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TechnoratiCheney Is No Joke
One of the most irritating editorials of the week-end was the New York TImes piece on Dick Cheney, entitled "Dick Cheney Rules". On Monday, it was one of the Times' most emailed pieces. Surely the reason for such popularity is the list of Cheney's crimes, not the tone of the piece, which is ironic, but not, I am sorry to say, bitterly ironic. The tone is, in fact, playful. Among Cheney's major transgressions, he "seems unconcerned about little things like checks and balances and traditional American notions of judicial process. At one point, he gave himself the power to selectively declassify documents and selectively leak them to reporters. In a recent commencement address, he declaimed against prisoners who had the gall to 'demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States'." And it points out Cheney's tens of millions of dollars in profits from his Halliburton connection. But then editorial limply observes that "Mr. Cheney is in step with the times. He has privatized the job of vice president of the United States," and ends. What? Where's the call for impeachment? This editorial makes Cheney the monster sound like an eccentric but meaningless old coot like the Dad on Frasier.
Not a page or two from the Cheney editorial is an op-ed by Edward Wong called "Iraq's Curse: A Thirst For Final, Crushing Victory", in which the author reflects upon the desires on the part of most Iraqi groups to see their enemies killed, dismembered, and dragged through the streets. Well, excuse me, but, I have to say, I can sympathize.
I've been reading lately about my home state, Missouri, during and after the Civil War, and it's enlightening these days to think about those days. The similarities of the Civil War in Kansas and Missouri (between 1856 and 1865) to the war in Iraq are striking. Just to refresh your memory, when the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854, repealing the Missouri Compromise and giving "Kansans" the right to choose whether as a state, Kansas was going to be slave or free, settlers poured into the territory from the north and the south, and many of those were from the two most extremely ideological states, Massachusetts and South Carolina. These immigrants hated each other on sight, and Kansas was soon known all over the country as "Bloody Kansas". Radicals on both sides gained experience in violence and hatred. One of these was John Brown, who murdered five slaveholders in southern Kansas Territory in 1856 and another was William Quantrill, a Missouri border guerrilla who massacred a hundred and fifty Union sympathizers in Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. The Union sympathizers, in particular, made sure to be armed with the latest technology--Sharps rifles. If they had had IEDs, they would have used them. The Civil War in Kansas and Missouri was terrifying to both sides exactly for the reason that the Iraq War is terrifying--no side predominated, neighbor hated and distrusted neighbor, revenge was a primary motivator, and everyone was well-armed. All due respect to Mr. Wong, but the Iraqis aren't unique in their thirst for reduction of the enemy to nothing. Civil wars, and especially civil wars in territories where loyalties are divided, like Missouri and Kansas, inevitably produce just such sentiments.
Since this is a long standing human pattern, witnessed with perfect clarity in the nineties in the Balkans and elsewhere, you might have thought that the Neocons would have paused to consider what they were unleashing in Iraq when they started the current civil war there. But no. When Cheney decided he had to have control of Iraqi oil, no amount of blood--whether shed by Americans or by Iraqis themselves--was considered to be too high a price to pay. And, unable to learn, feel remorse, or admit error, Cheney persists in his quest. Still, the New York Times considers this all a bit funny. He's privatized the vice-presidency, but hey, so what, life goes on.
Lots of Americans don't consider this funny at all--Dennis Kucinich has a Resolution of Impeachment before the Congress, and Cheney is the one to be impeached. If you want to add your name to the petition supporting it, you can go here. They need money, too, for ads. The thing is, it's important that Cheney be impeached, and, hopefully, investigated, indicted, and imprisoned. His crime of flouting laws and undermining, if not destroying, the American government we thought we had is equal to his crime of causing the death and injury of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. To put it simply, Cheney has been instrumental in rolling back the rule of law in both the US and Iraq and returning both nations to a state where vengeance is the only recourse people have to redress the wrongs done to them. He has enhanced his own power, limited the legitimate power of the government over his actions, and flouted every sort of rule that might inconvenience either him or his pocketbook. He has operated in secrecy, and shown indifference to even the appearance of legitimacy and fairness.
