Justice and George Galloway

by Bob Boldt

It is sad, I know, but the Brits need Galloway even more than we do.

The irony of the situation is that he may not be as lilly-white as he would have us believe.  It does appear that one of his major fundraisers is neck-deep in the Oil for Food scandal.  I do believe Galloway was willing to take money from the Devil himself if it would alleviate the suffering our sanctions were visiting upon the dying children of Iraq.

Watch The Video

The exchange with Dem. Senator, Carl Levin was unnecessarily confrontational.  Senator Penguin wanted a black and white trap question and Galloway was, I thought, successful at a nuanced response. It almost sounded like Levin had bought into the Republican party line. It is truly a delight to see someone stand up on his hind legs and boldly (and not a little undiplomatically) tell the truth to power.

This is how the Democrats should be responding.  They need to add a Galloway chapter to their playbook.  It's a pity we no longer have a free press in this country.  The corporate press corps remains fearful of offending their masters and apparently they were willing to set aside their own maxim of "If it bleeds, it leads."  Ask Minnesota Republican Senator, Norm Coleman what it’s like to be bloodied. I suggest on his next trip to Scotland, he stay away from the Glasgow pubs where Galloway learned his debating style.

I no longer watch the commercial networks, so I was not able to confirm the coverage or lack of same by the big three.  A Google news search revealed that the only domestic ink on the subject of the Galloway battering of our benighted Senators came from the London edition of Time. Otherwise there was no lack of coverage from the British Isles, Australia, Europe and the third world press.  Most interesting of all, was a wonderful account in the Indian press (2) that compared Galloway’s candid assessment of the lies and crimes of the President and the Congress to Joseph Welsh’s courageous pillaring of “tail-gunner Joe” McCarthy during the famous Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1950.
“Like Galloway yesterday, Welch broke the norm on Capitol Hill and lashed out at the Senator: ‘Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness… Senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?’”

That episode began a process that ended McCarthy's career. Would that this current truth telling might have the same impact on President Coo Coo Bananas (3).  Sadly, our domesticated press has no interest in disturbing either their masters or the public with such disturbing material.

An interesting sidebar took place when, prior to Galloway’s appearance before the Senate Committee, he was confronted by Mirror correspondent, Christopher Hitchens who’s questions he ignored.
“I should perhaps declare a small bias here: on spotting your own correspondent (Hitchens), Mr Galloway shouted that he was a "drink- sodden ex-Trotskyist popinjay and useful idiot", some of which was unfair.” (4)

I wonder which of Galloway’s characterizations he considers fair.  I thought he was off the sauce.

All in all, It sounds like a day of wonderful theatre at the Capitol.  It’s too bad no one knows it happened.  If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to report it, does it make a sound? At least there is a blessed part of Heaven where Paul Wellstone is looking down and smiling.

Peace,

Bob Boldt

Notes:
(1)Please download the actual Senate Hearings video.  Galloway’s testimony occurs about 6 minutes in: Watch The Video

(2) A very good article by the Telegraph of Calcutta. It is ironic that we must be reminded of the important moments in our own history by foreigners:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050519/asp/foreign/story_4759064.asp
(3) From The Wit and Wisdom of Bart Simpson:
In the concluding episode of the Simpsons, after Bart is kicked out of elementary school, his parents enroll him in Catholic school.  Homer warns that if Bart is again expelled, he'll be forced to join the Army and be shipped to America's latest military quagmire. "Will it be North Korea? Iran? Anything is possible with Commander Coo-Coo Bananas in charge."
(4) The Hitchens’ piece in the Mirror is worth the read:

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