Nick Lewis: The Blog

"Leaked" exit polls suggest Obama will have a very good night. Not quite celebrating yet, as the last 8 years have conditioned me to expect heartbreak everytime I feel a glimmer of hope in the political arena. Who knows, though: maybe the exit polls are right, and there might be a glimmer of hope for the USA. Or, perhaps the democrats will do what they've always done, and shoot themselves in the foot by nominating HRC. Lord knows the Dems do nothing better than sabotage theirselves. THey are perhaps the only party in the world that could lose even THIS presidential election.

Unlike President Bush, I'm a Texan. Strangely, however, being a Texan seems to put me initially at odds with various continental types (who happen to make up 35% of my readership). Being a Texan, so their argument runs, I must like our president -- we're from the same state after all! It pains me to see that some Europeans have such a simplistic world view. So briefly, I'd like to set the record straight.

Firstly, I'm from Austin -- not Texas. There is a big difference, and anyone who's visited Austin will testify to that. Generally, speaking, Texas is a very stupid state. This stupidity can be easily detected by observing this state's voting habits, its "values" (if that's what you call them..), and its distinct fondness for truck commercials that re-emphasize that Texas is big; and therefore Texans should like Chevy's big trucks.

The story that unfolded, from Harriet Miers to Alito... at everyone moment it seemed *strange*. I'm now -- personally at least -- certain that Miers was a prop, and that Rove is still very much at work.

Anyone with a background and sales will know exactly why Miers was a great failed nominee to proceed Alito. Without the contrast, Alito would have caused a storm. This Judge, my friends, is going to cause a lot of damage. He needs to be opposed violently -- or we will pay for many years.

When you watch news, always be looking for the puppet shows. The more elaborate and daring the puppet show, the more danger the situation poses to our well being.

Michael Moore writes:  

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe. [read more...]

I don't know exactly why -- what the correlation is, or why I'm posting this graph. The trends struck me as significant for some reason that I can put into words. It feels like -- maybe -- perhaps I shouldn't even jinx it -- this is some sort of tipping point that will carry over to the 2006 elections.

Now, if only the democratic party would stop nominating the usual parade of cursty gubers.

Not to mention, I may at this point have entirely lost my faith in the wisdom of the American electorate. I still can't believe G.W. Bush was re-elected. Its as though our entire country has just snapped. I fear that in 2006 they will again take the GOP's bait and start jabbering and voting on the basis of gay marriage. Delay will be re-elected, the house and senate will continue to be dominated by Republicans. Its as though the electorate doesn't care that our politicians are selling each and everyone of us out to corporate interest -- so long as there is some "show trial" involving child molestation on TV... God I'm depressed.

It seems that Americans are no longer impressed by Bush's liberal usage of the word "freedom". Despite Tuesday night's speech, Bush's approval ratings continue to fall. According to the latest Zogby poll, the President's approval rating is now at an all-time low of 42 percent. In addition, 2/5th of Americans now support impeaching the president.

We best brace ourselves, for the great elephant will soon come crashing down. As was sung by Jimmy Cliff, the harder they come; the harder they fall; one and all.

Link: The Latest Zogby Poll

David Corn, the editor of The Nation answers that question with a list of follow up questions:

• Who claimed there were stockpiles of WMDs in Iraq?
• Who said there was a revived nuclear weapons program in Iraq?
• Who said the intelligence left "no doubt" that Iraq posed a direct WMD threat to the United States?
• Who said Iraq had mobile biological weapons labs?
• Who said "we found the weapons of mass destruction"?
• Who said "we know" where the WMDs are in Iraq?
• Who said Saddam Hussein was "dealing with" al Qaeda?
• Who said the United States would be greeted as liberators?
• Who said the reconstruction of Iraq would not burden US taxpayers and that it could be self-financed via Iraqi oil revenues?
• Who said that it would not require hundreds of thousands of US troops to secure Iraq after an invasion?
• Who said--after the invasion--that there was no insurgency in Iraq?
• Who said the post-invasion looting was no big deal?
• Who said that 140,000 Iraqi security forces were trained--when the more accurate number was probably less than one-tenth of that?
• Who said the insurgency was in its "last throes" when military commanders said it could take years to quash the insurgency?

Who was that again?

If you missed Bush's speech, here's a one sentence abstract written by Tom Tomorrow:

We really screwed the pooch, and now you have no choice but to let us try to clean up the mess.

The World Tribunal on Iraq issued a high profile condemnation of the war on Iraq:

The Bush and Blair administrations blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war expressed by millions of people around the world. They embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in history. The Anglo-American occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society. Law and order have broken down completely, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people has been desecrated.

The press release claims that this decision was reached by a "jury". The word "jury" is dishonest; this so called jury had reached its conclusion long the WTI conference convened.

Nick Lewis: Michel, I appreciate you coming back from the dead for the purpose of expanding a few minds that have retained curiosity about their world. That said, this medium has an impatient audience, so I hope you'll forgive me for moving straight to the first question:

The vast majority of people are unaware of who you are and why they should care. You've been dead since 1984; what role can you see yourself possibly playing in our times?

Foucault: My “role” - and that is too emphatic a word - is to show people that they are much freer than they feel, that people accept as truth, as evidence, some themes which have been built up at a certain moment during history, and that this so-called evidence can be criticized and destroyed. To change something in the minds of people - that's the role of an intellectual.