When those in power exercise it in an unjust manner, they destroy the sense of trust that average citizens have in their own government and their own society and they open the society to the return of revenge as a sentiment and as an act. American history is replete with examples of how long it has taken and how difficult it has been for us as a nation to escape vengeance as a social mechanism--Kansas and Missouri, vigilantes and lynching, gangs and outlaws. Cheney's specific crimes are reason enough for the New York Times to take impeachment seriously, but his larger crime against the nation has been to roll back the clock and infuse people like me, liberals like me (whom we all know are wimps, right?) with vengeful sentiments and fantasies. We have the crimes, then we have the arrogance--since the 2000 election, Cheney has been adding insult to injury, here and in Iraq. The combination is a potent one--the injuries damage our lives; the insults make us mad (both angry and crazy). The antidote is the exercise of laws, such as Kucinich's articles of impeachment. I have news for the New York Times--if you assume that this is all going to pass away with another election season, you are dangerously wrong.
Jane Smiley is a novelist and essayist. Her latest book is Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel.
© 2007 The Huffington Post
41 Comments so far
Show AllIt's been said that people in power hate to be ridiculed more than anything. So maybe it's good to joke about Cheney. We turned Hitler and Hussien into buffoons in our popular culture. Maybe bestowing upon them the mantle of "evil" just bolsters their egos. Why put them on the same level of Dr. Doom and Lex Luthor?
But I'm guilty of it as well. I can't have a sense of humor when it comes to bad, bad people whether they be VP's or some of the creeps I work with.
Cheney's WAY overdo for another heart attack. And I'm not joking when I say that.
"No empire can be destroyed from without until it has been destroyed from within" (with apologies to Will Durant for not quoting verbatim). Cheney is not the destruction within: that dear readers is us. Too many Americans have sold theit powers of cognition to the mass media, and thus allow vermin like Cheney to exist, and even prosper.
Samski,
Personally, I don't want to fertilize anything with black blood, but I do want the freakin VP to be impeached.
REmember TIMe is of the essence.
Peace,
Ken
* I support HRes333 - Impeach the VP
I have issues with the start of the last paragraph...
'When those in power exercise it in an unjust manner, they destroy the sense of trust that average citizens have in their own government and their own society and they open the society to the return of revenge as a sentiment and as an act'
Isn't it unconstitutional to admit to trusting one's government and isn't paranoia part of the genetic make-up of the Bill of Rights?
Rhetorical points, I know - but if ever there was a time to fertilize the 'tree of liberty' that time would be now, and with Cheney's black blood.
Darth Cheney must hang.
manchild,
will you believe it?
Many comments above refer to the lazyness and apathy of a US public more concerned with gas prices and Wal Mart than truth, justice, and democracy. Yes, one of my life's conclusions is that people are stupid and that intelligence is not all it's crackedup to be. But I've also learned that people are gullible and need to be told what they care about and what they are interested in. People are interested in what they are told they are interested in.
So all we need to do is get a new, refined message out--truth, justice, and democracy are really cool. And if you follow these guidlines for a better world, you'll get laid more often, and people will like you more better. Believe me, they'll believe it.
Nanoo - I applaud you.
I also heard back from my Representative Sue Myrick. In fact I heard two times (two different e-mail addresses). It is not surprising that she said the same thing twice. I suppose it is understandable that our congress is so busy that they need to develop "scripted" responses. Below is a portion of the response (in quotes):
"Thank you for contacting me with your proposal to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
As you know, under our constitution the Vice President may be impeached if it is shown that he has committed "high crimes or misdemeanors." Based upon my information to date, nothing the Vice President has done would meet this constitutional basis for impeachment.
However, Representative Kucinich has recently introduced a bill, H.Res.333, that brings several articles for impeachment against Vice President Cheney. This bill is currently being considered in the House Judiciary Committee. I will be sure to keep your views in mind should this or any other relevant legislation come to House floor for a vote."
Although I vehemently disagree with some of what is said in the response, I do appreciate that at least I got a response. I haven't heard back from Ms. Elizabeth Dole or Ms. Pelosi, and it just goes to show ya, that I think these folks have forgotten how to listen, and some of them think they have nothing left to learn.
