THE CURSE OF THE MADMAN
I just finished reading "The Curse of Dick Cheney" by T. D. Allman in the latest Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 957, September 16, 2004). Whew! For anyone who has already figured that George W. is an idiot & has been wondering how all the bad things being said about him could come from that little pea-brain, two words…Dick Cheney.
I can only hope that T. D. is right about the 'Curse of Cheney'. (Cheney first moved into National politics in 1969, getting appointed to Nixon's crew by acquaintance Donald Rumsfeld. By 1973, Nixon was self-destructing. In 1975, Cheney was made Gerald Ford's Chief of Staff. In 1976, Gerald Ford failed to be elected. Then George H. W. Bush named Cheney Secretary of Defense. Bush, Sr. failed in his re-election bid the following year. In fact, the 'ever-canny' Ronald Reagan was the only Repukelican since Eisenhower who managed to serve two full terms. He is also the only one not to have appointed Dick Cheney to any office.) Thus, the 'Curse'.
I urge everyone to read the article & share the information with everyone they know. This is the man, not unlike his counterpart Herman Goering in the Nazi regime, who has the ideas & the will to conquer. As John Perry Barlow, a former supporter of Cheney's states, "He has the least interest in human beings of anyone I have every met." Even Cheney's freshman-year roommate at Yale, Steve Billings, agrees: "If I could ask Dick one question, I'd ask him how he could be so unempathetic."
That question will probably never reach Cheney's ear, & if it did, he certainly wouldn't answer. Throughout the years he has insulated himself against such queries. Even questions about his draft evasion during the Vietnam era have gone unasked & unanswered. Only once has he ever even come close to addressing the issue of his avoidance of service. "I had other priorities," was all he ever said.
I won't even attempt to encapsulate such a moving & well-written article, but I will list below for all of those who don't have access to the magazine some of the points I found to be chilling & most telling.
The Life & Times Of Dick Cheney
"Cheney's manner and authority of voice far out strip his true abilities. It was clear from the start that (George W.) Bush required adult supervision---but it turns out Cheney has even worse instincts. He does not understand that when you act recklessly, your mistakes will come back and bite you on the ass."~Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under Bush, Sr., Chas Freeman
A Republican politician-business man from Casper, Wyoming fell under the spell of Cheney & got him a scholarship to Yale. Cheney only finished one year, one semester before dropping out. He was more interested in partying & making political connections that would further his career.
After dropping out of Yale, Cheney showed no interest in Vietnam until the draft was re-instated. He then snapped into action. First he enrolled in Casper Community College, then went on to the University of Wyoming. That kept him out of the draft until August 7, 1964, when Congress began mass inscription for the escalating conflict & college deferments were no longer safe. Three weeks later he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart. Then on October 26, 1965 the Selective Service announced that childless married men were no longer exempt. Exactly nine months & two days later, Cheney's first daughter Elizabeth was born. Between 1963 & 1966, Cheney received five various deferments.
In January 1967 Cheney turned twenty-six & was no longer eligible for the draft. In the midst of working on his doctoral degree, he once again dropped out of college.
While in Congress as Wyoming's only member of the House, Cheney was one of only twenty-one members to vote against the Safe Drinking Water Act. He fought against efforts to clean up the environment. He backed tax breaks for energy corporations. He voted against funding for the Veterans Administration. He opposed extending the Civil Rights Act. He opposed the release of Nelson Mandela from jail in South Africa. He even voted for cop-killer bullets. He pandered to racial & religious extremists. He used complex matters of national security as flag-waving wedge issues. His plan was to take over the Speakership of the House, a plan which he outlined in his book Kings of the Hill.": powerful men changed the course of American history through control of the House." By 1988, he had become the House minority whip. The following year he gave up those plans for bigger things, however. He was appointed the head of the Defense Department by George H.W. Bush. Not bad for a draft evader.
As head of Defense, Cheney moved Paul Wolfowitz into a key post in the Pentagon. Wolfowitz would later mastermind the disastrous strategies pursued in Iraq by George W.
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et. al. were known as 'the crazies' by the end of Bush, Sr.'s first term & Sec. of State James Baker & National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft advised H.W. to, "Keep these guys at arm's length."
After Bush,Sr.'s defeat, Cheney wrangled a job as vice-president of Halliburton, his first real chance to get rich. He acquired Dresser Industries. Dresser made lucrative deals with Saddam Hussein; Halliburton did business with Muammar Qaddafi & the ayatollahs of Iran. When Cheney left the company in 2000, Halliburton stock was a near all-time high of $54 a share. However, shortly thereafter, it turned out that Dresser had involved Halliburton in asbestos lawsuits that cost the company millions of dollars. The stock dropped to barely $10 a share. Even with the $8 billion dollars in government contracts that Halliburton has received from Bush/Cheney, an investor who got in on the company just before Cheney took control is getting about sixty cents for every dollar invested. Cheney is receiving $150,000 a year in deferred compensation from Halliburton, even though he is required by law to divest of all conflicts of interest.
So everything that Cheney has touched has succumbed to his curse. Everything he puts his grubby mitts on turns to shit. & he's the man behind the man. Not a good thought. But hoping that the 'Curse of Cheney' will work again this November is a fool's hope. We all need to stop these Fascists before there is no stopping them. With no interest in any other human beings except himself & his immediate circle, he will stop at nothing to carry out the Nazification of Amerikkka. We must stand strong. We must make sure the 'Curse' works.
