some wars are won by the side that is the most fanatical in the religious sense. The victorious leaders harness the holy energy of collective insanity.I have the above in the header of my blog. I read the Suskind article early this afternoon and although not really surprising it is still terrifying. "The holy energy of collective insanity", that's what we have here on both sides, al-Queda and the Bush flock. Bartlett says in the Suskind piece
COGITOR KWYNA
[From the Machine Crusade by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson]
''He truly believes he's on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence.'' Bartlett paused, then said, ''But you can't run the world on faith.''I can't imagine anything more frightening. Posted by Ron In Portland at October 16, 2004 03:45 PM
John
He already had anybody this would help him with sewn up. It will hurt him much more with the sane folks in the middle.
kos has a myriad of blogging response about this.
so what you cant put all of ameirca in gitmo. they are over ovebiting and like wlamart and pignation in genreal. the peons are mutinying. solidiers refuse to commit suicide. heads will roll and it will be bloddy on both sides. what did you expect?
the world plebiscite is against american empire and 1/2 of the americans. the creepy reborns are outnumered all they have are daisy cluster bombs and 'w'. oh and monsanto franken food. twilight empire indeed. america belongs to the first people, yucca mtn. ltd.
Funny how I had just finished reading this article right before coming here. I was struck with a sense despair and was very saddened after reading it. Dear God, please America wake up.
A few things in addition to the ones you pointed out really hit me. One was the story of the 52 year old man from Missouri who firmly believes in Bush and the fact he is an instrument of God and how he worked to petition Bush to give a speech out there to 20,000 who feel the same way about Bush. This follower of Bush has a cult-like adulation, which was very, very scary to me because as we all know cults can be disastrous especially when the cult leader is the President of the US. The other was the point in the article where Suskind mentions that there were 4 million evangelicals who did not vote in 2000 elections. Oh boy!
The other part was at the end with the minister Wallis who at the beginning of the article had mentioned poverty being the source of terrorism and that he told the President that he needed to deal with terrorism by combatting poverty (drain the swamp of poverty which fuels terrorism). This was in stark contrasts to Bush's beliefs about cause of terrorism and therefore that was the end of this man being a part of Bush's circle. At the end of the article Wallis states this about Bush's unwavering convictions
That very issue is what Jim Wallis wishes he could sit and talk about with George W. Bush. That's impossible now, he says. He is no longer invited to the White House.
''Faith can cut in so many ways,'' he said. ''If you're penitent and not triumphal, it can move us to repentance and accountability and help us reach for something higher than ourselves. That can be a powerful thing, a thing that moves us beyond politics as usual, like Martin Luther King did. But when it's designed to certify our righteousness -- that can be a dangerous thing. Then it pushes self-criticism aside. There's no reflection.
''Where people often get lost is on this very point,'' he said after a moment of thought. ''Real faith, you see, leads us to deeper reflection and not -- not ever -- to the thing we as humans so very much want.''
And what is that?
''Easy certainty.''
Fits in nicely with Kerry's oneliner about this,
One can be certain and be wrong.
George W. Bush is President Greg Stillson from The Dead Zone.
Posted by FDRLincoln at October 16, 2004 04:42 PMI agree with big deal and it is good to see beat poets back in the game. Actually, I grew up in the sticks of the Midwest. Given a prod I could speak in tongues like you wouldn't believe. The Christian faith is not at fault here. The strength of the faith in the people I know so well will deliver them out of this bondage to the neocons who have spiritually brutalized them into serving their needs.
These people are victims. Yes, they have free will to exercise their own judgement. But it was diabolical that their own religious leaders would sell them out so wholeheartedly. There was little in the way of internal defenses within the faith to prevent it from such top down corruption. The whole Reformation removed the curious political structures so well defined in Catholicism that only serve to stand between a soul and its God.
In my opinion, Bush is simply another one of the faithful mesmerized by the unholy forces seeking to reorder the world into a shape they seek. He simply doesn't have the mettle of even a third rate dictator. He possesses no histrionic overtones. He is not someone Shakespeare would spend much time in limning. The PNAC: Elliot Abrams, William J. Bennett, Jeffrey Bergner, John R. Bolton, Paula Dobriansky, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Zalmay Khalilzad William Kristol, Richard Perle, Peter Rodman, Donald Rumsfeld, William Schneider, Jr., Vin Weber , Paul Wolfowitz, R. James Woolsey, and Robert B. Zoellick et al. This is the dark hand. This is the evil empire.
"Of course, the United States must be prudent in how it exercises its power," they demure. But they don't mean it. Look around. They don't mean it. To the degree these august centurians are forced to quit the world stage in utter humiliation, reason will prevail.
