30 December 2007

Follow on to the Pakistan entry

A few things that I forgot to mention in the latest entry here. Some day I intend to get the "hang" of this writing thing. You know, such items as making a rough outline, a list of "points" to make in an entry, and maybe even some sort of flow pattern for the entry. All that to add some sort of "logic", no, not necessarily to my "thoughts(?)" or rants, but to the overall "flow" of the entry. Trying to add any sort of "logic" to my rants is a total waste of time and energy. At a now official 60 years of age, trying to make my rants/thoughts/opinions contain logic, well, lets just say you might have an easier time of herding cats. By the way, I have heard of cats..........but that IS another story.
One of the things I should have added to the latest entry is in regards to how America has been trying, at least since the end of World War Two, to get the entire world to conform to the "wishes" of Washington D.C.
Now, to me at least, this is quite interesting in a perverse sort of way. Look at it this way, who the bloody damn hell are we Americans to tell the world how to live? Are "we" so pure of motive? Is our own history so squeaky clean? Are we the shining example of the "best" there is?
Let's examine these points. Bear with me, this could be long.
Who are "we" to go around telling others how to live? Well, that is one very good question. Anybody have an easy answer? Hey, even a hard answer will do. Well, "we", supposedly have a democratic republic. There aren't very many of those in the world. Does that give "us" some special "duty" to compel others to do as "we" wish them to do? Maybe, once upon a time, it MIGHT have been. If that time ever did exist. "We" no longer have much left of that democratic republic folks. No, this is NOT going to be a "blame Bush/Cheney" rant. This current administration is just the latest in a long line of crooks who have slowly eroded our liberties and freedoms over the years. One comment on this, remember the "Patriot Act"? Of course you do, it IS the law now. Ever wonder how this massive "bill" was produced so quickly? Easy, it had been written by the Clinton administration. The Bush gang just pulled it off the shelf and dusted it off.
Now, you might wonder, if Clinton had this travesty produced during his term(s) in office, why didn't he push it through Congress? They needed the "right set of circumstances" is why. What was "needed" was a "new Pearl Harbor" to ram this piece of shit through the legislative process. The attacks of 9/11 provided such justification for this to be fostered on the unsuspecting American public. Now, I do NOT claim that 9/11 was an inside job. I do not subscribe to any of the so-called conspiracy theories regards 9/11. To me, there are many unanswered questions about that attack. Until more information is available, I try to keep an open mind. It MAY have been an inside job, or it may not have been. Either way, it shook America and Americans wide awake, for a few months at least. Unfortunately, Bush told everybody to go shopping, so off most of us went. Do you see something odd here? I sure as hell do, but then, who the hell am I?
Our "motives" is up next. Well, to keep it simple, I will stay with our Iraq motives. Simple? More like simple minded.
There really isn't very much that is simple here. First, it was "pay back" for 9/11. But Iraq wasn't involved in the terror attacks. Oh, the neo-cons tried like the devil to force a connection. Meetings between Iraqi "security" officials and al-Qaeda representatives in Prague and other failed attempts. Then it was WMD! Yes sir, old Saddam had chemical and biological weapons! He was trying to make a nuke! We cannot wait for the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud!!! Oh, wait, the UN inspectors said he didn't have any. They had found NO evidence of any, in all of Iraq. Sure, Iraq did have them, once upon a time. Like during the war with Iran in the 1980's. Back in the days when Saddam was a "good buddy" to Ron Ray-gun. Why old Ron even sent his representative Donny Rumsfeld to meet with our buddy Saddam. Yes, that "famous" or is it infamous photo.
Well sir, after we invaded Iraq, we looked and looked, but never did find any of those WMD's. And for all those non-existent weapons of mass destruction, a covert CIA operative who was involved in keeping nuclear weapons OUT of the hands of some very nasty people, got "outed" and lost her cover and job. So, for not one goddamn thing of substance, America lost an experienced intelligence agent. Not a very good bargain in my opinion.
Then our motive became the spreading of democracy in the Middle East. Yes sir, don't you remember how democracy came to America? Why those sneaky Brits forced it upon us! They even fought a war with us to make damn sure America became a democracy! We still call it the "American Revolution", because the idea of democracy is so revolting to the political "leaders" of America even now more than 200 years later.
No, that won't wash as a motive any longer. Unspoken motive? Well, supposedly making that region of the world safer for the Zionist entity. Er, um, yep, Israel. Well, holy crap folks. Israel has the most modern, highly trained military force in the region. What more do they need? The Israelis even have nuclear weapons. Of course nobody is supposed to know that as they have never declared they have them. It is sort of an "open secret". No one is supposed to know about the Israeli nukes, but everybody knows they exist. Funny how things work in this crazy world.
I have NO idea what our motive in Iraq is today. I did not mention oil for a reason. The reason is, oil is NOT talked about in context with Iraq, except when the news is released that production has finally met the pre-invasion levels. Or when a pipeline is blown up, again. Personally, I do not think we went to Iraq to get the oil for America. It sure was NOT to keep us in cheap oil. Now, it could be we went to Iraq to control the flow of oil in the region. Also to have permanent bases, as the Saudi government (ruling family) wants us out of their country. All this leaves us with permanent bases in Iraq plus, the largest embassy in the entire world, right there in Iraq.
Our history. Here "we" get into some difficulty when "we" proclaim how righteous "we" are. First off, there is the genocide of the native peoples of what is now the United States. This of course is still ongoing. The poor (literally and figuratively) peoples who live on the Indian reservations are some of the worst off people in the entire world. A national shame is barely scratching the surface of that tragic mess. OK, keeping it short(?, we'll let the natives be for now. How about the Africans? "We" imported them here. We went out looking to "buy" them and then bring them here and put them to work. Slavery, it was called. Yes, it is in the Bible, so is sodomy and many other things we frown upon. Just because something is in a particular religious book does NOT make it right. Oh, but old charlie IS a heathen of course. Yes, I am, and damn proud of it.
"We" treated those poor Africans like shit. Not all of us. Even many slave owners were somewhat kindly toward their slaves. They had to be. Slaves were an investment. Like a new piece of machinery. You don't pay good money for a new tractor or slave, then go out and just totally abuse it/him/her. That makes no sense at all. No, I am not trying to justify slavery, I personally think it is a crime against humanity. I do not have slaves, obviously, as nobody in America really "owns" another person. Many of us are/were wage slaves, but this is getting off track. My grandparents didn't have slaves either. They came to America in the early 1900's as teenagers/young adults. I do not believe they would have owned or even wanted slaves anyway. Even if they had been slave owners, that would not make me guilty. I refuse to be punished for any "sins" of my ancestors. Now, for my own "sins"/crimes? Sure, they would be mine and I would take responsibility for them. Well, we sure didn't "do right" by our imported Africans.
Well, this short and very incomplete "history" review doesn't help with "our" wanting to "lead the world" by example now does it? Our "track record" doesn't look so good.
Now I am NOT anti-American. Hell, I served (honorably) in the Marines. I did my tour in Vietnam. I love America, I just think our government is out of control, and in no way able to demand that the world do as we tell them to do.
How about today? What is our example to the world of "good behavior" to be followed? Well, I already mentioned the "Patriot Act". To this we can add the abuses at Abu Ghraib, Bagram air base, and of course the one in the news the most, Guantanamo. The old "we don't torture" crap is very stale and there are very few "believers" for that line of bullshit today. We can't forget the "Military Commissions Act", which makes hash of the Constitution and civil liberty here in America. The "Homegrown Terrorist" bill that I ranted on a few entries ago is in there also. The abuses here at home alone are too numerous to mention. Hell, it is hard to remember them all! So much bullshit, and all in just about seven years. Seven years? Time flies when you're having fun. Maybe that is why it just seems like Bush/Cheney have been in power our entire adult lives.
Pardon me, but I fail to see how having the Constitution shredded, our civil liberties trampled upon,our mail and email read without a warrant, our phone calls tapped, our banking records monitored, even the books we check out of the library monitored can be anything remotely like fun. And believe me, I have an odd sense of fun. I was a Marine, remember.
All in all, I fail to see how "we" are any sort of example for the world to emulate. If anything, America today serves as a bad, indeed a very bad, example. More like a "what NOT to do sort of example. And somehow "we" feel it is our duty(!) to lead the world, to show the people the way forward!??? Good grief! Even old Charlie Brown would NOT try to kick that football.
America, it is way past time for action. WE, the people of America, need to restore our democratic republic while there is anything left of it to restore.
semper fi

