Monday, March 27, 2006

The customs and values that define our nation


About the killings inside the Baghdad mosque, officials are claiming American troops were only there in an “advisory capacity.” Some advice. Some capacity. They also claimed the shootings occurred in an office next to the mosque, not in the mosque. The BBC disagrees. A military spokesmodel says, “In our observation of the place and the activities that were going on, it’s difficult for us to consider this a place of prayer. ... I think this is frankly a matter of perception.”

In the Republican attempt to make immigration central to the 2006 elections, Bush will play good cop, leaving others to do the Willie Horton thing. Today, he spoke at a naturalization ceremony, so no one can say our new citizens don’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into. He announced that he was establishing an Office of Citizenship in the Department of Homeland Security and, you know, as a blogger, I hate to use the word Orwellian too often, but I mean, really. He says, “I believe every new citizen has an obligation to learn the customs and values that define our nation, including liberty and civic responsibility, equality under God, tolerance for others, and the English language.” The English language thing is just too easy (which is the English language, anyway, a custom or a value), and he had to slip God in, didn’t he? Then he went on and on about enforcing the border, even using that obnoxious phrase “catch and release” in front of the immigrants, three times. He also used the terms “border security” or “securing the border” more times than I could count, while standing in front of one of those signs that read “Securing the American dream,” courtesy of the new Office of Dream Security.



Learning the true meaning of the American custom (or is it a value?) of “no backsies”

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