elections and the donkey gang

Well, they had elections in part of the country yesterday and it looks to have been bad news for the donkey gang. Yes, they lost in many of the "contests" that were run.

Some of the analysis I have read so far today seem to think this is not just bad news for the rest of the donkey gang in next years elections, but it might not be good news for Go-bomb-them either.

Now what amazes me, is that some of these "pundits" are stunned. Really. They are saying how it is just one year ago today that our president won his election. Well, that is true, as far as it goes. It IS one year ago that Mr. obama DID win the presidential election. OK, so that is a fact, what of it?

Well, these folks who are analyzing yesterday's defeat for the donkey gang are surprised. I don't know why. Unless, oh my, these folks who are bemoaning last nights donkey defeat must have drunk the "change" and "hope" kool aid last summer. Yes, that has to be why they are now in a panic.

Apparently these folks actually thought(?) that Go-bomb-them was going to deliver on this "hope" and "change".

Well, he did, sort of. Now, we working class people can "hope" we get some sort of health care in America. And he did bring in some changes. Yes sir, he changed the Secretary of State from Condi Rice to Hi-Larry Clinton.

See, hope and change. That was so easy.

Another thing that bothers me about all the hand wringing over this loss last night is that they fear our president will be a one term guy. Well, considering what he has done for us in the past nine months, what does he need a second term for?

Also, how is it that these people are so surprised at the tiny bit that our new leader has actually accomplished? I suppose they must be like one person I talked with back in the summer of 2007. He was telling me how he really liked Obama. I asked what he thought was so special about the man. Well, he told me, he has some good ideas and he really speaks very well, he is saying lots of good things. Well, than, I had to do what I usually do, yes, I asked this guy just WHAT it was that candidate Obama was actually saying. There was a very long silence, then he finally said to me, well, the man has a very good speaking voice AND he talks in complete sentences.

Now, after having suffered listening, or trying to listen to the Shrub for more than seven years, I did have some small bit of sympathy for this guy. However, having a good speaking voice and being able to communicate in complete, understandable sentences is NOT the top requirement for being president of the US of A.

My problem, from the very first with Mr. Obama is that he never actually explained any of his ideas. He never really said just how he might try to do what he talked about.

Now, to find that not only might the entire donkey gang be in election trouble, but Go-bomb-them himself may have a re-election problem, well, I am not at all surprised.

The man made lots of "good speeches" during the campaign. He has even made a few good ones since he took the office. My question is, where or on what has he delivered?

This all fits quite well, I think, with my question about the "left" in America. Where IS the left? Where are all these supposed "progressives"? If they really believed in our president and his agenda, wouldn't you think they would have mobilized all their supporters to elect more "progressives" and other donkey gang folks?

Another article today asks where are the Democrats. Well, they are right where they have been since Clinton time. Sitting back doing nothing. They lost a good bit under Clinton. Under W. Bush, they were out of power and just sat on the sidelines and approved/voted for nearly everything W. asked for. Yes, the donkey gang voted for the "patriot act", the military commissions mess, Gitmo, and both of the damn wars of choice. They basically just folded under to the Cheney/Bush gang. Now that they control BOTH houses of Congress AND the presidency, they seem to have folded again! Only this time, it looks as if they have folded to Limburger, Beck, O'Really and the rest of Faux Noise. Can you say "gutless"? Of course you can, it is pronounced Democrat.

Maybe it will turn out that our current president will be a one term guy. I think the world may have been a much better place had "saint" Woodrow been a one term wonder. We will find out in 2012 if Mr. Obama gets a second term. Oh, but wait, that is the year the world is supposed to end on December 21st so it may not matter much if he is re-elected or not. Just ask those pesky old Mayans.

Ain't 'Merika a grand place to live?

p.s. NO, I do NOT believe the world will end in 2012. Unless some damn fool starts a nuclear war around that time. The only thing the Mayan calendar suggests is that a "new age" will begin as the old one ends. It is a cycle, nothing more than passing from one sign of/in the zodiac to another. And as to the alignment of the planets and all that, it happens every year in December. Just ask Neil Degrasse Tyson.

it is "official" in Afghanistan

Well it is now "official". Yep, the "election" in Afghanistan is now over. Mr. Karzai is now the "legitimate" leader/president/ruler or whatever title he claims. While watching the CBC news program last night on the internet, they came out with this "news" at about 10:13 PM central standard time.

Well, why not give the "election" to Karzai? Since the challenger decided to not take part in the run off to be held on the 7th of this month. We need to understand that it is a bit much to hold any sort of election, run off or other wise, when there is only one person running. I mean, who do you run off against in that case? Yourself?

Now all those folks who have lost a loved one to the war in Afghanistan can now be so very proud. Our troops died to bring democracy to that country. Democracy? Well, if you think a normal Chicago style election is democracy maybe. Or should we hold up as an example Florida in 2000? Or maybe Ohio in 2004?

Just what IS democracy American style now days? Rigged elections?

Maybe I am very old fashioned, but this does not seem at all like the sort of democracy I was taught in high school civics class. Of course that was way back in 1965-66 and we all know the world has progressed so very far since then.

Yes sir, progress, like Vietnam, the first Gulf war, and now Iraq (again), and of course Afghanistan.

I meant no disrespect at all to the troops who have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan. Hell, I am a veteran of the Vietnam disaster. I respect all the veterans of all of our wars. The troops don't make policy, they just have to figure a way to carry it out. I just have to say that I find their sacrifice to have been in vain if the goal was to bring democracy to Afghanistan.

