Current Events Watch

Bill Clinton, at his 1993 inaugural address, said, “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” I wish that I still believed, but I’m not so sure anymore.

I miss Bill. And I miss my rose-colored glasses. Now I simply see red. All that George Bush and his band of cronies have wrought since setting foot in the Oval Office has led me to believe that perhaps there is very little left that is right with America.

Maybe there really wasn’t that much right to begin with, but I thought things were beginning to look up. As a nation we haven’t had such a stellar track record, of course, despite historical spin doctoring.

Near-extermination and subsequent oppression of the indigenous peoples? Yep, that was us … Manifest Destiny and all.

Atomic bomb attacks on civilian populations? Missions accomplished.

Stealing a page from the opponent’s playbook and interning American citizens to War Relocation Centers (”concentration camps” sounds so Nazi) because of their ethnicity? Caught red-handed.

Then, just when you think we might finally be making some forward progress, enter Bush to take the proverbial three steps back.

I hate Bush’s regressive America. Of course, to the thin-skinned patriots out there, using the words “hate” and “America” in the same sentence is nothing short of treasonous.

Anti-patriotic I am because I oppose an illegal war, a criminal administration, and am disgusted that our civil liberties are being flushed down the toilet.

“America, love it or leave it,” they say. Well, I may not necessarily love it right now, but leave it? Wherever else I might go, I could possibly become subject to current U.S. foreign policy, and I’ll have none of that! No thank you.

Look, I don’t hate America. It’s probably one of the best countries ever stolen. But we’re not necessarily the bee’s knees, either. And until we get back on the right track (kicking Bush’s sorry ass to the curb will be the first lost step regained), I’ll not be proudly waving Old Glory. Thank God the countdown has begun.

To end with another quote: “Let America realize that self-scrutiny is not treason. Self-examination is not disloyalty.” - Richard Cardinal Cushing

patriotism, george w. bush, american history, american presidents, 2008 election

“Well, I think … if you are ever going to go destroy a country or wreak havoc on a country, it would need to be justified.”

These, the words of 28-year-old Jeremy Hinzman, ex-Army paratrooper formerly with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Carolinian no longer, he’s now hanging out in Toronto, Canada with his wife and kid after loading up the car and making the border-crossing road trip when his application for Conscientious Objector status was rejected by the U.S. military.

Joining the military in early 2001, he completed basic combat training and airborne school at Fort Benning in Georgia. It didn’t take him long to realize that he was participating in something that wasn’t quite right.

At Fort Benning, bayonet training featured this beaut of a chant:

Instructor: “What makes the grass grow?”

Trainees: “Blood, blood, blood!”

Jeremy started to think his enlistment probably wasn’t such a wise decision after all.

On to Fort Bragg, though, to complete his training. He was no slouch, by the way. Awarded the highly coveted expert infantry badge, given only to those who master dozens of tasks involving deadly military skills, he was admired by his superiors for his work ethic.

Then in January of 2002, along with his wife, he began attending meetings of the Religious Society of Friends. Quakers, whose Peace Testimony against participation in war, and against military service as combatants is a major principle.

His newly found pacifism and the birth of his son were among the reasons he cited for applying for Conscientious Objector status in August 2002. A little too late, perhaps, since his unit was deployed to Afghanistan shortly thereafter while his application was still under
consideration. And since his superior officers claimed to have no record of his application, he was ordered to go with.

So off they went, with Hinzman being assigned duty in a non-combat role there while the powers that be mulled over his request. After returning, he learned that his application had ultimately been denied and he was subsequently ordered to return to and serve again with his regular unit.

Then came the edict that it was time to pack the duffel bags once again, rack up some additional frequent flier miles, and head on over to Iraq, proliferating democracy.

Hence the family road trip, due north. A secret journey to avoid an illegal and controversial war, no doubt, since such blatant desertion is a felony punishable by death.

Really. Desertion and even disobedience carry the death penalty in a time of war. I kid you not.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 15 offenses can be punishable by death, though many of these crimes — such as desertion or disobeying a superior commissioned officer’s orders — carry the death penalty only in time of war.

So anyway, he applied for refugee status once on Canadian soil. I can’t say that I blame him. I wouldn’t be hankering to return stateside, either, all things considered!

Hinzman’s hearing was held in December of 2004.

The argument was made by him and his attorney that invading Iraq constituted a violation of international law, and that the subsequent occupation violates international human rights, as specified by the Geneva Convention.

They also argued that, in fact, his failure to refuse participation in such illegal activities would clearly be a breach of the Nuremberg Tribunal, turning Hinzman into a potential war criminal.

In March of 2005, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board determined that he was not a conscientious objector and was thus ineligible for refugee status.

Hinzman’s team challenged, but, alas, a year later in March of 2006, the Federal Court dismissed the request for a review of the previous year’s decision.

A last-ditch effort last month to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada didn’t go so well, either. They refused to even hear the case.

Read Jeremy’s and other war deserters’ commentaries from 2005, about why they opted to hightail it to Canada in lieu of further participation in George W. Bush’s illegal bloodbath that is Iraq.