Posted by obelus at October 16, 2004 05:05 PMThe Suskind article is terrifying. This passage was the worst:
The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
It doesn't get any scarier. In a perverse way, it may be good news too. If Bush and his inner circle are that out of touch with reality, they'll never see their defeat coming.
Has anyone else noticed how many times people in this administration mention "history"? Bush's Yale degree was in history. Maybe all along he's planned to be remembered, and he will be. But not for what he thinks he will.
Posted by Tow at October 16, 2004 05:25 PMThe Suskind article is terrifying. This passage was the worst:
The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
It doesn't get any scarier. In a perverse way, it may be good news too. If Bush and his inner circle are that out of touch with reality, they'll never see their defeat coming.
Has anyone else noticed how many times people in this administration mention "history"? Bush's Yale degree was in history. Maybe all along he's planned to be remembered, and he will be. But not for what he thinks he will.
Posted by Tow at October 16, 2004 05:26 PMWhat's in this article will give me sleepless nights. The quote by Tow above "We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do" is more frightening that a Stephen King novel come to life.
What really concerns me is the existence of people like this, in these kinds of numbers.
So, Kerry will win the White House - so far so good. Where are these glassy-eyed "Children of the Corn" people going to go? Work with us and Kerry to repair America and solve problems? I don't think so. They will be out there, more desperate than ever. Dangerous. The series of events required to make the USA a sane place again is so unlikely - non-glassy-eyed's will need to be in a real minority to avoid having Kerry over a barrel and making him completely ineffective. Is everyone seeing a major shift in the control of the house and Senate? Constructive criticism of these points is welcomed (actually, I'm hoping to find out how ridiculously pessimistic I'm being - I'm hoping to be set straight).
Posted by paul anderson at October 16, 2004 05:52 PMOne thing in this article that should be highlighted and passed all over place is this:
But as the hour passed, Bush kept coming back to the thing most on his mind: his second term.
''I'm going to come out strong after my swearing in,'' Bush said, ''with fundamental tax reform, tort reform, privatizing of Social Security.''
Bush finally admitting to privatizing social security. Where are the commercials on this statement?
Posted by The Bite at October 16, 2004 05:55 PMSometimes a brave person sees the coming onslaught the fanatic wants to affect and drops him where he stands.
Posted by STEVE DUNCAN at October 16, 2004 07:11 PMThe other thing that worries me is that, assuming Bush were to lose, he might start spreading the rumor that everything has literally gone to the Devil. I worry about what some religious fanatics might do to "stop the Devil." Don't get me wrong. I am a person of faith, but I am also a religion major and am well aware of what some people are willing to do for their God.
Posted by Robert Diaz at October 16, 2004 07:24 PMAbout those comments and the agenda of the second term,those are some radical changes.
The old axiom was if you want change vote Democratic. There is no question, Bush is the most radical president we have ever had. You add this article with the bizarre behavior of the debates and you have a lunatic as the leader of the free world. I literally think that he is psychotic. I also think he is medicated. I have read other blogs where bloggers would speculate on what ailment the president has. Some thought he suffered a small stroke and that is why his face looked so strange. I don't think that is it at all. I really believe, this president is hearing voices. Voices he preserves to be Divine. It really is starting to all add up if you think about it.
Sometimes a brave person sees the coming onslaught the fanatic wants to affect and drops him where he stands. - Posted by STEVE DUNCAN at October 16, 2004 07:11 PM
This doesn't take bravery, Steve. All it takes is someone who sees simple solutions and implements one.
Taking out Bu$h, if that is what you are alluding to, will only make him the martyr that his followers need to become fanatics themselves, and will only make the problem much worse - kind of like the results Owwer Fanatic Leedur achieved with his 'War on (Muslim) Terra'.
Posted by pessimist at October 17, 2004 02:18 AMBush is far out of the mainstream of classical discernment of spirits. The great guides all insisted that every action must be tested to determine if it is God who is speaking or the person's own ego. Bush isn't listening to a God which loathes war and death.
Posted by Melanie at October 17, 2004 12:57 PMSteve Duncan is a pussy. If you want to elaborate upon your plans, you wretched worm, be sure to do so. I'll do my part to help [spread the word].
Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a Federal offense.
Posted by Toby Petzold at October 17, 2004 10:27 PMI stayed awake a long time after reading what I already sensed about Bush. Narcissism taken to an extreme by a leader of my country is a nightmare. The Messiah issue denigrates all religion. As a Christian, I see no man as a Messiah. The only hope I get out of this is that enough voters will realize that religion skewed is reminiscant of the masters of medieval Europe. It is fitting that this article is printed so near Halloween.
Posted by Kathleen K. Bowen at October 18, 2004 09:16 AM