Follow on to the Pakistan entry

Pakistan .........of course

Well, poor old Pakistan is back on the front pages of American newspapers again. All it took was for a political assassination to get there.
This murder was not a surprise to anybody who has any knowledge of that country and the relatively recent history of it. In fact it could have been seen coming by a blind man.
The "big question" of the moment is; who is responsible for her death. Well, one candidate, indirectly, is the US of A and the criminal Bush administration. Bush and crew had worked out some sort of deal between Ms. Bhutto and the current leader of Pakistan, Mr. Musharraf for her to return to Pakistan and run in the up-coming elections. This "deal" included, among other things, dropping the corruption charges pending against her. During her two terms as prime minister, she is alleged to have "skimmed" close to $1 billion dollars from the national treasury. Being leader can pay quite well for some. Her husband had earned(?) the nick-name of "Mr. 10 Percent" as all government contracts apparently had to have his approval, which included a 10% fee, paid to him of course. Not a bad deal, keep it in the family, ya know.
America and the policy makers in the government had to have know all this before they set up any sort of deal. Hell, I knew some of this and I do not make it a point to study current events in Pakistan. I just had paid attention to news in the past, oh say 45+ years of my life. Why only that time period? Well, I am just 60 years old is why.
If I can pay attention to news, even what passes for news in the America of today, one would think(?) that the high ranking members of our government would do so as well. Hell, shouldn't our State Department people be "up" on the world news? I sure as hell think it would be demanded of them. Why else do they have a job in the State Department if they don't have a clue to what is happening in the world. Among other qualifications for employment in the State Department, I would think knowing world history would be right near the top. Of course, I only have an Associates degree from a community college, so what the hell do I know? Not enough to have a government job. Or, maybe I DO know enough to not work for the government.
Either way, the Bush administration has some responsibility for the death of Ms. Bhutto. No, it is not enough for them to be taken to court for it. I do not even accuse them of being involved with her death. Only to point out that by brokering a deal for her return to Pakistan, they were, indirectly perhaps, but still doing so, setting up the circumstances that did lead to her death. Had she remained in self-imposed exile, she would not have been killed as she was. She may have lived to a ripe old age. I would guess that the idea of returning to power was too much for her to pass up. I guess having power, then being out of power makes one crave to be back in power again. I wouldn't know, I never had any power to lose, thankfully.
Another thing being said about the late Ms. Bhutto is that she was the "last best hope" for democracy in Pakistan. Bullshit! She was not a democrat by any means. She was NOT a woman of her people either. She cared about as much for the average Pakistani as Bush cares for the average American. She, like Bush, craved power and money. Period.
Another thing for you to think on. Ms. Bhutto helped the Taliban government in Afghanistan. In fact, during her reign as prime minister, Pakistan was one of the very few countries in the world to officially recognize the Taliban government.Her government also aided the Taliban with money and arms, so I find it hard to call her a democrat, or an anti-terrorist leader. Then, as with our own government, your terrorist just might be my freedom fighter. It all seems to depend on who is naming the "terrorists".
For the record, I want to add that I am saddened by the death of Ms. Bhutto. While she may not have been a great democrat, or any sort of democrat. While she may well have been guilty of theft of huge sums of money from the Pakistan treasury. While she may not have done much, if anything for the people of her country. One fact remains, she did NOT deserve to die as she did. Any death diminishes us all, and hers will play out on more than just the Pakistani stage, it will play out on the world stage. The fallout from her violent death is just beginning. It is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride folks.
semper fi







25 December 2007

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all.
Old Beau, my little dog and the two calico kittens are asleep on my recliner, the rest of the cats are outside on the porch napping. It isn't quite time for our Christmas pizza yet, so, I figured a blog entry might be in order.
We were just resting here today, instead of watching the TV, which has not been on for at least two weeks now, we had the stereo on. Yep, listening to cd's of good old classic rock and roll. Up comes the live album of "Steppenwolf", the fourth track, "The Monster" just finished. Wow, amazing, the song was done for the Vietnam war, but it is still appropriate for today. One thing since then, the monster has grown quite a big bit larger in the intervening years. I do not think that even the guys in the band could have imagined how much the monster would grow. I actually think they felt the monster could be stopped. Well, it can be, but it is up to us do stop it.
America, where are you now? Will you join us in the fight against the monster?

Now for another book review. Man that old SOB charlie sure reads a hell of a lot, don't he? Well, yes, I do. Being permanently disabled means I have the time to do so.
I just finished a very good book, a "MUST READ" book, are there others? Well, yes there really are. Some books are just for "fun" as it were. Or maybe just "special" interest books, like, oh another I am working through. "Maverick Marine" about a Marine Corps hero, General Smedley Butler.
Back to the must read book though. It is "The Coming Balkan Caliphate" by Chris Deliso. This book IS a must for any thinking American, or any thinking human being on this planet. In the book, Mr. Deliso, shows how the Balkans is NOT a "done deal" by any means. He shows what is going on there now and how we got into this mess.
It started with Billy Bob Bubba Clinton and the "intervention" in Bosnia. Just like the shit house mess in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of that country. In fact, many of the "troops" we helped get to Bosnia were veterans of the Afghan campaign against the Soviets. Yes, America imported radical Islam into Europe through the "back door" of the Balkans. But, we did this for "humanitarian" reasons. We wanted to stop the "evil" Serbs from ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population when the former Yugoslavia broke up.
Clinton, with his "humanitarian" intervention got "our" jihadis into Europe. Thanks loads Bill. Oh, and for the record, Hi-Larry was all for bombing the Serbs to hell and gone. And you were surprised at her votes for the Iraq mess? Ha! She is more pro-war than Bush. Hillary has received more campaign funds from the military contractors than ANY other candidate for president from either party (er, wing of the war party that is). Yes sir, she has raked in more funding from the military-industrial complex of rip-off artists (aka defense establishment) than any other candidate. And she is a Democrat? Funny, I had thought it was the Republicans who were pro-war and the donkey gang was "supposed" to be anti-war. Well, what do ya know? Things DO change!
Back to the book, again. Mr Deliso points out how the radical Islamic groups, the Saudi backed Wahhabis and even al-Qaeda have been given assistance from the US government. How these groups have formed alliances with the Albanian mafia and other criminal gangs in the region. He shows how our neglect of the region since 9/11 has lead to further radicalisation of the Muslim population of the Balkans. This is a very serious matter as the "native" Muslim population is European. They "look just like us" and blend into the rest of the European or North American population. Some security people refer to them as the "white devils". This could prove to be a very serious security matter. Can't "detect" them by their appearances. They do not look like the typical Middle Eastern types, they ARE European and of course blend right in. And we have let this happen. Not only let it happen, our government has set the stage for it to happen. We backed the Islamic government of Bosnia, we back the radical Muslim Albanians who want to have an independent Kosovo. We have set up this entire mess. Just as we did in Afghanistan in the 1980's and again with our current "invasion" of that country. Just as we have created a terrible mess in Iraq.
We chase the Taliban, and our own tail, through Afghanistan. We made a situation in Iraq where al-Qaeda could enter Iraq and flourish. Our government and "leaders" seem to never learn from past history. And to think that our "decider" is supposed to have been a history major in college. Maybe they teach history differently at Yale and Harvard. The man sure as hell didn't learn very much in my opinion.
The Balkans is a powder keg, just waiting for some fool to light the fuse, again. Remember, it was in this region where World War One got its "official" start. It all began with a political assassination in 1914.
The entire history of the Balkans is quite fascinating and well worth reading about, just as pure history. Since the region has been important for the rest of Europe, it is very worth reading and learning about. With the involvement of America in the region, think Camp Bondsteel, it is vital for Americans to know at least some of the history of this area. We are still there with American troops, and we are not yet done with the region.
Mr. Deliso also shows the connections of the Balkans with 9/11, the bombings in London and Madrid as well. Our "old pal" bin Laden and his group have been and still are, quite active in this region. Yet, when do you ever get any news coverage of the Balkans on America TV or in our newspapers? Not very often, and when we do get some bits of news from there, it isn't much and there is no follow up or analysis of events there. Not "sexy" enough for the talking heads of American TV I suppose.
Be on your watch folks, this region is going to be making headlines in my opinion.
semper fi,

14 December 2007

More ramblings and rants.......what else?

Well, here I am again. The current "flap" over the NIE on Iran has taken up way too much time, in my opinion. Yes, on the one hand it IS good news of sorts. At the very least it means that our intelligence agencies do NOT support the idea of an Iranian nuclear weapon as a cause for America to start a war with Iran. Very good news to be sure.

It HAS distracted though, in my opinion, from other news. It is a type of distraction even. Sort of like old Billy Bob Bubba bombing Kosovo just as the Senate was deciding if they wanted to impeach him for the "Monica thing". It distracts from other news. I see this NIE in that way to a certain extent. While it is very welcome, it takes the heat off other things for now. It lets some things slide on by.

Where is the uproar over the "Homegrown Terrorist" Bill in the Congress? Forgot about that didn't you? Yep. Bet ya did. I didn't, but it DID get pushed aside.

