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| madhattared |
| quote: |
Impeaching Bush Is 'Cause Worth Fighting for,' Actor Says
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
February 17, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Richard Dreyfuss, the actor who starred in movies ranging from "Jaws" to "Mr. Holland's Opus," told an audience in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that "there are causes worth fighting for," and one of those is the impeachment of President George W. Bush.
"There are causes worth fighting for even if you know that you will lose," Dreyfuss said during a speech at the National Press Club. "Unless you are willing to accept torture as part of a normal American political lexicon, unless you are willing to accept that leaving the Geneva Convention is fine and dandy, if you accept the expansion of wiretapping as business as usual, the only way to express this now is to embrace the difficult and perhaps embarrassing process of impeachment." See Video
Noting that the process was established by the country's "founders, who we revere to check executive abuse with congressional balance," Dreyfuss said impeachment "is a statement that we refuse to endorse bad behavior." See Video
"If we refuse to debate the appropriateness of the process of impeachment, we endorse that behavior, and we approve the enlargement of executive power," regardless of whoever may occupy the White House in the future, he said.
"And don't kid yourselves: No one ever gives up power, ever," Dreyfuss added.
"Now, it is not your job as the press to impeach George Bush," the actor stated. However, people in the media should "maintain the integrity of that debate" by not dismissing the topic out of hand as partisan or unpatriotic.
During his address on the subject of Hollywood's view of contemporary news media, Dreyfuss said he is not a cynic or a liberal, but is instead a "'libo-conservo-middle-of-the-roado,' and I have been for many years."
"I'm deeply in love with my country," he added. "As a matter of fact, I'm deeply in love with the country that I was taught about in school, the land of the free and the home of the brave."
Nevertheless, Dreyfuss charged that "people can sometimes be pretty thoughtless, pretty terrified and do some pretty impressive damage" when they are wrong or "are the victims of political hypnosis."
In the past, "time and distance played an amazing part in keeping the human race from killing itself," the actor noted. The need for revenge after an attack "inevitably weakened because it took a lot of time to get men into ships and move them to the right battlefield. Only those truly staunch of heart and truly zealous could keep up that hatred.
"But now, people in Kansas see the [Twin] Towers fall at the exact instant as people in Nigeria or Cairo," he said. "Instantaneous knowledge leads to instantaneous reaction, which creates a demand for an instantaneous, reflexive response."
Dreyfuss blamed part of that reaction on television newscasters, who "fill the air with the same terrible clips, the same blaring intro music, the same screaming fonts, and then the same clips again and the same screaming fonts again and again to fill up these news cycles."
"Television did this. Television created the sound bite and then shrunk it," the actor said. "Television replaced words with images so that people make extraordinary decisions based not on prose or any attempt at analysis," but on pictures instead. See Video
The actor saved his harshest tone for those who accuse critics of the government and its officials of having a more serious motive.
"Watch me lose my sense of humor if people accuse me of treason," Dreyfuss said before mocking two of the Fox News Channel's most popular hosts. "'That's not very O'Reilly of you, Mister Smarty-Pants,' or 'What would Sean Hannity have to say about that, Mister Too-Complex-for-Your-Own-Good?'" See Video
However, "none of this happened because of any conspiracy," he stated. "This happened because we have not paid attention to the new rules of the electronic media."
To restore true American values, the actor called for children to be taught "the tools of debate and dissent," as well as a return to the principle of civility, which he called "the oxygen that democracies require else they become poisoned and die, as this democracy will."
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http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics...L20060217a.html
did anyone see this? they've been playing it on cspan for a couple days now |
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| Trancer-X |
Come on, man! You should know by now that the majority of people (let alone the NYTA's) aren't the least bit interested in politics.
To get the message across here, you'd have to publish it under the guise of a sports column - like this guy did:
| quote: | Telfair Incident Convicts National Security Policy
By Bill Ingram
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Feb 22, 2006, 10:23
We’ve all been through it. Security in airports has ventured well beyond paranoia and has moved on to the ridiculous. I started wearing my favorite Nike sports sandals to avoid the hassle of taking off shoes and socks to get through security, but now they even make me take those off to make sure I’m not hiding some kind of paper-thin M-16 under my foot. I’m sure you’ve all been through the random body cavity search that comes along with being the 1,000th person through the line, as well. With all of that I can’t help but wonder how Portland Trailblazers guard Sebastian Telfair got through security and three different airports before authorities in Boston caught on to the fact that he had a handgun.
In case you missed it, Telfair was caught with a gun that he claimed was his girlfriend’s – and indeed he had her purse with him, as well – at the Boston airport. In this day and age it probably doesn’t surprise anyone that a professional athlete has something like that on his person. I hardly even blinked at the news. It wasn’t until our own Jason Fleming pointed out to me that the Blazers had already been through Denver, Indianapolis, and of course Portland before anyone found the gun in his carry-on.
Our esteemed president is asking for and getting new legislation every day that will permit the federal government to rob us of more and more of our privacy and freedom. They can now monitor cell phone calls, e-mail, internet use, and use high-powered satellites to find out what we’re having for breakfast. Bush even allowed oil companies to gouge Americans (to the tune of $9.9 billion in PROFITS for Exxon alone last quarter) so that we could feel like our gasoline is terrorist-free. In the wake of all these upgrades in “security” it boggles the mind that someone could get a handgun through four airports before getting caught.