If there is something going on behind the scenes, I want to know. But even more so, I want "dad gone" House Resolution 333 - Impeach the freakin VP to not only be considered in the judicial committee but for there to be a stinkin vote done in public in full display for the People to observe.
I've had it.
Peace,
Ken
* I suport HRes333 - Impeach the VP
***** time is of the essence *****
Do the CEOs of most US oil corporations find Cheney to be a monster? What about the members of the Business Roundtable or the head of the Chamber of Commerce? What about those profiting from the defense contracts? Do they find Cheney to be a threat? Cheney is a member of a group, a group of powerful, wealthy elites, who think only in terms of the welfare of members of their group. The welfare of the rest of us does not count any more than the welfare of the Native American Indians counted to the settlers.
And that group has taken over the media as well as the government and anyone who represents the rest of us, or who threatens to represent us, is immediately slammed and treated as illegitimate and even mentally unstable. Kucinich received that treatment long ago. Edwards used to be considered a member of the elite, but when he started talking about poverty it was time to give him the treatment, and all of a sudden we hear about an expensive haircut that is supposed to prove he is disingenuous, though of course it proves nothing.
Maybe through the Internet we can create a stronger group by aligning people in such great numbers who are interested in the common welfare. We know Cheney's group is powerful, but it is not all-powerful and it certainly cannot predict the future or plan for every contingency.
steppenRazor and Drex, I have to sadly agree that I think your opinions are right on. I do remember Ralph Nader illegally removed from attending the "presidental debate. The two parties must of feared him something awful, and rightly so. I also found it appalling that Nader wasn't allowed to debate. Nader has had my vote twice, with no regrets. Too many people I know voted for the lesser of two evils and regret that now.
I did indeed write my Congressman. Oberstar, (MN) and asked him to support impeachment of Cheney. He wrote back, " Speaker Nancy Peloski has indicated that she will not support impeachment proceedings in the 110th Congress. Many members of Congress, including myself, are concerned that an impeachmnet initiative may provoke a political backlash similar to the misguided Republican efforts to impeach President Clinton in 1998."
Now I ask you, does what he wrote make any sense to you? Political backlash alright, he has now from me.
I noted that Smiley mentioned the Kucinich campaign to impeach Cheney needs money for ads. I think that's a good place to put some focus. The big media isn't participating in a push for impeachment, but the people can still use the media to popularize the idea. Everything I hear says grassroots outrage is continuing to grow and this is a way express it that has been useful in the past.
steppenRazor, What you say is true. To all of you who want to have a revolution or create a third party-good luck. People in the U.S. are like the citizens of Rome when the barbarians were eating away at the empire-in denial. Thats why a rag like FOX news is so popular, it's comfort news that feeds the "America's great and everything we do is good and just" addiction. No revolution there, when they see the light it will be too late.
Third parties have an impossible number of hurdles to clear. The Republican and Democratic parties have created rules for debate and Federal campaign funds that quarantee the failure of a third party. It's not like "oh gosh, I think I will vote for the third party candidate", he wont be on the ballet. Remember that guy Ralph Nader, the one that had a ticket for the last "presidential debate" and was denied access? Crazy Ross Perot demonstrated that a third party could be viable so the Donkey and the Elephant made sure the rules would prevent that from happening again.
I am outraged that my tax money is being used by crooks, liars, and war criminals. They are coercing us to fund their crimes.
Cruxpuppy:
I think, if you re-read my post, you might notice that I did not compare the writer of the times editorial with Vonnegut. I compared the method of social critique. And if you read Vonnegut's views on humor, you might know that he would appreciate the comparison as well as the argument. But, thank you, I do appreciate your thoughtful and insightful comments.
The "PEOPLE" get the government they deserve. I agree with steppenRazor and Drex, people are lazy and complacent and only care if it affects them directly. By the time "the masses" realize they've lost it'll be way too late. Sad to watch the promise slip away. We're falling apart and who seems to care?
