George Carlin

George Carlin is gone now. His heart finally gave out. Considering he survived a number of heart attacks, we’ve been lucky to see him make it to 71 years.

George Carlin was one of America’s greatest voices for freedom. His famous seven words you can’t say on TV illuminated the hypocrisy of the American media’s Puritanism. Violence, blood and gore were ok, but not those naughty words.

George was one to call ‘em as he saw ‘em. He called ‘em when it wasn’t pretty. He faced the ugliness, the madness and dark seediness lurking in our politics and culture. He could get us to laugh at the kind of stories that should make us cry.

His last TV special was one of his best. See “It's Bad for Ya” and you’ll agree he was in top form.

Last October George was a guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Keith was kind enough to re-broadcast that interview on tonight’s show. I’d like to share the post I wrote about that event back then.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

What George Carlin REALLY Said

“Nothing you see on the internet is mine unless it came from one of my albums, books, HBO shows, or appeared on my website.” – George Carlin

Most of us have received the e-mail forwards. They usually feature someone ranting about taxes, welfare, social issues, and such. Some of the most popular of these were credited to George Carlin and were titled, “Gas Prices Solution,” “Paradox in our Time in History”, “Bad Republican,” or “Bad American.” It might start out saying, “I like big cars, big cigars…” Then it would usually go on with typical right-wing complaints like, “I don’t celebrate Kwanza, I think I’m better than the homeless, I am not tolerant of others because they are different, I think global warming is junk science,” and something about Ronald Reagan being his hero.

You get the idea. It just feels good for people to have someone famous; someone they want to believe who sees things as they do.

Not all are specifically or politically conservative. There is one that reads like a sentimental little sermon. The one titled “Paradox in our Time” contains bits like, “We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We've learned to rush, but not to wait.” When the piece gets to, “…watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.” Those of us who know Carlin is an atheist get suspicious.

With only a little investigation, we learn that none of these were actually written by Mr. Carlin. I am still a fan of the guy, even though his material seems to be getting a little too morbid and depressing. As such are the times, I must admit.

I was happy to see George featured as a guest on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” last Tuesday, October 23rd. So, for the curious, here is what George Carlin REALLY had to say.

After his introduction by Olbermann, Carlin noted appreciatively, “This is the best news show ever…unparalleled.”

Referring to George Bush, he said, ”He’s Governor Bush, because that’s the last elected office he held legally in this country.”

Expanding his observations, he commented about the illegal wiretapping by the Bush Administration.” Power does what it wants, and now they’re just more naked about it. Now they just put it right out front and say, ‘This is what we’re doing to you folks’. It’s, you know, this country is finished. It’s been sliding downhill a long time. And everybody’s got a cell phone that makes pancakes, so they don’t want to rock the boat. They don’t want to make any trouble. The people have been bought off by gizmos and toys in this country, and no one questions things anymore.”

He concluded with, “Seriously, that’s what I love about your show. I mean you bring the thing right to them, and that’s the only way to do it.’

There you have it. George Carlin wants us to watch “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

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Sinners

Hey, did you hear this stuff? It's all over the "internets".

Right Wingers are fervently passing along juicy tidbits of shocking, just shocking, examples of liberal evil committed by Barack Obama. The big conservative corporate media goons and their kindred bloggers are out in force with a concerted effort to smear Obama.

Gosh, those sanctimonious, self proclaimed God-fearing conservative types would never lie, would they? Isn't that against some rule in a book somewhere? Isn't there something about lying in that dusty book they rarely read because it doesn't have pictures in it? There's also some crazy stuff about loving your fellow human beings, but that part isn't worth their trouble reading. Yet they love to whip it out and thump it on the table when they want to demonize some liberal.

Well, maybe they are liars as well as hypocrites. Let's see if we can get to the truth. To borrow a phrase from the book they use for their persecutory and political ends, perhaps they can be judged by the fruit they bear.

Here's a few samples of some of the fruits they offer.

