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06/23/2003 Archived Entry: "Procter: 'The Seven True Things That You Can't Say On Television (or anywhere else)'"
The Seven True Things That You Can't Say On Television (or anywhere else)
By Rich Procter Printable Version
Republicans love to portray themselves as enemies of "political correctness." In their own (deluded) minds, they're Barbarians of Integrity, sole Keepers of the Truth and Guardians of All That Is Right and Virtuous. How is it then that, with a Republican President, House, Senate, Supreme Court and Corporate Media, the truth can't be spoken on the "public" airwaves? Yes, I'm saying it's absolutely forbidden to point out the two-ton elephant on the White House lawn called "truth."
Here are the seven true things you can't say on television (or anywhere else)
1) Rove, Bush, Wolfie, Rummy and Cheney conjured the Iraq war out of thin air to save their political skins You can always tell when a Republican is caught in a Big Lie the passive tense becomes very, very popular. Remember Reagan on Iran-Contra? "Mistakes were made." Now we're hearing a lot of blather like, "Accurate intelligence may not have made it up the chain of command," and "The President may have been misinformed." What a joke! As the Bushies love to say, let's "connect the dots." Fall, 2002 newspapers are full of Enron, an economy in the toilet, and 'Where's Osama'? Suddenly in September, Bush introduces what Andrew Card called "The New Product." Suddenly, it's "All Saddam, All the Time!" No time for UN inspections! Not time for an international coalition! Saddam's got weapons of mass destruction! Chemical weapons! Biological weapons! Nuclear weapons! By God, if we don't get in there right this very second and stop this madman, this Hitler, America will be a smoldering hole in the ground! Anyone who opposes us is a traitor! We've got to make pre-emptive, unilateral war now now now, for God's sake!
Only there aren't any weapons. There wasn't any threat. And now we're committed to a war that might last ten years, kill thousands of American soldiers (and tens of thousands of Iraqis) and cost 350,000,000,000 of your taxpayer dollars.
Paul Wolfowitz told Vanity Fair magazine that the whole "WMD" scenario was just a generally agreed-upon p.r. scam to "cover" the invasion. The man who championed, planned and demanded the invasion has admitted they made up the reason for war out of nothing. But try saying that on television! No, "the President was misled by confusing and contradictory intelligence reports." Tell that to the guys on the ground in Iraq taking rocket grenades in the chest.
2) The Bush-Rove-Norquist radical Republicans are intentionally, systematically bankrupting the government to destroy our hard-won social safety net and public benefit programs Grover Norquist, Bush economic guru, has famously said that he wants to get government small enough so he can "drag it into the bathroom and drown it." He has publicly labeled bipartisan politics "date rape" (nice!) and has stated that there isn't enough chaos in local government he's hoping more governments go bankrupt, so more social services get slashed. This is the man who tells Republicans what to do about economic policy.
But you can't say they're destroying our government on purpose, at least not on television. And except for Paul Krugman, God bless him, you can't say it in print. No, the official party line is that Bush's efforts to de-fund government and destroy every progressive social program introduced since the McKinley era is just a perfectly reasonable program of "economic incentives" designed to help "small businesses" that will soon produce "two million jobs."
The Bushies are throwin' a big ol' party for America. They're gonna spend America right into the ground so that, after eight years, the country will be so far in the hole, politicians will have no other choice but to vaporize our hard-won safety net. And when that happens, Dubya will be happily retired, playing golf with his millionaire corporate buddies, laughing his head off as he tells 'em how he fleeced the rubes in broad daylight.
3) The Bushies are doing whatever it takes to cover up their complicity in the 9-11 Tragedy The Democrats know it. The families of the 9-11 victims know it. Hell, even the Republicans know it, and the Bushies must know it, because they're doing it right under our noses. I mean, c'mon, 70 plus million to investigate Clinton's dick, and a measly four million to investigate the most heinous act of terrorism in American history? The Bushies classify every relevant document, and censor every report, and stymie every lead.
But you can't say that on television. On television, what gets said and repeated is, "The Bush Administration is pressing for a thorough investigation that doesn't compromise national security." They're not pissing on your head. No, that warm yellow stuff is rain. Really.
4) The Bush Administration is making us more, not less vulnerable to attack from terrorists The Bush Administration certainly has its priorities in order. Two million dollars for a Super Bowl ad telling pot smokers they're aiding terrorists? Yeah, that's a great use of tax dollars. Funding "first responders" and making sure they have the communications gear to handle a terror emergency? Naaaaaah, cut that line item. Spend two billion to secure our ports so terrorists can't smuggle in a suitcase nuke? Slash that bit of pork barrel nonsense. Provide funding for airlines for equipment to detect and divert a shoulder-fired infrared-homing missile, of the type favored by terrorists? What a waste of money! ("Condi Gin up a memo saying, 'We had no idea that could possibly happen' in case it happens. That'll cover us good. Dubya. P.S. destroy this memo")
Of course, you can't say this on television. What you can say, "The Bush Administration is taking all sensible, reasonable precautions against future terror attacks." Fox News We Deceive, You Believe.
