Dear Diary - Being a member of the Bush administration must be a very difficult job. Things are not going well for them. In fact it is a near disaster. It is like trying to take a flight on the worst airline. The BBC News carried a wonderful story, on Feb. 21st by their Washington-based columnist Matt Frei, headlined "Washington diary: Frightful flights"Torture victims? Oppressed minorities? America's founding fathers? Abused zoo animals?Lots of bad news - The JetBlue episode seems like the perfect metaphor for the bad-news-Bush Administration's woes of the past couple of weeks. To illustrate, I will take a few lines from the author's story about his dreadful airline experiences, and free-associate his story lines with the most recent headlines coming out of the administration. To further quote Frei:
How about passengers on jetBlue, the US low-cost carrier?
This week the airline issued its own bill of rights after a disastrous episode in which hundreds of travellers were left stranded when an ice storm hit their hub at JFK airport in New York.
- ". . . In the worst scenario, a plane full of holidaymakers bound for the Caribbean island of Aruba was left festering on the tarmac for more than 10 hours." Reminds me of the Walter Reed Hospital officials having to come on television to explain the awful conditions uncovered there by the Washington Post, and promising swift action to remedy the situation.
- ". . . I still have nightmares about the short flight from Albany, New York to Washington two summers ago. The official flying time is 55 minutes. We were delayed by eight hours. . . Every time we were dished up another excuse. . . Finally the captain (who had an English accent) came clean: "Everything the airline has told you is false," he said, verging on rage and tears, which are two emotions best kept bottled up by any pilot about to fly a plane. . . ." Reminds me of the disconnect between what is actually happening in Southern Iraq as the British withdraw their troops, to the administration spin put on the withdrawal: "that just proves things are going pretty well there."
- ". . . Add to that the pre-departure family striptease that is now de rigueur at every airport in the US thanks to 9/11 and you have to admit that flying isn't what it used to be.
Next time I turn up at an airport, I'll be in my pyjamas, wearing flip-flops and clutching my passenger's bill of rights!" Reminds me of what it must be like to being a do-nothing Republican in the newly energized and feisty Congress. The Senate is now considering rescinding/rewriting their original AUMF (authorization for the use of military force) given to our current president before the invasion of Iraq.
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6 comments:
Hey Carol Gee,
Bad, bad stuff keeps burning our duplicitous leaders and their cohorts because the two candlesticks and two witnesses (Truth and Justice) have stood upon their own two feet and are raining fire and brimstone upon the heads and tails of the scarlet beast's purple riders.
(It's symbolism, by the way...)
In other words, Karma's a bitch when She decides its time to act !!
How much evidence is necessary before more people conclude that the "support the troops" mantra is a purposeful deception? These young people are cannon fodder for corporate profits and geopolitical gain. They have been deceived into fighting a war and others have been deceived into thinking that leaders of the political right are actually sincere in their assertions about war and the troops. People who tout so-called Christian values while beating the drums of war either can't discern good from evil or are actively being deceptive.
War is evil, pure and simple. The only humane way to "support the troops" is by ending all wars and establishing true and just solutions to human needs.
Here is Wisdom !!
I like your free association between the flying story and the Bush bad news week. It is clearly "Bush's Bad"! He's a Baaaaaddddd boy.
Hey it's me...KWW from Dishpan - don't know why it came up anon.
seven star - You are right to focus on who has really been hurt by Bush's Bad Stuff. It is our wonderful, dedicated selfless troops. Thanks for your comment, and you, too, anonymous.
Hey KWW, it is good to have you drop by!
unfortunately, it is symptomatic of the greater decay of the american infrastructure. it is far easier to live the republican way of life- buy something in a plastic container and throw it away when done (not recycle mind) and then buy a new one-- instead of fixing or reusing what you have. same can be extrapolated to the bigger picture. after 9/11, it has been a serious of band aid fixes that have helped nothing and caused more harm than good. we stand in line with see through mini bottles of shampoo and yet, wounded soldiers have to care for themselves in rat infested rooms at what is supposed to be the jewel in the crown soldier hospital. all a facade. america is truly a duplicitous nation.
betmo, I was late in finding your very thoughtful comment. As I read it I am reminded of the differences between "living mindfully," as Eastern sages encourage, and "not thinking past the end of your nose," the administration's way. The latter is easier, but so costly to the American spirit. I feel that the harder path of mindfulness is the one I want to take, as I feel you do, too. Thanks, as always. . .
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