Of course, thousands of other soldiers have followed suit. These are troops I can unequivocally say that I truly support. What happens to them now that Canada seems to be in cahoots with Bushdom, I don’t know. Still, I admire their bravery and courage to take a stand against the atrocities of this administration. Heroes indeed.

iraq war, soldiers, troops, deserters, jeremy hinzman, anti-war, anti-bush, army deserters, george bush

In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the midst of an ice storm here in the Midwest. Ice is cold, not to mention slippery, so I just stayed in today. All day. Since the power came back on this morning, I’ve spent pretty much most of my time right here, Googling and Stumbling until my eyes have officially glazed over. My ass is kind of numb, too, now that I think about it.

Nonetheless, as one thing led to another, like they do, I happened upon this video of a song I had not heard in quite some time. I was only six years old in 1969 when those three days of peace and music (as well as various other activities) went down at Woodstock, so at the time I was probably fretting mostly about starting the first grade. Full day class, and no more naps. I’m sure I wasn’t so much aware of, much less concerned about, worldly events or the war.

First grade is a distant memory. But as history repeats, and Vietnam on steroids is upon us, I’m certainly old enough now to appreciate this song, decades later, in light of our current (Iraq/n) situation. Outta sight song, and a groovy performance by Country Joe from that historic hippie hoe-down. Far out, man!

iraq war, vietnam war, anti-war, war protest song, anti-war video, woodstock, country joe, country joe mcdonald, country joe & the fish, feel like i’m fixin’ to die rag, iraq, vietnam, war, george bush

Today is Veterans Day, a day to pay homage to the servicemen and servicewomen who have fought and sacrificed life and limb to make this nation the shining beacon of freedom and hope that is America. God bless, and hats off to the brave and willing, both past and present, who have proven their mettle by protecting us and the rest of the world from the bad guys.

There have always been and no doubt always will be a handful of maniacal leaders in the world who certainly need to be dealt with (I’ll let that and succeeding observations go for now.) But we as a nation are always prepared, ready to step in and deal accordingly with their respective threats. History has proven that the bad-guy leaders of nations are ruthless and take no prisoners (or sometimes they do, I guess, depending on the circumstance) while attempting to achieve their ultimate malevolent goals. Our role, as global superpower, is to effectively intercede and show other power-hungry chieftains that their wicked agendas will not be tolerated! I mean, seriously, if they are killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology, they are nothing but evil.

No, wait, I can’t take credit for that last profoundly insightful sentence. I wish I could, but I wouldn’t want to plagiarize our Commander in Chief. That could possibly result in rather harsh penalties, perhaps up to and including waterboarding, and whether that qualifies as torture or not (apparently the jury is still out … Mukasey doesn’t even know), I’ll have none of it! So I’ll give credit where credit is due. Well said, Mr. Bush, well said indeed. Truer words have never been spoken. Those who condone killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology are indeed evil. For once we agree.

Yes, believe it or not, George W. Bush actually uttered those words. Apparently even the mentally ill and delusional have occasional periods of lucidity. It’s just too bad he didn’t have that epiphany pre-March 2003.

He shared these words of wisdom this past Thursday in San Antonio, at a ritzy Republican fundraiser just after having duly visited the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in recognition of Veterans Day. Curiously and somewhat morbidly enough, he had the nerve to make this statement as part of his speech in defense of the US war against and subsequent occupation of Iraq after having just personally met with his maimed, mutilated, burned, disfigured, injured, pick your adjective victims. Although, I guess technically, he did have some wiggle room, since those with whom he met hadn’t actually been killed for achievement or advancement of any political objective or ideology. They had just had their limbs and faces blown off. Still, the oxymoronic incongruity of his words was apparently lost on an audience of ardent admirers. Not surprisingly, I suppose. Sheeple seldom understand irony. I’m sure he received an enthusiastic round of bleating.

Whatever. As disgusted as I was when I read that, not to mention my infuriation when hearing AWOL-Bush’s Veterans Day radio address and reading asshole Five-Time-Dodger-Cheney’s speech at Arlington National Cemetery today praising the valor and bravery of those that serve, the thing that was most appalling was this: Dubya had just spent hours with those whom he and his band of brothers (and sister, too … don’t want to neglect Condi) had needlessly fucked up by sending them into the quagmire of Iraq, and then shortly thereafter was front and center delivering a speech in defense of the war. How does this gang sleep at night? How can George Bush in good conscience, after having just witnessed firsthand the human devastation that he has wrought, stand up and spew the same old crap rhetoric in a weak, but apparently effective, attempt to justify his unwarranted and illegal (not-quite-so-accomplished) mission in Iraq which was based on deliberate lies and intentional deception?

It was, I suppose, simply another most excellent photo op. Strike a Presidential pose and smile for the camera, job well done. Now there’s one mission accomplished! To all (or most) of the veterans, thank you. To George W. Bush, I hope you have nightmares.

veterans, veterans day, george bush, iraq war, war casualties, center for the intrepid

My political archrival and commentor Mark Karr submitted this noteworthy link, in response to my previous Cheney-impeachment post. I’m glad he did. It was, in fact, a fine footnote to the article, justifying my expressed disenchantment with my own Democratic party. Of course, I could counter with similar switchback rhetoric from the rival side, too. Here’s a speech from the Dick himself apropos of Iraq, since he was, after all, the subject of the article and impetus for Mark’s comment. Just leveling the playing field. But Mark certainly made some valid points.