5) The Department of Homeland Security is a political wing of the 'Re-Elect Bush on '04 Campaign So if the Bushies aren't actually doing what needs to be done to protect America from the next terror attack, what are they doing? That's easy enough they're planning a fear-filled spring, summer and fall of "Color-Coded" Terror Alerts specifically timed to spin the news cycle away from breaking news by their political opposition. Ever hear this news item on television? Not one single terror event has occurred after Terror Czar Tom Ridge has raised the alert level. Not one! Then why does he keep raising it? To divert attention from news the Bushies don't like? Whoops! Can't say that at least not on television.
Oh, the Department of Homeland Security does have one other function private goon squad for Tom Delay when he wants to track down errant Democrats who aren't showing adequate fealty in the Texas State Legislature.
6) The Republicans have an iron-clad, unbreachable litmus test for all high court nominees If there's one thing the 'Publicans love, it's to hammer the Democrats for having a 'litmus test' for all their Judge nominees. Ever see anyone on television (or anywhere else) pointing out that the radical wing nuts running the Republican Party have their own litmus test? Has Bush ever nominated a Judge who was anything less than a glassy-eyed zealot in the battle to overturn Roe V. Wade?
7) The Republicans are running the most corrupt administration since the Warren Harding 'Ohio Gang' - I don't mean "breaking the law" corrupt (although there seems to be a fair amount of that.) I mean corrupt, as in "business interests paying off public servants with trash bags full of cash, the politicos doing their bidding even though it violates the public interest." Sorry, not enough space in column to list every example, but let's start right at the top -- Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney becomes Vice President, and ends up seeing that Halliburton gets a multi-billion dollar, no-bid, no penalty for cost overruns, open-ended license-to-steal sweetheart contract to re-build Iraq. Want more? Billy "House for Sale!" Tauzin and the generous Telecom boys. Tom "Bribe Me!" DeLay and Westar. "Dollar Bill" Frist and Eli Lilly. George "The Dubya's a Dollar Sign" Bush and Enron. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on.
But you can't say that on television. What you can say is, "The Republicans are running a robust fund-raising operation." Right. In the say way that Al Capone ran a "robust" beverage distribution system in Chicago in the 20's.
Replies: 11 people speak up
link to this anywhere? It's a great article!
Posted by Jason @ 06/23/2003 08:01 PM NY
This is it, so far. Procter's stuff shows up elsewhere, but he's been giving me first dibs. :)
Posted by editor @ 06/23/2003 08:17 PM NY
Please do a printable version, I'd like to leave this page in cafe's all over town....
Posted by jackson80 @ 06/23/2003 08:32 PM NY
jackson,
Capital idea! Check back later...
Posted by editor @ 06/23/2003 08:41 PM NY
Operation Iraqi Liberation (or O.I.L.)
A Complete Success!!!
You can say what you want about WMD’s
And all that crap about “making people free”
Tell it to the woman holding her son
who’s screaming and dying from the “war you’ve won”
You can claim that “the world’s now a safer place”
Staring at the camera with a righteous face
Tell it to the man who’s brother is dead
from a “liberating” gunshot wound to the head
You can talk all you want about human aid
And the “great success” of the war you made
Tell the little girl who lost her arm
while you were “avoiding civilian harm”
You can swear up and down “It’s the right thing to do”
“They are really a threat! , I mean it, It’s true!”
Tell the little boy who mourns his mom
who watched her bleed from a clusterbomb
You can say you’re “stopping a terror threat”
and a whole lot of people will believe it I bet
But those who are wise, know that it’s just talk
and an all seeing God will not be mocked
-Madmax
Rummy’s War
Rummy was a little man
A very, very little man
A man who cared not for the truth
for love’s caress, the flower of youth
But Rummy had a little plan
To govern over all the land
and hold the keys of life and death
within his tiny little hand
Rummy was an angry man
A very angry, little man
He set up shop on Capital Hill
And thought of ways to steal and kill
These thoughts consumed him day and night
Till one day, when the time was right
America had fallen asleep
Into the Whitehouse he did creep
Rummy was a hateful man
An angry, hateful, little man
But now he knew just what to do
He met a boy called W
Together they held all the keys
To bring a nation to its’ knees
He had the power he did crave
America was now his slave
Rummy was a arrogant man
An angry, hateful, arrogant man
He stood and smiled, as tyrants do
He and the Boy W
Now nothing stopped his war machine
And of world conquest he did dream
Half the nation cheered for more
With bloodlust fueled by Rummy’s War
-MADMAX
Posted by MADMAX @ 06/24/2003 02:00 PM NY
Little Johnny Ashcroft
So self-assured
He’s dressed like a rose
but he stinks like a turd
Changing the law
in exciting new ways
to persecute immigrants, children and gays
But don’t stop there Johnny
There’s so much to do!
