It is well understood that neocons are adpet at accusing others of doing/thinking what they are actually guilty of doing/thinking.
Yesterday, U.S. V.-P. Dick B. Cheney gave a commencement address at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Maybe he drank the wrong brand of tea that day, or perhaps he slightly over-medicated himself - in any event, he came out and revealed publicly the motus operandi of the President, himself and their neocon administration, condemning all they stand for, their ideological agenda, and everything they have been doing in the process so far. As reported, Cheney delivered his remarks in the context of moral and ethical lessons that the graduating cadets at West Point had learned in the course of their studies. Dixit Richard (Dick) B. Cheney:
"(...) you will ... face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living for."
By his own damning words, Cheney condemns the facts that A) President Bush, himself and their administration have stipulated that the President has the constitutional authority to decide for himself whether to conduct surveillance without warrants and therefore does not need the consent of Congress to do so; B) President Bush has brushed aside hundreds of laws already with his signing statements; C) President Bush and, especially himself, did not only promulgate the use of torture but were instrumental in making such an uncivilized practice legal; D) President Bush, himself and all of their administration took positions and actions in rendering legal the death of habeas corpus; and E) President Bush has entrusted himself with leading the entire federal government, not just the Executive Branch, in case of a catastrophic emergency. Hence, Cheney candidly admitted to the graduating cadets that Bush, himself and their administration "oppose and despise everything known to be right".
However, Cheney's words were not only damning in their blatant condemnation of himself, Bush and their administration, but his declaration was also quite sweeping. Indeed, he bluntly admitted with these same words his (and Bush's and their ilk's) despise and opposition to "every notion of upright conduct and character". Obviously, he was referencing the Katrina disaster and the numerous scandals of wrongdoing on his administration's part (such as the U.S. attorneys scandal), among many other things such as their lies, dishonesty, incompetence, as well as their arrogance, expediency, mendacity and boorish behavior (one small example here) - and so on and so forth.
In fact, so intent was Cheney on his self-condemnation that he went as far as to flatly admit to the graduating cadets that he (and Bush and the administration) despise and oppose "every belief considered worth fighting for and living for". Indeed, Cheney is a chief proponent of the Unitary Executive doctrine. Furthermore, everything he, Bush and their administration have promulgated and achieved (like Patriot Act and the Military Commission’s Act, as two examples) have been meant to diminish the U.S. Constitution in favor of a Commander Imperitor Presidency (or, if you prefer: Imperial Presidency).
And to make certain that the cadets understood him fully, he added onto these self-damning words with the following condemning tirade, still speaking of himself, Bush and their administration as "they" in a clear attempt to distance himself from ... his own guilty reasonnings/actions, as well of those of the President and all of their neoconservative ilk:
"Their cruelty is not rebuked by human suffering, only fed by it. They have given themselves to an ideology that rejects tolerance, denies freedom of conscience, and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society. (...) By force and intimidation, they seek to impose a dictatorship of fear, under which every man, woman, and child lives in total obedience to their ideology. Their ultimate goal is to establish a totalitarian empire (...)."
Yes, yes - in truth, Cheney was speaking of terrorists. But like I said at the top of this entry: neocons excel at accusing others of doing what they are actually doing.
Clearly, such Freudian flat-out admissions of impeachable offenses on Cheney's part constitute a desperate cry for relief from a conscience too long suppressed.
I suggest that we show some sympathy for the Devil and actually help him out.
After all, this would be the humane thing to do - no?
(Cross-posted from Another Point of View)
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