I see where Mr. Karzai has agreed to make some changes that our leader, Go-bomb-them has requested. Yes, from now on, the dead will only be allowed to vote twice in any future Afghan elections. Did I mention that the president of America is from Chicago?

Maybe it was best to call off the scheduled run off.

Just ranting

Some things I have been thinking about and some that just bother me this time at the old corner.

I had read an article about the left in America. You remember them, the liberals. What, you don't know who they are? Well, that just may be for the reason that the "left" or the "liberals" no longer truly exist here in America today.

Just what has the "left" done of late? The author of the article I read suggested that maybe the "left" was finally rousing. I don't think they are rousing from their long slumber at all. No, I think they are just sort of readjusting themselves in their bed. They have been sleeping there these many long years.

Without W. Shrub to kick around any more, what was the left (is there a pun in this?) of the "left" has gone back to the deep sleep of "Clinton time". Yep, was have a donkey gang member occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue so go back to sleep folks. Yes sir, nothing to see here at all. Well, it is damn hard to see much when you are asleep.

In my opinion, the "left" of recent times, such as the eight miserable years of Cheney/Bush, was never much anyway. Look at what it was, MoveOn.org, ANSWER, and others I cannot even remember. What a joke that gang is/was. All hot air and very little else. A one issue gang, anything or anybody but Bush. Man,that sure sounds like the damnable elephant gang doesn't it? One issue and only one issue. Get Shrub out of office and they fold their tents and go home to sleep. Lazy assholes! Fools of the first order. Goddamn it, there is MUCH work to do yet!

Holy crap people, we have an "economy"(??) that is in tatters. Go-bomb-them is still running foreign affairs according to the damn Cheney script. Where the hell is the "left"? Out to lunch or fast asleep.

And this is coming from me, not some left wing nut ball, but an honest to god REAL former US Marine and a Vietnam veteran. Goddamn, if I can see this shit, why the hell can't the so-called "left" see it also? Are they really blind as well as deaf and dumb? Or is it that there isn't any money in it for them? Are they afraid of Faux Noise? Beck? O'Really? Limburger? They love Olbermann? Holy shit, I remember when all Olbermann could barely do was read the sports scores on the CBS TV station in Lost Angeles! I didn't think he was very good at that job either. Then he gets a job with ESPN and now he is some "left wing" commentator at MSNBC? What? How did this half assed sports reporter (actually score reader) get to that level? Holy crap, America IS brain dead. That this self inflated ego, Olbermann, is the "voice" of the left in America is sick. Or, maybe, just maybe, it is proof that the Peter Principle IS for real.

The level of discourse in America today is not even at the level of a group of three year olds in a sand box. All we get are the fools on the tube fighting(??) each other over ratings. Come on people. This sham of Olbermann against O'Really, Beck, and Limburger is a fraud. I would not be at all surprised to find out that they are vest pals off the set. Probably go out for drinks with each other every night. It is all for show, ratings, yet so many Americans swallow this show. Hook, line, and sinker. I don't believe any of them.

This all makes me very happy that I have not even owned a TV set for over two years and counting. Why would I want one? To watch the crap that passes itself off as news, or "political commentary"? No way Jose! I'll stick with the internet and decent sites like Counterpunch among many others that are worth MY time.

Hell, even CNN has sunk to new lows lately. Can any sane human being defend Lou Dobbs? Crap on ice. I saw some clips of his rants about Illegal aliens the other day. This guy is even loonier than Limburger. And that is something I thought would never be topped. Every problem in America is traced back to illegal aliens, if you listen to Dobbs that is. That is beyond crazy.

And now our(??) military is getting into the act. General McChrystal is telling people that if he doesn't get the number of troops he want, he will resign. Really? Well, have a good retirement then Stan. And don't let the door hit you in the rear on your way out.

This guy is a general and does not know the chain of command? He does NOT get to make policy. He does NOT get to demand anything from the Commander in Chief.

And where the hell is Go-bomb-them in all this shit? The guy is supposed to have been a Constitutional scholar. Wasn't he supposed to have taught Constitutional Law? Doesn't HE know the goddamn chain of command either? Who the hell IS in charge in D.C.? Anybody?

Now, if our president had any smarts, he would hire Scott Ritter to run his security crew. At last we would have an intelligent adult in charge.

Supposedly there is a rumor of a possible mutiny of the generals if Stan doesn't get all he wants for the Afghan mess. OK, let them try. I'll be against them rat generals. Hell, I am already. Damn fools, we got our hind ends handed to us in Vietnam. True, we won all the battles, but could never defeat the home them. Same thing happened right here along 1776 or there abouts. These fool generals don't even know American history! An invading army cannot defeat the home team. At some point the invaders will go home. The home team is already home.

Crap, a bunch of rag tag mechanics, carpenters, blacksmiths, merchants, and farmers beat the crap out of the super power of the day. The British Empire, right here, in good old 'Merika.

What a bunch of fools. You just know they are all graduates of some military school or other. West Point or Annapolis. Phooey! A pox on all of them.

Jeff Huber over at his blog Pen and Sword said every officer bird colonel and higher should be fired. On that point, I think Jeff is 100% correct. It just shows how back in Vietnam we were right when we said that rank is inversely proportional to intelligence. "Moon" Mullins, "king" David, and McCrapstyl just prove the point.

