Amen Mr. Murtha

It doesn't pay to piss off a tenacious man like Mr. Murtha. Here is his latest missive, which I reproduce in its entirety and take the time to highlight a particularly jaw-dropping section.

Also I would like to say thank you to Mr. Murtha for sticking up for our troops and ask other democrats to wake up and follow his lead.


Wednesday February 1, 2006
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500


Dear Mr. President,

This March will mark the beginning of the 4th year of the war in Iraq. In contrast, U.S. involvement in WWI came to an end after 19 months. Victory in Europe was declared in WWII after 3 years 5 months. In the Korean War, a cease-fire was signed after 3 years and 1 month. But after more than three and a half years into the war in Iraq, your administration finally produced what is called a "Plan for Victory" in Iraq.

Iraq is not the center for the global war on terrorism. I believe Iraq has diverted our attention away from the fight against global terrorism and has depleted the required resources needed to wage an effective war. It is estimated that there are only about 750 to 1,000 al-Qaeda in Iraq. I believe the Iraqis will force them out or kill them after U.S. troops are gone. In fact, there is now evidence that Iraqi insurgent groups are increasingly turning against al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorists.

Our country needs a vigorous and comprehensive strategy for victory against global terrorism. The architect of 9/11 is still out there but now has an international microphone. We must get back to the real issue at hand - we have to root out and destroy al-Qaeda's worldwide network.

There are 4 key elements that I recommend to reinvigorate our global anti-terrorism effort: Redeploy, Replace, Reallocate, and Reconstitute.

Redeploy

The war in Iraq is fueling terrorism, not eliminating it. Our continued military presence feeds the strong anti-foreigner fervor that has existed in this part of the world for centuries. A vast majority of the Iraqi people now view American troops as occupiers, not liberators. Over 80% of Iraqis want U.S. forces to leave Iraq and 47% think it is justified to attack Americans. 70% of Iraqis favor a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces, with half favoring a withdrawal in the next six months. In fact, 67% of Iraqis expect day-to-day security for Iraqi citizens will improve if U.S. forces withdraw in six months and over 60% believe violent attacks, including those that are ethnically motivated, will decrease. Our military presence is the single most important reason why the Iraqis have tolerated the foreign terrorists, who account for less than 7 percent of the insurgency. 93% of the insurgency is made up of Iraqis. Once our troops are re-deployed, the Iraqis will reject the terrorists and deny them a safe haven in Iraq. The Iraqis are against a foreign presence in Iraq of any kind.

The steadfast and valiant efforts of the United States military and coalition partners have provided the Iraqi people with the framework needed to self govern. The Iraqis held elections that have been touted as highly successful, based primarily on the accounts of Iraqis who went to the polls. But our continued military presence in Iraq, regardless of the motives behind it, is seen by Iraqis as interfering in Iraq's democratic process and undercuts the chances for the newly elected government to be successful. Recently, Iraq's National Security Adviser accused U.S. negotiators of going behind the back of the Iraqi government on talks with insurgents, saying the process could encourage more violence. He said, "Americans are making a huge and fatal mistake in their policy for appeasement and they should not do this. They should leave the Iraqi government to deal with it... The United States should allow the new Iraqi government to decide on how to quell the insurgency."

In December 2005, an ABC News poll in Iraq produced some noteworthy results. 57% of Iraqis identified national security as the country's top priority. When asked to rate the confidence in public institutions, they gave Iraqi police a 68% confidence level, the Iraqi army 67%, religious leaders 67%. But the U.S./U.K. forces scored the lowest, a mere 18%.

The longer our military stays in Iraq, the more unwelcome we will be. We will be increasingly entangled in an open-ended nation building mission, one that our military can not accomplish amidst a civil war. Our troops will continue to be the targets of Iraqis who see them as interfering occupiers.

Redeploying our forces from Iraq and stationing a mobile force outside of the country removes a major antagonizing factor. I believe we will see a swift demise of foreign terrorist groups in Iraq if we redeploy outside of the country. Further, our troops will no longer be the targets of bloody attacks.


Replace

The ever-changing justifications of the war in Iraq, combined with tragic missteps, have resulted in a worldwide collapse of support for U.S. policies in Iraq.

The credibility of the United States of America will not be restored if we continue down the path of saying one thing and doing another. We must not lower our standards and tactics to those of the terrorists. In order to keep our homeland secure, we must hold true to the values that molded our American democracy, even in the face of adversity. Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, said it best during a speech in March 2004 to the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies: "America knows we cannot seek a double standard. And, America knows we get what we give. And so we must and will always be careful to respect people's privacy, civil liberties and reputations. To suggest that there is a tradeoff between security and individual freedoms -- that we must discard one protection for the other -- is a false choice. You do not defend liberty to forsake it."

Restoring the world's confidence in America as a competent and morally superior world leader is essential to winning the war on global terrorism.

A recent pubic opinion poll, conducted jointly with Zogby International and taken in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, found that 81% said the war in Iraq had brought less peace to the Middle East. A majority of the respondents said they view the United States as the biggest threat to their nations.

Mr. President, I believe in order to restore our credibility, you must hold accountable those responsible for so many missteps and install a fresh team that demonstrates true diplomatic skill, knowledge of cultural differences and a willingness to earnestly engage other leaders in a respectful and constructive way. This would do much to reinvigorate international participation in a truly effective war on global terrorism.

Reallocate

The Department of Defense has been allocated $238 billion for the war in Iraq, with average monthly costs growing significantly since the beginning of the war. In 2003 the average monthly war cost was $4.4 billion; by 2005 the average monthly cost had reached $6.1 billion.

Despite the urgent homeland security needs of our country, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission issued a dismal report card on the efforts to improve our counter-terrorist defenses. Even the most basic of recommendations, such as the coordination of fire and police communication lines, still have not been accomplished.

In the face of threats from international terrorists, we need to reallocate funds from the war in Iraq to protecting the United States against attack. A safe and swift redeployment from Iraq will allow us to do just that.


Reconstitute

The U.S. army is the smallest it's been since 1941. It is highly capable. But this drawn out conflict has put tremendous stress on our military, particularly on our Army and Marine Corps, whose operations tempo has increased substantially since 9/11.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report in November 2005 addressing the challenges of military personnel recruitment and retention and noted that the Department of Defense had been unable to fill over 112,000 positions in critical occupational specialties. This shortfall includes intelligence analysts, special forces, interpreters, and demolition experts-- those on whom we rely so heavily in today's asymmetric battlefield.

Some of our troops have been deployed four times over the last three years. Enlistment for the regular forces as well as the guard and reserves are well below recruitment goals. In 2005, the Army missed its recruitment goal for the first time since 1999, even after offering enlistment bonuses and incentives, lowering its monthly goals, and lowering its recruitment standards. As Retired Army officer Andrew Krepinevich recently warned in a report to the Pentagon, the Army is "in a race against time" to adjust to the demands of war "or risk 'breaking' the force in the form of a catastrophic decline" in recruitment and re-enlistment.

The harsh environment in which we are operating our equipment in Iraq, combined with the equipment usage rate (ten times greater than peacetime levels) is taking a heavy toll on our ground equipment. It is currently estimated that $50 billion will be required to refurbish this equipment.

Further, in its response to Hurricane Katrina, the National Guard realized that it had over $1.3 billion in equipment shortfalls. This has created a tremendous burden on non-deployed guard units, on whom this country depends so heavily to respond to domestic disasters and possible terrorist attacks. Without relief, Army Guard units will face growing equipment shortages and challenges in regaining operational readiness for future missions at home and overseas.

Since 9/11, Congress has appropriated about $334 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the insurgents have spent hundreds of thousands. We have seen reports estimating that the total cost of the wars may reach as high as $1 trillion. These estimates are said to include such costs as providing long-term disability benefits and care for injured service members. It is estimated today that over 16,000 U.S. troops have been wounded in Iraq, 10,481 of whom have been wounded by "weaponry explosive devices."

But while war costs continue to climb, cuts are being made to the defense budget. As soon as the war is over there will be pressure to cut even more. This year, even while we are at war, 8 billion dollars was cut from the base defense spending bill. You ordered another $32 billion in cuts to the defense budget over the next five years, with $11.6 billion coming from the Army. The Pentagon told Congress only last year that it needed 77 combat brigades to fulfill its missions, but now insists it only needs 70. In fact, 6 of the 7 combat brigades will be cut from the National Guard, reducing its combat units from 34 to 28. Even though all of the National Guard combat brigades have been deployed overseas since 9/11, your Administration has determined that, because of funding shortfalls, our combat ground forces can be reduced. Not only will these cuts diminish our combat power, but our ability to respond to natural disasters and terrorist threats to our homeland will be adversely affected. It is obvious that the cost of the war, in conjunction with the Army's inability to meet recruitment goals, has impacted this estimate. My concern is that instead of our force structure being based on the future threat, it is now being based on the number of troops and level of funding available.