Political pandering, from either side, gets on my nerves, hence my proclivity to espouse the Kucinich manifesto per my previously referenced column. He doesn’t play that game. Of course, I certainly don’t want to waste a vote and give the NeoCons another turn at bat. That would suck. And, although runners-up to the little dude in my personal polling results (I sometimes talk to myself), I also like the woman in the pantsuit, the black guy sans flag-pinned lapel, and the man with the expensive hairdo, too. So they’re still in the game. Whichever one I think is most likely to win will be my candidate of choice, since I certainly don’t want to Naderize the end result. Still, I hope that Dennis will become a Menace within the Dem-squad. Miracles do happen.

Just look at Ron Paul, on the other side of the political fence. He stood no chance in hell, but lo and behold, he’s suddenly a contender!

Finally picking up steam and gaining some much-needed support in his campaign for the White House, even setting a one-day fundraising record. Talk about coming from behind! Now, if only Dennis can rally such support. I’ve said it before, it pains me to even begin to think of myself championing anyone with a suffixed (R) behind his name. Perish the thought! It’s actually quite distressing to even consider. But as I have previously, candidly confessed, I really, really like this guy. At least I’m not the sole liberal giving Paul props, of course. As the video in an earlier post corroborates, even my outspoken liberal compadre Bill Maher is a fan. Ron Paul simply makes sense.

And he hasn’t, doesn’t, won’t, under any circumstances, buckle to political pressure. He is extraordinarily steadfast and consistent. He and Kucinich have a lot in common in that respect. And, frankly, I agree with Paulie on pretty much all of the issues, too. Not such a surprise, really, considering that before committing to Republicanism, he ran as the Libertarian candidate for president in ‘88, and as it turned out, my test results put me in the Libertarian camp as well. I’m quite sure that the only reason he’s running as a Republican instead of Libertarian is that he knows, as do we all, that it really comes down to one of two parties that have any chance of coming out on top.

I can only hope that Kucinich will at some point garner a Ron Paul-like surge of support. I would like to be able to vote for him and know that it was a chad worthily punched. If not, I’ll probably go with Hillary, Barack or John. Or possibly Ron. There, I said it. Yikes.

dennis kucinich, ron paul, election 2008, presidential campaign, presidential candidates

Prez George W. Bush and Veep Dick B. Cheney clearly need to be institutionalized. I’m not a psychiatrist, nor do I play one on TV, but it doesn’t take doc smarts to make that diagnosis. The behavioral symptoms of the two-headed monster obviously indicate clinical psychosis. As summarily defined by our friends Merriam and Webster: PSYCHOSIS - “Fundamental derangement of the mind (as in schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality especially as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior.”

Well, there you have it. No need for a second opinion. Even I am able to call this one, sans medical credentials or framed diplomas. Forget impeachment, that’s probably a pipe dream anyway. The Democrats won’t do anything, haven’t stepped up to the plate to even bunt, much less hit a home run, and no doubt have no intention of doing so, despite their Bush-bashing rhetoric. They have disappointed, big time. Even a base hit would have been appreciated. A little less talk and a lot more action, maybe?

Instead, the war of words, Dems vs. Commander-in-Chief and cronies, has proven to be about as successful as BushCo’s own wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So because of my impotent and spineless fellow party members, the Mad Cowboy-Hatter with dick in tow still has free reign, sucking us all deeper into the cesspool of warmongering insanity. Next stop before going down the drain, Iran.

Rattle the sabers and beat the drums! Watch out, Mahmoud, here we come. Why? Um, well, because … that’s a stupid question. Madmen need no reason. They make shit up, and all subordinate lemmings of patriotic citizenry are expected to, and usually do, follow blindly.

Needless, pointless, unwarranted hundreds of billions of dollars spent (tallying continues) and hundreds of thousands of dead folks sacrificed for the worthy cause that is Iraq isn’t enough to appease these psychos. The game hasn’t gone as well as planned, and being sore losers, their dementia takes control and they decide that now might be a fine time to start a new game. Never mind that we’re already running short on game pieces.

Quiz time. Why should Iran be our next wargames-marathon opponent? Multiple choice again, kind of like in Iraq: WMDs, Hussein-Bin Laden collusion … nope and nope. Regime change, well, that happened, but now it’s even worse, if that’s possible. Iraqi Freedom? Please, give me a break. Spreading democracy? That certainly has not worked out so well, despite all of the purple fingers. Nothing really stuck there, no correct answer to the question “why”, in spite of multiple choices. Maybe they’ll have better luck with Iran. So here are your options for this round of play. Cast your vote for the best reason to shock and awe yet another oil-pumping country.

A - Last week’s Bush-babble: “If you’re interested in avoiding World War III … you ought to be interested in preventing Iran from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

(Knowledge is a threat? We not only know how to make, we do make. If anyone could start WWIII it would be, well, never mind … don’t want to give the insane any crazy ideas. It’s probably too late, anyway.)

B - Sunday’s Cheney-chatter: warning of “the Iranian regime’s efforts to destabilize the Middle East and to gain hegemonic power … we cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions.”

(I had to look up hegemonic. Apparently being delusional does not preclude one from possessing a highly-developed vocabulary.)

C - Tuesday’s Bush-blather: insisted on the need “to defend Europe against the emerging Iranian threat.”

(What? Who knew Iran is a major threat to Europe? Is Ahmadinejad mad at anyone in Europe? As far as I know, not really so much. Even if he was, what would he do … nuke’em with that missile that he doesn’t have? Come on, definite lunacy behind this one. Only crazy people would consider something like that.)