And then just the other day Hi-Larry springs back into the news. Yes sir, sshe sure told them dang "Pakis" a thing or three. By gawd she did. Yes sir, she sure knows how to keep our pals close. Yep, just tell them that you think they KNOW where the bad guys are, but they won't let us in on that secret. Now, if we are going to fight that damn stupid, jackass war in Afghanistan/Pakistan we NEED the Pakistanis to be on OUR side. We do NOT need to accuse them of being indifferent to our goals. We also have no cause, of any sort, to treat them as our lackeys. They are NOT our servants, even though Hi-Larry may think so. Why did Go-bomb-them allow this person onto his cabinet? She is NOT a diplomat in any way, shape, or form. Hell, I could do a better job than she did in Pakistan. Holy shit people, you do NOT go off and accuse your allies of being on the "wrong" side of things. Unless you have solid proof. Hi-LArry has no such thing.

The she skips over to Israel and pals around with Nutty-yahoo and now it is unreasonable for the Palestinians to demand a halt to ALL settlement building before they even begin peace talks. That request/demand is "unreasonable" according to Hi-Larry. It has never been done before, therefore, it is not allowed. Well, Israel has never entered into peace negotiations with any desire to achieve peace before either. So much for the "new" diplomatic front put up by Go-bomb-them. Wasn't he the one who told the Israelis to stop the settlements? I remember him saying that this past summer. Well, it looks like Hi-Larry IS in charge of this now. Forget what the president has said, she knows best.

This "new" administration came in with a promise of change. About the only change we got was a change of the idiots in the White House and the cabinet. It looks more and more like this gang is running the very same script that Cheney/Bush used.

Holy hell, what a damn mess we have.

additional comments, peace prize

OK, this is way out of hand now.

The more I read and hear about this "peace prize" the more I get disgusted about it all. Maybe I wrote the earlier post too soon. Well, here we go with more.

This guy, Go-bomb-them, has our country stuck in two huge tar pits. Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan. Now, here we are, this guy is running two wars, both wars of choice. OK, so far, no problem. Now we get to the "problem", how does running war, let alone more than one war, qualify you for any sort of "peace" prize?

Watching al-Jazeera just a few minutes ago, they had a phone interview, edited down for time, with one of the members of the jury who voted this prize. His comments were more about speeches given and "hope" for future actions. Well, LA-DE-DAH!!!!!! Big damn deal folks. I could do that. Holy shit, have the human race now stooped so bloody damn low that a speech now qualifies as grounds for a peace prize? Whatever happened to actions? Remember the old saying, actions speak louder than words? I remember that one. The actions of our "dear leader" sure as hell do NOT qualify as any sort of peace or the premise of getting any sort of prize. Well, his actions may qualify for a prize from those who profit from war, as he is running two of them now with threats for another with Iran still out there.

Back to my original question, what has the guy DONE to qualify for any sort of peace prize? All I can come up with are a few kind words about some future time. Again, holy shit! Nearly every person I know or have met has expressed the "hope" that some day there might be real peace in this world. Why aren't they being awarded some sort of peace prize?

Yes, this old guy is highly disgusted about this. I cannot see any justification what so ever for this award. It would seem that the Nobel Peace Prize now might be soon available for a small fee plus a few box tops. Or, better(worse?) yet, coming soon to a Wal-Mart near you.

Peace prize?

Our president has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Really? How? Why? What has he done to deserve this "honor"? What war has he ended? Where has he "delivered" peace between warring factions?

How did this guy, who has been in office less than one full year win this prize?

OK, he did give a speech where he said it would be nice to live in a world free of nuclear weapons. Well, big damn deal folks. I have known a good number of people in my life time who have said the very same thing. None of them was even considered for any such prize, at least I never heard they were. I have even on occasion, myself, said that a nuclear weapons free world would be a very nice place. OK, I was never on any list for the prize either. Hell, I don't remember getting much in the way of any prize recently. I DID win three (yes 3) awards for scale models that I built some years ago. That was really nice and it totally surprised me. Nothing at all even close, I suppose to the "big one" (aka Nobel Peace Prize).

Other than the speech about a nuclear weapons free world, no action mind you, just a speech, what has Go-bomb-them done to get this award?

Well, let us take a look at his performance so far in his current job.

He is still waging war in Iraq, check. He is now "considering" sending more troops to the war in Afghanistan, check. He still makes noises about sanctions and further actions against Iran, check. He has not made any progress at all on bringing and end to hostilities between the Palestinians and the Israelis, check.

These are just the more obvious, widely known not peace deals he has made so far.

Now, what has he actually done? Well, he did decide (there we go with the "decider guy" stuff again) to remove, even before they left here, the missile shield from eastern Europe. Nice move as the system has never really worked any way.

He has made nice with Russia, always a good idea to try to be friends with the other major nuclear weapons power on the planet.

He has probably done or talked about some other things that are peaceful but they didn't make much of an impression on me as I can't think of any more right now. Yes, I am too lazy this morning to do a google search for any. You want a google search of his accomplishments, go ahead and do one.

When I turned on ye olde computer this morning, I went to one of my news sites and was greeted with the headline; "Obama wins Peace Prize". My first reaction was, this has got to be a joke. Seriously, did I click on the main page for "The Onion", rather than a "hard news" site? Nope, I checked again, it was a "real news" web site I was on. Wow. I am still wondering just what he has done to achieve this level. All I can come up with is that he gave a speech at the UN.

