Alex_V
Wrecker
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 515
Location: London, England
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 Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject: A very popular quote... |
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| Quote: | | There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself. |
This is one of the most popular quotes used in support of the idea that a 'hidden hand' controls the US gvmt. Daniel K. Inouye is alleged to have said it as part of his closing statements at the Iran Contra Hearings. Google lists 11,700 uses of the quote online. I ran into it for the umpteenth time looking at this David Watts article (http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=10886), and decided to research the quote a bit.
First of all, it's a misquote, as Inouye never used the words "There exists..." as part of the statement. Sticking 'there exists' on the front of it makes it sound as if Inouye is categorically stating that the shadowy government exists, which was not his intention in the slightest. Here's the quote in context...
| Quote: | | Obviously, these hearings have been about issues much more profound that who did what or knew what in the Iran-contra affair. They have presented two visions of government, much as the Constitutional Convention was presented with different views of the relationship between government and its citizens 200 years ago. One vision was described in the testimony of Admiral Poindexter, Lieutenant Colonel North, General Secord and Mr. Hakim: That of a secret government directed principally by N.S.C. staffers accountable to not a single elected official, including, apparently, the President himself; a shadowy government with its own air force, its own navy, its own fund-raising mechanism and the ability to pursue its own ideas of the national interest, from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself. |
As indicated in the quote, he is not making a statement of fact, or stating his own opinion, but actually summing up an inference one might be encouraged to draw from Oliver North's testimony. He then goes on to describe the alternate view...
| Quote: | | Fortunately our hearings were able to present another vision of government, one that is accountable to the people. A legitimate, not secret, government in which trust is the coin of the realm, as Secretary of State George Shultz said. This is the balanced Government that our Founding Fathers contemplated in our Constitution. |
The inference we are encouraged to draw from his overall statement is that the Iran Contra affair was an aberration. Whether or not we agree with that statement, Inouye's message is fairly clear when the quote is put in the proper context. This quote is almost universally presented out of context in a misquoted form that encourages the reader to get entirely the wrong meaning from it.
Which is a pity. Unfortunately I couldn't find the misquote on the pages of this forum so I'm unable to directly slap your collective wrists for it  . |
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Disco_Destroyer
Trustworthy Freedom Fighter
Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 6342
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| Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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I thought The Hidden Hand was a band
_________________
'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
www.myspace.com/disco_destroyer |
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