Expats Against Bush

CNN: Colin Powell Resigns

This was on the cards for a while now, but Colin Powell has apparently submitted his resignation - a humbled shadow of his former self, one of the only senior people to attempt to inject some reason into the debate, ultimately falls on his sword.

This means, I suppose, that we'll get to see who's going to be the next SecState any day now.

CIA: "a hotbed of liberals"

Man, it sure does suck when you get bad news. Don't you just wish, sometimes, that you could shoot the messenger and the bad news would go away (via Daily Kos)?

WASHINGTON -- The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media about the conduct of the Iraq war and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to knowledgeable sources.

"The agency is being purged on instructions from the White House," said a former senior CIA official who maintains close ties to both the agency and to the White House. "Goss was given instructions ... to get rid of those soft leakers and liberal Democrats. The CIA is looked on by the White House as a hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda."

Guess they can just go hang out with their other pals in the reality-based community. One wonders what the new Presidential Daily Briefings are going to look like? I suggest the following:

CLASSIFIED - EYES ONLY
POTUS DCI Daily Briefing 02/12/2005

IRAQ
Doing spiffy. Mopping up the last of the terrorists and rebels who don't like being occupied hate freedom, should be done any day now. Suggest scheduling 2nd anniversary "Mission Accomplished" celebration.

AFGHANISTAN
Regional warlords have all sent their congratulations to POTUS on successful repeal of Roe vs Wade and wish to know when the public executions will begin in D.C.

PAKISTAN
Osama bin Laden is definitely hiding in a cave, we've got him pinned down to within 300 square miles. Our new friends in the ISI are definitely on the case. Any day now. Honestly.

IRAN
Reports of moderates in Iran are greatly exaggerated. Iran is a Clear and Present Danger to the United States of America and we recommend immediate preemptive action to make sure that the nuclear reactor they recently shut down stays that way. Otherwise we calculate a 98% probability that there will be a mushroom cloud over every American city within 18 months. Our assets indicate that Iranians will welcome American soldiers with open arms, garlands of flowers and free Persian rugs, and that they are prepared to set up a new government within 2 to 3 days after cessation of hostilities.

NORTH KOREA
Recommend ignoring it. The problem will solve itself, we think. Besides, that's so Cold War.

Civil War II

I can't really believe this, but the Washington Times has an article seriously discussing the possibility of the Blue States seceding from the Union. In the words of Jimmy Stewart, that's just crazy talk.

The secession movement has already spawned commercial opportunism. One Web site is selling T-shirts that read "I seceded."
    No one at the White House would comment on the calls for secession, but one top Republican official with ties to the Bush administration said the recent talk is not surprising, coming off an election in which the president received more than 59 million votes — the most in history.
     "If we were that far out of the mainstream, maybe we'd be pushing the creation of our own country," the official said. "Then we might have a chance of ever winning an election again."

Meow!

Honestly, this is one of the silliest articles I have seen out of the mainstream press in quite a while.

UPDATE

Nope. Here's a sillier one. (thanks to Robert for this one):

The truth is, America is not just broken--it is becoming irreparable. If you believe that recent years of uncivil behavior are burdensome, imagine the likelihood of a future in which all bizarre acts are the norm, and a government-booted foot stands permanently on your face.

That is why the unthinkable must become thinkable. If the so-called "Red States" (those that voted for George W. Bush) cannot be respected or at least tolerated by the "Blue States" (those that voted for Al Gore and John Kerry), then the most disparate of them must live apart--not by secession of the former (a majority), but by expulsion of the latter. Here is how to do it.

Having been amended only 17 times since 10 vital amendments (the Bill of Rights) were added at the republic's inception, the U.S. Constitution is not easily changed, primarily because so many states (75%, now 38 of 50) must agree. Yet, there are 38 states today that may be inclined to adopt, let us call it, a "Declaration of Expulsion," that is, a specific constitutional amendment to kick out the systemically troublesome states and those trending rapidly toward anti-American, if not outright subversive, behavior. The 12 states that must go: California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware. Only the remaining 38 states would retain the name, "United States of America." The 12 expelled mobs could call themselves the "Dirty Dozen," or individually keep their identity and go their separate ways, probably straight to Hell.

