The Flip Side of the CIA Bashing Coin

By Keith R. Schmitz

One of the most breath-taking sights in America is the hypocrisy of the right. As a natural wonder it ranks up there with the Grand Canyon.

As recently as today in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cal Thomas is always ready to shoulder goes after the administration over the currently rising deficit. Never mind that this is back-fill for the economic problems left by the previous administration, or would result in needed changes in our health care system that will eventually save future administrations money -- and lower deficits.

It wasn't too long ago Thomas and others in his cult were tightly zipped over the money for nothing deficits ran up by Bush resulting from the useless invasion of Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy and a drug program clearly for the benefit of the pharmaceutical companies.

Don't forget in Bush's world nothing gets done for the country unless it helps our thin, flaky upper crust first, and to ensure that in keeping with the dictums of Grover Norquist, prevent the government from ever doing anything beneficial for the American people.

Now we have the spectacle of the caterwauling over the expected investigations of the CIA over detainee abuses. Many of these guys were poor slubs who were rounded up as a result of bounties to Pakistani warlords and were later tortured to learn about things they knew nothing about.

Good to see that our Attorney General Eric Holder feels that our ideals need to be upheld for the good of the country, and that our country is strong enough to examine the flaws in our system.

But don't worry folks. Like so many investigations over our generation this will probably lead to nothing. So settle down.

So predictably the clowns have tumbled out of the car and are complaining that this investigation will hamper morale at the CIA. Funny that didn't seem to be a concern when Dick Cheney outed a CIA operative with God knows how many of the coverts protecting us lost their lives.

Or when Cheney, who we can be pretty certain was going to put us into Iraq regardless of what the intelligence showed, blamed the CIA for "mistakes." That brought bogus to a whole new level.

Like the Grand Canyon, the gap between reality and their depiction of it is pretty wide.