Crush all the freedom
before it hurts you!
Don’t stop till regular citizens beg!!
-If you were here Johnny, I’d piss on your leg!
Habeas Corpus
-A thing of the past!
Lock em Johnny
and lock em up fast!
I’d better be careful
Johnny might hear!
He’s got a wiretap stuck in his ear!
Johnny is watching
so watch what you say!
Have your neighbor’s neighbor tell
him I’m ok
I’m not a terrorist!
Don’t put me in jail!
Without any representation or bail
Can I make a phone-call?
What day is my trial?
With what am I charged?
Can I look at my file?
J Edgar Hoover is alive and well
Back from a well-earned vacation in hell!!!
-MADMAX
Posted by MADMAX @ 06/24/2003 02:02 PM NY
A Nifty New Machine
In the “interest of Democracy”
-A nifty new machine
A new form of hypocrisy
beyond our wildest dream
The builders of this “beauty”
have agendas of their own
I felt it was my duty now
to let the truth be known
It’s obvious that once again
our freedoms’ under attack
And once it has departed
surely won’t be coming back
For powers that are in control
would like to stay that way
And they will stop at nothing
to pervert our voting day
This new form of deception
leaves no paper trail behind
nothing there to implicate
no evidence to find
Whatever party backer
with a secret axe to grind
Can buy themselves a hacker
-watch democracy unwind
We can all stand by quite mutely
while are freedoms disappear
Or we can act astutely
-for the danger is quite clear
If we allow these bureaucrats
to bastardize our right
We will descend in darkness
and we won’t return to light
-MADMAX
Posted by MADMAX @ 06/24/2003 02:10 PM NY
Be a true conservative
I have to laugh every time
Republicans spout party lines
They say “Liberals tax and spend
on social programs without end"
and “We must fund our land’s defense”
“Our foreign policy makes good sense”
“Everyone has the right to live”
“To the churches, we should give”
“Family values, -that’s the key”
“A better world for you and me”
While this all sounds exceptionally grand
I’m at a loss to understand
These same ones are the first in line
to fry a man accused of crime
To wave a flag, then drop a bomb
Cut childcare for the single mom
Give tax-cuts to the 1%
while others fight to pay the rent
They barricade 'Planned Parenthood' doors
then cut the wage for working poor
In schools they lobby hard for prayer
then rape the land, pollute the air
Make a record deficit
and blame the Democrats for it
Webster says a “Conservative”
Is “cautious” in the way they live
“One who has a moderate view
in everything they say and do”
“Frugal, temperate, preservative”
-the earmarks of “Conservative”
If this were true, it seems to me
they wouldn’t have a spending spree
Avoiding war at any cost
for fear of life and money lost
They’d put more funding into schools
and give the children all the tools
They’d feed the hungry, heal the ill
instead of finding ways to kill
America would be THE place to live
If they were truly “conservative
Posted by MADMAX (THE ANIT-BUSH) 999 @ 06/24/2003 02:13 PM NY
Poor Little Ari
So misunderstood
When he tells us lies
it’s for our own good
Giving the news a
political spin
Oh lookout people
he’s lying again
Sad little Ari
What is the truth?
Show me some pictures?
What about proof?
Don’t get so angry
you sad little man
What’s the agenda?
What’s the real plan?
Oh little Ari
Please tell me straight
Show me some evidence
Don’t make me wait
I want to know
What’s the real deal?
No matter how
it might make me feel
Do you know Ari?
The truth that you hide
Did Cheney tell you?
Did Georgie confide?
Are we just too simple?
Too mentally slow?
Please tell me Ari
I want to know
What about Wolfy?
Does he pull the strings?
Does he make you do
all those dishonest things?
Sad little Ari
Poor little chap
Can't find your butt if you're handed a map
-MADMAX
Bush and “Family Values”
You say that “family values” are a big part of your plan
And “a person’s inner feelings are what constitute a man”
If this is true, then if you would, please just tell me why
everything you’ve done shows that you’re not a “family guy”
Have you ever changed a diaper Mr. Bush?
Have you ever picked up dog shit off the lawn?
