Thursday, January 26, 2006

When They Came for the Vegans...

When they came for the vegans,
I remained silent;
I was not a vegan.

When they locked up the people with anti-war bumper stickers,
I remained silent;
I did not have an anti-war bumper sticker.

When they came for the people who got calls from overseas,
I did not speak out;
I was not a person who got calls from overseas.

When they came for the people who wore t-shirts that Bush people didn't like,
I did not speak out;
I was not a person who wore t-shirts that Bush people didn't like.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Wingnut Souffle

Well, well, well. The right-wing Bush blind loyalists have gotten themselves into a righteous snit and are now loudly bleating the latest talking points: whoever let the New York Times know that the NSA was tapping phones without bothering to check with the courts was leaking crucial information to the enemy. That is to say, this person or persons had committed a treasonous act, was helping our enemies, was Hurting America.

Uh.... right.

Now, let's re-digest the information s l o w l y for those who are a little light in the thinking department:

Everyone knows that the NSA conducts wiretaps. It says so right on their website, although they fail to let you know that they spy on you if you visit their website.

We know the NSA taps phones. They know the NSA taps phones. The Enemy, whoever He or She is, knows that the NSA taps phones.

Are we clear on this? The NSA taps phones. El Phone-o Tap-o. The NSA Aps-tay Ones-phay. Le tapez-vous le phone. IT'S NOT A SECRET!

You see, my brain-cell-unencumbered-right-wingnut-friends, the news here is that the NSA has been tapping phones without anybody's permission. That is to say, they have been breaking the law. And Bush told them to break the law.

Intellectual giants like John Hindraker would have you believe that this one tidbit of knowledge, that the NSA isn't bothering to get the permission of the FISA court before they tap Christiane Amanpour's phone, is going to somehow help Osama plot... whatever.

It's folks like Hindraker who make the rest of us look good, especially in a class that's graded on a curve.