"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, not their own facts." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
**
"We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama," -Rudy Giuliani, one of the founders of "Mention September 11 Every 9.11 Seconds or Else You Insult the Dead" movement.
"We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term," Former Press Secretary Dana Perino on Fox News [sic] last November.
source: CNN
If a news organization pointed out that this was factual rubbish (they'd never actually call it what they are: bald-faced lies), it would no doubt be attacked for 'liberal bias.'
Showing posts with label Rudy Giuliani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rudy Giuliani. Show all posts
Friday, January 08, 2010
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A bottom feeder sinks a little lower
It's no secret that I can't stand Rudy Giuliani. I reserve some of my utmost contempt for shameless populist demagogues of all ideologies. The former mayor of New York certainly fits that bill.
It's important to look at the policy positions of candidates in an election. But you can also tell a lot about a candidate's character by how he (or she) campaigns and how and to whom they pander. Giuliani panders to the worst in people: fear, hatred, anger. He offers no positive agenda, only irrational hysteria.
So it's not surprising that one of his supporters came up with the slimeball idea to hold fundraiser parties where an admission would be charged. The rate of admission: $9.11.
Giuliani's campaign disavowed any knowledge of the fundraiser. But the tone was set long ago. When you base your entire campaign on 9/11-themed fearmongering, it's to be expected that supporters would take that to its logical conclusions.
The firefighters' union trashed the idea.
"It is nothing short of disrespectful to the legacy of the thousands of civilians and 343 brave firefighters who died at Ground Zero," said Harold Schaitberger, IAFF president.
However, such disrespect is his trademark. Giuliani has been shamelessly exploiting Sept. 11, 2001 for his own political ends since... Sept. 12, 2001.
He is so divorced from reality that he even had the audacity to claim he was a de facto rescue worker hero. A claim which was denounced by real rescue worker heroes.
Rudy thinks he personally owns 9/11. So it's not the least bit surprising that his supporters think they do too.
It's important to look at the policy positions of candidates in an election. But you can also tell a lot about a candidate's character by how he (or she) campaigns and how and to whom they pander. Giuliani panders to the worst in people: fear, hatred, anger. He offers no positive agenda, only irrational hysteria.
So it's not surprising that one of his supporters came up with the slimeball idea to hold fundraiser parties where an admission would be charged. The rate of admission: $9.11.
Giuliani's campaign disavowed any knowledge of the fundraiser. But the tone was set long ago. When you base your entire campaign on 9/11-themed fearmongering, it's to be expected that supporters would take that to its logical conclusions.
The firefighters' union trashed the idea.
"It is nothing short of disrespectful to the legacy of the thousands of civilians and 343 brave firefighters who died at Ground Zero," said Harold Schaitberger, IAFF president.
However, such disrespect is his trademark. Giuliani has been shamelessly exploiting Sept. 11, 2001 for his own political ends since... Sept. 12, 2001.
He is so divorced from reality that he even had the audacity to claim he was a de facto rescue worker hero. A claim which was denounced by real rescue worker heroes.
Rudy thinks he personally owns 9/11. So it's not the least bit surprising that his supporters think they do too.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The arrogance of the power hungry
At times, the pomposity of some politicians is absolutely mind-boggling. Take the two front runners in the Republican presidential campaign.
Former Massachussetts governor Mitt Romney, an ardent supporter of the so-called war on terror, explained to town hall meeting audience why none of his adult children were serving in the military.
"One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."
I know you have to have a pretty big ego to run for president on a major party ticket, but usually the successful politicians are a little less overtly arrogant than Romney.
Not so for Romney's main rival at this point, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mormonism aside, Romney is a pretty standard cardboard Republican. Giuliani is a bit different. He's a bit more moderate than most of rivals on many social issues, but he compensates by being significantly more fanatical on questions of militarism. His fanning of the populist flames led a Harper's magazine article to contend somewhat compellingly that a Rudy presidency risks being even worse than Bush's, a fear I've had for some time.
(Note: the Harper's piece is subscribers-only but Alternet talks about it too as does this essay in The Nation.)
Giuliani's national fame came simply by showing up in the aftermath of 9/11. He was our national reassurer-in-chief. This doesn't qualify him to fight terrorism, as a National Public Radio anchor (not a commentator) ridiculously stated, but it was not irrelevant at the time. While not unimportant, a mayor merely showing up and encouraging people in the aftermath of a tragedy hardly qualifies one to be president. Perhaps he benefited by comparison to the conduct of the actual president at the time.
