What a fine mess we have made

Well, our fearful leaders from the Iraq war are in town this week. Our Ambassador (damn bastard) Crocker and General (Delay-us) Petraeus and giving new "testimony" to various congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday. They have already given some yesterday and continue today. Oh joy, more of the same old horse manure folks.
First off, our congress critters seem to be totally unable to ask a real question. They give speeches that "pass" for questions. Lots of hot air, but that is what we usually get from congress. Hey, maybe that is THE cause of global warming! Stop our congress from blowing hot air and smoke up our hind quarters and we just might be able to at least slow global warming.
Of course our two fearful "leaders" of the Iraq war in Iraq, are unable to give a straight answer, even if they were to be presented with a real question. They read from their scripts that have been done up in advance for them by the White House staff writers. The entire charade has been scripted better than most TV shows and movies. A damn joke, but only for American consumption. The folks in Iraq, Iraqi and American are not laughing at this show. They are trying their best to stay alive and survive.

Another aspect of this war is the actual cost. No, not the bull crap that comes from "official" sources. I mean the REAL actual cost in OUR dollars to date. By the best, honest accounting of the war so far, we have ALREADY spent close to $1 trillion. For those who are not used to such large numbers, like me, here it is; $1,000,000,000,000.00.
To put this in a different light; 1 billion seconds is equal to 32 years. 1 trillion seconds is equal to 300 CENTURIES. Any more explanation needed? Consult Wikipedia, I'm not an economist nor a mathematician. Damn big number any way you cut it though, just my opinion.

Poor little Shrubbie. He went to the NATO conference and did not get his way! Wow. His "buddies" aka "clients" like France and Germany said NO to letting Georgia and the Ukraine join the "alliance". Greece nixed the admission of Macedonia due to the "name" being a section of Greece and not available as the name of a separate country. What's in a name? Apparently more than some might think.
For a good review of NATO one might enjoy reading the following. www.nationalinterest.org/printerfriendly.aspx?id=17296. This article titled "The Babysitters Club" gives a realistic look at what NATO has become with the expansion it has undergone in the years since the end of the cold war. Just my 2 cents worth, but NATO became a totally irrelevant organization with the fall of the old Soviet Union. If you go back in history, NATO was created after World War 2 to defend western Europe from an attack by the Soviet armed forces.
Once that threat had ended, the reason for NATO to exist ended as well. This proves that once a government agency has been created, it will keep on draining resources long after its job has been completed.
NATO has expanded to include such world military "powers" as Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and now Albania and Croatia. Wow, world class powers indeed. Now, I am NOT making fun of nor "putting down" any of these countries. I am just pointing out that they are NOT the sort of groups that will add to the strength of any real military alliance. As the article I refer to makes clear, those countries are security consumers, NOT security providers.
Why would NATO take on this added responsibility? Well, Albania has promised to send some of its troops to Afghanistan to assist with that war. Oh joy, a few hundred, at best, new "troops" to be cannon fodder for Shrubbie.

Back on the "home front" things are not going well at all. The economy lost more jobs again in March. That makes real, net jobs lost EVERY month so far this year. In reality, if we exclude the federal government, we have had net job losses for even longer than just (!) this year. The economy is sinking fast, but not to worry, our government is coming to the rescue. IF you are J.P.Morgan Chase that is. Maybe other large investment banks as well as the large commercial banks will get their "bail outs" also. Actually, we can count on it. This, of course, does absolutely nothing for the average person who is having trouble with the monthly mortgage payments. Then, it wasn't designed to do that. All the talk of "help" for the regular folks who are in deep debt, well, it was/is just that, talk. Oh, and don't spend all of your "stimulus" in one place either. And whatever you do with it, do NOT put it in a savings account! As old Ron Reagan said, it is time to spend our way out of debt. Yes, in my view, it is the 1980's all over again with this "stimulus". What a joke. Yet we the people keep taking it. Is the entire nation asleep? Are you all sitting in front of the tube watching "reality TV"? We are being screwed again folks. Business as usual. Some day Americans will wake up and be surprised at the horrible state of our country. Unfortunately, I think by then it will be way too late. The Constitution is already in shreds, our civil liberties have been trampled and discarded. We are being spied on by our own government. We must be careful who we talk to, what we say, where we go, how much we spend. And this is freedom? It looks more like the very same freedom that we have "given" (or in truth, crammed down the throats of) the Iraqis and Afghans. It sure as hell is NOT the freedom and democracy of the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. This America today looks nothing like the America I was taught in high school in the mid 1960's.
America today would not be recognized by the founders of the country.