Barack Obama is a Muslim. Barack Obama attended a radical madrassa. Senator Obama was sworn into the US Senate using the Koran.

Barack Obama won't put his hand over this heart during the pledge of allegiance. Barack Obama won't say the pledge.

And what about his wife, Michelle? According to Rush Limbaugh a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word “whitey” from the pulpit of Trinity United.

So, the simple equation we face is this. If these statements are not true, then somebody's sinning against their own professed theology.

I'd like to share a link to a site that takes these accusations and holds them to the light.

It's all here at fightthesmears.com

I guess that would make our Righties gone wrong not only liars and hypocrites, but sinners as well. And here we thought only those darn liberals were the sinners!

Next On Bill Moyers

Thank God for Bill Moyers. If anyone deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it is this guy. Alas, only corporatists, liars, and war mongers actually receive the medal from this twisted and perverse excuse for an administration.

Far too few in the media world care to address this topic. Corporate Media propaganda is used to cover up Corporate Media propaganda. It's the same closed circuit thinking that promotes the reason for war in Iraq is to have a war in Iraq. That IS the reason we're there, right?

Here's the heads up notice from Media Matters about the upcoming Bill Moyers Journal this weekend.

This week on Moyers:

There's nothing new in Scott McClellan's book about the propaganda campaign or the role of the press in selling the war, so why is it such big news? Journalists Jonathan Landay and John Walcott of McClatchy Newspapers and Greg Mitchell of Editor & Publisher analyze the reaction of the administration and the media to McClellan's book. Landay and Walcott were part of an award-winning team of journalists at Knight Ridder (now McClatchy) that consistently challenged the administration's case for war, and Mitchell is the author of So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits-and the President-failed on Iraq. The program reviews how the press is handling other important stories today.

Good Advice

Like many of you, I am pleased that Scott McClellan has written a book of memoirs about his days in the White House. It's a good thing when a man can face the darkness of his past, and his association with sociopaths, liars and war criminals. It is reassuring that a man can turn back towards the light of day and tell the truth about the evil he has left behind. I am happy that Bush's former media mouthpiece has stopped drinking the Reich's Bloody Red Kool-Aid, and found enough conscience to admit that lies and deceptions were the stock in trade of his former cronies.

However, we are left disappointed that most of his words come too late to be anything more than validation of what we already know.

At any rate, let's move on and pretend that this is really, what republicans are fond of dismissing as, "old news". Never mind that the suffering continues, and new blood is spilled every day as the fetid fruit of his old lies.

Let's take a look at the newest oral excrement from our Dear Leader.

He was invited by the governor and republicans at Furman University to deliver the commencement address to the new graduates. I'll bet he has a bucketful of personal insight and wisdom to guide the young adults into their uncertain future. A future in the splendid new world full of opportunities made possible by his administration's policies. I don't know what those who can't get a job at Blackwater, Halliburton, or Exxon will do, though.

After the usual banalities, his speech soon went into lecture mode. He brought up responsibility.

"As you move ahead in life, you will find temptations and distractions that can take you off course. You might also find that years may pass before you learn some important truths: that who you are is more important than what you have. And that you have responsibilities to your fellow citizens, your country, your family, and yourself."

I doubt he meant the temptation of launching an unprovoked war for re-election and crony war profiteering. He couldn't have been referring to distraction from the efforts at dealing with Al-Qaeda. Maybe the gigantic deficits and debts he ran up were his responsibilities to his fellow citizens and country. It's probably for our own good. We just don't see it the same way as the Decider sees it.

"A culture of responsibility means serving others. Through the toil of generations and the grace of God, our Nation has been given much, and more and more Americans are recognizing our obligation to help those who have little."

Yes, as long as that obligation isn't in the form of taxes for quality public education, or safety nets like health care and social security.

"You can strengthen our country by showing fiscal discipline in your lives."

I can only imagine the hoots of scorn and laughter erupting at that one.