Of course, Rudy's mayorship was quite controversial. He was a polarizing figure for 7 years, 9 1/2 months. But that seems to be lost in the group therapy of the last 10 weeks. He did a good job completing the work started by his Democratic predecessor in cleaning up the city, both physically and in terms of crime. But this also came with the cost of a police force running rampant. NYPD cops pumped 41 bullets into an unarmed African immigrant; I don't like to second guess cops in crime ridden areas and one can debate the actual fact of the shooting but pumping that many bullets into an unarmed person (who, oh by the way, was innocent of any crime) is unconscionable. That came a few years after the infamous Abner Louima torture case when cops used a toilet plunger to sexually brutalize a Haitian man being held in their custody. Incidents like this and others demonstrate a reckless disregard for human life. Given the Bush administration's similar mentality, this is the last thing we need to perpetuate in this country.
Woody Allen famously said that 80 percent of success is just showing up. And since Giuliani's presidential campaign success is due entirely to the fact that he just showed up after 9/11, it's not surprising that the famously ill-tempered politician overplayed his hand.
At a campaign stop in Ohio, he bragged, "I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them.”
His comments were denounced by both New York's Bravest and New York's Finest.
The head of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in New York, said: “I have a real problem with that statement. I think he’s really grasping and trying to justify his previous attempts to portray himself as the hero of 9/11.”
Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, the union of NYPD detectives, said the mayor’s record can’t compare to those who spent 12 months sifting through toxic debris for evidence and human remains.
“As a result of their hard work, many are sick and injured. The mayor, although he did a fine job with 9/11, I don’t think he rises to the level of being an equal with those men and women who were involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup,” Palladino said.
Only in the Rudy's little mind/gigantic head does preening for the cameras from time to time equate to those who sifted through toxic debris or those who saved people from the stricken towers before they collapsed.
A colleague of Rudy's endorsed successor pointed out that '9/11 is not a wholly owned subsidiary of Rudy Giuliani.'
I'll have a criticism of Barak Obama in the next few days.
Former Massachussetts governor Mitt Romney, an ardent supporter of the so-called war on terror, explained to town hall meeting audience why none of his adult children were serving in the military.
"One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."
I know you have to have a pretty big ego to run for president on a major party ticket, but usually the successful politicians are a little less overtly arrogant than Romney.
Not so for Romney's main rival at this point, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mormonism aside, Romney is a pretty standard cardboard Republican. Giuliani is a bit different. He's a bit more moderate than most of rivals on many social issues, but he compensates by being significantly more fanatical on questions of militarism. His fanning of the populist flames led a Harper's magazine article to contend somewhat compellingly that a Rudy presidency risks being even worse than Bush's, a fear I've had for some time.
(Note: the Harper's piece is subscribers-only but Alternet talks about it too as does this essay in The Nation.)
Giuliani's national fame came simply by showing up in the aftermath of 9/11. He was our national reassurer-in-chief. This doesn't qualify him to fight terrorism, as a National Public Radio anchor (not a commentator) ridiculously stated, but it was not irrelevant at the time. While not unimportant, a mayor merely showing up and encouraging people in the aftermath of a tragedy hardly qualifies one to be president. Perhaps he benefited by comparison to the conduct of the actual president at the time.
Of course, Rudy's mayorship was quite controversial. He was a polarizing figure for 7 years, 9 1/2 months. But that seems to be lost in the group therapy of the last 10 weeks. He did a good job completing the work started by his Democratic predecessor in cleaning up the city, both physically and in terms of crime. But this also came with the cost of a police force running rampant. NYPD cops pumped 41 bullets into an unarmed African immigrant; I don't like to second guess cops in crime ridden areas and one can debate the actual fact of the shooting but pumping that many bullets into an unarmed person (who, oh by the way, was innocent of any crime) is unconscionable. That came a few years after the infamous Abner Louima torture case when cops used a toilet plunger to sexually brutalize a Haitian man being held in their custody. Incidents like this and others demonstrate a reckless disregard for human life. Given the Bush administration's similar mentality, this is the last thing we need to perpetuate in this country.
Woody Allen famously said that 80 percent of success is just showing up. And since Giuliani's presidential campaign success is due entirely to the fact that he just showed up after 9/11, it's not surprising that the famously ill-tempered politician overplayed his hand.
At a campaign stop in Ohio, he bragged, "I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them.”
His comments were denounced by both New York's Bravest and New York's Finest.
The head of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in New York, said: “I have a real problem with that statement. I think he’s really grasping and trying to justify his previous attempts to portray himself as the hero of 9/11.”
Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, the union of NYPD detectives, said the mayor’s record can’t compare to those who spent 12 months sifting through toxic debris for evidence and human remains.
“As a result of their hard work, many are sick and injured. The mayor, although he did a fine job with 9/11, I don’t think he rises to the level of being an equal with those men and women who were involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup,” Palladino said.
Only in the Rudy's little mind/gigantic head does preening for the cameras from time to time equate to those who sifted through toxic debris or those who saved people from the stricken towers before they collapsed.
A colleague of Rudy's endorsed successor pointed out that '9/11 is not a wholly owned subsidiary of Rudy Giuliani.'
