Maaja
13th September 2002, 05:46
J'ACCUSE, PRESIDENT BUSH
by ROBERT L. LEWIS
Cleveland Free Times
September 11 - 17, 2002
http://www.freetimes.com/issues/1052/upfro...nt-lastword.php (http://www.freetimes.com/issues/1052/upfront-lastword.php)
IN THE TRADITION OF EMILE ZOLA, A RESPECTED CLEVELAND
JURIST CHALLENGES THE PRESIDENT
On January 11, 1898, the Paris daily newspaper
L'Aurore published a letter from Émile Zola, the great
French novelist. The letter was titled "J'accuse," and
it indicted the president of France for condoning a
conspiracy by which Captain Dreyfus, an unpopular army
officer, was convicted of espionage on evidence known
to be false, but meant to enhance the government's
prestige and divert the citizenry from the real
problems of the day lying beneath the surface. Because
of Zola's passionate presentation, high status and
known integrity, the matter was reexamined and Captain
Dreyfus was released from a life sentence on Devil's
Island.
While claiming none of the high status of Émile Zola,
I hereby submit my version of "J'accuse," directed
against the American president who, by deceit,
deception and deviousness, seeks only to enhance the
prestige of a wayward government and its attempt to
divert us from the truth of the real problems of the
day -- those simmering below the surface, and far more
important and dangerous to our future than the
jingoistic issues with which the president wants us to
be preoccupied. I state these issues in the format of
that unprecedented article.
Mr. President:
I accuse you of having conspired with your brother Jeb
of doing everything possible to frustrate the efforts
of our African-American citizens to cast their votes
-- probably against you.
I accuse you of encouraging our young people to
believe that mediocrity befits one to become the
President of the United States.
I accuse you of making me squirm with disgust when I
accidentally use the term "president" and have to use
the name "Bush" right after it.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting an attorney
general who is dangerously xenophobic; who helps your
popularity, whenever it seems to wane, by announcing
another swatch on that bizarre terrorism color chart;
who is a man of such high moral purpose that he spent
$6,000 of public money for fabric to drape the bare
left breast of the statue of Justice that adorns his
office, while at the same time a man of such low moral
purpose that he salivates at detaining incommunicado
people who wear funny headgear; who declares his
purpose of encouraging more guns on the streets
(you'll remember, of course, the NRA said that if you
were elected, "we'll have a president ... where we
work out of their office" -- they're but a few blocks
away at this point); and who, even though the holder
of the highest office in the land dedicated to law
enforcement, had to recuse himself from the Enron
affair because of personal and monetary ties to those
minions of dishonesty at that company, including those
regularly on the White House A-list.
"I accuse you of being, on the intellectual level,
nothing more than a C-minus Yale fratboy, and I
therefore feel that I must tell you what "xenophobic"
means -- it literally means "fear of strangers" or
"fear of anyone who is different." It derives from
ancient Greek, and I'll explain it further if you give
me a call.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a so-called
Director of Homeland Security, a well-meaning,
obedient and harmless fellow who reacts to a public
appearance like a deer caught in the headlights; who
hasn't a clue as to what he's supposed to do about
coordinating our safety forces; who hesitated to
appear before Congress (which seems to be a
qualification for office in your administration); and
who would obviously rather be fishing. Nonetheless, he
and you are both lobbying to give that poor lost soul
a cabinet post and mountains of money, with no plan as
to procedures or outcomes.
I accuse you of having a bad speaking coach. He or she
is completely unsuccessful in developing for you
appropriate facial expressions to go with your
message. Particularly, you need help with those
speeches that require you to look stern without
looking stupid.