Jane is correct to object to the smug complacency of the NYT, and "unknown-arts.org" is full of shit to draw any similarities between Vonnegut-humor & a NYT editorial. Cheney is a sociopath, a human void, and no journalistic panderer could master humor black enough.
The NYT has been fostering a lilting ironic detachment all the while it has aided and abetted this unindicted criminal and his nefarious schemes, which is not amusing in the least, except maybe to the haughty worms on the editorial staff who may imagine they enjoy some special immunity.
They do not, needless to say. In fact, they have been chortling politely as Mr. Big and his criminal accomplices have systematically redacted the Constitution. They mourned theatrically the outrage perpetrated against their city, but in their wry wisdom never seriously questioned it. Lesser rags were left to the task of actually carrying out the function of a free press so that New Yorkers might seek redress for having been poisoned through the callousness of government.
And that is as it should be, for it is beneath the dignity of the NYT to engage in muck raking and popular advocacy. It must keep itself tidy and amusing to have good relationships with power.
One can be sure that when the Republic is finally lost, the NYT will soldier on, ironically amused by the proliferation of concentration camps...
hey, drex, I hate sounding so pessimistic.
I've seen my nation raped, screwed, bought and sold by the very people that claim to represent us on Capitol Hill. Do we need a revolution? Yes, and badly if we are to retain ANY semblance of the United States as put forth in the Constitution. Do we have the stomach for a revolution? No way. We've been lobotomized by television, addicted to consumerism and isolated from anything that would threaten to turn us into real, caring, responsible members of humanity. The irony of
it all is that Wal-Mart has made China strong
and America weak. And, I'm not advocating those who believe Kuchinich has a chance should abandon him. But I'll bet you dollars to donuts that he will NOT be nominated. If he is, the donuts are on me, folks!
"I have news for the New York Times–if you assume that this is all going to pass away with another election season, you are dangerously wrong."
Bravo, Jane Smiley!
Here is someone apologizing to Dick Cheney:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/17/cheney/
Do people really think electing another bought and paid for politician is going to change anything? Really people why do we even care anymore? We lost this country quite a few years ago! It's over! And their ain't a damn thing we can do about it except bitch amd moan! Nuff said!
"...you might have thought that the Neocons would have paused to consider what they were unleashing in Iraq when they started the current civil war there."
Guess what? They did. These are not stupid men - they knew exactly what would happen. Daddy Bush and Company warned them, all of our and the worlds' intel agencies and governments warned them, history warned them. And not only did they ignore them all, they went ahead with a plan that guaranteed the present outcome.
Why? Because President CocoBananas believes only a "war" president counts. And because perpetual chaos equals perpetual profits for the oil-mil-media-gov complex. A billion bullets were ordered last year. Gas prices are more than doubled. Halliburton, Blackwater, Rudy's security company - all of them, obscene profits through the roof, (also know as a simple transfer of our tax dollars to their Caymen accounts.)
A blunder? Mistake? Ooops? Guess again already.
cheney possesses the trifecta -
religion - he believes in domionship rather than stewardship
country - he believes in nationalism rather than patriotism
business - he believes in corporatism rather than capitalism
all recipes for disaster.........and when combined, pure evil.
On the sentencing of Scooter Libby, Cheney gave a statement in which he said that Libby was a man of great integrity.
Erm. If your idea of someone with great integrity is a guy who's just gone down for perjury and obstruction of justice, you really do have different standards from most.
Well, Drex, you are probably right. But why? Are we afraid to stick our necks out and seriously start a viable third party? Are we afraid to publically express support for Kucinich because he's a short vegan who has no-chance-in-hell of getting elected? Are we afraid to just turn of the damn television and stop listening to the Wolf Blitzers and Chris Matthews of the world? Who the hell are they? People! Just plain old people who make a whole lot of money by flapping their big mouths and promoting a certain party line. Why do we let them decide who our candidates will be? Why have we all -- not just the Democrats in Congress -- become such wimps? In other words, have we all thrown up our hands and said, "I give up; let the bastards have their way?" Maybe John Lennon had a valid point. Could it be time for a REVOLUTION? A peaceful one, I pray!
