Say Cheese By: Mark W Adams

Sometimes I sit in awe of the breathtaking turns our theoretical republic has taken under the Bush regime. I recognize that conditioned responses may contribute to the perception that a sinister oligarchy is promoting a fascist ideology through Stalinistic tactics aimed at domination of the world for a commercial imperium secured through the U.S. military in coordination with the Republican Party Apparachik. They've screwed with us from the day FloriDUH went from red to blue and consistently ever since. It is indeed possible that we look for the evidence that confirms our preconceived notions.

Nyahhh. I'm not paranoid. This is the most outrageous U.S. Presidency of all time.

It's almost too much. I'm just a guy writing into the ether. One person can't make all that much of a difference, can he? The power at the disposal of the Federal Government cannot be thwarted simply by standing up to it, can it?

Sounding paranoid may simply be the result of being too well read. (Scanning CorrenteWire will do that.) But I'm not the only one afflicted with Bush Derangement Syndrome.

I've learned these past few years that just because some people are paranoid doesn't mean the Bush administration isn't capable of almost anything.
-- A. Sullivan

Of course, my paranoia is only heightened when there are no calls to throw the editors of the Wall Fox Street Journal under a tank for "treasonously" revealing the fact that our surveillance satellite fleet is being retasked by Homeland Security to spy on what my neighbor is growing behind his garage instead of watching Russian Strategic Bombers flying off to their fail-safe positions.

Sorry, a bunch of nutballs in the Iraqi desert or the Himalayan foothills don't scare me, no matter how many plane tickets they buy. Backfire bombers filled with nukes? Now that can really hurt us, permanently -- not just piss us off enough to overreact and expose our foolishness and vulnerabilities. So I just don't understand why renewal of the Dr. Strangelove Kabuki dance gets more media attention in the financial and foreign press than the coverage in the US political press of John Edwards' hair-cut or Hillary's blouses being too low-cut.

As the planet's lone superpower, spending more on war-making power than the rest of the world combined, the "existential struggle" is not with people who don't even have an air force or navy to speak of, but really -- it's with ourselves.

Realistically, I always figured that they had stuff up there way beyond Google Maps, toys that could read your underwear label through the roof of your Prius. So are they really, "laying the bricks one at a time for a police state," or just watching "24" and taking notes? Seriously folks, wasn't a joke they were using U2 spy planes to monitor us when they had all that awesome hardware in low earth orbit?

I'm sure there is a benign explanation that will be forthcoming once Karl Rove finishes his "If I Did It" tour and issues talking points which will satisfy inquiring minds. These are the questions right now:

• Will the public have an opportunity to comment on the development of appropriate guidelines for domestic use of spy satellites?
• What assessments of the legality of the new surveillance program have been performed?
• How does the Department plan to ensure that Americans' privacy and civil rights are protected once this new surveillance program becomes operational?

Honestly? Am I really troubled because increased domestic monitoring is yet one more indication of a security state that scoffs at your puny right to bear arms since their ability control your movement is near absolute anyway, your information cleansed, your communications monitored, finances tracked, and associations noted by the government almost as efficiently as your credit card company does? Or is it because the guy in charge of all this lacks common decency?

Maybe I would cut the Administration some slack if Bush and his enablers didn't suck so damn much. I would hope so. Even with a decent human being as president -- one who respected the fundamental nature of democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution, I would hope I would still feel as strongly about civil liberties, police state actions, freedom of expression and the privilege of turning right on red WITHOUT coming to a full and complete stop at 2 am when there's nobody coming.

But every day, day after day something comes down the wire reinforcing my conviction that we have allowed the most arrogant prick to hold the precious reigns of power so many real patriots have sacrificed for -- and in exchange for this sacred trust he treats us like crap.

"I am the commander, see?" I do not need to explain why I say things. — That's the interesting thing about being the President. — Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." (Bush at War, 11/02)

F. You. Too. Mr. President.

That guy in Toledo, driving the gray minivan flipping the bird at your satellite cameras -- that's me. That's my message to you and yours. Maybe someone could explain to you why I think that's the very least you deserve.