"... My advice to you is to not dig a financial hole you cannot get out of. Try your best to live within your means. And bear in mind that there are no shortcuts to the American dream."

Good advice if you're not George Bush.

"So my call to those of you entering the business world is to be honest with your shareholders, be truthful with your customers, and give back to the communities in which you live. And all of us have a responsibility to be good stewards of the environment."

And just what does he know about being honest and truthful? This man has cut every government program and regulation that would benefit communities and the environment.

"If you choose a career in public service, maintain the highest ethical standards, bring honor to whatever position you hold, and always put the people you serve ahead of yourself."

This is getting way past knee deep.

"My wish is that you find a partner in life who loves you, challenges you, comforts you, and gives your life meaning."

I'm sure the gay students were heartened by the conservative compassion of the President on this point.

And finally we arrive at George's life experiences that will provide the guidance and inspiration for the new grads.

"In life, there will be many temptations to distract you from your responsibilities. Popular culture can give you the impression that alcohol, drugs, or promiscuity can lead to fulfillment in life. That is an illusion, and I urge you to reject it.

"If you do fall short, know that it is never too late to recover and get back on the right track. There was a time in my life when alcohol competed for my affections, but I found salvation in my family and in my faith. There is no shame in recognizing your failings or getting help if you need it."

So far, so good. I might add power, materialism and wealth to the list of illusions of fulfillment, though. But what do I know?

"The tragedy comes when we fail to take responsibility for our weaknesses and surrender to them."

It would seem that he believes that giving up the bottle eliminated all those pesky weaknesses. He must have seen near perfection in the mirror. His self image was now free from such human failings as hubris, arrogance, calumny, treachery, vanity, selfishness, and a massive bloated ego.

Or could this be the man McClellan saw? "...a leader unable to acknowledge that he got it wrong, and unwilling to grow in office by learning from his mistake -- too stubborn to change and grow."

And, oh yes, there's the little anecdote about Bush's cloak of self deception that kept him so ethically and morally upstanding. Bush was explaining his alleged cocaine use to someone on the phone. “We had some pretty wild parties back in the day,” Mr. McClellan wrote, recounting Mr. Bush’s words, “and I just don’t remember.”

"How can that be? How can someone simply not remember whether or not they used an illegal substance like cocaine?" McClellan says, "the first time when I felt I was witnessing Bush convincing himself to believe something that probably was not true and that, deep down, he knew was not true. . . . In the years to come, as I worked closely with President Bush, I would come to believe that sometimes he convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment."

But, hey, nobody's perfect.

Remember

This year’s Memorial Day brings us nearly another thousand fallen American soldiers to remember. How many more will be sacrificed to the Bush/Cheney political machine and war profiteering industry? Perhaps we should ask Johnny Bomb Bomb Iran McCain. After all, he is a true believer in permanent war and most assuredly will continue the endless slaughter.

We recognize the loss and suffering of countless thousands of Americans and perhaps millions of Iraqis to Bush and Cheney’s war for re-election, power, and profit.

Unlike the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan may be accepted by more of the American people. But its consequences will not be known for years to come. Will it make us safer? Will it inspire more hatred for America? Will it result in another failed military adventure? We can only hope the sacrifices there will be justified.

I want to share my thoughts about one brave American soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. I wrote a piece last August that I believe is still relevant. It is about Pat Tillman. It is also about how the Bush Administration cynically exploited his death and how another government acted similarly.

You may have seen Mary Tillman on TV recently. She has written a book about her son and the ordeal her family was put through in discovering the truth about his death. She talked about her book Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman on 60 Minutes and Countdown: with Keith Olbermann. I’m sure she was on other programs as well.

She is still searching for the truth and I hope, for all our sake, she finds it. She said she is nearly certain her son was not murdered. It is a terrible thing to think such an act is possible to consider.

Her son Kevin Tillman was in the same Ranger unit as Pat and he testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last year. Here is part of what he said.

