Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Gore Vidal on Stolen Elections, Iraq, Bankrupcy,"War on Dandruff"

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Election Reform Donate to DU
 
Dancing_Dave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Apr-09-05 09:11 PM
Original message
Gore Vidal on Stolen Elections, Iraq, Bankrupcy,"War on Dandruff"
He really goes off like late Mark Twain! At 80's years old he could still win a poetry slam...

"Well, let us say that the old American republic is well and truly dead. The institutions that we thought were eternal proved not to be. And that goes for the three departments of government, and it also goes for the Bill of Rights. So we're in uncharted territory. We're governed by public relations. Very little information gets to the people, thanks to the corruption and/or ineptitude of the media. Just look at this bankruptcy thing that went through--everybody in debt to credit cards, which is apparently 90 percent of the country, is in deep trouble. So the people are uninformed about what's being done in their name.


And that's really why we are in Iraq. Iraq is a symptom, not a cause. It's a symptom of the passion we have for oil, which is a declining resource in the world. Alternatives can be found, but they will not be found as long as there's one drop of oil or natural gas to be extracted from other nations, preferably by force by the current junta in charge of our affairs. Iraq will end with our defeat."

<clip>

"Well, the Congress has ceded--which it cannot do--but it has ceded its power to declare war. That is written in the Constitution. It's the most important thing in the Constitution, ultimately. And having ceded that to the Executive Branch, he can declare war whenever he finds terrorism. Now, terrorism is a wonderful invention because it doesn't mean anything. It's an abstract noun. You can't have a war against an abstract noun; it's like having a war against dandruff. It's meaningless.

But you can terrify people. The art of government now, the art of control as practiced by the current junta, is: Keep the people frightened. It's exactly what Adolf Hitler and his gang did. Keep them frightened: The Russians are coming. The Poles are killing Germans who live within the borders of Poland. The Czechs are doing the same thing in the Sudetenland. These are evil people. We must go after them. We must save our kin.

Keep everybody frightened, tell them lies--and the bigger the lie, the more they'll believe it. There's nothing the average American now believes (because he's been told it 10,000 times a day) that is true. Now how do you undo so much disinformation? Well, you have to have truth squads at work 24 hours a day every day. And we don't have them."

<clip>
I don't blame the public. Bush is not popular. I've just been reading a report on Conyers's trip to Ohio with his subcommittee's experts. Ohio was stolen. The Republican Congress will never have a hearing on it. But I think attempts are being made to publish the details of what was done there, and elsewhere too in America.

In other words, I put the case that Bush was never elected--not in 2000, and not in 2004. This is a new game in the world. Through the magic of electronic voting, particularly through Mr. Diebold and friends, you can take a non-president and make him president. But how to keep the people, including the opposition who should know better, so silent, this introduces us to a vast landscape of corruption which I dare not enter."

<clip>Now we have people who don't know where anything is. I remember a speech Bush gave in which he was reaching out not only to the "Torks" but the "Grecians" at some point. We live in total confusion time.

<clip>I haven't changed my line. We don't have the money for these adventures. We don't even have the money to operate those prisons which are the delight of Iraq. All we were doing at Abu Ghraib was export what we do to our own people in our own prisons, you know. We are sharing with the rest of the world penology-- in every sense. No, there isn't the money to do it. And the few who are making most of the money are probably investing it elsewhere, preparing islands for themselves to escape to. And then their followers, who are not very many, will be experiencing rapture. They won't be here.
</clip>

But there are some words of hope at the very end, including praise for the internet-- Read the whole thing at
http://citypages.com/databank/26/1268/article13085.asp


:yourock:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
stellanoir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Apr-09-05 11:56 PM
Response to Original message
1. Gore Vidal
Edited on Sat Apr-09-05 11:58 PM by stellanoir
is one of the only patriots left.

Thanks for posting. Is hugely important.

Let's see if anyone notices. . .?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pooka Fey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 12:14 AM
Response to Original message
2. Great Essay. Kicked and Nominated.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Dancing_Dave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 12:40 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. Thanks!
Now if only I could find video of those old TV debates between Gore Vidal and William Buckley that my grandfather loved...:)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Helga Scow Stern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 01:09 AM
Response to Original message
4. I nominated this when it came out, and I will again now...
it's too good.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
FreedomAngel82 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 01:38 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. Here's a Kick
I like how he said plain and simple how he doesn't blame the public since they manipulate and how Ohio was stolen. I definietly believe that.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 02:25 AM
Response to Original message
6. kick
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Nothing Without Hope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 02:57 AM
Response to Original message
7. Yes, the internet is a chief cause for hope, and we must protect it.
This is great - Recommended.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Alpharetta Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 07:12 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. I'm not worried about protecting it

The U.S. won't be able to control the internet. They might someday try to restrict our access to it, like the Chinese do now. But U.S. is so dependent internet-based business processes there will always be holes.

At worst, Independent media may be forced to be based offshore. Like the gambling sites.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tommcintyre Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 09:07 PM
Response to Reply #7
14. The Internet is the thread by which our democracy now hangs.
If all this had happened just 10 years ago, I believe our gooses would be cooked! Fortunately, the Internet is so decentralized, they can't control it. And since they can't eliminate it either (since big business now depend on It too; I believe it's only a matter of time before their collective gooses will be cooked!

:patriot: :woohoo: :patriot:

We must not let the sacrifices of those who fought before us (for Democracy and Freedom) be in vain. The torch has been passed to us, and we MUST NOT let the light go out!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
understandinglife Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 03:18 PM
Response to Original message
9. Mr. Vidal understands the extraordinary costs of complacency. (nt)
www.missionnotaccomplished.us (a day to reflect on the tragic costs to a democracy when the bulk of its citizens are uninformed spectators)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
enid602 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 03:29 PM
Response to Original message
10. "Iraq will end with our defeat."
That, my friends is scary.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
understandinglife Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 08:50 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. America was 'defeated' the day the illegal war and occupation, BEGAN.
Edited on Sun Apr-10-05 08:51 PM by understandinglife
Our Constitution was tarnished, or moral credibility trashed, our common decency shredded, our 'value of life' shown to be a lie, the day we illegally attacked, occupied, began killing and torturing....we are ALREADY defeated.

The issue is when will we stop the killing, the torturing, the illegal occupation.

That is the ONLY question.


www.missionnotaccomplished.us (a day to reflect on what it means to be THE rogue, ruthless super_power)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
meganmonkey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 07:55 PM
Response to Original message
11. Wow! What an incredible interview!
I love this man. He has such an incredible grasp of history, he puts things in such available language. Great perspective. I'm in awe, as usual.

Of course my favorite sentence in the interview is only three words long:
"OHIO WAS STOLEN."

Flat-out. That's the truth.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
concord Donating Member (296 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-10-05 08:43 PM
Response to Original message
12. This is a great interview
I read it when it came out and sent it off to my circle. Vidal helped me to understand the big picture when I was first getting a grasp of the political scene.

recommended.

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Wed May 08th 2024, 04:59 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Election Reform Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC