This whole thing is about to make me batshit crazy.

[Don Claybrook]

We all saw what we saw last week. We saw journalists doing their jobs for the first time ever. We saw the Bush administration being either the most incompetent buffoons ever to walk upright, or we saw them allowing people to die alone and in agony.

We saw the worst of the worst of this godawful administration, and we all know that, for just a few days, EVERYONE in the US saw the real face of the Bush administration. They saw what we see everyday because we dig deep and get news from all over.

The Bush team was cooked. They were done. And now---the truth isn't the truth anymore. The truth has changed. The GOP and all of their media operatives have used shit magic. They always use shit magic, and it has always worked for them. I knew they'd be using it again for this, and so did you. It did take about 20 seconds to adjust to the fact that these people are evil enough to lie about their culpability in thousands of deaths, deaths just hours old. But I adjusted, and I see very clearly now.

The Republicans in Congress are now complicit in mass murder. The right wing media idiots are now complicit in mass murder. And all of these people know full-well what they're doing. For a time, I thought some of the Republicans in Congress had finally been disgusted enough to speak out. It turns out I'm wrong about that. It turns out that GOP Congresspeople just wanted the bleeding to stop; they didn't want to be associated with such a loser.

And now we have two sets of truth where only one existed before, in the real world. We have noblamegame/nofingerpointing/plentyofblametogoaround. And ALL of them are saying it. And we have Joe Lieberman wanting an investigation, but not a real one. No, predictably, Joe wants an investigation that doesn't point fingers. Joe, please kill yourself. No, really.

Not to worry. There are other investigations in the works. Bush is going to investigate himself. I can't even come up with bitter humor to address that issue. I'll just repeat it once more for effect: Bush is going to investigate himself.

And Frist and Hastert will have a bi-partisan (Latin for "STFU, Democrats") investigation. That's really promising.

And the message has gotten out to the right wing faithful masses. There are hundreds of stories here about arguments with family, coworkers, and so on. I had one of these today with a coworker. I'll skip the details, just know it was vile and disgusting.

We had the white-hot truth on our side, and it was going to consume all of the thugs and liars in its path. And I knew better the whole time, I knew it. But I still believed that finally, the truth would air. And I didn't. I'll stop contradicting myself, as I am sure you get the idea.

Watching all of this unfold, especially since last night's little congressional pow-wow with DeLay and the boys, has been very depressing.

Now it's not just Iraqi civilians we're slaughtering. It's our own. And far, far too many people just don't care. Have you seen people at work and in other places who really don't want to bother talking about all of this stuff? It doesn't affect them, and they're busy right now. Let that hit you over and over for awhile. It's astounding, and I believe that it signifies that the death knell has already sounded for us, this nation.

We will end up having this worthless blue ribbon bicameral commission. All Republicans will spend their floor time blaming Nagin and Blanco, praising Bush and Barbour and whoever the Alabama inbreeder is. The Democrats will blast GWB. We'll all cheer when they occasionally hit on a nugget of truth. No doubt Mike Brown will be fired or reassigned or given a medal, if he's not already gone by that time. Then they'll all talk about how to avoid this in the future. And that will be the final whimper of the worst failure of government our nation has ever suffered. That's it. Done.

I started this thread saying I feel like I'm going batshit crazy. And I do. My fists are balled in frustration all the time, becuase it was right there in front of us, massive crimes on display for all of the world (and all of the red states) to see. And now, that truth has been relegated to the whacko-liberal corner, and it will vie against the Republican version of truth, in which the President remains blameless. It has always been thus.

So what will I do about going batshit crazy? I'll ride my bike. I'll play more piano. I'll go on inner spiritual journeys. I'll be OK. I know how to talk myself down from the ledge.

But I'm not the only one feeling as frustrated as can be, I know this. Something has to give, somewhere. This frustration will have to be accounted for, Newton's 2nd Law and all that. I have dark forebodings about the future of this country.

We are at the ugly tail-end of a smaller-scale holocaust. And it's all under control now; it's all being taken care of by the people who always fix these sorts of things.

God help us all.



(edited for clarity)

[displacedtexan]

1. Thanks!

So well stated!

Kicked and recommended.