"Over a month after Pat’s death, when it became clear that it would no longer be possible to pull off this deception, a few of the facts were parceled out to the public and to our family. General Kensinger was ordered to tell the American public May 29th, five weeks later, that Pat died of fratricide, but with a calculated and nefarious twist. He stated, quote, “There was no one specific finding of fault,” end-quote, and that he, quote, “probably died of fratricide,” end-quote. But there was specific fault, and there was nothing probable about the facts that led to Pat’s death.

The most despicable part of what General Kensinger told the American public was when he said, quote, “The results of this investigation in no way diminish the bravery and sacrifice displayed by Corporal Tillman,” end-quote. This is an egregious attempt to manipulate the public into thinking that anyone who would question this 180-degree flip in the narrative would be casting doubt on Pat’s bravery and sacrifice. Such questioning says nothing about Pat’s bravery and sacrifice, any more than the narrative for Jessica diminishes her bravery and sacrifice. It does, however, say a lot about the powers who perpetrated this.

After the truth of Pat’s death was partially revealed, Pat was no longer of use as a sales asset and became strictly the Army’s problem. They were now left with the task of briefing our family and answering our questions. With any luck, our family would sink quietly into our grief, and the whole unsavory episode would be swept under the rug.

However, they miscalculated our family’s reaction. Through the amazing strength and perseverance of my mother, the most amazing woman on earth, our family has managed to have multiple investigations conducted. However, while each investigation gathered more information, the mountain of evidence was never used to arrive at an honest or even sensible conclusion.

The most recent investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Criminal Investigative Division of the Army concluded that the killing of Pat was, quote, “an accident.” The handling of the situation after the firefight were described as a compilation of, quote, “missteps, inaccuracies, and errors in judgment which created the perception of concealment.”

The soldier who shot Pat admitted in a sworn statement that just before he delivered the fatal burst from about thirty-five meters away, that he saw his target waving hands, but he decided to pull the trigger anyway. Such an act is not an accident. It’s a clear violation of the rules of engagement.

Writing up a field hospital report stating that Pat was, quote, “transferred to intensive care unit for continued CPR,” after most of his head had been taken off by multiple .556 rounds, is not misleading. Stating that a giant rectangle bruise covering his chest that sits exactly where the armor plate that protects you from bullets is being, quote, “consistent with paddle marks” is not misleading. These are deliberate and calculated lies.

Writing a Silver Star award before a single eyewitness account is taken is not a misstep. Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. These are intentional falsehoods that meet the legal definition for fraud. Delivering false information at a nationally televised memorial service is not an error in judgment. Discarding an investigation that does not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment. These are deliberate acts of deceit. "

Maybe it’s true about what “The soldier who shot Pat admitted in a sworn statement”. It is unfortunate that so many other “sworn statements” about the incident have turned out to be totally fabricated. What we know for certain is the Bush Administration and Defense Department cannot be trusted.

Here is what I wrote last August.

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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Two Soldiers And The Other “N” Word

It’s not that the behavior of our government has never reminded me of a certain totalitarian German regime of the last century. It’s the fact that reckless accusations of some person or group being Nazis are thrown about with little sense of accuracy or restraint.

A good example of this hysteria can be found in the words of one Bill O’Reilly. Apparently he was very upset at some fleeting post by a reader of the anti-war liberal website called the Daily Kos. Old Bully O’Really went so far as to accuse them of being a “left wing Nazi hate site,” and “like the KKK. It’s like the Nazi Party.”

So are we to think that Nazis are those folks who oppose a militaristic regime? Are Nazis the people who protest against leaders that attack a sovereign nation based on fear-mongering and outright propaganda? Are Nazis opposed to unprovoked war? Are Nazis the radicals who want our Bill of Rights restored?

Or are Nazis just people who don’t like O’Reilly?

Doesn’t this all seem more than just a little backwards here? Since when have Nazis become anti-fascist?