I accuse you of agreeing to take on and continuing to
support a vice-president whose strongest stands are
secrecy, hiding his financial dealings (there's a
little of that in you, too, but we'll get to that
soon), refusing to name or admit that he used as
creators of the official energy policy those very
Enron folks who brought our overall economy to ruin
with their arrogance and lies and thievery, and, with
your encouragement, perfecting the art of
stonewalling.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a Secretary
of the Army whose financial dealings are hopelessly --
and worse, shamelessly -- intermingled with the
financial dealings of the very aircraft industry that
is doing business with the government.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting as head of
the SEC a man whose favorite game in the past has been
playing footsie with the executives of all of the
corporate thieves who populate the boards and
executive suites of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Arthur
Andersen and many others. According to you, he has
taken an oath of sudden contrition and honesty. Please
remember the old saying, "Fool me once ..."
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a Secretary
of the Treasury who has lived in the world of finance
at the same level as those frauds from corporate
America, and still, while counting his millions from
his affiliation with them, tells the helpless retirees
and employees that all is well. Worse still, he tells
them that investment in the market is risky -- but he
never tells them that the risk includes theft, deceit
and outright fraud.
I accuse you of inhumanity in your unwillingness to
join the international ban on landmines, or the
international attempt at population control.
I accuse you of trying to cast Reagan as a role model
(ugh!) and of cozying up to the likes of Trent Lott,
the gay-baiter, and Elizabeth Dole, a throwback to
such shining stars as Herbert Hoover and Richard
Nixon.
I accuse you of masterminding a tax cut that (I) has
thrown our national budget and assets into its worst
condition since 1929, and (II) has granted
still-further tax havens to the 1 percent of our
taxpayers who are in the highest income bracket. I
salute only your crude craftiness in trying to win
over not the best and the brightest, but the worst and
the richest.
And speaking of that "fool me once" adage … Pretty
soon, those of us who still have the energy left not
to be outshouted will not be fooled yet again by your
diversionary pyrotechnics -- bombing the hillsides of
Afghanistan and rattling the saber against Iraq (all
the while cozying up to Saudi Arabia, which furnished
17 of the 19 terrorists of 9/11. I think that your
father has something going with the Saudis, right?).
We know that by encouraging all of those diversions
you'd like us to forget:
(I) Corruption and disgusting skullduggery at the top
of corporate America, your strongest allies and
financial supporters, which has led to so many
personal tragedies among those who worked hard to
assure their futures or who struggled to keep their
jobs and their families together;
(II) that you yourself have never cleared yourself of
the same skullduggery that you now assert is a danger
to us;
(III) that civil rights are being outrageously
trampled in the name of safety as defined by Ashcroft;
and
(IV) that your popularity is based upon jingoism,
skillful cheerleading, and the fantasy-like acceptance
among so many of our fellow citizens that you're doing
a good job because you've killed a lot of mountain
people and rant about such poetic thoughts as "You're
either with us or against us" and "I want him dead or
alive."
No, George, some of them, or us, are not much longer
going to accept the simplistic idea advanced by your
party hangers-on, that it's all Bill Clinton's fault.
I take you back for a moment to ancient Rome. There,
the people in power decided to pacify the restless
citizenry with a program of "bread and circuses" --
but they admitted that the throwing of Christians to
the lions was just a diversion.
You're not that honest. And besides, the citizenry,
those in need, actually got the bread, not just the
wealthy. See the point?
If you should ever issue an executive order summoning
me back to military service, you'd better send a
platoon of MPs to carry it out. I don't need a
wheelchair, but a walker would help.
If there's any doubt in your mind, I'm a Democrat, an
ex-vaudevillian, an octogenarian, a part-time
professor of classical studies, a combat veteran of
World War II (North Africa, Sicily, Italy), and the
recipient of low-cost medications from the VA because
I earned the Purple Heart. I strongly suspect that in
response to this letter you will see to it that my
federal income tax returns will be singled out for
audit in the near future.
