August 3, 2007
by Cliff Carson

First there was the war on Terror. Then there was the war on Iraq. Next came the war on constitutional law. These have all morphed into something entirely different than how it was supposed to be. Will we some day see the war on American freedom - or has it already started?

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.   
-George Orwell

The original argument for the Iraqi war was that Saddam Hussein had possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the inference was that he fully intended to use them against the United States within the year.  From there the propaganda was that if we waited to verify whether there really was WMD, then we back in the United States would risk seeing mushroom clouds arising over the skyline because of our folly of waiting too long. 

Once we got into Iraq and there were no WMD, the justification for invading that country became regime change and liberation of the Iraqi people, but once Hussein was found and tried and executed and we were still there, the cause shifted to creating calm so that the new government could establish itself, and when that went belly up, We blamed the Iraqi Government, then our president said we needed to stay the course so that they, Al-Qaeda, can be stopped from attacking us "over here".   Odd thing though, when we invaded Iraq there were no organized Al Qaeda there and they weren't there for about a year and that was when Bush told them to bring it on.  And now the Bush bunch is stirring up Demonization of Iran saying we need to invade them to protect their neighbors in the Middle East and protect American interests.  Iran has not invaded any country in the Middle East since World War II.

Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too.
-Marcus Aurelius

Do we learn anything from History?  Marcus Aurelius a former Emperor of Rome may have been predicting the end of arguably the most dominant empire in the history of Mankind when he made the above quote.   But it fell, mostly from inside rot.  One very scary fact of history is that Nations who invade countries on the pretext of "Preventative War" have all ceased to exist as Empires, except for the United States and Israel. 

Since the invaders started their wars at their strongest period of strength they did last for some time, that is until the occupied people rose up and overthrew the invaders and send them down the dustbin of history.  And most of those invaders went just like Rome - because of rot within.  Does the Bush bunch remind you of the spectacle of the Roman Government once decay really set in?   The Roman Senate forgot about rights of citizens and that hastened their demise.  Can you think of any Administration in your memory that has demonstrated such disrespect for the rule of law?  Or that has fostered so much corruption?
 
Where do you think Bush and Cheney and their cohorts would be if the United States Justice Department really prosecuted malfeasance or if the Congress would insist on doing their duty to uphold the Constitution?  How about the British Empire?  There was a time when that Empire ruled about 25% of the land on earth and the old saying that the sun never sets on the British Empire was accurate. 

What happened?  Didn't that world empire fall into decay because of the corruption within?  Look back up to the quote and ask yourself, was this not a wise man?  Are we wise enough to see the truth in his quote?  If we can't see the wisdom in that quote, what does that portend for the future of America?  If all Marcus Aurelius said is true then just what is the rot from within our Government, if not what we see today?  George Bush fancies himself to be the modern day Julius Caesar; does the Bush regime signal the beginning of the demise of the current greatest country on Earth? 

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We can stop the rot you know.  Remember that if you get the rotten apple out of the barrel you can save the barrel.   But, if we let that rotten apple stay in the barrel long enough, the entire barrel is hastened to ruin.  We can remove the rot in 2008.  And Bush is not the only rot that needs to go.   We need to remove the whole bunch - I'm talking Republicans and Democrats, and we need to assure that not a spec of rot is left to contaminate those that are going to replace them.

We have to get a fresh start and we need to expect much of the replacements.  We can't afford to suffer the same letdown we got out of the 2006 election.  Anyone who has supported any corrupt member of Congress needs to go if for no other reason than just that they helped enable corruption and those who tried to hide it.  Once we have cleansed the Governance we need to move to impeaching any remnant, Federal Judges if necessary, think of what judges have ruled lately to enable those who currently subjugate us.  Yes we need to start with a clean slate and then keep it clean.  Then we will be free at last to have oversight, to question suspicious behavior, to speak out against tyranny, to expect a better society.  

As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress.
-Marcel Proust

George Bush has initiated clandestine programs of just about every foul deed or anything criminal you can imagine.  All, or nearly all of his edicts are outside the law or I should say in spite of laws prohibiting just what he has done.  And again the rot within the Government lets him prevail.  As an example of the loss of common sense, we have had a court rule just this past week that ordnances initiated by Hazelton, Pennsylvania to stem the flow of illegal aliens (Illegal immigrants) are unconstitutional!   Can you believe this?  Illegal Immigration is against the law!  But here we have a Federal Judge ruling that it is not OK to deny Illegal Immigrants the rights of legal American citizens.  Why?  Because the Bush bunch, to favor business, wants a low wage labor pool that can be utilized to drive down costs of business.  It is no wonder that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

And there is no shame like the White House explaining why their cronies, who were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, were actually good guys, you see they were trying to protect the cookies.  Reminds me of the power of press acquiescence in the Clinton era.  A pundit once opined that if Clinton were caught pushing little ole ladies off a bridge into the Hudson river, within 24 hours there would be wall to wall coverage by the National Media of the good deed he had done  - giving those little old ladies the opportunity to learn how to swim. 

Would anybody be able to question the motives of the Bush bunch if we let Tweedle Dee (Republicans) and Tweedle Dum (Democrats) remain in power?  That freedom could very easily be lost.  It's under attack now.  And if you can't ask what you want to ask, how free would you be to say what you want to say?   Would it be safe? Might not.  And, have you ever heard of the thought police?  Will you always have the freedom to express your thoughts?  You sure about that?    

George Bush has recently signed an Order giving the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense the right to take everything from any American citizen if these two decide anything that the citizen does, including speaking disparagingly against the Administration, is aiding Terrorism. 

They can do this on their opinion.  And it cannot be challenged in court.  They can be sent to secret jails without any notice to anyone of what has happened to them.  And they will not have any Habeas Corpus rights.  Now that's where we are now.  Where will we be beginning with 2009?  Will we have gained our freedom, or will we have cast it away like worthless trash.  The decision belongs to each of us.  If we don't do the right thing this coming election, who knows whether we will get another chance in our lifetime.

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Cliff Carson [send him email] is a freelance writer and Populist Party contributor.