Exclusively in the new print issue of CounterPunch

HOLLYWOOD AND THE CIA — Film historian Ed Rampell details Hollywood’s entangled relationship with the CIA and the Pentagon; HOUSES OF THE DEAD: Nancy Kurshan exposes the cruel human rights offenses taking place inside America’s vast gulag of Control Unit Prisons; BROTHERHOOD OF SUMMER: David Macaray charts the history of the most powerful union in the US: the Baseball Players Association; TAR SANDS COME TO AMERICA: Steve Horn explains how the Keystone Pipeline debates have diverted attention from Big Oil’s other plans to transport Alberta’s oil into the US. PLUS: Jeffrey St. Clair on CONSTITUTIONAL ENTROPY; Mike Whitney on HOW THE BANKS TARGETED BLACKS; Chris Floyd on THE RISE OF BRITAIN’S TEA PARTY; Kristin Kolb on THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE; Kim Nicolini on the FILMS OF WILLIAM FRIEDKIN; and Lee Ballinger on POETS VS. THE ONE PERCENT.

Weekend Edition December 29-31, 2007

Who'd Have Thought?

Evaluating Bush with the Bhutto Corruption Standard

by MISSY BEATTIE

Ms. Bhutto and her father and political mentor, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, were democratic, but imperfect political leaders – imperious, indifferent to human rights and, in her case, tainted by serious charges of corruption. (New York Times Editorial, December 28, 2007)

Imperious, indifferent to human rights, tainted by serious charges of corruption-this description of Ms. Bhutto is also a perfect portrayal of George W. Bush and his administration.

We’ve heard and seen Bush proclaim that he’s the "decider." We’ve watched as he ignores advice from world leaders, including the Pope, and those who know the culture of the Middle East. He doesn’t conceal his scorn. We’ve witnessed the stubbornness his dwindling supporters call resolve. His critics, who are legion, wince when he speaks, embarrassed that he holds the highest office in the land. He is the butt of jokes on the Internet, of syndicated cartoonists, of singers, comedians, columnists, late-night television hosts, playwrights, movie producers, and of authors who have made a bundle off his Bushisms. Many of us have called him stupid and inept.

But he is not.

Instead, Bush knows exactly what he’s doing. He knew less than two months after the invasion of Iraq when he landed on an aircraft carrier under a "Mission Accomplished" banner that he’d achieved his goal of endless war.

He uses words like "sacrifice" and "freedom" to inspire our young to join the military while talking "terror," "mushroom clouds," and "Islamofascism" to color code our fear. He is a master manipulater.

By loading the Supreme Court with ultraconservative Justices, he advances his political-Christian agenda.

Furthermore, Bush has without precedent used signing statements to disregard more than 750 laws, including a ban on torture. This systematic action allows Bush to ignore legislation passed by Congress. According to this president, the Constitution gives him the right to take power from the legislative branch. Back to the court-Justice Sam Alito is a huge fan of signing statements and unchecked executive power.

Perhaps Bush’s greatest coup has been as a "uniter, not a divider," one of his campaign promises. Certainly, he has united Congress so tightly that we no longer have a two-party system. George W. Bush has neutered the Democrats with surgical accuracy. No matter how loudly they bellow that they will challenge him, that he will receive no more blank checks for war, they capitulate. They pose no threat to his unquenchable thirst for unitary power regardless of the electorate’s demand for change and a certainty that this country is on a perilous path.

MISSY BEATTIE lives in New York City. She’s written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, she’s a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, in Iraq on August 6,’05, she has been writing political articles. She can be reached at: Missybeat@aol.com