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L. Neil Smith's THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 259, February 15, 2004 Marriage, Nipples, and Sheep
Send Letters to mr-ed@webleyweb.com
Someone—I don't know who—once suggested that the first thing to die before every war was the truth. In recent weeks President "I don't do my own thinking" Bush's administration has been in full wash, rinse, spin and dry mode as Bush announced the creation of an investigative committee to look into the 'intelligence failures' that led us into war. We don't need to look into that which we already know. Neither does Bush. The Bush administration created subgroup with the intelligence community known as the "Office of Special Plans" which reported to VP Dick Cheney. This subgroup transfered or forcibly retired any intelligence officer who was more interested in telling the truth than in creating the propaganda need to drive the nation to war. Here's what now retired Lt. Col. Kwiatkowski had to say about what her superiors wanted: "It wasn't intelligence—it was propaganda," she says. "They'd take a little bit of intelligence, cherry-pick it, make it sound much more exciting, usually by taking it out of context, often by juxtaposition of two pieces of information that don't belong together." It was by turning such bogus intelligence into talking points for U.S. officials—including ominous lines in speeches by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, along with Secretary of State Colin Powell's testimony at the U.N. Security Council last February—that the administration pushed American public opinion into supporting an unnecessary war. Until now, the story of how the Bush administration produced its wildly exaggerated estimates of the threat posed by Iraq has never been revealed in full. But, for the first time, a detailed investigation by Mother Jones, based on dozens of interviews— some on the record, some with officials who insisted on anonymity -- exposes the workings of a secret Pentagon intelligence unit and of the Defense Department's war-planning task force, the Office of Special Plans. It's the story of a close-knit team of ideologues who spent a decade or more hammering out plans for an attack on Iraq and who used the events of September 11, 2001, to set it into motion. I suggest that everyone read the entire article "The Lie Factory" that appeared in the Jan.-Feb 004 issue of Mother Jones. or you can go to this link. As I grow older I can't help but wonder how many lies one has to listen to before he stops listening to the liar. Will mankind ever tier of having these power crazed lunies screwing with the lives? James J Odle
Just a quick correction. I should have known better, but I suppose I heard enough of Mr. Jordan's stories about Verizon and Massachusetts that I slipped a mental gear: Verizon is formally headquartered in New York, not Massachusetts. I apologize for the error. Carl Bussjaeger
Dear Editor: RE: Mr. Hoff's letter about patriots
I used to vote. But I've had a serious change of mind and heart over the last three years. The management genius W. Edwards Deming said that, in any discussion, words must be defined so that those people talking to each other are sure they understand each other. He used the term "operational definitions." In order for me to eventually make my point, kindly allow me to offer some "operational definitions" as relates to liberty. I'll take these definitions directly from the Merriam Webster's online dictionary. "Patriot"—one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests. "Treason"—the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance. "Traitor"—one who commits treason. The Constitution of the united States represents the legitimate government of the USA. Any overt act that violates the Constitution is an act of treason. Members of Congress (save Ron Paul) enact legislation in every session that violates the Constitution. The President of the united States goes to war without a Congressional declaration of war (Article I, Section 8) and signs the legislation that the Congress enacts. As these laws and acts are overt, and violate the Constitution, they are acts that promote the overthrow of the legitimate government of the united States. Therefore, the persons who commit these acts are traitors, committing treasonous acts. In times past, the penalty for treason was quite severe, ranging from imprisonment to death. If your friends want to rob a bank, and you furnish and drive the car, you are an accessory to the crime. In the same manner, if you know that these people who hold elective office are going to commit treasonous acts when they take office, and you vote for them, you are an accessory to their crimes. Do you still want to vote? Russell D. Longcore
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