Well, so did the leader of Libya. Don't see that guy winning any peace prize. Hey, don't laugh, what else has our "dear leader" done to win this prize?

As I said above, he is still bogged down in two (count them, 2) illegal wars of choice. Yes, I know, he has said that Afghanistan is a war of necessity, but that is total crap and anybody with a functioning brain knows that. We are still in Iraq, even though that war hardly ever is in the news lately. We are still making nasty sounding noises towards Iran, even though we did have talks with them recently. We seem to have allowed the Zionist gang who run Israel to get away with building whatever they wish on land that once had Palestinians living on it. Still has such occupants in fact.

So, tell me, folks.Just what the hell has Go-bomb-them done to warrant his getting the Nobel Peace Prize? Inquiring minds want to know.

War, war, endless war

Well, now that we have found the "secret" uranium enrichment plant being built by Iran, the war lovers are coming out of the woodwork. Yes sir, they are agitating for even more war.

Now this is amazing to me. True, I was a Marine and I did serve a tour in Vietnam, but I fail to understand why these people want another war. We are still fighting in Iraq, true this doesn't make the "news" much lately. We are still there though. We are, of course, deep in Afghanistan and that war does make even the main stream media here at home. Now, we are not in any way "winning" either of these wars at this time. Even the commander of the Afghan "adventure" is now requesting more troops for that war. And yet, some people are now getting the public ready for a new war, one with Iran.

Now to the best of my research, Iran did notify the IAEA about this new facility and apparently there was no problem in that announcement. No, the problem seems to come from what passes for leadership in America and in the media. We are being told by the "media" that the plant is for making bomb grade material. So far as I have found, the IAEA does not think so. To the best of my research, the Iranian plant will be subject to the very same inspections as the rest of their nuclear facilities are.

To date, the IAEA has found NO material to be diverted for any "secret" purposes. As far as the IAEA can tell, Iran is still NOT working on a nuclear weapon. As many commentators on the net have pointed out, it would be very foolish for Iran to build or acquire a nuclear weapon. It would, as some have said, paint a big bullseye on Iran. While it is very understandable that they might want such a weapon, to counter those held by Israel, so far they are not even working on such a device.

Good for them. The world has far too many of these evil weapons as it is. We need fewer nuclear weapons, not more of them. I would like to see a nuclear free world. No, that will not happen in my life time, but it is a nice thought.

America and the old Soviet Union signed an agreement to dismantle their nukes. Of course that isn't happening now. We did make a start, but now there seems to be no money for that program. Well, of course there isn't any money, we have spent it all on Iraq and Afghanistan! And we keep spending even more every passing day. According to a report I read this week, we spend $2,000,000,000 (2 Billion) every month for Afghanistan alone. By the end of this year, the Afghan war will have cost the American tax payer $200 Billion!

Now that is some serious money folks. Just imagine what could have been done with that amount of money, other than funding a useless and unwinnable war.

We could have a real national health care system with EVERY American getting full medical coverage. We could pay teachers a decent wage. We could repair our crumbling bridges and roads.

Our economy is in the dump and yet our "leaders" are pushing for yet another war. How many countries does America need to be at war with? Is any country that doesn't jump when "we" shout become an enemy?

Face it, that is the behavior of an empire, not a democratic republic.

Just what do "we" the people get from all this spending on wars? About all that I see that "we" get, is the damn bill for it all. "We" the people of America get nothing from this waste of lives, money, and resources. Just the bloody damn bill. Yes, the people get to pay for the wars. We pay with our money in the form of taxes and yet more taxes to buy the weapons and other materials needed to have these wars. We also pay with lives. It is the working class and the poor people who are the ones doing the fighting and dying. The rich people have "people" to do for them. They nor their children serve in the wars. I suppose like their pal Dick Cheney, they have "other priorities". Having been a member of the ground forces in Vietnam, I can say from personal experience that the troops in the wars have "other priorities" also. Their priorities are staying alive and keeping themselves and their fellow troops alive and well. What the troops really want to is survive with as few physical wounds as possible and to return home safe and n one piece. Of course even without any physical wounds, they are all wounded psychically, emotionally. All of those wounds stay with them forever. War, it just keeps on "giving". The troops can count on a lifetime of bad memories and nightmares. That is what war does to those who are caught up in it.

And it is not just the troops who get these "gifts" from war, but the civilians who are exposed to wars have the very same "gifts" bestowed upon them by war. War is an "equal opportunity" giver of terrible memories and sleepless nights.

We need to find a way to end this senseless cycle of war. The world needs to realize that ALL people have the same needs. We all have the same basic desires also. We all want to provide a decent life for our families. We want decent shelter, food, and clothing. We want a decent, well paying job or career. We want our children to have at least as good a life as we have, and if possible, we want our children to have a better life than we do. This holds for every religion, creed, culture,skin color, or any other "differences" we have or seem to have. People are people. We need to find a way to get along with each other and stop the killing of our fellow human beings.

Memorial Day and other thoughts

Well, here we are on the "new" Memorial Day weekend and the old fart (me) is still here. Yep, this mess we call America hasn't killed me off, yet.

First off, a small bit of history. Originally, Memorial Day was the 30th of May. It was not then a "long weekend" holiday. It had been established to honor the Union troops who had died during the "Civil War" or as some still call it, the War of Northern Aggression".  Back then it was called "Decoration Day" according to Wikipedia. It was not until after World War One that it was expanded to include ALL American troops who were killed in any military action. Just as a point of interest in case you thought this "holiday" had always been a long weekend.

It was also the traditional day for the running of the Indianapolis 500. Yep, back when I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, the race was run on 30 May. It didn't matter if that day fell on a week day, ie. Monday through Friday, that was THE race day. Of course now, like many other holidays, we changed the original date of celebration so that we get a long weekend.  I'm still waiting for our government to change the other holidays to suit this long weekend deal. You know the few that still are NOT yet a long weekend. They are very few today and I believe only amount to July 4th, Christmas, and New Years Day. All our other holidays have been "reset" so that they now are "long weekend" holidays.

Well, you wonder, what is this old fool pissing about? Not much I suppose, just making a point. But it does seem funny to me that we now seem to "need" a long weekend for most of our major holidays. Somehow we seem to be unable to have a holiday in mid week. Funny, that is how things were originally. How did we manage to cope with that "disruption"?  Another thing on this matter. I don't remember many businesses being open with "special holiday" sales on many of those days either. Of course one could never expect our selfless businesses to close down for an entire weekend today. The "public" would revolt I suppose. In fact, many people seem to look forward to and even plan on shopping during these holiday sales periods. Well, that IS the "new" America, make a quick buck, and/or, get a "good deal" on some item. Yep, it is all about the (no longer) almighty dollar.  Ain't America a grand place?

Another item for today, prompted by an article I read today. It concerns the "Rolling Thunder" folks. An article I just read about that group caught my attention in an odd sort of way. In the article, the author talks of how this patriotic group once was riding their motorcycles in celebration of the Vietnam dead and missing. She goes on to tell how they "lost their way" sort of in the recent past years. Since the Iraq mess of W. Shrub, they now have transformed into a pro-war group. Or so the author has suggested. Personally I don't  know much about them, but it is possible. She does give a good argument for this and I accept it, mostly.

Any way, in this article the myth of the Vietnam vet being spit on is brought up, again. Crap! When is this myth going to die and get buried?  Come ON people! It did NOT happen! As a veteran of the Marine Corps and Vietnam, I never had any such experience, nor have ANY other veteran I have ever talked to. It is a myth, plain and simple. Leave this damn lie/myth die the death it deserves.

Now, I will admit, and it is provable, that about EVERY TV cop show of the early 1970's had at least one episode where the "bad guy(s)" were the nearly universal "deranged Vietnam vet(s)". THAT is one real thing that pissed me off at the time and still has the ability to "get" me today even.  We were no all a bunch of drugged out criminals. We did not all lose all sense of morality.

We were not all criminals.

The very same can be said of Arabic peoples today. They seem to be the "target" of choice in some police dramas and movies recently. Why is this so? My opinion is that they, like the "deranged Vietnam vet" of the 70's are an easy target for Hollywood. We are bogged down in two wars in the Arab world and looking to start at least one more (in Pakistan). Also, the fact that the guys who attacked the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon, were Arabic people. Arabs are the "target of choice" for our military and Hollywood. To me, any "easy" target becomes the "new" movie/cop show "bad guy" of choice. It "flows" with the news and also, it helps to reinforce the government propaganda/stereotype. 

Now this is reason enough for me to not watch these TV shows and/or movies.  The stereotype bad guy is never correct in my opinion. The main reason to me, is that it never gives any real context. We never are told the "why" the current "bad guy" acts as he/she does. They are just held up as bad for the simple reason that they are either a Vietnam vet or an Arab. Simple folks. They are "bad guys" just because of who they are, the group they are part of. No further explanation is given, nor even hinted at.

Of course to give very much of a background as to why the "bad guy" really is doing as he/she does would make for very dull TV/movie experience. The American TV/movie watcher wants, in fact demands, action. Action, above a believable story line seems to rule what passes as "entertainment" for America. We love car chases, gun fights, and explosions. Oh, and plenty of fake blood and gore. Reality, well, that is for another time, maybe.

Funny, though, if you think on this. We seem to "enjoy" the fake blood and gore of our movies and TV shows (to a lesser extent on TV).  BUT, we never seem to be able to "take" it when it comes to the "real" news we watch. We "escape" to the fake blood shed of the movies, yet we shrink from the real blood of the news. Amazing. Maybe some "smart" folks will do a study on this and write a long, rather boring volume on this topic. Hell, maybe some of them have already. It still amazes me, how we "enjoy" Hollywood wars, yet we shrink from the real wars we are stuck in.

My opinion? We NEED to be shown just what a REAL war does to those who are caught up in it. In FULL COLOR. Hey, we now have high definition TV so, even better to show the gore and mess, the true hell of war. One small drawback, though, you still cannot transmit the smells of war through the TV or the movies. IF that were possible, then every war lover could have the experience of war right at home. 

Having survived a tour in Vietnam, I would like for ALL of these "war lovers" to have to sit and watch the real results of war, complete with ALL the sights, sounds, AND smells of war. I wonder just how many of them would still favor war after that. 

War is the most pornographic thing we humans have ever devised. Trust me on this people. Unless you have been in a war, you cannot, will never, fully understand what war is, what it does to those who are caught up in it. The sights, sounds, and yes, the smells of war are beyond imagining. You have to have been there, as they say.

So, in closing, on this "new" Memorial Day holiday, we need to remember not just the troops who have died in our wars, past and present, but we should remember ALL the people who have been caught up in our wars and who have been killed and/or maimed from war.

semper fi

What a world

Well this old world just gets crazier and crazier as each day passes.

