General David Patraeus, asked by Rep. Susan Collins in a Senate hearing recently what the appropriate U.S. response would be if the Iraqi government has not made significant progress within a year, he refused to prognosticate but did say that there would have to be consideration given to how much “blood and treasure” we could continue to commit to that situation.
Before we could possibly make that decision, we would have to know exactly what the goals are in that country and whether or not we collectively agreed that those goals were worth additional blood and treasure.
That is where those of us who have opposed this war from the time it was first discussed part ways with those who support it because they believe that America can do no wrong. The myth of “America the Beneficent” has been the pulse of BushCo’s ability to convince the nation that they should be supportive of this war. They accomplished it, though, by withholding their true goals from the American people while waving the flags of patriotism as though this we were going off to fight World War II.
From my perspective we have already expended far more blood and treasure than was called for by this so-called war on terror. Fighting terrorism takes quiet boots on the ground not the huge expense in blood and treasure of shock and awe bombing a people that neither attacked us nor had any intention of doing so. It takes recognition of the issues that give rise to the hatred that motivates suicide bombers and other terrorists and the resolve to address them. It takes international cooperation based, not on the desire to corner the market on scarce resources or conquer new territories, but the desire to honor the humanity in everyman and to build a future based on the well being of all of us – not just Americans and Brits.
How much more blood and treasure for this war? None.
How much more treasure for healing the wounds of this war and of terrorist activity as well? A great deal. Let’s get on with it.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Bush Peace Efforts
Yesterday President Bush broke his seven year fast from attempting to enhance world peace by providing the keynote for the first effort at Middle-East peace since he took office.
He is to be commended for attempting this even if he is too late. Had he begun the effort seven years ago, though, he might have a chance of achieving something before leaving office. As it is, he has saddled himself with a timetable that makes his chances for success slim at best – not to mention that it is going to be hard for participants to offer concessions to the president who installed pre-emptive warfare as a national strategy and who has often confronted the world belligerently but never welcomed contrary views with open arms.
Probably the wisest thing he has done in this effort is to pass the central roles to the Department of State since, unlike Presidents Carter and Clinton before him, he lacks the ability to handle such delicate negotiations himself. That’s not entirely a condemnation of the man. After all, one of the marks of a good leader is the ability to recognize his shortcomings and assign tasks in those areas to competent aides. This exercise will stringently test the quality of Mr. Bush’s ability to choose competent aides more than his own diplomatic abilities, and the intensity of these negotiations will certainly test their competence to the max.
No matter what your political leanings are, though, you have to be rooting for a positive solution to the Israeli/Palestinian problem. If Rice and Bush surprise us all by pulling it off, they will definitely deserve a standing O.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
He is to be commended for attempting this even if he is too late. Had he begun the effort seven years ago, though, he might have a chance of achieving something before leaving office. As it is, he has saddled himself with a timetable that makes his chances for success slim at best – not to mention that it is going to be hard for participants to offer concessions to the president who installed pre-emptive warfare as a national strategy and who has often confronted the world belligerently but never welcomed contrary views with open arms.
Probably the wisest thing he has done in this effort is to pass the central roles to the Department of State since, unlike Presidents Carter and Clinton before him, he lacks the ability to handle such delicate negotiations himself. That’s not entirely a condemnation of the man. After all, one of the marks of a good leader is the ability to recognize his shortcomings and assign tasks in those areas to competent aides. This exercise will stringently test the quality of Mr. Bush’s ability to choose competent aides more than his own diplomatic abilities, and the intensity of these negotiations will certainly test their competence to the max.
No matter what your political leanings are, though, you have to be rooting for a positive solution to the Israeli/Palestinian problem. If Rice and Bush surprise us all by pulling it off, they will definitely deserve a standing O.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
A Declaration of Principles and the Realization of the Neo-Con’s Goals
Yesterday Mr. Bush pulled off a coup he and his cronies have been aiming at from the beginning –permanent bases for American troops in the Middle East. This move comes as no surprise to those who have done their research on the neo-con motives for the war in Iraq, but others will undoubtedly miss its import.
