How to start this post. I wanted to start with something that would catch your attention, a "hook" if you will. Unfortunately I don'e seem to be able to do that. No "witty" phrase of such comes to mind. I am just deeply sickened that the USA has dropped to such lows that it is almost unbelievable. Most unfortunately, it IS believable. The Senate has passed the vile, disgusting piece of legislative crap and Gobomber is now set to sign this bloody excuse into law.
I refer you to the "National Defense Authorization Act" and all of its implications. This is the very same piece of bovine excrement that "dear ;eager" WAS on record as saying he would veto. I suppose that "dear ;eager" has had a "change of heart". Must be that, or did he get some message from a "higher" authority? Yes, maybe that is it, he may have changed his mind after a phone call from Bibi Nutty-yahoo. That would be the "higher" authority.
Oh dear, it sure looks like I might wind up on some damn list as a "security threat" for being so damn sarcastic. Folks may very well tell me to go straight to hell even. Big deal, I have had countless "offers" for such a journey that I just might take up that offer. Hey, when so many tell me that I should go to a certain place, I figure it is only the decent thing to go and see what all the fuss about the place is like. Yeah, you survive the Marine Corps and time in the Vietnam war zone and not much can scare you. Just ask the troops who have made it back from Iraq or Afghanistan. After surviving a war, not much else they can do to you to frighten you.
Also, I want to share this quote I came across on the internet. I have not seen who is supposed to have said it, no origin was given, but I think it fits our times. Here goes; "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty". Ah yes, words to ponder. Words to take to heart even. I'll resist as long as I can. True, my physical disabilities might crack without too much undo pressures, but I doubt my spirit will crack very easily, if ever. Maybe that attitude of mine is something I can thank the Marines for. Works for me.
The White House announced after the Senate passed the NDAA that yes, the president WILL sign this bill into law. This means that Gobomber is on record as being openly supportive of denying American citizens basic due process rights, such as the right to trial by peers, the right to legal representation.
This new law allows the military to detain without trialAmerican terror suspects arrested on US soil. These people can even be shipped off to sunny Cuba. Yes, those people could be sent to Gitmo to be held indefinitely, without trial. This was NOT reported in the New York Times. The donkey gang has NOT spoken out about this outrage.
The US supreme court ruled in 2004 in Hamdan vs Rumsfeld that the use of military tribunals for terror suspects CLEARLY violate basic protections under the Geneva Conventions. Being that the USA ratified the Geneva Conventions means that the supreme court said that the use of military tribunals for terror suspects violate US law. Yes folks, any treaty that is ratified by the congress of the USA IS law. Don't believe me? Check out the Constitution of the United States of America. This from Article VI of the US Constitution states that; "This Constitution and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and all Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." The US Constitution makes the Geneva Conventions the "Law of the Land".
Of course that does not seem to phase our "dear leader" very much. The same can be said of the majority of BOTH houses of our(??) congress and also of past (recent even) occupants of the White House. One of our most recent occupants of "our" White House is said to have referred to the Constitution as that "goddamn piece of paper". Well, sorry to let you down there bud, but it IS the law, like it or not.
The trouble is, how do we, as common citizens of this country go about enforcing the Constitution? OWS surely has got the attention of the folks in congress and even the banksters have taken notice. Then again, they had the police out to destroy the encampments of OWS in more than one city. New York and Oakland seem to have suffered the most abuse by the riot cops. I may not be 100% correct in that, but from my readings on the net, those cities seem to have had the most violent abuse from "authority".
I know that my "attitude" gets me in deep manure from both sides of the political mess. The "right" thinks a former Marine should wave the flag and support every damn fool war the government gets us into. The "left" cannot stand that I am critical of Gobomber and the donkey gang. Well, too damn bad. I stand by my positions and will change them only when presented with a good enough argument to get me to change my views.
I ran across some more quotes that I want to share here. First off, Dwight Eisenhower said; "May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion." I stand by my own honest dissent.
Now for Theodore Roosevelt; "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president.....is morally treasonable to the American public."
I wonder how much honest dissent or criticism Gobomber and congress can manage. No doubt I have made it onto a list or three, big deal. I fail to see how a disabled war veteran could be to the powers that run this show. Well, after this vile "act" is law I might find out how much, or better yet, how little dissent is still legal here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave".
As the state motto of New Hampshire goes; "Live Free or Die"
semper fi
18 December 2011
01 December 2011
New "security" bill in the Senate
People, we are entering very dangerous times. A bill now in the US Senate would allow the president to send anybody, including American citizens to Gitmo to be held indefinitely without any recourse to legal representation. In short, the president could send anybody he thinks is a security threat to the US to be held as long as he wants to hold them with no lawyers allowed to represent him/her.
All that would be required for any of us to be held indefinitely is for the president to say that any of us is a "security threat" to the US. There is NO requirement for the president to say just how the person represents such a threat. In short, it is entirely the whim of the president. This is extremely frightening. No president has ever had such powers. The bill apparently also includes the authorization to allow the president to us the US military troops to be used as law enforcement. The last time that was done was during the Reconstruction period after the US War Between the States. WHen Reconstruction ended in 1876, the Congress at that time passed a law that prevented all presidents from that time until now from using the military as law enforcement.
Consider a USA where the president can us military troops as a police force and he alone can designate any of us as a "security threat" and have us locked up in some dank prison indefinitely with no legal representation.
You think this cannot happen in America? Think again my friends, this bill now in the US Senate would allow all of this and no doubt much more.
I wonder, if this vile piece of legislation passes, will the next Occupy action result in the protesters being carted away to Gitmo for indefinite detention? Who among us would trust anybody with such power? I would not even trust myself with that amount of unlimited power, let alone some Wall Street tool as Gobomber.
Now, our president has said that he will veto this bill if it passes the Senate. Do you really believe this guy? Remember, he promised during the campaign in 2008 to shut down Gitmo by the end of his first year in office. He has been on the job almost three years now and Gitmo is still operating as usual. Now, do you still trust this guy? Hell, I just might be on his "hit" list for my rants here on the old, corner. Well, hell, if you don't hear much from me in the next few weeks, no doubt I might be in sunny Cuba in one of those "nice" cells at Gitmo.
I'm going to close this rant with a few quotes that I have run across recently. I may have read them before, but this week I came across them again, and decided to share them.
Steve Biko said "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
These next two I have no idea who said them, they came off different web articles. As to the OWS making no list of demands, one of the protesters said; "OWS has made no demands. Terrorists make demands. OWS are NOT terrorists." How very true, they ARE patriots who are asking for the broken system to be replaced with one that is fair to ALL of us.
The last one is; "Bailing out banks to save us from socialism is like fucking to save virginity." Excuse my language but that is the BEST way to describe things in my opinion. Short and to the point.
We are entering very dangerous times people. I have no idea where this is going or how it will end. I know that the system IS broken and we need real change. I hope it does not devolve into armed revolution with blood running in the streets. We can do this peacefully, but that means the top 1% has to listen to the people and put aside their greed for ever more and more. At some point even the very rich must have to ask themselves, how much is finally enough. The people have had more than enough of the greed of Wall Street and the war industries. End the damn fool wars of choice. Close all those military bases in foreign countries. Rebuild America and let the rest of the world alone to sort out their troubles without the US interfering. ENOUGH! Enough of the damn fool wars of choice. Enough of the greedy banksters and their pals on Wall Street and in the war industries.
America, what a country.
semper fi
All that would be required for any of us to be held indefinitely is for the president to say that any of us is a "security threat" to the US. There is NO requirement for the president to say just how the person represents such a threat. In short, it is entirely the whim of the president. This is extremely frightening. No president has ever had such powers. The bill apparently also includes the authorization to allow the president to us the US military troops to be used as law enforcement. The last time that was done was during the Reconstruction period after the US War Between the States. WHen Reconstruction ended in 1876, the Congress at that time passed a law that prevented all presidents from that time until now from using the military as law enforcement.
Consider a USA where the president can us military troops as a police force and he alone can designate any of us as a "security threat" and have us locked up in some dank prison indefinitely with no legal representation.
You think this cannot happen in America? Think again my friends, this bill now in the US Senate would allow all of this and no doubt much more.
I wonder, if this vile piece of legislation passes, will the next Occupy action result in the protesters being carted away to Gitmo for indefinite detention? Who among us would trust anybody with such power? I would not even trust myself with that amount of unlimited power, let alone some Wall Street tool as Gobomber.
Now, our president has said that he will veto this bill if it passes the Senate. Do you really believe this guy? Remember, he promised during the campaign in 2008 to shut down Gitmo by the end of his first year in office. He has been on the job almost three years now and Gitmo is still operating as usual. Now, do you still trust this guy? Hell, I just might be on his "hit" list for my rants here on the old, corner. Well, hell, if you don't hear much from me in the next few weeks, no doubt I might be in sunny Cuba in one of those "nice" cells at Gitmo.
I'm going to close this rant with a few quotes that I have run across recently. I may have read them before, but this week I came across them again, and decided to share them.
Steve Biko said "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
These next two I have no idea who said them, they came off different web articles. As to the OWS making no list of demands, one of the protesters said; "OWS has made no demands. Terrorists make demands. OWS are NOT terrorists." How very true, they ARE patriots who are asking for the broken system to be replaced with one that is fair to ALL of us.
The last one is; "Bailing out banks to save us from socialism is like fucking to save virginity." Excuse my language but that is the BEST way to describe things in my opinion. Short and to the point.
We are entering very dangerous times people. I have no idea where this is going or how it will end. I know that the system IS broken and we need real change. I hope it does not devolve into armed revolution with blood running in the streets. We can do this peacefully, but that means the top 1% has to listen to the people and put aside their greed for ever more and more. At some point even the very rich must have to ask themselves, how much is finally enough. The people have had more than enough of the greed of Wall Street and the war industries. End the damn fool wars of choice. Close all those military bases in foreign countries. Rebuild America and let the rest of the world alone to sort out their troubles without the US interfering. ENOUGH! Enough of the damn fool wars of choice. Enough of the greedy banksters and their pals on Wall Street and in the war industries.
America, what a country.
semper fi
22 November 2011
Books must be very dangerous
In Amerikkka, books are very dangerous things. Why do I say this? Consider that when the New York police raided the OWS folks at Zuccotti Park last week they threw ALL the books from the temporary library into a dumpster. Most of the books were damaged beyond repair. Why did the police toss those books into the trash bins? Well, to me it is obvious. Books are dangerous. Books contain ideas. Ideas can be very, very dangerous. In particular, ideas that say that we are all human beings, we ALL have the same basic needs, that ALL humans have the same basic desires. Yes, those ARE very dangerous ideas folks. ALL human beings need food, clothing, and shelter. ALL human beings want to be able to provide a decent standard of living to their families, they all want their children to have at least as good a life as they have, hopefully a better life than they have. In the Amerikkka of today, we are facing the very real prospect that our children will NOT have a better life than we have. They may not even have as good a life as we have or have had. For the first time since the Great Depression, Amerikkka faces the very real prospect that the next generation will have less than their parents.
This truth is a very dangerous thing. Those at the top do not want this to be widely known. They want to suppress this fact as they want the masses to continue to believe in the fairy tale that "things will get better, trust us". They continue to try and push the "American dream". That dream has turned into a very real nightmare for many people. The bad loans, liar loans, and the foreclosures have turned the "dream" on its head.
The top 1% continue to prosper while the 99% try their best to "make due" with the crumbs. The "saint" Ronnie of Raygun trickle down at work here folks. Big time.
The old "rich get richer while the poor get poorer" is no longer just a saying, it is reality. Another idea that is very dangerous as it becomes fact. Those at the top of this heap don't want the masses to know this. Too bad, the truth IS out and the people are angry.
OWS has started something and it will not just go quietly away.
The "media" has tried to brush the OWS aside by claiming that they have "made no demands". True, but consider a reply by some in the OWS movement to that statement; "Terrorists make demands. OWS are NOT terrorists". Try that on for size "media".
The powers that be may silence some of the people, but they can never kill an idea.
Keep reading people. Keep the protest alive. We, the 99%, have the numbers.
semper fi
This truth is a very dangerous thing. Those at the top do not want this to be widely known. They want to suppress this fact as they want the masses to continue to believe in the fairy tale that "things will get better, trust us". They continue to try and push the "American dream". That dream has turned into a very real nightmare for many people. The bad loans, liar loans, and the foreclosures have turned the "dream" on its head.
The top 1% continue to prosper while the 99% try their best to "make due" with the crumbs. The "saint" Ronnie of Raygun trickle down at work here folks. Big time.
The old "rich get richer while the poor get poorer" is no longer just a saying, it is reality. Another idea that is very dangerous as it becomes fact. Those at the top of this heap don't want the masses to know this. Too bad, the truth IS out and the people are angry.
OWS has started something and it will not just go quietly away.
The "media" has tried to brush the OWS aside by claiming that they have "made no demands". True, but consider a reply by some in the OWS movement to that statement; "Terrorists make demands. OWS are NOT terrorists". Try that on for size "media".
The powers that be may silence some of the people, but they can never kill an idea.
Keep reading people. Keep the protest alive. We, the 99%, have the numbers.
semper fi
21 October 2011
This is the new America, may the gods have pity on us all
Today I saw a TV ad for what to me is the lowest of lows. I had not seen this before. Somehow my TV viewing habits may have allowed me to skip this until now. I have no idea how long this ad has been running on the tube. According to the web page for this "product" they advertise on A&E, The Military Channel, The History Channel, CMT, CNBC, MTB, VH1, and Spike.
OK, you say to the old guy ranting away (me). Just what has got you so riled up?
The "product" is a two coin "commemorative" set, one gold coin and one silver coin that "celebrate" the assassination of bin Laden. YES, no kidding at all here. You can buy a two coin set and join in "celebrating" that assassination. No capture, no trial by jury, no waiting around for a jury to decide anything at all. No sir, just a good old fashioned assassination.
Along with the two coins, you will also get two acrylic capsules to hold these "precious" coins, two certificates of authenticity, the Navy seal creed, a military briefing package that includes maps, photos, and operational details. also in this package is a gold lapel pin. This total package, so the web site and TV commercial tell us, is a $260.00 value. Oh, but you can have it all for the amazingly low price of, wait for it, yes, $19.95. Plus shipping and handling as usual.
If you think I have made this up, here is the web site for this entire package. Check it out if your stomach is strong enough. www.justicecoin.com/index.dtm
YES, they actually call these coins, justice coins. I am not fibbing folks. Check the link above.
What sort of "justice" was given to bin Laden? An assassins bullet is what he got. No capture, no lawyers, no trial, no jury, no waiting for a jury to decide guilt. No sir, none of that "old school" crap. This is the 21st century. Amerikkka rules. USA uber alles.
