Anniversary Speech
I made the following speech as a City Council Comment on St. Patrick’s Day 2008.
Happy St. Patty’s Day.
“It’s been over 6 years since the US entered Afghanistan to crush the repressive Taliban and crush al-qaeda.
The Taliban have regrouped. When al-qaeda disappeared into the mountains, the US pulled back.
Remember Osama bin-Laden? His whereabouts are unknown. Maybe in Pakistan.
It’s been over 5 years since the US entered Iraq to get those weapons of mass destruction that were north, south, east, and west of Baghdad. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Didn’t even have to say what they were to dupe America. Oh, for those of you who still believe Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction: give it up. Not there.
It’s all such a huge mass of cynicism and lies and hypocricy and incompetence that I can’t really find a good way to tackle it but there is this:
our official count of dead American soldiers in Iraq is near 4,000, and
the cost of George Bush’s romantic adventure to Iraq is about 3 trillion dollars, and
no one we’ve elected has the courage or good sense to mention that somebody has to pay for it
Today the US Government started using your money - my money - to prop up Wall Street.
There’s still no policy proposed to pay for any of this stuff.
And here in Missoula we’re still looking for handouts from the Federal Government.
Hell, they might as well send us a few billion, it’s all free money.”
For what it’s worth, I bowdlerized the last sentence.
Crap.
March 18, 2008 at 4:19 am
As of late, that bowdlerized word has been used maybe just a little too frequently, Ed.
I hear ya.
March 18, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I dont know about that jhwygirl, I had to look it up in my dictionary. Good on you for this speech Ed. Thanks
March 19, 2008 at 2:39 am
I’m thinking he substituted “hell” for “shit” - and I was referring to a local bureaucrat that used the word in an newspaper interview recently…apparently only to my dismay.
But yeah - good for Ed for speaking up. It’s important for it to be talked about - out loud and in public places.
March 19, 2008 at 3:19 am
Bowdlerized - great word. Lousy procedure.
I appreciate your comments. I kind of expected more of a response. Probably people figure there’s nothing they can do about it, so they don’t want to even think about it.