What a jackass.

 

Ashcroft Resigns

We knew it was coming, but it's still good to hear these words:

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans resigned from President Bush's Cabinet yesterday, launching the first shake-up of his administration as it heads toward four more years in power.

In a five-page, handwritten letter, Ashcroft told Bush: "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved. Yet I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration."

Hold on. We're safe from crime and terror? Well, I guess we can stop bombing people then. Right?

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, John boy.

Apropos of our current situation

I thought I'd pass along this quote my mother shared with me today:

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.  On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
--H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

Boy we Robinsons sure are a literate bunch ain't we? I mean is we? I mean are we? Ah hell...

More soon-to-be-expats?

BBC Magazine has yet another article examining the "phenomenon" of Americans considering the expat life now that Dubya has won reelection. I think it quite correctly points out that a lot of talk doesn't necessarily guarantee action:

The BBC News website received several e-mails from Democrats and other anti-Bush activists threatening, in varying tones of seriousness, to quit their homeland if George Bush was to win again. A few even mentioned moving to the UK.

Of course, in the cold light of day these sort of threats have a habit of coming to nothing.

However, they do point out that several expat-related websites, including the Canadian immigration site, saw a marked increase in traffic following the election.

Of course, idle, frustrated web surfing in your spare time does not necessarily guarantee action. Right, y'all?

Arafat "Clinically Dead"

According to Reuters:

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was declared clinically dead on Thursday in a French hospital, Israeli television said citing French sources.

But Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie denied the report, saying: "I have just spoken to the officials in Paris and they say the situation is still as it was. He is still in the intensive care unit."

We shall see. In any case his days of running things in Palestine seem to be over; perhaps this is what it will take to restart the peace efforts.

America-Bashing: The Revenge

Well no sooner do I come out in public to say what nonsense that lady was spouting about getting anti-American abuse hurled at her, than I suffer some myself.

It wasn't specifically aimed at me, but I went to a comedy night in Shepherd's Bush last night that I was enjoying thoroughly until the last act came on, a middle class Londoner named Stewart Lee, who has been a standup comic for years, aside from a brief stint directing the London stage version of Jerry Springer: The Opera. I don't know if that experience (whether through the events portrayed onstage or through the day to day contact with tourist crowds) informed his material, but he had a solid five-minute-long bitter tirade against Americans near the start of his act. Not good natured, not qualified, nor aimed at our leaders. It was aimed at everyday Americans and basically accused us all of being slack-jawed yokels. I normally have thick skin, but something in the way he went for the jugular really annoyed me and I was close to either getting into an argument with him onstage or storming out. I didn't want to play into his hands, however, so I saved my ire and sent him an email instead, part of which I quote here:

[Y]our tirade against Americans (not America) really got under my skin last night. You presented an odd portrait of a man who seemed to want to promote global peace and be against bigotry, yet you turn around and tar an entire country with the same brush - guilt by association, if you will. There was no hint of "some Americans" being slack-jawed imbeciles, there was no qualification. You basically took us all and put us in the same basket. I wasn't the only American there last night, by the way.

What you said on stage is little different than standing in front of a Jewish audience and telling "Hebe" jokes. Or standing in front of a black audience and telling "nigger" jokes. It just so happens at the moment that anti-Americanism is more accepted. That does not mean that you need to pander to it, especially as you spend the previous bit berating Little Englanders for their anti-Muslim bigotry. Can you see where this comes off as a bit hypocritical? Or, at the very least, as lazy, opportunist bush league comedy?

You might argue that hey, this is just comedy and if a few people are offended, dem's da breaks. But in order to attack bigotry you should not further it for a cheap laugh. You may have noticed losing the crowd as the night went on; I would suggest thinking a little bit more about how your bits are going to go down and who they're aimed at.

I know I shouldn't get upset by something someone says on a stage. But it's hard work to continually try to repair the damage done to my country's reputation by the imbeciles in charge there, and then go for an evening's entertainment only to be lumped in with them.

