"See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction." -- President Bush, Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003
In 1812 the United States decided to invade Canada.
Really. It's true.
Canada was still a British colony at the time. The British army was busy with a little dude named Napoleon, known best for his namesake desserts. The English were interfering with American shipping interests. There was a desire to get the British out of North America altogether. So, congress thought it was a good idea, at an opportune time and we invaded the Canadian provinces.
The attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore inspired the poem,"The Star Spangle Banner." Yes, our national anthem was inspired by our valor in a war we started Canada. A nation that has been figuratively and literally looking down on us ever since.
Anyway, in 1814 the British occupied Washington DC. Seeing the incoming invasion, then First Lady Dolly Madison, also known for her namesake
desserts, packed a wagon full of national treasures and fled. The same was true for the president and most of the other residents. The White House was set ablaze as with most of the city.
This was late August. You know, 'hurricane season'. So this storm came in. Rain and wind - followed by a tornado. Not only did it put out the fires in DC, it caused mass casualties to the British invaders. And because of that, they left the city. A natural occurrence thwarted an occupation.
Americans didn't win the War of 1812. It was a push. It could have easily gone either way. It was resolved by diplomatic relations, ironically a month before the famously victorious Battle of Orleans. It was very close.
So almost to the exact date, a 191 years ago, the White House and the country were saved by a freak storm.
No matter where your political ideals lay, you must admit Katrina changed this country.
I'll give you an example: Two and a half years ago, Jeff Gannon, a 'reporter' without a publication (Talon News wasn't even a decent blog), who was a male prostitute, was a member of the White House Press Core. A member on a DAILY basis for TWO years. TWO YEARS! So many questions are still unanswered about this one. What was an unaccredited journalist with a false identity doing in the Press Core? Why was a male prostitute regularly in the White House? Why did all the anti-gay squawkers - stay completely silent about this? Why did this outrage no one? The story broke in Feb. of this year, but never went anywhere. The only answer that I can come up with is the absolute loyalty to this administration. There is a sentiment that we are at war and part of that is trusting and hoping people with power behave themselves.
That's ONE example out of many. That is really bad. That's bad for our national security. That's bad for our free press. That's bad for our country. But we've been occupied. We we told to watch what we do or say. We've been told that if we we're patriots we would support our leaders unconditionally. We have been told that duct tape was going to be our saving grace and dissension would get our family put in jeopardy. Being afraid - that has been an occupation for Americans. The fear of getting killed by a terrorist act coupled with the fear of being Dixie Chicked.
Then again, in late August, a freak storm changed all that.
How Bush Blew It - Newsweek
All the President's Friends - New York Times
End of the Bush Era - The Washington Post
Living Too Much in the Bubble? - Time Magazine
The barriers of unfettering support and denial of culpability that we have had solidly in place for 5 years have been cracked open. And really, I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of those levees.