As pessamistic as it sounds I am afraid I have to agree with steppenRazor. Aint gonna be no impeachment. Aint gonna be no third party. gonna be WALMART baby, Walmarts and McDonalds all over the world, yeah yeah!
I dig Kucinich, he says what I want to hear from a candidate but the media has trivialized him and he aint got deep pockets-no chance baby. The only semi-frontrunner that has a chance and a "less-bad" message is Edwards and my friends I think that is where we should go. You may say "whats this less-bad message sh*t, vote you heart man. I say unless Hillary and Obama fall over dead tonight these other guys will be labeled "and others" in this election. Edwards probably will only get an honerable mention but there is more of a chance for him if one of the two "frontrunners" somehow make fools of themselves in the near future and open up a candidate slot.
I don't think Cheney is amoral OR immoral. I just think his morals are so twisted that, by following them, his actions are irredemably evil. Somehow he's not able to see things that way because, again, they're his morals to follow. It's a vicious psychological circle.
It's pretty much the same with all monsters. It's quite rare to actually encounter a truly evil person, one that knows that he's evil and likes it. Stalin would be a candidate, and Mao, but I'm not even sure about Hitler (I know that's controvercial. I'm not talking actions, I'm talking internal psychological state. There's evidence that Hitler was in an insane state of denial about the Holocaust. Many Nazi's below him were without question evil.) If you want my #1 pick for the purest evil person of the 20th century I would have to say Pol Pot. He seems to have been mentally intact, but was an iceman, and killed friend and family as easily as stranger.
On these axes, Cheney doesn't even come close. Remember I'm talking mental states here, not damage done. I'm quite sure Cheney views himself as a tough patriot, the rare man who's able to do what needs to be done and swallow the consequences...etc. You can probably finish the profile.
At the end of the day we should always follow the aphorism: "Choose your leaders carefully."
Jed - I agree. Just look at the political infrastructure in D.C. today. American people may visit the Capitol but they certainly don't have a voice in the government. Their voice was slowly sold away over the years by politicians, to corporate interests. Now, lobbying is part of a political career available in D.C. You no longer have to get elected to steal from this country.
Hoa binh
Impeach the Emperor Ming? Shit, man, that will never freakin' happen. The Political Whores on Capitol Hill are all afraid he will hurl lightning at them like the Evil Emperor did in Star Wars! And, hey, Clark, my Representative is a Republican. He'd rather fall on his own sword than support impeachment of Cheney. If I asked him to support Kuchinich's Bill, all I would get would be a lovely form letter that basically boiled down to 'screw you, Jack!'
Hey, don't get me wrong. Kuchinich is the only candidate out of the whole bunch with enough balls to speak the truth but that very fact is what will NOT get him nominated and will NOT get him elected! Because the American people could give a rat's ass about the truth.
They just want somebody who can give them gas
(at ANY price) and Wal-Mart. Oh, yeah, and the promise that they won't get blown up at the Super Bowl! They LOVE a fool like Cheney and would make him King of America if he could promise them this kinda shit forever and ever.
You can't really expect such deep thinkers to be disturbed by little matters such as breaking the law or using the Constitution as toilet paper! These people don't give a crap about freedom! And they don't care how many people get killed in Iraq, American or Iraqi.
As long as it's not them, they are as happy as sheep in a field of grass. Hell, man, Americans have been waiting for YEARS for a King! And now they have one.
hey, unknown-arts, cheney is not amoral. amoral means without reference to morals. cheney is deeply immoral, which means he goes against what is moral.
humor can often help, but its use in this editorial, reading of which caused me to cry out: "IMPEACH CHENEY!", has the effect of softening the editorial's impact. but i recently attended a panel--what actually could be called an impeachment rally--in detroit. what struck me most was how detroit's baseball stadium towers over the small church where we cried out for impeachment. when we get that stadium full of citizens thundering for impeachment, we will have a better chance.