I'll come back to this in a bit. First I want to give a shout out to Professor Stephen Zunes who has two (2!) commentaries over at Antiwar.com today. Both are quite good and I would say go read them both. My favorite is the one titled "Hillary Clinton's Illiberal Belligerence". If you lean toward voting for Ma Clinton, or even if you just think she is a "liberal", read this one, now! Actually, Hi-Larry started out in politics as a "Goldwater girl" way back in the mid 60's, so some of this wasn't a bug surprise to me. Also, if you can get it, check the print/email editions of Counterpunch, they did a series on Hillary's political background that is well worth the read. Very informative. they also show how she got her start "pushing" for Goldwater in the 60's and "became" a democrat after meeting Bill. This is the link to the Zunes article, well worth your time reading it. WWW.antiwar.com/zunes/?articleid=12051. Check it out.

To me Hi-Larry is a democrat for the same reason she is still married to Billy, it helps HER career and furthers HER ambitions. Period. IF she were elected president, and IF she wins a second term, look for her to dump Bill after the second inauguration party, if not sooner. If she does NOT get the donkey nomination for the 2008 election, look for the divorce to start this fall. Just my 2 cents worth. It is MY opinion, that Hi-Larry is a conniving,political,liar,schemer,and a true bitch in every sense of the term. But that is just my opinion, yours may vary, as is your right, still in America.

Now, back to the "homegrown Terrorist" bill.

This piece of crap was "presented" to us by..........wait for it...............a member of the donkey gang! Yes sir, a democrat has given us this piece of shit. And here you all thought it was just those nasty old republicans who were set to destroy liberty in America. Nope, this turkey came from Ms. Jane Harman, a democant. Wow, how about that?It means that Hi-Larry is NOT the only female democrat who is a warmonger bitch today. There ARE others out there! OK, I suppose that now I am sounding "sexist". Well, tough shit. I refuse to be "politically correct"! In the book I recently finished reading, the author made repeated claims that "political correctness" is just a way of suppressing freedom of speech. Since I agree with him on that, I will speak my mind and to hell with any form of "political correctness". It is all bullshit anyway. And ALL of you know this, you may not say so out loud, but dammit, you KNOW that PC is bullshit. So, do like I do, call bullshit bullshit and not some "fancy" stuff like "bovine excrement", which it IS, but damn, Bullshit sounds so much MORE real. Bovine excrement has to be imagined, bullshit is readily there and in your face real. No imagining needed
Enter the donkey gang. Maybe they feel the "need" to show they are "tough on terrorists", I don't know, but this "bill" from Democrat Jane Harman reeks of pure bullshit and guts OUR constitutional rights.
I am talking about the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorist Prevention Act". Big name for a bill that screws US. This piece of crap HAS passed the House by a vote of 405 to 6! Some representation we have in that branch of congress. This turkey is now off to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, headed by.........wait for it..........old Joe Lieberman. Yes, good old Joe the "independent" aka Republican in Democrat shirt.
This "legislation" (aka; piece of shit) will create a congressional commission that will be empowered to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and designate whomever they decide(!) as "homegrown terrorists". How will "they" decide(?) who is a homegrown terrorist? Well, now THAT seems to be the $64 million question. This "bill" does NOT define what terrorist behavior is, nor does it define what "extremist" views might be. See, they leave this all very vague on purpose. Why, you ask do they do such things? Well, that is all too easy to answer. They leave the definitions ( when they actually do try to define some ting) very vague for the reason that then, ANY behavior or belief they don't like at a particular time, will "fit" the definition of "extremist" or "terrorist". See, this way, what might pass for accepted behavior or thought today, can suddenly become a crime tomorrow if a particular member of this new commission happens to wake up that day and "decide" that he/she doesn't like something. Yes, it IS that goddamn simple. When the "crime" is vaguely ill-defined, nobody can know with any certainty what MIGHT be a crime at any given moment. It is all done just like "political correctness", to maintain CONTROL. Same as the reason for invading Iraq, control. The Iraq deal is to CONTROL the flow of oil. It is not/was not, to insure that America got cheap oil, hell no. It is to control the flow of the oil, of course the neo-cons and their pals get first shot at getting the oil, but it is all about control. In my opinion, that IS the goal of the entire neo-con plan, control. Control over as much of the entire globe and world population as possible. Think Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Napoleon, or any other "world conqueror" from history. These people want control, for the sake of having control. Period.
This new bill, as mentioned, provides for the setting up of a commission that will have ten members. These folks will travel around the country holding hearings, obtaining testimony, even swear witnesses to oaths, much like a court room. These ten members may act independently, meaning there could be as many as ten separate hearings going on around the country at any given time.
The "members" will of course, be "selected" for their expertise and appointed by our wonderful Congress. Now of course these good folks on this new commission will be paid, with our tax dollars naturally. They will NEED to have their own staffs and offices, and all sorts of other equipment and "goodies". Think, new beurocracy here folks. A new government agency.
Now, an interesting bit in not defining just what terrorism is, leaves this up to the members of the commission to define terrorism. Sort of like pornography, I may not know what it is, but I know it when I see it. That should be a very worrisome bit regards this "bill". It means, as I said before, the definition can change on any given day, or hour. It is a very flexible, too flexible, definition. It does partially define "homegrown terrorism" as "planning" or "threatening" to use force to promote a political objective. In other words people, just THINKING about something could be considered an act of terrorism! Thinking! As in "thought crimes"! Now, I realize thay thinking is not one of the things most Americans do best, or even do at all here of late, but, holy shit people, thinking as a crime!???!!! What the fuck!
This turkey also "defines" violent radicalization (?) as promoting an "extremist belief system", but it does NOT define extremism. Again, it is up to the individual commission member to "decide" that issue.
In my opinion, this entire mess is way too vague. It is too light on any definition of terrorism or extremism. It gives way too much power discretion to the member of this commission, who will be appointed by Congress to this commission. It attacks OUR basic rights and freedoms. It further helps shred OUR constitution and OUR Bill of Rights. It limits freedom of speech,press,and association, among others. It gives too much power to unelected people, who will have the power to decide what is or is not lawful. It makes the act of thinking(!!!) a crime!
We are already being spied upon by our own government. Our Congress has rolled over and played dead for the Cheney/Bush war machine. We voted the Democrats into a mojority in BOTH houses of Congress, not to keep "business as usual" going. We voted them into a majority to CHANGE policy. Well, we have not received value for our votes. All we have to show for our "election" of 2006 is same old shit, different people. Business as usual, this Congress has never seen a military funding bill that it did not pass. Thanks for nothing there Democrats.
We have government out of control, a president who acts as if he is above the law, and a Congress that refuses to do its job, refuses to stand up to this abuse of power. And do NOT tell me that all will be better if Hillary wins the election in 2008. Bullshit! She will NOT roll back any of the power acquired by Cheney/Bush. I think this is why the Democrats do not challenge Bush on his power grabs, they think they will win the presidency and then THEY will have all that power. Hillary is a power hungry person, period. She would LOVE to have the powers Bush has amassed for the office of president. Power for the sake of having power. That is where America is today. Leaderless, floundering in a sea of debt, and bogged down in two un-winnable wars of choice. Health care? Just don't get sick. Highways and infrastructure? Be very careful where you go. Jobs? Move to Chin, India, or some other foreign country.
A Grateful Dead song goes something like...........I may be headed to Hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride. Well, America IS headed to Hell, bucket or no, but very, very few of us are enjoying the ride.
Well, enough of me for today. No, I will NOT stop this blog. I will continue to keep having my say until they pry my cold dead hands from the keyboard, along with my weapons. Hell YES, defend the Bill of Rights! Defned free speech. Defend AMERICA.
Maybe we DO need a new American Revolution. Time will tell.
semper fi,
charlie

