LETTERS
January 1, 2004
Four More Years?
This vision ["Nightmare Vision"] is chillingly close to my own, and is shared by a number of my friends. Early on, when the Democratic candidates were newly joining the race, I feared for Kucinich if he should become one of the frontrunners -- he seemed too much a reincarnation of Wellstone's philosophy. At the time it never occurred to me that Dean would be in danger. But once Dean became the frontrunner, it gradually occurred to me that he might not live to see the election. We already know what happens to those who oppose this group (or who have opposed other powerful groups throughout history). Living close to Missouri and seeing what happened to Mel Carnahan when he threatened to win out over Ashcroft, and then not that long afterward seeing what happened to Wellstone, how could I NOT fear for Dean?Where I can't really bring my imagination to go is to the time after the election, when we'll know who "won" and when we'll most likely find out we face another four years (or more) of this evil cabal. If we don't take back our government in '04, there won't be anything left of this country to save, yet the chances of our doing so, given what we're up against, seen to be "slim" and "none." I'll add that I've been researching Leo Strauss, the guru of the Neocons, who saw Machiavelli as providing the best blueprint for leaders to follow. It would appear that this country is truly doomed.
Thanks (I think) for confirming that we're not alone in our fears.
MJParrish
Allies
Dear David,And happy new year to you, too.....
I wish I thought you were in any way paranoid, but I don't. And can't, since I recently was pursuing the same line of thought. My particular focus was, if their goal is the pursuit of worldwide power, who could stop them by military means when this country is by far the most powerful? The only thing that could stop them from pursuing that goal would be us, the will of the people in a democracy. So first they would have to conquer us by one means or another. That thought led, of course, to the chilling realization that we've been in the process of being conquered by "benign" means for 3 years now--the manipulation of fear, control of the media, propaganda; I'm fairly convinced also by putting Valium/Prozac in the water supply of selected areas, and whatever the deal is with chemtrails. So if all these weren't enough, and they turned to military force against our own people, how could we stop them? I posed that to a recently awakened co-worker, who said that she just always thought our allies would help us. When I asked her "how?" she had no answer. We've always "helped" oppressed people with bombs. But there's that military superiority again.
The best hope, if it's true, would seem to be as you suggest, someone breaking ranks. And yet so many people at so many levels had to have been involved in what has been done so far.
Looks to be an interesting year.
L
Hey L,
Great to hear from you!
It would be nice to get help from "allies," whatever that means these days. It makes more sense when applied to individuals than governments. Then you get back to the idea of people power again. In our borderless world, the allies are the people, world around, who do not subscribe to this little conspiracy of elites, this sort of neo-feudal oligarchy.
I do believe in the power of all the people doing whatever they can creatively do to exert their power. When you have a massive majority, which we do have inherently in the reality of who is getting screwed, then you can act in your own sphere with the knowledge that others are acting in theirs. Some file lawsuits. Some do demonstrations. Some make films. Some go on strike. Some write letters to congresspeople. Everyone tries to be communicators. And every day you try to do something effective in some small way. In that way the power rises, the path will become clear, leaders will come forward in different areas, but "don't follow leaders" is still pretty good democratic advice.
In America we have a legal foundation and a culture that supports democracy, but in Eastern Europe they didn't have that, and they still threw off their oppressors, and did it peacefully. History is on our side. The other Evil Empire fell. Now this one is going to.
Parallel Lines
Hi David,When I read your December 29th piece it made me realize I'm one of those people you are talking about who are having the same thoughts. Yesterday I sent this to Buzzflash (after months of thinking about it), although I thought they would probably ignore it because of the implications, that maybe it was too unthinkable. But it ties right in with your piece. My past thoughts have included that Bush would be willing to nuke other countries since after the fact who would stop us? Your thoughts of him using nuclear weapons against us isn't a far stretch for me.
You're right that it's better to suspect this than to get blindsided by it. I think those of us who are now writing about this are basically picking up on the general 'feelings' that few want to face. I sure tried to ignore these thoughts, but it's how they act that convinces me of the possibility.
*****************
Subject: That sinking suspicion
Hi Buzz,
Having followed Bush's gutting style of governing for the last 3 years and having seen the ever increasing gloat factor become more and more crass and obvious I think I'm not alone when I say I have the horribly gut-sinking feeling that what we are seeing is the behavior of a man who already knows he have won. He acts just like the Bully who KNOWS he's safe and who knows he's already the winner, gleefully letting his victims believe they still have a chance of winning a fight with him.
It's the increasing obviousness of not bothering to hide the facts about what his administration is doing. This has been happening recently to a greater degree than ever before. Probably the most blatant example of someone who has arrived at that stage where what the 'enemy' knows is no longer important in their 'strategy' is Bush's answer to Diane Sawyer's persistent question about his statements of certitude about Hussein's WMD as the main reason to go to war. "What's the difference?"
The inference is that in Bush's mind there is no difference in his accountability between saying there are WMD and there not being any.