[MidnightWind]

2. I was afraid that this would happen.

I've seen this administration slide out of things that would have brought any other administration down. I don't know how they do it but they do. And it just makes me crazy, depressed, and angry. I don't know how we will ever demand and get accountability from these bastards. I really don't.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Don, thanks so well for putting into words what I've felt since the

disaster struck, but especially yesterday and today. My wife and I are depressed, I called in sick to work because I have no energy - watching this is like watching a horrific accident in slow motion over and over and over again. I wish I had answers for you, me and the rest of us here who watch incredulously as this most corrupt bunch of criminals change the story right in front of the worlds' eyes. This time is far worse, because the dead are our own, and worse than that, many are those most in need. And all this from a country that claims to be prediminantly Christian - problem is, it is Christianity in name only.

Craig

[CrispyQ]

11. "Christianity in name only" -- spot on, Craig!

I was raised & I believe most of us were, that those with the most must make the most sacrifice. That is the only honorable way to conduct ourselves.

These thugs refuse to make any sacrifice, thinking they are morally superior over the less fortunate because of their wealth. They are worse, even than you can imagine, because they not only refuse to sacrifice, but they also prey on the less fortunate.

They are vampires, bloodsuckers. They drain the life & goodness out of everything they touch.

[Imagevision]

40. Don, what will you do when coverage begins to fall off as more bodies

are found and like Iraq, only "embedded" reporters will be keeping us informed of the news of the day after it's filtered/censored thru Brown and Jerkoff's office's first. Playing the piano is always good...!

[teach1st]

4. One of the most aggravating parts...

...is that there are published statements on the FEMA, DHS, and White House sites that show that the right wing spin is shit.

America saw it with its own eyes.

But they apparently can convince some of us that we dreamed it all.

[CrispyQ]

5. I'm going batshit crazy too!

I am stunned at just how fucking stupid the sheeple really are, how easy it is to manipulate them, their refusal to think for themselves or analyze something independently of what they are spoon fed.

Without a free press we are history. That the major news networks are all whores for the repuke party is the most critical issue facing our country today.

The loss of our free press to government & corporate powers will bring an end to our democratic society. The United States of America is toast.


Kicked & nominated!!

[montanacowboy]

6. We are all feeling so frustrated, impotent

our country is LOST, gone, pfft

If the Democrats in congress do not walk out, just walk out and refuse to engage in this criminal conspiracy any longer, then there is nothing more for us - it's over folks

Either the people take to the streets or our representatives stand down - or we are finished

[MelissaB]

22. I keep thinking that if these people aren't exposed for what they are

after this, there is no hope. I can't keep fighting for something that can't be won. If people don't wake up now, will they ever? If our elected officials don't speak up now and ACT now...will they ever?

[kainah]

24. so true, but MelissaB, don't forget

that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

That's a paraphrase and, sorry, I don't remember to whom it should be properly credited, but it's so absolutely true.

One thought, however. This has seared our souls and the souls of nearly everyone in the nation. It may take a while for the full extent of that impact to be seen. They may have won yet again but, if we become defeated, there is no doubt that they will win.

Take it to the streets, folks. It's our only option now. We have to put our bodies out there visibly and say WE RESIST.

[MelissaB]

31. You are right.

I know you are. I'm emotionally drained, and it may take a while to recover. I just keep wondering how much more they can possibly get away with.

[Imagevision]

41. Sept. 24th..big day in Washington...!

http://downingstreetmemo.com/

[flakey_foont]

7. Great Post!

Thanks

[cappy]

8. You have put into words

exactly how I feel. So frustrated I just want to scream. I almost can't bear to watch or listen to the news anymore.

[ronnykmarshall]

9. I'm way ahead of ya!

[Don Claybrook]

10. Thanks, all. I was secretly hoping that someone would mention

the big mitigating factor that I had forgotten: but Don, you didn't take Secret Formula X into account, and that's what's going to let the truth air and send these bastards straight to hell.

There's no magic fix. And I can't run to my mom and make it all better (yeah, Bush and hag mom joke goes here, but I can't do it right now).

There's no innocence left, except in the eyes of my 5-year old daughter. But that alone is worth everything I have.

[Totally Committed]

12. Great rant!

I hope you feel better for having written it...

Anyone with a heart and mind is going crazy over this. It is maddening.

TC

[Gloria]

13. I've moved beyond batshit crazy to feeling dead inside....

Bushco has killed me, inside....and has killed so many for real in NO.

[Don Claybrook]

15. OK, Gloria. But where do you go from here?

You feel dead inside and no one can blame you for that. But odds are that you and I will never get any satisfaction out of this, we'll never see justice done. (and of course, we pale in comparison to the actual victims of this). So where do you go from here? What do you do? How will you gain some measure of happiness or contentedness in the midst of a bad and corrupt world?