I am concerned that costly program cuts will lead to costly mistakes and we will be unable to sustain another deployment even if there is a real threat. The future of our military and the future of our country could very well be at stake. The high dollar forecasts of our future military weapons systems and military health care add pressure to cut costs on the backs of these programs. As our weapons systems age, the concern becomes even greater.

During a time of war, we are cutting our combat force, we have not mobilized industry, and have never fully mobilized our military. On our current path, I believe that we are not only in danger of breaking our military, but that we are increasing the chances of a major miscalculation by our future enemies, who may perceive us as vulnerable.


Sincerely,

JOHN P. MURTHA
Member of Congress

ADDENDUM: Here is video of John Murtha responding to the State of the Union Address: Amen

Disciples of a jackass

I remember a quote from a PBS program "I'll fly away", that has stuck with me. The quote was this, "Just because I see a jackass standing in a field braying doesn't mean I should stop and bray back."

On some level that resonates with me, but what happens when you see a jackass standing in a field braying and drawing disciples that bray along? Should you still walk on by, or should you stop and help the disciples see they're following a jackass?

Keith Olbermann ridiculed Paul O'Reilly on MSNBC with this piece which tortures him with truthfulness and smites him with smiles. I suppose he felt that it was right to stop and help the disciples.


Truth vs O'Reilly

Untruthful Testimony

Remember how mad, irate, and inconsolable Conservatives were at Bill Clinton because he lied about his personal sexual relations?

Why then are they so complacent when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is caught lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee about wiretapping American citizens?

Gonzales Is Challenged on Wiretaps


Tisk. Tisk.

It seems unseemly, but power politics has reformed these former champions of virtue.

Ethics, I say with increased conviction, ought to be taught in our schools since honesty is no longer practiced faithfully in public life.

If Truth and Justice are indeed pillars of the American way, then what happens when the pillars crumble? What are we left with? Is it worth having?

Tolerance

I have been reading up on virtue ethics recently. This is because I cannot endure the illogical lashings of faith-based religious dogma, but find myself hoping there are logical reasons to be ethical.

The common refrain among the philosophers I've read so far is that good behavior leads to happiness, whereas bad behavior leads to unhappiness. Good behavior is that which does no harm, whereas bad behavior is harmful.

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!

Clap. Clap.

Recently I have been reading "A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues" by Andre Comte-Sponville. It is information that should be taught in our schools, particularly since it requires no religious frame of reference to study Politeness, or Fidelity, or Prudence, or Temperance, or Courage, or Justice, and so on, yet the thrust of these virtues is not normally contradicted by religious teaching (although religious practice seems another matter).

I have worked my way down the list to Tolerance, where I received somewhat of a surprise that seems topical on this day which president Bush delivers his annual state of the union address.

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule", notes Hannah Arendt, "is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist." Sophistry plays into the hands of totalitarianism: if nothing is true, how can we oppose its lies? If there are no facts, how can we accuse totalitarianism of concealing or distorting them, and how can we reply to its propaganda? For while totalitarianism lays claim to the truth, it inevitably, whenever the real truth disappoints its expectations, invents another, more manageable one.
.
.
.
Totalitarianism begins as dogmatism (it claims that the truth legitimizes it and justifies its power) and ends as sophistry (it calls "truth" whatever legitimizes it and justifies its power).


Andre Comte-Sponville
A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues
Page 164

To elaborate on the second paragraph, we could say that president Bush used something true (911) to justify his power, but then wound up calling true whatever extended that power (Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff, Torture, Spying on Americans, Tax breaks for the wealthy, gay bashing, religious bigotry).

So when it comes to el presidente Bush's state of the union address, those unfit for totalitarianism have a duty to challenge every fiction with facts, and what is false with what is true.

Those fit for totalitarianism need only believe every utterance as gospel.

All too real

Satire is all too real these days and I find it a touch sad too because I know that a comedian finds humor in what he does, whereas our presidential nowhere man takes himself seriously.

But brave satirists keep on trying and here is a worthy attempt gratefully acknowledged:

State of the Union preview

Take 'em at their word

In this article el presidente Bush expresses confidence that his warrantless wiretaps are legal.

Is the warrantless warranted

"Oh yeah?", I say, "then how about we put that empty flight deck bravado to the test and let a court decide, which is where we decide such matters in the U. S. of A."

Nixon, I repeat, resigned in disgrace because he would have been impeached for spying on Americans.

Leahy on Alito

Here is a terrific statement from Senator Patrick Leahy.

Alito a Threat to Our Fundamental Rights


My favorite line is this:

In the days immediately following those attacks [9/11], I said, and I continue to believe, that the terrorists win if they frighten us into sacrificing our freedoms and what defines us as Americans.

He seems to be one of the few prominent democrats that realizes Alito's nomination has little to do with abortion.

I wonder what kind of presidential candidate he'd make.

Alito and stereotypes

I love it when I encounter a fun and creative blog and "The Beast: America's Best Fiend" fits the bill.

Amongst all of the acidity and toxicity of the Alito confirmation process they playfully pit Super Mario and Chef Boyardee in a debate in which they cudgel each other with Italian stereotypes:

Wop/Counterwop

Laughter is healthy so enjoy the doctoring.

A new argument for ending the war

The war in Iraq is the brainchild of a man that takes pride in the fact that he isn't intellectual.

An intellectual is one that is "learned".
A near-perfect antonym for "learned" is "moronic".

People consider you "learned" if you are intelligent.
If you are intelligent you avoid doing stupid things.
Therefore taking pride in not being intellectual is equivalent to pride in doing stupid things.

The president has much to be proud of in that regard, and Iraq no doubt provides a magnificent outlet for his pride.

However, for those of us that don't enjoy seeing the treasury draining, our children shot at, our enemies strengthening, our allies pulling back, nuclear weapons proliferating, and Osama still free, Iraq provides an outlet not for pride but outrage.

The president is an ignorant man. He brags about it. He's proud of his poor judgment and so we should feel merciful towards him. If you believe in fate then you believe he is not a moronic man because he chooses to be moronic, but rather he made the choices he did because he is moronic. If you believe instead that he chose to be moronic of his own free will, then you must also believe that he wants to be moronic, which of course means that he is moronic.

So, he deserves our pity and our mercy, but that does not excuse our duty to oppose him because moronic people make harmful choices and harmful choices are stupid. Another way to think of a stupid person is unintentionally evil. Only intentionally harmful people are evil and they too should receive mercy for the same reasons stated above.

Anyhow we have a duty to stop this harmful behavior of our proudly moronic president before he proudly gets us all harmed with his stupid choices. To that end I suggest another rationale for ending the war and it is this...

President Bush insists he is omnipotent and infallible in time of war, and right to use torture and correct to spy on Americans. So, ending the war pulls the rug out from that argument and there would be no pretense for a presidential potentate to obfuscate, obstruct, omit, and overreach.

Of course one might also argue that an Authorization to Use Force is not a Declaration of War and that we are not legally "at war", but with Republicons holding virtue hostage to monied interests, it is best to use decisive counter-argument.

Stop the war.
Stop the domestic spying.
Stop the war.
Open Guantanamo to our Justice system.
Stop the war.
Stop the flight-deck bravado.

Frist helps dems on Alito

Alito is easy enough to oppose given that he was a supporter of an organization dedicated to keeping minorities and women out of Princeton's student body (namely Concerned Alumni of Princeton). It should be duly noted that even Bill Frist himself criticized CAP as "extreme" (Source).

Senate Majority leader Bill Frist has again come to the aid of democrats by exclaiming that Samuel Alito is "the worst nightmare of liberal democrats".

This means that there is now fodder from a top republican that twice accuses Alito of being extremist.

Thanks Senator Frist!

We need a Supreme Court Justice to uphold liberty and justice for all of us, not just the small circle of people Mr. Alito's bias excludes.

As cuddly as a cactus

If you grasp the Republicon worldview and take 'em at their word then it follows that we would all be safest in prisons with neocon jailers.

But of course, from what I hear anecdotally, prison is not a healthy environment. I hear that the food isn't good, the companions are prone to violence, and the colors are drab.

When I think of disheartened people shuffling to and fro, sufficiently wiretapped, video taped, inspected, dejected, and barren of delights, what comes to mind is the old haunting humbug of Communist rule.

Yes friends and neighbors, Republicons wish to rule us like Communist dictators to protect us from...

But, in order to do that they need to spy on us and get us to snitch on each other and turn our hopes to fears. The spying appears to be well under way and I'm sure operation TIPS will be renewed in another form soon.

The question now is will Americans become trembling masses tied together with one dark cord of delusion and bound together in a prison without bars?

Will we acquiesce power of the people by allowing Alito's nomination to proceed?

Will we inflame our paranoia at every pronouncement from Osama and clamber for restrictions on our freedom and diminishment of our joys?

Will we stifle our creativity with alarms and searches and barbed wire and the noise noise noise of Fantastic fandooblers and gigantic gobjumblers?

Are we madder than the cows?

Are we sicker than the birds?

Are we more stranded than the whales?

What are we giving up?

Does the sun ever shine in a neocon world?

Big Bang

I have never much cared for the "Big Bang" theory of creation because it strikes me as gibberish in fancy dress clothes.

There was nothing.
There was a bang.
There was everything.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Well, I guess you could say it was a "Big" bang.

Ahem.

It strikes me, really, that anyone wishing to believe that may as well believe in oompah loompahs.

While scientists peer into space trying to corroborate this piece of the big bang theory or that one I keep waiting for someone to look up and say, "Wait a minute! It's rubbish!"

I keep waiting for some lab-coated scientist to walk out of a back room, singing...

Oompa Loompa, doompadah dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me
Because the stars are so far away
They coalesce when we view them this way

So it's back to the drawing-board
for you know who.
The OOMPA LOOMPA DOOMPADEE DO

I suspect, I can't say I believe in it the way I believe in elevators, that our universe has always existed (no beginning) or that I can't possibly exist.

Descarte said that if I think, I am, and I think I think. So I suppose I am leaning towards believing that matter and energy have always existed.

It does seem that without matter and without energy there are no people. And that if there are no people there is no time. So why not say that matter and energy have existed for all time?

The question "What existed before time?" does beg itself but I'm not sure that makes sense. Can one say what circles were like before pi existed?

Am I being Oompa Loompa Doopahdee dumb?

50 most loathsome people in America, 2005

Here is a list of the 50 most loathsome people in America in 2005.

It is sophomoric.
It uses foul language.
It is in questionable taste.

And yet, I laughed heartily.

America's Best Fiend

A promise

If Democrats are really going to roll over and confirm Alito then I promise to switch my party affiliation to Independent.

Alito was a member of the keep Princeton white and male club, more commonly known as CAP

The acronym CAP (as in capping the number of contaminated colored people) says it all.

What more is necessary to defeat Alito unless Republicans are willing to publicly defend a bigot amidst widespread corruption scandals during a war that is going very badly?

Harry Reid loses luster on this one unless he has some tricks up his sleeve.

Inconsistent Outrage

Only some 36% of Americans supported the impeachment of President Clinton, and Republicons responded by impeaching a popular president.

According to a new poll by Zogby, 52% of Americans believe that president Bush should be impeached for illegally wiretapping American citizens, and republicons have responded by NOT impeaching an UNpopular president.

Americans support impeachment

Could it be that ethics in Washington take a back seat to party loyalty?

The strength of Murtha

Mike Wallace does his best to discredit John Murtha in this CBS interview, but he is not the typical triangulator that Wallace is used to in a democrat. He has too much experience where it counts and too much bravery when it counts to be intimidated or tripped up by circular thinking.

When it was pointed out that president Bush said Mr. Murtha was wrong and that "the terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war on terror" he responded with:

""He'’s trying to fight this war with rhetoric. Iraq is not where the center of terrorism is. So when he says we'’re fighting terrorism over there, we're inciting terrorism over there. We're encouraging terror. We'’re destabilizing the area by being over there be‘cause we'’re the targets. He said before there'’s weapons of mass destruction. He said there'’s an al Qaeda connection. There'’s many things he said turned out not to be true. So why would I believe him when he says the things he just - made that statement."


Full details

When you lead when it counts that is real leadership.

If more democrats talked with fearlessness and devotion to their beliefs they would perhaps make modest gains when Republican support decidedly waned.

Pity

It is difficult to maintain hatred when the object of your hatred is suffering. Pity makes Mercy come easier than it otherwise might.

When the object of your hatred is diabetic, blind, mostly deaf, and 76 years old it takes a real commitment to hatred to maintain it.

California's governor Arnold Swarzenegger is capable of such hatred.

Clarence Ray Allen

Blessed are the merciless
with hearts as cold as stone.

I want to know

If we don't kill ourselves off with global warfare then global warming seems liable to do the trick. When we're not busy bankrupting our nation to pay merchants of death we're busy sustaining a lifestyle that will ultimately destroy the planet.

We hate too much and we love too little.

And yet as I listened yesterday to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio I felt a spark of hope. A little, tiny, naked hope kindled in my heart.

How did he know what to do when "history seized him" as he put it?

How did he act so fearlessly?

How did he maintain his commitment to nonviolence?

How did he come to know so much about Philosophy, Religion, and People?

What school taught him?

Where did he learn to talk like that?

How did he face the dogs, the hoses, the bricks, the insults, and maintain his dignity?

How did he learn to speak not just in his own time but for all time?

How did he face such hatred with love?

Where can I learn that?

From politicians?

From churches that rape young children?

From television?

From books?

I want to develop an unshakeable faith in Love.

What kind of school do I enroll in?

I want to hurry to it.

FYI

A nation that continues to spend more money on military defense than social uplift year after year is approaching spiritual death.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Riverside Church, NY
1967

F.Y.I.

As of January 2003, U.S. military spending was creeping toward $400 billion and exceeded the combined military spending of the 15 countries with the next biggest defense budgets.

Source

Rediscovering Lost Values

Here is an excerpt from a speech of Martin Luther King Jr. which seems rather timely. He preaches that there are moral laws in this universe just like there are physical laws, and that you should no more lie and cheat and act disreputably than you should throw yourself off the tallest building in Detroit for fun.

I searched for free audio and wasn't able to find any. That is too bad because the power of Martin Luther's speech, not just his words, ought to be considered a gift to humanity and proclaimed free to all.

In any event you can read his powerful words and reflect on them.

This universe hinges on moral foundations. (Yeah) There is something in this universe that justifies Carlyle in saying, "No lie can live forever." There is something in this universe that justifies William Cullen Bryant in saying, "Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again." (My Lord, Amen) There is something in this universe that justifies James Russell Lowell in saying,

Truth forever on the scaffold,

Wrong forever on the throne.

Yet that scaffold sways the future. (Lord help him)

Behind the dim unknown stands God,

Within the shadow keeping watch above his own. (Amen)

There is something in this universe that justifies the biblical writer in saying, "You shall reap what you sow." (Amen) This is a law-abiding universe. (Amen) This is a moral universe. It hinges on moral foundations. (Lord help him) If we are to make of this a better world, we've got to go back and rediscover that precious value that we've left behind. (Yes)

Source


These values, these virtues, seem missing from our modern lives. If there really are moral laws governing the universe, if it is truly wrong to hate, then what are the consequences of breaking the moral laws?

Should I fill my bathtub with water and stock up on duct tape?

Oops

If you want to know how little regard George W. Bush has for human life all you have to do is familiarize yourself with this story.

The United States felt like assassinating Ayman Zawahiri and so shot a missile at him.

We missed.

By a lot.

And killed 17 Pakistanis including six women and children.


Killing the innocent

I am ashamed to admit that US officials defended the immoral behavior.

Is this compassionate conservatism or winning hearts and minds?

Impeachment Now

After years of widespread corruption scandals, incompetence, misconduct, and arrogant law-breaking by the Bush administration our nations Congressional leaders have begun to whisper the word "impeachment" into each others ears. In three more years perhaps they will consider acting on their coquettish conversations.

Until that time we can hear public outcries by people like former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman's, a decided boot in Nixon's derriere.


The tush of Bush needs a push

Relativism

I get worried when I find myself in agreement with fundamentalist Christians about anything.

One concept that I do agree with, however, is that moral relativism cannot be True.

My reason for sharing this belief was elegantly phrased by Plato and goes like this:

Relativism is the view that there is no Truth.
Can relativism be True, then, if it exists?

You can probably see where this is headed?

A fundamentalist Christian follows a doctrine.
A doctrine must dismiss Truth when Truth contradicts.
Dismissing Truth is practicing Relativism, since relativism is the view that there is no Truth.
Therefore a doctrine-following fundamentalist Christian practices relativism.

I suppose a fundamentalist Christian would argue that their doctrine is always True.

That is where we part company.

There is too much evidence available for me to believe the earth is 10,000 years old.

A Life, Wasted

Another gold star has been handed out, this one to Paul E. Schroeder for losing his son Edward in Iraq.

He has a lot to say about how/why his son died and they are words that no doubt piss off the Bush administration.


A Life, Wasted

I keep hoping that somehow a letter like this is going to fire a small spark of understanding among my fellow Americans about Iraq. Losing a child has got to be bad enough, but feeling it was a waste has got to sting.

These gold-star families speaking out are speaking out for a reason and it ain't treason. They want to save the children of others from dying for nothing.

The Bush administration has been an unrepentant failure since deciding to attack Iraq in response to 911. It must indeed be a nightmare to entrust your child to these ignorant, arrogant people.

Life is more precious than these machine men pretend.

A minor point

Richard M. Nixon resigned because he illegally wiretapped Americans and was due to be impeached.

George W. Bush illegally wiretapped Americans repeatedly and broadly, admitted it on a radio broadcast, then said he'd do it again.

A man without shame

To impeach or not impeach is not the question.
That is already clearly answered.
To uphold the laws of the land or not is the question.
The answer to that question seems to be a big fat no.