Yes, I know that "we", the USA has done this sort of thing for decades. The thing is, we didn't hear of assassinations shortly after they happened. Back in my youth, the CIA and other arms of the US government kept these sorts of things very quiet. Oh sure, on rare occasions they were made known as a "warning" to other leaders around the globe to be very careful. Still, for the most part, the dirty work of our special ops and CIA agents were low key and kept more or less secret. The public didn't hear of them until much later and only after some serious digging by real journalists who worked very hard to get to the truth of things.
Now, we not only hear of some of these operations as soon as they are done, we now "celebrate" the assassinations of supposed terrorists with goddamn "commemorative" coin sets! How low can this country stoop? How bloody damn sick is this? Please excuse me for my language.It is extremely difficult to keep my words polite in regards to this abomination.
LOL, let me have a moment to reflect on that last sentence. "Abomination", yes, BUT since the USA is now the Obamanation, in some small way, it all fits. Yes, I know, I have a sick sense of humor at times. I just couldn't resist that one. Yes, it IS a bad pun. Most likely a very bad pun.
Still, it does fit.
With the news on "advisors" going to Uganda, Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this TV ad just struck me as being about the absolute lowest of things.Throw in the killing of old Gaddafi and the news is quite depressing. This advertizement is just like the straw that broke the camels' back.It is one damn thing too much.
Are we, as a nation now so brutish that we now want "commemorative" coin sets to "celebrate" the unlawful killings of supposed enemies? What next? Commemorative coins to "celebrate" the death by drones of US citizens like Anwar al-Awlaki and his son? Why not? Why, such coin sets could give the drone "pilots" a morale boost. Those "pilots" are not given, as far as I am aware, any battle ribbons for their "work". Some Air Force general was quoted some time ago on the subject of how they could reward the "bravery" of these drone pilots. Seriously. I forget what web site I ran across that comment, I remember it being back in 2009, or about then. It was after the use of drones became news and there were, maybe still are, questions of how to award any sort of medals to the drone "pilots" for, again, their "bravery". This when the "most dangerous" part of their day is the drive home after their shift is finished for the day. Hey, we need to keep the morale high you know.
I had started work on a rant about Gaddafi and the newest African odyssey of "dear leader" Gobomber. Taking a show break from reading, I saw that TV commercial and just about went ballistic. My first, and still current, thought on this coin set is; just how bloody low will we go? How deep will some dig to "celebrate" an assassination? What has happened to the rule of law? Where has any shred of human decency in this sort of "product"? How low will some go for obscene profits? People in the USA still try to claim the country is a "christian nation". How does a "product" like this square with that sentiment? How can we, the American people, claim to be a civilized country, when we have this sort of absolute garbage for sale on our TV sets and the internet? We look down on supposed savages, but now, with this coin set, I really have to wonder just who the real savages are today.
semper fi
OK, you say to the old guy ranting away (me). Just what has got you so riled up?
The "product" is a two coin "commemorative" set, one gold coin and one silver coin that "celebrate" the assassination of bin Laden. YES, no kidding at all here. You can buy a two coin set and join in "celebrating" that assassination. No capture, no trial by jury, no waiting around for a jury to decide anything at all. No sir, just a good old fashioned assassination.
Along with the two coins, you will also get two acrylic capsules to hold these "precious" coins, two certificates of authenticity, the Navy seal creed, a military briefing package that includes maps, photos, and operational details. also in this package is a gold lapel pin. This total package, so the web site and TV commercial tell us, is a $260.00 value. Oh, but you can have it all for the amazingly low price of, wait for it, yes, $19.95. Plus shipping and handling as usual.
If you think I have made this up, here is the web site for this entire package. Check it out if your stomach is strong enough. www.justicecoin.com/index.dtm
YES, they actually call these coins, justice coins. I am not fibbing folks. Check the link above.
What sort of "justice" was given to bin Laden? An assassins bullet is what he got. No capture, no lawyers, no trial, no jury, no waiting for a jury to decide guilt. No sir, none of that "old school" crap. This is the 21st century. Amerikkka rules. USA uber alles.
Yes, I know that "we", the USA has done this sort of thing for decades. The thing is, we didn't hear of assassinations shortly after they happened. Back in my youth, the CIA and other arms of the US government kept these sorts of things very quiet. Oh sure, on rare occasions they were made known as a "warning" to other leaders around the globe to be very careful. Still, for the most part, the dirty work of our special ops and CIA agents were low key and kept more or less secret. The public didn't hear of them until much later and only after some serious digging by real journalists who worked very hard to get to the truth of things.
Now, we not only hear of some of these operations as soon as they are done, we now "celebrate" the assassinations of supposed terrorists with goddamn "commemorative" coin sets! How low can this country stoop? How bloody damn sick is this? Please excuse me for my language.It is extremely difficult to keep my words polite in regards to this abomination.
LOL, let me have a moment to reflect on that last sentence. "Abomination", yes, BUT since the USA is now the Obamanation, in some small way, it all fits. Yes, I know, I have a sick sense of humor at times. I just couldn't resist that one. Yes, it IS a bad pun. Most likely a very bad pun.
Still, it does fit.
With the news on "advisors" going to Uganda, Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this TV ad just struck me as being about the absolute lowest of things.Throw in the killing of old Gaddafi and the news is quite depressing. This advertizement is just like the straw that broke the camels' back.It is one damn thing too much.
Are we, as a nation now so brutish that we now want "commemorative" coin sets to "celebrate" the unlawful killings of supposed enemies? What next? Commemorative coins to "celebrate" the death by drones of US citizens like Anwar al-Awlaki and his son? Why not? Why, such coin sets could give the drone "pilots" a morale boost. Those "pilots" are not given, as far as I am aware, any battle ribbons for their "work". Some Air Force general was quoted some time ago on the subject of how they could reward the "bravery" of these drone pilots. Seriously. I forget what web site I ran across that comment, I remember it being back in 2009, or about then. It was after the use of drones became news and there were, maybe still are, questions of how to award any sort of medals to the drone "pilots" for, again, their "bravery". This when the "most dangerous" part of their day is the drive home after their shift is finished for the day. Hey, we need to keep the morale high you know.
I had started work on a rant about Gaddafi and the newest African odyssey of "dear leader" Gobomber. Taking a show break from reading, I saw that TV commercial and just about went ballistic. My first, and still current, thought on this coin set is; just how bloody low will we go? How deep will some dig to "celebrate" an assassination? What has happened to the rule of law? Where has any shred of human decency in this sort of "product"? How low will some go for obscene profits? People in the USA still try to claim the country is a "christian nation". How does a "product" like this square with that sentiment? How can we, the American people, claim to be a civilized country, when we have this sort of absolute garbage for sale on our TV sets and the internet? We look down on supposed savages, but now, with this coin set, I really have to wonder just who the real savages are today.
semper fi
17 October 2011
The coming drones and other topics
Greetings to all.
I just finished reading the latest article at Tomdispatch by Mr. Nick Turse. His article deals with the drone aircraft and their bases around the world. He tells how the use of these weapons has increased and how the US military continues to expand their use and the "need" for ever more and new bases for them.
This is not all that new to you who have followed the US military and the weapons and tactics used by the US military. What did strike me as the most frightening regarding the use of drone aircraft is that the military is testing newer models that require NO human intervention. These "autonomous" drones are being/have been tested at Fort Benning, GA. These are "true robot" drones that quote" Hunt, identify, and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, NOT (my capitalizing) decisions made by humans." This is where the drone war is going folks. Totally automated weapons and weapon systems with NO human input as to who, when, or where they kill some "enemy".
Also, take note that it may be quite soon that drones will be used here in the US. One does not need to stretch the imagination very far to realize that the cops in New York City would love to be able to use them right now so they could keep close tabs on the OWS movement. No doubt many local police forces here in the US want to be able to have use of drones. This WILL be the norm sooner than we think. I am NOT trying to claim any "special" knowledge here, it is just a logical step in the continuing use of these weapons/weapon systems. We can look at the typical police force in any city here at home and see how they are now using equipment that got its start in the military. The use of drones by local police is just the next step. This is NOT a "chicken little" the sky is falling cry, just an opinion of an old guy who has been watching how America has changed during my own life time. I have seen police in America become ever more militarized and am certain that some time in the very near future some police force in some large US city will begin using drones as a cheaper means of surveillance.
On another topic, it seems that OWS is gaining and the "too big to fail" gangsters are getting worried. Finally! YES, in my opinion, we all need to do what we can to keep the OWS movement alive. We also need to insure that the movement is not co-opted by any supposed "liberal" outfit. The first one that comes to my mind is MoveOn. In my opinion MoveOn had best move over as the OWS will sweep by that faux "liberal" outfit and then MoveOn will be left in our dust. I don't think MoveOn was ever concerned about the working class in America. I am sure that they want to be a part of the power structure, the rest of be damned. Again, this is my own opinion of MoveOn. I have never seen any criticism of Gobomber by that group and doubt they would ever be in any way critical of him. In that respect, they are not much different from any other "liberal" group in the US. As more than one commentator has written, if the wars that Gobomber has started (Libya) or expanded (Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan) they "liberals" would be up in arms yelling about the "aggressions" of Shrubbie. Oh, but now "we" have a member of the donkey gang occupying the White House so, no way will they be the least critical of him. That sure as hell shows me just how little these "liberals" care about the working class who have the job of invading/occupying the countries that the US is at war with.
My opinion, if the war in Libya would have been unjust under Shrub, it is ALSO unjust under Gobomber. My opinion of the majority of supposed "liberal" in the US is that they have VERY selective morals. If a member of the elephant gang holds the office of president, they will be against his/her new wars. Now, when a member of the donkey gang holds that office, well, you see how "much" protest has come from the "left" in America. Damn near none at all! I call that selective morality. Fine when "our" guy/gal does it, not so good when the "other" does the same thing.
again, I hope that OWS does not get co-opted by any "liberal" group. We all need to work hard to insure that this movement stays true to the working class and poor people who belong to OWS. This IS class war folks, us against the top 1%. It has been going on for decades and now, it is finally (I hope) coming to a head.
As we do what we can to continue the OWS and try to make it a truly nation wide movement, take a glance or three to the skies every so often, there just may be some drone watching you. NO, I do not think that is being paranoid at all. It never hurts to be cautious though.
semper fi
I just finished reading the latest article at Tomdispatch by Mr. Nick Turse. His article deals with the drone aircraft and their bases around the world. He tells how the use of these weapons has increased and how the US military continues to expand their use and the "need" for ever more and new bases for them.
This is not all that new to you who have followed the US military and the weapons and tactics used by the US military. What did strike me as the most frightening regarding the use of drone aircraft is that the military is testing newer models that require NO human intervention. These "autonomous" drones are being/have been tested at Fort Benning, GA. These are "true robot" drones that quote" Hunt, identify, and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, NOT (my capitalizing) decisions made by humans." This is where the drone war is going folks. Totally automated weapons and weapon systems with NO human input as to who, when, or where they kill some "enemy".
Also, take note that it may be quite soon that drones will be used here in the US. One does not need to stretch the imagination very far to realize that the cops in New York City would love to be able to use them right now so they could keep close tabs on the OWS movement. No doubt many local police forces here in the US want to be able to have use of drones. This WILL be the norm sooner than we think. I am NOT trying to claim any "special" knowledge here, it is just a logical step in the continuing use of these weapons/weapon systems. We can look at the typical police force in any city here at home and see how they are now using equipment that got its start in the military. The use of drones by local police is just the next step. This is NOT a "chicken little" the sky is falling cry, just an opinion of an old guy who has been watching how America has changed during my own life time. I have seen police in America become ever more militarized and am certain that some time in the very near future some police force in some large US city will begin using drones as a cheaper means of surveillance.
On another topic, it seems that OWS is gaining and the "too big to fail" gangsters are getting worried. Finally! YES, in my opinion, we all need to do what we can to keep the OWS movement alive. We also need to insure that the movement is not co-opted by any supposed "liberal" outfit. The first one that comes to my mind is MoveOn. In my opinion MoveOn had best move over as the OWS will sweep by that faux "liberal" outfit and then MoveOn will be left in our dust. I don't think MoveOn was ever concerned about the working class in America. I am sure that they want to be a part of the power structure, the rest of be damned. Again, this is my own opinion of MoveOn. I have never seen any criticism of Gobomber by that group and doubt they would ever be in any way critical of him. In that respect, they are not much different from any other "liberal" group in the US. As more than one commentator has written, if the wars that Gobomber has started (Libya) or expanded (Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan) they "liberals" would be up in arms yelling about the "aggressions" of Shrubbie. Oh, but now "we" have a member of the donkey gang occupying the White House so, no way will they be the least critical of him. That sure as hell shows me just how little these "liberals" care about the working class who have the job of invading/occupying the countries that the US is at war with.
My opinion, if the war in Libya would have been unjust under Shrub, it is ALSO unjust under Gobomber. My opinion of the majority of supposed "liberal" in the US is that they have VERY selective morals. If a member of the elephant gang holds the office of president, they will be against his/her new wars. Now, when a member of the donkey gang holds that office, well, you see how "much" protest has come from the "left" in America. Damn near none at all! I call that selective morality. Fine when "our" guy/gal does it, not so good when the "other" does the same thing.
again, I hope that OWS does not get co-opted by any "liberal" group. We all need to work hard to insure that this movement stays true to the working class and poor people who belong to OWS. This IS class war folks, us against the top 1%. It has been going on for decades and now, it is finally (I hope) coming to a head.
As we do what we can to continue the OWS and try to make it a truly nation wide movement, take a glance or three to the skies every so often, there just may be some drone watching you. NO, I do not think that is being paranoid at all. It never hurts to be cautious though.
semper fi
13 October 2011
Just what IS going on here?
Greetings all.
Just when it looked like the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was getting a real head of steam and in the news, what happens but the powers that be come out with some ridiculous "plot" that involves the "top bad guy" now that bin Laden is dead. Yep, Iran, the "favored" bad guy of the zionist gang is once again up to doing "bad things".
Well, they are IF you believe the "news" from D.C. and Riyadh. We even got the US Attorney General, Mr. Holder, telling us all about this "vast conspiracy". For an excellent look at this "plot" you just need to pop over to Asia Times and read the column by Pepe Escobar. The link is on this page. I trust Pepe and my opinion is that he is an honest reporter.
This "plot" involves an entire cast of characters right out of a bad Hollywood movie. It has not just the "evil" Iranians, but it includes even the Mexican drug gangs, the feared Zetas in particular. The "plot" also includes "tons of opium" and of course boat loads of cash. Supposedly this is/was a plan to kill a Saudi ambassador on US soil. Why these "bad guys" didn't think to try killing the ambassador in the Middle East we are not told. Surely with all the tumult in that region it would be much easier to kill him closer to his home territory. The plan to use some Mexican drug gang or other to "do the deed" is also very odd. One would think that the Revolutionary Guards Force and the al Qods force has the capability to do it themselves. Why involve the Mexicans? Plausible deniability? Beats me. It just does seem to be some garbage script for a bad movie the closer one looks at it.
