Chris Floyd: "Too Much of Nothing: Crime Without Punishment, War Without End"

[scarletwoman]

http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1485/135/#comments

The President of the United States has openly, proudly admitted that he approved the use of interrogation methods that are by every measure -- including the measure of United States law -- criminal acts of torture. It is one of the most brazen and scandalous confessions of wrongdoing ever uttered by an American leader -- and it has had no impact whatsoever. No scandal, no outcry, no protest, no prosecution.

This pattern has recurred over and over throughout the Bush Administration. Bush and his minions commit crimes and atrocities in secret; they move heaven and earth to conceal their filthy deeds; they squirm and squeal like panicked rats when their some small portion of their evil comes to light; they belch forth a relentless series of self-contradictory lies to cover up, obfuscate or explain away the crimes; and when at last their malefactions can no longer be denied, they trot out the president himself to say: "Yeah, we did it; so what?" And then....nothing happens.

And now nothing is happening again. It is an astounding phenomenon. Bush is the most widely despised president in modern times. The war he launched on false pretenses against Iraq is deeply unpopular, and is plainly bankrupting the country. His economic policies have plunged millions into ruin, want and insecurity. The opposition political party controls the Congress -- a bastion they could have used as a bully pulpit to rally the public and as a battering ram to bring down an openly criminal, shamelessly unconstitutional, dangerous, illegitimate regime. And yet....nothing happens.

There has never been a condition of such deep, virtually catatonic civic paralysis in American history -- and few such instances in world history. There will be no good issue from all of this. No saving grace in the last act, no life-enhancing "lessons learned," no character growth in the story arc, no deus ex machina, no redemption. There will only be -- at best, in the very best-case scenario imaginable -- a long, slow agonizing slog through the ruins, a hard, interminable labor of waste disposal and reclamation, in a much-diminished world.

(much more -- well worth reading)

Imho, Chris Floyd is absolutely essential reading for anyone who really cares about the truth.

sw

[babylonsister]

1. Imho, you are right. Froomkin had a similar reaction:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3156927&mesg_id=3156927

Chris Floyd is a dream writer and thinker (when I agree with him;)).

[scarletwoman]

2. I've never not agreed with him, so I'm not sure what you mean.

I mean this sincerely; would you care to elaborate?

sw

[malaise]

3. Profound

"There has never been a condition of such deep, virtually catatonic civic paralysis in American history -- and few such instances in world history".

Damn!!

Great read K & R.

M$M hasn't even covered this madness.

[scarletwoman]

4. Of course the M$M hasn't covered this, they're too busy with "bitter-gate". (nt)

[leftchick]

5. Yes indeed

Chris cuts through the crap like no one else. Thank you sw!


:)

[scarletwoman]

6. Thank you for the kick!

:hi:

[Octafish]

7. ''Nothing'' ever ''happens'' to the War Party.

If you're for-war, you'll always be part of the "In Crowd." Unfortunately.

Those who oppose war will be shown no mercy. And they certainly won't get any good air-time or prime editorial space in Corporate McPravda.

Still, there's always hope that enough good people will do what they have to in order to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. May we act soon. Otherwise, Bush and his cronies will do all they can to make certain the nightmare we dream is one from which we will never awaken.

Thank you for an excellent article, scarletwoman. Since before his days at the Moscow Times, Floyd is a must-read.

[scarletwoman]

8. I don't use the term "hero" lightly -- in fact, hardly ever. But I count Chris Floyd as a hero.

He is a fearless truth-teller in the miasma of deception we live in.

As are you, Octafish. I'm so grateful you're still here, still posting what people need to know.

:loveya:
sw

[Karenina]

16. Second both!!!

:hi:

[ensho]

19. ditto - he keeps laying the truth out for all to see

I'm stumped too as to why no one, in the whole entire world, has stopped the criminal bushmilhousegang: the neo cons, from doing whatever they want.

[scarletwoman]

9. I realize some asshole bragging about taking a "parent with children" parking space is much more

interesting, but I'm sort of hoping (perhaps naively) that a brilliantly written analysis of the current state of our country's degradation might be considered a bit more relevant...

[unkachuck]

10. we are a sick country....

....we can no longer tell right from wrong or good from evil....we are going to pay a heavy price for this....

[scarletwoman]

11. Unfortunately, it is victims of our sickness who pay the heaviest price.

And the wealthy sociopaths who lead us will pay no price at all.

[librechik]

12. here's my rant from Sunday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3151589

WTF???


luvya, scarlet!

[scarletwoman]

14. Luvya, too! I'm sorry I didn't see your Sunday rant in time to rec it.

It's pretty far out how you and Chris Floyd said almost the identical thing.

:hi:

[librechik]

15. pretty obvious--wonder how that great journalist Brian Williams

missed it?

among others

have a good day, sweetie!

[Perry Logan]

13. The media is a big part of this paralysis. They largely ignore anything the Republicans do wrong.

But when Barack or Hillary takes office, the media will once again get interested in the slightest rumors of Presidential malfeasance.

[Winterblues]

17. Why bring this kind of stuff up, didn't Britney just have a fender bender?

I mean we really need to focus on the important issues for America and that certainly does not include how Government is run....I think Tom Cruise did something recently....:crazy:

[G_j]

18. the "great experiment" is DEAD

war criminals sit at the top, and the system fails to bring them to justice or even take the power out of thier hands.
the failure is complete

[scarletwoman]

20. Certainly seems so.

The U.S. is the biggest terrorist outfit the world has ever seen. And hardly anyone seems to mind that this is so.

[G_j]

25. OMG!

you agree with what that America hater, MLK Jr. said?

That America is
"the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today."

[scarletwoman]

27. Obviously, MLK Jr. was a Radical Cleric.

On the other hand, I'm just a radical...

:D
sw

[Amonester]

22. not complete yet: the greatest depression of all is on its way

here, there, and everywhere

[lonestarnot]

21. I'm afraid we are sitting on a powder keg.

And it's just going to take the one little spark to ignite it all over this country.

[scarletwoman]

23. Feels more like drowning in a sea of triviality and self-involvement to me.

I don't think there's enough dry tinder in this bog of an overfed, ignorant and greed-ridden nation of ours to ever catch fire.

[lonestarnot]

24. Wait until the fat people get hungry.

OMG what a vision :rofl:

[scarletwoman]

26. ???? (nt)

[lonestarnot]

28. You'd have to be hungry to understand. Hungry as in a few days 3 or 4 w/o food.

Nothing like hunger to make people angry enough to not care about the consequences of their actions. What I'm saying is if people are in agreement with torture, maybe hunger not so much.

[scarletwoman]

29. I still don't understand what that has to do with "fat people". ANYONE would get hungry

after 3 or 4 days without food, not just "fat people".

[lonestarnot]

30. It was a bad vision. LOL

Don't give me shit about being a fatty.

[scarletwoman]

31. Not giving you shit.

It just seemed like an odd non sequitor. But I can appreciate how the "vision" could lead to LOL.

Sorry, didn't mean to give you shit.

[lonestarnot]

32. A fatty stampede on a food riot, well stand back biatches, down in front, lady with a baby.

Non sequitor yes sorry, but about fed up with people who do not give a flying fuck about torture.