Why do I keep on with this ranting? Why not just kick back, grab a cold beer and watch the country go to hell in a bucket? In my view, quite a few Americans seem to have done just that.
Well, this old heathen just can't allow that sort of personal behavior. No, I do NOT consider myself to be "more patriotic" than the next person. I DO think that this country is worth fighting for. I joined the Marines in April of 1968, not the smartest move I ever made. Remember, just earlier that year was the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Enlisting at the time I did, I HAD to have known that some time during my enlistment I'd be in that war. Now, I realize that the war was just another in a long series of American Imperial Wars. At the time, I didn't pay all that much attention to politics, that was for the "old people" to worry about. My goal was to not get drafted into the Army. So, Mr. Smart Guy (me, I thought) enlisted in the Marines, and sure thing, I was sent to Vietnam in 1970-71.
If it was worth my time and nearly my life to fight "for" America then, it is surely worth it even more so now. That is why I keep this rant/venting of mine on this blog going as best as I can. I am not nor have I ever been trained/schooled as a writer. High school English classes do not count along those lines to me. I was a machinist before I became disabled. Typically, a machinist doesn't do a great deal of writing during the course of her/his work day. With that in mind, I am sure that I have made and will continue to make big and small mistakes in my writing here. This is NOT an excuse to "let me slide", just an honest explanation. Any professional writers who might venture into this "corner" of mine, please feel free to send me your suggestions on how I might improve this blog. Hey, knowing how "smart" I was in the spring of 1968, it ought to be obvious that it takes quite a lot to offend me. I CAN take honest criticism, I even take dishonest criticism, but respond to that sort quite differently.

I had best stop for now. I have had my "say so" for this post. I hope that somehow, I can convince some of you to think that America is worth fighting for. That our country can stop the abuses of power that we have endured these last few years. That our country can reverse course and again, after some real serious work, be the country we wish it to be, one that can proudly take its rightful place with other decent, law abiding nations and work for true world peace.