To really get the picture, you must be familiar with the seminal neo-con document, “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”. Long time readers can skip this paragraph. It’s old hat to you. But for those who still don’t know exactly why we invaded Iraq, here’s the reference that explains it all: www.newamericancentury.org Go there and open the paper, Rebuilding America’s Defenses. This is a report that was presented to George W. Bush’s campaign committee on international affairs in September, 2000 – a full year before 9-11.
Be sure to check out the list of contributors. You’ll find a lot of familiar BushCo names. You’ll want to read the whole thing, but initially you can save a little time by going right to page 14. There you can verify that I’m not misleading you when I say you’ll find the single line that entirely sums it up. In the middle of the right hand column it says, “While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Now, after six years of fighting at the cost of billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and untold Iraqi property, Mr. Bush has signed a document binding his successors to either delivering or have to weasel out of one of the primary goals his backers sought from the outset of his bid for the presidency – that permanent American military presence in the Gulf.
Love it or hate it; like it or lump it; you and your grandchildren are now obligated to the continued drainage of your wealth down the sump that our rash action in invading the sovereign nation of Iraq has created.
If this “accomplishment” is your idea of a dream, I promise the day will come when you, too, will come to see it as a nightmare. I do not believe that America will enjoy a single day of total comfort with its presence in that country. I do not believe that the time will ever come when we can reasonably expect that no American will be in jeopardy for having been sent to that country. I do not believe that this will do anything to stem the tide of terrorism and anti-Americanism around the world, but rather will add fuel to the anti-American fires smoldering throughout the Arab world.
So congratulations W. You got your way, but once again, just like the day you strutted across the deck in your victory flight suit, you have proven that you have the anti-Midas touch. Everything you touch turns to lead, and our nation and the world suffer for it.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
To really get the picture, you must be familiar with the seminal neo-con document, “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”. Long time readers can skip this paragraph. It’s old hat to you. But for those who still don’t know exactly why we invaded Iraq, here’s the reference that explains it all: www.newamericancentury.org Go there and open the paper, Rebuilding America’s Defenses. This is a report that was presented to George W. Bush’s campaign committee on international affairs in September, 2000 – a full year before 9-11.
Be sure to check out the list of contributors. You’ll find a lot of familiar BushCo names. You’ll want to read the whole thing, but initially you can save a little time by going right to page 14. There you can verify that I’m not misleading you when I say you’ll find the single line that entirely sums it up. In the middle of the right hand column it says, “While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Now, after six years of fighting at the cost of billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and untold Iraqi property, Mr. Bush has signed a document binding his successors to either delivering or have to weasel out of one of the primary goals his backers sought from the outset of his bid for the presidency – that permanent American military presence in the Gulf.
Love it or hate it; like it or lump it; you and your grandchildren are now obligated to the continued drainage of your wealth down the sump that our rash action in invading the sovereign nation of Iraq has created.
If this “accomplishment” is your idea of a dream, I promise the day will come when you, too, will come to see it as a nightmare. I do not believe that America will enjoy a single day of total comfort with its presence in that country. I do not believe that the time will ever come when we can reasonably expect that no American will be in jeopardy for having been sent to that country. I do not believe that this will do anything to stem the tide of terrorism and anti-Americanism around the world, but rather will add fuel to the anti-American fires smoldering throughout the Arab world.
So congratulations W. You got your way, but once again, just like the day you strutted across the deck in your victory flight suit, you have proven that you have the anti-Midas touch. Everything you touch turns to lead, and our nation and the world suffer for it.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Monday, November 26, 2007
Is Our Democracy Doomed?
We’ve all read the stories about the firings of U.S. Justice Department attorneys. The Attorney General lost his job and most of his credibility in the process. Why would he take such a risk? What was really at stake here? What would motivate BushCo to fire so many Justice Department attorneys and replace them with party faithful lawyers? What did they have to gain?
The answer, I believe, lies in the fact that 2008 is an election year. We all like to think of the U.S. as the world’s leader in the free election process. We believe that the people in countries like El Salvador, Haiti, and Russia are oppressed because the elections they participate in are likely to be rigged one way or another. There is really only one party fielding a candidate, or the ballot box is stuffed, or people are intimidated at the polls, or something happens somewhere along the way that predetermines the outcome of the election every time.