An excellent source of truth and information is over  at    http:// www.tomdispatch.com/. I highly recommend the entry of 23 April 2009, "Killing Civilians" or, How Safe Do You Actually Want To Be? This site by Mr. Tom Engelhardt is always most useful and his own articles always worth your time. This latest article by him is particularly important. He gives an excellent look at what "we" are doing in Afghanistan. 

We continue to kill innocent civilians, yet we are very slow to admit any "mistakes". When we finally DO admit to having killed civilians, rather than say Taliban or al-Qaeda types, the best(?) we do is to offer an apology and a small payment in cash to the survivors. 

What "we" fail to realize, is that for every death of the innocent, "we" create more radicals who now have a valid reason to despise or even hate us. This is the same as we did in Vietnam, Iraq, and many other countries. Is America that bloody damn stupid? Do "we" ever learn from our past mistakes? Do "we" enjoy making more and more enemies with every passing day? When is this country going to wake up and 

 that wars of choice, in particular, are entirely evil?

If you have read any of my previous posts here, you know that I agree 100% with General Smedley Butler who said there are ONLY two reasons for war. One; to defend OUR homes. Two; to defend the Bill of Rights. ALL other reasons (excuses) for war are a racket. By that, he meant and I agree, that ANY other reason (excuse) for war are a total racket designed ONLY to enrich those who make the weapons and other materials of war. That does include those who make the under wear and socks the troops wear! No kidding folks, those manufacturers also make out like bandits during a war. General Butler knew this and in his small pamphlet "War Is A Racket" (available at Amazon.com and other book sellers), he states that quite clearly. It is NOT only those who make the weapons of war who profit from wars. As I just mentioned, clothing makers reap profits from wars. So do those who make the rations our troops eat and other "normal" products that the troops need for daily living or comfort. In short, war is big business. 

Well, I still believe that old poster from the 1960's, "War is unhealthy for children and other living things". 

That our new "decider guy", Mr. Oh-bomb-them, has "decided" that Afghanistan is a "good" war is disgusting. If you had really paid any attention to his campaign talk, you KNEW he was not, and never has been, anti war. Yes, he was (and supposedly still is) against the Iraq war. But, that is only because he thinks(?) it is the "wrong" war. In truth, we had and have NO business in either Iraq or Afghanistan. After 9/11, it would have been acceptable to send in teams of special operations types to go after bin Laden and his people. That would have been a valid use of resources. To invade with whole regiments is and was stupid beyond belief. It is like using a sledge hammer to swat a fly, overkill. It is also useless, or worse than useless. The Afghans have NEVER tolerated any invading force, as far back as Alexander the Great! NO invading army has ever :subdued" that country, and we are failing as well. Had we sent in small units with the specific task of killing or capturing al-Qaeda, then we might have had a chance for success. By invading in "full force" the mission was doomed from the very start. Apparently our new "decider guy" isn't quite as smart as some people want him to be. 

We will lose in Afghanistan,  just as Alexander, the British, and the Russians lost.  Don't any of our leaders ever read any history? Apparently not. Or, they must be filled to overflowing with hubris. Either way, it does not bode well for America.

I still stand by my comment that war is the MOST pornographic thing we humans have ever devised. 

Some interesting news. Ms. Jane Harman, a Democrat who "loves" the Bushies wire taps has gone and got herself caught on at least one of them! Outstanding! Now, let's sit back and see how this shakes out. It ought to be interesting to say the least. She apparently was tapped discussing tactics with an agent of AIPAC to pressure Ms. Pelosi to make Harman the chair of an intelligence committee.  Hmmm, swap money for position? Isn't that just "normal" behavior for our(?) elected officials?  Just business as usual? As more than one commentary has stated, it is time (actually way PAST time) for AIPAC to finally register as a foreign agency. 

One more item of note. The new foreign minister of Israel, Avigdor Lieberman, has said that "America accepts all our decisions." Translation, whatever Israel wants to do, say with regards to Palestine or Iran, America will "just go along" with whatever Israel wishes to do.  And yet, there are those who say that Israel and AIPAC do NOT have great influence in Washington D.C.!!!! 

Man, talk about arrogance! America will go along with "Whatever" Israel wants!?!!???!!! Well, hell there Avigdor, thanks for informing us idiot Americans of this. 

Of course when we have such "representatives" as Ms. Harman, who seem to be more loyal to Israel than to America, maybe he is right, as far as the "leadership" goes any way.

People, it is long overdue for "we the people" to stand up and tell OUR elected representatives that they work for US, and NOT for Israel. Who elected them? Since when do the Israelis vote in OUR elections? YES, AIPAC and others "donate" huge sums of money to both wings of the ruling party.  The best government money can buy is what we get stuck with. 

It is time for the people of America to wake up, get up off the couch and take back OUR country while there is still anything worth saving. 

semper fi

A question for America

There is an excellent article at the following blog site. The address is; http://velvelonnationalaffairs.blogspot.com. 

In this post, Dean Lawrence Velvel asks if we are Joe McCarthy or Joseph Welch. I would ask all of you to go and read his article.

This was my email reply to his latest.

Dean Velevel,

Sir, thank you for this excellent commentary.

