What future?

Greetings to all.
Well, it just keeps on going and going, doesn't it? Yes, I mean the near dead US of A of course. Why do I say it is near dead? Just read on dear reader, read on and I'll explain as best I can.

We start with the "grilling" (cough, cough, um, er, uh, yeah, 'grilling', sure thing) OK, OFF.
Even before the hearings regards a certain Mr. Brennan to head up the CIA, the chairperson (is it OK {politically correct that is} to say chairwoman?) US Senator Ms. Feinstein told the media, as in "on the record", that she would NOT allow any person to make negative comments/statements against Mr. Brennan. Now, remember dear reader, that some years ago, this very SAME Mr. Brennan was disqualified for the same CIA top job. Yes, but of course, that was then and this is now. You really have to watch the D.C. follies, even if you do not do so very closely. Any way, she totally disallowed, before anything even started that might be negative. One report I did read said of this "grilling" that it; "proceedings resembled a well fed cat being questioned by a panel of skittish mice". That is a direct quote from a person, sorry I forget what site this was on originally, who watches the D.C. follies much closer than I do. My view, those mice were VERY timid indeed. Why, they were down right fearful in their collective "respect" for the man.
OK, OK, now maybe he does rate a certain amount of respect. Hell, I don't know him so who can say for sure? If we do grant him a bit of respect just for oh, say having lived to whatever age he has attained, OK. However, that only gets him so far, like, entry into the hearing room. It does NOT grant him any sort of immunity from being asked some serious questions. What sort of questions? Well, how about just what sort of legal opinion does grant our Piece Prizident the "authority" to kill anybody, at any time, and any where in the world? How are such extra-judicial killings in any way, shape, or form legal or, better yet, Constitutional? Or, does he think that our use of these drones to carry out these extra-judicial killings make more enemies than we kill? Or, even more of a "soft ball" type; does he think that "maybe" our use of the drones MAY make more enemies for the old US of A than we actually kill?
Oh, but you see, madam Feinstein has disallowed any and all such "negative" questions. No, you see such a "negative" thing would ONLY occur to oh, no doubt to a subversive sort of person. Yes, more of the undesirable sort like, oh, I don't know, some older sort who maybe is ex-military and oh, maybe even has actually BEEN in a real shooting war in the past. You know, the sort who, due to having actual real service in the military and in a hot war zone finds that he/she is very anti-war now days. Yeah, you know that "sort", um, you DO know at least OF that sort, and I can prove it. You, if you are still reading this, KNOW of that sort as one of "them" is the person who is writing this very blog. In fact, he is the ONLY person who has ever posted to this blog as he actually owns (OK, it is free, but it is still mine, so, ownership.......LOL) the blog. Yes, I keep it going at the "convenience" (or so it seems) of the "true" owner; Google. Any who, I am the sort who would have liked to have had the opportunity to ask or have asked by another, more well known person questions of that sort. If that makes me a subversive, well so be it and I will wear that label with pride, YES, the same or even more so, pride that I once had for having been a US Marine. And, truth be known, I was proud to have been a Marine. I will never deny that either, even though maybe I should have made other choices. Hey, I "could" have tried to do as old "dead eye" Dick Cheney did, he got 5 (yes FIVE) deferments as he "had other priorities" back when I enlisted. No, working class kids had no need to even think to apply for such. Oh well. Also, all that I have done has made me who I am today and while I am sure that given what I know today, I may (heavy emphasis on may) have made other choices. Still, had I made other choices, I would not be who/what I am now. The whole basis of this tangential line is just to let all know why I cannot say I am ashamed of my military service. I did what I did and live with the consequences of my choices and actions. I have made mistakes and as best as I recall, I have owned up to them. I wonder how many of the "skittish mice" can honestly say the same. I would never presume to ask Mr. Brennan if he can honestly say that, as that would no doubt, be perceived by Ms. Feinstein for sure, as very negative. So, I give Mr. Brennan a "pass", after all, if a US Senator can, I suppose I best also.
Hell NO! Damn and blast, as the Brits may have said. NO! Nobody who is looking to have the job of the guy in charge of the CIA should ever get a pass on anything. He should be held to a much higher standard than a teenager applying for a job at some burger joint. Or is THAT being subversive again? IF it is, then the US of A is totally, and I mean totally screwed, blued, and tattooed. Turn off the lights folks. Close the doors and walk away, the grand "experiment" that once held such promise, the US of A, is DONE. Finished, dead and we need to bury it, NOW, before it starts to stink up the whole place.
I really wonder some times, if anybody who has never been in the military, and even more, those who have been in a war, can understand just  how seriously difficult it is to say what I just did and not immediately check him/her self into the nearest mental institute. One does not become a Marine or be a member of ANY military in any country without having some feeling of real loyalty to that country. OK, those who are forced into a military, through the draft (USA) or otherwise conscripted are exempt, but anybody who ever enlisted HAD to have some positive feelings for that country. I sure as hell did. I still love America, the land, the country (geographic) and even most of the people. It is what passes for "our" leaders and government that give me serious doubts and make my life such a total joke. What loyalty can one maintain for what for all intents and purposes is now looking more and more each day like a criminal enterprise? What loyalty can I keep for politicians who seem to have zero (in some cases absolute ZERO) respect for the Constitution and in particular, the Bill of Rights? How can a person who has documented honorable service to the country still respect a president who now claims to have the authority (??) to kill anybody, any time, anywhere? Just WHERE the bloody goddamn hell is THAT in any part of the Constitution? I have a copy right here on my desk as I type away at this blog of mine. I have other copies in at least two larger books in case I misplace this small one that contains the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It is a nice small, pocket size and I recommend to all citizens of the US of A that they get one or more for personal use. Oh, and when you get one, or any other copy of said Constitution, READ IT! And, after you have read it, read it again, just in case you missed something. Those are the main founding documents of OUR country and I really DO think it is our duty as citizens to read them at least once, once a month as needed, and NOT just once in a life time.
OK, there is your assignment, read the Constitution and if you want extra credit, the Declaration of Independence. No, I won't be giving a test, but our "leaders" sure as hell seem to be testing both of those documents every time, or damn near every time, they open their mouths to a microphone/TV camera. If we do not know what our own founding documents say to us, how can we even start to question our supposed leaders? Bets that if YOU asked them a question about what they are doing or saying they want to do, they will refer to the Constitution. So, you see why WE need to know what it says? So they cannot keep bullshitting us is why. We need to stop letting them give a throw away reply to our questions and we need to ask follow up questions or even to repeat our question when they do not answer us. So many, nearly every single one, of the "political reporters" (really just note takers, recorder operators) allow them to toss out some garbage reply to a question and move on, no follow up, no insisting on a REAL answer. This was not always so. Think back or read history, we used to have news reporters who actually demanded a real answer to the questions they asked. Not today, they treat politicians as if they were some sort of celebrity or "above" the rest of us. Hell, they treat them like the Pope.

Ah, yes, when was I going to get to that story? Well, now it seems. Yes, the Pope has said he will stop being the Pope on the 28th of this month. Why? Well, that is a question that will never get a truthful reply. Why do I say that? Because the Roman Catholic Church (hereafter referred to as the RCC) is a closed system. In short, the Pope answers to nobody. Well, OK, as I am not now, nor ever was a member of that church, he MAY answer to the College of Cardinals, but I cannot be certain of that. Once elected, yes the pope is elected by those same Cardinals, he is said to be infallible. Now, here it gets kind of "interesting" for the RCC. You see, it is something like 600 (yes six hundred!!) years since they had a pope quit. A question, on March 1, 2013, the day AFTER the current pope is no longer pope, is he STILL infallible? If so, how? If not, why not? Is infallibility only "temporary: at in effect ONLY while one IS pope? Does this mean that the last pope (yes JP2) was infallible even though in his last few years he was clearly unhealthy and I bet unfit? Curious minds (and those who are heathen/pagan {yes ME}) would like to know.
Seriously, just AS a curiosity, I would like to know if the current pope will still be infallible after he is no longer the pope. If he is determined by those who do or at least should know, to be so, that could lead to some serious stuff if he and the new pope disagree on some matter.
While for me personally, it matters not who the new pope is, it sure would be very nice if the next one would finally come to serious terms with the child abuse scandal that has dogged the RCC for so long. Of course that isn't going to happen, not in my life time. On a slightly different note, the next pope may be the last pope ever. According to one book, the prophecy of Saint Malachy, the next pope will be the last one. Of course the rest of us will have to endure the "true" so they say "end times".
OK, I admit, yes, I have been sarcastic about this subject. I do not belong to nor follow any religion at all. I do not believe in any god or gods either. If my unbelief has upset anybody, well, sorry, it was not my intent. I did not set out to offend, but, this blog has always been an outlet for me to voice my opinions. I do not say that what I post here is "the" truth, it IS my opinion and perhaps some bits of truth. I do try and provide links or sources to some things that I post here, but that is not a given for all time. Again, sorry, but I do not remember where I read everything I read nor do I always write down every comment or source for said comment. That is something that I may need to try and correct, but make no promises. I DO promise to continue to post my opinions and views on matters that concern me and that I think should be of concern to others, at least to those who care about this world and humanity and all life, as there is much, much more to this planet than humanity. In fact, I see creation or whatever one wishes to call such in the plants, flowers, and all the animals around me. IF I were to have a god, it would be cats. You may prefer dogs or some other animal/being, but for me, cats are the smartest, wisest, all knowing. The old Egyptians worshiped cats even. Of course some have said they raised cats just to kill and then make mummies of them. Not sure how accurate that is, but they did have a cat god/goddess.
OK, back off the tangent and onto the RCC again. That organization, it is such or so they try to be, seriously does need to actually DO some very deep soul searching about the abuse of children by some of their priests. Also, the current pope has much to answer for in this matter. It is claimed, with some accuracy, that he knew a great deal about this and has known so for years, decades even. What did he do about it? Well, the record shows he did next to nothing. In fact, he seems to have aided in covering it all up, glossing it over as it were. The RCC has allowed such pedophile clergy to be moved to a different parish and the new parish was NOT told of any accusations of abuse by the "new" priest. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. They (the RCC) have also moved higher ranking members, such as the cardinal from Boston (I think it was Boston) to a post at the Vatican. This is a man who either had direct knowledge of child abuse by members of his diocese or he may have been guilty of the abuse himself. Either way, he was given a post at the Vatican as a "reward" for his service. Can you say cover up?  I think so.
This very same RCC has come out against use of condoms in Africa where AIDS is near epidemic condition if not worse by now. This organization is against ALL forms of birth control and abortion for ANY reason, to the point of a woman who died recently in Ireland because her pregnancy was going very wrong and she was NOT allowed an abortion to save her life. This make no sense to me, but as I said, I am just an old heathen/pagan so I do not count for much in this matter. That may be so, but I still have an opinion. I do think abortion should be, in fact must be, a legal option for all women. I do not think it should ever be used as a form of birth control, but that is just my personal view. I do not think any man has a right, in any sense of the term, to say yea or nay to the choice a woman makes as to abortion. IF he IS the father of said unborn, then he maybe should be consulted/told of her choice, particularly if they are married at the time, just because he then has a right to know what she plans and why. If the health of the woman is a risk, then no woman should ever be denied the procedure. Again, my own opinion.
Another matter the RCC, and most EVERY other religion MUST come to terms with is homosexuality. The outright discrimination and abuse heaped onto them by every major religion must STOP. Not tomorrow, not next week, but NOW. Immediately. ALL human beings have the absolute right to live their lives. Whatever consenting adults do with/to each other in the privacy of their own living place is of NO matter to any religion or other "club", "organization", etc. Period, end of discussion. Oh, and one more note on this, people do NOT up and "decide" one day, on a whim as it were, to become homosexual. That is how they were born, get used to that as fact, not opinion. To date, all real research into homosexuality has shown that it is NOT a "life style 'choice'". It is how a person is born, that is to say, their genetic makeup is why they are homo or hetero sexual. So, if some fool religion wants to place "blame", go after the parents. And, if they persist with the god will punish the "gays", tell said  religion that that god supposedly made us in his/her/its image, right? Well, then said god made "gays" as said god would not make "junk", or would he/she/it make "junk" after all? In other words, take the abuse and toss it right back at the abusers. As the old saying goes, what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander, or something close to that.
All this leads to the following truth, or truth as I see things. Every religion, and most certainly ALL of the "big three" (those that trace{?} back to old Abe [Abraham]) need to get up to speed. We are now well into the 21st century. We can no longer be allowed nor allow myths of late iron age goat herders to influence our daily lives. We certainly must not allow such ancient myths to rule our nations and our relations between nations and peoples. If any "believers" in some god or other cannot/ will not see the god in every other human being that they "think" is in them, they are NOT fit for human company and need to be interred in a monastery or some hermitage until they are able to see that this god, if he/she/it exists, is in ALL life on this planet. YES, that includes, but is NOT limited to the animal kingdom and does include plants and ALL life on planet Earth. As Carl Sagan said, we are ALL star stuff. That alone, apart from being the truth, is an utterly amazing fact. It should, by itself, put in each any every one of us human beings to be so amazed by the fact that we are part of this wondrous, frightful, amazing, immense beyond belief universe, that we should never have cause for any child abuse, abuse of "the gays" or any other "minority", no more animal abuse, and certainly, never, ever, ever again, any excuse for another goddamn fucking war.
The late (why do we refer to the dead as "late", and how in hell can the dead ever be unlate, as in on time?) philosopher Alan Watts said in one of his books, no I do not remember which of his books, that we do things backwards. We should be able to say fuck without it being a "swear" word and war SHOULD be a "verboten" sort of word. Oh, but we are proud of our wars and ashamed that we actually do fuck. Fools! We should be very ashamed of our goddamn wars. Nobody "wins" any damn war, ever. Oh yes, one side quits/surrenders/whatever. Still, nobody really wins, except for those who reap obscene profits from the wars. NOW, now do you finally start to see why we all, we working class and poor folks in particular, must be ashamed of ALL the damn fool wars? Most particular, every goddamn fool war of choice, as has been the case for the US of A since 1945, and one CAN say that in 1860 and most assuredly in 1917 were BOTH wars of choice. Old (not so) "honest Abe" did NOT believe that the "Negro" and the "white race" could ever live together in the same country as equals, hell, he would have been more than happy for ALL black people to get sent back to Africa. He also had NO authority under the Constitution to have that war of his choice in 1860-65. At the time, a state was not bound forever to the union once it joined. Well, we can argue that until the end of time, but I still think, now days, that war did not need to be fought. I am 100% certain that had the US of A stayed OUT of WW1, there may not have been a WW2, as both sides were getting close to calling it a draw before "saint" Woodrow (he was re-elected on the slogan "He kept us OUT of war"!! honest, look it up) got us into that slaughterhouse of mass murder. The last surviving member of the British Army from WW1 died not so long ago. He had been a life long anti-war person since his time in the trenches of France/the Western Front. War IS mass murder. While Vietnam may not have been the absolute mass slaughter that WW1 had been, it WAS bloody and nasty enough on its own. The US military/CIA dropped as many, if not more(!!) bombs on Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos than they dropped on Japan and Germany during WW2. Now that is an amazing fact. And, guess what? In the end, the US still pulled OUT with the "last chopper" taking off from the roof of the embassy in Saigon/HoChiMihn City. Yeah, so what did the US of A "win" in that damn fool war of choice? Well, we got a "wall" with over 58,000 names of the US dead, that we know of! Wow, big damn deal. Holy shit folks, I mean, who cares? Who actually gives a flying shit? Or even a non-flying shit? A few of us old vets who were there and maybe our kids? So what?   How in hell was it "worth" it, as Ms. Madass Al(not so)bright has said about the vile sanctions against Iraq in the 1990's?  Can anybody tell me how all the dead were "worth it"? Can you? Really? Goddamn! I want to know. No shit! I want, hell no, I demand an answer. I was there, 1970-71 and I still do not know how it was worth the loss, the cost, which we have never even started to repay. As a song by Steppenwolf goes, ............"Now we are fighting a war over there, no matter who wins, you know we can't pay the cost............" That may not be 100% word-for-word, but you get the idea. How do we pay the costs of any war? Can we ever even try to start to? How do we explain to those who went to war, let alone those we invade and kill/maim/destroy mentally, emotionally, physically just WHY the war even happened?
So, I ask any of you, please, just WHY did we fight Vietnam? Korea? Any of the poor nations in Central America, South America, the African nations we have done "covert" wars in since at least the time we (by way of CIA/CIA paid assassins) killed a certain Mr. Lumumba(spelling)? Any of the three Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos that we utterly bomber into nearly the real stone age? How about Indonesia? Or any of the other nations pre-Iraq/Afghanistan that we bomber/invaded/warred against? Remember Billy Bob Bubba Contesting and Ms. Al(not so)bright and the former (since it no longer exists)Yugoslavia? Yes, the Bosnia mess was part of Bubbas' as well, If so, WHY? Goddamn bloody fucking hell, WHY?? Can anybody tell me? If so, will you? Warning, do NOT give me the crap about how Iran must never be allowed to have nuclear bombs. Hell the zionist entity has somewhere around 300-400 of the damn things, so Iran having a few would still not balance them out, but it might make them stop and think before starting a war with an Iran that had a nuke or three. Hey, it supposedly kept the US of A and the old (as in former since it no longer exists) Soviet Union from nuking each other. Though old "Mr. 5 deferments" Cheney was working on some method to nuke Russia and/or China and not having them nuke us back. Fools! If nobody ever wins "regular" war, how in fucking goddamn holy (or un-holy if you prefer) hell can any jackass ever even fantasize about "winning" a nuclear war?  Nucking futs! That is what that is.............
So, yes, I am quite angry of late. One could actually even say that I am highly pissed off. Well, true, but I remember an old saying from my Marine days; better to be pissed off than to be pissed on. Yeah, like the latest "state of the union" address. (I did not use caps on purpose) There was "dear leader" our very own Pice Prizident, pissing on our feet and telling us right to our faces that it was raining. Well, unlike many of the supposed "leftists" or the "progressives", I refuse to buy his absolute bullshit. I refuse to see death by drone and call it "constitutional", I refuse to see war and call it peace. I refuse to see our country deep into a bad recession (if not an all out depression) and say that the unemployment numbers "look good". I refuse to see the "too big to jail" banksters still getting obscene bonuses and call it good for the economy. I refuse to see whole neighborhoods of unsold, unoccupied houses and say the market is solid/good. I refuse to see a US Senator who is about to chair a group to question a person for the job of CIA director but refuses, before the hearing even starts, to allow any negative questions/comments and call that good for democracy and the country. I refuse to see our military use remote control killing and tell me how very "brave" the "pilots" of drone aircraft are. I call that cowardice. Feel free to disagree, but you will never make me see that as any sort of bravery, ever.
If all the above makes me a subversive, then I will wear that label as a badge of the highest honor. If it makes me un-American, well, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I do not ask any to follow me. I am not a leader and never wanted to be one. A real leader takes responsibility for those who follow and I have enough trouble keeping myself responsible for what I do. If you do follow, you do so 100% at your own risk. You do not have to believe anything I say, ever. As stated above, everything I post here is my opinion. Yes, at times I provide a link or a title of a movie, book, or article, sometimes a record/cd even, a song title (those I remember). This blog is and has been my opinion. Things I like, though more often than not, things I dislike, intensly at times, as this post shows, very intensly.
It is not my intent to have you believe what I post, if you do, you may wish to have your own sanity checked as a precaution, you know, just inb case..........OK, that was sort of but also, maybe a kind warning/word to the wise? Your choice. That IS what matters most.........YOUR choice. You decide what to accept, what to believe. I give MY own opinion, what I think, what decisions I have made or may make, intend to make. You have to make your own. I present mine and give my opinion, maybe it will help your choice, maybe not. I cannot ever know. I do not intend to harm any of you who give your time to read my posts. Why would I wish to harm you? I have never met any of you in person. I know some of you through our comments here at the old corner or maybe through private emails. Also, if I harm any of you, you would no doubt never stop by here again, and why would I run any of you off? Now if you go out of your way to offend me, well, we'd have to see then. Of course, it does take quite a good bit of work to offend me. Remember, I enlisted in the Marines in April of 1968, how damn stupid could I have been? Huh? OK? OK.

For some reason, I do not have children. That is a some what longish story and highly personal. My second wife and I did have a daughter but she was premature and only lived six weeks. My wife died 16 years later from brain cancer. That is about all of that I ever intend to share on the corner, period. This blog is not about me, it is my views and opinions. The above, or a great deal of it in this post is personal back ground that may help to explain, maybe maybe not, why/how I hold some of the views/opinions that I express here. I think I have laid out, in some detail (all the detail most ever get on how "my" war went 70-710) why I am anti-war.
The mention of no children is for this.............I care, very, very much about the little ones who were born into this mess of a world since you started reading this extra length ramble. Why do I care? I have no kids, therefore no grandkids who will have to try and sort out the shit we are leaving them. I care deeply because my Dad and my grandparents (all four of them) taught me to care about others. I care because I have seen what happens to the little ones when nobody does care about them. I care about all life on this planet at least. Other planets, where no doubt there IS life, well, they may have another old charlie who cares about them, I have this planet to care about. I care because it is the human thing to do and requires NO religion at all. The "do unto others" is way older than either of the "big three" mid-East desert religions. In fact, just about everything in their religions was taken from much older stories/cultures. Much of all of their "sacred" texts were written long after the events described in them. My opinion;Revelations is  a very bad acid trip.
My wife (yes number three) has two beautiful great-grand daughters. The oldest recently had her third birthday. I do not call them beautiful just because they are Anns' blood family members, ALL the young children on this planet are very beautiful and every single one of  them deserves to be allowed to live their own lives on their  terms, as long as they do no harm to others. They should get the best education possible. They should never have to go to bed hungry, they should never be made homeless. They should be allowed to live a peaceful life and if they wish, get married and raise a family, their choice. They should be able to obtain employment that pays a decent wage not making weapons. They should not have to live in fear (most of which has been manufactured by people who have too much power) for their lives and the lives of their families. They should have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. IF they wish to have geneticly modofied foods, that food should be labeled as such. Unlike how things are in the US of A today, they should be allowed to make an informed choice about GMO foods. The medicines they may need should be free of contamination and other harmful chemicals. (One can not watch TV in the US of A formore than 15 minutes without a commercial by some law firm with a class action type suit against some medicine or medical device) Women should be able to get safe, legal abortion when needed and not endure threats from those who claim to "know better what god wants" or possible physical violence. Those who were born since you started to read this long winded rant, if they are homosexual, should be allowed to live their lives to the fullest, as long as they harm nobody. They should never be threatened nor made to feel less than human  just because they are not attracted to the opposite sex.
Do I want them to live in some unobtainable uotopia?  No, I don't think that is what I ask/hope for these newest of our fellow human beings. I just want them to live in a world that is kind, just, safe, and not so war like/war loving (US of A I am pointing at you). I honestly DO think that what I ask/hope for them IS doable. It could happen, but only IF (a very, very huge if I know) we, we who are living now, start to try to make it that way. Just imagine, as John Lennon asked us to,imagine IF we all, all of us who really do care about the newest human beings who have been born since you started to read this screed,imagine if we ALL shouted to the world ENOUGH!!!!!!!! Enough of the damn fool wars. Enough of the drones, enough of the killing, enough of the depravity, enough of the unequality, enough of the goddamn hate, enough of the hate mongers and war mongers.We could actually start to  remake this old world. Oh it will not be easy, we will every one of us get damn tired and want to give up long before any real changes are even talked about seriously, but hang on a second, IF we all who care, really care, stood up and said enough, why there is NO limit to what would be possible. WE have the numbers. Seriously, there are MORE, many many more of us who are working class and poor than there are rich. Hell, they count on us being the vast majority. Hey, if all were rich, there'd be no poor, so who would do the work? And don't tell me robots...........LOL.The rich must be a minority, why else be rich? What did you say? If all were rich, the poor would rule? Don't be absurd, never happen.
The thing I ask, just think for a while, not now, you can do it any time, later on is OK, but not too late, if you put it off too long, it will be of no use. Yes, it can be too late. OK, just, when you have a spare moment, just imagine what it could be like if all of us who really care about this place were to stand and say ENOUGH. And then imagine if after that, we all of us started to remake this old world into what I asked/hope for above for the newest little ones who have only had mere minutes in this world. Just imagine, if you can, for a few seconds. Can you? Will you? Not for me, no, not even for yourself, though it is A-OK if you do, but for those who just came into this life of we all share. Imagine, unless we do, we're just stuck with what we have.
semper fi