In his article Pepe asks just who benefits from this "plot". An excellent question and he does provide some suggestions. Yes, the zionist entity for one and the war industries included in the folks who might benefit from this. Various other war mongers also might think(??) they could profit from another damn fool war.
Personally, any thought to invading Iran need to be tossed out right now. A war with Iran would not go nearly as "well" as the current idiot wars we are stuck in today. YES, even worse than Iraq and Afghanistan combined in my humble opinion.
One other group that may be pushing for the US to attack Iran is the MEK, which was listed as a terrorist outfit by the US government, but has received funds from the US government. Yeah, that is NOT an error, the US government has aided a listed terror organization. I don't have any current information, but we may still be funding that group in some way. Hypocrisy? Well, sure, nothing new there folks.
A good question to ask about this new "plot" is why was it made public now. According to what I have read about it, the "plot" was known in D.C. since June. NO, that is not a misprint, the US has known about this since June 2011. The US supposedly briefed the Saudis in mid September. So, why do they make it public now?
We,,, call me a "conspiracy nut", but maybe it is to take the media spot light away from the OWS which seems to be getting much attention from the "main stream media". Hey, they need to take the heat off those poor banksters some how.
Another question that comes to mind, where will the money for yet another damn fool war of choice come from? Who would lend money to the US to attack and/or invade Iran?
Again, two very important questions arise about this "plot"; who benefits and why now? Stay tuned for further developments folks, this thing looks to be just getting started.
America, what a country.
semper fi
Just when it looked like the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was getting a real head of steam and in the news, what happens but the powers that be come out with some ridiculous "plot" that involves the "top bad guy" now that bin Laden is dead. Yep, Iran, the "favored" bad guy of the zionist gang is once again up to doing "bad things".
Well, they are IF you believe the "news" from D.C. and Riyadh. We even got the US Attorney General, Mr. Holder, telling us all about this "vast conspiracy". For an excellent look at this "plot" you just need to pop over to Asia Times and read the column by Pepe Escobar. The link is on this page. I trust Pepe and my opinion is that he is an honest reporter.
This "plot" involves an entire cast of characters right out of a bad Hollywood movie. It has not just the "evil" Iranians, but it includes even the Mexican drug gangs, the feared Zetas in particular. The "plot" also includes "tons of opium" and of course boat loads of cash. Supposedly this is/was a plan to kill a Saudi ambassador on US soil. Why these "bad guys" didn't think to try killing the ambassador in the Middle East we are not told. Surely with all the tumult in that region it would be much easier to kill him closer to his home territory. The plan to use some Mexican drug gang or other to "do the deed" is also very odd. One would think that the Revolutionary Guards Force and the al Qods force has the capability to do it themselves. Why involve the Mexicans? Plausible deniability? Beats me. It just does seem to be some garbage script for a bad movie the closer one looks at it.
In his article Pepe asks just who benefits from this "plot". An excellent question and he does provide some suggestions. Yes, the zionist entity for one and the war industries included in the folks who might benefit from this. Various other war mongers also might think(??) they could profit from another damn fool war.
Personally, any thought to invading Iran need to be tossed out right now. A war with Iran would not go nearly as "well" as the current idiot wars we are stuck in today. YES, even worse than Iraq and Afghanistan combined in my humble opinion.
One other group that may be pushing for the US to attack Iran is the MEK, which was listed as a terrorist outfit by the US government, but has received funds from the US government. Yeah, that is NOT an error, the US government has aided a listed terror organization. I don't have any current information, but we may still be funding that group in some way. Hypocrisy? Well, sure, nothing new there folks.
A good question to ask about this new "plot" is why was it made public now. According to what I have read about it, the "plot" was known in D.C. since June. NO, that is not a misprint, the US has known about this since June 2011. The US supposedly briefed the Saudis in mid September. So, why do they make it public now?
We,,, call me a "conspiracy nut", but maybe it is to take the media spot light away from the OWS which seems to be getting much attention from the "main stream media". Hey, they need to take the heat off those poor banksters some how.
Another question that comes to mind, where will the money for yet another damn fool war of choice come from? Who would lend money to the US to attack and/or invade Iran?
Again, two very important questions arise about this "plot"; who benefits and why now? Stay tuned for further developments folks, this thing looks to be just getting started.
America, what a country.
semper fi
06 October 2011
The Occupy Wall Street movement
OK, Let me start this post by saying that I sincerely hope that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) IS the start of something really big. I could be cynical and say something like; it's about time the young people of our country got busy and started to protest. I could say that, but I'd rather remain hopeful, upbeat even.
I am very happy to see that the young people are at the forefront of this OWS. Is it a movement? I don't know yet. I hope that it is and that it spreads across the entire country. It has really made me glad to see the young folks out and protesting. They are the ones who will have to live with the mess that is currently the USA. My generation, the (in)famous "baby boomers" are in our declining years. We won't be around much longer, let alone in any real positions of power. The young, in their early 20's or so, they will be the future leaders of this country. Good to see them getting involved.
For too long it has been my generation that was doing the bulk of the protesting. True, many of my generation have joined the "tea party". That is most unfortunate as that group, if I can call it such, is NOT any real grass roots group at all. It has been shown to be an astro true organization financed by the far right (reich) wing of the elephant gang.
I think that my generation still has a great deal to add to this OWS and other protests, but the leadership needs to be passed to the young people. They have their entire lives ahead of them, we are on the down side of this life. that does not mean that we can just sit back and watch the show, we need to stay involved as well. If nothing else, we can offer our support and encouragement to them.
This just might be the start of something really big. It may even actually bring about some of the real change that our country needs. If you are able, physically and financially, by all means, get out and give your physical support to these protests. But, by all means we need to support the protests against the "too big to fail" gangsters and their Wall Street bankster pals. We need to end the damn fool wars of choice that are draining our economy and putting the future generations into debt slavery to the "too big to fail" crowd. The time has come for us all to stand up and shout ENOUGH!! The future generations need our support.
semper fi
I am very happy to see that the young people are at the forefront of this OWS. Is it a movement? I don't know yet. I hope that it is and that it spreads across the entire country. It has really made me glad to see the young folks out and protesting. They are the ones who will have to live with the mess that is currently the USA. My generation, the (in)famous "baby boomers" are in our declining years. We won't be around much longer, let alone in any real positions of power. The young, in their early 20's or so, they will be the future leaders of this country. Good to see them getting involved.
For too long it has been my generation that was doing the bulk of the protesting. True, many of my generation have joined the "tea party". That is most unfortunate as that group, if I can call it such, is NOT any real grass roots group at all. It has been shown to be an astro true organization financed by the far right (reich) wing of the elephant gang.
I think that my generation still has a great deal to add to this OWS and other protests, but the leadership needs to be passed to the young people. They have their entire lives ahead of them, we are on the down side of this life. that does not mean that we can just sit back and watch the show, we need to stay involved as well. If nothing else, we can offer our support and encouragement to them.
This just might be the start of something really big. It may even actually bring about some of the real change that our country needs. If you are able, physically and financially, by all means, get out and give your physical support to these protests. But, by all means we need to support the protests against the "too big to fail" gangsters and their Wall Street bankster pals. We need to end the damn fool wars of choice that are draining our economy and putting the future generations into debt slavery to the "too big to fail" crowd. The time has come for us all to stand up and shout ENOUGH!! The future generations need our support.
semper fi
03 October 2011
Additional information
Some additional info to my last rant.
Gobomber has in fact killed TWO Americans with his drones.
The second person is Samir Kahn. Neither of these people were much of an honest threat to us or the country. Just my opinion of course.
That they were killed on order of the president of the US, while the Constitution is still(??) in effect is something we all need to think about. That very Constitution that Gobomber swore an oath to uphold demands that even the most vile criminal is to get a trial by jury before he/she is punished.
Check out the article "The day America died" by Paul Craig Roberts at Information Clearing House today, 3 October 2011 for more on these killings. An excellent article well worth the time.
semper fi
Gobomber has in fact killed TWO Americans with his drones.
The second person is Samir Kahn. Neither of these people were much of an honest threat to us or the country. Just my opinion of course.
That they were killed on order of the president of the US, while the Constitution is still(??) in effect is something we all need to think about. That very Constitution that Gobomber swore an oath to uphold demands that even the most vile criminal is to get a trial by jury before he/she is punished.
Check out the article "The day America died" by Paul Craig Roberts at Information Clearing House today, 3 October 2011 for more on these killings. An excellent article well worth the time.
semper fi
Just when you thought we were making progress
Greetings to all.
Well, just when you may have thought that we, the USA, might be making some actual progress in this damn fool war OF terror that has been ongoing since W. Shrub invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, we find that up pops a "new" enemy.
Yes, I am referring to the dreaded "new" enemy in the Af/Pak (I detest that "designation") region, the Haqqani network. This supposed "new" enemy is one that just recently has appeared on the blogs and news sites. While this group or whatever it is may have been in existence for some time, most of us have only just heard of them in the past few days.
Yes, just when we may have started to catch our breath now that bin-Laden is "officially" dead, what happens but up pops a "new" threat. Not only do we have this "new" group to fear, they seem to have come into our attention fully formed and ready to deal a deadly blow to America and our very way of life. No doubt this gang makes the once dreaded al-Qaeda seem to be a stereotypical "Sunday school" group of little kids. This Haqqani gang is the latest gang of evil terrorists for the US and NATO to fight. Good grief people, we are not unite done with one set of "bad guys" when up pops another gang that is even wore than the last "enemy". Well, take heart America, as the old saying goes; no rest for the wicked. Whatever it takes to keep the citizens of the United States of America off balance and fearful, that IS what the "leaders" of the old US of A will provide, in spades even. Hey, we need to justify, somehow, the obscene budgets for homieland (in)security don't ya know. Old Chertoff needs the extra profits from his companies porno-scanners in every airport in the nation. Blackwater(Xe) need the extra profits for guarding(killing innocents) US installations in the war zones.
Yes sir, keep that war OF terror roaring along as the nation hurtles to its economic doom. Oh, but don't fret, the "wonderful" congress critters will surely "find" the extra funds for the ongoing wars by "simply" slashing the monies that pay for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. You see, the miserable economy is due to all those greedy senior citizens and the disabled people along with those who fall below the poverty levels. They are just draining the economy with their "entitlements" and that must stop. We "need" to continue the wars,as Shrubbie told us, we are "fighting them over there so we don't need to fight them here". Yeah, sure thing. What a load of bullshit. Have you seen the Afghan Navy? how about the Afghan air force? No, neither of them? Well, no wonder, they do not have a navy. Hell, Afghanistan is land locked. Of course you good people who read this blog knew that all along, I just tossed that in for any new readers who may not have access to a map. The only air force operating in Afghanistan is a US/NATO one that does quite a good job of bombing Afghan weddings and funerals.
Yes, I AM being sarcastic and cynical in this rant. It is part of my nature to be cynical and a bit sarcastic at times. this is one of those times.
Since 1945, the US has been confronted by some enemy every year. First it was those vile commies, then we went on to many other newer enemies after the Soviets went and quit the old game that had served the military-industrial complex so well for so long. Recently we had the vile al-Qaeda and assorted hangers on. Now we have the newest "threat", the Haqqani. We never seem to run out of enemies. Why, it is almost enough to make one stop and think just why that is. One could do an internet search for the number of countries the USA has invaded or been at some sort of war with since 1945. I'll clue you in, it is a long list. The US has been fighting with somebody or other almost every single year since the end of World War Two. Now, these military actions may have been called "police actions" or some other innocuuous term, but it amounts to the same thing, fighting some other people in their own country. Hey, we need to teach those foreigners to elect the type of government that Washington D.C. wants them to have. Yes sir, just forget totally what sort of government the people there want, they need to get with the program, don't they know? Well, they had best learn or be watchful as "we" will just have to bring democracy to them, wether they want us to or not. Just who do these foreigners think they are? It is follow the dictates of the clowns in D.C. or else. And we claim to be a democratic republic? Oh, the irony.
On another topic, here is something all "good" Americans can be proud of. The congress critters are blocking much of the aid monies we give to the Palestinians. Why is that, you ask? Well, those pesky Palestinians have been too the dreaded, vile, socialistic United Nations in New York and they asked for the country of Palestine to be given formal recognition! How dare they!! Just who do THEY think they are? Why, this was NOT cleared by either Washington D.C. nor by the zionist entity. In fact the zionist entity has been stomping its little feet even before the formal request was made at the UN. In fact they said they would do just that before the UN meeting convened. See, they told us they would stomp their feet, and they did.
Yes, the US congress is with holding needed funds to Palestine because they asked to be recognized by the UN before D.C and TelAviv said they could do so. As to when the clowns in D.C. and TelAviv MIGHT allow them to make that request, well, that will take time you know. How much time? Well, that is still to be determined. Hey, you cannot rush these things. Why it has only been just a bit over sixty(60) years since the zionist entity was created, soooo, these silly Palestinians will just have to sit back and wait for their time to come. Oh, the absolute arrogance of the ass clowns who populate Washington D.C. and TelAviv! The bullshit is so deep in those two places that you need hip boots just to keep from soiling your shoes.
From what I have read, it looks like the Occupy Wall Street is having an impression on life in New York city. The cops keep arresting the protestors and they keep protesting the banksters. Of course the protests is not allowed to actually occupy Wall Street itself. Nope, we "need" to keep the rabble away from the folks who work on Wall Street. Hey, we can't let these protestors to shut down the "economic engine" of Wall Street. Damn straight, there are obscene profits toy be made, very obscene bonuses to be had. Got to keep the banksters rolling in their money. There might be more toxic crap to push off on some sucker. Sell some more derivatives and other garbage to the rubes. The champaign MUST keep flowing for the banksters and their pals in the "too big to fail" crowd.
Jeff Huber at his "Pen and Sword" blog has the start of what no doubt will be another excellent posting. Check him out tomorrow, Tuesday 4 October. He only has a preview up today, but even that is good so far.
Also, check in at "Tomdispatch", always a good read there. As are any of the sites on my links here.
Oh, and if you are not outraged yet, Gobomber HAS killed an American citizen. He authorized a drone attack that killed American born Anwar Awlaki just last week, 30 September, a new date to live in infamy. America, what a country.
semper fi
Well, just when you may have thought that we, the USA, might be making some actual progress in this damn fool war OF terror that has been ongoing since W. Shrub invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, we find that up pops a "new" enemy.
Yes, I am referring to the dreaded "new" enemy in the Af/Pak (I detest that "designation") region, the Haqqani network. This supposed "new" enemy is one that just recently has appeared on the blogs and news sites. While this group or whatever it is may have been in existence for some time, most of us have only just heard of them in the past few days.