I'll have a criticism of Barak Obama in the next few days.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Bush's amnesty proclamation
There's been a hullabaloo in the last day or so even since President Bush commuted the sentence of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff Scooter Libby, who had been found guilty of perjury (lying under oath) and obstruction of justice. The commutation spares Libby any prison time. Bush has not ruled out a full pardon for the convicted felon. Personally, I'd be shocked if Bush DOESN'T pardon Libby at some point, most likely sometime between Election Day 2008 and Inauguration Day 2009.
Presidential pardons and commutations for their cronies aren't exactly new. It seems every president issues a rash of these orders in the waning days of his presidency. But Bush's clemency is odd behavior from someone whose party claims to represent law and order. Then again, those who scream loudest about law and order are usually those with the least respect for either. Just ask anyone who ever wore a 'Nixon-Agnew' button.
In a way, Libby is lucky. Not just because of who he knew but because of his job. Does anyone think he would've been granted amnesty for his multiple crimes if he'd been, say, an illegal immigrant who threatened America by picking strawberries?
The ironic part, assuming irony is not dead with the current administration, is this.
Scooter Libby spent less time in jail than Paris Hilton. I have no idea what Hilton did but I doubt it was more grave than lying under oath and obstructing justice?
A few weeks ago, one far right commentator opined: Hilton is an example of what happens when you don't obey the law and don't obey a judge's orders. Hilton apparently thinks the rules don't apply to her, she has another thing coming and she'll find that out in the slam very quickly. A lot of folks think that celebrities get special treatment when they run afoul of the law and while that may on some level be true it isn't always the case. It's important for the public to know that the law applies to everyone.
Yet the very same commentator said of Libby: This case was such nonsense in the first place... Bush should have pardoned Libby from the beginning.
The law 'applies to everyone' but not to the vice-president's chief of staff. Does that mean Libby is no one? Does that mean the vice-presidency is some sort of legal vacuum? Ok, maybe it is.
The same far right commentator added that: Even if Libby lied, he didn't lie under oath in a formal proceeding.
The person who said this is also a lawyer and thus should know that perjury is indeed the crime of lying under oath.
Then again, he's not the only right-winger who's changed his tune.
While many conservatives now pooh-pooh the severity of the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice, they seemed to think they were a pretty big deal nine years ago!
Update: Joan Walsh over at Salon.com also takes to task Rudy Giuliani. 'America's Prosecutor' has apparently jettisoned (temporarily I presume) the populist law and order demagoguery that has been the pillar of his presidential campaign and decided to give the thumbs up to Bush's amnesty for a convicted felon. Walsh sneers: Way to stand with a beleaguered U.S. attorney, Rudy! What a wuss.
Presidential pardons and commutations for their cronies aren't exactly new. It seems every president issues a rash of these orders in the waning days of his presidency. But Bush's clemency is odd behavior from someone whose party claims to represent law and order. Then again, those who scream loudest about law and order are usually those with the least respect for either. Just ask anyone who ever wore a 'Nixon-Agnew' button.
In a way, Libby is lucky. Not just because of who he knew but because of his job. Does anyone think he would've been granted amnesty for his multiple crimes if he'd been, say, an illegal immigrant who threatened America by picking strawberries?
The ironic part, assuming irony is not dead with the current administration, is this.
Scooter Libby spent less time in jail than Paris Hilton. I have no idea what Hilton did but I doubt it was more grave than lying under oath and obstructing justice?
A few weeks ago, one far right commentator opined: Hilton is an example of what happens when you don't obey the law and don't obey a judge's orders. Hilton apparently thinks the rules don't apply to her, she has another thing coming and she'll find that out in the slam very quickly. A lot of folks think that celebrities get special treatment when they run afoul of the law and while that may on some level be true it isn't always the case. It's important for the public to know that the law applies to everyone.
Yet the very same commentator said of Libby: This case was such nonsense in the first place... Bush should have pardoned Libby from the beginning.
The law 'applies to everyone' but not to the vice-president's chief of staff. Does that mean Libby is no one? Does that mean the vice-presidency is some sort of legal vacuum? Ok, maybe it is.
The same far right commentator added that: Even if Libby lied, he didn't lie under oath in a formal proceeding.
The person who said this is also a lawyer and thus should know that perjury is indeed the crime of lying under oath.
Then again, he's not the only right-winger who's changed his tune.
While many conservatives now pooh-pooh the severity of the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice, they seemed to think they were a pretty big deal nine years ago!
Update: Joan Walsh over at Salon.com also takes to task Rudy Giuliani. 'America's Prosecutor' has apparently jettisoned (temporarily I presume) the populist law and order demagoguery that has been the pillar of his presidential campaign and decided to give the thumbs up to Bush's amnesty for a convicted felon. Walsh sneers: Way to stand with a beleaguered U.S. attorney, Rudy! What a wuss.
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