We tend to believe that we are above that. We think that we have a system that protects us from predetermined elections, but just look at the last two presidential elections. Eight years ago the entire process was warped and twisted to the point that the popular vote didn’t matter. The electoral college didn’t even matter. It all came down to a Supreme Court decision that was very quickly made and not at all hotly contested. Four years ago there were questions as to the legality of the voting process in Missouri, Ohio and, once again, Florida, not to mention the furor over how easily new electronic voting systems developed and operated by strong supporters of the Republican party could be manipulated.
Questionable practices weren’t limited to the Republican party, either. The Democrats were accused of some pretty shady stuff, themselves. After all, there is a great deal at stake in any election, and an American presidential election contests the most powerful position in the world.
So what does the firing of DOJ attorneys have to do with this? The answer is glaringly simple. Those attorneys are the people who will investigate and deal with contested election issues. They monitor the voting process in this country. They determine how and by whom election issues will be settled. So if they are professed supporters of a given political party, that party can be assured that the settlement will be in their favor. As Naomi Wolf pointed out in a recent article, Goebbels did this same thing in Germany in 1933.
The real upshot of the brouhaha over these attorneys, though, must be examined within the bigger picture. This process is just one aspect of a series of moves taken by the executive branch and through the Congress that perhaps are setting the stage for the complete loss of the freedoms guaranteed by our constitution.
Add it up:
• The firing of U.S. attorneys to make elections easily manipulable
• The right of the executive branch to identify enemies of the state and imprison them without the right of representation or appeal – The Patriot Act
• The suspension of habeas corpus and the empowerment of the executive branch to declare U.S. citizens as “enemy combatants” – The Military Commissions Act
• Easing the way for the executive branch to declare martial law – The Defense Authorization Act of 2007
• The creation of prison camps by none other than Halliburton that is occurring in this country right now with no public disclosure
• Hundreds of presidential signing statements exempting the executive branch from laws passed by the Congress
• The rise of a movement for a “Christian” nation with only the extreme right wing allowed to define Christian
• The demise of small news media and their replacement by a small number of large media controlled by ideologues enabled by federal legislation and reduced regulation now being taken further by Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC.
Once again, not all of this can be laid solely at the feet of the Republican party, though most of it is most definitely the handiwork of BushCo and most notably quiet little dick Cheney. Many Democrats have voted along the way in support of this process. The voting record of every office holder in the Congress should be examined and none who consistently voted to put this block of legislation and activities into place or failed to speak out against it should ever be re-elected.
In the best case scenario, this picture represents an abdication of responsibility by our Congress. In the worst case scenario, it is the outline of an under-the-table scheme to hijack the country and take away the freedom of every American who would dare to stand up for his/her rights by strongly protesting governmental actions. In that case, it is no less than a move toward fascism, and should not be tolerated for one minute by any thinking American citizens. Find middle ground here if you can, but even from that position, the nation cannot long survive if the trend is allowed to continue, so unbroken silence is not an acceptable approach to the problem. The solution lies in the will of the people.
For the last eight years I have held that the issues BushCo presents to our nation are not partisan. At this point, it should be clear to everyone that support of either party without regard to the ultimate effect of that party’s actions is a pledge of allegiance to a party and not to America. America needs informed action from its citizenry and allegiance only to the preservation of the constitution or it will cease to be the America we all love.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
The answer, I believe, lies in the fact that 2008 is an election year. We all like to think of the U.S. as the world’s leader in the free election process. We believe that the people in countries like El Salvador, Haiti, and Russia are oppressed because the elections they participate in are likely to be rigged one way or another. There is really only one party fielding a candidate, or the ballot box is stuffed, or people are intimidated at the polls, or something happens somewhere along the way that predetermines the outcome of the election every time.
We tend to believe that we are above that. We think that we have a system that protects us from predetermined elections, but just look at the last two presidential elections. Eight years ago the entire process was warped and twisted to the point that the popular vote didn’t matter. The electoral college didn’t even matter. It all came down to a Supreme Court decision that was very quickly made and not at all hotly contested. Four years ago there were questions as to the legality of the voting process in Missouri, Ohio and, once again, Florida, not to mention the furor over how easily new electronic voting systems developed and operated by strong supporters of the Republican party could be manipulated.
Questionable practices weren’t limited to the Republican party, either. The Democrats were accused of some pretty shady stuff, themselves. After all, there is a great deal at stake in any election, and an American presidential election contests the most powerful position in the world.