Is it unconstitutional to commit the country’s leaders to an accredited mental health facility for treatment against their will? Now there’s an amendment I would fully support, because these two psychos could apparently use some professional help. A lobotomy would be an excellent start. I’m sure the rest of the world would thank us.

iran, iraq, george bush, dick cheney, nuclear weapons, world war iii

Well, the government is simply fiscally overextended. Short on funds. Empty pockets, that’s the bottom line. Even with Old Man Winter knocking at the door, about 30 million families will be left in the cold this season. The government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, only has enough funding to cover 16 percent of the low-income households eligible for the program. When you consider there are 38 million households needing assistance, well, that leaves about 32 million families who should promptly begin calling family and friends residing in warmer climes, making arrangements to crash at their place for the next few months.

Leave it to President Bush to reduce the budget for LIHEAP, by about half a billion bucks, despite the increase in energy costs. Of course, this is the guy who also earlier this month vetoed the bill that would have provided health care coverage for millions of children who currently are uninsured, to families unable to afford the absurdity that is their monthly family-coverage premium. Regretfully, the government can’t help you out, it’s just too expensive, no can do. Then again, in Dubya’s defense, we are kind of strapped for cash these days. He’s just prioritizing:

Cost of the War in Iraq

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Sick kids? Not number one on the list. Sorry. Heat-seeking families with winter just around the corner? Nah. Heat-seeking missiles, though, that’s another story. Money well spent!

P.S. On a final personal note, speaking of the needy … the other day I mentioned that I was hoping to be able to volunteer to help feed the hungry this Thanksgiving. Well, I may not be on the food service team, but I’m pleased to announce that I have been granted dishwasher duty at the Salvation Army on Turkey Day, for which I am indeed thankful. Hey, someone has to clean up. I’m happy to do what I can to help.

health care, poverty, health insurance, uninsured children, george w bush, veto, iraq war, low income families, energy assistance

Let him go. He seems a little crazy, I’ll admit, but Charles Manson is innocent. It was me! That entire Tate-LaBianca fiasco? My idea. Sorry, Charlie, for the last 30-plus years of incarceration, and for the bad press. I was only six in 1969, but very devious and maniacal for my age. Even though I was 1,629 miles away (helped to avoid suspicion), I managed to pull it off. And you were a great scapegoat, being such a psycho and all. But I confess! The whole thing was my idea.

So I’m finally coming clean … water is very cleansing! Particularly effective when strapped to a board and doused with enough H2O that death by drowning seems inevitable. If they do that to me again, I swear, I’ll confess to every past transgression, and even make up some more stuff if need be. I’ll say whatever they want to hear to make them stop with the waterworks already!

While I’m at it, I’d just as well admit now to stealing that necklace at the mall to give Mom for Christmas, 1978. I don’t want to end up back on the board again, I’m still waterlogged and can hardly catch my breath. Oh, yeah, and I may have played a small part in that Black Dahlia murder thing, too, although that would have been in my previous life. I’m not sure about that one, but why not put every possibility on the table, to cover my ass. That waterboard thing, not to mention those slaps up side the head, was torture!

Well, apparently it’s not really torture. Not according to George W. Bush, responding today to the New York Times article revealing the “secret” Justice Department’s legal opinion from 2005, that authorized the use of painful methods, such as “head slaps, freezing temperatures and simulated drownings known as waterboarding, in combination”, to elicit confessions for whatever atrocities might be suspected. This just months after the December 2004 Justice Department’s opinion that publicly declared torture “abhorrent”.

President Bush defended his administration’s methods of detaining and questioning suspects on Friday, though, saying they are both successful and lawful, and that “this government does not torture people.” Either he doesn’t know what’s going on within his own administration and the agencies that be (which wouldn’t surprise me, actually), or King George is once again assuming that spewing repetitive rhetoric and propoganda will be enough to convince his ignorant subjects that all is well. Prince Cheney certainly backs him up:

Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaeda suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called “water-boarding,” which creates a sensation of drowning.

Cheney claims that the Bush administration doesn’t regard waterboarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. “It’s a no-brainer for me,” Cheney said at one point in an interview.

Then there’s this gem:

Vice President Dick Cheney, being interviewed by a Fargo, North Dakota, talk radio show host, agreed with the host’s characterization of waterboarding as a “dunk in the water”

Typical Dick.

One especially cruel form of torture is waterboarding, which simulates drowning, the obvious objective being to force the person being tortured to give his torturers information to avoid death by drowning. The US has a long history of rejecting waterboarding as inhumane and degrading. Of course, that was before the Bush/Cheney regime.

-In 1901, an American soldier was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for waterboarding a suspected Filipino insurgent.

-After World War II, we treated as war criminals Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded American prisoners.

-We court-martialed an American soldier who had aided in the waterboarding of a prisoner in the Vietnam War.

-The Field Manual of the U.S. Army bans waterboarding.

But that was then, and this is now. We’ve changed our minds. Now, anything goes. “Just admit to (fill-in-the-blank), dammit, and we’ll stop.”

It’s really no wonder that after his CIA waterboarding experience that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to everything from masterminding a grand total of 31 terrorist attacks, the shining moment being, of course, September 11, 2001, to planning to send several former US Presidents to prematurely meet their Maker! The dead presidents plans were foiled, of course, by international anti-terrorist agencies. (Our own agencies apparently had no clue. Thank God, others around the world were keeping tabs on the welfare of our former presidents … the world loves us!) And not only did KSM mastermind 9/11, he was also behind the Richard Reid shoe bomb thing, and he personally beheaded WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl. Pretty much anything that made the news. Quite an impressive resume.