But to limit that inference might be a mistake. The fact that Bush actually said it with such aplomb goes to a much deeper fact. He knows that it doesn't matter anymore. It matters to us, but to him and his future. It doesn't matter that we are finding out that he lied and that soldiers are dying every day and that what he has done goes against all domestic and international laws, as well as all social morality and ethics. He has won already and the veneer of 'truthfulness' is becoming less and less necessary.
I want to be wrong about this. I want to ignore that sinking feeling, but it's getting harder every time I see him say one thing and do the opposite. When I look at him he looks very comfortable, secure, protected. He didn't look nearly as worried as he should when Diane Sawyer asked that question. And that's very unsettling. Actually, he looked irritated and even put out by her insistence. He even said he was allowing her to ask him the questions because he 'loved her anyway'. Was that a veiled threat? Not only to her, but to everyone who would dare press him in an interview?
I hope his present 'attitude' is just the result of an ego which has grown super-inflated with his delusions of grandeur and of being 'God's chosen'. But the fact that his handlers are letting him out to be able to say what he thinks is very worrisome. I hope my suspicions are wrong.
Judith Foster
Instant Relief
For a mind to work well....it must be "open".... ie listen to all sides. Dr. Dean is a breath of fresh air, and has a lot of work ahead of him to bringing our beloved USA back to her honest, efficient, thriving, admired, loved and respected status among our sister Nations. The improvement in attitude will be instantaneous when the Bush gangsters are driven out of our landascape.Cheers and happy 2004,
John
The New Germans
Dear David:Thank you for sending me a copy of your wonderful essay. We have become a nation of sadists, believing that killing and torturing our "enemies" is the norm. Was the word "negotiation" deleted from our dictionary?
I agree that BushCo. will do anything to stay in power. The next election will be a farce. You're right about what they would do to Howard Dean, and the Democrats are helping them. At best, they'll continue to morph into Albert Gore, Bill Clinton (character assassination) or demonize him into a Bin Laden or Saddam (he'd still be in power if it were up to him). At worse, as you suggest, a Wellstonian scenario will be his fate.
When you look back at Germany in the 1930s, there was nothing the citizens could do to stop what their government was doing. People questioned why they just sat by and let it happen. Obviously, as we, the new German Citizens, know there was nothing they could do about it.
Some citizens in Germany saw what was coming and left before it was too late. When I tell people that my husband and I are considering leaving, if we can, they say, "No, you live in a democracy, stay and fight it. We live in the greatest country in the world...you can vote him out." More and more I believe they're wrong.
To think how our tax money goes to kill and torture human beings in other parts of the world makes me feel dirty and ashamed. So many "bad guys" out there to kill. Right!
You are not paranoid; you are informed and very aware.
Stay safe.
Renee'
January 8, 2004
Never Again
Hi David,After reading your piece today I'd like to share this letter I wrote to the National Director of the Anti Defamation League who condemned MoveOn for the 'Hitler' ad.
To Abraham H. Foxman,
The ad of which you speak is not sanctioned by MoveOn. It was submitted by a citizen who still has the right of free expression and speech. Your condemnation of MoveOn is unwarranted and also not based on facts.
As of yet Bush has not made it a government sanctioned action to visit a holocaust at the level used against the Jews on an entire group of people, but the utterly innocent victims of his wars suffer and die just as effectively. The tactic of rounding up Muslim males in the United States (like the Japanese internment during WWII) is highly reminiscent of the treatment of Jews before the infamous decision to implement the "Final solution". And in many people's minds the memory of Hitler's actions when we see Bush's form of government is chilling and too close for comfort.
The references to Hitler should not to be given or taken lightly, but many people all over the world are strongly reminded of Hitler as they see George W. Bush in action, especially when he is so consummately indifferent to innocent Iraqis being killed as well as our own soldiers dying in what is rapidly developing into a nightmare occupation. It's a war that is illegal, unilateral and waged with admittedly (admitted by none other than George W. Bush himself) one falsehood after another. A war broadly advertised as the first step to world supremacy as published in the Project for The New American Century (http://www.newamericancentury.org/). An aptly named 'quagmire' that many of us saw coming as obviously as we see the Hitler/Bush similarities. Those of us who marched against the war on Iraq received a lot of criticism and condemnation from those who accused us of being unpatriotic or 'Saddam lovers', yet the very situation we warned against in our marches is all manifesting right now. Patriotism and 'love' of Saddam had nothing to do with it, and everyone knows this.
The words 'never again' should also serve as a warning to everyone to do what is necessary when they see the same fascist tendencies being cultivated again. One doesn't have to wait for the first Muslims 'enemy combatants' to be gassed to finally see what is happening. Those of us who are students of history can see from the past how 'unthinkable' crimes have been committed because no one thought to see the similarities as warnings. But many of us see these similarities emerging right now. Perhaps you could bring yourself to listen to those who claim similarity between Hitler and Bush. Is it not always necessary and better to be vigilant? Adolf Hitler's contribution to history was not entirely a one-time aberration. He was another murderous despot in a long historical line of tyrants throughout humanity's history. And he wasn't the last that will come along.
Judith Foster,
Berkeley