What's really sad is that people have stepped forward to reveal many of the dark secrets of the Bush administration -- Richard Clark, Sibel Edmonds, Paul O'Neil, that disgruntled CIA agent whose name I forget (probably due to a chemical in the water supply that makes you forget CIA agents' names), whoever leaked the pics to Sy Hersch, and others. But it doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. We know that all those kids are dying and getting their parts blown off in Iraq for the sake of lies, yet the Resident can go on national TV on Memorial Day and say they are fighting for our freedom (when they are really dying for the oil companies), and the prostitute news media just pass it on to us as if it makes perfect sense.
The modern Deep Throats are still there, it's just that the corporate media aren't interested.
What are we going to do without a vigorous free press? This has been Moyer's question all along. He says that the rise of our democracy coincides with the rise of a free press, but it is not a mere coincidence.
Bloggers are the vigorous free press.
Of course, only like 40% of the American population have a computer and less have consistant access to the internet. (I heard that statistic on NPR quite a while ago). So my statement above has to be qualified: bloggers are the vigorous (white) free press.
It galls me Sooooo much every time I hear Bush say these soldiers are fighting for our freedom. Or, that he would veto anything that "destroys life." Huh? Waaaaaa? He can / and probably did/ say those two statements in one speech, and no one bats an eye.
We coax people into getting interested by having a comedy news show that gets its licks in -- and thank gawd for John -- but it's sad that this is one of the few avenues for rigorous discussion and outrage.
W. Mark Felt is an American hero. He should be praised for his bravery and patriotism. I am delighted to know his name and see his face, so I can send him my gratitude. I actually tried to call his daughter today, just to tell her that I think her father rescued our country in 1972 and 1973.
Books written by former insiders of the Bush administration won't bring him down, but a brave soul on the inside can tear things wide open. Daniel Ellsberg invited insiders to speak out before the 2004 election, to no avail. While it is true that it is much harder now, because their inner circle is drawn as tight as their assholes, someone will speak out. Someone will have a conscience. Someone will rise to the occasion. There are signs of it, as Cervantes says, from those who dare to speak to Sy Hersh. We need more, and I am waiting.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media is the only group with the money and resources to actually tell the story. We bloggers are rather like the pamplet writers back in colonial days - lot's of really good ideas but without the resources to make them stick. Well, that's not stricyly true. I have had over 5,000 people visit my blog since I started blogging in earnest, but I'm not sure how many of those left with a changed opinion - or at least the beginnings of doubt about their own opinion. I'm sure a lot of you have reached more than that. So we are somewhat better off. Especially when you consider some of the excellent writing coming from people like Dread Pirate Roberts, Rexroth's Daughter and Chris Clarke (to name a few). Although right now I am a little pessmistic, when I look around the internet and blogosphere I do see things that give me hope.
Afarensis-- I just want our voices to be more than sound and fury signifying nothing. We have to keep at it. Mostly, I vacillate between wanting to post pictures of birds, flowers, and bugs; and ranting at the current state of affairs. We have to do both. Whether we change anyone's mind is hard to tell, but we keep at it.
Oh, I agree I mostly want to do Science stuff but keep getting drawn into political posts and by small steps I think I'm evolving into an activist - I for one can't imagine letting some of the crud going on in our country go unchallanged. Didn't mean to sound so pessimistic - blame it on lack of sleep. As for the impact of our voices "great storms announce themselves with the gentlest of breezes (to steal a line from Ladyhawke)"
What I can't believe is all the old "President's Men" trotting out on TV to react to this story. Disgusting. Unreal. I had to turn the sound off!
Rurality-- I heard Patrick Buchanan last night. I was shocked that he thought Mr. Felt was akin to a criminal. He thought Felt was a disgruntled, passed over employee who "leaked" other information. It's like history never reveals itself to these people. Mr. Felt was right, and is a hero.
I just read a really interesting take on the whole Deep Throat matter from the Canadian based blogger Xymphora. Xymphora never reveals much about himself, which when you read somone who is so suspicious, makes you feel a bit suspicious of him, his motives.
Anyway, Xymphora posits that Felt having Alzheimers, has just been set up for the role, while there really was no Deep Throat, but that Woodward was a plant sent in to the Washington Post to bring down Nixon to protect the interests of the Weapons manufacturers who benefited financially by the cold war continuing. Xymphora speculates that those who benefitted by the Cold War worried it would end too early because through his sucess in China, Nixon had developed a taste for getting his name in the history books. Intersting theory. A new one to me, and one which, sadly, makes a lot of sense.
Speechless-- When I heard that Felt came forward, I was delighted, but I had a nagging sense that this might not be what it seems. I hate to be so conspiratorial, but I wondered if he was just falling on his sword like the good soldier. I wondered who is really being protected. It just wraps up so neatly. Part of me wants to believe that he really thinks he's deep throat, is deep throat, and it happened the way we think it did. Part of me just thinks it's one more horrible subterfuge to wade through. See what happens when you live in country that lies to you all day long.
but if he is not deep throat, why would Woodward and Bernstein agree that he is?
Grrl Scientist: Xymphora's point was that Woodward was really planted at the Post to write that story. He reckons that it was pushed by whatever the 1972 version of the Carlisle Group was to protect the assets of the weapons manufacturers.
Who knows? Either way, Rove wins because paranoia fuels hopelessness and inaction. However, if the shell game is a shell game, we seldom fail to look where "they" point and tell us to look.
The whole story is quite interesting. There is still a lot unknown.
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