Khalid was no doubt a bad guy, and probably involved in typical day to day, routine Al-Quaeda, kill-the-Americans plotting, but I doubt very seriously if he is such a mastermind as to have orchestrated such a vast array of terrorist activity. Four years of being held captive and tortured, though … well, he probably decided to ‘fess up to just about anything and everything. Waterboarding makes you talk. He probably would have admitted to the Manson spree as well, had he been questioned about that. Thank goodness it didn’t come up! I was struggling for something horrendous to confess to, and was growing tired of the “dunks in the water.”

torture, waterboarding, water-boarding, waterboard, al quaeda, guantanamo, iraq war, detainees, terrorism, interrogation, charles manson, george bush, dick cheney

George Bush is no doubt having yet another Homer Simpson moment. D’OH, indeed! Now everyone knows about Blackwater. That whole contract killer army thing was supposed be kept secret. Really, it hasn’t been a secret, if people would have been paying attention. The devil is in the details, as they say, and most of the population really doesn’t care about the details, but the Blackwater group has been on the ground in Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan) for the last few years. They also had a brief gig in New Orleans after Katrina, ready to pop a cap at whomever or whatever they felt inclined to target. And with impunity, and immune from prosecution, everyone and everything is a potential target. Woo hoo! Ready, aim, fire.

Blackwater is a mercenary group, given a $20-million-plus no-bid contract (sound familiar?) hired to step in and help kill the bad guys (and the not so bad guys, if they have the notion), so that we don’t have to do it all by our lonesome. The beauty is, we don’t have to tally their casualties in the official count, which keeps the numbers low! Or at least lower. At some point, though, karma happens, and since September the 16th was apparently a slow news day, the massacre of 11 innocent Iraqis by the Blackwater gang made the headlines. Now everyone knows. And knows that they tried to hide it. D’OH!

Better late than never, I suppose, that people finally have no choice but to pay attention to what has been going on for quite some time. Check it out, this certainly isn’t the first incident. It’s just the first incident that brings it all to the forefront. You’ll be surprised. And Mr. Blackwater Chairman, Republican champion, Erik Prince, finally was called to a Congressional hearing to ’splain himself. Well, of course, he says that nothing was amiss. Of course not. He’s got the (again, no-bid) 20-mil contract in Iraq, is a huge Republican party donator, not to mention his board membership in the Christian Freedom International group. So he’s very rich, patriotic, and holy, without a doubt. How could his organization do wrong?

Anyway, according to their website:

“We are a professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations firm who provides turnkey solutions.”

I think some of the recruits must have misunderstood, or perhaps they need a new trainer who can enunciate clearly. Turnkey solutions does, I suppose, sound similar to turkey shoot. (Watch the video, or you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about.) And, remember, this is an oldie, from back in the day, a couple of years ago, when Blackwater was still a secret. Who knows what else has been swept under the carpet between then and now?

blackwater, iraq war, george bush, shadow army, iraqi casualties

I’ll start by admitting that I am a Christian, and that I may be a little bit crazy. Or a lot, depending upon whom you ask. But I’m not cross-burning, anti-gay Ku Klux Klan crazy, pie-in-the-face Anita Bryant crazy (now that was funny! If you don’t click on any other link, that’s the one that is truly click-worthy.), Krybaby-Killer-King-sanctity of marriage George W. Bush crazy, or in-the-closet Pat Robertson and died-in-the-closet Jerry Falwell crazy. (”The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” - Shakespear’s Hamlet. Past tense version for Jerry, of course. RIP. Pat’s still around, though. You go, girl!) Of course, there are others, but space is limited.

All of these pious folks are (or, in some cases, were) diligently doing God’s work, in a Fred Phelp’s sort of way. We gay people are responsible for all worldly woes, apparently! Alongside the blacks and Jews, and assorted others. But when Pat and Jerry had their conversation after 9/11, and I realized that I had been, in part, responsible … well, I felt really bad! I sometimes still clothe myself in sackcloth and ashes as penance for that one.

Thank God (sorry, what I meant to say was “thank goodness”, I forgot for a moment that I’m not God-worthy), that I’m not a gay, black, Jewish feminist who may have at some point had an abortion in Iraq! There wouldn’t be enough sackcloth to redeem myself! I would probably be good to go with the ashes, though. I do smoke a lot.

By the way, while I’m thinking about it, let me apologize on behalf of all of us degenerates for Katrina, too. I’ll do more penance, I promise.

I’m sure that Dubya would be appalled at being categorized with the Klan. As would Florida sunshine orange juice queen Anita. The two Bible guys might not have such a problem with it. Whatever. They’re all KKK.

The point is, everyone picks and chooses, whether it’s at the grocery store (store brand, name brand?) or when one grabs their Bible and picks this verse, that verse, to prove that they really are “holier than thou.” And it’s quite clear that gay is wrong! Okay, so I’m an abomination. Just take a look at Leviticus 18:22. That’s certainly “straight” to the point! Well, forgive me, God, but You have to admit, that guy I brought home really was cute.

And while You’re at it, forgive me for ordering the shrimp and lobster special last weekend, and for not killing my neighbor Mark, who was called into work last Sunday at the last minute. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, seemed a bit harsh.

Of course, I, myself, didn’t work on Sunday, no way! Perhaps that might score me some spiritual points.

