leonardcohenforum.com

In an interview about “The Future”, that I am fond of quoting, LC describes how a culture devolves and specifically, how difficult it is to see it happening from the inside. He points to the perversion of language as a central mollifying dynamic

“When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant”

http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/futurejf.htm

To you GWB apologists:

Does it not strike you a tad ironic that the mantra of this administration; the self-proclaimed champions of “self-reliance” and “personal responsibility” has become a loud and persistent “IT’S NOT MY FAULT”.

It’s the intelligence community – They gave us wrong information.
It’s state and local government – They didn’t act.
It’s poor people – They didn’t evacuate, and they looted.
It’s the legal bureaucracy. – (Which had been of little concern to them when they sent citizens to Guantanamo).

I think it’s time we identify this laissez-faire doctrine for what it is:

A mean spirited, ex post facto, rationalization for privilege - and
An ideological justification for the destruction of the social safety net.

Let’s face it folks – This country is broke.
“Broker than a dead-dick dog.” as they once said in New Orleans.

But the pertinent question is; are we morally bankrupt also,
Because if not, we can pull ourselves out of this morass.
We did it under FDR and we can do it again.

First we have to get our bearing, repair our moral compass.
This soul cleaning need start with impeachment proceedings against GWB.
He needs to be given a large dose of the “personal responsibility” he has been trying to feed us.

Otherwise we may be lost – lost in the future.

It’s the intelligence community – They gave us wrong information.

- about what? when?

It’s state and local government – They didn’t act.

- did they act?

It’s poor people – They didn’t evacuate, and they looted.-

they still don't want to evacuate

It’s the legal bureaucracy. – (Which had been of little concern to them when they sent citizens to Guantanamo

-????

A mean spirited, ex post facto, rationalization for privilege - and
An ideological justification for the destruction of the social safety net. -

Explain?

Let’s face it folks – This country is broke.
“Broker than a dead-dick dog.” as they once said in New Orleans. -Is it really?

Are you?

But the pertinent question is; are we morally bankrupt also,

-are you?

i believe he's talking about how george w. bush blamed all those people for why the gulf coast is in such a mess, which, i say jim, BRAVO. i agree wholeheartedly.

but yeah, can you believe it?
bush pretty much said these things while pointing fingers:

It’s the intelligence community – They gave us wrong information.
It’s state and local government – They didn’t act.
It’s poor people – They didn’t evacuate, and they looted.
It’s the legal bureaucracy. – (Which had been of little concern to them when they sent citizens to Guantanamo).

number 1 is bullshit. they were given plenty of correct information, even prior to the hurricane actually happening. even the goddamn television news said a few days before it hit that it was passing over florida. don't you think SOMEBODY in the white house saw that program? the people in louisiana did! which would make number 2 bullshit as well. they pleaded for help but received no replies in time, it was all too late, and they said help would arrive but also not in time. and as for number 3, i bet even the people who were well off were looting. i don't blame poor people if they're starving from hunger or freezing to death, or wounded so bad that they need medical attention. i would find anything to help me out if i were in that situation, too. i mean, shit! when your whole fucking house dissolves that kinda makes you poor, doesn't it? even the rich people lost all they had. and jim kind of pointed out the fault of number 4 already for us.

so, i think i'll stop now. jim knows it, i know it, and you hopefully know it, and so do others. so i don't think i need to keep preaching to the choir here.

Teratogen

Sorry that I was not more clear.
It appears that when I write while angry I suddenly become somewhat erudite
(Learned with a rude tone)
I certainly do want to be understood
But you seem to have gotten the point.

Jim

Bee
There can be many explanations for a misperception
The stimuli may be ambiguous in which case clarification is a reasonable request.
But there is also hysterical blindness, and that I can do little about.
I am not interested in scoring debating points; this is not a game to me.
I have a legacy to protect. My father, uncles, and grandparents gave their sweat and blood to build and protect this country and I will not stand by quietly while it is hi-jacked by a bunch of neo-con ideologues .who have misused its considerable resources to kill innocent people.
There is more than enough evidence, from Downing Street to New Orleans, to bring GWB before the Senate. Let’s let congress debate its merits.