Sunday, April 30, 2006

picking my jaw up off of the floor...

This was amazing. I don't even remember a time when a reporter has mentioned PNAC to a member of this administration and certainly not like this. That's not to say it hasn't happened before but if it has I'm not aware of it, so it came as a complete and total shock; even though it shouldn't.

The last five years worth of dirty secrets have been a festering wound in dire need of a lancing. If the wound isn't lanced, it is just as likely to nastily erupt of its own volition ~ and that's the good news. The alternative is far more dire but when you are caught up in the midst of a smelly, painful, infected mess, it is hard to focus on any other experience than unrelenting, unforgiving, enduring discomfort.

I can only hope that this righteous reporter will have a positive effect of waking up our press corp to what their collective job is supposed to be. As for Bolton, he ought to be thoroughly ashamed of himself but he has no conscience so I know he isn't. Here's hoping he is removed from his outrageous "recess" appointment before too long.

Then there was this clip of Stephen Colbert's outrageously brave but painfully blunt tribute to the President at the White House Correspondents Dinner last night which apparently left Colbert snubbed ~ can't say I'm surprised as I squirmed uncomfortably through the whole thing myself. It's not as though Colbert's rant and roll wasn't lonnng overdue and right on target; it's more like I'm ashamed on behalf of the object of all this well-deserved derision but I also feel sorry that this man is so completely mockable. It's his own fault but that didn't make it any less painful to watch him receiving his just desserts.

As for the oh so culpable News Media, they got their share of comeuppance as well and I'm sure that probably didn't exactly endear Colbert to them either. Yikes... that was painful...

Still, it's a sad testament to the disconnect much of the country has been operating under for so long. For those who have gotten it from the beginning, I think the outrage has reached the boiling point and the long overdue response is going to play out as a whole lot more of the same, even as the diehard Bush loyalists respond in ever more hysterical denial and deflection and an acceleration of the smear tactics that worked far too well for far too ridiculously long. And those in the (ever diminishing) muddled middle look on in complete horror, not wanting to own any part of it. Unfortunately, that lack of commitment has been a very big part of the problem, imho. And unfortunately, I fear it is going to have to get lots uglier all over, before it has any chance of getting much better.

Something about that (hopefully) diminishing middle; something that I can't help saying because it worries me to death. If we've learned one single thing in these last few horrid years, I hope to heaven that we've managed to learn that each and every one of us don't just have the right, we have the absolute obligation to participate in this American Experiment if it has any hope at all of living up to the dreams and expectations of our forefathers. If we are too lazy and too apathetic or too fearful to take a stand about the things that should matter the most, or to honour the gifts we have been given just by being lucky enough to be citizens of this beautiful country, we deserve exactly what we get.

This country was created expressly to acknowledge and give rights to its people, but with that comes accountability. This government is supposed to be made up of us, to work for us and with us. But it can't do that if we don't do our part, to keep it ethical and to keep it strong, accountable and invulnerable to the weakness of deceit and corruption. It's accountability time, crunch time for all of us. I just hope we've all got the intestinal fortitude and the heart to stick it out and see this through.

UPDATE: I've been gnawing on this all night and reading the blogs and though I only saw the highlighted clips once (and I'd like to watch it all again and get the whole thing), I think this commenter (Choska) at dKos really sums up Colbert's Appearance the best:

It was BRUTAL - The Opposite of Irony

Irony is defined as when the intended meaning is the opposite of the stated meaning. Tonight, I think Colbert wasn't engaging in irony at all, which is why the performance was so devastating.

In line after line he meant EXACTLY what he said, and the assembled journalists and politicos were right to look uncomfortable.

He destroyed Bush, but as rough as he was with Bush he was twice as rough on the press. That line about how Americans didn't want to know about issues like global warming, and the press heard that plea and didn't tell us about it, was crushing.

At the end when he said, 'I have nothing but contempt for these people,' I wasn't so sure he was joking.

This performance, IMHO, was a game changing moment. One of our own got through the gate, and the powers that be in DC have been put on notice.

And that's the word.

Posted by etherealfire :: 3:26 AM :: 3 Comments:

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