Democracy Dominoes

As I understand the neoconservative "plan" for the middle east it goes something like this:

1. Attack Iraq and overthrow Saddam.
2. Install a client state.
3. Install permanent US military bases.
4. Democracy will spread throughout the Middle East on the strength of Iraq's commitment to democracy.
5. Accept candies, flowers, and the grateful accolades of an adoring nation.

This idea is essentially the tired old "domino theory" we've heard before. That idea failed spectacularly to pan out in Vietnam, and seems to be turning nations hostile towards us in South America.

Freedom is what makes democracy spread, and fear is what makes democracy retreat. When democracies start fearing their very freedoms and start devoting their talents to curtailing them a type of destabalizing paranoia sets in and destroys what no army ever could.

This is happening before my very eyes in America today. Every time the president fans the fears of Americans in order to steal more power for himself, his power becomes exponentially less useful since what he has given up is more valuable than what he has gained.

Caesar said, "Let them hate as long as they fear", and neocons seem to have taken that mantra to heart.

Caesar was murdered by close associates and Rome fell.

Napoleon said, "God favors the army with the strongest artillery", and neocons seem to have taken that mantra to heart.

Napoleon met his Waterloo and France isn't today what it once was.

A leader worthy of the title should strive to create a Just society that is not ruled by fear, but instead one ruled by reason and a desire to do good. Leaders that have done this have enjoyed the type of power (that is trust) that Bushie-types strive for unwisely.

Take 'em at their word

Lately I have been playing a little game called, "Take them at their word". What you do when you hear some fool spout off is take their logic and carry it to a logical conclusion. It's fun you should try it.

My latest example used Pat Robertson's suggestion that Ariel Sharon had a stroke because he was dividing God's land (the land of Israel):

See it here

First of all it should be pointed out that all Pat is doing is amplifying the message of Israeli settlers who feel the same way.

But...let's take him at his word.

God punishes people with either death or debilitating illness for dividing His land.

Anyone at all in the US media remember president Bush's "Roadmap to Peace"? Anyone at all?

I would like to draw your attention to this quote (emphasis mine):

"Prime Minister Sharon is showing strong visionary leadership by taking difficult steps to improve the lives of people across the Middle East -- and I want to thank you for your leadership. I strongly support his courageous initiative to disengage from Gaza and part of the West Bank. The Prime Minister is willing to coordinate the implementation of the disengagement plan with the Palestinians. I urge the Palestinian leadership to accept his offer. By working together, Israelis and Palestinians can lay the groundwork for a peaceful transition."

-- President George W. Bush
April 11, 2005

Source

Woe be to president George Bush for surely he hath made himself a worthy target for the almighty God's righteous strokes!

Finding religion

I have found my new religion and it is skillfully cooked Italian food.

'Tis a religion that does no harm.

I am no Rastafarian.

I am a Pastafarian.

Spaghetti is no longer foodstuff, rather it is a transcendent religious experience that brings me closer to Heaven.

Hallelully Jeebus.

Hallelully!

They're Back

What does Jon Stewart of the Daily Show make of presidential prerogative (special right) when it comes to illegally wiretapping American citizens?

That makes sense

Is 2006 an election year?

Here is the latest news from Iraq:

Violence escalates

Here is the latest news from president Bush:

Bush says troop reductions possible

Any questions?

Harry Truman's warning

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

Sharon suffers significant stroke

Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon had a "significant" stroke, followed by hemorrhaging. He is now in stable but critical condition and doctors cannot say yet what the extent of any brain damage might be.

BBC report

Free booze for Canada's homeless

Canada conducted a study which gave homeless alcoholics a regular supply of booze and the results were impressive and surprising:

Wine, Wine, Wine

If the river was whiskey
and I was a diving duck.

Abramoff and my arse

The Washington Post is describing the latest scandal in a continuous stream of Republican corruption as "The biggest corruption scandal to infect Congress in a generation".

Voters that are Republican and think they are Conservative really crack me up these days. Individual rights my arse! Adult foreign policy my arse! Controlled spending my arse! Less government interference my arse!

Conservative you say? My arse! My arse! My arse!

Scrutinize this

Over the rainbow

Sunshine and lollipops

My oh my what a wonderful day.
Plenty of sunshine heading my way.
etc.

Howard Zinn on war

Howard Zinn believes that once the war in Iraq ends that we, the people, ought to make an effort to end war. Not this war, or that war, but war period.


Study War No More


I'm sure he will be shouted down as crazy, for what could be crazier than expecting a government to spend public money on the public's well-being?

What a loon!

He sounds as stark-raving-mad as the Dalai Lama.

What kind of a crazy world would we be living in if people didn't collateral damage each other for the glory of God?

Timber!

Republicans Lindsey Graham, Arlen Specter, and Dick Lugar all have expressed concerns about the president's domestic spying. When I heard this I wondered if Rush Limbaugh would call them America-haters and wimpy.

I suppose he will if he is fair and that any delay is simply a matter of consideration for polished oratory.

Justice for all?

Evil doers

It has been said that evil enters the world through man.

That seems correct to me since a lion can be both brutal and selfish, but nobody accuses a lion of being evil.

Why?

To be considered evil one must understand good behavior and yet choose harmful behavior for selfish reasons. Therefore a lion, acting on impulse, is not considered evil.

Man seems the sole dispenser of evil on earth and it seems to me that only human choices guided by wisdom and the desire to do good can ever overcome it. Unwise choices, even with a desire to do good, can inflict great harm. Wise choices, guided by the desire to do evil, lead to no good.

From where does the desire to do good come from and how does one develop wisdom?

Can a sincere desire to perform good acts be taught?

How do we recognize these traits in others so that we can select good and wise leaders for ourselves, or else prevent evil or harmful leaders?

It seems clear that humanity would benefit from proper instruction in this regard.

Homecoming echo

A zombie movie with political connotations sounds like just the thing blogs ought to popularize.

Want to see a movie that features veterans coming back as zombies to vote in droves against people that started the war which killed them?

Then you need to see Homecoming directed by Joe Dante.

The zombie vote

George Uber Alles?

Many argue that we need a president above the law so we can all be safe, and that one shouldn't quibble about what the president does or doesn't do since our laws only apply to little people.

I say I agree if I woke up in Communist China this morning, but if I woke up in the United States of America this president ought to face the courts to determine if his wiretapping actions were legal.

That's the American way isn't it?

Presidential preference peddlers phrase their arguments differently, but this is what they mean when they argue that democrats ought to overlook president Bush's illegal behavior with regard to spying on Americans: "Shut up and be a loyal subject".

The definition of subject, by the way, is "one under authority".

Apollo's absence

I often feel that there is more to music than I understand. I have learned to play piano but there is a sadness, and a beauty, and an ease missing from my efforts.

For instance, I am currently working on lyrics about an episode in Woody Guthrie's life that starts like this:

The Sea Porpoise had a purpose
in 1944
To ship 3000 men
to go and fight the war.

And Hitler tried to halt them
half-way across the sea
But on the deck there stood
Cisco and Woody

and as a song I think it's going OK. An OK song for a compelling storyline.

But there is an ease, and a beauty, and a sorrow somehow missing and instead of satisfaction from the effort I wind up feeling inadequate. What is it that some people understand about music that I am missing? How is it that some people seem to come from nowhere and trail masterpieces in their wake?

I wish I knew.

Bright Eyes is a band that fits the bill in this regard for me. Here are two of their songs at IFILM:

Bowl of Oranges

At the bottom of everything

They make it look so easy.

Over the rainbow

Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.
A bright lucky penny.
Puppy dog tails and children's laughter.
Brown paper packages tied up with string.
A field full of flowers.

None of these things come to mind when reviewing the news coming out of Iraq:

Candies and nuts
Extreme chaos

But, like the president, I feel today like imagining everything is going super-duper.

Is that a bluebird of happiness I see?
As soon as I eat my sugar-plum I'm going to follow it over that rainbow to a pot of gold.

Tomorrow I expect to be back to normal, so please don't tell me about all the bad times I'm missin'.

The president, I expect, will still be searching for the candy man that can on the little train that can.

Bible study

In an interview that Kurt Vonnegut did recently on PBS's Now, something quite obvious about the Bible was pointed out which I'd like to share.

Conservative Christians, you'll remember, have recently fought to get the ten commandments into America's courtrooms without success. It is interesting to note, however, that the ten commandments are in old-testament Moses domain and not new-testament Jesus domain.

That should be a bit embarrassing shouldn't it?

Kurt Vonnegut suggests that CCs switch their crusade to installing the 8 beatitudes, as a point of integrity, which are squarely in new-testament Sermon on the Mount domain. Here they are:

Blessed are the poor in spirit:
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek:
For they shall possess the land.

Blessed are they that mourn:
For they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice:
For they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful:
For they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart:
For they shall see God.

Blessed are the peace-makers:
For they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice's sake:
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.




