Political Mama

During the build-up to the Iraq War, I listened to the arguments, waiting for someone to convince me that the secular dictator, Saddam Hussein had something to do with the fundamentalists from Al Qaeda. I never heard it.

Last year, as the Kerry campaign was assaulted by the Swift Boat Veterans I watched. I could not believe that anyone would take them seriously. The Bush campaign (aka Karl Rove) let it circulate long enough so that when they did step up, it was too late.

And slowly, over time I heard both assertions told to me by fairly intelligent people, again and again as if they were truth. Suddenly we were at war with a country that played no part in 9/11, and a war hero was now a shirker and the shirker was president.

I had learned what advertisers, politicians--Mr. Rove especially, reporters, and clergy know. If you hear it often enough, loud enough, its veracity no longer matters. It becomes true.

So, Mr. Rove, I am thinking (and I bet Senator Kerry is too), payback's a bitch. There is such a thing as karma.

It doesn't matter anymore whether you leaked it, or agreed with it, or slept with it, or testified about it... The assertion has been repeated an awful lot. Does the truth really matter?

During those years of Clinton and Ms. Flowers, and then Clinton and Paula, and finally Clinton and his grand jury and his Monica I wondered why people hated him sooo much.

I was angry too that he lied in front of the grand jury. I even believed, at certain points, he should resign. But he didn't. And now I can't remember what the whole big deal was. What I do remember is how much the people that hated him hated him.

I get it now. That's the way I feel about Bush. I mean it. I take pleasure when he has egg on his face, I can't believe it when he does something right.

There is a difference (or justification) if you will. Bush is an asshole. I mean it. If I was worried when his Papa didn't know the price of milk (which I don't know and I buy it all the time), this guy doesn't realize that he's playing with people's lives--literally.

Every time I see another gut wrenching story about a veteran who loses his life over a war he lied us into, I can't help but wonder what I'm missing. There has to be something if the red part of the country is so behind him. I'm a patriot too, but I don't see the connection.

Yes, our troops are full of heroes, true and genuine, and our mission is noble. Absolutely noble, and maybe even necessary.

BUT WE WENT THERE UNDER FALSE PRETENSES!!! And we are paying the price. He stood there and might as well have said, "I have not had sex with..." This connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda is just as ficticious.

And remember no one died over that!

A moment, before I go on, for our cousins across the pond. May you never be struck again. Sorry we got you involved.

Here's the thing about the flag. It stands for freedom, not Jesus. It stands for a free, unfettered press, not a jailed Judy Miller. And speaking of Ms. Miller, where is the outrage? Where is all the outrage? Focussed on homosexuals?

Let me say this , making gay marriage legal will not send millions of men (or any) flying around with a sudden attraction to each other... And if it does? Well, it's about time that men know what it feels like to not have someone listen to you. And at least the gays aren't having abortions.

And allow me this. There is nothing about my flag that says that they have the right to go around arresting/wiretapping/stripsearching any old Arab they see, or any Peacenik, or even an Angry Mama like me.

It breaks my heart that people aren't yelling any louder, and the people that do (or that get the publicity) are just nuts. Why are we allowing that?

I am a writer, an editor, I write indices for college textbooks. I have a husband, two boys (4 & 2) a dog, a cat, a house, two cars. We go to carnivals, we play with Legos. Why aren't we speaking out?

What is that poem?

They came for the Jews, but I wasn't one so I said nothing...
They came for the Catholics, but I wasn't one so I said nothing...
They came for the Trade Unionists (I know I'm paraphrasing) , and I said nothing...
Now that they've come for me, no one is left to say anything.

So on July 4th I decided I was taking back my flag... Maybe I'll have a burning and quit smoking just to piss them off.

This is just a test, just want to see if it works.