Well, I am still here, still disgusted. Damned disgusted to be honest.
Again, I ask you all to not call the mess in the Gulf an oil spill. It is NOT a "spill". It IS a disaster. We will be dealing with this disaster for decades to come folks. If you don't think so, do a Google search on the oil spill in Brazil ten years ago. The mangrove swamps there are still dead zones. Oh, and every so often they still get oil washing up on the shore around Valdez, Alaska. Thanks loads Exxon.
Of course BP is telling us all lies about the mess and how much oil has spewed into the Gulf. They need to lie. How so? Well, they might be fined according to the amount of oil that gets into the Gulf from this well. Since nobody really knows just how much crude has spewed into the Gulf, it is to their advantage for BP to lie, that is under-count/estimate, the amount of oil that has leaked(?) from this well.
Now this all supposes that the law will actually be enforced here. The law has a penalty for such oil "spills" or blown wells. It is an amount of money per barrel of oil that gets into the water. The fine is about $4,300.00 per barrel. Not exactly a small fine even if they had only "lost" a few hundred barrels. This could cost old BP well into the Billions of dollars. Not so good for the old bottom line, even for a multinational oil company.
As I said, it all supposes that the law will actually be enforced. Any bets that it will be? Call me cynical, but just look at the Wall Street gang. They, with their derivatives and other junk "investments" caused the economy to tank, yet instead of getting punished for their own misdeeds, they got a huge government bail-out. We, the tax payers, get the bill for that. So, now tell me, do you honestly think that BP will have to pay a big fine? Why, it could cause them to go bust. No doubt it will soon be made known that BP is also "too big to fail".
Well, maybe not. They could file for bankruptcy and sell off bits to other huge multinational oil giants. Profits and bonus checks for the investors and the top management. Just like the big banksters. And guess who gets the bill for it all? Aww, shucks, you already knew the answer. Yep, the tax payers. See how predictable life in the old US of A is? The super rich just keep getting richer and the rest of us pay for their mistakes, clean ups and all.
All this AND, we still keep fighting two, count them, two, useless damn fool idiotic wars of choice that we can never "win" in any way.
Notice how the Congress critters refuse to pass any extension for unemployment benefits, A Senator from the elephant gang even voted against any sort of benefit for homeless veterans. Yes sir, "we" cannot afford to help the regular people who are in dire need. BUT, we can still always find the cash to keep the damn fool wars going full bore. Priorities? Congress don't need no stinking priorities. The new motto, well actually the one they have been using for many years, "Damn the common folks, keep the wars,er,um, uh, profits flowing!"
Also, keep pumping obscene amounts of cash into the racist gang running the Zionist entity. Starving Palestinians? What Palestinians? Remember, it was dear sweet Golda who said "there is no such thing as a Palestinian". This is the gang who want to go and bomb the crap out of Iran now. Hell, we can't kick butt in Iraq or Afghanistan, how will "we" fight the Iranians also? No doubt "we" would have to resort to using nukes, again. Yes people, America is the ONLY country to ever use a nuclear weapon in a war.
On the subject of war, why not bring back the draft? This "volunteer" military is being worn out, and fast. Being as the country is damn near flat broke, we can't really afford many more of the Blackwater mercenary types. As it stands now, the "volunteer" military is fast becoming the employer of last resort. So, bring back the draft.
For one thing, the draft would surely energize the dormant peace movement. The way things are now, only a very small segment of the population has any direct connection to these damn fool wars. The draft, to include women, "equal rights" you know, would make the military much more "democratic". The middle class and even some upper middle class folks could get drafted and then there would be bloody hell raised here in the US of A for sure. Just look back to the Vietnam war. It was the draft that really got many of the protestors out into the streets to protest that damn fool war.
Personally, I'd rather they just end the damn wars and bring all the troops back home. Since that is not going to happen, no way Go-bomber will let that happen, his masters would not allow it, bring back the draft and give everybody a "chance" to serve. Since these idiot wars will go on for years to come, I'd like to see some of these "brave" neo-con clowns and other "patriot" types have their "opportunity" to serve their country. Hell, you see/hear the neo-cons, Faux Noise talking heads, and their "tea party" pals spouting off how much they "love" America. Let them get drafted, sent to the war zones and they can chant "USA!, USA!" all day long. More likely, they would be in the streets demanding an end to the wars. See how much faith I have in our "heroic" chicken hawks? Yep, none at all.
In my personal opinion, only those who have never been in a war are so "gung-ho" FOR war. Having seen war up close and all too personal, I think the people who are pushing for these wars and more wars need to get first hand experience of just what war really is. Let them spend a few months out with the grunts, humping around carrying all the gear the rest of the troops carry. Let them have first hand experience of being in a fire fight. Let them see, first hand, just what an air strike or artillery strike does to people. Let them get ALL the sights, sounds, and smells of war.
Do not misunderstand me here. If this country is ever invaded, I WILL be out with my weapons fighting the invaders. Just like what the Pashtuns are doing in Afghanistan. Just like what the Iraqis are still doing, only a bit more quietly than the Afghans are doing. Just like the Iranians will do if "we" attack them.
Go-bomber will keep these damn fool wars going, and going. Just like the Energizer Bunny. Useless wars without end. For obscene profits for the super rich. Keep a close watch on Iraq. Our combat troops are due to start leaving Iraq next month. Yes, August of this year, we are supposed to bring all combat troops out of Iraq. Any bets that will happen? No doubt that is just like the 2011 Afghan withdrawal, it is probably "conditions based". Of course you all know what that means. Yep, the "conditions" will "require" the troops to stay, "just a little bit longer". And no, it will NOT be in any way like the Jackson Brown song, "Stay". It will be much, much worse. Bloodier also.
Some day, I would like it to be in my life time, people around the world will wake up to the fact that people are people. Regardless of what religion they follow, no matter their skin color, no matter their creed, no matter any other "differences" they may have. We are all human beings. We all have the very same needs; food, clothing, and shelter. We all have the same basic desires also. We all want to provide those basic needs for our families. We want a decent home for them, decent jobs for ourselves and our children. We want our children to get a good education and at least as good a life as we have had, hopefully a better one if possible. I also think that we would all like to live in peace and friendship with each other. I know I sure as hell want to live in peace with my fellow human beings. Oh, and maybe a few cats and a dog or two also.
Imagine, we could have such a world, IF we want one. It won't be easy getting there, but nothing worth having ever has been easy to get. We sure have our work cut out for ourselves folks.
semper fi