Yes, just when we may have started to catch our breath now that bin-Laden is "officially" dead, what happens but up pops a "new" threat. Not only do we have this "new" group to fear, they seem to have come into our attention fully formed and ready to deal a deadly blow to America and our very way of life. No doubt this gang makes the once dreaded al-Qaeda seem to be a stereotypical "Sunday school" group of little kids. This Haqqani gang is the latest gang of evil terrorists for the US and NATO to fight. Good grief people, we are not unite done with one set of "bad guys" when up pops another gang that is even wore than the last "enemy". Well, take heart America, as the old saying goes; no rest for the wicked. Whatever it takes to keep the citizens of the United States of America off balance and fearful, that IS what the "leaders" of the old US of A will provide, in spades even. Hey, we need to justify, somehow, the obscene budgets for homieland (in)security don't ya know. Old Chertoff needs the extra profits from his companies porno-scanners in every airport in the nation. Blackwater(Xe) need the extra profits for guarding(killing innocents) US installations in the war zones.
Yes sir, keep that war OF terror roaring along as the nation hurtles to its economic doom. Oh, but don't fret, the "wonderful" congress critters will surely "find" the extra funds for the ongoing wars by "simply" slashing the monies that pay for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. You see, the miserable economy is due to all those greedy senior citizens and the disabled people along with those who fall below the poverty levels. They are just draining the economy with their "entitlements" and that must stop. We "need" to continue the wars,as Shrubbie told us, we are "fighting them over there so we don't need to fight them here". Yeah, sure thing. What a load of bullshit. Have you seen the Afghan Navy? how about the Afghan air force? No, neither of them? Well, no wonder, they do not have a navy. Hell, Afghanistan is land locked. Of course you good people who read this blog knew that all along, I just tossed that in for any new readers who may not have access to a map. The only air force operating in Afghanistan is a US/NATO one that does quite a good job of bombing Afghan weddings and funerals.
Yes, I AM being sarcastic and cynical in this rant. It is part of my nature to be cynical and a bit sarcastic at times. this is one of those times.
Since 1945, the US has been confronted by some enemy every year. First it was those vile commies, then we went on to many other newer enemies after the Soviets went and quit the old game that had served the military-industrial complex so well for so long. Recently we had the vile al-Qaeda and assorted hangers on. Now we have the newest "threat", the Haqqani. We never seem to run out of enemies. Why, it is almost enough to make one stop and think just why that is. One could do an internet search for the number of countries the USA has invaded or been at some sort of war with since 1945. I'll clue you in, it is a long list. The US has been fighting with somebody or other almost every single year since the end of World War Two. Now, these military actions may have been called "police actions" or some other innocuuous term, but it amounts to the same thing, fighting some other people in their own country. Hey, we need to teach those foreigners to elect the type of government that Washington D.C. wants them to have. Yes sir, just forget totally what sort of government the people there want, they need to get with the program, don't they know? Well, they had best learn or be watchful as "we" will just have to bring democracy to them, wether they want us to or not. Just who do these foreigners think they are? It is follow the dictates of the clowns in D.C. or else. And we claim to be a democratic republic? Oh, the irony.
On another topic, here is something all "good" Americans can be proud of. The congress critters are blocking much of the aid monies we give to the Palestinians. Why is that, you ask? Well, those pesky Palestinians have been too the dreaded, vile, socialistic United Nations in New York and they asked for the country of Palestine to be given formal recognition! How dare they!! Just who do THEY think they are? Why, this was NOT cleared by either Washington D.C. nor by the zionist entity. In fact the zionist entity has been stomping its little feet even before the formal request was made at the UN. In fact they said they would do just that before the UN meeting convened. See, they told us they would stomp their feet, and they did.
Yes, the US congress is with holding needed funds to Palestine because they asked to be recognized by the UN before D.C and TelAviv said they could do so. As to when the clowns in D.C. and TelAviv MIGHT allow them to make that request, well, that will take time you know. How much time? Well, that is still to be determined. Hey, you cannot rush these things. Why it has only been just a bit over sixty(60) years since the zionist entity was created, soooo, these silly Palestinians will just have to sit back and wait for their time to come. Oh, the absolute arrogance of the ass clowns who populate Washington D.C. and TelAviv! The bullshit is so deep in those two places that you need hip boots just to keep from soiling your shoes.
From what I have read, it looks like the Occupy Wall Street is having an impression on life in New York city. The cops keep arresting the protestors and they keep protesting the banksters. Of course the protests is not allowed to actually occupy Wall Street itself. Nope, we "need" to keep the rabble away from the folks who work on Wall Street. Hey, we can't let these protestors to shut down the "economic engine" of Wall Street. Damn straight, there are obscene profits toy be made, very obscene bonuses to be had. Got to keep the banksters rolling in their money. There might be more toxic crap to push off on some sucker. Sell some more derivatives and other garbage to the rubes. The champaign MUST keep flowing for the banksters and their pals in the "too big to fail" crowd.
Jeff Huber at his "Pen and Sword" blog has the start of what no doubt will be another excellent posting. Check him out tomorrow, Tuesday 4 October. He only has a preview up today, but even that is good so far.
Also, check in at "Tomdispatch", always a good read there. As are any of the sites on my links here.
Oh, and if you are not outraged yet, Gobomber HAS killed an American citizen. He authorized a drone attack that killed American born Anwar Awlaki just last week, 30 September, a new date to live in infamy. America, what a country.
semper fi
15 September 2011
Some clarifications, I hope
It seems that I need to try and clear up a few things about the old corner and in particular, the way I reply to comments.
First off, I really appreciate all the comments I get here as I never figured that anybody would even read anything I post, let alone take the time to comment on what I post. As I state in my profile, I am just an old, permanently disabled machinist, former US Marine/Vietnam war vet. In short, a ordinary working class guy who just wanted to make a decent life for his family. For the most part, I think I have done that. I know I have made more than a few mistakes along the way in this life. How many people never have made any? Dad used to tell me that the only people who never made any mistakes are the ones who never did anything. The thing is, I try to learn from the mistakes and not keep repeating them over and over.
On that note, it seems that I have made a mistake and then repeated it.
I refer to y replies to comments here at the old corner. When I reply to comments here I tend to ramble at times and I include in a reply to one comment, my thoughts that apply to another comment made here or in a private email. I often start to reply to a certain comment and go on to include comments from me that would have been better stated to some other comment. For this I apologize as it seems to have got some folks confused and they think I found their comment to be argumentative or such. I am sorry for any confusion that I have caused with my rambling comments.
I have referred to some negative comments that I have received in the past in private emails and my reply contained references to those negative comments. They were not meant to be directed at the person whose comment I replied to here. Again, that is totally my fault and I apologize for the confusion. I'll try to keep my comments to replies more centered on the particular comment and not just ramble on and include other thoughts.
I would say that I will try to change my "style" in how I reply to comments, but I don't want to elevate my rants or replies to having a "style" as I don't think there is any style to my rants. I basically have something that has got my attention, either it has upset me or it is something I just want to talk about. When I start my rants, I have a basic "idea" if I can elevate my thoughts to such a high level. I try to stay more or less on topic, but usually end up some place else. Sorry, that is just how I am, yes, in person also. As I said, I tend to ramble on and on.
I will try to keep my replies to any comments from going off topic and I will try to keep any thoughts on private emails off here when I reply to any comments. That alone should help to lessen any confusion.
I want to close this post by again saying that I really DO appreciate any and all comments I get. That holds for private emails and comments posted here at the corner. Also, I even appreciate any negative comments as I try to learn from them. Please, this is NOT directed at anybody, just general comments by me.
Thank you all for your time reading this blog and an extra thanks to all who post comments here and/or your emails.
semper fi.
First off, I really appreciate all the comments I get here as I never figured that anybody would even read anything I post, let alone take the time to comment on what I post. As I state in my profile, I am just an old, permanently disabled machinist, former US Marine/Vietnam war vet. In short, a ordinary working class guy who just wanted to make a decent life for his family. For the most part, I think I have done that. I know I have made more than a few mistakes along the way in this life. How many people never have made any? Dad used to tell me that the only people who never made any mistakes are the ones who never did anything. The thing is, I try to learn from the mistakes and not keep repeating them over and over.
On that note, it seems that I have made a mistake and then repeated it.
I refer to y replies to comments here at the old corner. When I reply to comments here I tend to ramble at times and I include in a reply to one comment, my thoughts that apply to another comment made here or in a private email. I often start to reply to a certain comment and go on to include comments from me that would have been better stated to some other comment. For this I apologize as it seems to have got some folks confused and they think I found their comment to be argumentative or such. I am sorry for any confusion that I have caused with my rambling comments.
I have referred to some negative comments that I have received in the past in private emails and my reply contained references to those negative comments. They were not meant to be directed at the person whose comment I replied to here. Again, that is totally my fault and I apologize for the confusion. I'll try to keep my comments to replies more centered on the particular comment and not just ramble on and include other thoughts.
I would say that I will try to change my "style" in how I reply to comments, but I don't want to elevate my rants or replies to having a "style" as I don't think there is any style to my rants. I basically have something that has got my attention, either it has upset me or it is something I just want to talk about. When I start my rants, I have a basic "idea" if I can elevate my thoughts to such a high level. I try to stay more or less on topic, but usually end up some place else. Sorry, that is just how I am, yes, in person also. As I said, I tend to ramble on and on.
I will try to keep my replies to any comments from going off topic and I will try to keep any thoughts on private emails off here when I reply to any comments. That alone should help to lessen any confusion.
I want to close this post by again saying that I really DO appreciate any and all comments I get. That holds for private emails and comments posted here at the corner. Also, I even appreciate any negative comments as I try to learn from them. Please, this is NOT directed at anybody, just general comments by me.
Thank you all for your time reading this blog and an extra thanks to all who post comments here and/or your emails.
semper fi.
11 September 2011
Ten years after
Yes I know, the title of this rant could be mistaken for a blast from the 60's. Well, I still enjoy much of the music from that long ago time, so..........
Yes, it is also a reference to today, 9/11 and the tenth "anniversary" of the "day that changed everything". Except it really didn't "change everything". What it did change was the covert wars came out of the shadows and morphed into "hot" or shooting wars. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the first US "responses" to that day. It has lead to bombings of Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen in addition to the first two victims of US anger at having been attacked by the "evil terrorists" who of course "hate us for our freedoms". Yeah, sure, that is why the US was attacked on 9/11.
September 11, 2001 was NOT the first 9/11 that the USA was involved with. The first 9/11 that "we" had anything to do with was September 11, 1973 in Chile. That was when "tricky" Dick Nixon and his sidekick/pal Henry the K unleashed the coup that ousted Allende from power and installed the military dictatorship that ruled that poor country for far too long. Funny how history seems to work. So, there are many "meanings" to 9/11 that many of us Americans don't know about or remember.
The 9/11 that is being commemorated today is the one that came about due to blowback from the foreign policies of the USA in particular, our policies toward the Palestine/Israel conflict/occupation/genocide/war crime/crime against humanity and many other terms that fit that ongoing disaster that has seen Palestinians evicted from long held family homes/homesteads and land. Those evictions that started in 1948 are ongoing even today. The"separation wall" is one of the most obvious and blatant examples of the apartheid rule of the zionist entity towards the Palestinian people. Old bin Laden, in his many video and audio statements to the world sited that ongoing conflict as one of the major reasons why his al-Qaeda was waging jihad against the USA and our allies.
I had decided that I would not do a blog entry about the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and I am trying to keep this post from going too far into that sort of post.
Yes, I do mourn the loss of life in our country on that day. Not on a daily basis as I had no family or friends killed by the attacks on the building in New York or Washington D.C. nor on the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania. I also mourn the loss of life in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, and Yemen that go on day after bloody day including, no doubt, today as well as every day since the attacks of 9/11, 2001.
A question to ask is just how many "others" need to die before there is "parity" with the loss of life in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania? How many must die to "make up" for our loss of life? Us and NATO troops have killed many times over the numbers of people killed on 9/11. It has been estimated that over 100,000 people have been killed in Iraq alone since we invaded that country in 2003. The killings continue still, and I need to ask, how many more "need" to die?
Gobomber has announced to the world that "we" have killed bin Laden. Great, OK, fine, so, how many more do "we" need to kill? Hey, our troops bumped off the "number one" bad guy, so when do we stop the killing?
I refuse to watch or listen to any of the "celebrations" of this tenth anniversary. If you want my opinion on these events, just check out Tomdispatch for the latest commentary by Mr. Engelhardt. The link is here on the right side of this page. He said it much better than I ever could. Basically, any remembrances have been hijacked. This day should be one of quiet reflection and remembrances. A highly personal day/time to look back and try to understand the "why" of it all, not some huge gala with loads of celebrities. Just check out what Tom has to say on this, you won't be sorry.
I keep coming back to my own central question; how many more people do "we" need to kill before we can finally put this date in its proper place? We did stop killing Japanese people in 1945. It only took us just a bit more than three and a half years to get past Pearl Harbor. How much longer do we need to kill to do the same for 9/11?
Maybe war has become too profitable for the "too big to fail" gangsters. Wars have always been money makers for the rich and the war industries and of course, the big banksters and their Wall Street pals. War now seems to be about the only thing that America still makes. It appears to be our biggest export now days. Wars and weapons and weapon systems are still American made. Most every other product that is for sale here is made elsewhere. Oh, sure, we assemble some things still, like cars, but many of the parts for them are made in some other country.
There seems to be no end to it all either. Just look at who is running to replace Gobomber. The entire gang of elephants who want that job aren't very inspiring if you want a peaceful world. So far, no member of the donkey gang has risen up to challenge him. Probably none will either. That is most unfortunate. Old Teddy Kennedy gave Jimmy Carter a run for it in 1980 and may have caused him to lose to "saint" Ronnie of Raygun. Is there no democrat to give Gobomber a small fright? We''l have to just wait and see I suppose.
OK, how about some third party challenge? I have not heard of any yet. Maybe it is still to early for them to even announce an intention. I think that a real, serious person to represent the working class of this country could give the two wings of the war party a real run at the job. But that is just me and I have not had much success at predicting elections. I'd like to see Ms. McKinney run again. Of course it is doubtful that AIPAC would allow her to win. No, she has a real respect for humanity and oppressed peoples to have any realistic chance at becoming president. If only..........yeah, I can still dream. Last I checked, it was still legal.
Our economy, or what passes for such these days still looks bad for the working people. Even Gobomber in his speech the other day didn't do much to instill any great confidence in his plans. Did I just say he had a plan? Sorry, my bad. His only real plan is to get re-elected and the rest of us can go take a flying jump at the moon. Ain't this a great country? And, of course do not look to the congress critters to help out either, they have their priorities. Yeah, same as Gobomber, get re-elected. America, what a country.
semper fi
Yes, it is also a reference to today, 9/11 and the tenth "anniversary" of the "day that changed everything". Except it really didn't "change everything". What it did change was the covert wars came out of the shadows and morphed into "hot" or shooting wars. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the first US "responses" to that day. It has lead to bombings of Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen in addition to the first two victims of US anger at having been attacked by the "evil terrorists" who of course "hate us for our freedoms". Yeah, sure, that is why the US was attacked on 9/11.