Robert L. Lewis of Cleveland Heights, a well-known
Cleveland attorney, is the former managing partner of
Ulmer & Berne and a faculty member of Case Western
Reserve University's Mandel Center for Nonprofit
Organizations. He was the founding board president of
Cuyahoga Community College.
by ROBERT L. LEWIS
Cleveland Free Times
September 11 - 17, 2002
http://www.freetimes.com/issues/1052/upfro...nt-lastword.php (http://www.freetimes.com/issues/1052/upfront-lastword.php)
IN THE TRADITION OF EMILE ZOLA, A RESPECTED CLEVELAND
JURIST CHALLENGES THE PRESIDENT
On January 11, 1898, the Paris daily newspaper
L'Aurore published a letter from Émile Zola, the great
French novelist. The letter was titled "J'accuse," and
it indicted the president of France for condoning a
conspiracy by which Captain Dreyfus, an unpopular army
officer, was convicted of espionage on evidence known
to be false, but meant to enhance the government's
prestige and divert the citizenry from the real
problems of the day lying beneath the surface. Because
of Zola's passionate presentation, high status and
known integrity, the matter was reexamined and Captain
Dreyfus was released from a life sentence on Devil's
Island.
While claiming none of the high status of Émile Zola,
I hereby submit my version of "J'accuse," directed
against the American president who, by deceit,
deception and deviousness, seeks only to enhance the
prestige of a wayward government and its attempt to
divert us from the truth of the real problems of the
day -- those simmering below the surface, and far more
important and dangerous to our future than the
jingoistic issues with which the president wants us to
be preoccupied. I state these issues in the format of
that unprecedented article.
Mr. President:
I accuse you of having conspired with your brother Jeb
of doing everything possible to frustrate the efforts
of our African-American citizens to cast their votes
-- probably against you.
I accuse you of encouraging our young people to
believe that mediocrity befits one to become the
President of the United States.
I accuse you of making me squirm with disgust when I
accidentally use the term "president" and have to use
the name "Bush" right after it.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting an attorney
general who is dangerously xenophobic; who helps your
popularity, whenever it seems to wane, by announcing
another swatch on that bizarre terrorism color chart;
who is a man of such high moral purpose that he spent
$6,000 of public money for fabric to drape the bare
left breast of the statue of Justice that adorns his
office, while at the same time a man of such low moral
purpose that he salivates at detaining incommunicado
people who wear funny headgear; who declares his
purpose of encouraging more guns on the streets
(you'll remember, of course, the NRA said that if you
were elected, "we'll have a president ... where we
work out of their office" -- they're but a few blocks
away at this point); and who, even though the holder
of the highest office in the land dedicated to law
enforcement, had to recuse himself from the Enron
affair because of personal and monetary ties to those
minions of dishonesty at that company, including those
regularly on the White House A-list.
"I accuse you of being, on the intellectual level,
nothing more than a C-minus Yale fratboy, and I
therefore feel that I must tell you what "xenophobic"
means -- it literally means "fear of strangers" or
"fear of anyone who is different." It derives from
ancient Greek, and I'll explain it further if you give
me a call.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a so-called
Director of Homeland Security, a well-meaning,
obedient and harmless fellow who reacts to a public
appearance like a deer caught in the headlights; who
hasn't a clue as to what he's supposed to do about
coordinating our safety forces; who hesitated to
appear before Congress (which seems to be a
qualification for office in your administration); and
who would obviously rather be fishing. Nonetheless, he
and you are both lobbying to give that poor lost soul
a cabinet post and mountains of money, with no plan as
to procedures or outcomes.
I accuse you of having a bad speaking coach. He or she
is completely unsuccessful in developing for you
appropriate facial expressions to go with your
message. Particularly, you need help with those
speeches that require you to look stern without
looking stupid.
I accuse you of agreeing to take on and continuing to
support a vice-president whose strongest stands are
secrecy, hiding his financial dealings (there's a
little of that in you, too, but we'll get to that
soon), refusing to name or admit that he used as
creators of the official energy policy those very
Enron folks who brought our overall economy to ruin
with their arrogance and lies and thievery, and, with
your encouragement, perfecting the art of
stonewalling.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a Secretary
of the Army whose financial dealings are hopelessly --
and worse, shamelessly -- intermingled with the
financial dealings of the very aircraft industry that
is doing business with the government.
