On April 8, 2009, four Somali pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama when it was located 240 miles southeast of the Somalian port city of Eyl.
The ship, en route to Mombasa, Kenya, was carrying 17,000 tons of cargo, including 5,000 tons of relief supplies for Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda.
As the pirates boarded the ship, the crew members locked themselves in the engine room. To buy time for his crewmen, the captain, Richard Phillips, surrendered to the pirates.
Captain Richard Phillips
The crew later overpowered one of the pirates, and sought to exchange their captive for Phillips. The crew released the pirate, but the other three pirates refused to release Phillips.
The pirates left with Philips in a lifeboat which carried ten days of food rations, water and basic survival supplies.
On April 8, the destroyer USSS Bainbridge and the frigate USSS Halyburton were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden to deal with the hostage situation, and reached Maersk Alabama early on April 9.
On April 9, a standoff began between the Bainbridge and the pirates in the Maersk Alabama’s lifeboat, where they continued to hold Phillips hostage
On April 12, marksmen from SEAL Team 6 simultaneously opened fire with telescopic-sighted assault rifles and killed the three pirates on the lifeboat.
The SEALS believed Phillips faced an immediate threat of execution, having received a report that one of the pirates was pointing an AK-47 at his back.
The SEALS, known for their legendary marksmanship, took out all three pirates with shots to the head.
Phillips was rescued in good condition.
The vast majority of Americans rejoiced. The Maersk Alabama had been the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years. And the encounter had ended with the ship and crew safe and its captain rescued without injury.
But not everyone was happy about the outcome. Naturally, the pirates infesting the Somali coastline were infuriated at this setback.
But, surprisingly, there were some Americans who felt more sympathetically toward the Somali pirates than the man who had ordered Phillips’ rescue: President Barack Obama.
One of these was Rush Limbaugh, the American Right’s chief spokesman.
Rush Limbaugh
The Rush Limbaugh Show airs throughout the U.S. on over 400 stations and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States. When Limbaugh speaks, his “dittohead” audience listens—and acts as he decrees.
On April 14, 2009, Limbaugh gave his take on the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips:
“The Somali pirates, the merchant marine organizers who took a US merchant captain hostage for five days were inexperienced youths, the defense secretary, Roberts Gates, said yesterday, adding that the hijackers were between 17 and 19 years old.
“Now, just imagine the hue and cry had a Republican president ordered the shooting of black teenagers on the high seas….
“They were kids. The story is out, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but apparently the hijackers, these kids, the merchant marine organizers, Muslim kids, were upset.
“They wanted to just give the captain back and head home because they were running out of food. They were running out of fuel, they were surrounded by all these US Navy ships, big ships, and they just wanted out of there. That’s the story.
“But then when one of them put a gun to the back of the captain, Mr. Phillips, then bam, bam, bam. There you have it, and three teenagers shot on the high seas at the order of President Obama.”
And there you have it–an American Fascist making common cause with the heirs of Blackbeard and Henry Morgan.
Click here: President Obama Ordered the Killing of Three Black Muslim Kids – The Rush Limbaugh Show
In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare lets Marcus Brutus give his reason for murdering Caesar, his onetime friend: “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”
Limbaugh and his Rightist stooges could have said they opposed the rescue mission for a similar reasono: “Not that we loved the Somali pirates, but that we hate Obama more.”
Consider the comment Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) made on an Iowa radio program on October 3, 2011.
One caller, “Donna,” told Bachmann that the president was a “walking nightmare” who was “blowing up our country.”
“I would vote for Charles Manson before this guy,” she said. “But I’m pulling for you big time, all the way, go Michele!”
“Thank you for saying that,” Bachmann replied.
Thus, Bachmann–who supposedly represented the democratic system–chose as her hero a convicted psychopathic murderer over a legally-elected President.
The rescue of Richard Phillips has been dramatized in the 2013 movie, “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks in the title role.
Audiences cheered at the climatic moment when the three pirates met their deserved fate.
But what they didn’t see depicted was Limbaugh’s Greek chorus for the Right–and the sheer hatred he and they have for anyone who doesn’t share their Fascistic views.
The ordeal of Captain Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama is over. But the heirs of Blackbeard still roam the seas near Somalia.
And the heirs of Francisco Franco, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini still conspire to remake America in their own Rightist image.
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THE FAULT LIES IN US
In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Self-Help, Social commentary on September 25, 2015 at 12:01 amDuring a GOP primary debate on June 13, 2011, CNN moderator John King noted that FEMA–the Federal Emergency Management Agency–was about to run out of money.
And so he asked Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney:
“There are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role.
“How do you deal with something like that?”
“Absolutely,” Romney replied. “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction.
“And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.
“Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut–we should ask ourselves the opposite question: What should we keep?
“We should take all of what we’re doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we’re doing that we don’t have to do?
“And those things we’ve got to stop doing, because we’re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we’re taking in.”
FLIP!
Mitt Romney vs. FEMA
On October 30, 2012, one day after Hurricane Sandy lashed the densely-populated East Coast of the United States, reporters wanted to know if Romney still wanted to eliminate FEMA.
And, as he had on so many other issues, Mitt Romney once again refused to answer questions.
“Governor, are you going to eliminate FEMA?” a pool eporter shouted to Romney.
Hurricane Sandy
Romney refused to answer.
The reporter asked Romney at least five times: “If you’re elected President, would you eliminate FEMA?” and “What would you do with FEMA?”
No reply.
Another reporter asked: “Governor, are you going to see some storm damage?”
Again, no answer.
“Governor,. has Chris Christie invited you to come survey storm damage?”
No answer.
“Governor, you’ve been asked 14 times, why are you refusing to answer the question?”
Again, Romney refused to reply.
Finally, under mounting public pressure, he gave this reply:
FLOP!
Mitt Romney pro-FEMA
“I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
“As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need.”
In a court of law, a defendant has the right to refuse to take the witness stand and answer questions. And jurors are told by the judge they should not assume the defendant is guilty for doing so.
Courtrooms are often places for a game of let’s-pretend:
But this is the real world.
And, in it, unlike a courtroom, experience teaches that:
Think of Richard Nixon refusing to answer questions about Watergate.
Think of Ronald Reagan refusing to take questions about Iran-Contra.
Think of George W. Bush refusing to take questions about why he ignored months of terrorism warnings before 9/11.
And think of Mitt Romney refusing to answer questions on any number of subjects.
So it’s natural to distrust those who refuse to give specific answers to specific questions–especially when those questions apply to matters that direclty affect people’s lives.
For millions of Americans who profess to be deeply religious, Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7-8 should have been instructive:
Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth. And to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
In a democracy, those words are a call to citizen action:
Ask.
Seek.
Knock.
In the Soviet Union, the truth about the workings of government and the realities of everyday life was carefully guarded.
Only those who gained special access to the Kremlin’s hidden archives could learn at least some of that truth.
Everyone else had to settle for the official, self-serving, lie-filled pronouncements of the Soviet leadership.
But Americans have no such excuse.
They do have access to a wide range of news from differing sources–ranging from the far left to the far right. At least 1,382 daily newspapers–both domestic and foreign– provide information on a wide range of national and international issues.
More than 20 nationwide broadcasting networks exist. Among these: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, PBS, Telemundo, The CW.
Nevertheless, millions of Americans remain ignorant of the well-revealed truth about the issues that most affect their lives.
As a result, Cassius’ words to Brutus in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar apply to them:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.”