semper fi,
charlie

I tried, but failed

Hey folks.
Well, as the title says, I tried and failed, yet again. This time I had tried to "blog" an email I was sent by an online friend and fellow former Marine.
It is on my corner as text only. The story is "Definitely Mother of the Year". It is about a mama tiger who lost her cubs and then adopted some piglets as her kids. The photos are remarkable for sure. If you email me, I will forward it to you if you wish. It is a beautiful story and the photos are incredible for certain.
Anyways, I replied to my friend after I saw this email and asked him if this tiger could do such a thing, why can't we humans do something like that?
In other words, why cannot mankind( does the "kind" part of man exist?exist?) do this sort of thing with our fellow human beings? Why do we keep throwing up roadblocks to getting along with each other? Why do we use religion, race, creed, skin color, hair color, education (or lack of), or any other artificial "divisions" to keep us from getting to know and like each other?
We have a president (YES, I think he is a total shit) who claims to be a born again Christian. Yet everything he has done in the last 7 years has been very un-Christian. I can see this and I am a heathen! Hell, don't those of you who claim to be Christian see his hypocrisy? How Christian is it to bomb the living shit out of two countries that never attacked us? Who never even were a credible threat to harm us in any way? Is it just me being a damn heathen that keeps me from seeing how the actions of Shrubbie are Christian? Can any of you religious folks set me right on this? Do any of you religious types give a crap about heathens like me? If not, what the hell are you doing reading this blog?
The US State Department is doing all It can to assist in further dividing us also. According to recent comments in a State Department report, any criticism of Zionism is anti-Semitic! Wow, being critical of a quasi political movement is now akin to being racist. Amazing how this criminal government of America has bastardized our language again.
According to this report, Jews are suffering a new form of anti-Semitism disguised as "hatred" for Israel. Wow, so if we disagree with the idiot Shrub, are we, by extension, anti-American now? Hey, it IS a legitimate question to ask, the way this gang of rat bastards running the show in DC have done things so far, it will not be long before they "extend" this anti- whatever bullshit to any anti they choose. We are losing our freedom of speech here at home folks. Subtle ways of "changing" or "tweaking" language into something we no longer recognize. Words mean whatever these assholes in DC say they mean. This way, none of us can know when we have "transgressed". How very convenient for them, all the better to lock us up or at least keep us intimidated.
Well, I REFUSE to buckle to them!
Fuck the assholes!
I say that Zionism IS racism. There are very ultra fundamentalist Jews who are anti-Zionist. Are they anti-Semites also? By the way, the Semitic peoples include the ancient Hebrews AND the Arabs. Therefore, if one is being accurate (yes, this IS America, where nobody is accurate, least of all politicians and/or news readers on the tube) a true anti-Semite would not just hate Jews, but he/she would hate Arabs equally. Now, we see how being an anti-Semite has been twisted to mean ONLY Jews. We the people, blindly accept this "change" and of course we get it crammed down us by the politicians and every idiot news reader on the tube and even in print. There are no real news people on TV in my opinion. They are ALL just news readers and not even very good at that job. At least the BBC used to (no TV now so I cannot verify if it is still true) called the folks who read the news on the "beeb" what they are, news readers. One small bit of honesty on the "news".
Zionism IS racism, pure and simple. Check the history of the Zionist movement. Zionism IS a political movement, it is NOT a religion. Judaism IS a religion, but Judaism is NOT necessarily Zionist. There are Christian Zionist, like the guy who is backing McCrazy, I think his name is Hagee or some such. He runs one of those "mega" churches in Texas. So, Zionism is not even exclusively a Jewish thing.
Dislike for the government of Israel is NOT anti-Semitism. If that were the case many Israeli Jews, say for example Uri Avnery, would be an anti-Semite. Read his commentaries on the Counterpunch web site some time. He is very much against his governments policies regards the Palestinians. Is he now an anti-Semite because he has been and continues to be critical of the government of Israel? If he is such, then I am proud to join him in being a "new" so-called anti-Semite. I guess I must be an anti-American also. I disagree with things my government is doing and has done and continues to do.
Well, fuck that shit. I served HONORABLY in the Marines. I did a tour in Vietnam. I would say that I qualify as a person who loves America. I sure as hell love this country more that that fuck asshole turd Cheney, who had "other priorities" during the Vietnam war. Goddamn coward is what "dead eye" Dick is. He does NOT give a shit in hell about this country nor the people in it. He only cares for power and money. He is a war criminal and ought to be behind bars making little rocks from big rocks for life. No chance of ever getting parole or pardon.

Bottom line here folks, I'm goddamn sick and tired of all the bullshit artificial "divisions" that get put up between us by our supposed leaders. There was an old TV show, the character played by Walter Brenan(sp) would say at least once every episode, "If you're waitin' on me, you're movin' too slow". Well, if we are waiting on our "leaders" to help knock down the artificial barriers between us humans, we are not just moving too slow, but we are moving backwards! They ONLY way to change this fucked up world is for "we the people" to do it ourselves.
WE need to kick down these artificial differences that stand between "different" peoples. WE have that power. Will we use it? Will you use it? Will YOU say "hello" to someone who does not look like a close member of your family the next time you go out? Will you at least allow that other religious beliefs MAY be equally as valid as yours are? Will you even ALLOW that there ARE other religious beliefs? That there ARE other peoples who may NOT wish to be "just like us Americans"? Why should everyone want to be just like America anyhow? If we were all the same, this would be one goddamn boring assed world. Nothing would be invented, nothing would get done, we'd all be the same, same ideas and no progress toward anything at all. A world of truly "same shit, different day". Dull and fucking boring to death.
Celebrate the rich diversity among us all. Look at life with some joy. Hell, look in the damn mirror and be GLAD that people are different!
Stop the hate. Stop the bigotry. Stop the persecution of those who are "different". How would you feel if those who are "different" had the actual power over you? Might make you change your tune and damn quick. So, change it NOW, while you can do so of your own free will. I cannot, nor would I ever want, to FORCE any of you to change. I do not ever want that sort of power. I DO wish more of us all would decide, on our own, to at least allow that other people can look,think, and even believe differently from us.
If we would just try to do this, the world could be such a very much nicer place for every one and every living creature on this small planet. So, please folks, just give it a try. It won't hurt you, honest.
until the next entry,
semper fi

Fwd: FW: Definitely Mother Of The Year

 

---

Mother of The Year

In  a  zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to  a rare set of triplet tiger cubs.