Yes, we ARE at that sort of moment. How will we respond to it? I wish, sincerely hope, that we will prosecute ALL the criminals from the Bush dictatorship, including ALL members of BOTH parties in both houses of Congress (i.e. Pelosi etc) who knew the real truth about the torture of the innocent and even those who are guilty of terror acts who we have held in our miserable military prisons.

Notice sir, I say I wish/hope that we, as a country do so. Do I think this will happen? Sadly, no, I do not. I do not think it will happen for the reason that too many who are currently in power, as members of Congress or still in the "new" administration would be put on trial if this were to happen. Those people are fairly wealthy, there are few, if any, "poor folks" who are members of our(??) Congress now days. It takes far too much money to get elected for any "common" folks to be members of Congress.

As I just said, there are far too many current members of Congress who had knowledge of this torture. The knew, and yet, they did nothing about it. They kept silent. This silence reminds ME of that poem about the Nazis. I don't know the name (title) of it, nor do I know it entirely, but the sentiment(?) goes like this; When they came for the communists, I kept quiet, as I was not a communist.........Until, when they came for me, there was nobody left to object. THAT is how I see our(??) members of Congress who KNEW what was happening and to innocent people even,at Gitmo and other military prisons. THEY kept silent, and NOW, they hope all the rest of US will keep silent and not agitate for the prosecution of the criminals who approved of, ordered, and administered the torture. THEY, members of Congress, "hope" that their complicity will be overlooked, let to "slide by" as it were. THEY are having trouble sleeping at night, as THEY are in fear of THEIR own freedom. If THEY are found out, they THEY will have to go before a judge and jury to answer for THEIR silence in regards to what THEY knew.

Any member of Congress who DID know of such crimes and yet kept silent IS as guilty as the other criminals who engaged in any way in the torture of prisoners.

America DOES, indeed deeply NEEDS, to have the truth come out. The country NEEDS to have the criminals brought before a court of law to answer the charges. If found guilty, they MUST be sentenced to long prison terms. My personal choice of punishment would be life, with NO chance ever of parole or pardon. That would be life, making little rocks from big rocks. NO exceptions. No exceptions for reasons of health, age, sex, nor ANY other "excuse" from such punishment if found guilty of these crimes.

Am I being overly harsh? Maybe, yet I do not think so. We are talking about the moral standing of OUR country here. Not some minor detail. The moral health of America demands that the people who were involved in the torture of ANY prisoner in the custody of Americans be prosecuted according to OUR own laws. When we do this, we will show to ourselves that we actually ARE a nation of laws, not a nation of men.

I personally believe that this is absolutely VITAL to the long term health and well being of America. If we allow members of our government and military to escape punishment for torture, when they swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, how can anybody ever trust America again? How can any decent human being not demand that those who engaged in such crimes be allowed to go unpunished?

I am not a religious person. Ask me what my religion is, and I will tell you that I am a heathen. I have NO religion at all. I do not believe in any of them. I do think that I am a, somewhat at least, moral person. I believe that common decency and any moral reasoning demand that those who were involved in or knew of the torture of any prisoners must be put on trial for those crimes. I cannot fathom how any person who has any mild sense of decency or even the mildest of morals could allow for those who were involved in or knew of this torture to go free, with not even as such as a simple trial. No sir, I cannot, will not accept that any moral, decent human being would allow such crimes to go unpunished.

After posting this, I found an article that shows where Spain has laid out charges against six former Bush administration people. They are, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Mr. Yoo, Mr. Feith, Mr. Bybee, Mr. Addington, and Mr. Haynes.

Excellent news, these guys are finally being charged for their crimes. BUT, why is it that Spain is doing this and NOT America?

Why does president "rainbow" insist that he will not "look backwards" at all? How can we go forward if we do not realize where we have been?

The crimes committed by the last administration MUST be addressed. America needs to step up to the plate here.

 

Zionist rule in America

Today we hear that Charles Freeman has withdrawn his name from consideration from the National Intelligence Council. He had been opposed by the Zionist fools at AIPAC for being "too critical" of Israel. 

Yes, that's how America works today. If you want to be a part of the government, no matter how highly qualified you might be, do NOT criticize Israel in any way, shape, or form. If you do, kiss your career goodbye.

Americans do not run America. Not today, not since many years ago to be totally honest. The Zionists, AIPAC, and the goddamn assholes from the Israeli Likud party are in charge of things here.

This has been going on for many years, but ever since the idiot Shrub was "elected" back in 2000, it has become so open that it is no longer tolerable to any REAL Americans.

Enough of the goddamn bullshit. This is America damn it! WE ought to be in control of OUR foreign policies, NOT some foreigners nor their lobbyists. 

This is just the latest, and to me, the worst development.

Will this horse shit ever end? I seriously wonder. It will take more people getting sick and tired of being chained to the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv for that to happen. It will take American politicians with a TRUE sense of being a real patriotic American. Do we have any such critter? I wonder.

in disgust,

semper fi

what a world

Hi all. It has been some time since my last entry here at the old corner. Last month was very busy here with little energy left for the old corner. I'll try, again, to keep this more current in the future. Being an old, disabled guy I don't make any promises though. I WILL try to keep this my posts more frequent. 

Man are we living in "interesting" times or what?

We have the economy in near melt down, the rest of the world seems to be shooting themselves, the war in Afghanistan is now the "good war", there has never been a good war. Nope, not even the American Revolution. Wars are never "good". Wars are always very destructive and should only be the absolute last resort. I still agree with the remarks of General Smedley Butler who said there are only two reasons for war. One; to defend OUR homes. Two; to defend the Bill of Rights. ALL other reasons (??) for war are a racket. He was right when he made this remark back in the 1930's and it is STILL true today, maybe even more so.