"The sick part of this joke is that our society has produced a system that allows guys like Cheney to remain in power." namvet67
true, and as much as i loathe dick/bush and think evil abu ghraib style thoughts about them (not really fbi! joking!), the "system" is the problem.
w/all this being true about cheney, and probably lots more we don't even know about (who was jeff gannon visiting on his 200 trips to the white house? what about those d.c. madam rumors re dick? and much more serious stuff than silly sexual escapades), besides a tepid kucinich, why don't any of the other candidates talk about this? b/c it exposes the system, a system they wish to endorse and continue.
The sick part of this joke is that our society has produced a system that allows guys like Cheney to remain in power. Any normally functioning society would rid itself of these greedy political whores. But in the United States of Everything guys like Cheney are a dime a dozen in our government. Put these dildoes together with our corporate lobbyists and you can see why America is becoming more and more hated all over the world. I just hope the rest of the world can separate the American government from the America people.
Hoa binh
While Ms. Smiley's righteous anger is justified, her placement of it would appear to be misguided. Perhaps we can blame it on what Bush Incorporated has done to the country, making it the Kansas of her nightmares, and forgive her for failing to notice that she has become one of the blood-lusting combatants, not just in her fantasies, but in her actions as an editorialist. The article is not without bitter irony. Or, not without bitterness. It is also not without truth and honesty. It is an editorial that clearly lays out the crimes of Dick Cheney. It is an article that clearly laments the state of our nation. The crime here is that the NYT has not seen fit to acknowledge these facts with the same strength as this editorial. The crime is that there are not headlines declaring Cheney to BE a criminal.
The United States has a long, proud history of using humor to point out the very worst about us. Perhaps Mr. Vonnegut's passing has made such things seem like a distant memory, but I remember laughing like Hell while learning what a terrible world we lived in. He gave me insights that, as a high school student, were not yet my own. He educated me in a way that my SERIOUS-minded teachers did not. He told me the TRUTH and changed my life...with HUMOR. I LAUGHED about the fire bombing of Dresden and have never been more hurt by a piece of writing in my life. I think that maybe humor is the only way I could have gotten through a story so heart-wrenching. The only way I could face what horrible, and beautiful, creatures we could be. Personally, I can think of no two writers who have done so much to help me understand American politics as Vonnegut and Twain.
So, while I feel for Jan Smiley, and while I appreciate her sense of outrage at the brazen disregard for law and humanity contained in the actions of Dick Cheney, I regret that she has chosen humor as the target of that outrage. Every word she wrote about Cheney was justified, but to suggest that we lose our sense of humor when confronting American politics? It is clear that Ms. Smiley has joined the fray in "Bloody Kansas" and that her hatred has clouded her larger vision. HUMOR is a weapon and HUMOR is a salve. It attacks our enemies and soothes our souls. It educates us in a kinder fashion to truths that have no kindness. Mr. Cheney is an amoral creature. A creature that has done unspeakable damage to the world. The lives he has extinguished in the name of corporate profit can never be avenged or redeemed. He is the darkest hole of humanity down which is horrifying to look. But, please God, give me the power always to laugh in the face of the devil.
if cheney (and don't forget his wingman rumsfeld) are the sick jokes, the punchline is that the "opposition" party let them steal the whitehouse twice without a whimper.
The threshhold for faithful public service is avoiding even the APPEARANCE of a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
H.R. 333 -- Urge your congress rep. to co-sponsor this bill. It is Articles of Impeachment for V.P. Dick Cheney, introduced by Cong. Kucinich.
What can you really expect from the new york times?
Not mentioned are Cheney's stock options in Halliburton, worth many times what we taxpayers pay the man to be VP. In any other administration this would be an enormous scandal all by itself.
The real joke is the obtuse media that glibly goes along with this, if they report it at all, accomplices to the crimes these world class sociopaths commit.
The joke, my friends, is on us
Oh but cheney is indeed a joke. It's just not funny, extremely tasteless, and totally insulting.
These glib journalistic pronouncements do their part to normalize what no sane, moral or just society should EVER countenance, no less joke about! (*Remember Bush pretending to look under tables at the Press Club event in pursuit of the WMD. Same shit. Let's all have a good time at others' expense.)
Cheney is no joke, all right. He's too dangerous.
The sick joke is that folks keep him in power!