Well, here I go again.
Yes, the old guy (me) os once again highly pissed off (better to be pissed off than pissed on, as we used to say in my days as a Marine. Not that we were not ever pissed on, but, oh well......), or if you prefer more polite language (you really need to find other blogs if my language offends you, it is MY blog/corner here) I am totally disgusted, again. Or is that still?
Either way, disgusted/pissed off/offended/sick of the "same old shit" (I DID warn about my language).
OK, so what "set off" the old guy today? Some internet articles is what. Yes, real news/opinion as opposed to total crap, i.e., "mainstream media". First off, a "hat tip" to an old internet/email friend, one Mike Whitney. Mike usually posts on economic issues, but every so often he comes out of his "econ" role and posts some very worth reading items. His latest at the Counterpunch web site today is one of his best ever. www.counterpunch.org/2012/10/31/afghanistan-the-smell-of-defeat/
Now it was not Mike who got me all wound up, nor is it his main source a certain Mr. Lind. I have read much by Mr. Lind when his articles get posted at Anti-war.com. I admit Mr. Lind certainly seems to know what he writes about. Recently, his main focus has been on what he calls "Fourth generation Warfare", which is to say, the types of wars we have been engaged in starting, my opinion, with Vietnam. This type of war is one in which the USA/NATO are pitted against non-state foes, such as the Taliban and/or al-Qaeda. In short what used to be called guerrilla warfare. As with Vietnam, we have lost in Iraq and ARE on the losing end in Afghanistan.
That "we" are having our collective asses (hind ends for those who prefer "polite" terms) handed to us is no surprise to me. The US military did NOT learn the lessons of the Vietnam war/fiasco. All the military "seemed" to have learned from Vietnam was to never allow unattended access to the "press". This is why ALL media has had military "minders" and/or pool reporting of our recent wars. The best(or is that worst?) example would be the "embedded" reporters during and after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
What bothers me is that it appears that no matter which corporate candidate "wins" next Tuesday, we will have more wars in countries most Americans cannot find on a world map. As is/was true of both Iraq and Afghanistan and may still be the case for many in the USA. Hey, watching the "news" takes away from my time "texting" on my new "smart" phone. Oh America, we have smart phones and dumb people who buy them. And some of you think this isn't a "great" country? Well, we'll show you all who is or isn't "great". As soon as I finish this "text" message, maybe.
Yeah, I AM disgusted with so much in the USA, but in my opinion, that disgust has been earned. The dumbness, as it were, is active, not a passive thing. In the age of the internet, I believe it IS an active thing to be ignorant of world events. What with all the connectivity, cell phones, smart phones, tablets, etc I do believe it takes serious effort to be uninformed, aka dumb.
Back to Mr. Lind. What really bothers me, and has done so since the first time I read his work, is that he is not, or seems to not be, anti-war. He comes across to me as being in favor of "war done right" rather than truly anti-war. I have not looked into his background, so I do not know, nor really care, if he ever served in any military. He seems very good at theory and he is persuasive, or can be. This ties in with some other articles I ran across that mention the possibilities of the coming election next week. No doubt some of you may have read articles by Mr. Ellsberg and Mr. Chomsky telling you to vote for Gobomber IF you live in a "swing" state, vote a "third party" if your state is a "lock" for either wing of the old war party. This is the old "lesser evilism" at work people. OK, easy for me to say as Louisiana is NOT a "swing" state. We Do have more than a few "swingers" no doubt. Hey, we have New Orleans where "swing" is IN. Musically at least, any other form of "swing" is beyond my personal knowledge.
As a Mr. Amos Burritt put things (also at Counterpunch) in an article dated 20 October 2012, Enough of the "lesser evil" voting. Amen sir! Damn right! About time we had some realism on the major web sites. Thanks for posting this one Counterpunch.www.counterpunch,org/2012/10/29/obama-in-2012-american-death-squads-in-2016/
Now, before you say;"Wait a second there old man. You need serious mental health intervention." Consider the basis of such an argument. IF Mittens "wins" next week, how many of you think the anti-war "left" will be revived? How many of you think that the "Occupy Movement" will roar back to life big time, should Mittens "win"? I don't know how you voted on those questions, but as for me, I'd say "bet the farm" on BOTH being 100% true. Hell, even the cliche 110% true. And YES, I am fully aware that one cannot ever give 110%. It is not possible, just consult an elementary physics text book. 100% is THE maximum anybody or system can ever give of itself.