I think for me, the answer is internal, and it's about finding beauty in the middle of chaos, and it's about having dignity no matter what happens. And it's about living life like you're living, not like you're existing. But none of this changes the external world.

And so it goes in circles.

[Pirate Smile]

14. Dems will have to hold their own forums and try to get facts out that

way. There are certainly enough stories with witnesses that they could do that.

This entire thing is un.friggin.believable.

What is Rove blackmailing the media with? What is he doing to them?

[Usrename]

16. This whole mess is batshit crazy

Hang in there - THE WORLD IS WATCHING

[Cronus Protagonist]

17. Thanks for that great rant

It saddens me that it's true, though.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[specimenfred1984]

18. I Think All These Things Are Adding Up

so we'll see in the 2006 elections.

If not, then I'll think our country will be lost. Some massive disease like SARS will hit us and we'll still be totally unprepared.

We're pretty much a fascist country already. At this point, disasters are the only thing left that have a chance of waking up the braindead.

[mirandapriestly]

19. They're getting away with another one

The corporate media are going to end up helping them, since they have the same masters. Every time I watch another *Co atrocity unfold I think there is no way they can get away with this. Then I watch them play some trick, which usually involves the blaming of someone else and everyone goes along with it. Those who see through it are called "kooks" and "conspiracy theorists". I thought this would be different , but no. The criminals get to investigate their own crime, how did this happen to the U.S.?

[shaniqua6392]

20. I almost wish I could be a freeper.....

it looks so much easier. Being a caring and compassionate progressive christian is killing me. So much conflict and anger over the things they do while saying they are christians is eating me alive. I do not even want to leave the house anymore. I just keep asking God to help us all and I wish He would hurry up about it. I know in my heart that things will come out about them eventually. I also know it will be sweet when that happens. It is just hard to hang on to the faith. Thank you for your post. At least we all have each other.

[Talismom]

21. Thank you! I was so comforted seeing your subjec t heading!

It's making me crazy to walk around in this "normal" day-to-day life knowing that my govt. is, at best, full of criminally negligent murderers... and the word holocaust is on my mind constantly these days. You are not alone!

[nonconformist]

23. I feel you dude. I'm freaking out here.

I feel like I'm on the verge of a stroke.

[glitch]

25. Everytime they pull these damage control ops they lose more people.

It's hard to be patient when people are SUFFERING AND DYING, I know, but buck up buckaroo, it takes some people longer, but more and more people are finally getting there.
Bush supporters are having to scamble to cover their decisions to support him. Even they know their arguments are weak. Nobody likes to look weak, especially these people. Bush looks like an incompetent loser and that is one thing they don't want to be associated with.

When all you've got is cover, you're gonna resent the one blowing it.

[montana500]

26. they do it because....

they own the media! Until you get democrats owning huge radio conglomerates and cable news channels, it will never change.

[Donailin]

27. The first thing i read this evening was over at KOS:

>>http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/7/171729/0037

"Media already going wobbly on Katrina"

In the past day, I've twice expressed concern that we may not be able to rely on the media to do its job in terms of reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (see here and here). Today, Larry Johnson at TPM Cafe provides a chilling behind-the-scenes story that confirms my fears:


While watching the MSNBC program, CONNECTED, COAST TO COAST with Ron Reagan, a man from the Evergreen Foundation was on air spinning the myth that the President had to "beg" the Governor of Louisiana to take action. Having been on this show several times I called one of the bookers, Susan Durrwatcher, to alert her to the fact that this man was misrepresenting what happened. I offered Susan the following objective, documented facts (see timeline below). Susan thanked me for my "opinion" and said "we just have a different perspective". Stunned, I asked her by what standard of journalism that an objective fact was mere opinion? I asked her to simply look at the documents and correct the record. She declined. I asked her to remove me from the MSNBC list of contacts. I'm sure MSNBC won't miss me and I am certain I will have a happy life without having to subject myself to their unprofessional approach to journalism. (Emphasis added.)

Issues of fact are considered "opinion" by the mainstream media - that's both absurd and sickening. This is the kind of posture which allows Newsweek and the Washington Post to swallow double super-secret background spin instead of correctly reporting uncontroverted facts.

Just remember that for every Keith Olberman, there are countless Susan Durrwatchers actually pulling the strings in the background. Kudos, though, to Larry Johnson for standing up to outrageous journalistic relativism.

And my heart sank. I only listened to air america all day long with interjections of CNN headline news and switching every now and then to C-span. I've done given up on NPR. The heartening, yet ominous thing I heard todsy was one word from one woman: "dangerous" <---the word used to describe Bush by Nacy Pelosi.

