Amplifying the message from ze Frank in yesterday’s brilliant show, Norm Jenson says,
Did you ever think that George Bush is completely fucked up. Even as he complains about how the the cut and run crowd is putting us at risk he’s cheerleading for the run and hide crowd. We all know what the risks are. We don’t need some inarticulate clown telling us the world is a dangerous place. Ze Frank is right we’re more likely to die in an automobile accident than as a victim of terrorism, and heaven help him George is more likely to fall off his bike or choke on a pretzel.
Dave Winer had this to say:
Yesterday’s Ze Frank wasn’t funny, but it was right on. Listen carefully to the words President Bush uses, and decide for yourself who the real terrorists are.
And this,
NY Times editorials are almost never funny, but today’s editorial about the politics of terror in the US shows how our Vice-president was already playing politics with this latest round of news even before we knew about it, but when he certainly knew it was coming. Also note yesterday’s news was completely managed by the US and British governments. How much faith do you have in their honesty? Why? Permanent link to this item in the archive.
. Ze Frank is right we’re more likely to die in an automobile accident than as a victim of terrorism,
True, and a fun fact, but irrelevant. The State exists to protect it’s citizens from acts of violent by external forces.
Comparing death by peanut (as Stross did yesterday) to death by violence from Black Hats might get winks and nudges around the campfire but it’s comparing apples to dump trucks.
The state also exists to protect the citizenry from acts of internal violence and the founders of this state saw fit to protect citizens from the state itself. Sadly, it’s always been an uphill struggle to make words match deeds. But there’s no time like today to start fixing it! A good first step is to stop funding and creating those external violent forces. Then we can deal with the traffic deaths, the pretzel menace and see what can be done for the poor bicyclists.
FDR said something like “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and he did his best to combat fear. Terror is fear writ large. Fighting terrorism is a lot different from fighting terror. Fighting terrorism is simply doing the job of the police: identifying and apprehending vicious criminals and bringing them to judgment. Fighting terror involves sharing a humane perspective, providing decent leadership, generally helping people understand the dimensions of our shared condition.
Yesterday ze Frank opened up a second front in the “War on Terrorism.” He clearly identified who the domestic terrorists are and he called for an end to their reign of terror. George W. Bush is a coward and he has surrounded himself with cowards. Cowards share a common condition, trembling fear. That fear is easily translated to terror in the face of threats and challenges. The news yesterday was that the glass is half full. A band of international criminals was apprehended. The message that the cowards on the right sent was that the glass is half empty. At any step, we may be blown to smithereens. [great word, “smithereens”]
These terrorists, the ones who publicly instill fear for personal and political gain are the ones we can do something about. They are easily identified and easily dealt with by the people. The clandestine terrorists, the underground criminal element are best dealt with by the government.
Frank,
The consequences of admitting that “GWB jr is NO FDR” are endless. For example, when the economy falls over and won’t get up: there won’t be any WPA for artists to find some work.
GWB just can’t function without an “other”. When that “other” becomes you and I then jobs will be the least of our worries.
Anonymity rocks. It might be time to re-invent yourself Frank. Come underground.