So what does the firing of DOJ attorneys have to do with this? The answer is glaringly simple. Those attorneys are the people who will investigate and deal with contested election issues. They monitor the voting process in this country. They determine how and by whom election issues will be settled. So if they are professed supporters of a given political party, that party can be assured that the settlement will be in their favor. As Naomi Wolf pointed out in a recent article, Goebbels did this same thing in Germany in 1933.
The real upshot of the brouhaha over these attorneys, though, must be examined within the bigger picture. This process is just one aspect of a series of moves taken by the executive branch and through the Congress that perhaps are setting the stage for the complete loss of the freedoms guaranteed by our constitution.
Add it up:
• The firing of U.S. attorneys to make elections easily manipulable
• The right of the executive branch to identify enemies of the state and imprison them without the right of representation or appeal – The Patriot Act
• The suspension of habeas corpus and the empowerment of the executive branch to declare U.S. citizens as “enemy combatants” – The Military Commissions Act
• Easing the way for the executive branch to declare martial law – The Defense Authorization Act of 2007
• The creation of prison camps by none other than Halliburton that is occurring in this country right now with no public disclosure
• Hundreds of presidential signing statements exempting the executive branch from laws passed by the Congress
• The rise of a movement for a “Christian” nation with only the extreme right wing allowed to define Christian
• The demise of small news media and their replacement by a small number of large media controlled by ideologues enabled by federal legislation and reduced regulation now being taken further by Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC.
Once again, not all of this can be laid solely at the feet of the Republican party, though most of it is most definitely the handiwork of BushCo and most notably quiet little dick Cheney. Many Democrats have voted along the way in support of this process. The voting record of every office holder in the Congress should be examined and none who consistently voted to put this block of legislation and activities into place or failed to speak out against it should ever be re-elected.
In the best case scenario, this picture represents an abdication of responsibility by our Congress. In the worst case scenario, it is the outline of an under-the-table scheme to hijack the country and take away the freedom of every American who would dare to stand up for his/her rights by strongly protesting governmental actions. In that case, it is no less than a move toward fascism, and should not be tolerated for one minute by any thinking American citizens. Find middle ground here if you can, but even from that position, the nation cannot long survive if the trend is allowed to continue, so unbroken silence is not an acceptable approach to the problem. The solution lies in the will of the people.
For the last eight years I have held that the issues BushCo presents to our nation are not partisan. At this point, it should be clear to everyone that support of either party without regard to the ultimate effect of that party’s actions is a pledge of allegiance to a party and not to America. America needs informed action from its citizenry and allegiance only to the preservation of the constitution or it will cease to be the America we all love.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Friday, November 23, 2007
Who Should Get Your Vote?
Polls this week show W with an approval rating of 33%. At the same time the approval rating for the Democratic Congress is 29%. What does this mean when we are turning the corner into a presidential election year?
Who do you vote for when you don’t approve of anybody? If you haven’t been there before, welcome to my constant quandary. It’s been years since I voted for anyone other than the lesser of two evils, (I did vote eagerly for Bill Clinton, but he was the first I was in any way excited about since Bobby Kennedy. I was old enough, but not smart enough to vote for Jack!) but this year is a oner.
Talk about evils – I’ve been fed up with the Republican party since Richard Nixon headed up a band of burglars and Ronald Reagan raided Social Security to fund his illegal wars, but I never thought I would see true, deep-seated, no-holds-barred evil in the White House under any party until I saw what BushCo came in to do and did.
At this point the only thing I’m sure of is that the Republican party needs to be thrown out of the Whitehouse.
Well, not really. Here are a couple of other things I’m sure of:
1. Anybody who continues to support this war at this point ought to be thrown out of Washington, D.C. altogether.
2. No candidate who will not state that torture and extraordinary rendition have been occurring and must be stopped should receive a single vote from any American of conscience.
3. No candidate who holds that Iran could reasonably be attacked during his or her first term in office should be elected to any office.
4. No candidate who fails to express a desire to reinstate liberties through repeal or revision of the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, or any of the other freedom restrictive legislation passed during this administration should be elected.
5. It would be preferable for neither a party-bound Democrat nor a hard-line Republican to be elected to the presidency. (But they will.)