I, like Vonnegut, would enjoy seeing "Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom and "Blessed are the peace-makers" in the Oval Office.

Good gracious

I am going to paraphrase a series of questions Plato asked millennia ago. Please answer them honestly to yourself and see where that leads you.

1. Do you believe that God exists?
2. Do you believe that God is good?
3. Can anything good be harmful?
4. Can something that is not harmful harm?
5. Can something that does no harm be evil?
6. Can something which does no evil be the cause of anything evil?
7. Is God the cause of all things, or of those that are good?

8. Is torture harmful? Is it good?
9. Is war harmful? Is it good?
10. Is cutting food aid to the poor harmful? Is it good?
11. Is Bush harmful? Is he good?

If you have Christian values and you are honest with yourself I don't see how you can answer the second part of question 11 with a "yes" and that is why Bush-backing Christians confuse me.

I believe that many of them are willfully lying to themselves because the alternative is to believe their "revolution" and coalition-building has been corrupted. I don't blame them because that took years of planning and effort and I know pride is often stronger than reason.

To be Christian, though, is to believe that Truth itself is a gift from God and one must wonder why it is that president Bush cannot keep his nefarious deeds secret. I will leave you Bush-backing Christians with a biblical reflection:


Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6)
The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17).
To know the Truth is to be free (John 8:31-32).


Can you handle the Truth about Bush?

On credibility

President Bush is the most prolific liar ever to occupy the Oval Office, so it surprises me that network viewsmen continue to give the Bush administration wide platitude when he claims to have briefed Capital Hill leaders about his wiretapping and that they all approved.

The truth of the matter can be easily viewed on-line in a hand-written letter published by Senator Jay Rockefeller, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee:

Thanks to Josh Marshall

Why does the mainstream press allow frequent demonstrable lies to be repeated in American's faces?

Isn't the vigor with which our enlisted men fight directly proportional to the perceived honor of that which they defend?

Hasn't president Bush defended torture (extraordinary renditions), secret prisons (CIA black sites), and warrantless invasions of privacy while lecturing the rest of the world about the necessity for democracy in the Middle East?

Shouldn't we be more careful with our honor/security?

My guess is that president Bush avoided the law to get what he wanted because what he wanted had nothing to do with national security but partisan politics. Yes, I am speaking of a Nixonian enemies list.

My strong feeling is that to be a democrat is to respect Justice, and to fail to challenge the president on his blatant law-breaking is to be something other than a democrat.

Here is what the nations best Constitutional authority and Dean of the Senate has to say on the matter: No president is above the law

Scaredy cats

I don't wish to alarm you, but two days ago my cat sneezed.

Today, I sneezed.

This means there may now be a feline flu virus to be scared of.

Call the UN!

Call the CDC!

Get the ducktape.

Plodosophy (a plodding attempt at philosophy)

I thought it would be fun to think philosophically for a moment about immortality.

If one has never been happy, meaning too that one has never experienced sadness, then could you possibly explain to that person what being happy felt like.

If one has never lived, meaning too that one has never experienced death, then could you possibly explain to that person what being alive felt like.

Many people take it for granted that there is a God and that He is immortal.

It seems to stand to reason that God cannot possibly understand what it is like to be alive, or furthermore to die.

Therefore, it would seem that compassion for human suffering is the best that God can do.

I find that interesting. God can never really understand us.

Philosophical warfare

One site that I like to visit is Ask Philosophers, a place where you can pose a question and it is answered by philosophers.

Recently a visitor to the site asked, "How do the philosophers justify war, if they ever do? I ask this question because even the Prophets have fought wars, for their religion. So, how can mortals remain aloof from it?"

The answer is useful when wishing to determine if, for instance, the war in Iraq is Just or not (at least in the view of a philosopher):

Is genocide sanctified?

Here is the most interesting thing that I learned in the article:

Lithuania’s department of defense, for example, actually plans and develops tactics of non-violent resistance. It successfully used non-violent tactics in winning its independence from the Soviet Union (as did Poland). Denmark, too, knowing it could not resist Nazi invaders with conventional warfare, opted for various forms of non-violent resistance during...

That's pretty cool and leads me to believe that if all people could practice non-violent resistance Justly then there would never be a useful conquest, except in terms of geographical expansion.

Heil Bushie

Prescott Bush was a financial supporter of Adolph Hitler, and so much so that on October 20, 1942, the U.S. government ordered the seizure of Nazi German banking operations in New York City that were being conducted by Prescott Bush.

While I try not to hold the grandson responsible for the sins of the grandfather, I do find myself wondering if the Bush family approves of fascism from stem to stern.

Bush defends spying in U.S.

Even Bush dead-enders ought to have trouble supporting such overtly cowardly behavior in their president. At least, that is, the ones that feel the Constitution is more than a "goddamn piece of paper".

I'm tired of being ashamed of my president and all I want for Christmas are impeachment proceedings.


ADDENDUM: This video from CNN on the subject is too good to miss. While I doubt that Bill Frist will follow the honest promptings of his soul, with pieces like this perhaps enough US Congressmen can be shamed into doing their jobs (that is, to reclaim their power of checks and balances from a wanna-be dictator).

I also wonder who follows uncontitutional orders like this and why we aren't educating our security/military people better.

Unrelenting pursuit of torture

Publicly the Bush administration is "compromising" with John McCain to put a stop to the torturing of detainees in US custody.

Behind the scenes the Bush administration is unrelenting in its pursuit of legalized torture:

Turn of the screw

If we "The US doesn't torture" as president Bush insists, then why do we need a legal framework that makes it OK?

If the Bible can be believed, when a nation acts without respect for Justice the land start to yield less bounty, the oceans produce less fish, and every task becomes delayed by bickering.

If the Bible can be believed I'd say we are headed for a precipitous decline.

Leave Iraq

Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania took a courageous stand on Thursday, November 17, 2005 and called for US troop withdrawal from the war in Iraq which "is not going as advertised".

Out now

Democrats clearly decided that partisan attacks on Veterans Day from the president were the last straw. It is about time democrat leadership articulates that the president has no plan in Iraq and therefore there is no course to stay.

The president said himself that victory is exit strategy. Well? Stubborn denial is not a winning strategy for Iraq. Partisan politics is not a winning strategy for Iraq. Question avoidance is not a winning strategy for Iraq. Cronyism is not a winning strategy for Iraq.

One should also note that the return on patience is a loss when invested with incompetence.

Bible study

It appears to me that when people read their Bibles they get enamored by nuance rather than enlightened by the obvious.

The Wisdom of Solomon predicts that fear leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth. Think about that for a moment and then study this picture of Dick Cheney.

Isn't it obvious that he is a teeth gnasher harried by portentous specters?

Little cat feet

Fascism, they say, arrives on little cat feet. I have, of late, been hearing the pitter-patter of little cat feet.

Repressive freedom

Torturing credibility

I would like to be known as one who minced no words and was unambiguously critical of torture.

The torturing of detainees in our care is a shame and a stain on my honor as an American citizen. It is a disgrace to this nation and our great Constitution and to everything our ancestors fought for. The only reason we are torturing today is because we have cowards in high office and cowards to follow their lead.

I was pleased to see that the editors of the Minneapolis Star Tribune came out powerfully against torture and I should think they can take pride in that:

American's Shameful Shift on Torture


Many of our citizens thought they'd left torture behind them when they landed on America's shores. They were wrong. It is my hope that they are not wrong long. It is also my hope they are soon reminded of why they came by our actions now.

Nowhere man

As the president unveils his newest new plan for turning the corner in Iraq (formerly known as declare victory and leave) I am reminded of The Beatles:

He's a real nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.

Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere Man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.

He's as blind as he can be,
Just sees what he wants to see,
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
Nowhere Man, don't worry,
Take your time, don't hurry,
Leave it all till somebody else
lends you a hand.
Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.

He's a real Nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.

Is our president learning?

When we were to attack Iraq sensible people warned terrorism would increase. It has.

When we were to attack Iraq sensible people warned it would develop into a quagmire. It has.

When we were to attack Iraq sensible people warned Iraq's Shiites would naturally assume power in a democracy and then align themselves with Iran. They did and they have.

Ever since this disaster got started flight-deck bravado has ruled over reason and partisan politics have trumped national priorities.

But if Jim Lobe is right, reason is making a comeback in Washington

Realists Tighten Grip

Since I define a stupid person as one that does not change their opinion to reflect known facts, and since I am convinced that George W. Bush falls into this category, I am left to assume that 41 is providing guidance to 43.

Are to we expect James Baker soon?

Don't forget Poland

In a revelation that surprises few it turns out that the Eastern European countries hosting the CIA's illegal detention facilities are Poland and Romania.

Story Here

Why would Poland, especially, start down that slope after the lesson of Auschwitz?

Have Americans forgotten it is the pride of the "greatest generation" to have had a hand in stopping concentration camps?

Spreading sunshine

Comedians got together and did a special on global warming called "Earth to America".

luckily for me they invited Will Ferrell who does a better job than anyone portraying the president:


Watching Will go W.