Mr. Burritt makes a damn good argument that re-elected, Gobomber will continue on his merry way. You know how that goes, unlimited drone attacks any where, any time, the "kill list" whereby Gobomber is now judge, jury, and executioner. We now have in the USA unlimited detention for ALL persons (YES even including US citizens) for an indefinite time period. And ALL of this plus more to come, on the sole "say so" of "dear leader" Gobomber. To paraphrase Mel Brooks from his film "History of the World Part One" It's good to be POTUS! Hell yes, he is now above any and all laws. And on his own word he has attained(?) these "heights". I'd say depths rather than heights as NO human being ever should have anything remotely near such authority. And to think, America used to be a democratic republic. Or so it supposedly started out as such. Quoth the Raven; "Nevermore".
So, what to do? Should we all go and vote for Mittens, with the near certainty that this might revive the "left" in America? Do we just follow Mrs. Ellsberg and Chomsky and vote to re-elect "dear leader"? Or, do we vote for the candidate you feel might actually represent you and not the huge multi-national corporations? I would be the last person to tell anybody who to vote for, but my vote WILL go to a third party candidate. Hey, here in central Louisiana, we have NINE (Yes nine) candidates for POTUS who are NOT members of the war party. OK, that was a long winded way to say that on election day, I have 11 choices for the highest office in the land! Wow, an abundance of candidates. I will ask each of you, if you have yet to make a choice, to check how many candidates are running in the state you live, then read the policy statements/platforms of each. After doing so, make your best choice. True, no "third" party candidate has much real chance of winning, but it is YOUR vote, use it as YOU wish. Damn the war party, vote your best interests and not the biggest spenders.
One causation, and here I do agree that re-electing Gobomber may be the worst choice. If he is re-elected, who among the "left" will even try to hold him accountable? Wo among that gang has even tried since 2009? How many protests were there against the ongoing bankster bailouts? How many anti-war protests have there been since January 2009? Yeah, I thought so. What ever did happen to the Occupy movement? Lost in the shuffle? I do not mean to be nasty/critical of the Occupy folks, but I DO wonder what happened to them. Yes, I know, hurricane Sandy just got done with New York city. That is this week, where has Occupy been these last months? They can't all be old and disabled like me. Oh, right, it IS football season. OK, that may be a bot over the top snark, but where is everybody who claimed to be of the Occupy movement? The Meet Up page I bookmarked has no new events even planned for months.
So, in summary, the old guy (me) is disgusted again/still. He says vote the candidate who YOU think best represents YOU. He also says, no matter which war party guy "wins" we will have more damn fool wars of choice, less economic good news (for the common folks NOT the richest), and less freedom, of the net or any other freedom listed in the Bill of Rights. Neither Gobomber nor Mittens will do anything to undo the constitutional mess we are in now days. Neither of them will revoke unlimited detention without Habeus Corpus or access to a lawyer, neither will revoke the "renditions" by the CIA and/or "special Ops" types. Neither will wind down, let alone eliminate, the use of drones to bomb and kill supposed enemies. Drones WILL be common place in the skies of America, no matter which war party guy "wins" next week. Our civil liberties will NOT be restored by either Gobomber nor Mittens. Neither will offer anything worth having to the working class or the poor. Both will continue the all out assault on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid among other social programs, such as Foo Stamps and our schools. What will be done will be whatever increases profits for the richest of the rich and the multi-national corporations who profit from war.
My one big question is; how much of this crap will Americans take before something finally snaps? How far will they allow themselves to be pushed before they push back? Or am I just an old, worn out damn fool for even asking such things? Maybe so, maybe so. And yet, as I live and breathe, I feel compelled to keep asking.
semper fi