Unfortunately,  due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and  due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother  tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in  health,

although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that  the loss of her litter had caused

the tigress to fall into a  depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate 

another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking  with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that  there

were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning  mother.  The veterinarians

decided to try something that had  never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother

of one  species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans  that could be

found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo  keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in

tiger skin and placed the  babies around the mother tiger. Would they become  cubs or  pork chops?

lack of postings here

It has been some time since the last post here. Yes, I was going to try to do one a week or at least more than one a month. It has been two months since the last new post. Sorry about that. Life has been a bit messy of late. When the time is available, the desire to write is not. When I feel like doing a rant, I don't have the time, or even care to do it.
Funny how that works. I suppose I could blame it all on the pain and disability, but I think I get lazy as well. Mentally lazy as well as physically.
Spring is almost here, maybe things will improve with the new season. Just hope I don't lose any more of the cats.
I'll try to get something worth looking at on here very soon.
semper fi

Where to start............so much crap going on

So much crap is happening the world over, makes one wonder where to start this entry.
Well,being an American by birth, might as well start at home.
The economy might be a place to start. A question for all who might read this; do we still have an economy? When you look at the "news" you have to wonder, or at least I do. Looks like all those "wonderful" investments have proven to be not so "solid" as sold to the investors. The sub-prime mess is just beginning to be felt. It now is headed into the credit card business with more defaults being seen there as well as defaults in the mortgage industry. Look for record numbers of bankruptcy claims to be filed this year. One can see home foreclosures nearing or exceeding record levels also.
This mess could have been predicted. According to some sources, it was seen to be on the way. Funny how our recently departed "leader" of the Fed, Mr. Greenspan, refused to even admit that there was a housing bubble coming. Remarkable! This guy was "supposed" to be THE top financial guy in the country. The Chairman of the Fed, yet he could not, or would not, admit to there being a bubble in the housing market. Perhaps he wouldn't see it as it was HIS policies that created the mess. No wonder his personal investment business was going bust before he was tapped for the job as chair of the Fed. I wonder if the man can even balance his personal checking account. Was a damn fool he turned out to be. Or is it that he is/was just a "tool" of the money class? Some one may know the true answer to that, I don't.
On the one hand, it IS fun for those of us who are working class or members of the "working poor" to see these huge banks and investment houses going through bad times financially. Then, we stop and realize just who will end up bailing them out. Us, as usual. This is America, the rich never have to pay for their own foul-ups. That is what tax payers are for.
Of course it will be our duty(!) to help these folks out. It will be sold to us as some sort of patriotic duty for us to bail out the greedy banks and investment houses from their own self made mess. That is how the politicians will pull the shit past us, the tax payers. They have done this before and will do it again, and again, until we finally wake up to the scam. Americans have been so damn brain dead for so long, I don't hold my breath waiting for them to awake any time soon.
It is the same old shit as always. Same as it was with the Iraq war. Most people can agree that going into Afghanistan to capture bin Laden was correct up to a point. Going in with a full on invasion force was foolish, as nobody likes being invaded, and the Afghans are damn good at stopping any invasion in its tracks. Don't think so, just go ask Alexander the Great. Even the great Alexander could not conquer that country. Had we sent in special ops teams to hunt down al-Qaeda we might have been successful. Of course, we got side-tracked into Iraq, which put the whole bin Laden deal on the far back burner. Even our great "decider" was quoted as saying that he didn't give Osama much thought. This after having said he wanted him "dead or alive". Shows just how much old W really wanted bin Laden taken out. Not all that much from the way things have gone.