Speaking of scoring points, I spent my day of rest, instead, watching Chiefs’ football (finally a win!). Then again, the whole team is probably now on God’s bad side, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. Playing with that unclean pigskin. Particularly on the Sabbath! So on second thought, maybe I shouldn’t have watched the game after all, should have taken no part in that transgression. I also now regret wearing my “Go Chiefs” cotton-poly-blend sweatshirt. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

Holy crap! I’m doomed, for so many reasons! Even so, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, please just stop condemning me for being gay. Particularly over dinner at the Red Lobster. The shrimp was good, though, wouldn’t you agree? Loved that sweater, too. I’m assuming it was 100% cotton? Okay, enough ranting, and sorry for the excessive number of links, but Bible study is important. Just trying to educate about God’s laws. Wouldn’t want someone else stoned to death for a bad menu or wardrobe choice. I’m already a lost cause.

Anyway, this is the trailer from a Kool new movie that I Kan’t wait to see when it finally makes its way here to Kansas City. Because, you know what? I really do know that Jesus loves me, despite what those other Krazy Kooky Khristians say. How do I know? For The Bible Tells Me So. In spite of all of that other stuff, of course. Yep, that was the last of too many links, praise the Lord.

religious right, fundamentalism, christianity, radicalism, homosexuality, gay rights, bible, george bush, kkk, anita bryant, pat robertson, jerry falwell, religion

“My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas.” That’s how I learned how to remember the planets in the solar system. “A red Indian thought he might eat tobacco in church.” Politically incorrect, perhaps, but that’s how I learned to spell the big word for math. “Found on road dead.” I had a Ford truck once. It had some problems, ‘nuf said.

I do like little memory tricks like that, though. They can sometimes make you seem smarter than you actually be. Are. For example, did you know that 11 x 214 is 2,354? The 11 thing is one of my favorite memory tricks, no calculator needed. If you can’t figure it out, let me know. And yes, 214 was just a random number. Pick a number, any number.

“I’m a dinner jacket”: Ahmadinejad. Okay, so you have to drop a syllable, and make a couple of adjustments in pronunciation, but it still works as an effective memory tool to remember the Iranian president’s last name. Thanks, Whoopi. She mentioned on The View that that’s how she remembered his name: “I’m a dinner jacket.” (Yes, I watch The View.) It certainly stuck with me. His name just rolls off of my tongue now. I thought it might come in handy at dinner parties and such, although, unfortunately, I’ve found that he’s not often the topic of party conversation. Dang it, there’s seldom an opportunity to show off my prowess for namedropping of international leaders. I even come prepared with a way to remember his first name: My mood. “My mood: I’m a dinner jacket.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Note to self: Alert the Whoop about that one. She no doubt attends more dinner parties than I do, maybe it would come in handy. I like to help out when I can.

So My Mood I’m A Dinner Jacket spoke today at Columbia University, amidst much controversy! Should he have been invited? Should he have been allowed to speak? Posters, demonstrations, all other things aside … my answer is “yes.” That question probably won’t come up in any future dinner party conversation, either, so I’ll just say so here, without even being asked for my opinion.

It’s that simple. Yes, he should have his chance to speak. Look, he was invited by Columbia president Lee Bollinger to speak on campus. Bollinger is a lawyer and a big First Amendment, freedom of speech proponent, so I understand and appreciate where he was coming from in inviting Ahmadinejad to speak. It isn’t like some Irianian madman, with or without requisite dinner jacket, stormed onto campus, demanded a podium, and forced the students at gunpoint to take their seats and pay attention (he’s smart enough to know that he’s not in Iran at the moment.) He had an invitation, and in a way, I admire him for RSVPing and showing up.

Bollinger made it clear from his introduction that he was no fan, however.

He said, “Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,” adding, “You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.”

Okay, that’s clear enough. And it does take balls to say something like that to your own invitee’s face. So why is everyone up Bollinger’s ass just because he’s giving this guy a forum in which to speak? Sometimes it might be a good idea to actually listen to what these people in the world have to say, how they respond to questions, without a media filter, nutcase or not. If I was a student at Columbia, I would have wanted to be there. Yeah, I think the guy is a weirdo. The Holocaust is a myth? Come on, how can anyone be so stupid? Of course, well-deserved ridicule is in order there. Okay, he’s not playing with a full deck. That’s pretty obvious.

The nuclear thing? Well, I’m not happy about that per se, but maybe they are actually just developing their nuclear program for energy, no weapon in mind whatsoever. Hey, we’ve got lots of nuclear energy plants here. No one made us stop. Of course, even if they do decide to sneak in some sort of bomb thing under the wire, well, we’ve got the nuclear bombs here, too, so we could teach them a lesson. It’s okay for us, just not for them. Not with a madman running the country. Whoops, we’ve got that, too. Never mind.

Then there’s his crazy questioning of the 9/11 attacks, and who is actually to blame. Well, I do question that, myself. Time to put on my dinner jacket. And so he’s not a big fan of Israel, neither am I. Maybe I should just move to Iran. No, wait. They have no homosexuals there, I wouldn’t fit in at all!

In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Ahmadinejad said to howls and boos among the Columbia University audience.

“In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don’t know who has told you that we have it,” he said.

Ahmadinejad was challenged during his appearance on Amnesty International figures that suggested that 200 people had been executed in Iran so far this year, among them homosexuals.

