Retractions Before I get going today (with just a brief point), I find myself on unfamiliar ground, writing this unprecedented retraction of an error I committed in this space. I owe an apology to Seema Munir, who finally got around to e-mailing me about my mistake (notice I am not blaming this on any of my underlings or on faulty intelligence from other countries): Mr. Heller, The following message is regarding your article: "Must be a Buildup of Wax", on February 17, 2003 found on: http://www.hellermountain.com/h_021703.html. In the Arizona Republic, dated February 16, 2003 (Sunday), there was a picture of me (Seema Munir) holding a sign that read "No War: Peace is not made by killing each other's children", a statement made by President Carter. I was not holding the flag upside down as you rudely misstated in your article, which states, "the photo next to the story, of some jerk named Seema Munir carrying an American flag at a local demonstration - upside down. That's screwy." The AZ Republic caption clearly states "Seema Munir (holding sign)"; the flag holder was somebody else. It appears we both value American ideals--hope you're more careful next time. God Bless You, Seema Munir Naturally, I was horrified, and I replied immediately with this: You're right. Yours was not the message of a jerk, either, and I blew it. A retraction will be forthcoming. Thank you, sir, for correcting my error. I apologize. And thank you, also, for having the courage of your convictions in standing up to the Bush political machine. The guy who was holding his flag upside down was a jerk, I'm sure you will agree. And my sentiments were directed at that person. Again, I apologize. You deserved praise for your stance, and I'll amend that. Bless you as well, Paul Heller. So that's that. I fingered the wrong guy. Won't happen again. Hopefully. As I said, it's an anomaly, like a two-headed kitten. It something that doesn't come around that often, so gawk while you can ... Now. President George "The Buck Gets Passed Here" W. Bush has developed a trend that simply cannot be considered anomalous any longer. Just as he is wont to do with his economics, he likes to overstate the case, and then retract later. It's not that he's an idiot, or that he's even surrounded by idiots (although one could make a fairly solid case based on stupidity alone). These men who have the responsibility of steering the rudder of freedom know the risks, and are prepared to do damage control later. In football, they call this a "prevent defense" (also known as "bend but don't break"). And even barely experienced football fans can tell you it isn't the best way to run a defense. A coach who employs these tactics too often will soon find himself touching up his resume. It happens every year. Yet, rather than (A) telling the truth to begin with or (B) coming clean and explaining himself to the American people who employ him, George W. Bush has decided to point what is quickly becoming known as the First Finger (my thanks to Arizona Republic letter contributor Russell Pence of Chandler for that one, just so it's on the record). Despite our president's failures, CIA chief George Tenet gets to go in the game for one jersey-smearing play – to take the sack for Bush. That's hardly a statesmanlike maneuver by the man in which so many have invested so much faith. No other word can really describe Bush's base, so surreal is the measure of support this man receives while he barely measures up to the least of those captains who have guided this great ship through the seas of history. The way he carries himself, and the way some conservatives revere him as though he were the Second Coming, you'd think the disappointment in his having shattered one of the Ten Commandments – Thou Shalt Not Lie – would be devastating. But it rolls off the back of their tongues, the blithe denial, with no defense. They say it doesn't matter if he lied; think about the roasting that awaited anyone who would have said such a thing five years ago. "We were still right", they say. And they'll keep saying it; you know they will ... until the electorate throws it in their faces. While Bush plays he-dunnit with his intelligence agencies, Great Britain is standing firm in its stated position that Iraq did indeed attempt to acquire significant quantities of uranium from Niger. Just because the key piece of evidence was a forged document, according to Tony Blair's breed of logic, doesn't mean that the intelligence was faulty. But that's the British for you. Bush won't be able to lateral the political football in their direction as more evidence of his deception comes to light, as in the non-connection between Saddam and al-Qaida that is quickly being swept back out from under the worried rug of current events. Americans can take heart in the fact that there are a good many decent, qualified, concerned and properly motivated men and women who are perfectly capable of running this country. We don't need to be subjected to this charade. The government is an entity employed by the people in this country, in a way that was designed to be a model for the rest of the world. And some offenses, like spinning tall tales that result in thousands of people being killed, should always be terminable. Paul Heller 07/13/03 << back to the archives
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