September 11, 2001 was NOT the first 9/11 that the USA was involved with. The first 9/11 that "we" had anything to do with was September 11, 1973 in Chile. That was when "tricky" Dick Nixon and his sidekick/pal Henry the K unleashed the coup that ousted Allende from power and installed the military dictatorship that ruled that poor country for far too long. Funny how history seems to work. So, there are many "meanings" to 9/11 that many of us Americans don't know about or remember.
The 9/11 that is being commemorated today is the one that came about due to blowback from the foreign policies of the USA in particular, our policies toward the Palestine/Israel conflict/occupation/genocide/war crime/crime against humanity and many other terms that fit that ongoing disaster that has seen Palestinians evicted from long held family homes/homesteads and land. Those evictions that started in 1948 are ongoing even today. The"separation wall" is one of the most obvious and blatant examples of the apartheid rule of the zionist entity towards the Palestinian people. Old bin Laden, in his many video and audio statements to the world sited that ongoing conflict as one of the major reasons why his al-Qaeda was waging jihad against the USA and our allies.
I had decided that I would not do a blog entry about the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and I am trying to keep this post from going too far into that sort of post.
Yes, I do mourn the loss of life in our country on that day. Not on a daily basis as I had no family or friends killed by the attacks on the building in New York or Washington D.C. nor on the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania. I also mourn the loss of life in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, and Yemen that go on day after bloody day including, no doubt, today as well as every day since the attacks of 9/11, 2001.
A question to ask is just how many "others" need to die before there is "parity" with the loss of life in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania? How many must die to "make up" for our loss of life? Us and NATO troops have killed many times over the numbers of people killed on 9/11. It has been estimated that over 100,000 people have been killed in Iraq alone since we invaded that country in 2003. The killings continue still, and I need to ask, how many more "need" to die?
Gobomber has announced to the world that "we" have killed bin Laden. Great, OK, fine, so, how many more do "we" need to kill? Hey, our troops bumped off the "number one" bad guy, so when do we stop the killing?
I refuse to watch or listen to any of the "celebrations" of this tenth anniversary. If you want my opinion on these events, just check out Tomdispatch for the latest commentary by Mr. Engelhardt. The link is here on the right side of this page. He said it much better than I ever could. Basically, any remembrances have been hijacked. This day should be one of quiet reflection and remembrances. A highly personal day/time to look back and try to understand the "why" of it all, not some huge gala with loads of celebrities. Just check out what Tom has to say on this, you won't be sorry.
I keep coming back to my own central question; how many more people do "we" need to kill before we can finally put this date in its proper place? We did stop killing Japanese people in 1945. It only took us just a bit more than three and a half years to get past Pearl Harbor. How much longer do we need to kill to do the same for 9/11?
Maybe war has become too profitable for the "too big to fail" gangsters. Wars have always been money makers for the rich and the war industries and of course, the big banksters and their Wall Street pals. War now seems to be about the only thing that America still makes. It appears to be our biggest export now days. Wars and weapons and weapon systems are still American made. Most every other product that is for sale here is made elsewhere. Oh, sure, we assemble some things still, like cars, but many of the parts for them are made in some other country.
There seems to be no end to it all either. Just look at who is running to replace Gobomber. The entire gang of elephants who want that job aren't very inspiring if you want a peaceful world. So far, no member of the donkey gang has risen up to challenge him. Probably none will either. That is most unfortunate. Old Teddy Kennedy gave Jimmy Carter a run for it in 1980 and may have caused him to lose to "saint" Ronnie of Raygun. Is there no democrat to give Gobomber a small fright? We''l have to just wait and see I suppose.
OK, how about some third party challenge? I have not heard of any yet. Maybe it is still to early for them to even announce an intention. I think that a real, serious person to represent the working class of this country could give the two wings of the war party a real run at the job. But that is just me and I have not had much success at predicting elections. I'd like to see Ms. McKinney run again. Of course it is doubtful that AIPAC would allow her to win. No, she has a real respect for humanity and oppressed peoples to have any realistic chance at becoming president. If only..........yeah, I can still dream. Last I checked, it was still legal.
Our economy, or what passes for such these days still looks bad for the working people. Even Gobomber in his speech the other day didn't do much to instill any great confidence in his plans. Did I just say he had a plan? Sorry, my bad. His only real plan is to get re-elected and the rest of us can go take a flying jump at the moon. Ain't this a great country? And, of course do not look to the congress critters to help out either, they have their priorities. Yeah, same as Gobomber, get re-elected. America, what a country.
semper fi
01 September 2011
Another day, another rant
Greetings good people.
Well, here I go again. Another rant.
It now looks like old Gaddafi-Duck is out of power. The "rebels" have entered Tripoli and seem to be running things there. While I have been critical of the man many times and called him Gaddafi-Duck more than a few times, he actually did much good for the people of Libya. They had, and I emphasis HAD, free health care and free education, up to and including college if I am not mistaken. Hey, I'd sure like a true national health care deal here in the US of A. I would bet that a vast majority of Americans would also. True, the big health "insurance" gangsters don't ever want such a thing, nor do the very rich and their pals the Wall Street banksters and the other "too big to fail" gangsters.
Now one is just waiting to see how soon the Libyan oil company gets sold off to the Western oil gang. No doubt Exxon-Mobil, Total, and the rest are chomping at the bit to get "their" share of the oil reserves under the sand of Libya. It is the people of Libya who will suffer big time now. Just as they have and still are suffering in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia where the US and/or NATO are bombing them all the way to "democracy". It is always the people, the working class and the poor folks who get the dirty end of the stick when capitalism comes to their countries. Just look at us here in America for the best example of this truth. Anybody seen and good paying, high skill jobs available lately?
Yes, those jobs have been "off shored", unless one is employed by some "defense" contractor or sub-contractor. Even many IT jobs have been "off shored" and THAT was supposed to be THE new, "hot" area that those of us who were mechanics, machinists, welders, etc were supposed to go into now that America was "post industrial". Yeah, sure we are. LOLMAO.
And yet, private "schools" like ITT Tech continue to advertise on TV for their "schools" as a way to a "better" future. Yep, one filled with student loan debt no doubt. Oh, and with a "degree" that may or not be recognized by industry. Only in America.
Some of you may not like what I am about to say here. I no longer read Professor Juan Cole. I have deleted his blog from my computer and no longer visit his web site. Actually, I started this back in March after he came out so very strong FOR this damn fool non-war in Libya. He is STILL in favor of this idiotic war of choice. And he is supposedly a "leftist"? Oh, yeah, this is a "humanitarian" war, I mean "kinetic military action" in Libya. See, it really isn't war at all. Bullshit! When people are being bomber and have to watch the sky for cruise missiles and drone aircraft it sure as hell IS war goddamn it all! Professor Cole just shows how immoral the "left" in America has become. Makes me even more happy that I refuse to belong to either wing of the damn war party. I will never again belong to either the elephant nor the donkey gang. I did, for a very short time back in 1980, register as a "democrat". That was mainly because of Dad. He had retired two years before and he got very political and would not allow the name of "saint" Ronnie of Raygun to be spoken in his house. Dad had not liked old Ronnie when he was the governor of California. Dad despised Ronnie. So, that year I did register for the donkey gang and did what little I could to help re-elect old Jimmy Peanuts. Didn't do enough as it turned out. And that was back in a time when the unions, Dad was a member of Operating Engineers Local 12, still had some real power. I'll just close this line by saying that Professor Cole has shown me how far down the rat hole the "left" in America has gone. Damn near off the bloody raisin my view. We really, and I mean REALLY need a viable third party. A party that actually represents the working class and the poor. It should be obvious to a blind person by now that the Democrats no longer do so. That whirring sound you heard is FDR spinning in his grave.
Most of you will have read or heard the unreal amount of pure, unadulterated, absolute STUPID that has come from the likes of Ms. Bachmann and Mr. Perry by now. Ms. Bachmann had some real "gems" to say about hurricane Irene and you folks on the East coast. Holy crap Batwoman! And this gal thinks she should be our president? If there IS a god, I hope we will not get that punishment. She said that "god was trying to tell us to get spending in order" by way of the earthquake and hurricane on the eastern part of the US! Man, I thought I had heard everything. Well, it just proves what I have said for many years now. Just when I think I have seen/heard the absolute worst of stupid there could possibly be, somebody comes along and goes it one "better". She is starting to make fail' Palin look half way smart. Now THAT is very frightening.
Old Mr. Perry isn't very far behind her in the crazy either. I read where he has even denounced his own book that came out recently. Something about the book being just "campaign strategy" or some such BS. Oh sure, pay NO attention to what I said last week, or even yesterday. What I say NOW is what counts. The really sad thing is that many of the "tea party" types will go along with this crap. That shows how poor a job of educating our school system does now days. Like not at all. School should be where you learn critical thinking. I don't know much about the school systems in other states, but here in Louisiana, it seems to me that the teachers teach the state test and not much more. I think they still call it the "LEAP" test. Anyway, they basically teach the test as that is how the individual schools and even the individual teachers are graded by the state department of education. It would be fine if all we wanted were some mindless robots. Well, with so few high skilled jobs around here, I suppose they have no need to teach much else than that test. Sad though, as the country will be worse for this damn fool way of "schooling". I suppose as the Wall Street banksters and the "too big to fail" gangsters push the country ever closer to third world status there really is no need for highly educated citizens. Keep the fat, dumb, and lazy. All the better to rule over them then.
The whole world seems to be headed on a downhill run, with the US leading the way. The rich get ever richer, the damn fool wars of choice continue and new wars seem to just pop up every so often. Meanwhile the working class gets screwed, big time. Mr. Cantor is on record as saying that ANY Federal monies for earthquake/hurricane relief/repairs will have to be offset with budget cuts from other programs. Hell, even FEMA now can only get funding if some other government program gets cuts. This is no way to run a country folks. These damn idiotic "tea party" elephant gang congress critters are running our country into the toilet and are about to flush. And yet, they keep trying g to tell me that this is a "Christian" nation. What a load of bullshit! I have read the Bible and Christ did NOT say screw the poor. What we ARE is a very fundamental Xtian nation. A nation of false religion that only pretends to be decent and caring. Horse manure! The only people that "our" congress critters care about are the very rich and those who make huge donations to their campaign coffers. The rest of us can go hang ourselves, which no doubt will soon be proposed by some jackass on the very far right wing of the damn war party. I am very worried about America. Every time I look around it seems that things are just getting steadily worse. There are no high skilled jobs, the jobs that are available are low paying jobs and there is usually about 15 people applying for each open position. The economy, or what passes itself off to us as the economy is still very deep in a recession if not a full on depression and no end in sight. The wonky wing of the war party is set to sell out the entire social system that took our parents and grandparents decades to build up. The future looks very bleak to me and I don't like it at all. I really do want to be upbeat about our country, but don't see much to be excited about.
Well, we can all at least still try to be nice to each other. Who knows, we may actually meet some day, in the line at the soup kitchen or in some new "Obamaville" (aka Hooverville).
America, what a country.
semper fi
Well, here I go again. Another rant.
It now looks like old Gaddafi-Duck is out of power. The "rebels" have entered Tripoli and seem to be running things there. While I have been critical of the man many times and called him Gaddafi-Duck more than a few times, he actually did much good for the people of Libya. They had, and I emphasis HAD, free health care and free education, up to and including college if I am not mistaken. Hey, I'd sure like a true national health care deal here in the US of A. I would bet that a vast majority of Americans would also. True, the big health "insurance" gangsters don't ever want such a thing, nor do the very rich and their pals the Wall Street banksters and the other "too big to fail" gangsters.
Now one is just waiting to see how soon the Libyan oil company gets sold off to the Western oil gang. No doubt Exxon-Mobil, Total, and the rest are chomping at the bit to get "their" share of the oil reserves under the sand of Libya. It is the people of Libya who will suffer big time now. Just as they have and still are suffering in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia where the US and/or NATO are bombing them all the way to "democracy". It is always the people, the working class and the poor folks who get the dirty end of the stick when capitalism comes to their countries. Just look at us here in America for the best example of this truth. Anybody seen and good paying, high skill jobs available lately?
Yes, those jobs have been "off shored", unless one is employed by some "defense" contractor or sub-contractor. Even many IT jobs have been "off shored" and THAT was supposed to be THE new, "hot" area that those of us who were mechanics, machinists, welders, etc were supposed to go into now that America was "post industrial". Yeah, sure we are. LOLMAO.
And yet, private "schools" like ITT Tech continue to advertise on TV for their "schools" as a way to a "better" future. Yep, one filled with student loan debt no doubt. Oh, and with a "degree" that may or not be recognized by industry. Only in America.
Some of you may not like what I am about to say here. I no longer read Professor Juan Cole. I have deleted his blog from my computer and no longer visit his web site. Actually, I started this back in March after he came out so very strong FOR this damn fool non-war in Libya. He is STILL in favor of this idiotic war of choice. And he is supposedly a "leftist"? Oh, yeah, this is a "humanitarian" war, I mean "kinetic military action" in Libya. See, it really isn't war at all. Bullshit! When people are being bomber and have to watch the sky for cruise missiles and drone aircraft it sure as hell IS war goddamn it all! Professor Cole just shows how immoral the "left" in America has become. Makes me even more happy that I refuse to belong to either wing of the damn war party. I will never again belong to either the elephant nor the donkey gang. I did, for a very short time back in 1980, register as a "democrat". That was mainly because of Dad. He had retired two years before and he got very political and would not allow the name of "saint" Ronnie of Raygun to be spoken in his house. Dad had not liked old Ronnie when he was the governor of California. Dad despised Ronnie. So, that year I did register for the donkey gang and did what little I could to help re-elect old Jimmy Peanuts. Didn't do enough as it turned out. And that was back in a time when the unions, Dad was a member of Operating Engineers Local 12, still had some real power. I'll just close this line by saying that Professor Cole has shown me how far down the rat hole the "left" in America has gone. Damn near off the bloody raisin my view. We really, and I mean REALLY need a viable third party. A party that actually represents the working class and the poor. It should be obvious to a blind person by now that the Democrats no longer do so. That whirring sound you heard is FDR spinning in his grave.