11 December 2007

Iran, of course, and other things as well

Well, I suppose I need to mention the new NIE and Iran. So far, just about every web site I visit on any regular/semi-regular basis has had at least one comment on this topic. So, here is my "take" on it.
First off, the NIE is good news. I see it that way because it eliminates at least one "reason" for Shrub/Cheney to start a war with Iran. No nuclear weapons program. What weapons program they did have was ended in 2003 and has NOT been re-started as of now. Very good news, because our "leaders" cannot use the Iranian nuclear bomb, or very near to having an Iranian nuclear bomb as a reason to attack Iran. Very good news, in my opinion.
Now the not quite so good news on this. It just means that Shrub/Cheney will have to actually work at trying to come up with another reason to attack Iran. I have no doubt that they have been at this since they had a preview of the NIE this past summer.
Notice that the "leadership" of Israel has stated that OUR intelligence services have got the Iran nuclear weapons thing all wrong. According to some Israeli sources, Iran could still have "the bomb" by some time in 2008! Wow, we never figured they were that close, or did we? I would guess that Benny Nutty-Yahoo (misspelled incorrectly ON PURPOSE) is hopping mad about the NIE regarding Iran and a nuclear weapon. My guess is that he and "Mr. 5 deferments" Cheney still want a war with Iran no matter what excuse they need to manufacture to get that war. It never fails to amaze me how some folks are so damn gung-ho for war. It is usually people who have never worn the uniform of any military. Have never fired a shot in anger/self defence. And they have never been shot at or had their buddies killed or wounded while standing or sitting right next to them. They are people who have never experienced war "up close and personal". Yet, they are some of the loudest "cheerleaders" FOR war, any war, or even every war. Where in the hell do these damn fools come from? Are they born with this brain damage or did they suffer some very traumatic injury during early childhood? There has to be a valid reason for their adamant fervor for war. In my opinion, it is totally irrational. But hell, I am just an old, former Marine and a veteran of the imperial "adventure" in Vietnam. Guess that disqualifies me and my opinion from this war "debate" thing.
OK, that is all I have to say on that issue. I will just add that I really hope that we will be able to avoid any war with Iran, not just for the remainder of the Shrub administration, but for the foreseeable future as well, no matter who gets "elected" in 2008. If I were religious, I might even pray to some god or other for that wish to come true. Perhaps if anybody who reads this and IS religious might pray to her/his god for that wish to come true. All of the world would thank you for that prayer.
This next topic has a sort of tie-in to the Iran deal, but not quite a direct one. I just finished reading a very interesting book. It it "Homo Americanus: Child of the Post-Modern Age" by Tomislaw Sunic. It is quite interesting and only about 200 pages long. He presents some very interesting ideas in his book. He also mentioned something I have been curious about. This is where the tie-in comes about. He mentions that there COULD be a backlash of real anti-Semitism in America from the propaganda of AIPAC and the Christian Zionists. This is something I have been wondering about for some years now. Not obsessively mind you, but more of a curiosity to me. Sort of an "I wonder if......" type of feeling I have had. The reason is based on life experiences. We have all seen how when we are constantly told/lectured one way on a particular topic, after some time, we rebel against those "teachings". This does concern me, in that we really could see the rise of a very violent anti-Semitism here in America. I hope we never do, but we have been force fed so much propaganda (aka crap and bullshit) about how Israel is the only democratic country in the middle east. How poor little Israel is surrounded by hostile forces set on the absolute destruction of Israel. How Israel is an indispensable ally to America.
Well, my opinion is all of that is just a cart load of bullshit. Oh, and we give/pay Israel about $3 billion every year for them to be our "indispensable ally" as well. What sort of friend is it that you have to pay to be your friend? Maybe somebody will let me know the answer to that one.
Israel is not very democratic if you are not a Jew living in Israel. Non Jews do not have the benefits of living in a democracy if they live in Israel. Israel is a Jewish state. Even one of the Israeli news outlets had a story on the racism in Israel. The results surprised even the Israelis. They hadn't realized how really racist they are. That doesn't sound very democratic to me.
Israel is surrounded by Arab countries, but, Israel has approximately 200 nuclear bombs. Not just old atomic bombs either. They have hydrogen bombs, aka thermo-nuclear weapons. These are much more powerful than "regular" atomic bombs. Don't take my word for it, Google thermo-nuclear weapons and atomic bombs. Check Wikipedia also. Now Israel has never admitted to having these weapons. Israel has never signed on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty either. Their nuclear facilities have never been inspected by any "outside" source, such as the IAEA. Now, Iran DID sign the NPT and Iran HAS been inspected, many times, by the IAEA. It was the IAEA, that found, along with ALL 16 US intelligence agencies, that Iran is NOT working on a nuclear weapon.
Israel also has the most powerful, best equipped, and best trained military in the entire mid east. There are no countries in that region that are a credible threat to destroy Israel. If any of them did mount a full scale attack on Israel, and if Israel felt their survival was at stake, Israel could just launch a few of those "undeclared" nukes and that would end any "threat" to Israel.
One other thing. The Zionists claim that the country of Israel has a "right" to exist. Wrong! NO country has the "right" to exist. Not even America. PEOPLE have the right to exist. Countries do not. Israel also demands that it is and shall be a Jewish nation. Well, OK, but that doesn't make it a democracy. It makes it a theocratic nation. It also tends to make it racist, in my opinion. It enables the leadership to revoke the "rights" of any non Jew who lives in Israel, just because they are non Jews.Freedom, but only for Jews. OK, but don't tell me how "democratic" the country is, because I don't think it can be when the rights of some residents of the country are denied civil rights because they are not the "correct" religion.
I'm going to keep this entry short. My back is hurting very bad tonight. I do want to close with another book that I just recently started to read. It is "Delusional Democracy" subtitled "Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government"; by Joel Hirschhorn. I would recommend this book and I am just on page 79 out of a total of 255 pages. So far, it is very good, though much of it to now I knew. Still I have learned a good bit even at this early stage of the book. Very well written, easy to read, good sized print for old eyes even. He doesn't use specialized terms or $15 words either. Simple language and easy to understand. If I remember, even with shipping as a single book order from Amazon.com it was still less than $20. Makes a very good Christmas present for any American who want to help save our country from both of our two party duopoly. Or, maybe your local library has it on the shelves. Check it out.
semper fi,
charlie