"What mistakes did He (Brown) make?" Bush said to Pelosi in response to her request that he fire Brown.

This is without doubt the most frightening exchange of words between my party and the president that I have heard in five years.

This is beyond orwellian. And it is nothing short of diabolical. The father of all lies is the devil. This whole party lies about EVERYTHING. I believe with every cell in my body now that these people will stop at NOTHING. But. . .

neither will we. We are going to have our revolution, folks. These are the birth pangs of it, when the truth is distored before our very eyes (as opposed to us guessing what memo's said, or what reporter knew the source, or what the intelligence may or may not have said) and we know that either we are crazy, or they are.

Crazy people are running our country. And they don't even hide that fact.

We always knew they played hardball, but never in a million years did we really believe they would play hardball with us while the cameras were rolling. They are trying to tell the whole country that everything we just saw last week was an illusion. That an act of nature was the cause of all the death on NOLA, that the people are the better for it and that LA will be rebuilt. NO may be rebuilt, but it will not be given back to the people that inhabited it, at least not the poor ones, they will gentrify it. Mark my words.

They will not relinquish one bit of power, not one, not ever -- if they can help it. To do so would mean exposure. Everything would come out and we would be horrified.

I predict this is going to get a whole lot worse. We are going to see what we are all made of. I think most of us will not want to get our hands dirty. Protest? Sure if it's close, but civil disobedience? not on your life, I have kids to think of. But therein lies the rub. We have the kids to think of. If we don't fight, what kind of future will our kids have? How much worse can it get? Look at last week and how the media is already giving a pass to the administration that has caused more human suffering on our own soil than any in recent history. and ask yourself how much worse can it get? Could any one here have said last year that there is one thing Bush could never get away with? I did; in my fantasy, I imagined he killed people in cold blood and was caught on tape.

We have the tape. He is still in control of the country. And the media.

And for all those who never believed in "that Y2K crap"? It did occur in the Novemember of 2000. Bush is the Y2K.

[Stand and Fight]

48. You should post this as its own thread.

Your words ring absolutely and frighteningly true.

[Twist_U_Up]

28. and via HAVA + Diebold

it just doesn`t matter how many people are pissed

[VOX]

29. And the PNAC stuff -- **all** online and available to anyone...

The outline of "Pax Americana" is all there in black and white, as is the cabal of signatories, as is the stated neocon need for big military spending that might resisted by the public **unless** there was a “catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.” For God's sake! It's all right there!

The fact that this has never really been delved into by any mainstream media speaks volumes about the shape of things today.

[BamaBecky]

30. We are all going bat-shit crazy over all of this....all of us...n/t

[melody]

32. Awareness is a process

Those of us who are old enough to remember the Viet Nam war protests (and I barely am) will remember how the awareness took awhile to sink in - despite the protests, never mind the battle scene footage. Finally, it hit critical mass.

We've just started this journey. Dubya has nowhere to go but down. MOST people have their eyes open now -- I see it even in my right-wing neighbors.

When the real numbers come out of New Orleans - and I suspect it's going to be closer to half a million than we know - then I think REAL outrage will kick in. Right now, a lot of people (even the ones helping, as we all are) are staggering around, stunned.

[Skittles]

34. DECENT people are staggering around, stunned

freeper assholes and other conservatives are staggering around trying to defend yet another abysmal performance from their piece of CRAP "president"

[melody]

35. they are sociopaths and/or truly stupid

Thankfully (and somewhat magically), they are *still* the minority.

[Skittles]

37. TRAITORS who put the GOP above AMERICA

THAT is what they are

[melody]

38. the two things tend to go together n/t

[IMSA]

45. Big difference with Vietnam

The nightly news started every night showing the war. The blood, the guts, the injured, and the body counts. The administration knows what it's doing banning the media from NO. No pictures of dead bodies and the public soon forgets the horror.

IMSA

[bonzotex]

33. remember when DU posters said, don't attack!, not now....

Just wait, let Bush hang himself, don't be partisan, don't be shrill, don't do hippie shit, don't curse...whatever.

The good smart people here and progressives nation-wide forget that the repukes are not like us. They don't care. They fight dirty. They are not nice, logical or reasonable. They will never accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong. They absolutely believe they will never be held accountable for anything.

More people will die that didn't have to.

This is a knife fight with maniacs. We have to fight the Republicans on every issue, immediately, loudly and never give up. we have to attack individuals destroy their credibility: shame them. Don't give them a moment's peace.

