Let's Declare a Global War on Bullshit 1

Okay, let me see if I have this straight. George W. Bush admits that he has ordered wiretaps of private citizens by the National Security Agency (NSA) even though such wiretaps are illegal without a warrant from a judge. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/politics/18bush.html?hp&ex=1134882000&en=5b0fa310edb6186f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Bush claims that he had to do it, legal or not, because this eavesdropping on thousands of Americans is "a vital tool in our war against the terrorists."

Bush also insists that Congress must re-authorize some of the most troubling provisions of the so-called Patriot Act, that expand the executive branch's authority to eavesdrop on citizens who aren't accused of anything, limit their rights to know they have been eavesdropped upon, and otherwise curtail their civil liberties -- even if no evidence exists that they are engaged in any terrorist or criminal activities. Why? Bush claims: "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment."

Well, why do we need such a law when, no matter how far the law goes in erasing our civil liberties, Bush has proven he will ignore the law go farther still? Why have any laws when George W. Bush sees himself as more of a monarch than a president, able to ignore the legislative and judicial branches of government and do whatever he damned well wants?

This is a president who took us into war on the basis of a lie. He now claims it was all the fault of bad intelligence but, if I could deduce that the WMD claims were lies, and I didn't have access to any intelligence, how did the bad intel fool Bush?

This is a president who fought for the right to torture prisoners of war (who he refuses to call POWs, precisely so he can circumvent the Geneva Conventions against torture and other ill treatment).

When are we going to stop ducking under our beds every time the president and his men yell "terrorist" and instead, assess the situation as it really is?

We're not in a war against terrorism. You can't wage war against an improper noun. Yes, there are terrorists out there but they use the tactics they use precisely because they don't have the tools to wage a more effective war.

But for those who really think that we can fight a war against an idea or an activity instead of a country, maybe the first war we should wage against improper nouns is the global war against bullshit.

Because that, more than anything, is what endangers the people of the United States and the world. As long as people believe the bullshit spread by this administration -- and act as if it makes sense -- everyone is in danger. Everyone. Cut the bullshit. Stop listening to the bullshit. Stop believing the bullshit. Stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated by the bullshit. And we will immediately be safer, stronger and more free.