So, I finally get around to seeing Keith Olbermann's Special Comment and I include a link to it amidst the news here at Rottinghaus Manor to my Ancient Friends who are atheistic conservatives (I'm a religious progressive), who should just eat it up.
Sure enough, I got a response. Here it is abridged of personal stuff:
Subject: Re: They used to until they disappeared...
Sigh. I think I saw something like 17% of Americans really believe that Iran has no nuclear weapon ambitions. I think anyone who thinks they are not trying to make WMD's, are complete morons. Like, Keith, for instance, who didn't question the NIE report at all. You realize, that for the NIE to work their magic, they need information from the Iranian Government. Oh, that should be trustworthy!! More than the evil Bush! Please. All those lefties chase anything that makes Bush look bad like 10 year old soccer players chasing a ball. And to finish the metaphor, the ball NEVER goes in the goal.
My response after the fold:
Now, the rest of the email was good stuff regarding the holidays and other things that friends share but for some reason his reply words were gauntlet throwing to me so I cracked another Icehouse pounder and fired back, here, in all its cut n paste glory.
Good thing 83% think Iran is seeking WMDs and it's a good thing that Bush fixed the problems in the intelligence communities after all that trouble with WMDs not being found in Iraq so he could rely on their collective judgments to tell him what to worry about regarding the making of WWIII.
Lefties for the most part want the best for their kids just as much as the rightes. But people in charge of things that we don't possibly understand all the complexities need to be trusted to do what's best for us as the way they have been trained and are able to do. In other words, hell no the Iranian government can't be trusted. Which is why we employ people to find out at great personal risk what is really going on over there because it's important; and for someone to fix intelligence around a policy rather than listening to the trained experts telling them, to the best of their ability and knowledge, what the situation is seems counter productive to the ideals we place on truth.
So when Bush tells us over and over again that we need to pre-emptively stop WWIII with the same menacing rheteric as we got
pre-emptively stopping Saddam's mushroom clouds one gets a little suspect until an NIE is released. And so it is and you cynically think you're gonna get some kind of confirmation that the administration's position is justified or at least on the side of caution warranted but the report, and may I remind you that the NIE is a summary of all 16 intelligence agencies - agencies that have been run by people who you hope would know what they are doing -, says that Iraq isn't quite the red hot birdie blasting into Jerusalem producing nation that we were told it was. Perhaps in a few years but for now... So really, why would KO question a report that says the opposite of what the administration has been saying when a daily intelligence briefing entitled "Osama Bin Laden Determined to attack inside the United States" dated 36 days before September 11th was ignored?
So, what is a citizen to do? Play soccer? Watch Fox? Watch Fox play soccer?
Fuck no! Go ahead and vote Tancredo for all I care. At least when Clinton got a hummer from a fat chick, the rich got richer and the poor got richer. At least when you went to the airport and found you couldn't go to the gate without a ticket because of security you figured they knew what they were doing and it didn't take your mind off how much fun the trip would be. If Freedom isn't free why do we give it away so, well, freely?
I'm appaulingly unconcerned who becomes the 44th administration at this point because of the way my team has played soccer so far. A guy named turkana summed it up awhile back better than I can.
I may throw support to the Chocula Frankenberry ticket.
...
Just sharing.
Now, If you'll excuse me I have a Blacklight Christmas show to do. I'll reply to your comments and pointers, if any, then.