05 December 2007

So much to write about...........first up, Iran

4 Dec 2007. Well sir, there is so much going on in our world today. Where to start the comments? There are so many topics out there today. This might have to be broken up into two or three entries. Just so very much going on. Some of it is even good news! Honest.
Let me start with Iran. Our supposed "next" war of choice. Did you hear the one about the latest NIE ( national intelligence estimate)? Looks like those pesky,sneaky,under-handed, bloody damn Iranians actually had STOPPED trying to develop an atomic bomb way back in 2003. No shit folks, and this is from OUR top level intelligence community. Folks like the CIA and other "intel" and/or spy agencies have determined that Iran DID quit trying to make a nuke in 2003. Wow, poor old Shrubbie, looks like the wheels are about to fall off his tricycle any day now.
Of course this good news isn't all that good. Well, at least to some people(?). The neo-cons are sure this NIE is dead wrong, and they are up in arms (not really, just their word processors/key boards are smoking from all that furious typing) and the leadership in Israel is certain that this NIE shows how "naive" America is if we believe this latest intel.
Yes sir, if you are an ardent Zionist and/or a neo-con, you have to hate this latest report by American intel agencies. Why? Well, because it means that the absolute requirement that America bomb Iran back into the stone age is a load of bullshit. It means there is NO reason for the US of A to go to war with Iran, well, at least NOT over the "issue" of an Iranian bomb.
Sorry to be the "wet blanket" here, but I would guess that it just means that now Cheney, the noe-crazies, and the hard core Zionists will have to find their thinking caps and work out some "other" excuse, er, reason to have another war. Thinking caps? For the neos and Cheney? I wonder if those fools actually ever think.
To me, this latest NIE is damn GOOD news. It means that we will NOT be bombing another country that had ZERO to do with the sainted tragedy of 9/11. Don't misunderstand me here, I do know that that was a tragic day for us all. I do think though that it has been played to death, so to speak, by our "leaders". It has been THE excuse to start two wars, to shred the constitution, to quash OUR civil liberties, and other crappy new "laws", such as the "Patriot(?) Act" and the MCA (military commissions act). It has also been used to "justify the suspension of habeas corpus. This is what I mean about 9/11 being done to death. Just like Pearl Harbor, America will never forget that event. We cannot even if we try. It did shock the living shit out of this country and that will not be forgotten. I just think it is way past time for our politicians to stop using that event as an excuse to start wars and kill off American civil rights. Enough already!
The latest NIE on Iran could even be made into a movie. We could title it; "A Funny Thing Happened On Our Way To War". Yeah, like it lost its "justification! What do the warmongers do now? Their MAIN excuse for war with Iran is dead in the water. Or, as they say in this part of the country, that dog won't hunt. Not to worry, I am 100% certain that the lap top bombardiers are working over time to invent a new,better,enhanced,and brighter excuse for the war they want so very much.
This brings me to another point about the current criminal administration and ALL of those who support/enable them. These folks, who have never worn a uniform, never fired a shot at an enemy, never have been shot at, seem to be in mad, passionate love with WAR. Any veteran of any war, any civilian who was caught up in any war, will tell you there isn't much to love about war. It isn't easy to be a lover while being shot at. Sort of takes the enjoyment right out of things. Talk about your coitis interuptis (sp)!
My suggestion is that EVERY person who is so enthralled with war and killing MUST be among the very first to be on the front lines of ANY future war America gets into. Hell, they ought to all be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan right now. Then, after they complete at least one tour in the war zone, they get to come back and tell us all how wonderful and glorious war is. How many neo-cons are willing to do that? I bet that ALL of the neo-con "volunteers" for such would fit very comfy into an old VW bug with plenty of room left for a cooler for the beer and a good size box for the snacks. Like, the total number would be less than one? Most likely. After all, they need to stay here and keep up the "important" work of informing the American people. Why, if those poor lap top bombardiers went off to war, who would run the propaganda mills? Um,er, I mean the "news" magazines and programs. No doubt they ALL have "other priorities" and just cannot seem to find the time to actually GO to war in person. They will promise to be there in spirit though. Big fucking help that is to our troops. Actually, it probably IS help as they would need to be shot by OUR own troops just for the safety of the troops.
This has certainly got to piss of the pope, I mean dead eye Dick. This PROVES that Mr. Mohamed el Baradei and the IAEA are 100% correct. All along, he has been telling any one who would listen that Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program. He has said, repeatedly, that Iran is enriching uranium for power generation. This is a LEGAL activity under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) which Iran has signed. Holy horrors! Those sneaky,lieing bastard Iranian are living up to the promises they made in regards to an international treaty! Why, how much more underhanded can those "evil doers" get? Why, the next thing you know, people around the world might start asking OUR government to live up to ITS' treaty obligations! Imagine the disaster that would cause! Why such a thing would wreak havoc around the entire globe. America, actually living up to the treaty obligations that it has signed onto over the past years. That is absolutely insane! Don't people know that Cheney does as he damn well wants to do? And don't ALL people in the world know that God has spoken to our "decider"? Why, if god speaks to him, he MUSt be right and we are all dead wrong. And any way, who the hell needs the constitution or that damn Bill of Rights anyhow? Civil liberties? We export "liberty" folks. Do as our government tells you to do, not as they act. Shrubbie talks to god. Makes me wonder if god comes in a six-pack these days. Or maybe a bottle of "Old Crow"? Hell, let him have the cheap stuff, Ripple or Thunder Chicken. Cheap drunk for a cheap bastard. Then he and Cheney can go hunting with Scalia. LOL, now that would be great pay-per-view TV. Of course the camera crew would need flak vests and helmets.
I sort of, almost, feel for old Cheney though. What with the writers strike, there isn't much on TV of late. Not that I'd know, my TV hasn't been on for over 12 days now. Well sir, Cheney knows how "Mericans love their TV, so he figured with the writer being on strike we needed another war. Just to, you know, boost the ratings. Stop those damn reruns, start a new war! Yes sir, give old Wolf Bitzberg something to talk about. I miss old Wolf and Dobbs. Miss them like I miss the plague. Not at all.
Then too, one has to wonder, NIE or not, would China front us the cash for another war? Last I read, China holds close to one trillion(!!!) dollars in US debt. Hell, one trillion. Most folks have a damn hard time trying to comprhend a billion, and a trillion is one thousands times larger! Just as a point of referrence; 1 billion seconds is equal to 32 years. One trillion seconds is equal to 300 centuries! Now that puts those numbers into some perspective. Oh, yeah, we have spent close to one trillion dollars so far on the two wars we are in right now. The "estimated" total costs of these wars is over(!) two trillion dollars. That total includes things like long term medical care for the severely wounded such as brain damaged troops. That is ONLY the projected costs to America folks. What it has/will cost the Iraqis and Afghans is unknown.
War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Well, not quite. It does hold down population growth for a time. Which brings up another "funny" fact. The folks who are dead set (some of them very literally dead set) against abortion, have no trouble with being pro-war. Very interesting, to me anyway. After all, war is just mass murder. And if abortion is murder, why would those folks NOT be rabidly anti-war? You might try asking some of the anti-abortion people you know about that. I would be very curious to hear the answers. I mean, to my simple mind, murder is murder. Or is it? I get curious about these sort of things. One more reason I got kicked out of religion. Asking "those" sorts of questions. Rocking the boat again there charlie. Damn right I am!
Here is one for your preacher/priest/pastor, just where did Cain find a wife? We are told there was Adam, Eve, Cain, and Able. OK, so where did Cain get a wife? Sears?
Beats me. I would like to know. No need to know I guess. Just plain old curiosity is all. Like who wre the first three folks who came out of the tomb of Lazarus? Christ said "Lazarus come forth", so who wre the other three folks? Just curious. No!Skipper, the boat is listing hard to port! Hang on little buddy,we'll make it.
Well, if you are still with me, you now know what happens to a person who has had way too many back surgeries and has constant pain that even the good pain meds don't get rid of and he can't sleep some nights. So, what does he do? Why he does a blog entry, what else? Ain't gonna watch no stinking reruns on TV for sure. Hell, if you are still with me, you are either a glutton for punishment or damn hard core.
Well, I did give fair warning to you all. I did say I would try to do at least one or two entries every week. Told ya. But, did you listen? NOOOOO. Just like them pesky "axis of evil" folks, aren't ya all? LOL.
"Nuther curious thing about this latest NIE. Yep, back to the Iran "thing" again. How is it that so many of the people in this current administration can get so much wrong and still be employed? OK, so Bolton is "out of work" so to speak. Out of a government paid job anyway. He is "working" for one of them "think tanks" now. I wonder, is a think tank in any way related to a drunk tank? (More curiosity.) But, when you stop and think about the last seven years, none of the bastards ever got fired. Well, OK,ok, Brownie was "let go". But, hell, FEMA don't count. And the folks in New Orleans and around the Gulf coast would have lynched him on sight anyway.
I mean, they quit, but nobody ever gets fired. No matter how bad or how much they totally fuck up. Anybody ever work for an outfit like that? I never did. Every place I ever worked for, you did your job according to specs or you were shown the exit door. Not so with our "decider" guy. Some decider. I thought that was why he got paid the big bucks, to make tough decision. Well, I never did claim to be smart. Good thing to.
Same goes for these neo-cons and the war mongers who have real(?) jobs at news organizations. No matter how wrong they are, they STILL have their jobs. Is it just me, or is America some different place from what it used to be? What ever happened to being responsible? Oh, wait, this IS the Bush 2 administration. End of discussion.
Follow the "leader" I guess. When the leader has never taken responsibility for any thing, particulaily any failure, the troops don't do so either. If anybody has other ideas, let me know, curious charlie @ want to know.org. Be damn funny if that is a real web address. Hey, maybe I could get that domain name, register it for me. LOL. Now, don't you wish like hell that I was asleep instead of doing this? Maybe I am, and this is just a bad dream. No, 'fraid not. One of the kittens just bit my finger. Sorry folks. I DID give you all fair warning.
Mother,call the men in the white coats. Tell them to bring the net, charlie is bloggong again!
OK, back to more serious things. If you haven't yet, please go to www.counterpunch.org and read the entry by Paul Craig Roberts on 4 December 2007. Once again, Mr. Roberts gives the straight story on the American economy and job "outlook". He shows again, how outsourcing and off-shoring of what used to be our jobs is making America a third world country. While big corporations cry about ehe "lack" of Americans to fill some high tech, high skilled jobs, they demand that they be allowed to import more foreign workers to the few remaining high skilled jobs that are still available IN America. He shows how this is a total load of bullshit. We have plenty of engineers, but they cannot find work. Some large corporations even have documented plans to NOT hire Americans for the jobs they need filled. Why? Well, Americans with advanced degress don't work for minimum wages, is one reason. Not only is our government out of touch with reality, so are most of our corporations. All in the quest for the cheapest labor costs. America ends up with people with high skills and advanced degrees tending bar, waiting on tables. What IS the use of a good education in America today? Why go to college, when all you will be able to get for work is in a bar or some fast food joint? What happens to our country then? What sort of leaders is this situation going to create? These are questions every American should demand answers for. Our current crop of "leaders" needs to answer these questions. What do the folks running for president have to say on this? Have any of them been asked? By our main stream media? No, but they may have been asked what they think of the parenting "skills" of Ms. Spears. Got to keep the questions to the politicos "real" ya know.
My "left handed" take on America becoming a third world country is this. It is not a really big deal in the long run. Yes, short term, like one or two generations, it will hurt. Hurt like hell I imagine. But, in the long term, the jobs WILL come back here. Once America is reduced to the status of a third world economy, our wages will be among the lowest in the world. Then, the jobs will start to return as we will be competitive based on cheapness of labor here. OK, so this isn't a rosy picture. Nor is it very helpful/hopeful. True, I agree 100%. But, it does seem that this is the way things are going to play out, whether we like it or not. Why? Because America has never been organized! We have way too many artificial divisions to ever get organized. Look at Europe for instance. They have national strikes at various times. Never happen here, because the machinists won't support the truck drivers, who won't support the nurses, who won't support the teachers, etc,etc,etc. My opinion, we have ourselves partially to blame for this shit mess we are in. We should have realized that we are all in this damn boat together and should have acted that way. Nope, we had to keep our "differences", our little "turf wars" for scraps of power. Big damn deal folks. Just look where that shit got us. Into the fucking goddamn mess we are in today. Sure, the government and big business bear the majority of the blame/fault, but WE let this shit happen. WE never could see past our own selfish noses. WE bear some of the responsibility for this mess. WE now have to make due the best we can and try like hell to clean it up. THEN, WE have to do all we can to insure that it never gets this fucking damn bad EVER again. Tall order? Damn right it is. Is it worth doing? Hell, you tell me. I'm permanently disabled and near 60 years old today. So, you COULD say, why should old charlie give a shit? Well, because this is MY country too goddamn it all. I give a shit, because that is how my Dad taught me to be. Thanks Dad, wish you were here, but am glad in some ways you aren't. Think I am pissed? If Dad was still alive, by the gods, you would see what pissed off really is.
He lived through the depression, was "selected" for military service months before Pearl Harbor, fought in World War 2 and was one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure and honor to have known. He was as honest a man as I have ever known also. Man, he could argue, he would have been a great lawyer, had he had the oppertunity to have gone to law school.
Somehow, WE, Americans have to bail ourselves out of the shit hole we are in today. No, I do not have the answers how. I DO think that if WE, the regular people, the workers who make this outfit run, put our heads together, that somehow, some way, we CAN find some answers. Hell, folks, we sure as the devil cannot do much worse than our chickenshit "leaders" have doen thus far. Since at least Saint Woodrow, America has been on a downhill slide. Actually, go back to dishonest Abe and his dictatorial powers and HIS illegal, unnecccessary war for where it all started going horribly wrong. Shit, even Musharraf in Pakistan has used dishonest Abe as a guiding figure in his crack down on civil liberties in his country. Well, Abe DID shut down newspapers, and he DID suspend habeas corpus, and don't forget that illegal war. Hell, I bet Cheney and Shrubbie love old Abe as well.
Third world status, here we come, ready or not folks. America is in the shitter, and Cheney has his fucking hand on the handle.
And on that sour note, I am going to close for now. More later.........honest. Just consider it a warning.......LOL
semper fi,
charlie