On the other hand, we can see more than one similarity between the methods of the Bush Administration and those of the Third Reich. Both regimes seized power undemocratically. Both regimes lied to their citizens. Both regimes initiated a war of aggression. Both regimes regarded anyone who dissented as enemies. Both accused political opponents of defeatism. Both regimes spied on their citizens. Both regimes turned their militaries into a police force to be used against their own populations. Both regimes claimed the authority to indefinitely incarcerate its citizens on secret evidence.

Another characteristic of a totalitarian regime is its elevation of every person in uniform to the status of hero. This is true of Germany in the Second World War and it is true of the US Government in the Glorious War for Bush’s Re-Election. Er, I mean Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We all need to respect and support our fellow countrymen in the armed services. They didn’t start this mess. However, calling them all heroes leaves the meaning of the word “hero” so much emptier. What is left to distinguish those who do perform above and beyond the call? As the vets often say, the heroes are the ones who don’t come home.

Let’s take a look at two soldiers who wore different uniforms but shared the honor of being heroes. These two soldiers were loyal, even when their countries invaded and occupied nations that did not attack their homelands. They grew to reject the belligerent and authoritarian leadership forcing their people into unjust war and national disgrace.The two soldiers died and were honored with extravagant and patriotic memorial services. The memorials were used by the governments to bolster support for their wars and to distract the people from the ugly truths emerging from the conflicts.

The first soldier was Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox. He was a brilliant leader of the German Wehrmacht in Europe and Africa during WWII. He was the youngest man ever to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshall. His famous Afrika Korps was victorious until abandoned and unsupported by Hitler.

Realizing Hitler was destroying his country, Rommel joined those who were conspiring against the dictator. They understood there was no way to legally arrest Hitler, so they determined it was necessary to assassinate him. After von Stauffenberg’s bomb failed to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944, Rommel was soon implicated.

He was given the choice to commit suicide or face trial and execution. To protect his family from reprisals, Rommel chose the former. Desperate for a hero to present to the public, the Nazis told the German people Rommel had succumbed to war wounds and was given a lavish public memorial.

The other soldier was a brave and patriotic young man named Pat Tillman. Foregoing a lucrative professional football career, he volunteered to join the army to defend his country after the attacks of September 11th. When Bush decided to invade Iraq, Tillman thought it was wrong and illegal, and that it was not part of the war against those who attacked the US. He began to talk about his opposition to the invasion. He even suggested to others that they not vote to re-elect Bush.

Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004 while serving in Afghanistan. The American people were told that he died fighting the enemy and was to be posthumously promoted to corporal and awarded the Silver Star. While leaders in the Pentagon and White House knew the official story was not true, he was given a splendid hero’s memorial service that was televised to the nation.

This was just the event needed by the administration to boost patriotism and support for the war in Iraq. As we remember, it was in April of 2004 that things started to turn very bloody in Iraq. The Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr urged his Mehdi Army to rise up against the American occupiers. Our casualties increased and the chaos worsened.

Only later did Tillman’s family and the nation learn that Pat was killed by “friendly fire.” There was no battle with the enemy and he was killed by either one of his comrades or some other unknown figure. The army medical examiners suspected that it was possible Tillman was murdered. He was shot three times in the forehead from close range with an M16 rifle.

The reports were a whitewash, complete with army officers boasting that they shook off further criminal investigations.

I am sorry to admit that I can even consider it possible that this man was killed, or even executed, by some shady rogue element in the field. It is sad to conceive the very idea that some private Blackwater mercenary goon or government spook silenced a high-profile outspoken military man of conscience.

No matter how Tillman died, his sacrifice was profanely and obscenely exploited into a shameful betrayal of all that is noble in our nation’s character.

One would expect this kind of treachery from Nazis. It is deeply painful to see these fascist tendencies in our own leaders.

Simple Reason

The simple reason why the entire Republican Party, and most of the Democrats, aren't run out of the government by now, is the fact that the corporate media are in bed with the corporate government.