Now we get John "bomb,bomb,bomb Iran" McCain saying that it will be just fine with him if our troops are in Iraq for 100 years! Holy shit! A century of occupation? For what? Does Haliburton really need that much money? Well, we HAVE been in Germany and Japan for over 60 years now. We have been in South Korea for over 50 years, so maybe the idea of being in Iraq for 100 years isn't as far out as I think it is. Who the hell am I anyway? Nobody, is who. I certainly am NOT a U.S. Senator, nor do I live in Arizona. Nope, I am just old charlie living in the woods in central Louisiana. Permanently disabled, reading books and news from the Internet and now and then doing these blog entries for myself and hopefully your enjoyment/information.
Back to the economy for a quick comment. Just what do we make here in America any more? Cars? Well, we DO assemble them here, true, but so many of the parts are made in other countries. What we DO still make are weapons and weapons systems. Missiles, bombs, tanks, bullets, and other weapons. Yes sir, America still makes death devices. By the gods, we make more of them than any one else to boot! Of course we don't make much else, and that is the shame. We used to make all sorts of consumer goods. Televisions, stoves, refrigerators,small appliances,cars,trucks, etc. When was the last time you went to a store and found "made in USA" labels on things for sale? You don't find much with such a label any longer. What a shame. Very sad state of affairs in my opinion. One recent survey stated that 70% of all goods for sale at Wal-Mart was made in China. 70%! Wow. And how many of you remember the old Wal-Mart TV ads saying how they "always" sold "made in USA" products? I remember those ads. No longer. Of course I am also old enough to remember when the motto of just about any retail business was "the customer is always right". Ha Ha Ha. Just TRY to make that point today.
I don't know, maybe it is just me, but this country seems like it is no longer what is used to be. I guess it could be just my old age is showing, but does it seem to anybody else that America is not very civil today? Yes, I DO get very angry with the crap going on here, but I usually take it out here on the blog, or in the very occasional actual face-to-face conversations I have. I do not go around with a chip on my shoulder, looking for a fight at any time, any place. I like to think that the things that get me pissed off are things that are worth being pissed off about. It feels though, that so many Americans are just plain pissed off at every thing all day, every day. It is as if nobody ever stops to see the beauty or the fun things any more. Too busy, always in a hurry. Going somewhere, anywhere, and damn fast to boot.
Well, I suppose that keeps them from having to really interact with others. Always in a hurry, going "some place". Never slowing down, never really enjoying life. Too busy, no time for "fun" no time to stop and "enjoy" this life. How sad for them. Because, they will never be able to enjoy anything, ever. Always have to "be someplace" in a hurry to get "somewhere". When they DO finally slow down, they will get "bored" and not know what to do, how to act, it will be too late to re-learn how to enjoy this life.
Being permanently disabled, I have the "luxury" of time. Time to watch the birds and squirrels in my yard. Time to watch the cats play, to play with them also. Time to see the critters play and to laugh at how funny they can be, even if they do not intend to be funny. Time to sit back and actually read a book, or listen to some music. Time to see what is still left of the natural beauty of this wonderful planet.
Maybe that is what is really wrong with America, we have bought into some bullshit that we must keep moving. I have heard that sharks never stop moving. Well, most of them, as I do seem to recall a program where they did say one species of shark does stop and sleep. For most sharks, though, they never stop moving until they die. Maybe American think they are sharks. They have to keep moving or they will die.
People, stop and just look, look at this beautiful world. Take five minutes to just look at nature. Five short minutes a day. It won't kill you, honest. It just might even surprise you. Give it a shot, you might even enjoy it.
One final note. My Internet connection has been very "spotty" of late. I am scheduled to have it repaired on Friday, the 25th of January. So, until then, my email replies might be very slow or I may not be able to reply at all. This thing comes and goes when it feels like it. Please bear with me until it gets repaired.
semper fi

title?.......we don't need no stinking title!