All right, I know he’s a crazy dude. I don’t like him or his politics, or the way he runs his country, but he does have the right to speak, particularly in front of a group of college kids who are smart enough to call him on some of his outrageous policies, and put him on the spot, make him accountable. And like I said, he was invited, after all. Sometimes it’s best to hear the words straight from the idiot’s mouth. I really don’t understand the controversy. Good Lord, we’re forced to listen to the idiot running this country every day, and he wasn’t even invited.

Doesn’t really matter, Ahmadinejad’s days are probably numbered anyway. George Bush no doubt has another troop surge in the works, this time swapping out the “Q” for an “N“.

mahmoud ahmadinejad, iran, iranian president, george bush, columbia university

“Sic: Intentionally so written — used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it is intended exactly as printed or to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original.” Merriam Webster.

We’ve all seen it, the “sic” between those square brackets in newspapers, magazines, transcripts, online, whenever the writer of the piece wants to make it clear that, whomever it is they may be quoting, the author knows that this word, this phrase, the grammar is wrong, incorrect, misspoken, a mistake of some sort, but they are simply reporting exactly what he/she actually has said or written, verbatim. Adding “[sic]” takes the responsibility off of the reporter, because, really, who wants to be blamed for someone else’s stupidity?

Oddly enough, you seldom see “[sic]” in the news reports quoting George W. Bush following whatever his latest and greatest speech might have been. Then again, the reporters do have limited column space. I’m sure I could be sic-ed too, if I was quote-worthy, but I’m not, so I don’t worry so much. At least I’d never say something as Bush-classic as, “Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?” Or, “You’re working hard to put food on your family.” Both definitely bracketed sic-worthy. Not to mention the thousands of times the man has said “nucular.”

So he’s had a few misspeaks [sic]. We all do from time to time, but generally not every time we open our mouths.

Today he had his press conference explaining why the economy is strong despite some economists’ opinion to the contrary. Okay, whatever fantasy world he’s living in, I want to go there, too. He did support his position, though, by saying that, “Inflation is down, markets are steady, unemployment is relatively low, exports are up and corporate profits seem to be healthy.” Hmmm, wonder which one of those five he’s considering the primary indicator?

There were the requisite “sic moments”, of course. Moments (plural) within just this one sentence, for example: “There is no question that there is some unsettling times in the housing market and credits associated with the housing market,” the president said. If you can’t answer the question “What’s wrong with this sentence?”, you ought not waste your time trying to figure it out. You no doubt have better things to do, like putting food on your family.

Even when well-spoken, there are certainly things that should require a sic tag, not for the grammatical and spelling errors. Sometimes I would think that a reporter would want to make it clear that “he said it, not me!” In his economic “all is well” speech today, when pressed about whether he thought there was a risk of recession, Bush said:

“You need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101.”

Well, considering we have a self-admitted C-student president running the show, apparently Econ 101 was actually one of his stronger subjects. Still, apparently not strong enough. The president doesn’t know if there’s a risk of recession? As I watched the speech, it seemed to me that he was in a quandary about what the word even meant. “Talk to economists.” Should the president, particularly when delivering a speech about the state of the nation’s economy, really be deferring to others when asked a simple question about, well, the economy? He didn’t even try to bluff his way out of that one. That was unusual. No wonder we’re in such a mess. This would qualify for one of those quotes warranting a bracketed disclaimer in tomorrow morning’s newspaper report. “I’m just reporting what he said, folks, don’t blame me.”

Of course, economy out of the way, the nation having been assured that everything is A-OK (except for the potential recession, which is still up in the air, since there was no economist in the house to answer that question), the focus turned to other issues, like it usually does. Another special bracket moment here, when asked about progress in Iraq, and why he thinks people there are dissatisfied with the central government. At least Bush continues to amuse. He actually said this:

“Part of the reason why there’s not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule. Sort of an interesting comment, I heard somebody say, ‘Where’s Mandela?’ Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.“

This in reference, of course, to Nelson Mandela who after spending three decades in prison in South Africa for his anti-apartheid activities, became the first democratically elected president in South Africa, and helped reconcile his country after decades of racial division. No more of that burning-tire necklace murder thing going on against the black folks that was the norm under apartheid. Mandela is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a leader known worldwide, yet I have the impression that George thinks the Mandelas are (or were, past tense, since apparently Saddam killed them all!) just another tribe or sect in the cesspool of Iraq. The Kurds, the Sunnis, the Shiites, the Mandelas!

By the way, Mandela is alive and well. In South Africa. And I doubt if he or any of the Mandela clan have at any time ventured into Iraq.

I’d suggest that reporters covering and quoting any Bush speech simply end every article with a single, bold, all caps [SIC]. That would pretty much cover it all, while saving valuable column space. In fact, [SIC AND TIRED] might be more appropriate when it comes to reporting on all things Bush. Bold, all caps.

george w bush, iraq war, economy, bush speech, nelson mandela

From time to time we all get cravings. Chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, nachos, or fill in the blank with whatever it is you’re just dying to have right now! I’m mostly a salty snack kind of guy, and will usually pass on the chocolate and the ice cream. Although, I do enjoy a bowl of vanilla with Hershey’s syrup from time to time, now that I mention it. Yum. Usually, though, I’ll go for the bag of chips or the cheesy nachos. Extra jalapenos, please, although I might regret that later.

