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REPUBLICANS ARE WUSSING OUT TO THREAT FROM TURKEY
By Jim Christian
Metro Spirit, GA
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1101280607 3223363&ShowArticle_ID=11012310070841369
Oct 24 2007
AUGUSTA, GA. - Democrats are oft blamed for the "wussification
of America" - they don't like dodge ball or eat French food,
and they believe in silly notions such as tolerance. In a
famous-in-the-blogosphere column from 2001, Bill Steigerwald coined
the above phrase and asked, in the ultra-conservative World Net Daily,
"Will we remain the world's only 'hyper-power,' as the French now
grudgingly call us? Or will we become a nation of wimps who'll someday
be bullied by Iranians?"
Six years later, it looks like the latter is playing out. Iran clearly
isn't afraid of us. And another little country is making noises with
threats and intimidation. But, ironically, it's not the Democrats
that are quaking in their boots. Republican overlord George W. Bush
has caved to the Turks. And The Augusta Chronicle is happy to see us
wuss out.
In an interesting turn of events, The Chronicle threw its support
behind a little country seeking to thwart our democratic process. The
issue? Long-overdue recognition of Armenian genocide at the hands of
the Turks during WWI - the Turkish version of the Nazi Holocaust.
Amazingly, The Chronicle calls it "Likely meaningless to most
Americans." Is the Holocaust meaningless to most Americans?
Of course not, and neither should this issue. From 1915 to 1917,
as many as 1.5 million Armenians were massacred at the hands of the
Turks. It's no "meaningless" issue. Indeed, the event is thought to
have been a great influence on Adolph Hitler's worldview, you know,
the one that led to 6 million Jews being massacred by the Nazis. So
this event is certainly not meaningless to the million or so Armenian
Americans, and shouldn't be to the rest of us Americans either.
The resolution currently in the House isn't new - it's been wallowing
in committee for years. The Chronicle concedes that it has "been kept
on the political burner for decades by relentless Armenian-American
lobbyists." But it has finally made its way to the House floor,
where our procedures say it must be voted on. Nancy Pelosi promised
Armenian Americans that when it made it to the House, it would be
considered. So, I guess, shame on her for wanting to honor a promise.
But as The Chronicle noted, "Turkish President Abdullah Gul said
that if the full House votes on this issue, there will be major
repercussions involving our access to their country." And that begs
the question: Since when does the Bush administration (and by extension
The Chronicle) kowtow to saber rattling?
The Chronicle tries to point out that this stand by the Democrats
smacks of hypocrisy: "Democrats spend so much time harping about how
the war is damaging the United States' reputation around the world.
Now, hypocritically, they engage in machinations to damage that
reputation further."
But they're comparing apples to watermelons. The global war on terror
affects, well, the globe. So it's a good thing to keep people outside
of our borders happy. But what the Turks are pulling, well, that's
different. They're trying to tell us how to run our government,
and that shouldn't stand.
And while laying it on the Democrats, The Chronicle fails to point
out the hypocrisy of the Bush administration.
Long gone, I suppose, are the days of American hegemony, the days of
"you're either with us or you're against us," the days where might
is right. Enter the kinder, gentler Bush administration, I guess,
the Bush administration where our democratic process can be hijacked
by countries in which we're invested.
The reason we're friends with Turkey today is that, in exchange for
our use of Turkish airfields and supply lines, they got protection
from the Soviets during the Cold War. So maybe Turkey thinks that
now they're holding all of the cards. But the Bush of old would have
told Turkey where to stick it. "You're going to deny us access to your
air fields? Fine. Now that the Russians are acting all bad-ass again,
you're on your own when they decide to annex you."
But no. A little noise from the Turks and he's running scared to
Congress, telling them to cool it, lest we piss off the scary,
scary Turks. When we actually need Bush's backbone to protect the
integrity of our government, and by extension our country, it's
MIA. And predictably, The Chronicle is falling in line.
By Jim Christian
Metro Spirit, GA
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1101280607 3223363&ShowArticle_ID=11012310070841369
Oct 24 2007
AUGUSTA, GA. - Democrats are oft blamed for the "wussification
of America" - they don't like dodge ball or eat French food,
and they believe in silly notions such as tolerance. In a
famous-in-the-blogosphere column from 2001, Bill Steigerwald coined
the above phrase and asked, in the ultra-conservative World Net Daily,
"Will we remain the world's only 'hyper-power,' as the French now
grudgingly call us? Or will we become a nation of wimps who'll someday
be bullied by Iranians?"
Six years later, it looks like the latter is playing out. Iran clearly
isn't afraid of us. And another little country is making noises with
threats and intimidation. But, ironically, it's not the Democrats
that are quaking in their boots. Republican overlord George W. Bush
has caved to the Turks. And The Augusta Chronicle is happy to see us
wuss out.
In an interesting turn of events, The Chronicle threw its support
behind a little country seeking to thwart our democratic process. The
issue? Long-overdue recognition of Armenian genocide at the hands of
the Turks during WWI - the Turkish version of the Nazi Holocaust.
Amazingly, The Chronicle calls it "Likely meaningless to most
Americans." Is the Holocaust meaningless to most Americans?
Of course not, and neither should this issue. From 1915 to 1917,
as many as 1.5 million Armenians were massacred at the hands of the
Turks. It's no "meaningless" issue. Indeed, the event is thought to
have been a great influence on Adolph Hitler's worldview, you know,
the one that led to 6 million Jews being massacred by the Nazis. So
this event is certainly not meaningless to the million or so Armenian
Americans, and shouldn't be to the rest of us Americans either.
The resolution currently in the House isn't new - it's been wallowing
in committee for years. The Chronicle concedes that it has "been kept
on the political burner for decades by relentless Armenian-American
lobbyists." But it has finally made its way to the House floor,
where our procedures say it must be voted on. Nancy Pelosi promised
Armenian Americans that when it made it to the House, it would be
considered. So, I guess, shame on her for wanting to honor a promise.
But as The Chronicle noted, "Turkish President Abdullah Gul said
that if the full House votes on this issue, there will be major
repercussions involving our access to their country." And that begs
the question: Since when does the Bush administration (and by extension
The Chronicle) kowtow to saber rattling?
The Chronicle tries to point out that this stand by the Democrats
smacks of hypocrisy: "Democrats spend so much time harping about how
the war is damaging the United States' reputation around the world.
Now, hypocritically, they engage in machinations to damage that
reputation further."
But they're comparing apples to watermelons. The global war on terror
affects, well, the globe. So it's a good thing to keep people outside
of our borders happy. But what the Turks are pulling, well, that's
different. They're trying to tell us how to run our government,
and that shouldn't stand.
And while laying it on the Democrats, The Chronicle fails to point
out the hypocrisy of the Bush administration.
Long gone, I suppose, are the days of American hegemony, the days of
"you're either with us or you're against us," the days where might
is right. Enter the kinder, gentler Bush administration, I guess,
the Bush administration where our democratic process can be hijacked
by countries in which we're invested.
The reason we're friends with Turkey today is that, in exchange for
our use of Turkish airfields and supply lines, they got protection
from the Soviets during the Cold War. So maybe Turkey thinks that
now they're holding all of the cards. But the Bush of old would have
told Turkey where to stick it. "You're going to deny us access to your
air fields? Fine. Now that the Russians are acting all bad-ass again,
you're on your own when they decide to annex you."
But no. A little noise from the Turks and he's running scared to
Congress, telling them to cool it, lest we piss off the scary,
scary Turks. When we actually need Bush's backbone to protect the
integrity of our government, and by extension our country, it's
MIA. And predictably, The Chronicle is falling in line.