Stray the course
Just last week as I was watching the latest episode of corporate malfeasance I wondered, “Whatever happened to Lee Iacocca?” (Or, by extension, people like him.) Then yesterday, Kim Glann sent me this, from Mr. Iacocca’s introduction to his new book:
Had Enough?
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”
Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies.
Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don’t need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?
I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have.
You can read the rest by clicking here. Happily, the link is to Snopes.com, who have pre-debunked the piece (yes, it is indeed by Mr. Iacocca).
I wonder if this was written before the November 2006 elections. Probably. Because the only way left to throw these particular bums out is through impeachment and removal — and that’s a crusade I would gladly join.