Most of you will have read or heard the unreal amount of pure, unadulterated, absolute STUPID that has come from the likes of Ms. Bachmann and Mr. Perry by now. Ms. Bachmann had some real "gems" to say about hurricane Irene and you folks on the East coast. Holy crap Batwoman! And this gal thinks she should be our president? If there IS a god, I hope we will not get that punishment. She said that "god was trying to tell us to get spending in order" by way of the earthquake and hurricane on the eastern part of the US! Man, I thought I had heard everything. Well, it just proves what I have said for many years now. Just when I think I have seen/heard the absolute worst of stupid there could possibly be, somebody comes along and goes it one "better". She is starting to make fail' Palin look half way smart. Now THAT is very frightening.
Old Mr. Perry isn't very far behind her in the crazy either. I read where he has even denounced his own book that came out recently. Something about the book being just "campaign strategy" or some such BS. Oh sure, pay NO attention to what I said last week, or even yesterday. What I say NOW is what counts. The really sad thing is that many of the "tea party" types will go along with this crap. That shows how poor a job of educating our school system does now days. Like not at all. School should be where you learn critical thinking. I don't know much about the school systems in other states, but here in Louisiana, it seems to me that the teachers teach the state test and not much more. I think they still call it the "LEAP" test. Anyway, they basically teach the test as that is how the individual schools and even the individual teachers are graded by the state department of education. It would be fine if all we wanted were some mindless robots. Well, with so few high skilled jobs around here, I suppose they have no need to teach much else than that test. Sad though, as the country will be worse for this damn fool way of "schooling". I suppose as the Wall Street banksters and the "too big to fail" gangsters push the country ever closer to third world status there really is no need for highly educated citizens. Keep the fat, dumb, and lazy. All the better to rule over them then.
The whole world seems to be headed on a downhill run, with the US leading the way. The rich get ever richer, the damn fool wars of choice continue and new wars seem to just pop up every so often. Meanwhile the working class gets screwed, big time. Mr. Cantor is on record as saying that ANY Federal monies for earthquake/hurricane relief/repairs will have to be offset with budget cuts from other programs. Hell, even FEMA now can only get funding if some other government program gets cuts. This is no way to run a country folks. These damn idiotic "tea party" elephant gang congress critters are running our country into the toilet and are about to flush. And yet, they keep trying g to tell me that this is a "Christian" nation. What a load of bullshit! I have read the Bible and Christ did NOT say screw the poor. What we ARE is a very fundamental Xtian nation. A nation of false religion that only pretends to be decent and caring. Horse manure! The only people that "our" congress critters care about are the very rich and those who make huge donations to their campaign coffers. The rest of us can go hang ourselves, which no doubt will soon be proposed by some jackass on the very far right wing of the damn war party. I am very worried about America. Every time I look around it seems that things are just getting steadily worse. There are no high skilled jobs, the jobs that are available are low paying jobs and there is usually about 15 people applying for each open position. The economy, or what passes itself off to us as the economy is still very deep in a recession if not a full on depression and no end in sight. The wonky wing of the war party is set to sell out the entire social system that took our parents and grandparents decades to build up. The future looks very bleak to me and I don't like it at all. I really do want to be upbeat about our country, but don't see much to be excited about.
Well, we can all at least still try to be nice to each other. Who knows, we may actually meet some day, in the line at the soup kitchen or in some new "Obamaville" (aka Hooverville).
America, what a country.
semper fi
09 August 2011
Some thoughts for hard times
Greetings good people.
Well, we made it through the kabuki theater of the "debt crisis" which wasn't much of a crisis at all. The whole thing was just more smoke and mirrors. Some articles have gone as far as saying that there never was much of a crisis at all. Gobomber could have, according to some writers, have envied the 14th ammendment and defused the whole mess and let the "tea party" and other wing nuts just stew in their own hatred and bull crap.
Now, of course that would have taken something like guts and we all now know without any doubt that Gobomber has none. The most innocent new born kitten has more courage than Gobomber has ever shown any of us. I can say this with a fair amount of certainty as I have had cats and new born kittens in my care many for years over my life time. I do believe that a new born kitten IS braver than Gobomber, at least as far as doing anything for the common people goes. At least that kitten gives you a nice feeling and is so soft to hold in your hand. Gives you a nice warm feeling just to pet one. Gobomber does not give any of us any sort of even luke warm feeling. All we seem to get from him and our other politicians is the cold shaft, the dirty end of the stick, and the "joy" of paying for the obscene bailouts for the Wall Street gangsters and the greedy banksters.
Give me the kitten any day, at least I know then I will get a smile of three every day. All we get from Gobomber and that crew is more hot air and here in central Louisiana the last thing we need is more hot, humid air. Our air temps have been in the 100's for the past week and the heat index has topped 114 more days than I care to count. Global warming? Could be. All I know is that it has been very hot and uncomfortable.
Even though the congress critters have reached their agreement on the debt ceiling, Standard and Poor's have still downgraded the credit rating of the US of A. Yep, we went from AAA to AA or AA+ according to one report I saw recently. This ratings outfit didn't like the bickering that took place to get this "crisis" resolved. Aww, poor babies. Hey, this is just typical politics guys. Our congress critters have to go through this crap all the time. They seem to think(??) that by doing so they appear to be actually working. Yeah, they may fool some folks, but I doubt any of you who read this blog buy into that line. The very thought of our congress critters doing any useful work is something most of us cannot believe. In particular, if they are doing any real work for the average American. Of course they do work for the folks who really matter to them, the richest 1%, who now control something like 40% of the total wealth of the country.
Things are getting very bad for the working class people in America. One good example of how it is affecting the working class is the latest post at Tomdispatch.www.tomdispatch.com/post/175428/tomgram%3A_barbara_ehrenreich%2C_on_americans_%28not%29_getting_by_%28again%29/#more
This is a "must read" that shows how bad things are getting here at home.
I keep remembering an old saying, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. The way this economy, or what now passes itself off as our economy gets worse, we need to remember that it CAN get worse. Some of the economic blogs that I try to follow say that we may be headed to another major down turn. We are set to either enter another severe recession or even a major depression.According to some of them, we will get a "double dip" recession. Personally, I am not so certain that we ever came out of the last major recession.
It also calls up another old comment. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.
No matter which of the economic blogs one reads, for the working class and the poor, things look very bad. I do not see anything coming that will help us at all. The new deal that was made by our congress critters and Gobomber will not help any of us. Unless one is among the top wealthiest in this country, there is nothing in this deal to help you. The rich get away, again, with no tax increases. The war industries, of course, see no major cuts, not many minor ones either. Hey, we have six wars going on, don't you know? Six? Yep, six. Count them; Iraq (still a war), Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. Six that we know of and that make news no and then. According to an article by Nick Turse, also at TomDispatch, we have "special" ops types in over 60 countries. Yes, that is 60, as in sixty, countries around the world. Hey, keeping this empire going is hard work.
As the economy gets ever worse for the working class we could see our society start to break at the seams. There is already little to no common courtesy out in the country. As things get worse, there may be even less. With this in mind I want to ask all of you to try something. I have asked this before, but I think it is time to do so again. Try, just try, every day, with all the people you come in contact with, just try to treat them all as you want to be treated. Just try and be a bit cheerful to those you meet in your daily routine. You just could be the only person that somebody you meet who is actually polite. You could just be the one person who makes their day. It isn't really all that hard to do. Yes,it is very hot and humid in this part of the country and has been for weeks now, still, just try and be polite to the cashier at the gas station. He or she does not set the price at the pump, that gets dictated to them by the company they get the fuel from. Same goes for any retail setting, the person who collects your money does not set the prices.
All I am trying to do is to maintain a bit of civility in our country. The economy stinks, the rich get ever richer and the rest of us are left with the crumbs. That doesn't mean that we should just forget all of our civility, our common courtesy and common sense. In fact, in my opinion, as things get worse, the more we need to be polite to each other. If we all go off angry, we will just add to the already high level of misery that is out there.
It isn't hard. It doesn't mean that you subscribe to any particular religion, it just lets others know that some of us have retained our basic humanity. While you may call it the "golden rule" I just see it as being polite. Call it what you will, I just know that we need more of it as the economy goes ever downward. I lived in southern California during the Watts riots. I also was living there after the Rodney King trial. There have been other major riots in various cities in the past, I just do not want to see us devolve into that sort of thing again. We need to try our best to retain as much human dignity as possible or things will get very bad for us all. Hell, they had Blackwater goons patrolling the streets of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Do we want that sort of crap in all of our cities? If we fail to act as civilized adults, I have no doubt that we will get that and worse. It is up to us, we need to set the example. Yes, we may not change the world, but I believe that we need to at least try. If we don't, then what is the point of going on?
Just something to think about and consider. Thank you for your time reading this post.
semper fi
Well, we made it through the kabuki theater of the "debt crisis" which wasn't much of a crisis at all. The whole thing was just more smoke and mirrors. Some articles have gone as far as saying that there never was much of a crisis at all. Gobomber could have, according to some writers, have envied the 14th ammendment and defused the whole mess and let the "tea party" and other wing nuts just stew in their own hatred and bull crap.
Now, of course that would have taken something like guts and we all now know without any doubt that Gobomber has none. The most innocent new born kitten has more courage than Gobomber has ever shown any of us. I can say this with a fair amount of certainty as I have had cats and new born kittens in my care many for years over my life time. I do believe that a new born kitten IS braver than Gobomber, at least as far as doing anything for the common people goes. At least that kitten gives you a nice feeling and is so soft to hold in your hand. Gives you a nice warm feeling just to pet one. Gobomber does not give any of us any sort of even luke warm feeling. All we seem to get from him and our other politicians is the cold shaft, the dirty end of the stick, and the "joy" of paying for the obscene bailouts for the Wall Street gangsters and the greedy banksters.
Give me the kitten any day, at least I know then I will get a smile of three every day. All we get from Gobomber and that crew is more hot air and here in central Louisiana the last thing we need is more hot, humid air. Our air temps have been in the 100's for the past week and the heat index has topped 114 more days than I care to count. Global warming? Could be. All I know is that it has been very hot and uncomfortable.
Even though the congress critters have reached their agreement on the debt ceiling, Standard and Poor's have still downgraded the credit rating of the US of A. Yep, we went from AAA to AA or AA+ according to one report I saw recently. This ratings outfit didn't like the bickering that took place to get this "crisis" resolved. Aww, poor babies. Hey, this is just typical politics guys. Our congress critters have to go through this crap all the time. They seem to think(??) that by doing so they appear to be actually working. Yeah, they may fool some folks, but I doubt any of you who read this blog buy into that line. The very thought of our congress critters doing any useful work is something most of us cannot believe. In particular, if they are doing any real work for the average American. Of course they do work for the folks who really matter to them, the richest 1%, who now control something like 40% of the total wealth of the country.
Things are getting very bad for the working class people in America. One good example of how it is affecting the working class is the latest post at Tomdispatch.www.tomdispatch.com/post/175428/tomgram%3A_barbara_ehrenreich%2C_on_americans_%28not%29_getting_by_%28again%29/#more
This is a "must read" that shows how bad things are getting here at home.
I keep remembering an old saying, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. The way this economy, or what now passes itself off as our economy gets worse, we need to remember that it CAN get worse. Some of the economic blogs that I try to follow say that we may be headed to another major down turn. We are set to either enter another severe recession or even a major depression.According to some of them, we will get a "double dip" recession. Personally, I am not so certain that we ever came out of the last major recession.
It also calls up another old comment. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.
No matter which of the economic blogs one reads, for the working class and the poor, things look very bad. I do not see anything coming that will help us at all. The new deal that was made by our congress critters and Gobomber will not help any of us. Unless one is among the top wealthiest in this country, there is nothing in this deal to help you. The rich get away, again, with no tax increases. The war industries, of course, see no major cuts, not many minor ones either. Hey, we have six wars going on, don't you know? Six? Yep, six. Count them; Iraq (still a war), Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. Six that we know of and that make news no and then. According to an article by Nick Turse, also at TomDispatch, we have "special" ops types in over 60 countries. Yes, that is 60, as in sixty, countries around the world. Hey, keeping this empire going is hard work.
As the economy gets ever worse for the working class we could see our society start to break at the seams. There is already little to no common courtesy out in the country. As things get worse, there may be even less. With this in mind I want to ask all of you to try something. I have asked this before, but I think it is time to do so again. Try, just try, every day, with all the people you come in contact with, just try to treat them all as you want to be treated. Just try and be a bit cheerful to those you meet in your daily routine. You just could be the only person that somebody you meet who is actually polite. You could just be the one person who makes their day. It isn't really all that hard to do. Yes,it is very hot and humid in this part of the country and has been for weeks now, still, just try and be polite to the cashier at the gas station. He or she does not set the price at the pump, that gets dictated to them by the company they get the fuel from. Same goes for any retail setting, the person who collects your money does not set the prices.
All I am trying to do is to maintain a bit of civility in our country. The economy stinks, the rich get ever richer and the rest of us are left with the crumbs. That doesn't mean that we should just forget all of our civility, our common courtesy and common sense. In fact, in my opinion, as things get worse, the more we need to be polite to each other. If we all go off angry, we will just add to the already high level of misery that is out there.
It isn't hard. It doesn't mean that you subscribe to any particular religion, it just lets others know that some of us have retained our basic humanity. While you may call it the "golden rule" I just see it as being polite. Call it what you will, I just know that we need more of it as the economy goes ever downward. I lived in southern California during the Watts riots. I also was living there after the Rodney King trial. There have been other major riots in various cities in the past, I just do not want to see us devolve into that sort of thing again. We need to try our best to retain as much human dignity as possible or things will get very bad for us all. Hell, they had Blackwater goons patrolling the streets of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Do we want that sort of crap in all of our cities? If we fail to act as civilized adults, I have no doubt that we will get that and worse. It is up to us, we need to set the example. Yes, we may not change the world, but I believe that we need to at least try. If we don't, then what is the point of going on?
Just something to think about and consider. Thank you for your time reading this post.
semper fi
26 July 2011
Dangerous times
By now most of you have heard or read about the attacks in Norway. While it has now come to be made known that the person who killed his fellow Norwegians is basically a neo-Nazi, the first reports of the killings placed blame on "Muslims" and "al-Qaead" types. Various "news" organization here in the US went with that "story" until the police in Norway made it clear that no, it was not a Muslim who did the killings.
What this shows, again, is that any time there is any terrorist attack any where in the world, some "jihadi" will be blamed and that will be the story until the facts become known and the truth is finally made known to us. This "blame the Muslims" first is very worrying. It is much like the "red scares" of the 1920's here in America. For you history buffs, this was back in the time of the infamous "Palmer raids". Yes, America has come close to being a police state with very limited "free speech" rights for some of the citizens in spite of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We are, I fear, headed towards that sort of thing here in the US again. Even the bombing in Oklahoma City by Tim McVeigh was, at first, said to be of "middle Eastern" origin. So, you can see that the US has been quick to blame the "other" first for some long time now. So much easier to blame some foreigner of course. It gets hard to admit that the real killer was just an ordinary, blonde, blue eyed guy next door type. Much better when the bad guy is some dark skinned foreigner. Yeah, that fits the "narrative" much better.