6. The best reasonably possible outcome for the next election would be for a Democrat to be elected president and a slight majority of Democrats to hold the Congress.
And finally, one last point that is absolutely true - No matter what we want from the next election, we won’t get it.
That is the way it always has been and always will be. There is no perfect form of government save a benevolent dictatorship under a Ghandi or Schweitzer, so no matter what the next election brings, we will have to do our best to get along with it. And I, no doubt, will still find plenty to gripe about!
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Who do you vote for when you don’t approve of anybody? If you haven’t been there before, welcome to my constant quandary. It’s been years since I voted for anyone other than the lesser of two evils, (I did vote eagerly for Bill Clinton, but he was the first I was in any way excited about since Bobby Kennedy. I was old enough, but not smart enough to vote for Jack!) but this year is a oner.
Talk about evils – I’ve been fed up with the Republican party since Richard Nixon headed up a band of burglars and Ronald Reagan raided Social Security to fund his illegal wars, but I never thought I would see true, deep-seated, no-holds-barred evil in the White House under any party until I saw what BushCo came in to do and did.
At this point the only thing I’m sure of is that the Republican party needs to be thrown out of the Whitehouse.
Well, not really. Here are a couple of other things I’m sure of:
1. Anybody who continues to support this war at this point ought to be thrown out of Washington, D.C. altogether.
2. No candidate who will not state that torture and extraordinary rendition have been occurring and must be stopped should receive a single vote from any American of conscience.
3. No candidate who holds that Iran could reasonably be attacked during his or her first term in office should be elected to any office.
4. No candidate who fails to express a desire to reinstate liberties through repeal or revision of the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, or any of the other freedom restrictive legislation passed during this administration should be elected.
5. It would be preferable for neither a party-bound Democrat nor a hard-line Republican to be elected to the presidency. (But they will.)
6. The best reasonably possible outcome for the next election would be for a Democrat to be elected president and a slight majority of Democrats to hold the Congress.
And finally, one last point that is absolutely true - No matter what we want from the next election, we won’t get it.
That is the way it always has been and always will be. There is no perfect form of government save a benevolent dictatorship under a Ghandi or Schweitzer, so no matter what the next election brings, we will have to do our best to get along with it. And I, no doubt, will still find plenty to gripe about!
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanks Alot
Today is America’s great day of thanks. As children we are taught to be thankful for all that America stands for. I remember grade school lessons about the day when the pilgrims shared their bounty by getting together with the Indians in peace to share the year’s harvest in a feast of friendship. It’s only in adulthood that we come to realize that this lovely little scene is most likely the product of the victor’s revisionist history and that it was more like the Indians, feeling sorry for the poor wretches that were about to face the ravages of a New England winter and deciding to feed the fools.
Still, the idea of setting aside a day on which to be consciously thankful for the blessings life has bestowed upon us is a fine one. Those of us who have carved out a comfortable existence for ourselves in America do have a lot to be thankful for. We do not have to wonder whether there will be bread on the table today or tomorrow. We do not have to wonder whether we will be able to find shelter from the storms of the coming winter. We do not have to wonder whether our children will have the opportunity to go to school next week. We do not have to fear that some marauding policeman will kick down our door and attack our women for having shown an ankle in the marketplace. We do not have to hide in the bush because we were born into this tribe instead of that tribe – the one with the machetes and the centuries of hatred in their hearts. We do not have to hide in an attic for five years while the Nazis rage outside the door seeking to haul us away to the gas chambers. We do not have to run from our neighborhoods when we see Al Qaida members coming – not from fear of what they will do to us, but from fear of what the occupying army will do to us after Al Qaida blows things up and leaves so there is no one but us against whom to vent their anger.
We do have a system of justice that gives us the right to fair trial if we are wealthy enough to hire a good lawyer. We do have a police force that looks after our well-being and does not in any serious way seek to abuse their power. We do have a system of public schools that offers a free and adequate basic education to every child. We do have the security of knowing that the odds are very much in our favor when we go to bed tonight that we will sleep safely and awaken to the same level of safety we enjoyed yesterday. We do have the wherewithal to continue to overuse the resources available to us so that we will not have to endure one minute of discomfort throughout the day.