~NØ
I just finished reading "The Curse of Dick Cheney" by T. D. Allman in the latest Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 957, September 16, 2004). Whew! For anyone who has already figured that George W. is an idiot & has been wondering how all the bad things being said about him could come from that little pea-brain, two words…Dick Cheney.
I can only hope that T. D. is right about the 'Curse of Cheney'. (Cheney first moved into National politics in 1969, getting appointed to Nixon's crew by acquaintance Donald Rumsfeld. By 1973, Nixon was self-destructing. In 1975, Cheney was made Gerald Ford's Chief of Staff. In 1976, Gerald Ford failed to be elected. Then George H. W. Bush named Cheney Secretary of Defense. Bush, Sr. failed in his re-election bid the following year. In fact, the 'ever-canny' Ronald Reagan was the only Repukelican since Eisenhower who managed to serve two full terms. He is also the only one not to have appointed Dick Cheney to any office.) Thus, the 'Curse'.
I urge everyone to read the article & share the information with everyone they know. This is the man, not unlike his counterpart Herman Goering in the Nazi regime, who has the ideas & the will to conquer. As John Perry Barlow, a former supporter of Cheney's states, "He has the least interest in human beings of anyone I have every met." Even Cheney's freshman-year roommate at Yale, Steve Billings, agrees: "If I could ask Dick one question, I'd ask him how he could be so unempathetic."
That question will probably never reach Cheney's ear, & if it did, he certainly wouldn't answer. Throughout the years he has insulated himself against such queries. Even questions about his draft evasion during the Vietnam era have gone unasked & unanswered. Only once has he ever even come close to addressing the issue of his avoidance of service. "I had other priorities," was all he ever said.
I won't even attempt to encapsulate such a moving & well-written article, but I will list below for all of those who don't have access to the magazine some of the points I found to be chilling & most telling.
The Life & Times Of Dick Cheney
"Cheney's manner and authority of voice far out strip his true abilities. It was clear from the start that (George W.) Bush required adult supervision---but it turns out Cheney has even worse instincts. He does not understand that when you act recklessly, your mistakes will come back and bite you on the ass."~Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under Bush, Sr., Chas Freeman
A Republican politician-business man from Casper, Wyoming fell under the spell of Cheney & got him a scholarship to Yale. Cheney only finished one year, one semester before dropping out. He was more interested in partying & making political connections that would further his career.
After dropping out of Yale, Cheney showed no interest in Vietnam until the draft was re-instated. He then snapped into action. First he enrolled in Casper Community College, then went on to the University of Wyoming. That kept him out of the draft until August 7, 1964, when Congress began mass inscription for the escalating conflict & college deferments were no longer safe. Three weeks later he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart. Then on October 26, 1965 the Selective Service announced that childless married men were no longer exempt. Exactly nine months & two days later, Cheney's first daughter Elizabeth was born. Between 1963 & 1966, Cheney received five various deferments.
In January 1967 Cheney turned twenty-six & was no longer eligible for the draft. In the midst of working on his doctoral degree, he once again dropped out of college.
While in Congress as Wyoming's only member of the House, Cheney was one of only twenty-one members to vote against the Safe Drinking Water Act. He fought against efforts to clean up the environment. He backed tax breaks for energy corporations. He voted against funding for the Veterans Administration. He opposed extending the Civil Rights Act. He opposed the release of Nelson Mandela from jail in South Africa. He even voted for cop-killer bullets. He pandered to racial & religious extremists. He used complex matters of national security as flag-waving wedge issues. His plan was to take over the Speakership of the House, a plan which he outlined in his book Kings of the Hill.": powerful men changed the course of American history through control of the House." By 1988, he had become the House minority whip. The following year he gave up those plans for bigger things, however. He was appointed the head of the Defense Department by George H.W. Bush. Not bad for a draft evader.
As head of Defense, Cheney moved Paul Wolfowitz into a key post in the Pentagon. Wolfowitz would later mastermind the disastrous strategies pursued in Iraq by George W.
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et. al. were known as 'the crazies' by the end of Bush, Sr.'s first term & Sec. of State James Baker & National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft advised H.W. to, "Keep these guys at arm's length."
After Bush,Sr.'s defeat, Cheney wrangled a job as vice-president of Halliburton, his first real chance to get rich. He acquired Dresser Industries. Dresser made lucrative deals with Saddam Hussein; Halliburton did business with Muammar Qaddafi & the ayatollahs of Iran. When Cheney left the company in 2000, Halliburton stock was a near all-time high of $54 a share. However, shortly thereafter, it turned out that Dresser had involved Halliburton in asbestos lawsuits that cost the company millions of dollars. The stock dropped to barely $10 a share. Even with the $8 billion dollars in government contracts that Halliburton has received from Bush/Cheney, an investor who got in on the company just before Cheney took control is getting about sixty cents for every dollar invested. Cheney is receiving $150,000 a year in deferred compensation from Halliburton, even though he is required by law to divest of all conflicts of interest.
So everything that Cheney has touched has succumbed to his curse. Everything he puts his grubby mitts on turns to shit. & he's the man behind the man. Not a good thought. But hoping that the 'Curse of Cheney' will work again this November is a fool's hope. We all need to stop these Fascists before there is no stopping them. With no interest in any other human beings except himself & his immediate circle, he will stop at nothing to carry out the Nazification of Amerikkka. We must stand strong. We must make sure the 'Curse' works.
~NØ
posted by BLONDIE at 10:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home