29 November 2007

Now don't you feel much safer with "Homeland Security"?

This was sent to me by a reader of this blog. Yes, he does exist. He also lives fairly close by to my house. He is the same person who alerted me to the KPLC TV station message board regards homeless vets.

He tells me that a mans house and FEMA trailer burnt to the ground. He states that there were adequate fire plugs available, but (always some big but in the way today), they fire plugs were LOCKED. Locked fire plugs? Yes, locked by order of the Department of Homeland Security.

Now, ask yourself the title question. Don't YOU feel safer, knowing that Homeland Security is locking fire plugs to prevent those H2O water stealing terrorists?

Yes, I know there is a severe water shortage in most of Georgia and parts of Florida and Alabama. Here in Louisiana, we do NOT have such a shortage. While we may be behind in total rainfall for the year, I haven't heard such information from the weather reports, we do NOT have a drought condition. If we were in a drought, the news would mention it and it would be a part of the weather report. It sure was back in 2000 when I believe we were in the third or fourth year of a drought, if my memory is correct. If not, let me know and I'll apologize on this blog. I am not always correct, but I WILL admit to any mistakes I do make.

Then, maybe the fire plugs were locked down by Homeland Security because of the drought conditions in Georgia, etc. Never know when those folks from Atlanta might sneak over here in the night with an extra long garden hose and take our water. Bless you DHS, you have saved our water. Now, it would be nice of you to at least allow the local fire departments to have a key for those locks in case of a fire. Or, is it DHS policy to allow our homes to burn to the ground? Hey, maybe if they do that often enough it will allow the newly homeless to occupy all those camps being built in our country. You know, the ones supposedly being built by some division or other of Haliburton. Ah, bless you "Mr. 5 deferments" Cheney and bless your corporation.

And if you think I really mean to bless "Dead eye" Dick and that rip-off company, well, I have this here bridge that I just might be willing to sell. Hey the price isn't all that high. Got Euros anyone?

semper fi,

charlie

Support the troops..........is this how to do that???

WARNING!!! This post contains seriously foul language.

First I need to give a couple of belated "happies". First, Happy Birthday 10 November to the Marine Corps. The Corps is 232 years old this year. Second Thanks YOU All to the US veterans. 11 November, Veterans Day.

Now to the "meat" of this post and some very "bad" language WILL be used. See the above warning and then proceed at your own risk. I will NOT be responsible for hurt feelings or wounded "pride". If that upsets you, well, sue me. Hell, I am on fixed income being permanently disabled. Good luck with those lawyers.

Our fearful leaders of all stripes keep telling us to "Support our troops". OK, I support the troops, having been one of those troops at a time (1968-72) and even having been to one of their imperial wars, Viet Nam, 1970-71.
I support our troops by wanting them to get their asses back home, ASAP. Then they will be safe and able to rest and recoup from the wars they are currently fighting. After a rest and recreation period (R&R) of say, one year, they will then be able to start to DEFEND America. That is to say, to do their primary mission, defend OUR country. Our "leaders" don't seem to support the troops this way. Funny that they don't. They think(?) that by keeping the troops in two shooting wars and sending them their paychecks on time that is "supporting" them. I don't think the troops see things the same way. Maybe our "leaders" might ask the troops. No, that won't do, they might not get the answers they want. That is leadership?

How else do our "leaders" support our troops? Well, under funded, under staffed Veterans Administration hospitals for one. Not enough trained medical personnel to help the returning vets with PTSD for another. Not enough money to provide proper care, disallowing claims for combat stress. Approximately 1500 Iraq and Afghanistan war vets currently homeless, and that is JUST an approximation. One in every four (4) homeless persons in America is a veteran of the US military! Now THAT should get your attention. Is THAT how "we" support OUR troops? After they do the bidding of our "leaders" we allow them to be homeless? Some support there folks. Does that fact piss you off? If not..........WHY the fuck NOT? Just because we currently have an all "volunteer" military? Because your kid hasn't been drafted? What the fuck?

Many of our "volunteer" military are not "true" volunteers. In hard economic times, the military becomes the employer of last resort. Times like, oh say, the last six years. Thank you Shrub for your "economic miracle" here in the old US of A. Yes sir, that brilliant idea to out source all those blue collar jobs was just a stroke of genius. Horse shit! It is just another way to help America on the down hill slide to third world status. Out source the skilled jobs that Americans used to do and then offer big bucks to join the military. Well, you then have young people with limited choices, work for minimum wages at some dead end job or join the military. The second choice isn't that great as you might end up permanently disabled or dead before your first enlistment is over.

Well, you might say, jobs like the military, fire fighter, or police are dangerous occupations. Sure they are, no argument there. My point is that you usually make a choice to be a fire fighter or a cop. The military isn't a top choice for most people, never really has been either. Now days it is not a popular option. Yes, I know, the Army has claimed that they met the recruitment goals for the current year. But, they have lowered the standards for new recruits also. They have been issuing moral waivers for more and more new recruits and have even lowered the "educational" requirements again. Add in the fact they they are offering quite large cash signing bonuses to the mix. Signing bonus? Now that sounds like some sort of contract for a professional ball team for whatever sport you like best. Signing bonus. Shit. I do remember that re-enlistment bonuses have been offered to those they wished to keep past the enlistment date even when I was a Marine, but a signing bonus for a NEW recruit? That is a new twist on things indeed.

Now, considering the above, how exactly is it that we have an all volunteer military? Oh, because we don't draft them? Well, not yet at least. Somehow, I still don't buy this volunteer shit. I live in central Louisiana now. I am about 25 miles from Alexandria, way out in the woods as it were. I look around and I don't see very many high paying jobs out there for recent high school graduates. Not many high paying jobs for any skilled occupation of any sort. There isn't much industry around here. So, what is a young person going to do for money, job, etc? Join the military? Work at some burger joint for minimum wage? There do not seem to be that many choices today. This tends to make the military, the employer of last resort. That isn't, in my opinion, really volunteer. You enlist because it beats being homeless? Is that actually being a volunteer? I would like to hear your replies to that. I would like for some "leader" or more than one(yeah, right) reply to that. Don't worry, I am NOT holding my breath waiting for an answer. Life is still worth living, for the moment anyway.

A very kind reader of this blog, yes there really is at least one, directed me to an online discussion of the treatment of our veterans this week. This was a message board type discussion on the web site of a Lake Charles TV station. I found that most of the comments were shocked at the treatment of our returning troops. Seems to me that the "regular" people are more concerned about how we treat our veterans and troops than our supposed "leaders" are or have been. Warms this old guys' heart! Honest. It restores my faith in the REAL American people. Hell, I have so very little faith in what passes for leadership today. I would say my faith in our "leaders" extends to the faith(?) I have that given a problem, they will do all they can to make damn sure they totally fuck things up even worse than how things were when they found out about the problem. As Greg Palast wrote, we have the best government money can buy. If I was buying, I'd damn sure want my money back, and fast. If this is the "best" we can dig up to put in positions of leadership, well folks, we are no longer scratching the bottom of the old barrel, we have kicked the barrel over and over turned the rock underneath the barrel. And look what crawled out from under that rock! Our "leaders"! Holy fucking shit.