We have lived through another atrocity in Gaza. The Zionist gang who run Israel tried their best to destroy Hamas. It has not turned out according to plan. Another failure, just as their last invasion of Lebanon was a couple years ago. It appears that Hamas is just as popular among the Palestinians as ever, if not even more so. The invasion did not destroy that organization. Of course the lost of life among the Palestinians does not ever seem to concern the leadership(??) of Israel. 

The tactics used were despicable, as usual. Apparently they were using banned weapons and maybe even "testing" some new ones, including the so-called "dime" weapons. These "new" bombs are packed with very fine bits of tungsten or other very dense metals. They cause very severe injuries and possibly cause cancer in the survivors. The wounds are nearly impossible to treat completely as they cause massive internal injury to the victim. Also, the IDF supposedly use white phosphorous against the civilians in Gaza. That is a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions. Of course that will not prevent the IDF nor the US military from using it. Just ask the folks who survived Iraq.

Another tactic used by the IDF was to tell the people in Gaza to take shelter in certain buildings. Then, the IDF would bomb or shell that very building! Well sure, this way they get more kills for their bomb/shell. When the target is "rich" with victims, you only need to use one bomb to increase your kill ratio. You use fewer bombs while killing more people this way.

They also have been said to have told people to come out of their houses. When they complied, they were lined up and shot. Well, sure, this makes sense as well. It is much easier to kill folks who are just standing in front of a wall or house than to hunt them down and kill them. Easier on the troops doing the killing that is. Less "work" for them, less energy expended.

All in all, the tactics used in the invasion of Gaza were totally despicable. The IDF does need to be looked at for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Disgusting is all I can add to this.

Since that invasion, Israel has had their election. It has been settled that Netanyahu will be the one to form a new government there. His coalition will likely include Avigdor Lieberman.  This guy, Lieberman, wants the Palestinian Arabs who actually reside inside Israel to have to sign a loyalty oath or leave their homes and the country.  He does not believe they deserve a country of their own, unless maybe, if it were very far from Israel. The guy is a racist. Israel is moving very far to the "right" of the political spectrum for sure. Not that there were any person running for high office in that country who would be willing to honestly negotiate with the Palestinians about a two state solution. Hell, America doesn't even have any people in leadership capacity who are willing to do that either. Oh, sure, Hi_larry is over there today and she has made the comment about "being committed to a "two state" solution. Sure she is. NOT! America has not been an "honest broker" for peace in that region for many years now. Don't look for Obama to "change" that issue either. His groveling before AIPAC last summer, after he had secured the nomination, is all you need to make that assessment of his administration. If that didn't convince you, look to his appointment of Rahm as his "chief-of-staff" Yep, a rabid Zionist who has had dual citizenship, he may still have such an arrangement today! The guy even volunteered for military service in the IDF during one of Israel's recent wars. I have forgotten exactly which "war" that was but it can be easily found with a search. I'm too damn lazy to do that just now. Sorry about that.

Another recent item I ran across was old Richard "the prince of darkness" Perle claiming that the neo-cons did NOT have any input with the administration of old W Bush! Bullshit! The guy even claims there are no such thing as neoconservatives! Man, these guys sure as hell know how to lie. Of course one would never expect them to even recognize, let alone ever tell, the truth. It just struck me as incredible that he could or would try to pull off such a whopper as this. There seems no limit to the depths the neo-crazies will stoop to.

Another item that caught my attention lately. The attacks by our drones against targets in Pakistan have increased since Oh-bomb-them has assumed office. That is right folks, Obama has actually increased the use of drones to bomb Pakistani targets. And we thought W was bad about this. Why, I bet some of you even "thought" Obama was a "peace" candidate back last summer. Didn't you? Well, you should have listened to what the man was saying, NOT to have "heard" what you wanted him to be saying. He is not, and never was, a "peace-nick". As the old song says, "meet the new boss, same as the old boss". How very sad, yet true.

While our economy is in the toilet, things are getting worse for everybody around the world. Recently the border guards in Bangladesh have mutinied. So far the reports say it was about low pay and food subsidies. They have killed a number of senior officers as a result of the mutiny. 

Just yesterday, the cricket team from Sri Lanka was attacked by armed people in Lahore, Pakistan. 

What do these two items have to do with us? Well, in my opinion, they are just the tip of the ice berg we are all riding called the "world economy". Look for more unrest and violence to come in the coming weeks and months. When people have lost all, they have no fear. What else can the lose? Only their lives, and if they feel there is no other way out, they will resort to violence.

The Bangladeshis may have mutinied over low pay and food price increase. The attack on the cricket team is still an unknown as to its "reason". Perhaps it was done by the LTTE as a part of their civil war in Sri Lank. Then again, it may have been a "retaliation" by India for the Mumbai attack last November. Or, it could have been a way to destabilize Pakistan. That country is bogged down in the US war in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan and they are also undergoing unrest due to a recent "ruling" against some popular politicians in their country. Who is behind this attack and why they chose this target are, as yet, unanswered.

My point here is that we are going to see an increase in violent attacks across the world as the economy tanks. It is going to get very much more messy before there is any sort of "recovery" folks. This is shaping up to be one hell of a year, and it is only (!) March 3.

Keep your ammo handy.

semper fi