Sort of sets the tone for this "post". I cannot even come up with a damn title for it. Well, hang on and let's see where this thing goes. It is most likely going to piss off some people. Well, better to be pissed off than to be pissed on.
I would say that this is going to be a more or less general "listing" of shit that has got me pissed. Off, on, or other wise.
Take the American economy..........somebody PLEASE take it and fix the damn thing! It is broken, maybe permanently, but damn certain broken big time. Oh, but wait folks, it is getting worse. Yes sir folks, this "bust" is not over yet by any means. I am going to give a link to the best yet, article about this current bust of our economy. It was at the Counterpunch web site this weekend and well worth your time to read if you give a shit about what is left of the US economy and our financial future. Here it is; www.counterpunch.org/toussaint01122008.html . Read this and then tell me how all is well with our economy and we can now all sleep tight at night. Yeah, sure.
My persona; views, this whole mess started way back when a "new" investment type made the scene. It is/was called a derivative. Financial derivatives, the main source of our troubles today. When these things first appeared I was watching "Wall Street Week" with good old Louis Rukeyser. He mentioned them during the broadcast and said to all watching that he had no idea what they were. I remember also, that his best advice was to never invest in things or a company that you knew little or nothing about. For example, if you have no idea what a diesel engine is or is used for, do not invest in Caterpillar. Makes sense to me. So, his advice on derivatives back then, don't bother with them. Nobody knew what they were. Well, now we know what they are. A scam. Not quite a pyramid scheme nor a Ponzi scam, but a fraud nonetheless.
Oh, but wait. Now we have even more "unknowable" things to invest in. We have SIV's, CDO's, and others I forget. SIV's are Structured Investment Vehicles. OK, what ever those are. CDO's are Collateralized Debt Obligations, another mouthful but unknowable to the average investor. The way world markets have gone of late, they are also seemingly unknowable to the "investor class" also. These two, and there are others, are just variations on derivatives. In my opinion, they are made up things that have no real value. They are pure paper "assets", if one stretches the definition of assets far enough. Apparently, the stretch wasn't too much for the "big" investors and the big banks.
Now, the CDO's are sort of tied some how to the mortgage market. This is how the housing bubble busting has brought down the rest of the financial markets to some extent. Also the "sub prime" loans did in many of the greedy banks as well. On one hand, the "common" folks might see the banks hitting a "bad patch" and let out a cheer. After all, it does feel good when the "big" guys stumble and have a hard time paying their bills for a change. The only thing is, like every other time the "big" guys get into trouble, it is the "little" guys who will, in the end have to bail them out. Think back a few years to the first time Chrysler almost went bye-bye, think the Savings and Loan scandal. Yes sir, we, the tax payers, will have to pay to save the big bankers. Of course it will somehow be made to be our "national duty" or some other such bullshit.
To me, the one thing America always had over the old Soviet Union, was that in America, a business could fail. That meant that business could take chances, experiment. Now, if the experiment went South, well, so might the business. But THAT is what made our country great. In the old Soviet Union, a failing business was likely to be propped up by the government. It was all for propaganda of course. That way, America could not say, "Oh, see how companies are failing in the Soviet Union". While they could point to America and say, honestly, that many companies here did in fact fail. But it still made America the better of the two, because, as I said, it allowed for and encouraged, experimentation, new ideas and processes.
Well, that worked only up to a point. Back all those years ago, America could not let Chrysler fail. Why, how would that look on the resume of old Lee Iacocca? The guy who gave us the "Mustang" could not be a failure. No sir, the tax payer HAD to bail him out. While that money was repaid in time, it still sent the wrong message. Now, today, Chrysler is in financial trouble again. One small(?) problem for them this time, America doesn't have the cash to help them. We cannot even pay for the Bush wars with our own money. We are fighting two illegal wars of choice with borrowed money. Our biggest creditor, China. Think on that the next time you buy your goodies at Wal-Mart.
I pick on old Wal-Mart just because they sell so much "made in China" stuff and they ARE an easy target and I'm a senior citizen and disabled so I'll take an easy shot now and then. Yes, many other companies,stores, etc, sell tons of "made in China" goods also. As I said, Wal-Mart IS an easy mark.