Let me make a personal comment here about the VA. I am not knocking the folks who work at the VA hospitals. I have not had much to do with them either, so I might be giving them too much benefit of the doubt as it were. In my personal opinion, the folks who work there are trying to do the best they can within the system they have to deal with. If I am wrong here, please let me know and I will post your comments, name with held if requested. When I moved here in 2000, I applied for care at the VA hospital in Alexandria. I figured since I am a veteran, I might as well try the VA hospital. It took some time for them to process me into the system as I had never entered it before. I used to have medical insurance through work, after becoming disabled, I had a medicare supplement when I lived in California. When I moved here, I lost that "extra" as the company which I had the policy with does not do business in Louisiana. I was finally processed and told I could use the facility but I would have a co-pay for every visit. The co-pay wasn't that high for me, and I didn't mind having to make a payment for "services" as I figured, hey, I have an income, even though it is fixed and not very high. I have never minded paying my fair share for services/treatments/etc. Hell, I even pay my taxes...........beats going to jail, for now anyway. Well, I called to make an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor at the VA hospital, my main medical "problems" are orthopedic. To my surprise, I was told that they no longer had any orthopedic doctors at that VA hospital!! What! A great many disabling wounds involve some sort of orthopedic injury. Broken, shattered,crushed bones. No orthopedics! Wow. I could still use the facility though. I wondered what for? When I get my bad cold/flu once every four years or so, I just take large doses of vitamin C and aspirin and lots of liquids and try to get enough rest. If I do this, it usually passes after a week. If I go to any doctor when I am sick like that, I do as he/she tells me and I usually am better in seven days. I still need an orthopedic doctor. I have found a pain management doctor in the mean time and things are getting better in that respect. Thanks Dr. Dole. I wonder if he likes pineapples?

One outfit I DO support with real cash when I can is the DAV. I have seen their mini vans around the area taking disabled vets to and from doctor visits and where ever else they provide vets with transportation to. They actually do something for the vets. I wonder how many organizations that claim to be working for veterans actually DO something for them and not just talk about it. Anybody know? Let me know and I'll pass the information along. I am sure there are other groups out there who really do help veterans, I just don't know them.

This brings me more or less up to date. Now we start to get highly pissed off. Have any of you seen where our government has billed veterans for their bonuses? The government wants the money back! Why? Well, because some of these vets have been seriously wounded, as in permanently disabled, or even killed, before they completed their enlistment! That's right folks. Our government wants their(?) money back from vets who were paid a bonus and then were seriously wounded while on duty in a war zone! This is the biggest piece of goddamn fucking horse shit EVER!
What the fuck are they thinking? Do they actually think at all? What do they use for brains? Christ of a fucking crutch! What sort of low life asshole thought up this cluster fuck program? We need the name of this asshole and his/her personal phone number so we can all give him/her a call and verbally kick some ass! Oh, and we need to know who hired this jackass also, as that person needs some serious hind end adjustment also. Son-of-a-bitch! These "people"(?) must have their heads so far up their asses that all they can see are various shades of brown!
Shit, when I was with 5th Marines in Viet Nam, we used to "joke" that our "great leaders" in DC said; Nothing is too good for our troops. Unfortunately we can't figure how to give them less than nothing." Well, sir, NOW they HAVE!!!!! What a goddamn fucking load of SHIT!!! This sort of thing just about takes the whole fucking cake, hands down. And they wonder why enlistments are down???? No shit? They can't figure out why young people aren't beating down the doors at the recruiting offices trying to enlist?? If that sort of shit doesn't piss you off, well, in my opinion, you are brain dead! Yes, I am very anti-war. Damn right. But, shit, WE have a duty to the kids in uniform who enlisted, for a pay check or out of some sort of patriotism. We should DEMAND that they get HUMANE treatment from our own goddamn government! Imagine, that it was your family member who enlisted/re-enlisted, got a big bonus payment, went to Afghanistan/Iraq and gets killed. You get a letter from the fucking goddamn government demanding you pay back that bonus money! Well, after all, the VA does provide a nice grave marker to veterans. They want the money back because your family member had the audacity to die BEFORE completing his/her enlistment contract! FUCKING goddamn BEYOND stupid!!! I don't have that worry, as they don't want the cats, at least not yet. If it were MY kid, and I got one of those "notices", I'd send a reply. It would be to the effect, come and get it assholes. But, you best wear a flack jacket and come armed and ready for a goddamn firefight! FUCK!!!!!!
And, to add to this SHIT, same thing can happen if that person is seriously wounded and unable to "complete his/her contract". No shit! Seems that there is on the order of $1.5 million in such uncompleted contracts outstanding. Big damn deal. How many BILLIONS do these two wars cost us each MONTH?? BILLION per month, and some goddamn asshole bean counter is "worried" about 1.5 million???????? Talk about screwed priorities!
Now, I admit that to me, 1.5 million is more than I'll ever see. Big deal though when the wars cost in the billions each and every damn month! That 1.5 million won't pay for a goddamn HOUR of these fucking wars. And they want it back! Now. Sure, bud, no worries, the check is in the fucking mail. Fuck. This is way beyond even mother fucking horseshit, This is god damned FATHER fucking bull shit!

So, sure, write to Rodney and Vitter. No need to write to Miss Mary, she never has even acknowledged ever receiving anything from me yet. Of course the other two will reply. They will give me a wishy-washy crap about how they "support the troops" and all that crap. I wonder just how thick they try to lay it on in public. Bet they have to use a trowel. Or a snow shovel!

Oh shit, I'm tired now. This ranting takes it out of you. And then some. Folks, we have to demand decent,humane treatment of our troops. We need to give them medical care. We need to help them as best we can. These people have earned that much. One thing, PTSD sticks around forever, or so it seems to me. Even after all this time, I came back to the states in September of 71 and still, this shit (Iraq & Afghanistan) gets it all stirred up again. Some would tell me, don't follow that in the news. What? How can I turn away? We who have been through war KNOW first hand the long term affects it has on a person. Just how can any of us turn away from the new veterans? We CANNOT. We will not.

semper fi,
charlie

28 November 2007

The Return.........

