Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Fredo Factor
2 commentsIt's good when the perps buttress one's argument about the need to de-perp-ify the place.
NYTimes: Alberto Gonzales, the Sequel
Alberto Gonzales, long referred to as "Fredo Corleone" to George W. Bush's "Michael Corleone," has again proven the exact argument made here in Gotham yesterday. While Barack Obama, furthering the aims of the power elite, urges us all to "move forward" and sweep the last eight years under the rug, Gonzales pops up to clearly prove why our nation faces such peril in Obama's mythical "forward" time.
Just as with every zombie/vampire movie, these creatures WILL NEVER go away. They only bide their time until they grab the reins again, mess up the landscape, dispatch our loved ones and take everything they can. As any horror film fan knows, there is never an end, only a pause. Before the closing credits roll, you know the sequel is in the works. Fright fans will tell you that these foul creatures can only be stopped with something extreme—stakes through hearts, bullets in the brain, cutting off their heads, etc. Otherwise, like the single-minded minions of the GOP power elite, up they pop, refreshed and hungry, to re-tool their marketing strategy, wipe their feet on the rule of law and take back what they believe to be rightfully theirs. Again and again. Into infinity.Where does the cycle end? Did this crowd not show us clearly during Watergate in the '70s exactly what lengths they would go to? But, we let it slide. Big mistake. Did these same players not prove to us again during Iran-Contra in the '80s that they were out for theirs, and theirs alone, and the rest of us be damned? Again, we let it slide. Again, a big mistake. When 2000 arrived, did we actually think that this exact same team had repented and had totally rehabilitated itself? The hundreds of thousands of souls who have rudely perished since January 20, 2001 and the greatest Treasury of the known world that has been totally and systematically plundered prove differently.
In an interview with National Public Radio this week, Mr. Gonzales attacked President Obama’s choice for attorney general, Eric Holder, for saying that waterboarding is torture. To hear Mr. Gonzales tell it, Mr. Holder was in the wrong—not the lawyers like Mr. Gonzales who tortured the law to justify torture, or the former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who approved its use, or the interrogators who actually subjected detainees to waterboarding and other inhumane and illegal interrogation techniques.
Making a “blanket pronouncement like that,” Mr. Gonzales warned, might affect “the morale and dedication” of intelligence officials. He said agents at the Central Intelligence Agency “no longer have any interest in doing anything controversial.”
What a terrifying statement. Again, it's not even that he feels he is getting away with anything. It becomes horrifyingly clear that this is how Mr. Gonzales and most of his associates think, and what they believe. There is your Monstrosity.
If Fredo, who has every reason to save his own skin, is taking an early and complete jump into the black waters of the Revisionist History pool, what hope can we ever have that the skilled pros in that outfit would ever turn over new leaves?
Know that their leaders are not upset or embarrassed about anything Gonzales is saying—it's the Party line, and keeps their version of events in the media and in America's living rooms. This way, they can simply call a press conference, refresh the sound bite and be back in business within the hour. They'd certainly pull the plug on Fredo, if they wished to.As for reports that the illegal eavesdropping program had prompted threats of a mass resignation by top Justice officials, Mr. Gonzales dismissed that with an airy “lawyers often disagree about important legal issues.”
Mr. Gonzales said he was not worried about being prosecuted for his actions because he was “acting in good faith” and—yes—following orders. [GN emphasis]
That smug self-assurance should be another powerful reminder to the White House of the need for an unsparing review of all of Mr. Bush’s policies on torture, wiretapping and executive power. Only by learning the details of those disastrous decisions can the nation hope to undo the damage and make sure these mistakes are not repeated.
So, you see they're fully prepared to assault us with the Gestapo Defense. As necessary, at least until the rise of the next Reich.
It's seemed that MSNBC has been the only media source keeping this story alive, other than the blogosphere, but now that The New York Times is on it, other media outposts may pick up this issue, adding to the groundswell, forcing Obama to act.
We can only pray.
posted by Gotham 12:57 PM
2 Comments:
I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for you, sir. But to compare a doofus like W to a brilliant strategist like Michael Corleone is not only inaccurate, but an insult of the highest order, one that I, as a diehard fan of the Godfather movies, cannot stomach. I believe an apology is in order. (The Fredo-Gonzalez analogy is quite apt, tho.)
Cheers!
PS: Gonzalez--whose incredible ineptitude and ignorance still leads me to believe he cannot possibly be a lawyer or even the recipient of a community college law degree, let alone a Harvard grad--thinks he might be able to resort to a defense that did not work for the Nazis, Lt. Calley or Lyndie England. Does he really think he's somehow protected from all of this by his former status in the Bush circus? The man can't even get his GOP buddies to hook him up with a job these days, for Pete's sake, and he thinks they won't give him up in a NY minute?!
Actually, I'll bet you this much: if ANYONE involved in this travesty sees the inside of a jail, Gonzalez will be one of the few--if not the only one--to get his mail delivered at Club Fed for a while.
By 
Kiko Jones, at
January 29, 2009 7:53 AM
I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for you, sir.
Thank you for the support. You seem very wise...
But to compare a doofus like W to a brilliant strategist like Michael Corleone is not only inaccurate, but an insult of the highest order, one that I, as a diehard fan of the Godfather movies, cannot stomach. I believe an apology is in order.
Caution: W is no doofus. But a smart, cagey frat boy who doesn't give a crap about anyone besides himself. He'll happily sign off on anything those surrounding him offer up, as long as he gets his. Having grown up in a heavily Crime Family-oriented culture, I hereby apologize to all of those hardworking American Family organizations which offer those things the American public always seems to want, and taking a slight cut off the top for their efforts. As we saw with the Sopranos, it takes a high degree of smarts and canniness to enjoy the fruits of your efforts and still stay on the street.
Gonzalez ... thinks he might be able to resort to a defense that did not work for the Nazis, Lt. Calley or Lyndie England. Does he really think he's somehow protected from all of this by his former status in the Bush circus?
Yes.
By Gotham, at
January 29, 2009 12:58 PM
