Sometimes, you have to wonder what the Bush Administration is up to. You have to wonder how they think they can get away with what they’are doing to this country. But then, on pondering that, you quickly begin to wonder what the hell happened to the American people.

The new King was crowned yesterday.

And as Bob Herbert said,

Watching the inaugural ceremonies yesterday reminded me of the scenes near the end of “The Godfather” in which a solemn occasion (a baptism in the movie) is interspersed with a series of spectacularly violent murders. — Bob Herbert, “Dancing the War Away” (January 21, 2005) The New York Times.

Herbert notes that when World War II was raging, then-President Franklin Roosevelt refused to allow for a lavish inauguration. Common sense and decency just didn’t seem to allow for throwing huge parties while Americans were dying in a war America had only reluctantly entered.

But as Herbert notes, times have changed. And, of course, America entered this war wholeheartedly, chomping at the bit, anxious to wrest oil-rich Iraq from the hands of “terrorists.” By terrorists, of course, we just mean “Arabs,” or, maybe, “non-Americans.”

To those who are frothing over my putting it this way, I can only say, “STOP AND THINK FOR A MINUTE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!” I mean, seriously: How many lies were told along the way of convincing us to enter a war that will likely bankrupt our country? Do you understand that the might and power of the United States costs money? Do you not get that it’s not an unlimited pile of gold that finances this war? The United States, contrary to popular belief, is not omnipotent.

And who were we after? Even the Bush Administration has abandoned the search for the weapons of mass destruction that were the very reason they convinced us the war was necessary in the first place! But there’s no need for pretense anymore. If I were Nero Bush, I’d be fiddling while Rome burns throwing $40 million coronation balls, too, because obviously he can (literally, in the case of America’s sons and daughters) get away with murder.

Americans are apparently really okay with the idea of being tricked; convinced that a war was absolutely necessary because Iraq had WMDs, after it turns out that they didn’t, nobody cares. Did you know that Americans are dying for this? Did you know — do you know — that our actions actually increased and solidified opposition to the United States? There are more terrorists now than Osama bin Forgotten could have rallied if he’d used all his millions just for recruitment.

You’d think that the average American would be pissed as hell for having been conned. I mean, just how stupid does Bush think you are? (Nevermind. His actions answer that question, even if you can’t.)

Anyone still holding onto the fantasy that we were really after terrorists is — there’s no other way to put it — either incapable of independent thought — mentally incapacitated — or missing a few screws. After all, we couldn’t have done a better job of creating more terrorists if we had tried. As even Condoleeza Rice knows, we’ve increased the number of countries in which terrorists are extremely active by almost 50% since this “President” first stole his office in 2000.

That doesn’t even consider what our friends are saying about us. And it’s getting worse: “Over 40% of Canadian teenagers believe “America is ‘evil.'”

And as Herbert goes on to say,

The disconnect between the over-the-top celebrations in Washington and the hideous reality of Iraq does not in any way surprise me. It’s exactly what we should expect from the president and his supporters, who seem always to exist in a fantasy realm far removed from such ugly realities as war and suffering. In that realm you can start wars without having to deal with the consequences of them. You don’t even have to pay for them. You can put them on a credit card. — Bob Herbert, “Dancing the War Away” (January 21, 2005) The New York Times.

In spite of the havoc it’s created for our nation, in spite of creating more enemies and causing our friends to start thinking of us as “evil,” the President shows no signs of stopping. According to Seymour Hersch, the Bush Administration has been preparing to start a new war in Iran. The White House, without denying the report, says “I don’t believe that some of the conclusions he’s drawing are based on fact.” On the other hand, some are; the Administration won’t confirm or deny whether one of the some is that we’re going to start a war with Iran. In fact, using the same language he used right before starting the war in Iraq, Bush refuses to rule out the possibility of war with Iran.

Neo-conservatives, smarting because Hersch exposed the Abu Ghraib scandal, want you to believe he’s a nutcase. But Hersch not only accurately reported on Abu Ghraib, as far back as at least 1979, he accurately reported that the U.S. was wrong about the Shah of Iran. (Ironically, his story then was about Savak’s — Savak was the Shah’s secret police force in Iran — being trained by the CIA in the use of torture.)

Condoleeza Rice, confronted with numerous contradictory statements concerning Bush’s War(s) — some of which were known by her to be incorrect when she made them (we used to call that “lying”) — which she herself made while National Security Advisor, said,

“Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like,” Rice replied. “But I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity.” — “Rice spars with Democrats in hearing” (January 19, 2005) CNN.com.

That is what it all boils down to. The Bush Administration, while tricking us into wars, while misrepresenting everything as a “crisis” that they must “privatize” to resolve, figures if they just say “How dare you call me a liar when I’m lying to you!” we’ll all back off.

And I don’t blame them one bit. So far, it’s working.