With life looking jolly rotten there was something I'd forgotten and that was to laugh and dance and sing. The reminder was welcome.


Here is another excerpt from the special and one I found quite funny.

Larry David

Winston Bush

In WWII America's closest ally was Britain. We were reluctant to join the war because we had enough of war, particularly world war at that point, and weren't interested in promoting the careers of "merchants of death". Eventually we realized that we could not maintain a neutral position and maintain our freedom too, so we began to build the best army in the world.

Even so, Americans felt a certain hopelessness that once again we were living in a world at war. Once again we were trading butter for guns. Once again we were engaging a culture of death. Once again we were host to insanity. At these times Winston Churchill would travel to America, or send word to America, to bolster our resolve.

One such moment was December 26, 1941 when Winston Churchill spoke to the US congress. Here is what he said:

For the best part of twenty years the youth of Britain and America have been taught that war was evil, which is true, and that it would never come again, which has been proved false. For the best part of twenty years, the youth of Germany, of Japan and Italy, have been taught that aggressive war is the noblest duty of the citizen and that it should be begun as soon as the necessary weapons and organization have been made. We have performed the duties and tasks of peace. They have plotted and planned for war. This naturally has placed us, in Britain, and now places you in the United States at a disadvantage which only time, courage and untiring exertion can correct.

Winston Churchill - December 26, 1941

George Bush visited Japan recently. Japan, you'll remember, engaged the war on terror with America. In this moment they are having reservations about the direction of the war in Iraq. What were president Bush's words to bolster their spirit to our cause?

"Obviously, the extent to which uh [pause]
the Japanese government wants to give reconstruction money to Iraq is up to the Japanese government, and [pause]
to- to the- and I- as to the- [pause]
the- the uh deployment of troops, it's up to- [pause] it's up to the government. [pause]
's what happens in democracies -- government makes decisions that uh [pause]
that uh that they're uh capable of living with, and that's [pause]
that's what we said, ((we)) said, do the best you can do; [pause]
make up your own mind, it's your decision, not mine. "

Source

Let us hope the Japanese find as much comfort in stupidity as American voters.

The new memo

The Prime Minister of England, one Tony Blair, is refusing to publish a memo in which the President of the United States, one George W. Bush, said he wanted to order the bombing of Arab TV station Al-Jazeera.

Pressure rising

In an apparent abuse of the Official Secrets Act the Attorney General's office banned the publication of the memo. Many Brits found that preposterous and one MP in particular, one Boris Johnson, said that if anyone slips him a copy of the memo he will publish it anyway:

The stand of Boris


Will someone leak the memo to Boris?

Will Boris go to the slammer to uphold the Truth?

Will the American Entertainment Empire cover the story?

Poor strategy

Is the Bush administration game plan really to portray themselves as men of virtue unfairly maligned by facts, when the record clearly and cleanly shows Bush administration officials telling a broad range of lies over a broad range of issues to a broad range of people?

Never have so few lied to so many about so much that was so important.

The only question facing America now is, "Has the love of Truth gone cold?"

False assumptions

If you believe the Bush administration it is "corrupt and shameless" to "rewrite history" and suggest that the vice president misled us when he said: "I continue to believe. I think there's overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between al-Qaeda and the Iraqi government." (Morning Edition, NPR 1/22/2004)

Going on and on and on is all too easy, but let me rekindle a few more Dick Cheney gems:

"We will, of course, be welcomed as liberators."

"They [Iraq] continue to pursue an aggressive nuclear weapons program." (Vice President Honors Veterans of Korean War, White House 8/29/2002)

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us. (Vice President Speaks at VFW 103rd National Convention, White House 8/26/2002)

His regime aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. He could decide secretly to provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists for use against us.
(Vice President's Remarks at 30th Political Action Conference, White House 1/30/2003)

Am I rewriting history, or are you rereading it?

Malignant Design

I don't know if I'm the only one that finds Noam Chomsky so funny, but I am also someone that appreciates Dick Cheney's comic timing (he knows how to deliver a joke).

Whatever. Here is an article by Noam Chomsky I find highly amusing. He develops the theory of "Malignant Design" that I have to admit is much more plausible than an Intelligent Designer. There certainly is a lot of evidence to back up his idea:

Evolution, Ecology and `Malignant Design'

Bringing it on

Admiral Stansfield Turner called Dick Cheney "vice president for torture."

Holding Bush accountable

Something happened Veterans Day. Something very bad for the Bush administration. Me thinks they took divisive politics too far.

Teach your children well

I see no reason for democrats to back plans the Bush administration has with regards to the Patriot Act. It is a highly loathed piece of legislation from coast to coast since it gives unreasonable powers of search and seizure to the government. It is the cowards way to respect freedom, honoring it in platitude but not attitude.

It is acts like the Patriot Act that old Ben Franklin must have had in mind when asked after the Constitutional Convention what kind of government we got. His reply was, "A Republic. If you can keep it."

Democrats ought to fight this because it is clearly an abuse of human dignity to give the Bush administration leniency when it comes to detaining people. After all, the president's penchant for cruel and unusual punishment has led to a situation where it is difficult to recruit Americans, yet easy for Osama to find recruits. Think about that. Let it sink in.

Congress Arrives at A Deal on Patriot Act

We know the Patriot Act is the most ironically named piece of legislation in US history. We know that children will someday wonder why people didn't have more sense (the way they react today when studying McCarthy).

I wonder what democrats plan on telling these children when they are old and gray. That it is better to win with dishonor than lose and keep it? That sometimes you need to curtail freedom or else you might lose it? That the external threat to freedom can only be defeated by abandoning it internally? That if Osama can't stand freedom then we should respond by shrinking from it?

Is that how you raise children in a Republic you plan to keep?

Rootin' Tootin' Reid

I believe that the president's uncalled for Veterans Day bombastic boatload of bile directed at democrats made them finally aware that they are going to be smeared whether they are cooperative or not. They also seem to finally realize that this Whitehouse has no plan other than to grab the buck and pass the blame.

In response Harry Reid is the latest top democrat to come forward and demand competence from the Bush administration (good luck with that).

Hit 'em hard Harry

I believe that now is the moment to unify and push democrat alternatives to the stay-the-course strategy. While the Republican revolution was built on the word "reform" I believe democrats ought to opt for the word "change". Change the course in Iraq. Change the culture in Washington. Change the CEO when the money don't flow. Winds of change. Change our energy systems. Change our healthcare system. And so on...

If there is one thing Americans are ready for it is change. As Ghandi once said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

The banner should be, of course, "It's time for a change".

When the unjust rule

One of the myriad reasons advanced by the Bush administration for going to war in Iraq was to ferret out their WMD stockpiles. This was urgent, we were told, because Saddam was so evil he used chemical warfare agents on his own people. The logical course, we were sold, was to attack Iraq since they were a possible future threat to us if they could put their vast fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles to use, assuming they could also somehow get it within striking distance.

Perhaps you remember a slight flutter of news regarding this?

Guess what the US military was caught (by Italians) using in Fallujah on Iraqi civilians?

I'll give you a hint. When it gets on your skin it burns without stopping until it gets to the bone, yet it leaves you well dressed since it does not harm your clothing.

Grand Hypocrisy

Is it any wonder Iraqi civilians are fighting us so damn hard?

Why have Republicans failed so fully in their duty to "keep the honor clean of the US marine"?

How on earth are we going to make Saddam look bad come trial time?

How can it be the work of the Just to injure the innocent?

Big Dog calls Iraq 'Big Mistake'

When president Bush decided to vent his spleen on Veterans Day he may have bitten off much more than he can chew.

If democrats are going to be attacked as unpatriotic when they have been playing the role of a loyal opposition Patsy, then certain people within the party may now be feeling that it is time to take the gloves off and get in the ring to rub someone's petulant face in the mud.

Please welcome Jefferson Davis Clinton

President Bush isn't the only one top democrats have decided to jump in the ring with either. John Kerry had this to say about Dick Cheney last night:

"It is hard to name a government official with less credibility on Iraq than Vice President Cheney. The Vice President continues to mislead America about how we got into Iraq and what must be done to complete the still unaccomplished mission"

Source

Did I hear someone say "Bring it On"?

Bull from Bush

President Bush is cornered.

He's been lying left and lying right and now finds himself trapped in the consequences of his moral failings wherever he goes.

But, since he's a jerk, he is compounding his difficulty by lashing out at us all with Nixonian bursts of temper and denial.

So, it seems only fair to direct your attention to a site that has organized inaccurate public statements by five Bush administration officials:

Bush, Dick, Colin, Donald, Condi

I would also like to point out a recent statement by John Edwards apologizing for his vote to go to war in Iraq. I thought he put it rather well when he said, "the foundation for moral leadership is telling the truth".

I was wrong

A cross of iron

On April 16, 1953, President Eisenhower said:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children...
This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

On November 14, 2005 Gannet news reported:

The cuts that Congress is looking to make in an array of social programs would hit many low-income children in multiple ways, taking away money for everything from food stamps to child-care benefits.