Of pickles, I’m not a big fan. Hold the pickles for me. So it never occurred to me that there might be enough pickle fanatics out there craving a soggy cuke to warrant a demand for pickle stores. I was wrong. The Pickle Guys in NYC seem to have done quite well, and I guess there are others. I Googled it. Who knew? Talk about a niche market.

Apparently Iraqis also love their pickles. They have pickle shops there, too. One less today, though, after the latest car bomb attack in Baghdad. Quote from a witness reported by the Associated Press:

“We rushed outside the house after hearing the sound of the explosion. I could see the bakery and a nearby pickle shop on fire,” said Abu Ahmed, a 36-year-old Shiite government employee. “The wounded were screaming for help as the ambulances were arriving.”

Eleven people were killed, including two kids. The main target was the nearby bakery, as customers were lining up for bread as they ended their Ramadan fast. Unfortunate location selection for the pickle shop guys, though, and unfortunate timing for those customers who may have simply planned to dash in to satisfy an urgent pickle craving.

Of course it was “the bad guys” who did the killing, I understand that. But as far as I’m concerned, George Dubya and the Bushies have the blood on their hands. I know these things are happening every day, it becomes old news, but why? Because of the US illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, we have resolved nothing, accomplished nothing, other than creating an environment in which sectarian violence between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds can flourish. It’s called a civil war (oxymoron, that phrase), and we created it. Now we’re stuck.

What strikes me most is that whether it’s us killing them, them killing us, or them killing each other, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of deaths that are the result of this atrocity that is the war in Iraq have come in increments of, say, for example, eleven. Given enough time, like four and a half years, I guess those numbers do add up. And no end in sight. Keep that calculator handy.

Like I said, I don’t like pickles, but I do recognize one when I see it, and we’re certainly in one now when it comes to Iraq. I think I’ll stick with the nachos.

iraq war, illegal war, baghdad, car bomb, war casualties, george bush

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, 8:46 AM. George W. Bush observed a moment of silence in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. That’s cool. Any time Bush is silent, that’s a good thing. Even if for a moment.

Of course, later in the day he was babbling about why we need to be in Iraq because of what happened on 9/11. Doesn’t everyone know by now that Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with what happened six years ago? I would certainly hope so. Still, I suppose it’s worth a shot to try to convince the ignorant with a 15 million dollar media campaign to justify the mess that is Iraq. What’s another 15 mil when you’ve already spent over 450 BILLION on the war? That’s nothing, I guess it’s worth a shot. Some people might be stupid enough to believe it.

According to the Washington Post:

The television commercial is grim and gripping: A soldier who lost both legs in an explosion near Fallujah explains why he thinks U.S. forces need to stay in Iraq.

“They attacked us,” he says as the screen turns to an image of the second hijacked airplane heading toward the smoking World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. “And they will again. They won’t stop in Iraq.”

Every investigation has shown that Iraq did not, in fact, have anything to do with the Sept. 11 attacks. But the ad, part of a new $15 million media blitz launched by an advocacy group allied with the White House, may be the most overt attempt during the current debate in Congress over the war to link the attacks with Iraq.

Sorry about the soldier losing his legs and stuff. If not for Iraq, he might be training for an upcoming marathon, or at least would be able to walk to the fridge for a midnight snack. Blame George. But that same soldier apparently has lost more than his legs, he has also lost his mind! To even consider being part of such a Bush propoganda campaign, to make the statement, “they attacked us” in reference to Iraq, well, legless or not, he’s an idiot. Perfect spokesman, though, I suppose, for the target demographic of this media blitz.

At least he’s still alive, as are so many other needlessly maimed and wounded victims of Bush. Others weren’t so lucky, both American and Iraqi.

iraq war, george bush, american soldiers, wounded soldiers, 9/11

Magnets are cool, they stick to stuff. The fender of your SUV, for example. Like the yellow “Support Our Troops” ribbon magnet that you picked up for a buck when you were checking out at the 7-11 because, well, it was right there, and you were already paying for the nachos and Slurpee, so why not? And it made you feel good. Doing your part, showing your support.

But which troops are you supporting? Because of our invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Iraqi citizens have no, or sporadic, electricity and other utility services, and water supplies have been cut off for days at a time. I guess, on the bright side, at least they’re not dead yet.

For many Iraqi citizens … trying to stay cool or find sufficient drinking water was a(n) urgent problem. The Baghdad water supply already has been severely affected by power blackouts and cuts that have affected pumping and filtration stations.

And now water mains have gone dry in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where the whole province south of Baghdad has been without power for three days. Power supplies in Baghdad have been sporadic all summer and now are down to just a few hours a day, if that.

At least under Hussein, bad guy that he was, they had electricity and water. We move in and invade the country and now, well, sorry, we kind of blew up too much stuff, screwed up those kinds of things. OK, our bad. But hey, don’t forget we’re the liberators. The good guys. Give us a break.

I digress, back to supporting our troops, and that yellow ribbon magnet stuck to the fender of your Suburban. Showing support for the troops is great. Particularly, those soldiers who make the effort to spend time with the Iraqi children! And apparently those thirsty kids, the ones who have no water, they are the most fun of all!

Okay, support the troops, but do so selectively. You might want to pencil in “some of” on that 7-11 feel-good ribbon. Because if the soldiers are going to play with the kids, there is perhaps a better way. Not all soldiers are assholes, I know, but some are, obviously, and making a blanket statement that you support the troops is just wrong. And, by the way, those magnets are annoying.

iraq war, support our troops, iraqi war, soldiers