That’s kids’ stuff compared to the latest news, however. CNN is reporting that President George W. Bush is in the process of selling major seaports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia to a company that is owned and operated by the government of the United Arab Emirates. You may recall that the UAE trained, housed, and supported those who staged the attack on the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Call me crazy, but turning over control of so many of America’s most important seaports to the very folks who we are supposedly raising national security to protect against doesn’t seem like a particularly bright idea – even if they are willing to shell out close to $7 billion for the transaction.
You know it’s bad when Bill Frist, who is one of the croniest of Bush’s cronies, comes out saying he will attempt to block or delay the sale until further investigation can be done into the background of this UAE company. Republicans are jumping off the Bush bandwagon like rats from a sinking ship as the President makes move after move that will certainly make it difficult for any Republicans associated with him to even make a serious run at the Presidency in 2008. Given Frist’s sordid past it seems likely that his move to block Bush is more an example of political positioning than some sudden sense of doing what’s right for the country. Nonetheless, it speaks volumes about how Bush’s own people feel about this latest move.
It doesn’t matter much. As has always been the case Bush cares little for what others think about his agenda. He’s going to do what he wants to do and screw anyone who disagrees with him. When Congress started working on legislation to block the sale of our seaports Bush immediately announced that he would veto any such legislation. I think he said something like “Bring ‘em on,” but that’s not an exact quote. He knows what he’s doing is not in our best interest and he doesn’t care.
What does it take to get an impeachment in these here parts?
Bush lies, cheats and steals, robs us of the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, allows shameful profiteering on the part of the oil industry, uses national crises to his financial advantage, horribly mismanages domestic policy regarding critical environmental developments and has every other country in the world ready to attack us as a preemptive strike against terrorism – but as long as he doesn’t have a quickie with a White House intern he’s above reproach?
One NBA player toting a purse and a handgun can make a complete mockery of Bush’s supreme national security. Easy enough to laugh off. What we can’t laugh off is the fact that Bush is selling off major American seaports to the very people who we are supposedly guarding against. Either Bush is the most incompetent President this country has ever seen or he is in league with those who would attack our native soil. In either case, it’s time to call the man on the carpet for his many offenses against our great nation. It’s time to impeach and remove Bush before he can do any more damage.
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Side note:
One reader wrote to ask me if I shouldn't differentiate between hoops and politics. This is a "hoops site," after all, and I should stick to that. I couldn't disagree more. Here's my response:
If only we could seperate our lives into such categories as "hoops" or "politics." One necessarily affects the other. Many of the people who should be paying attention to politics are often too busy paying attention to entertainment. That's how people who do not have the best interest of our country at heart get into office. Voters aren't paying attention.
So here it is. One writer doing what he can do to get the worst offenders to pay attention to more important issues. Take it as you will, but I'm not willing to criticize privately when I fail to do so publicly. That's called hypocrisy - and too many Americans are guilty of that.
Thanks for reading!
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_16244.shtml |
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| madhattared |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trancer-X
Come on, man! You should know by now that the majority of people (let alone the NYTA's) aren't the least bit interested in politics.
To get the message across here, you'd have to publish it under the guise of a sports column - like this guy did: |
its not just about politics. its about being american. but yeah clever "sports." and thats exactly what he was saying. the press has become an entertainment industry, not a industry of truth and indepth reporting but an industry of 2 second clips and dramatic stories that don't give much insight to exactly what is going on. i'm sick of being told the stories. for once i want to hear the God Damned truth of what the hell is going on in this nation we've lost so much control over. |
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| Trancer-X |
| quote: | Originally posted by madhattared
its not just about politics. its about being american. but yeah clever "sports" |
I know, I was being sarcastic. :)
One of my favorite Presidential quotes, which seems to make no mention of sports or any other forms of entertainment for that matter:
| quote: | But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States as well as in the Federal Government.
- Andrew Jackson (Farewell Address, March 4, 1837) |
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| madhattared |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trancer-X
I know, I was being sarcastic. :)
One of my favorite Presidential quotes, which seems to make no mention of sports or any other forms of entertainment for that matter: |
I know. i just feel like right now there are so many signs in society that say is going down. and its not for the good. The american people need to take control somehow and make them work for the good and for the better. alot needs to be changed right now.
everyone keep those of iraq in your prayers, because i don't think there is going to much else that can save them from civil war, less a miracle. |
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| Trancer-X |
| quote: | Originally posted by madhattared
the press has become an entertainment industry, not a industry of truth and indepth reporting but an industry of 2 second clips and dramatic stories that don't give much insight to exactly what is going on. i'm sick of being told the stories. for once i want to hear the God Damned truth of what the hell is going on in this nation we've lost so much control over. |
Very true!!! And that's one of the biggest reasons why I seldom watch television anymore! I don't just loathe it for the commercials but for the actual programming as well. Our society is being dumbed down because of it, but perhaps that was the goal from the beginning.
An uninformed, uneducated, self-centered society is easier to govern because docile minds are much more easily controlled than enlightened ones. |
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| Trancer-X |
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| madhattared |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trancer-X
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as it it wasn't obvious by the post number of this thread |
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