Kind Regards,
-Luke Robinson

Last night's events notwithstanding, I still hold that anti-Americanism here is not nearly as bad as Ms Gould asserts. A few bad apples don't spoil the bunch, in this case.

America-bashing?

The second article by an expat American in the British broadsheets in the same weekend to really get me hot under the collar was a piece in the Sunday Times titled, simply, "I'm a Democrat for Bush." Well you can imagine that went over particularly well with the morning bagel yesterday.

Nowhere near as bad as the first article, though.

Thanks to reader Larry Boyd for pointing out the Guardian article entitled "An American Scapegoat in London" with this lede:

In Britain, America-bashing is so bad that I fear for my safety.

Oh, come on.

The author is an American expat living in London who apparently has had a pretty rotten time of it and has now decided that most Brits (and Europeans, for that matter) are merely waiting for the excuse to launch a bilious stream of anti-American invective at the first unwitting Yank to cross their paths:

I am aware that many Americans are leaving their homes abroad and returning home after decades in Europe because they can no longer endure the daily abuse. Anti-Americanism is not a result of Abu Ghraib or of a Rumsfeldian pronouncement. It is a disturbing and hurtful form of psychosis that is rapidly eroding the all-important special relationship.

What? People are leaving? That's news to me.

Speaking personally I get along just fine with just about anyone you stick in front of me. I have to be honest though, I haven't tried wearing an American flag pin on my lapel lately.

I would go on, but I just now sent in a letter to The Guardian about this article, and in case it never sees the light of day I will copy it out here:

Dear sirs,

Regarding Carol Gould's article "An American Scapegoat in London," I must take issue with her alarmist tone. I too am an American expat (with five years of London living under my belt), and I cannot square my day to day experience with what she describes. Most of my friends are Brits or continental Europeans, and even moving in these circles I rarely encounter anything stronger than good-natured ribbing. The few occasions where I've "received dressing-downs at social and professional gatherings," it's been by someone either obviously inebriated or obviously pig ignorant; and, at the end of the day, you're going to get these types in any country. No, in my experience most Brits will suss me out first as an individual, knowing that what our governments do is often at odds with what we wish they would do. I was also at Ken Livingstone's peace rally last November, and I was in Trafalgar Square later. I can tell you that the vast majority of the quarter million marchers were not interested in burning flags; however, as with every protest march in the last several decades, it's the flag-burning that makes the evening news. It's not representative of the will of the masses; neither are Ms Gould's isolated incidences of anti-Americanism. The special relationship survives, tarnished but there nonetheless.

I don't know. Maybe I am not sticking out enough to come in for the serious America-bashing.

What about you all? Do you feel threatened? I am honestly curious.

UPDATE

The original link sent to me was the original, longer article from FrontPageMag.Com, which is a rabid paranoia rag. Why did the Guardian choose to draw this alarmist drivel from the pages of a propaganda sheet? Let's take a look at some of the more salient headlines:

• "John Kerry and Lyndon Johnson share ambition, while George W. Bush and John F. Kennedy share a vision."
• "In a Frontpage Exclusive, John J. Miller discusses how the French were never our friends."
• "The Religious Left puts the blame on America and Israel -- in the Name of God."

It even has a banner ad for a retreat weekend with special hosts Zell Miller and James Woolsey. Sign me up!

Effort to legalize torture by proxy

Please go and read this post on Obsidian Wings right now - you need to know what's being considered for inclusion in the proposed bill implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission:

The provision Rep. Markey referred to is contained in Section 3032 and 3033 of H.R. 10, the "9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004," introduced by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL). The provision would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue new regulations to exclude from the protection of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, any suspected terrorist - thereby allowing them to be deported or transferred to a country that may engage in torture. The provision would put the burden of proof on the person being deported or rendered to establish "by clear and convincing evidence that he or she would be tortured," would bar the courts from having jurisdiction to review the Secretary's regulations, and would free the Secretary to deport or remove terrorist suspects to any country in the world at will - even countries other than the person's home country or the country in which they were born. The provision would also apply retroactively.

You don't have to think too much about this without it giving you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

America: Getting Others To Do Our Dirty Work For Decades™