Tuesday, February 07, 2006

End of a tradition--I swear!

God bless Amy Goodman for showing extended clips on today's Democracy Now! of the Alberto Gonzales testimony before the senate yesterday regarding the president's unprecedented spying on Americans. It was good to watch senators learn that they--as we, the rest of the freakin' nation--simply don't have the right to know anything about nuthin'.

On more than one occasion, Gonzales leaned on the ruse of bad memory--"I don't remember"--or refused to answer senator's questions because they, as members of the senate judicial committee charged with overseeing the attorney general, simply don't have the right to know about the spying on Americans, or its extent, because it would damage national security or place in jeopardy "presidential privilege".

But obfuscation aside, an interesting anecdote to Gonzales' appearance was the fact his testimony of Bush's illegal spying on us was done without taking an oath to tell the truth. This was permitted by the committee's chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, not at Gonzales' request (who assured us, oath or no oath, what he would say would be the same...i.e., he didn't need an oath to lie, or not to lie...we can be the judges of which).

As Bush and Cheney had demonstrated when appearing before the congressional commission investigating 9/11, taking an oath swearing to tell the truth isn't really necessary. It does Dada's heart good to see the death of this meaningless act based--Dada assumes--on some Christian tradition in that a bible is sometimes used to scare, shitless, witnesses of purposeful deceit.

Men of "honor" and "faith" have been dishing out lies under oath for years. I give credit to Bush and Cheney, as well as thanks, for the dismantling of that meaningless facade of integrity that so embarrassed former president, Bill Clinton. Christ, we're so beyond the age of honor, chivalry, and knights (with body armor).

2 comments:

enigma4ever said...

I wanted to make a polite pissed off comment- but I was not able to ....I am TOOO PISSED....little lying torturous pustular scumbag of a piss-ant should have had to put his slimey little clovened paw on the Bible ( and disinfected Immediately by a Hazardous Waste Detox Special Ops Team) they think they are Above the Law, that they ARE the Law. But they are hearings and they should be required to be UNDER oath. That is okay - iall his "bobbing and weaving" is Still on the record.

And about the Knights, they don't even have to have armor....at this point ones with a bit of tarnish...or hell half naked would be just fine...

Dada said...

Oooh E4E...you sound pretty upset. I enjoyed your use of "piss-ant", a term I frequently employ to describe our noble leadership.

I just finished catching the last few minutes of Amy Goodman. Of the King memorial service. And I forget who said it, but whoever cited the racism still so prevalent as evidenced by those pictures of NOLA with all the folks on rooftops for days. The crowd rose to their feet in standing ovation until--ultimately--the piss-ant looking sheepish and unsure of what to do in a moment so reminiscent of those "My Pet Goat" minutes he sat and read as people were jumping to their deaths fromm the tops of the WTC's, the grand penishead ROSE TO HIS FEET AND JOINED IN THE APPLAUSE of others. In applause of his racism, in applause of his "compassion", in applause of his response to those suffering, in applause of his Air Force One flyover saying from his overstuffed chair as he peered thru a window, "It's got to be a lot worse down there", in applause at his Marie Antoinette-ish arrogance because he sat on his ass at the ranch for 3 or 4 days, then flew to the west coast to learn the chords to a song on his guitar as people stranded were suffering and dying. Whoa...sorry...hyperventilating....