Visioning the Vision of a Brave New World

Dear George,

These days, the words "Congress" and "cave" are used in the same sentence so often, it would be easier to combine the two and simply refer to our legislature as the "Congcave." Thanks to you, we no longer have a legislative branch of government; we have an adjunct of the Oval Office. For all practical purposes, both the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader are members of your cabinet.

On Wednesday, the Senate courageously stood its ground and gave you the FISA legislation you wanted, complete with legal immunity for the telecoms that broke the law at your request.

I see Obama was right there keeping America safe by pissing away her civil liberties. Now, there’s change you can believe in.

Isn’t the threat of terrorism a gas? It’s got the Democrats in such a dither they squat and ask, “What Color?” every time you say, “Shit!”

Such a craven need for security is the norm for a nation taught to believe that body odor is a fate worse than death, and that bad breath is a form of leprosy.

You haven’t just killed the New Deal and democracy, you’ve killed the whole pain-in-the-ass Enlightenment. The flatulent swelling of your gut has replaced reason.

I recently read a piece that spelled out all the reasons Cheney won’t attack Iran. It covered all the standard reasons: the Joint Chiefs are opposed to it because our military is stretched to the breaking point; Iran would seal the Strait of Hormuz; oil would spike to somewhere between $200 and $500 a barrel; and America would be paying $12 a gallon for at the pump.

It is all true, George. It is also totally irrelevant. You are a man of messianic vision, and such a vision renders rational though irrelevant. All the factors the above writer cited as potentially destructive were we to invade are, in your eyes, benefits.

You’re an oil man, Big Guy. Of course you’d love to see oil at $500 a barrel! All your cronies would be in hog heaven. Of course the country would be plunged into financial ruin. What better excuse could you find to jettison what remains of our safety net?

You are our first transnational president whose primary loyalty is to the global multinationals that created you and put you where you are today. Your predecessors have all been chained to an archaic concept of America as a “land of the free” and a “home of the brave.”

You have broken those chains. America is no longer a land; it is a marketing tool that is invoked to enrich your plutocracy.

That, George, is the legacy that will engrave your face on the marble backsplash of the corporate urinal, which is all that is left of America.

Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones