SOP

The current professional con-men in the republican leadership hold many "truths" to be self-evident. Here are some of the biggies from the Republican Party Platform and how they are the source for snake-oil proliferation (SOP):

1. Freedom for all. God Himself has given mankind the gift of freedom...meant even for you ignorant sand-dwellers o'er there in the Middle East. Though you know not what you are missing we must forgive you, as only a good God-ferrin' Christian would do...and jam freedom down your throats. Let's just look at it like giving castor oil to a child...or maybe ...let's NOT look at it like giving castor oil to a child....Instead, let's look at it like giving Zymaxa-(tm-copyright-2004-use this name and fry in coroporate Hell, for we will hunt you down with our bastion of coroporate lawyers and burn you alive for using our trademark without permission...and without lots of money) to a child (after all we want to help our coroporate friends and supporters...I mean funders). The child will thank us when s/he is well but may find the medicine a wee bit bitter; just like the Iraqis will have to endure a wee bit of death and destruction and such to reach that wonderful place called Freedom (enduring Freedom, anybody???). Yes, democracy ain't easy. Especially when you are fully ignorant of what it is. When you have a WalMart you will understand. (We must make the world safe for Democracy...I mean...WalMart). When our corporations can hire you as cheap labor to support OUR way of life you will understand. Just ignore the fact that we consort with scum-filled regimes that scoff at democracy, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, you are missing the point, o' ignorant one. You see, Freedom really means Freedom to choose between being our [economic] friend and being our [military-but-only-if-we-can-easily-woop-you] foe. There is really no other choice. There really is NO choice (especially w.r.t reproductive rights, but I digress...). Yes, Freedom means No Choice...Let No Choice Ring!

2. As W so profoundly said, "We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers." Just who are these "great powers" you ask (scroll down):

Coalition of the Willing
Iraq Troop numbers March 2004
	Country	Troops	Per 100000 population	Per 1000 military
1	USA	130,000	47.7	94.8
2	United Kingdom	9,000	15.2	42.4
3	Italy	3,000	5.3	11.3
4	Poland	2,460	6.7	10.2
5	Ukraine	1,600	3.2	5.1
6	Spain *	1,300	3.3	7.0
7	Netherlands	1,100	7.0	19.5
8	Australia	800	4.3	14.5
9	Romania	700	3.1	3.4
10	Bulgaria	480	5.9	5.9
11	Thailand	440	0.7	1.4
12	Denmark	420	7.8	17.3
13	Honduras *	368	6.1	5.4
14	El Salvador	361	6.2	14.7
15	Dominican Republic	302	3.7	12.3
16	Hungary	300	2.9	6.9
17	Japan	240	0.2	1.0
18	Norway	179	4.0	5.8
19	Mongolia	160	6.1	17.6
20	Azerbaijan	150	1.9	2.1
21	Portugal	128	1.3	2.6
22	Latvia	120	5.1	20.9
23	Lithuania	118	3.3	9.7
24	Slovakia	102	1.9	2.3
25	Czech Republic	80	0.8	1.4
26	Philippines	80	0.1	0.7
27	Albania	70	2.1	7.0 **
28	Georgia	70	1.4	2.7
29	New Zealand	61	1.7	6.4
30	Moldova	50	1.1	4.7
31	Macedonia	37	1.8	2.3
32	Estonia	31	2.2	6.5
33	Canada ^	31^
34	Kazakhstan	25	0.1	0.4
Sources: The Australian, 17th March 2004. SBS World Guide, ninth edition, 2001.

The mighty likes of Moldova! Let me tell ya'! They sent their sharp-shootin' mightiest I guarantee you; all fifty of 'em.

3. "We confront big challenges instead of passing them on to future generations." So says the RNC platform. [They have got to be kidding. With the deficit at stratospheric levels these cheap car salesmen (no offense to car salesmen mind you) must be laughing all the way to the federal reserve. P.T. Barnum would be proud ("There's a sucker born every minute")]. I bet they have a secret plan...a money tree. Yeah, we'll grow our money. Hey, the dollar is dropping like a 10-ton petrified elephant turd on currency markets so what foreigner would want a green-back these days anyway. Mr. Snow rev that baby right up [money press] and print to your heart's content!

4. Dignity for all life, at all stages of it...but not ALL places for it. After all, we are taking the war on terror out of our backyard and fighting it in someone else's so their people die and our people don't....but the Iraqis and Afghanistanis will thank us some day (see #1). At least we can sit in our SUVs, shop at Wal-Mart, sip our 3$ coffee, own three TVs and take Prozac to deal with our massive stressors while those sadly naive Iraqis have their teency weency inconveniences o'er there. Hell, most Americans can't pick out Canada on a map let alone Iraq or Afghanistan. And why the Hell should they?! We are number one! Screw everybody else! Bring it on!

5. Freedom is worth fighting for, dying for and sacrificing for. But we have already done our fighting, dying and sacrificing in history. Now it is somebody else's turn. Freedom rocks! Gettin' there sucks! I just want another tax cut dammit! Number one! Number one! Number one!

6. "As the Party of Lincoln, we stand for freedom..." but not for those damn minorities and foreigners!

Red State Joe