Full details

I think that Eisenhower was to Nixon as Reagan was to George W. Bush. Somehow the idolization in both cases never went so far as imitation, but rather only so far as self-delusion.

Veterans remembered

Do you recall the words to Marine Hymn?

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
On the land and on the sea.
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean.
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.

I don't know if you have visited Arlington West, but Veterans Day put me in mind to do so. I check there once in a while to watch the field of crosses growing in the sand, one for each US soldier killed in Iraq.

Lately it has served as a reminder to me of what is being lost as politicians posture, pundits pontificate, and the machine men delay the obvious. It is the worry beneath my words.

Arlington West



Arlington West is a place you can go to separate the people from the policy and the lies from the Truth. Each silent cross standing at attention is impervious to the persuasions of the Lord of the flies and makes a mockery of concerted efforts to rally us to hatred.

I recommend the photo gallery and that you scroll down to read "A Nation Rocked to Sleep" by Carly Sheehan.

When I look upon the memorial questions rise up in me like, "What have we done?", "How will this end?", "Should I be doing more?". It's not easy to face those questions because one winds up feeling inadequate, even helpless. However, it can also be invigorating to encounter moral clarity, to come to the realization that countless others are working with you, that you are not alone when you rally to the banner of Justice.

Going down slow

Rather than be a president for all of us this veteran's day and emphasize the sacrifice veterans have made throughout the years, president Bush went on a 50 minute Nixonian tirade directed at the majority of Americans that believe the Iraq war is a mistake. He also managed to attack John Kerry (a veteran), anti-war protestors, democrats, and historians:

Adding insult to injury

Displaying a masters touch for irony, 95 Bishops from the president's church issued a statement that same day repenting for their moral complicity in the "unjust and immoral" invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Details Here

President Bush might as well resign and return to Crawford where he belongs. Why drag this disgrace out 3 more years?

CIA black sites

To the long and ignoble list of shameful activities committed during President Bush's tenure we can now add secret detentions:

Even spooks speaking

Any guesses as to which Eastern European country in our grand coalition is hosting one of these concentration camps? I hope that one of the hosts isn't Poland (given their history with detention facilities), but the odds are about 50-50 that it is.

While we're on the subject of cruel and unusual punishment without trial, here is what a former CIA analyst thinks of Vice President Cheney for fighting McCain's amendment to make torture illegal:

A moral litmus test

Badly burned civilians

Phan Thi Kim Phuc has lain a wreath at the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C. and said that she forgives the people that burned her body and her village. I wonder how she will feel if she sees this story put out by Italian media that charges the US with using white phosphorous on civilians in Fallujah.

Can she find it in her heart to forgive us after seeing this video?

Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre

Why doesn't the Bush administration just create recruiting posters for Osama directly?

Plow under

Here is an excerpt from an old tune by the Almanac Singers (1941: Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, Pete Seeger):

Any ignorant mule does know
Better than to step on a cotton row
But there ain't no mules in Congress, so
Plow the fourth one under.

CHORUS
Plow under, plow under
Plow under
Every fourth American boy.

Now the politicians rant
A boy's no better than a cotton plant
But we are here to say you can't
Plow the fourth one under.

FINAL CHORUS:
Plow under,
(Don't you...) Plow under
(Don't you...) Plow under
Every fourth American boy.
(Now, don't you...) Plow under,
(Don't you...) Plow under
(Don't you...) Plow under
Every fourth American boy.

Amazing how the more things change the more they stay the same. It's a catchy tune too, and easy to adapt:

All we people refuse to learn
The Earth itself is about to burn
We'll drive to death in an SUV
Plow the fourth one under.

Fraternity?

Violence in France seems to be cascading into a slow-motion catastrophe. I cannot help but wonder if there is a force directing the expanding chaos.

When this type of thing gets going in America police are sent in with tear-gas and Billy-club anyone handy like a baby seal while the press sweeps the story under the rug.

The official response in France seems confused and appears ineffective after 13 days of riots. Have they no tear gas? Have they no attack dogs? Have they no rubber bullets? Have they no Billy clubs? Have they no tazers? And the workhouses, aren't they still in operation?


Nouveau Bastille?

Bush: Global Pariah

President Bush simply cannot travel without thousands of protestors showing up to say, essentially, "We don't like you. You're a bad human being. Go away."

Anger in Argentina

I wonder how that feels.
It is embarrassing me I know that.

Can you spare a dime?

Some politicians want to tax the windfall profits of oil companies.

I think that's a great idea, since oil companies are some odd mixture of cartel and government dependence and hardly represent a free market in any sense of the word.

Here is how I would do it.

Let's have a new GI bill funded by a tax on oil company windfall profits!

Now who could object to that?

Boycott robots

Political consultants seem to think that having a robot call me on the phone to play an untrained, robotic-sounding voice reading a one-sided, uninteresting, and poorly written conversation is a good way to influence my opinion on their behalf.

It is almost as if the angels of comedy are trying to find out how low our democracy can go. They must consider us an audience with an incredible affinity for the absurd. After all, they broke through the "Vote [yes/no] on [some number]" threshold some years back and now have added robot conversations to their joke arsenal.

Anybody influenced by this kind of time-wasting, inhuman experience ought not to have the right to vote. Anybody practicing this kind of grassroots avoidance probably doesn't have much chance of gaining political capital by the practice.

I wonder if marketers even demand to know what percentage of their message is heard before hangup. I expect not or somebody would have these things stop calling me because my hello-to-hangup is blazingly fast.

There is a way, though, to one-up those comedy angels and it is this. Let your answering machine talk to the robot, perhaps even updating your message for the political season.

May I suggest, "Hello. If you are a robot please leave a message. I'm so lonely for robot conversation and I do love talking politics."

At least then you will have the last laugh.

Earth blood

The popular refrain "No Blood for Oil" recently got me thinking...

Many Earth stories say that the Earth itself is alive, not in the sense that things live on it, but in the sense that it has actual consciousness. Gaia, some call it, or Terra others, and I am sure there are many more names for it. Some people extend that belief and feel that what we call wind is instead breath, what we call coral reefs are instead a type of brain, and what we call a tsunami is instead a type of birth (water is being broken).

Anyway, recently I had the thought that if the Earth was indeed alive then maybe oil is blood, which would further mean that extracting too much of it would prove fatal, and that protest signs might be modified to read, "No blood for blood!"

Along those lines I also wonder:

Does global warming correspond to a fever?

Can a volcano be quieted with a very large Zantac tablet?

What are human beings in this context, children or parasites?

Does the earth have any songs?

What does a sub-terrainean nuclear explosion feel like?

Does the earth have any planet friends?

If the earth can be alive, then what about the galaxy or a molecule or a single cell?

Are pandemics like AIDS, black plague, avian flu and so on biological defenses which keep life in balance?

You don't have to believe in an idea to explore it with intellectual curiosity and I hope you found the exercise pleasant.

I'll leave you with this thought. Where would the naughty bits be?

Rock bottom

Here is what rock bottom looks like for an elected President. This excerpt came from an article by the Washington Post:

On almost every key measure of presidential character and performance, the survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.

[...]

Overall, the survey underscores how several pillars of Bush's presidency have begun to crumble under the combined weight of events and White House mistakes. Bush's approval ratings have been in decline for months, but on issues of personal trust, honesty and values, Bush has suffered some of his most notable declines. Moreover, Bush has always retained majority support on his handling of the U.S. campaign against terrorism -- until now, when 51 percent have registered disapproval.

Full Details

I still believe that Pomp without dignity is the calling-card of the pathetic. I think it is time the president resign so that America can get back on track.

Who wins if he stays on the job besides Bush dead-enders and anti-intellectuals who think the biggest threat to America in the face of 911 is gay people and evolution?

It is also time, I think, for Democrats to look ahead and define themselves as reformers. Bush may now be dismissed with a wave of the hand and a polite sympathetic look and furthermore he will not be running again. Bush-bashing, in other words, is hardly useful and could start to be interpreted as piling on the helpless.

Like a tree, standing in the water

Perhaps there is no more fitting song to mark the legacy of Rosa Parks than Pops Staples version of "I shall not be moved", which has the chorus:

I shall not.
I shall not be moved.
I shall not.
I shall not be moved.
I'm like a tree,
standing in the water,
And I shall not be moved.

Rev. Al Sharpton might not be able to move voters on his own behalf, but he moved me when he called on us all to make a Rosa Resolution during his eulogy:

James Crowe Junior, Esquire

Al Sharpton could have been speaking coyly about President Bush's avoidance of Cindy Sheehan when he said:


Its easy to remember activists after they're gone.
Its [another thing] to be called on to be active and work and walk with them while they're still here.



I admire Rosa for knowing what to do to change the world for the better and having the fortitude to do it.

I don't know what to do to change the world I see and don't like, and I know fundamental things are wrong. I can see that the people in charge are not going to make a difference and it is such a despairing conclusion.