Greetings folks.
I am trying to get this old blog of mine re-fired. It has been too long since my last entry and for that I have only myself to blame. Well, me and getting a house ready for sale. Damn hard work when you had been renting it to "family" who were supposed to be such great carpenters,electricians,plumbers, etc.
As the REAL electrician I had redo things to code told me, every carpenter thinks(!) he is an electrician. And Shrub thinks he is world decider. But that is another thought completely. More on that to follow.
Anyhow, that house got finished and SOLD! Whew! One less burden and two credit cards paid off. Got to be ready for the coming recession/depression.
Speaking of which, I have an old,rather tired definition of those terms for you. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work. A depression is when you are out of work. OK, so neither applies to me, disabled is NOT out of work. It is being unable to do real work for wages. That makes permanent disability a form of permanent depression. And don't tell me they have meds for that! Those meds have some very serious side effects.
I come back to this blog just in time to see the Shrub "convene" an Israeli-Palestinian "peace conference". Oh, sure, that will do the trick. Shrub and Ms. Rice will get a peace deal that no other US president has been able to get. It will be a permanent, lasting peace as well. OK, do NOT bet the farm on that. Hell don't even bet your neighbors' money on it, even if he IS working/employed. The loss of that cash would piss him/her off for sure. It would me, if it were my money. Oh boy, I tell you, this being broke, but with very few bills to pay is great.
One less bill now as well. I stopped the satellite TV hook up. I now get very good reception on one channel. It happens to be the local affiliate of the Nothing But Crap network, but they do have a very good weather forecaster on the news. Of course I can get his forecast on the net, so, the old TV might just be needing a new home soon. The old 'puter plays DVDs very nicely also, so that is one less "need" for a TV set. Yes, one more big box of furniture that I can do without.
Oh, you say, but how do I keep up with the news and world events? Why the Internet! That has been my main source of news and staying "current" for many years now. Damn nice thing, that Internet. You can get all sorts of news and views on the net. Much more choice than any TV deal. As Bruce Springsteen sang; "57 channels and nothing on". Describes the TV situation very nicely. And I mean even when the writers are NOT on strike. Any how, I prefer the radio/CD player/tape player. Music to sooth the soul. OK, so maybe classic rock isn't all that soothing to you, listen to your music, I'll listen to mine. There, that was easy. No harm, no foul.
Back to Annapolis, and the Shrub. This is another "deal" that even Monty Hall would not open the door on. It is a scam from the start. Bush has no plan. Rice has no clue. The Zionist gang running Israel do not want peace with the Palestinians. They do want the little bit of land that the Palestinians still occupy. Can you say, land grab? Of course you can. Can you see Bush/Rice putting any "real"pressure on Israel to abide by international law and human rights? Of course you can't. Neither can the Zionists nor the neo-cons, nor the majority of both houses of congress.
What you CAN see, is very much real pressure being put on the Palestinians to "give in" or, rather "make compromises" with the kindly Zionist regime in TelAviv. That gang now demands that the Palestinians recognize the "right" of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. Whoa now. NO country has the "right" to exist. Not Israel, not America, not Germany, not China, not Japan, NO country has the "right" to exist. Period. People have that right, NOT countries.
Also, this "right" of Israel to exist as a Jewish state means that ANY non Jew living in Israel would be a, at best, second class citizen. Of course that allows that such a person living there would be allowed ANY sort of "citizenship" at all. Can you say, ethnic cleansing? Of course you can. Too bad Shrub, Rice, and most of congress cannot see the facts for what they are. Even a large number of Israelis see this scam for the lie that it is. In fact, there are a large number of very religious Jews who see the present state of Israel as an affront to their god. Honest. Many fundamentalist Jews are very much anti-Zionist. They don't speak out much here in America about that. Why? Well, because here in "free speech" America, to be anti-Zionist is to get your self called an anti-Semite! Not many folks like being called that. I am NOT an anti-Semite. I AM an anti-Zionist. Big difference there. Semitic peoples are, not only,
Hebrews and Arabs. Zionism is a political philosophy. In fact, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, an anti-Semite would hate Jews AND Arabs, as BOTH are Semitic peoples! Try to get that through to Bill O or Rush the drug addict. Bet you get cut off ASAP for even thinking it on their "programs".
No, this "affair" in Annapolis is just for show. It is a photo op for Shrub. He is trying to build on his "legacy". Legacy? Like the two (count them) FAILED wars he started and cannot ever finish? That legacy? How about the financial mess from the sub-prime mortgage fallout? Another Shrub legacy! Do we count the "patriot"(?) act, and the Military Commissions Act, and the NSA spying on Americans IN America without ANY sort of warrant? And those are just the "little" parts of his "legacy" that I can think of right this moment without looking up any more of them. No, wait, the two(yes 2) directives that he signed, one a national security directive, the other a presidential directive, that allow him to declare martial law in the event of an emergency. What sort of an emergency, you ask. Well, nobody really knows for sure, since both of these directives define said emergency as being defined by............wait for it...........the "decider" himself. Yep, HE gets to decide(?) what constitutes an emergency in order to declare martial law, right here in old America. Ain't that one sweet deal? Well, it might be, for him any way. For us, well, he gets the mine, we get the shaft. How far can you bend forward? It won't hurt............much. Don't worry, it is just big brother checking for hemorrhoids.
One more thing I want to pass along. I have come across another outstanding blog. You might want to read this mans' work, check it out please. It is http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com. Warning, he does NOT sugar coat anything.
Well, that is all for this edition. I'll try to do more entries more often. Even if nobody else reads this, I get some enjoyment out of putting my "thoughts" to computer screen. Until next time.
semper fi,
charlie

31 May 2007

Loss.....They were just kids!

For reasons I myself don't quite understand, I want to take some time to talk about loss. In particular the loss of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Combat losses. Our young Americans in particular, but this applies to every loss, regardless of nationality,religion,race,creed, or any other such "division" we choose to apply.
I only know of three people who are very public about their own personal sense of this loss. Ms. Cindy Sheehan, of course many people around the world know of her loss. Professor Bracevich, and Missy Beattie.
Professor Bracevich has recently spoken of the loss of his son in Iraq in an op-ed in the Washington Post. Missy Beattie has written a number of articles regarding the loss of her nephew in Iraq. I have read her commentaries on "Counterpunch.org" web site. She continues to speak out against the war and the criminal acts that started it.
These three people are quite brave in sharing their loss with us. They have lost sons and/or close family members. I can tell you from personal experience that this is a hurt that never goes away.
My second wife Sherie and I lost our only child. Jennifer was born premature and only lived six weeks. She would have turned 24 this month of May. Sixteen years later, Sherie died from brain cancer.
The loss of a child is probably the worst loss a person can face in this life. We are somewhat equipped to deal with the loss of our grandparents, and then parents. Sure, they were older and had lived a long, full life. Or so we hope. A child, that is quite different. A child has never had a full life. When they die, there is all that potential that is just gone. We can never know how they would have turned out. What sort of person they would become. What sort of job/career would they have? Would they have a family? Would they find happiness? All those questions go unanswered for the rest of your life. You never forget them, no matter how short your time was with them. You always wonder.
I saw the interview Ms. Sheehan gave on "Democracy Now" on Link TV Wednesday. I am amazed at how strong she still is. Not only did she have to deal with the loss of her son, her marriage broke up and her health was quite bad for a time since she began her protest. The marriage thing may not be related to the protest, none of my business.
She knew going in she would get flak from the "right wing" nuts and politicians. When she spoke out about how the Democrats are not doing all they could/should to end the war, she caught hell from the "left wing" as well. Poor woman, she actually thought there were two parties in America. Some of us could have told her that we just have two sides of the same coin. The "war party" as Justin Raimondo over at Antiwar.com likes to call it.
One good thing to come from her interview is that she will be back. She must be in great need of rest. So many people made her into a symbol. That isn't fair. She is just a normal human being, and I think way too many people put way too much pressure on her. She also found that MoveOn.org is just an arm of the DLC. Not very useful. She should have, and did go more towards folks like "Veterans for Peace". There is a true anti war group. Old warriors who do not want our young warriors to die for a lie. Ms. Sheehan also said that after she is able to regroup and come back, it will not be with any political party. Good for her, as today there are no real alternatives. The Greens are not worth the effort. They basically "gave" their votes to Kerry in 2004. Some party. More like Democrats in disguise. Well, pin a tail on that donkey.
America DOES need a real opposition party. Dean Velvel was looking into that at one time. I think the effort has stalled out. Lack of support is my guess.
As Ms. Sheehan has said, America today cares more about who the next "American Idol" will be than the wars we are fighting still today. She is correct and it is a sad commentary on our country that she is correct. Hell, give me a beer and turn on the ball game.
General Smedley Butler was right. There are only two reasons for war. To defend OUR homes and the Bill of Rights. All other reasons for war are a racket. This from a man who spent 33 years in the Marine Corps and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor TWICE. A real patriotic man if ever there was one.
Who do we get? Well, our "decider" aka "commander guy" went AWOL from the Texas Air Guard. The UCMJ says that after 30 days continuous AWOL, the AWOL person is now a deserter. Nice job there Shrub. We also have old "dead-eye" Dick Cheney. He had "other priorities" during Viet Nam. So, he got himself 5 deferments. A class A coward and total chickenshit. Now the military lets this asshole Cheney give speeches on board an air craft carrier in the Gulf. They even let him into West Point to give a speech to the graduating cadets! Well, that is the Army. Glad I was a Marine.
There is hardly a member of this criminal administration who ever served in the US military, let alone ever faced combat. Shooting an old lawyer in the face with bird shot does NOT count Dick.
What we need are more people like Professor Bracevich, Cindy Sheehan, and Missy Beattie. We need leaders who will not be so goddamn free and easy with sending OUR young people off to war.
Hell, I turn 60 later this year. That makes every one younger than their mid 40's a kid to me. We are sending OUR kids off to die for a lie. We are allowing our criminal administration to do this. We are allowing this same gang of criminals to shred OUR Constitution. This criminal gang is violating OUR Bill of Rights. This gang of criminals are destroying habeas corpus! That right goes way back before America was even a colony!
We are fighting these wars with borrowed money. Japan and China hold more than one trillion!!!!! dollars in US government notes. If they decide to cash in, or trade dollars for Euros, our economy is in the toilet and it is being flushed down the drain. And don't forget the housing bubble. Things could get to where 1929 will look like a walk in the park. Wait, no, a better(?) analogy, a "cake walk" to use the language of this criminal gang. I can just see old Babs Bush, "let them eat cake".
Well, I sure am not much of a writer. I love music, most any kind of music. My favorite is classic rock. I had wanted to somehow work some musical bits into this. The Moody Blues. In many of their albums, just before the first song, there is some spoken word. From the album "To Our Children's Children's Children" I wanted to use the first few lines. They go like this; "Blasting,billowing,bursting forth with the power of ten billion butterfly sneezes. Man with his flaming fire has conquered the wayward breezes".
I just can't quite seem to make that fit this entry. Sorry about that folks.
To our children, and to our children's children's children, WE owe it to them to defend OUR Constitution, OUR Bill of Rights, and OUR country. We need to be rid of the current crop of political "leaders". Save for Dr. Ron Paul, he at least respects the Constitution.
semper fi