9/11/06: No TV for Me. None at All.

Like many other Kossacks, I'm furious over ABC's decision to air the so-called documentary, "The Path to 9/11."

But what you expect from a network whose parent, Walt Disney Corporation, foisted on us the appalling Britney Spears, who later became a pint-sized shill for George W. Bush and his war. Who can forget the gum-smacking Britney's reply to Tucker Carlson?

Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.

But "The Path to 9/11" or, for that matter, Disney, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The broadcast and cable networks have sucked up to George W. Bush since the attacks, enforcing an American-style lese majeste. It's wrong to criticize the leader who, no less of an authority than General Jerry Boykin said, was appointed by God.

And guess what? There's another kiss-up festival coming up on the calender. Right now, the networks are putting the finishing touches on their five-year retrospective on the September 11 attacks. One thing is for certain: they'll once again portray Mr. 38 Percent Approval as a hero. How many times will we be subjected to footage of the president standing in the WTC rubble talking through that damn bullhorn?

Diary Time Out

< rant >Why is it that Beltway Democrats still haven't gotten it through their skulls that George Bush politicized a national tragedy. Shortly after the attacks, the Republican National Committee hawked pictures of Bush on 9/11 as a fund-raising scheme. That, right there, should have clued them to what they were up against and the kind of bad faith this administration was displaying. Instead of acting like the so-called leaders of the so-called opposition, Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt should have retaliated by blaming the president for allowing the attacks to happen on his watch. If al-Queda hit us during a Gore presidency, you can be damn sure that's exactly what the Republicans would have done. Then again, the squirrels that raid my bird feeders have better error-learning skills than your average Washington-based Democratic consultant. < /rant >

Diary Time Back In

The 9/11 retrospectives will, no doubt, gloss over the fact that George W. Bush (a) ignored specific warnings of an al-Queda attack, (b) sat there for eight minutes reading a children's book after being told the first plane hit the tower, (c) flew around the country like a scared rabbit for most of that day, (d) used the attacks to expand executive branch power and launch a war of choice against Iraq--both of which were in the works from the day Team Bush took office, (e) dropped the ball on catching Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora, (f) squandered our post-9/11 international standing by flouting international law, and (g) made this country less secure thanks to the Iraq fiasco.

Fact is, this administration has failed in almost every respect, and couldn't win a debate on the merits on any issue of public. However, it does have one card left to play: the 9/11 card. For the third election cycle in a row, Karl Rove's strategy can be expressed in three words: scare "security moms."

And speaking of security moms--and dads--it's time for all of them to take their brains out of cold storage. Five years is long enough to trust blilndly, like Britney, in a reckless and immature president. It's time for them to wake up to the mess this president has made of this country--after all, their kids are going to pick up after him--and the lies he's told to cover it up. Starting with the biggest Big Lie of them all--namely, that Iraq was linked to 9/11. With the fifth anniversary of the attacks coming on, Team Bush will be flinging the "Iraq-9/11" B.S. by the metric ton, hoping enough of it will stick.

I want no part of this upcoming farce. I refuse to be a party to the networks continuing to enable George W. Bush and his nest of war hawks to play the 9/11 card. So it's no TV for me this September 11. None whatsoever.

There are plenty of other things I can do with the time that otherwise would be spent watching talking heads play to emotion and administration figures play to fear--and becoming infuriated with what I see. I can take a walk. Read a thick book. Clean out my office. Cook a meal. Listen to some music. Get some extra sleep. And focus on fighting back against the right wing. I'm going to need all the energy I can muster.