Go read micadelic’s comments for some context.
First of all, on bias. On the editorial side, I agree that the NY Times leans decidedly left. I also believe that is their right. I do not believe they bias their news reporting. Fox does try to be fair at times but there are many shows that are a weird mix of editorial and news and that is super dangerous. I don’t mind if Fox leans right on editorial stuff but when you present news with an editorial bias, it is lame. I do not believe any (credible) news organization does this to the degree that Fox does. I also don’t think CNN leans left at all. Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! has a great video about how CNN and all the others were great big cheerleaders for the Bush administration during the combat phases of the recent wars. There was virtually no anti-war voice on any national media.
On the war. What you and Bush miss, in my opinion, is the fact that most of the people who are hurt by our actions are not terrorists. Bush doesn’t get that. 99.9% of the people hurt by the “war” in Iraq are not terrorists and they are not necessarily anti-American. Now throw in the context of Zionism and colonialism and Arabs are super duper sensitive to having US/UK boots on the ground. This is understandable. What do you say to this? If we were only hurting terrorists we wouldn’t be having this argument.
Finally, when Bush got elected I said to myself “Let’s have a little faith in all of these smart and well-meaning Right wingers and see how they do.” I was not hoping for failure by any means. One of the first things he did was renege on his promise to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. He told us one thing and did another. It didn’t exactly bolster my faith. Then with 9/11 came a pseudo-fascist agenda of spying on American citizens, trying to undermine the Geneva conventions, secret prisons, a ridiculously expensive war based on false pretenses (whether known or unknown), a campaign against same-sex couples, a statement that we should teach creationism in schools, a repeated agenda to drill in Alaska, something few Americans support, a belligerent attitude towards our allies such as France…the list goes on. I gave Bush a chance to prove that he represented me and he told me in no uncertain terms that he does not.
So, yes, at this point, Bush does virtually nothing I approve of. He chose that, I didn’t.
Although it may seem otherwise, I AM loyal to the US and my hardline opposition to this administration is an attempt to nudge them to the Left. Bush was elected by a slim minority yet he turned his back on the 48% on this side. He could have been a uniter and had he tried we would have a lot less to bitch about. Instead we hear about the “political capital” he earned and his intention to spend it. Fuck him. Bush is loyal only to his constituency, something that is unbecoming of a President. I can’t even attend one of his appearances because I won’t sign a freaking loyalty oath or whatever.
You are a smart guy and I respect your point of view. I can’t share it.
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