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Blogfest 2005 - Jan 12, 2005 - Printable Version
- "Look everybody, we've found WMDRPAs!" and "Supporting the Inauguration Day Boycott.....Sort of"
by Mark Faulk
This Tuesday during his State of the Union Address, 1,028 days after the war in Iraq was officially launched (and 986 days after we "accomplished our mission"), President Bush finally announced the primary reason for declaring war on Iraq. No, it wasn't weapons of mass destruction, that search was offically called off on Wednesday. No, it wasn't Iraq'a ties to 9/11 (there weren't any). And no, it wasn't because Iraq was supporting Al Queda (they weren't). And it wasn't even "Operation Iraqi Freedom", that was just a catchy slogan that the Administration spoon fed the media and the American public. (Faulking Truth to Karl Rove: helluva job on that one.)
But now, none of that matters, because now we know the real reason Americans are dying in Iraq, now we know the real reason over 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed, now we know the real reason we started "Vietnam - The Sequel". No, iraq didn't have WMDs, and in fact, according to chief U.N. weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, not only did Iraq not possess any weapons of mass destruction, THEY HAD NOT MADE ANY SINCE 1991.
But who cares? According to Bush, they might not have had WMDs, but they had "weapons-of-mass-destruction-related program activities". That's right, we declared war on Iraq because they had WMDRPAs. And they might not have possessed REAL WMDs, but as Bush said in October, Saddam Hussein "retained the knowledge, the materials, the means and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction, and he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies", which leads us nicely into reason number two for the Iraqi Quagmire...I mean the Iraqi War....no wait, I mean the "Iraqi Peace Mission" (God, I love that one, it's so....so peaceful sounding).
Reason Number Two? Saddam Hussein IS the Weapon of Mass Destruction, or SHITWMD. See, don't you feel stupid for ever doubting our President? And you thought we were just an occupying military force that aggressively invaded a country that had committed no act of aggression towards us whatsoever.
Gee, I feel so silly. Now, just let me take a good look at those WMDRPAs that prove that SHITWMD, and I'll take back everything I ever said about Bush being a WMBOGD. (That's "Warmonger Bent on Global Domination", in case you were wondering). And THAT'S the Faulking Truth.
A week or so ago, I first heard the idea of an Inauguration Day Boycott. As with most boycotts, I read the first couple of emails I received with a certain amount of skepticism. Of course, I'm still underestimating the "Power of the Blog" (even though our little website has had a modicum of success in it's own right). It wasn't long before the "Mainstream Media", who now steal the vast majority of their stories from the Internet (instead of the other way around, like it was a year ago), picked up on this "grassroots" effort, and took it nationwide. Now, it looks like the boycott might actually have legs, and that it might accomplish..... well, it won't accomplish a damn thing, but at least it will make a point. And that point is, ummm, that point is, well, WE'RE MAD AS HELL, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!
Here's the plan: every mad as hell person in America refuses to buy anything on January 20th, the day of the Presidential Inauguration. That's right, no gas, no groceries, no Big Macs. So, as a fellow Pissed-off American, I should support this boycott....why? Here's what will happen: businesses will do 50% more business than normal on January 19th, and 50% more business than normal on January 21st, Here's the plan: every mad as hell person in America refuses to buy anything on January 20th, the day of the Presidential Inauguration....and the net result will be - ZERO, NADA, ZILCH, RIEN, NIENTE....well, you get the idea.
But wait, there's more! We're supposed to stay home from work on January 20th as well. That'll show 'em! Now that might actually cut back on spending just a tad, because, well, everyone's pay checks will be less that week. So, every rich executive will still get their full paycheck, while the poor working sucker will lose a day's pay. And guess what? CEOs get paid 400 times more than you do as it is, thanks in large part to the current Republican Administration (okay, thanks to every administration). Excuse me for being pessimistic, but I get the feeling that no one really stopped to think this one through.
But....and hear me out on this before you stomp off in a "mad as hell" huff....all is not lost. The Faulking Truth is, I support the Inauguration Day Boycott.....sort of. I mean, with a little tweaking, this thing might actually accomplish something. Here's my idea: Forget the pointless "Ban on Spending" crap, instead, we should boycott Corporate America. That's right, instead of shopping at the WalMart Super Center, go to the nearest Mom and Pop grocery store or the roadside vegetable stand. Instead of buying that hammer at Home Depot or Lowe's, find one of those little family-owned hardware stores that barely scrape by, and buy it there. Instead of eating out at one of the multitude of "National Restaurant Chains", go to that little diner that you've been driving by for years thinking "You know, we really should try that place sometime".
And forget about skipping work, especially if you work at one of the Mega-rich Corporations that we've all been complaining about. Hell, work overtime if you can get away with it, and then take THAT money and spend it at one of the small businesses that we just discussed. See how this works? Instead of spending your money at WalMart a day early or a day late, SPEND IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! Don't just postpone giving your money to Corporate America, take it away from them altogether. And you never know, you just might like that Mom and Pop grocery store, that road side vegetable stand, that family-owned hardware store, and that little diner so much that you stop shopping at the huge corporate-owned megastores altogether. And make no mistake, THAT would send the Bush Administration a clear message. THAT would let them know that WE'RE MAD AS HELL AND WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!
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(Editor's note: This is an entry from The Faulking Truth blog, ingeniously entitled "Blogfest 2005". If you'd like to spend more of your valuable time blogging, go to www.faulkingtruth.com/blog/ )
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