I accuse you of appointing and supporting as head of
the SEC a man whose favorite game in the past has been
playing footsie with the executives of all of the
corporate thieves who populate the boards and
executive suites of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Arthur
Andersen and many others. According to you, he has
taken an oath of sudden contrition and honesty. Please
remember the old saying, "Fool me once ..."
I accuse you of appointing and supporting a Secretary
of the Treasury who has lived in the world of finance
at the same level as those frauds from corporate
America, and still, while counting his millions from
his affiliation with them, tells the helpless retirees
and employees that all is well. Worse still, he tells
them that investment in the market is risky -- but he
never tells them that the risk includes theft, deceit
and outright fraud.
I accuse you of inhumanity in your unwillingness to
join the international ban on landmines, or the
international attempt at population control.
I accuse you of trying to cast Reagan as a role model
(ugh!) and of cozying up to the likes of Trent Lott,
the gay-baiter, and Elizabeth Dole, a throwback to
such shining stars as Herbert Hoover and Richard
Nixon.
I accuse you of masterminding a tax cut that (I) has
thrown our national budget and assets into its worst
condition since 1929, and (II) has granted
still-further tax havens to the 1 percent of our
taxpayers who are in the highest income bracket. I
salute only your crude craftiness in trying to win
over not the best and the brightest, but the worst and
the richest.
And speaking of that "fool me once" adage … Pretty
soon, those of us who still have the energy left not
to be outshouted will not be fooled yet again by your
diversionary pyrotechnics -- bombing the hillsides of
Afghanistan and rattling the saber against Iraq (all
the while cozying up to Saudi Arabia, which furnished
17 of the 19 terrorists of 9/11. I think that your
father has something going with the Saudis, right?).
We know that by encouraging all of those diversions
you'd like us to forget:
(I) Corruption and disgusting skullduggery at the top
of corporate America, your strongest allies and
financial supporters, which has led to so many
personal tragedies among those who worked hard to
assure their futures or who struggled to keep their
jobs and their families together;
(II) that you yourself have never cleared yourself of
the same skullduggery that you now assert is a danger
to us;
(III) that civil rights are being outrageously
trampled in the name of safety as defined by Ashcroft;
and
(IV) that your popularity is based upon jingoism,
skillful cheerleading, and the fantasy-like acceptance
among so many of our fellow citizens that you're doing
a good job because you've killed a lot of mountain
people and rant about such poetic thoughts as "You're
either with us or against us" and "I want him dead or
alive."
No, George, some of them, or us, are not much longer
going to accept the simplistic idea advanced by your
party hangers-on, that it's all Bill Clinton's fault.
I take you back for a moment to ancient Rome. There,
the people in power decided to pacify the restless
citizenry with a program of "bread and circuses" --
but they admitted that the throwing of Christians to
the lions was just a diversion.
You're not that honest. And besides, the citizenry,
those in need, actually got the bread, not just the
wealthy. See the point?
If you should ever issue an executive order summoning
me back to military service, you'd better send a
platoon of MPs to carry it out. I don't need a
wheelchair, but a walker would help.
If there's any doubt in your mind, I'm a Democrat, an
ex-vaudevillian, an octogenarian, a part-time
professor of classical studies, a combat veteran of
World War II (North Africa, Sicily, Italy), and the
recipient of low-cost medications from the VA because
I earned the Purple Heart. I strongly suspect that in
response to this letter you will see to it that my
federal income tax returns will be singled out for
audit in the near future.
Robert L. Lewis of Cleveland Heights, a well-known
Cleveland attorney, is the former managing partner of
Ulmer & Berne and a faculty member of Case Western
Reserve University's Mandel Center for Nonprofit
Organizations. He was the founding board president of
Cuyahoga Community College.