All is Well, Remain Calm...But Now Fear This

The fear mongers of the W, Rove and Co. are getting stale. While some folks may still be buying the connection between 11 Sept. and Iraq, I don't think the charade is working well any more. Remember the closing scenes of Animal House where the ROTC dude is shouting at the on-rushing crowd, "all is well, remain calm?" Much like this stooge, the W periodically trumpets that all in Iraq is well against the backdrop of an ever improving and gaining more practice fringe group of radical bomber types that use GIs and civilians for target practice.

To complete the whole loony cycle, W then shoots himself in the foot dredging up the tired old saga of 9/11. This is when and why such folks as Cindy Sheehan gain credance with her/their simple redquest to stop using dead soldiers as a lever for advocating more (or continued) violence. Simply put, the W, Rove and Co must stop using 9/11 as their cause celebre to push their illigetimate agenda. Frankly, I for one, among many, am not buying it anymore.

Slice 1

We've lost track of the number of times President Bush has told Americans to ignore their own eyes and ears and pretend everything is going just fine in Iraq. Yesterday, when Mr. Bush added a ringing endorsement of his own policy to his speech on terrorism, it was that same old formula: the wrong questions, the wrong answers and no new direction.

Slice 2

Yesterday, the same day New Yorkers were warned there was a "specific threat" of a bombing on their subways, President Bush delivered what the White House promoted as a major address on terrorism. It seemed, on the surface, like a perfect topic for the moment. But his talk was not about the nation's current challenges. He delivered a reprise of his Sept. 11 rhetoric that suggested an avoidance of today's reality that seemed downright frightening.