The Post-Post-9/11 Era
The resignation of political hack Attorney General Al Gonzales today is the latest sign we are entering (for lack of a better term) the Post-Post-9/11 era. It feels a little like waking up from a hangover after a massive drunk.
The Post-9/11 era was most clearly identifiable by the cynical manipulation of fear for political purposes and the willingness to allow America to slip dangerously towards a police state in order to "protect" ourselves in the "War on Terrorism." This became the blanket reason used to justify any act, no matter how onerous or petty, including erosion of civil liberties, domestic spying, extra-legal kidnapping and torture, to name a few.
I finally saw the Bourne Ultimatum this weekend; in it, the CIA is depicted as running amuck outside the law. One of the trailers included Rendition, which depicts an "extraordinary rendition" of a woman's husband and her efforts on his behalf.
We can thank Al "I don't recall" Gonzales for much of this: he wrote many of the legal justifications used by the Bush Administration. The house of cards built by him and Karl Rove seem to be collapsing under the scrutiny of Congressional oversight.
Karl Rove, who also recently jumped ship, boasted he'd built a "permanent Republican majority." That phrase reminds me more than a little of the "Thousand Year Reich."
And tell me, am I the only person for whom the term "Homeland" (as in "Homeland Security") is just a little too reminiscent of "The Fatherland?"
The Post-9/11 era was most clearly identifiable by the cynical manipulation of fear for political purposes and the willingness to allow America to slip dangerously towards a police state in order to "protect" ourselves in the "War on Terrorism." This became the blanket reason used to justify any act, no matter how onerous or petty, including erosion of civil liberties, domestic spying, extra-legal kidnapping and torture, to name a few.
I finally saw the Bourne Ultimatum this weekend; in it, the CIA is depicted as running amuck outside the law. One of the trailers included Rendition, which depicts an "extraordinary rendition" of a woman's husband and her efforts on his behalf.
We can thank Al "I don't recall" Gonzales for much of this: he wrote many of the legal justifications used by the Bush Administration. The house of cards built by him and Karl Rove seem to be collapsing under the scrutiny of Congressional oversight.
Karl Rove, who also recently jumped ship, boasted he'd built a "permanent Republican majority." That phrase reminds me more than a little of the "Thousand Year Reich."
And tell me, am I the only person for whom the term "Homeland" (as in "Homeland Security") is just a little too reminiscent of "The Fatherland?"
Comments