And we do have an election system which, provided we can safeguard it adequately against rigged ballot boxes, unfair election judges and bought supreme court justices, might allow us to vote into office a government that will have better priorities than the economic domination of the world.
Oh, but now I’ve gone too far again. Best to just be thankful for what we’ve got. Or not! – your choice.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Still, the idea of setting aside a day on which to be consciously thankful for the blessings life has bestowed upon us is a fine one. Those of us who have carved out a comfortable existence for ourselves in America do have a lot to be thankful for. We do not have to wonder whether there will be bread on the table today or tomorrow. We do not have to wonder whether we will be able to find shelter from the storms of the coming winter. We do not have to wonder whether our children will have the opportunity to go to school next week. We do not have to fear that some marauding policeman will kick down our door and attack our women for having shown an ankle in the marketplace. We do not have to hide in the bush because we were born into this tribe instead of that tribe – the one with the machetes and the centuries of hatred in their hearts. We do not have to hide in an attic for five years while the Nazis rage outside the door seeking to haul us away to the gas chambers. We do not have to run from our neighborhoods when we see Al Qaida members coming – not from fear of what they will do to us, but from fear of what the occupying army will do to us after Al Qaida blows things up and leaves so there is no one but us against whom to vent their anger.
We do have a system of justice that gives us the right to fair trial if we are wealthy enough to hire a good lawyer. We do have a police force that looks after our well-being and does not in any serious way seek to abuse their power. We do have a system of public schools that offers a free and adequate basic education to every child. We do have the security of knowing that the odds are very much in our favor when we go to bed tonight that we will sleep safely and awaken to the same level of safety we enjoyed yesterday. We do have the wherewithal to continue to overuse the resources available to us so that we will not have to endure one minute of discomfort throughout the day.
And we do have an election system which, provided we can safeguard it adequately against rigged ballot boxes, unfair election judges and bought supreme court justices, might allow us to vote into office a government that will have better priorities than the economic domination of the world.
Oh, but now I’ve gone too far again. Best to just be thankful for what we’ve got. Or not! – your choice.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
BushCo’s Wasp Nest
When I was ten years old, we spent a summer in San Antonio, Texas while my dad, 38 at the time, went through boot camp after being drafted to serve in Korea. We rented a home in a pleasant neighborhood, and one of the new friends I made was Pepe, the gardener for the home across the street. Pepe didn’t speak much English, and I don’t think he was too bright either, because I clearly remember the day he tried to take out a hornets nest by spraying it with a hose. My brother and I thought it was funny, but then at the time we weren’t any brighter than Pepe.
It is really sad to say that I think our president is a whole lot like Pepe. Confronted with the problem of terrorism, he and his cronies have chosen to launch our tech laden military against it. Like Pepe they chose the wrong weapon, but they took it one giant step further and chose to fight their fight in a place that had no relation at all to terrorism.
And what’s been going on behind their backs while they flail away at the Iraqi air they said was filled with wasps? The LA Times has compiled a report card. By every measure, they have exposed the world and the U.S. to much greater danger than existed five years ago. To top it off, they have arrested and illegally dealt with thousands of prisoners who have never been found guilty of anything – more water on the Al Qaida nest.
And yet, some people find ways to support this negativity. The rest of us had better find a way to turn off BushCo’s water and start focusing on the real terrorists and targeted actions before the wasps take advantage of our holding the wrong weapons while looking the other way.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
It is really sad to say that I think our president is a whole lot like Pepe. Confronted with the problem of terrorism, he and his cronies have chosen to launch our tech laden military against it. Like Pepe they chose the wrong weapon, but they took it one giant step further and chose to fight their fight in a place that had no relation at all to terrorism.
And what’s been going on behind their backs while they flail away at the Iraqi air they said was filled with wasps? The LA Times has compiled a report card. By every measure, they have exposed the world and the U.S. to much greater danger than existed five years ago. To top it off, they have arrested and illegally dealt with thousands of prisoners who have never been found guilty of anything – more water on the Al Qaida nest.
And yet, some people find ways to support this negativity. The rest of us had better find a way to turn off BushCo’s water and start focusing on the real terrorists and targeted actions before the wasps take advantage of our holding the wrong weapons while looking the other way.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi
Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR
The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle
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