A question does arise though. Who was behind the anthrax attacks back in the days after 9/11? Ah yes, now you remember them? Finny how that investigation never went very far, isn't it? Not only was no individual actually accused, no group ever took credit for the anthrax attacks. Yes, one person was a suspect, but he was quietly dropped as the person responsible. As of today, no person or group has been charged, nor has any taken credit for the attacks. I wonder, is the FBI or any other agency even looking into this? Has it all been quietly swept under the proverbial rug? One would tend to think that with the huge, one could even say obscene, budget that our military/intelligence community gets each year from the taxpayers that there should at least be an ongoing investigation. Will the person or persons responsible ever be known? Has the investigation stopped totally? Why? It surely makes one stop and ask what did happen then, who was behind the anthrax attacks? Will we ever know?
As we all face a very uncertain future, the congress critters demand cuts to all the social programs in the US. They also insist that there be NO tax increases, particularly for the very richest among us. Oh dear, no, we cannot ask the very rich to pay a more fair share of the taxes. Why, don't you all know that the rich use their tax breaks to "create jobs"? What a load of bullshit! How many jobs do the hedge fund managers create? Note that these hedge fund managers pay less in taxes than the street cops or the emergency room nurses. About the only jobs they create are those for undocumneted people who care for their kids, clean their houses/apartments, and cook their food and cut the grass.
Oh, but this is America of 2011 where ALL the tax cuts go to the richest people and the tax burden is given to the working class and the poor/disabled. That we will have cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a given. Gobomber has no back bone folks. This guy is not and never was for any sort of real "change". The only "change" we have from Gobomber is the gap between the top of income to the bottom has increased. The rich get ever richer and the poor get ever poorer. This is no way to run a democracy. Hell, it is not a way to run a republic.
The politicians talk of "shared sacrifice", but do not look for those at the top to do any of the "sharing". And they sure as hell will not ever "sacrifice" for the common good of all. Why, that would be against their religion!
Our(??) congress critters recently passed a bill, House Resolution 268, that basically tells the rest of the world(YES, every other country!) to keep out of the Palestine matter. That resolution tells the entire world that the USA will veto ANY attempt to recognize Palestinian statehood! How bloody damn arrogant! This is what we get with the "full spectrum dominance" that the five sided puzzle palace (Pentagon) and the neo-con clowns want the US to have. It is "America uber ales" and nothing less will do. The US, according to these neo-cons (actually neo-crazies) is to dominate the entire planet. All for the enrichment of the very wealthy and the war industries and of course other "too big to fail" gangasters. This is also the wet dream of the nut balls on the very far right wing who want to impose their vicious, cruel god on us all. These people do not care at all for the supposed "savior" of their own religion. They surely do not accept the "Sermon of the Mount". No, they prefer the cruel tribal god of the Old Testament. Revenge, an eye-for-an-eye is what they crave. This is what America has to look forward to if these clowns remain in power. We will be returned to the times before the "great depression" when there was no Social Security, no unemployment insurance, no social safety net at all.
As the saying goes, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. As if things aren't bad enough now. According to various studies, one third of all homeless in America are veterans. How is that for the "support the troops"? Come home wounded, physically and psychologically and the government just tosses you on the scrap heap out back. Hell, you can't fight the damn fool wars any more, you are useless, go away and just die. Yeah, that is how this damned government "saves" monies. Hell, those wounded troops are a drain on the finances don't you know.
I am very worried about our country. How far will things go until there is a mass backlash? How bad do things have to get before the working class finally wake up to the truth? How do we get government to work FOR the people and not just the very rich? So many questions, so few answers. I wish like hell I had some answers.
semper fi
What this shows, again, is that any time there is any terrorist attack any where in the world, some "jihadi" will be blamed and that will be the story until the facts become known and the truth is finally made known to us. This "blame the Muslims" first is very worrying. It is much like the "red scares" of the 1920's here in America. For you history buffs, this was back in the time of the infamous "Palmer raids". Yes, America has come close to being a police state with very limited "free speech" rights for some of the citizens in spite of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We are, I fear, headed towards that sort of thing here in the US again. Even the bombing in Oklahoma City by Tim McVeigh was, at first, said to be of "middle Eastern" origin. So, you can see that the US has been quick to blame the "other" first for some long time now. So much easier to blame some foreigner of course. It gets hard to admit that the real killer was just an ordinary, blonde, blue eyed guy next door type. Much better when the bad guy is some dark skinned foreigner. Yeah, that fits the "narrative" much better.
A question does arise though. Who was behind the anthrax attacks back in the days after 9/11? Ah yes, now you remember them? Finny how that investigation never went very far, isn't it? Not only was no individual actually accused, no group ever took credit for the anthrax attacks. Yes, one person was a suspect, but he was quietly dropped as the person responsible. As of today, no person or group has been charged, nor has any taken credit for the attacks. I wonder, is the FBI or any other agency even looking into this? Has it all been quietly swept under the proverbial rug? One would tend to think that with the huge, one could even say obscene, budget that our military/intelligence community gets each year from the taxpayers that there should at least be an ongoing investigation. Will the person or persons responsible ever be known? Has the investigation stopped totally? Why? It surely makes one stop and ask what did happen then, who was behind the anthrax attacks? Will we ever know?
As we all face a very uncertain future, the congress critters demand cuts to all the social programs in the US. They also insist that there be NO tax increases, particularly for the very richest among us. Oh dear, no, we cannot ask the very rich to pay a more fair share of the taxes. Why, don't you all know that the rich use their tax breaks to "create jobs"? What a load of bullshit! How many jobs do the hedge fund managers create? Note that these hedge fund managers pay less in taxes than the street cops or the emergency room nurses. About the only jobs they create are those for undocumneted people who care for their kids, clean their houses/apartments, and cook their food and cut the grass.
Oh, but this is America of 2011 where ALL the tax cuts go to the richest people and the tax burden is given to the working class and the poor/disabled. That we will have cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a given. Gobomber has no back bone folks. This guy is not and never was for any sort of real "change". The only "change" we have from Gobomber is the gap between the top of income to the bottom has increased. The rich get ever richer and the poor get ever poorer. This is no way to run a democracy. Hell, it is not a way to run a republic.
The politicians talk of "shared sacrifice", but do not look for those at the top to do any of the "sharing". And they sure as hell will not ever "sacrifice" for the common good of all. Why, that would be against their religion!
Our(??) congress critters recently passed a bill, House Resolution 268, that basically tells the rest of the world(YES, every other country!) to keep out of the Palestine matter. That resolution tells the entire world that the USA will veto ANY attempt to recognize Palestinian statehood! How bloody damn arrogant! This is what we get with the "full spectrum dominance" that the five sided puzzle palace (Pentagon) and the neo-con clowns want the US to have. It is "America uber ales" and nothing less will do. The US, according to these neo-cons (actually neo-crazies) is to dominate the entire planet. All for the enrichment of the very wealthy and the war industries and of course other "too big to fail" gangasters. This is also the wet dream of the nut balls on the very far right wing who want to impose their vicious, cruel god on us all. These people do not care at all for the supposed "savior" of their own religion. They surely do not accept the "Sermon of the Mount". No, they prefer the cruel tribal god of the Old Testament. Revenge, an eye-for-an-eye is what they crave. This is what America has to look forward to if these clowns remain in power. We will be returned to the times before the "great depression" when there was no Social Security, no unemployment insurance, no social safety net at all.
As the saying goes, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. As if things aren't bad enough now. According to various studies, one third of all homeless in America are veterans. How is that for the "support the troops"? Come home wounded, physically and psychologically and the government just tosses you on the scrap heap out back. Hell, you can't fight the damn fool wars any more, you are useless, go away and just die. Yeah, that is how this damned government "saves" monies. Hell, those wounded troops are a drain on the finances don't you know.
I am very worried about our country. How far will things go until there is a mass backlash? How bad do things have to get before the working class finally wake up to the truth? How do we get government to work FOR the people and not just the very rich? So many questions, so few answers. I wish like hell I had some answers.
semper fi
16 July 2011
Some random thoughts
Greetings good people.
I want to start off this post by thanking all of you who have left comments here at the old corner. I deeply appreciate all of your comments. Yes, I said I like them all, even those that are negative.
You make me realize that I am not the only person who thinks along similar lines . Thank you, all of you good people for stopping by here.
What a country we live in, here in the USA in 2011. What a world, I could add. Of course much of why the world is today is due to the actions of America. Being the dominant country, at least militarily means that your actions go a very long way to shaping the rest of the world. And, man, aren't "we" shaping things? If only it was for the good of all people on this planet, then it could be a much better place for all of us.
As things stand, "our" actions are not making the world a better place, at least not for the working class and the poor folks. If you are among the top 2% of the richest, well, things are going quite nicely for you. This post is not about the richest people though. It is about how the working people and the poor are being affected by the USA and the government of this country.
Look around the world, how many wars is America involved in? Well, it isn't as easy to answer as you may think. Let's count them. Iraq, still an ongoing war no matter that some troops have been pulled from there. Afghanistan, still very much a hot war. Pakistan, still a drone war if not actual US "boots on the ground" war. Libya, still bombing that country along with NATO. Yemen, well, more drone warfare in that country. Somalia, more drones, so more war. Total so far, six. I have not added the "big" war yet, yes, I mean the "global war on terror". Of course Gobomber doesn't call it by that name. See, the "global war on terror" (GWOT) is what Shrubbie and "dead eye" Dick called their wars after 9/11. Gobomber prefers we call it something else. Beats me if I can remember just what he does call it now. "Kinetic military actions" pop to mind, but I believe that is what he is calling the Libya "war". Oh, stupid old me, "we" (as in the USA) are NOT at war in Libya. Nope, we are engaged in something other than war. Yes, US aircraft are bombing Libya. US cruise missiles are being fired at Libya. US munitions are being used against Libya by the US and our NATO partners. And yet, Gobomber says "we" are not at war with Libya. Well, getting bombed by a foreign military sure as hell sounds like war to this old combat vet. Of course I went to war in the Vietnam war and cannot compare that war to the current "action" in Libya. See, the world has changed since "my" war and what war is today is not necessarily what war "used" to be. Yeah, that sure seems like some sort of word game to me. How does that old saying go? "A rose by any other name........". Basically, what I am saying is that what the US is doing in Libya IS war. Gobomber and the idiot media can call it any name they choose, but it still comes down to the fact that NATO forces are bombing and killing people in Libya and I bet that the Libyans think what they are in now is war.
According to one report I read some months ago, we have covert operations going on in 60 countries. Yes, 60, and that may not be the true total. One report claimed the number was 75.
That will do for the foreign policy part of this post.
Back here in the USA things are not looking so great either. It seems that the elephant gang has declared war on the working class and the poor/disabled people of the country. That "party" is on an all out quest to gut every social program in the country, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Not only those programs, but they want to gut the rules that have kept the air and water relatively safe for us all.
Both political parties are looking out for the rich folks though. The tax cuts that Shrubbie got for the top 2% of the richest are being extended and may even be made permanent by this congress. The republicans want to eliminate the rules that control anything that does not make the rich even more rich. They oppose any regulations on the Wall Street banksters. They want to destroy all unions and even the minimum wage.
Now the fact that these cuts to the social programs is not surprising at all. No, what really gets me even more disgusted is that many of the democrats are willing to go along with the cuts. This is being done, so they claim, so that they will get the republicans to go along with raising the debt ceiling. This needs to be done by August 2nd or the government will be in default.
I am not an economist and never have claimed to be one, but from what I have learned over the past few weeks is that if the government does default it could be very bad for all of us working class and poor people.
None of this seems to bother the republicans though. They don't care about us working class folks. Why would they? We don't give them big campaign contributions, we don't have that sort of money to toss to some politician. Not that the democrats care much about the working class/poor folks either now days. Both wings of the war party are looking out for the rich folks. Why not? That IS where they get the money to keep running for office.
America is being turned into a third world country and it is being done by our own supposed "leaders". The working class and poor people have been sold down the river so that the top 2% of the very richest can amass even more wealth. The top 2% of the rich in America control 40% of ALL the wealth in this country. That group of people have seen their "share" of the wealth increase while the rest of us have had our income either fall or, at best, stay steady. This is not a healthy way for a country to be. The disparity in wealth is now even greater than it was during the great depression of the 1930's. It IS worse than it was in 1929 at the time of the great stock market crash that started that depression.
And just how do our "leaders" propose to get the country moving again? By extending the tax cuts for the very rich. By gutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. By gutting funds for the EPA and education.
The republican "plan" is for the rich to get ever richer and the working class and the poor people are going to pay for that. Yep, the republicans want the folks who can least afford even the basics to pay for the tax breaks that the rich "need" so that they can "create" new jobs for us all. Of course this is total crap. History shows us over and over that tax cuts for the rich and their corporations do NOT lead to more new jobs.
Even with that economic history, the republicans are holding the debt ceiling debate hostage to their demands that the rich get even more and the social programs be cut to pay for those tax cuts.
Gee, don't you all feel so lucky? Doesn't it give you a nice,warm feeling? Aren't you so happy that those wonderful folks, the republicans, want you to pay for the tax cuts to the rich? And, it gets "better". Yeah, the democrats look set to go along with the demands of the republicans. Do NOT expect Gobomber to say boo to them either. When has he ever shown any care at all for the working class? During his campaign, he said he would be with any picket line, any time. Well, has he ever shown up for any picket line? Has he been on the side of labor at any time since he took office? Have we ever seen Gobomber walking the picket lines with striking workers?
Of course not, and we never will. Like the majority of the politicians in America today, our president only supports/works for the richest of Americans and their corporations. The congress critters no longer care much about the working class and the poor people. Oh, they pay lip service to us and our needs, but at the end of the day, it is the rich who get their attention, any time, any place. The rest of us are seen as drags on the economy. We are just useless eaters who take up too much space. If we are not willing to work at menial jobs for less than minimum wage, we have no value to them.
I am very concerned about this "debate" on the debt ceiling. The articles I have read all say that if the government goes into default, things could get very bad here in the old USA. Just how bad, well, that seems to be the big unknown. The clowns in congress and Gobomber have until August 2nd to come to an agreement. The agreement they come to may not be very good for many of us though. Just how much will the democrats and Gobomber give away to the republicans and their rich backers? I think that that is what bothers me the most. How much will we, the people lose so that there is an agreement on raising the debt ceiling.
We are going through some very uncertain times folks. We have not seen the end of this, nor have we hit bottom yet from the financial crisis of 2008 and the bail out of the "too big to fail" gangsters.
I wish I could end this post on a positive note, but I don't see much positive just now. Hang on folks, we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride.
semper fi
I want to start off this post by thanking all of you who have left comments here at the old corner. I deeply appreciate all of your comments. Yes, I said I like them all, even those that are negative.
