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Bully Pulpit

The term "bully pulpit" stems from President Theodore Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word "bully" as an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. The Bully Pulpit features news, reasoned discourse, opinion and some humor.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

RE: RE: Guatemala urged to act on murders

So what's your point?

Oh, I could have a variety of points. One of them might be how amazing it is to me that any conservative ever thought that we were in Iraq to 'liberate' or help the Iraqi people. We generally don't have the time for that sort of crap unless we have some ulterior motive. (I'm not necessarily knocking all ulterior motives, so don't get mad.)

Are you saying we should interfere with the internal affairs of Guatemala?

No. We could pay a bit more attention to and invest a bit more in our neighbors and not so much in countries that are nearly on the other side of the world.

Are you saying we should swing our armies into action for every hysterical report that the idiots at Amnesty International and the BBC choose to trumpet across the news wires?

No, but why not? We're ready to swing our armies in elsewhere to meddle in business that is not ours. (But usually when that happens, the hysterical reports are from our own government.)

No doubt what is happening is terrible, but if you think this is new or even extreme for Central and South America, then you've been living a sheltered life, my boy.

Whatever — what American isn't sheltered, Steve? And while you're at it, tell me all about your life in Guatemala, too.

But you're right: murder is not new, but I'd say it's still pretty 'extreme' — especially these types of murders. From the article:

Amnesty's latest report cites police figures which show that 229 women and girls were killed in Guatemala in the first six months of 2006. Many of the murders were exceptionally brutal, with the victims suffering sexual violence, mutilation and dismemberment. Amnesty says that it knows of only two convictions out of 665 murders of women in 2005.


So why aren't Americans outraged at the longstanding lack of justice for Guatemalan citizens, close neighbors of ours? For a short while, we were all fired up about fighting for the longstanding lack of justice and freedom for Iraqi citizens, people who don't live anywhere near us. Of course I know what gives, but, for me, the still-existent BS doublestandards involved in the Iraq debate cast many other international issues in a different light these days.

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