How can I make a difference the way Rosa Parks did? How can I get my own life to have that kind of impact? How did Rosa know what to do on December 1st, 1955?

Al ended his eulogy for Rosa by saying, "I intend to stand up wherever I see injustice, and if I can't stand up then I'll speak out, and if I can't speak out then I will get a chair like Rosa Parks and just sit in the way".

Am I in anybody's way?

What should my Rosa Resolution be?

I wish I knew. I feel I am being called but it comes without direction and I don't know my response.

Rosa knew and that's what made her a part of history. Her response was so simple yet so powerful that Presidents stood in her wake.

Hard-hitting Harry

If you accept my belief that what Democrats need to stand for in a word is Justice, then you can only applaud Harry Reid for calling on Republicans to investigate the actions of the Bush administration for the good of their nation.

While network viewsmen scramble to portray his recent showdown in the Senate as partisan it is decidedly not. If Republican corruption has made Truth and Justice partisan issues, then I have rarely been prouder to call myself a Democrat.

Here is the statement Harry issued before taking the Senate into a closed session. Rather than provide a link to the statement I feel it is worth reproducing here. As a reward to your effort, I have provided Jon Stewart's take on the battle at the end.


"This past weekend, we witnessed the indictment of I. Lewis Libby, the Vice President's Chief of Staff and a senior Advisor to President Bush. Libby is the first sitting White House staffer to be indicted in 135 years.

"This indictment raises very serious charges. It asserts this Administration engaged in actions that both harmed our national security and are morally repugnant.

"The decision to place U.S. soldiers in harm's way is the most significant responsibility the Constitution invests in the Congress.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really about: how the Administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions.

"As a result of its improper conduct, a cloud now hangs over this Administration. This cloud is further darkened by the Administration's mistakes in prisoner abuse scandal, Hurricane Katrina, and the cronyism and corruption in numerous agencies.

"And, unfortunately, it must be said that a cloud also hangs over this Republican-controlled Congress for its unwillingness to hold this Republican Administration accountable for its misdeeds on all of these issues.

"Let's take a look back at how we got here with respect to Iraq Mr. President. The record will show that within hours of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, senior officials in this Administration recognized these attacks could be used as a pretext to invade Iraq.

"The record will also show that in the months and years after 9/11, the Administration engaged in a pattern of manipulation of the facts and retribution against anyone who got in its way as it made the case for attacking Iraq.

"There are numerous examples of how the Administration misstated and manipulated the facts as it made the case for war. Administration statements on Saddam's alleged nuclear weapons capabilities and ties with Al Qaeda represent the best examples of how it consistently and repeatedly manipulated the facts.

"The American people were warned time and again by the President, the Vice President, and the current Secretary of State about Saddam's nuclear weapons capabilities. The Vice President said Iraq "has reconstituted its nuclear weapons." Playing upon the fears of Americans after September 11, these officials and others raised the specter that, left unchecked, Saddam could soon attack America with nuclear weapons.

"Obviously we know now their nuclear claims were wholly inaccurate. But more troubling is the fact that a lot of intelligence experts were telling the Administration then that its claims about Saddam's nuclear capabilities were false.

"The situation was very similar with respect to Saddam's links to Al Qaeda. The Vice President told the American people, "We know he's out trying once again to produce nuclear weapons and we know he has a longstanding relationship with various terrorist groups including the Al Qaeda organization."

"The Administration's assertions on this score have been totally discredited. But again, the Administration went ahead with these assertions in spite of the fact that the government's top experts did not agree with these claims.

"What has been the response of this Republican-controlled Congress to the Administration's manipulation of intelligence that led to this protracted war in Iraq? Basically nothing. Did the Republican-controlled Congress carry out its constitutional obligations to conduct oversight? No. Did it support our troops and their families by providing them the answers to many important questions? No. Did it even attempt to force this Administration to answer the most basic questions about its behavior? No.

"Unfortunately the unwillingness of the Republican-controlled Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities is not limited to just Iraq. We see it with respect to the prisoner abuse scandal. We see it with respect to Katrina. And we see it with respect to the cronyism and corruption that permeates this Administration.

"Time and time again, this Republican-controlled Congress has consistently chosen to put its political interests ahead of our national security. They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican Administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why.

"There is also another disturbing pattern here, namely about how the Administration responded to those who challenged its assertions. Time and again this Administration has actively sought to attack and undercut those who dared to raise questions about its preferred course.

"For example, when General Shinseki indicated several hundred thousand troops would be needed in Iraq, his military career came to an end. When then OMB Director Larry Lindsay suggested the cost of this war would approach $200 billion, his career in the Administration came to an end. When U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix challenged conclusions about Saddam's WMD capabilities, the Administration pulled out his inspectors. When Nobel Prize winner and IAEA head Mohammed el-Baridei raised questions about the Administration's claims of Saddam's nuclear capabilities, the Administration attempted to remove him from his post. When Joe Wilson stated that there was no attempt by Saddam to acquire uranium from Niger, the Administration launched a vicious and coordinated campaign to demean and discredit him, going so far as to expose the fact that his wife worked as a CIA agent.

"Given this Administration's pattern of squashing those who challenge its misstatements, what has been the response of this Republican-controlled Congress? Again, absolutely nothing. And with their inactions, they provide political cover for this Administration at the same time they keep the truth from our troops who continue to make large sacrifices in Iraq.

"This behavior is unacceptable. The toll in Iraq is as staggering as it is solemn. More than 2,000 Americans have lost their lives. Over 90 Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice this month alone - the fourth deadliest month since the war began. More than 15,000 have been wounded. More than 150,000 remain in harm's way. Enormous sacrifices have been and continue to be made.

"The troops and the American people have a right to expect answers and accountability worthy of that sacrifice. For example, 40 Senate Democrats wrote a substantive and detailed letter to the President asking four basic questions about the Administration's Iraq policy and received a four sentence answer in response. These Senators and the American people deserve better.

"They also deserve a searching and comprehensive investigation about how the Bush Administration brought this country to war. Key questions that need to be answered include:

How did the Bush Administration assemble its case for war against Iraq?
Who did Bush Administration officials listen to and who did they ignore?
How did senior Administration officials manipulate or manufacture intelligence presented to the Congress and the American people?
What was the role of the White House Iraq Group or WHIG, a group of senior White House officials tasked with marketing the war and taking down its critics?
How did the Administration coordinate its efforts to attack individuals who dared to challenge the Administration's assertions?
Why has the Administration failed to provide Congress with the documents that will shed light on their misconduct and misstatements?

"Unfortunately the Senate committee that should be taking the lead in providing these answers is not. Despite the fact that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee publicly committed to examine many of these questions more than 1 and ½ years ago, he has chosen not to keep this commitment. Despite the fact that he restated that commitment earlier this year on national television, he has still done nothing.

"At this point, we can only conclude he will continue to put politics ahead of our national security. If he does anything at this point, I suspect he will play political games by producing an analysis that fails to answer any of these important questions. Instead, if history is any guide, this analysis will attempt to disperse and deflect blame away from the Administration.

"We demand that the Intelligence Committee and other committees in this body with jurisdiction over these matters carry out a full and complete investigation immediately as called for by Democrats in the committee's annual intelligence authorization report. Our troops and the American people have sacrificed too much. It is time this Republican-controlled Congress put the interests of the American people ahead of their own political interests."

Your reward

Senator Patrick Leahy

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont was one of the few elected Democrats smart enough to oppose the Iraq war from the beginning. On Tuesday, October 25th he delivered a blistering critique of the Iraq occupation and it's cheerleaders:

Bring them home

Why don't more Democrats speak out against this obvious catastrophe, this ill-gotten FUBAR effort?

There is more to leadership than posturing. One expects, at minimum, good hindsight.

A question for top Democrats

Clinton was a master at answering the question:

What difference does it make if I win?

Today's Democrat party-leaders seem adept instead at its' avoidance. Consider for instance the issues ranging from Iraq, to clean energy, to biotechnology, to foreign policy.

Where's the burning bush?

Deadly October

The President spends most of his time either turning corners or regrouping while the violence in Iraq continues apace oblivious to his rhetoric. In fact it looks like October has been the second-most violent month in Iraq (since January) this year.


Bombs and chaos


I think the recent election was officially "turning a corner", and that after the Libby indictment the President was said to be "regrouping", so perhaps we are turning another corner now in Iraq?

I'm dizzy.

Libby's loose lips

It is too easy to get caught up in the showmanship of a good trial, when perhaps the reason for a trial is more important.

60 minutes took a look at the damage done by the leaking of Valerie Plame's name. The line that sticks with me was spoken by a former spy,

"We're not being undermined by the North Koreans, we're not being undermined by the Russians. We're being undermined by officials in our own government, and I find that galling"

60 Minutes on Plame

Would you, if you worked for the C.I.A., take a N.O.C. assignment knowing that Rove or Libby "had your back"?