You make me realize that I am not the only person who thinks along similar lines . Thank you, all of you good people for stopping by here.
What a country we live in, here in the USA in 2011. What a world, I could add. Of course much of why the world is today is due to the actions of America. Being the dominant country, at least militarily means that your actions go a very long way to shaping the rest of the world. And, man, aren't "we" shaping things? If only it was for the good of all people on this planet, then it could be a much better place for all of us.
As things stand, "our" actions are not making the world a better place, at least not for the working class and the poor folks. If you are among the top 2% of the richest, well, things are going quite nicely for you. This post is not about the richest people though. It is about how the working people and the poor are being affected by the USA and the government of this country.
Look around the world, how many wars is America involved in? Well, it isn't as easy to answer as you may think. Let's count them. Iraq, still an ongoing war no matter that some troops have been pulled from there. Afghanistan, still very much a hot war. Pakistan, still a drone war if not actual US "boots on the ground" war. Libya, still bombing that country along with NATO. Yemen, well, more drone warfare in that country. Somalia, more drones, so more war. Total so far, six. I have not added the "big" war yet, yes, I mean the "global war on terror". Of course Gobomber doesn't call it by that name. See, the "global war on terror" (GWOT) is what Shrubbie and "dead eye" Dick called their wars after 9/11. Gobomber prefers we call it something else. Beats me if I can remember just what he does call it now. "Kinetic military actions" pop to mind, but I believe that is what he is calling the Libya "war". Oh, stupid old me, "we" (as in the USA) are NOT at war in Libya. Nope, we are engaged in something other than war. Yes, US aircraft are bombing Libya. US cruise missiles are being fired at Libya. US munitions are being used against Libya by the US and our NATO partners. And yet, Gobomber says "we" are not at war with Libya. Well, getting bombed by a foreign military sure as hell sounds like war to this old combat vet. Of course I went to war in the Vietnam war and cannot compare that war to the current "action" in Libya. See, the world has changed since "my" war and what war is today is not necessarily what war "used" to be. Yeah, that sure seems like some sort of word game to me. How does that old saying go? "A rose by any other name........". Basically, what I am saying is that what the US is doing in Libya IS war. Gobomber and the idiot media can call it any name they choose, but it still comes down to the fact that NATO forces are bombing and killing people in Libya and I bet that the Libyans think what they are in now is war.
According to one report I read some months ago, we have covert operations going on in 60 countries. Yes, 60, and that may not be the true total. One report claimed the number was 75.
That will do for the foreign policy part of this post.
Back here in the USA things are not looking so great either. It seems that the elephant gang has declared war on the working class and the poor/disabled people of the country. That "party" is on an all out quest to gut every social program in the country, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Not only those programs, but they want to gut the rules that have kept the air and water relatively safe for us all.
Both political parties are looking out for the rich folks though. The tax cuts that Shrubbie got for the top 2% of the richest are being extended and may even be made permanent by this congress. The republicans want to eliminate the rules that control anything that does not make the rich even more rich. They oppose any regulations on the Wall Street banksters. They want to destroy all unions and even the minimum wage.
Now the fact that these cuts to the social programs is not surprising at all. No, what really gets me even more disgusted is that many of the democrats are willing to go along with the cuts. This is being done, so they claim, so that they will get the republicans to go along with raising the debt ceiling. This needs to be done by August 2nd or the government will be in default.
I am not an economist and never have claimed to be one, but from what I have learned over the past few weeks is that if the government does default it could be very bad for all of us working class and poor people.
None of this seems to bother the republicans though. They don't care about us working class folks. Why would they? We don't give them big campaign contributions, we don't have that sort of money to toss to some politician. Not that the democrats care much about the working class/poor folks either now days. Both wings of the war party are looking out for the rich folks. Why not? That IS where they get the money to keep running for office.
America is being turned into a third world country and it is being done by our own supposed "leaders". The working class and poor people have been sold down the river so that the top 2% of the very richest can amass even more wealth. The top 2% of the rich in America control 40% of ALL the wealth in this country. That group of people have seen their "share" of the wealth increase while the rest of us have had our income either fall or, at best, stay steady. This is not a healthy way for a country to be. The disparity in wealth is now even greater than it was during the great depression of the 1930's. It IS worse than it was in 1929 at the time of the great stock market crash that started that depression.
And just how do our "leaders" propose to get the country moving again? By extending the tax cuts for the very rich. By gutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. By gutting funds for the EPA and education.
The republican "plan" is for the rich to get ever richer and the working class and the poor people are going to pay for that. Yep, the republicans want the folks who can least afford even the basics to pay for the tax breaks that the rich "need" so that they can "create" new jobs for us all. Of course this is total crap. History shows us over and over that tax cuts for the rich and their corporations do NOT lead to more new jobs.
Even with that economic history, the republicans are holding the debt ceiling debate hostage to their demands that the rich get even more and the social programs be cut to pay for those tax cuts.
Gee, don't you all feel so lucky? Doesn't it give you a nice,warm feeling? Aren't you so happy that those wonderful folks, the republicans, want you to pay for the tax cuts to the rich? And, it gets "better". Yeah, the democrats look set to go along with the demands of the republicans. Do NOT expect Gobomber to say boo to them either. When has he ever shown any care at all for the working class? During his campaign, he said he would be with any picket line, any time. Well, has he ever shown up for any picket line? Has he been on the side of labor at any time since he took office? Have we ever seen Gobomber walking the picket lines with striking workers?
Of course not, and we never will. Like the majority of the politicians in America today, our president only supports/works for the richest of Americans and their corporations. The congress critters no longer care much about the working class and the poor people. Oh, they pay lip service to us and our needs, but at the end of the day, it is the rich who get their attention, any time, any place. The rest of us are seen as drags on the economy. We are just useless eaters who take up too much space. If we are not willing to work at menial jobs for less than minimum wage, we have no value to them.
I am very concerned about this "debate" on the debt ceiling. The articles I have read all say that if the government goes into default, things could get very bad here in the old USA. Just how bad, well, that seems to be the big unknown. The clowns in congress and Gobomber have until August 2nd to come to an agreement. The agreement they come to may not be very good for many of us though. Just how much will the democrats and Gobomber give away to the republicans and their rich backers? I think that that is what bothers me the most. How much will we, the people lose so that there is an agreement on raising the debt ceiling.
We are going through some very uncertain times folks. We have not seen the end of this, nor have we hit bottom yet from the financial crisis of 2008 and the bail out of the "too big to fail" gangsters.
I wish I could end this post on a positive note, but I don't see much positive just now. Hang on folks, we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride.
semper fi
04 July 2011
War? What War?
By now, most of you folks know that the US and NATO have been bombing the stuffings out of poor old Libya. To most of us, being attacked by a foreign military constitute war. According to "fearful leader" (Gobomber) what we are doing to Libya is NOT war.
Supposedly, or at least according to the media and government officials (including of course Gobomber) what the US and NATO are doing is "humanitarian intervention". Shade of the Billy Bob Bubba Clinton "war" in the former Yugoslavia in the mid 1990's. See, old bad boy Gaddafi was supposedly killing his fellow citizens and "we" HAD to act to prevent genocide.
Now to any thinking, rational human being who reads any good internet news sites, this is a sham. If it is OK to attack Libya because the leader of that country is killing his own people, why then just limit "our" actions to Libya? Why are "we" not attacking Bahrain? How about Syria? Or, even the zionist entity? How about Myanmar (aka Burma)?
In all of those countries the leaders have and are killing their own citizens. Bahrain even allowed troops from neighboring Saudi Arabia to "help" put down any possible revolt by the citizens of that island nation. The zionist entity continues to kill the captive people of Gaza and the West Bank and yet, there is NO talk of any sort of US or NATO intervention in any of the above listed countries. No doubt Syria may be one of the next targets, since "we" do not like their leader all that much, see Syria is too friendly with iran and we all know that Iran is in the US target list. Who can forget McCrazy with his nasty parody of the "Beach Boys" song? Yes, the "bomb, bomb, bomb,bomb,bomb Iran" Disgusting, but Iran is still on the US target list, mostly due to the undo influence of the zionist entity and their lobby AIPAC.
The US has a very selective double standard when it comes to "humanitarian interventions". The people of the US are manipulated by the government with the willing cooperation of the major media. We are constantly told how some leaders are the very embodiment of evil, while those who our "friends and allies" are allowed to go about their abuses with not even a single word of dissent from the USA.
We have a Secretary of State telling the world, and the zionist entity in particular, that any US citizen who is foolish enough to join the flotilla trying to break the siege of Gaza, that the US will say nothing and do even less should any US citizen be harmed or killed trying to break the siege. Amazing isn't it? That "our" own government officials would tell us that by trying to actually DO something that is a humanitarian thing, we can be shot, injured, and/or imprisoned and our government will not say or do anything to help us. Now, to me, this just shows how far in bed with the government of the zionist entity the leaders of "our" country are. My opinion is that Hi-Larry has more respect and obedience to the zionist entity than she has to America and our Constitution and laws, to say nothing of international laws and the various Geneva Conventions.
The siege of Gaza is unlawful by any legal standard, yet "our"(??) Secretary of State is willing to allow that government to do as it pleases to any American citizen who tries to "run" the blockade of that impoverished people.
It all makes me wonder just what oath of office our leaders take now days. Do they actually mean it when they swear to uphold the US Constitution and the laws of the US? Did they have their fingers crossed when they took that oath? Or, did they actually swear undying allegiance to some other outfit? They certainly seem to be more concerned about the zionist entity than they are about the USA.
I remember when I enlisted in the US Marines, we all took an oath to defend and protect the US and the Constitution from ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. When I was released from active duty, I was not told that the oath no longer applied. The same was true when I got my final discharge from eh Marines. At no point was I ever told to or even asked to, revoke that oath. To many of us veterans, this means that we are still obligated to honor that oath. Maybe, in my own small way, this blog is part of my way to stand by that path, to defend the Constitution. That document has been under assault since at least 9/11. No doubt the attacks on the Constitution go back much further, but since 9/11, it seems to me that the attacks on the Constitution have become louder and from more sources than any time in the history of this country.
We have, as our president, a man who was a Constitution scholar. Funny how somebody with that background can just ignore the congress and go off and start a war with Libya. Not only has he ignored the Constitution which says that ONLY congress has the right to declare war, he has even "decided" that he does not have to follow the "use of force" restrictions that were put on that office after the Watergate mess. Gobomber has taken the "imperial" presidency that was so blatant during the Cheney/Shrub gang and run with it. And this from a man who was able to fool a large number of Americans into thinking(?) he was anti-war. We surely bought a bill of goods in 2008, didn't we? Brings to mind the old saying about a "pig in a poke".
One could say this just shows the power of advertising, which is basically what our elections come down to in the final analysis.
America, what a country.
semper fi
Supposedly, or at least according to the media and government officials (including of course Gobomber) what the US and NATO are doing is "humanitarian intervention". Shade of the Billy Bob Bubba Clinton "war" in the former Yugoslavia in the mid 1990's. See, old bad boy Gaddafi was supposedly killing his fellow citizens and "we" HAD to act to prevent genocide.
Now to any thinking, rational human being who reads any good internet news sites, this is a sham. If it is OK to attack Libya because the leader of that country is killing his own people, why then just limit "our" actions to Libya? Why are "we" not attacking Bahrain? How about Syria? Or, even the zionist entity? How about Myanmar (aka Burma)?
In all of those countries the leaders have and are killing their own citizens. Bahrain even allowed troops from neighboring Saudi Arabia to "help" put down any possible revolt by the citizens of that island nation. The zionist entity continues to kill the captive people of Gaza and the West Bank and yet, there is NO talk of any sort of US or NATO intervention in any of the above listed countries. No doubt Syria may be one of the next targets, since "we" do not like their leader all that much, see Syria is too friendly with iran and we all know that Iran is in the US target list. Who can forget McCrazy with his nasty parody of the "Beach Boys" song? Yes, the "bomb, bomb, bomb,bomb,bomb Iran" Disgusting, but Iran is still on the US target list, mostly due to the undo influence of the zionist entity and their lobby AIPAC.
The US has a very selective double standard when it comes to "humanitarian interventions". The people of the US are manipulated by the government with the willing cooperation of the major media. We are constantly told how some leaders are the very embodiment of evil, while those who our "friends and allies" are allowed to go about their abuses with not even a single word of dissent from the USA.
We have a Secretary of State telling the world, and the zionist entity in particular, that any US citizen who is foolish enough to join the flotilla trying to break the siege of Gaza, that the US will say nothing and do even less should any US citizen be harmed or killed trying to break the siege. Amazing isn't it? That "our" own government officials would tell us that by trying to actually DO something that is a humanitarian thing, we can be shot, injured, and/or imprisoned and our government will not say or do anything to help us. Now, to me, this just shows how far in bed with the government of the zionist entity the leaders of "our" country are. My opinion is that Hi-Larry has more respect and obedience to the zionist entity than she has to America and our Constitution and laws, to say nothing of international laws and the various Geneva Conventions.
The siege of Gaza is unlawful by any legal standard, yet "our"(??) Secretary of State is willing to allow that government to do as it pleases to any American citizen who tries to "run" the blockade of that impoverished people.
It all makes me wonder just what oath of office our leaders take now days. Do they actually mean it when they swear to uphold the US Constitution and the laws of the US? Did they have their fingers crossed when they took that oath? Or, did they actually swear undying allegiance to some other outfit? They certainly seem to be more concerned about the zionist entity than they are about the USA.
I remember when I enlisted in the US Marines, we all took an oath to defend and protect the US and the Constitution from ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. When I was released from active duty, I was not told that the oath no longer applied. The same was true when I got my final discharge from eh Marines. At no point was I ever told to or even asked to, revoke that oath. To many of us veterans, this means that we are still obligated to honor that oath. Maybe, in my own small way, this blog is part of my way to stand by that path, to defend the Constitution. That document has been under assault since at least 9/11. No doubt the attacks on the Constitution go back much further, but since 9/11, it seems to me that the attacks on the Constitution have become louder and from more sources than any time in the history of this country.
We have, as our president, a man who was a Constitution scholar. Funny how somebody with that background can just ignore the congress and go off and start a war with Libya. Not only has he ignored the Constitution which says that ONLY congress has the right to declare war, he has even "decided" that he does not have to follow the "use of force" restrictions that were put on that office after the Watergate mess. Gobomber has taken the "imperial" presidency that was so blatant during the Cheney/Shrub gang and run with it. And this from a man who was able to fool a large number of Americans into thinking(?) he was anti-war. We surely bought a bill of goods in 2008, didn't we? Brings to mind the old saying about a "pig in a poke".
One could say this just shows the power of advertising, which is basically what our elections come down to in the final analysis.
America, what a country.
semper fi