DON'T BUY THE LIE: Or Truth Takes a Holiday

With their abysmal polling ratings, and the critical mid-term elections a mere 3 months away; you can bet the Bush Administration, and the Republicans will make the most of the terrorist threat so timely thwarted by our British allies.

Once again, they will claim a victory and tell us that they are winning the War on Terror. And again, at the same time, they will also tell us that we have to be very, very afraid, and that they are the only ones who can protect us from Terrorism.

However, as today's Green Button Linked story again shows; fighting Terrorism has not proved to be one of the Administration's priorities.

The Republicans cry out from their pulpit about their ironclad resolve to protect our country. However, the Department of Homeland Security remains underfunded and mismanaged, as we learned all too well during last year's hurricane season.

So why the wide disparity between their words and deeds?

Well, for one thing conservatives favor the status quo. If the conservatives had prevailed in July 1776, we'd be standing up to sing "God Save the Queen" at baseball games each summer.

And these Conservatives especially like this Status Quo. They need it to justify tactics like the Patriot Act and the NSA free-for-all surveillance, and their resolute devotion to their counterproductive foreign policies.

They are exploiting our frightened and mournful memories of 9/11. They are marching on the memories of those thousands of victims; and forgetting that they represented a cross-section of America's citizenry, every nationality, sexual orientation, race and religion.

They are exploiting our fear to justify their tactics, to incrementally further their political and Conservative Christian agenda.

They want us to be afraid. They need us to be afraid.

Because if we're not afraid, we might notice that they're doing big favors for their rich and their religious right friends, while nibbling away at our Constitutional rights and cutting back on programs for the poor and elderly; and on programs for veterans, including the wounded soliders returning from Iraq. So much for "Compassionate" Conservatism.

They need us to be afraid so they can lead us around by our collective noses. Then they can eventually tell us the Big Lie; that they are ordained by God to rule over us, filling their already bulging pockets with our hard-earned wages, and telling us how we are going to live our own precious lives.

And they need us to be afraid, because they are afraid. They are afraid of that which truly makes our nation great, the source of our country's glory and strength: America's pluralism. They are afraid of our cultural and religious diversity. They are afraid of free speech, free thought, and especially freedom of religion.

They are afraid because they want to hold on to their power and their money, and they want more of both; and history shows that Americans will once again stand up for their rights and fight for a level playing field. And we might demand that they actually do the jobs we elected them to do. Just imagine a government of the people, by the people and for the people!

So when Bush and his Party boys once again dust off and spew forth their anti-terrorism rhetoric in this election season; remember that as far as Homeland Security goes, remember that all they've really done is create another Cabinet department so they can give more cushy jobs to their ill-qualified friends.

Remember that they care more about profits then protection.

And remember what the War on Terror and all the violence and tension in the Middle East has done to oil prices, and done for oil company profits; and that the President and many of his cronies have ties to said oil companies.

And remember that those of us who are not rich conservatives also have power under the Status Quo. We have our minds, our voices, and our votes.

Once again. the super-hero, holy mission rhetoric is coming to an election season near you.

Don't buy the lie. Demand the truth instead.