[baby_mouse]

36. CORRECT. NT

[stickdog]

39. So I finally met up with a couple brain-dead mofos who tried

float some fascist Rovian blame-the-victims-and-the-backward-local-officials Satanic social Darwinist bullshit.

And I talked to a couple more folks who watch only Fox News and just don't seem to understand what's going on.

So right now I'd divide Republican voters into four groups:

1) Republicans with brains who are disgusted with BushCo

2) Repukes who like to stay ignorant enough so they can continue acting as if the US tax "burden" on the rich is the single defining issue of the 21st century

3) Repukes who argue for BushCo like fanatical college alumni boosters arguing to reinstate the star fullback who just plea bargained down from aggravated rape to sexual assault

4) Satanic social Darwinist mouth-breathers like GWB himself.

[AuntiBush]

42. No, Don. You're Certainly Not the Only One Totally Frustrated.

Thank you for your post. It just jolted my memory of an old adage I heard as a teen. The best revenge is to "live good," and "never, ever let the MF'ers get ya down!"

Thank you and I'll double that "And, May God Help Us ALL!"

[Generator]

43. Well jeez

I sometimes come to DU just cause you guys are my peeps. You are honest, real emotion raw and BAT SHIT CRAZY and that's okay. You make it okay to not be alone. I don't know what else there is. You are not alone! and all these crazy thoughts, overwhelming realizations are what keep us HUMAN and I am not ashamed to be just like you. Lost, alone, despairing and all the rest. Because you know your soul is what will get you through. Honestly, the TRUTH, no matter how raw, nasty or despairing helps me. Remember that. It's the lies that kill yah.

God help us all is EXACTLY the refrain that's been going through my head for days. You are not alone.

[TankLV]

44. I know that some people refuse to see how much like the NAZI's these

repukes are, but how can they be so blind.

Their main cry is "but how can you compare the holocost, in which millions died, to repukes?"

My plaintive retort is just this: We are now approaching MANY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DEATHS.

Those numbers are certainly begining to mount at an ever quickening rate lately!

[CJCRANE]

46. The rest of the world knows what's going on

plus an equivalent to Cindy Sheehan may emerge to represent the victims of Katrina, just like she did for Iraq.

After 9/11, Iraq, Katrina...the sheer weight of numbers of victims of neocon incompetence has got to have an effect eventually.

[OneGrassRoot]

47. too many people just don't care............

yep, everything you say here obviously resonates with many of us here. Batshit crazy leading to feeling dead inside, amazed the truth being revealed last week has begun to be covered once again.

I read another subject line here saying I wish I could think like a freeper or something like that. I even had that thought last night....how do I completely change my way of thinking, of feeling, of existing....because I honestly don't know how to exist in a society where such crimes REVEALED TO THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, THE ENTIRE WORLD, are allowed to go unpunished and indeed are either ignored or praised in some vile way.

I don't know how to do this.

Thank you for sharing......sums it up nicely, though it's all so damn sad

[Stand and Fight]

49. America is a nation that glories in dissipation...

I'm a grown man. A relatively young man of 27, but I am so disgusting with this whole country. Last night I broke down. I locked myself in my darkened room and I cried and cried and cried. This whole situation is so ugly, so heartbreaking, because it seems most people really don't care. They go on with their lives with little or no thought of the people suffering in the Gulf region. Living in red Oklahoma, I'm daily subjected to the Republican ultra-right mindset. At my job they have taken to referring to anyone who is even perceived to complain as a "New Orleans whiner." I've actually heard people say that there was nothing that could be done, and the people who died have only themselves to blame. It's all so vile and ugly!

I do feel like I'm going mad -- bat-shit crazy. Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can hold on because it is getting really bad. For the past two years DU has played a MAJOR role in helping me keep it together -- even after the "election" of 2004 -- but even this sanctuary is becoming worn down against the constant re-writing of not only history, but the truth before our very eyes. I've always had a strong empathy for others, and maybe that's why this situation is even more overwhelming, because I feel the suffering and heartache of the victims of the government -- NOT Katrina! -- and I feel the vile blackness and callousness of the assholes who blame them... My own sentiments are repulsed by the apologist who excuse George Bush, and those who were complacent in this criminal act. Nancy Pelosi is absolutely right. He is dangerous. I only wish it had not taken her so long to say it...

Good God, help us! America has not only lost its way, she has lost her very heart and soul. An orgy of moral decay has taken hold.