I'm not sure who first coined the phrase, but it is becoming more accepted as the new reality. We are living under the rule of a Military/Media/Industrial Complex.

The recently revealed, and largely ignored, evidence is the disclosure by the New York Times of a calculated corporate/military propaganda incursion into national news media. High ranking retired military plants posing as "analysts" were insinuated onto the nation's TV screens to polish the stained and tarnished image of the Decider's disastrous wars and barbaric methods of detention.

I guess it was none of our business that most of these cheerleaders for Bush's war were also executives, lobbyists and board members of companies with military contracts.

And it would be no surprise that Chief Puppet General Petraeus would be tight with this group.

The April 20, 2008 New York Times story provides a revealing picture.

"But The Times successfully sued the Defense Department to gain access to 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records describing years of private briefings, trips to Iraq and Guantánamo and an extensive Pentagon talking points operation.

These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.

Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.”

One of the first items of business was delivering the good news about Club Gitmo.

“The impressions that you’re getting from the media and from the various pronouncements being made by people who have not been here in my opinion are totally false,” Donald W. Shepperd, a retired Air Force general, reported live on CNN by phone from Guantánamo that same afternoon.

The next morning, Montgomery Meigs, a retired Army general and NBC analyst, appeared on “Today.” “There’s been over $100 million of new construction,” he reported. “The place is very professionally run.”

In January 2007, as Bush was preparing to launch his escalation, I mean "surge" in Iraq, retired Army Colonel and Fox "analyst" John C. Garrett e-mailed the Pentagon for instructions.

“Please let me know if you have any specific points you want covered or that you would prefer to downplay."

And then there's this little item for all you fair and balanced types.

"Pentagon officials helped two Fox analysts, General McInerney and General Vallely, write an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal defending Mr. Rumsfeld".

Rumsfeld was obviously excited with his new propaganda tool. He wrote a memo urging them on to greater glory.

“Focus on the Global War on Terror — not simply Iraq. The wider war — the long war.”

“Link Iraq to Iran. Iran is the concern. If we fail in Iraq or Afghanistan, it will help Iran.”

Message Force Multipliers. Now there's a great tag for a deliberate psyops campaign directed at the American people.

As we hear the war drums and saber rattling getting louder and louder for war with Iran, we can be secure in the knowledge that great efforts are being made for the brainwashing of America. We Americans must never be allowed to think that our wars are for power and profit.

Herr Goebbels would be proud of them all.

An Impression For May 14, 2008

John Edwards finally endorsed Barack Obama today in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The sight of the two of them sharing the stage provided an uplifting vision of the kind of unity that has been sorely lacking lately for the Democrats.

Edwards spoke first. He talked about a metaphorical wall around Washington DC that separated the people from what is supposed to be their government. He talked of how the special big money corporate interests had taken control of Washington, and that the barrier keeping most Americans out of their government needed to come down.

It was Edwards at his populist best.

Then Obama spoke. Within his own rousing speech he said something that hit me as rather surreal. He said something about restoring Habeus Corpus and the Constitution.

RESTORING Habeus Corpus and the Constitution!

The very fact that the United States of America has a presidential candidate who promises to BRING BACK the very essence of our cherished freedoms is astounding in itself. What the hell has happened? This is something that would have been some sort of twilight zone sci-fi scenario from just a decade ago.

Then there’s the guy on the other side. John McCain as a POW was the very object lesson of what someone would say after undergoing physical abuse and torture. He said what his captors wanted him to say. It did not matter if it was the truth or not. McCain said anything to get his tormentors to stop.

When the waterboarding torture scandal broke, McCain boldly claimed that this is not about the enemy. It is about who we are. But when the opportunity came for him to vote to make waterboarding illegal, he decided that some torture was a good idea after all.

Soon American voters will decide who they want to be their next president. Will they choose the man who wants to restore our foundations of freedom, or the guy who promises more wars, along with his new acceptance of some old-fashioned torture?

What's most disturbing of all is why is this even a question?

Is this a great country…? Or what?