Progressive Democrat Issue 35: THOUGHTS

THOUGHTS:

A note to those who were expecting an email version of my newsletter: Our computer is messed up and refusing to open MS Word, so I am unable to put together the full email version of the newsletter. Best I can do is cut and paste the raw HTML that I started with to make the blog version. When we can fix MS Word I will return to sending out the full email version. Sorry!

This week has been quite full: Rove's treason trial, Mr. Roberts' neighborhood, Iraq burning, London explosions, the suddenly great shot Dems have to take the OH-2 special election in August, etc. Problem is I am overwhelmed right now. Job hunting, family, blog maintenance and newsletter are all demanding my attention. So needless to say, I can't do justice to all these issues.

I want to begin with a daily kos diary that shows that the tide is turning. This is one person's description of his path from Bush supporter to Bush opponent. It shows that Bush's appeal has always been based on lies and that those lies are losing their power. Here is his story:

Several years ago, I would have considered myself a neo-con. Though I dug Clinton, I was also quite fond intitially of the Wolfowitz faction - secure liberty by any means necessary, show China who runs the show, and ensure that the 21st century is controlled by American democracy and not foreign dictatorship. I believed that the Bush Administration, with the foolish Bush Jr. as its figurehead, would be up to the task.

During the run-up to the Iraq War, many liberals claimed that the Bush regime was simply engaging in a cynical plan to take over Arab oil reserves and filter them through Halliburton and associated organizations. I considered this to be laughable.

Many of these same liberals claimed that there were no WMDs in Iraq, and that the administration knew it. I considered this to be even more laughable.

It wasn't until late 2003 that I suddenly stopped laughing.

In the same way that a recovering alcoholic must go around making amends to the people he's wronged, I've tried to do my best to redeem myself by working for the liberal cause. I write a weekly political humor column that's decidedly progressive, pretty much everything I write for National Lampoon or anyone else contains some sort of pointed discrepancy between Bush's words and his actions, and I spent several long months convincing friends and family members to vote Kerry - in Texas, no less.

I understand that conspiracy theories with no evidence have no place in the realm of serious discussion, but I'd like to remind everyone who hasn't already been reminded that (a) we know Bush is willing to cause the deaths of thousands based on lies and (b) that the term "conspiracy theory" was first used by J. Edgar Hoover to describe all those nuts who believed that there was something called a "Mafia."

I don't think that the London bombings were carried out by anyone other than Al Qaeda agents. But if someone shows me evidence to the contrary, I'll take a look. I consider it my duty as an American to listen to those whom I consider to be nuts.

Back in 2002, I failed to do that, and ended up supporting a war that was itself based on a conspiracy.

The author wishes me to include his main website, evote.com.