Have you ever felt funny cause you ain’t got no money
and after writing out the bills your check is gone?
Have you ate Raman Noodles Mr. Bush,
just because they were the cheapest thing around?
Don’t talk to me about a “strong family”
when you’re doing all you can to tear it down
It seems to me if you were one who valued family ties
you’d try hard to protect them, not with rhetoric and lies
You’d focus your attention on creating better jobs
instead of giving tax-cuts to a bunch of fat-cat slobs
Have you ever got a pink slip Mr. Bush?
Have you ever wondered how you’ll pay the rent?
Have you took a cut in pay, with a child on the way?
and you can’t buy food, because your money’s spent?
Have you ate Raman Noodles Mr. Bush,
just because they were the cheapest thing around?
Don’t talk to me about a “strong family”
when you’re doing all you can to tear it down
You say that “education is a top priority”
And it’s something that is “valued by the American family”
But all you’ve done is tear it down and to cut it to the core
To finance all your tax cuts and illegal wars
Did you get a student loan Mr. Bush?
Or when you went to Yale, did daddy pay the tab?
Did he scrimp and save, and work like a slave
so you could have the things he never had?
Have you ate Raman Noodles Mr. Bush
just because they were the cheapest thing around?
Don’t talk to me about a “strong family”
when you’re doing all you can to tear it down
-madmax 999 (the anti-bush)
Posted by MADMAX @ 06/24/2003 03:09 PM NY
Bomb Iowa
I was listening last night to the evening news
and the “Hawks” came out and touted their views
how Iran now was the “global threat”
and “we better act, or we’d soon regret”
But the real threat now, it occurs to me
comes from a place called Sioux City
It’s big and flat, just like Iraq
It borders two states, (-Imagine that!)
It’s a threat to it’s neighbors near and far
And the worst thing is you can get there by car!
They can use that corn to make ethanol
Which we all know is a threat to us all!
Them silos there are just a clever facade
for massive weapons. –Oh my God!
You ain’t foolin’ no one, especially me
Lets drop a big bomb on Sioux City!
Now I know it’s a radical view
But hear me out, and you’ll see it’s true
Them Iowan’s seem like a peaceful bunch
But I got a feeling, I got a hunch
That when nobody’s lookin’ they’re planning attacks
Just like them Islams’ in Iraq
Them cow suits ain’t but a clever disguise
To cover up all them Iowan spies!
I don’t trust em, never will
Those combines could be used to kill
And a pitchfork, -that’s a deadly tool
So listen up, don’t be a fool!
Mark my words, they’re making plans
I’m telling you now, so you’ll understand
You ain’t foolin’ no one, especially me
Lets drop a big bomb on Sioux City!
-Madmax
Posted by madmax 999 (the anti-bush) @ 06/25/2003 09:50 AM NY
Rush Limbaugh (An American icon)
I was standing in line at the hardware store
and two guys were talking about the recent war
Pretty soon their “patriotism” started to gush
and they spouted “The truth according to Rush”
They assumed that because I was “clean-cut and white”
that I would agree that what they said was right
When I started to smirk, they were taken aback
like it as some sort of “commie attack”
So one guy asked, (quite indignantly)
Just “what the hell was wrong” with me?
He said, “Rush is my kinda guy”
“If you don’t like him, then tell me why?”
He asked me again, and his face got red
But I thought back to something my mother said:
“If you can’t be nice, then just be quite”
and I was there to buy paint, not start a riot
So I bit my tongue, and started walking away
But this cat pressed me, so what can I say?
He wasn’t gonna leave till I stated my view
So just what could a proud young democrat do?
I said “He’s a lying, bone-headed twit
and he’s totally and utterly full of sh!t
He’s the leader of the zombies from the far far right
who think everybody should be Christian and white
He’s a self-serving, arrogant, stuffed-shirt dink
who teaches other morons how to think
He’s a pompous, pretentious puppet of death
Like a Nazi who’s high on crystal meth
He’s a conceited, obsequious, killer of truth
He’s the leader of the modern-day Hitler youth
He’s a twisted, racist, elitist prick
and his self-righteous tirades make me sick
He’s an ego-maniacal son of a bitch
A dim-witted pawn for the ultra rich
He’s a fat- cat fascist with an axe to grind
And he’s the voice of people who share one mind
I kinda thought then I was gonna get hit
Cause I never was one to take any sh!t
But he just stood there and shook his head
Yet he seemed to ponder what I said
I don’t think I changed his mind that day
and if I didn’t, that’s ok
But I don’t think now he’s gonna go on
thinking that Rush is some sort of “icon”
-madmax
Posted by madmax 999 (the antibush) @ 06/25/2003 10:02 AM NY