The way we allow the mess with the Palestinians and Israel to continue pisses me off to no end. Why do we, who claim to be for freedom and democracy, allow this to continue? We let the Zionists who run Israel get away with anything they wish when they "deal" with the Palestinians. The American attitude seems to be that if the Palestinians give up something, maybe the Israelis will give them more freedom. What do the Palestinians HAVE that they could give up? They do not control anything at all. They do not control their own access to any place in the region, they have no airport, no sea port, they cannot use roads that are designated "Israeli Only", they have no economy, they do not control their water supply even. In reality, the Palestinians have NOTHING. Nothing to give up, nothing to lose, just plain simple nothing. Well, sure they do have their lives, such as they are. Anybody want to trade a Palestinian his/her life for yours? I bet not. I sure as hell would not want to live as they are forced to do. Gaza is the worlds largest prison, if not in fact, at least in effect. Who would want to live like that? Why does America continue to, not just allow this, but support the Zionist government that does this? AIPAC? Money? What? Complex deal isn't it? Maybe if America cut off foreign aid to ALL countries, we'd see real change towards peace there. It's a thought. Might even work.
It won't happen though. Why not? Religion. Many so-called Christians see greater Israel as a requirement for the return of Jesus and the end of the world. Well, what about the billions of people on this planet who don't believe in Jesus or Christianity? We get screwed just because some book says this is how things are supposed to be? That sure as hell sucks shit. How does anybody know that the Bible is correct? You do NOT know. You cannot know. There are other books from other religions that make a very different claim. How can anybody know that those books are correct? How can anybody know if ANY religious book is correct? You cannot possibly know with any real, honest certainty. Nobody knows who wrote these books. Most of them were written long after the main characters were dead and buried. Also, many of them are basically a rework of much older stories from earlier civilizations and religions. So, it is impossible to KNOW that any of these books are true or not. It all comes down to what you believe. Also, no "average" human being reads many of these books in the original language in which they were written. The books have been translated, and we all know that things DO get lost in an y translation. Again, you CANNOT know that any of these books are correct.
Religion is all belief, nothing more. My personal opinion. If this upsets you, well, so be it. Did I stub your toes on this one? Well, if you ever come back this way again, wear steel toed work boots. This is MY personal opinion and I am allowed to express it. I am sick of all this "religious" crap of which religion is the "true" religion. None of them are. They have ALL changed over time from the absolute original.
Along a similar line, what gives America the "right" to tell other countries how to govern themselves? Where the hell do "we" get off with this shit? This does fit in with my "bitch" about religion in fact. How so? Well, Americans (at least a good number of them) make the claim that this is a Christian nation.Really? Well I know some little bit about Christianity. I admit that is it nearly 50 years ago that Christianity and I started to part company and by the time I got back from Vietnam in 1971, we had parted finally and completely., but I do remember a few things fromChristianity even today. Now, it may be that I just see the hypocrisy in the way this "Christianity" of America is put into practice, we shall see.
If America IS a Christian nation, why does it go about business in a very un-Christian way? For example, our government runs around the world telling other countries how to do their governing. "We" tell other folks how they should "take care of their own" in their country. Well, we don't do a very good job of that here for our own do we? How can "we" get away with this when there are some 46 million Americans who have NO health care? When there are millions of homeless here in America. Many of those homeless are American military veterans! This is how "we" support our troops?
This is the "Christian" way?
Our government goes off to other countries and kills their people, for whatever reason, it doesn't really matter in the end, dead is dead. Doesn't Christianity teach us to "love our enemies"? Doesn't it tech to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? Maybe "we" secretly wish to have foreign troops invade us and go around killing our fellow Americans?
How do you square our national behavior with being a Christian nation? I don't see how it can be done without huge doses of lies and bullshit. If America acts like a Christian nation, I will remain a heathen forever. Hell, at least I am honest about this.
America does NOT have a "mission from God". The only folks who ever had a true "mission from God" were the Blues Brothers in the original movie. Period. America does NOT have such a mission. If this country did have such a mission, we should have universal health care, free education through college level, a decent minimum wage, honest government, and a military for defence ONLY. Then, and only then, could "we" claim to be some shining example of a Christian nation and THEN we might set off to HELP the rest of the world to acieve what we had done. Not one single milli-second before that time. America goes off saying how dirty the other folks house is, while ours is a total mess. What absolute hypocricy! And it is the DUTY of every Christian to change this shit. Take care of your own first. Take care of EVERY American before you start to even try to help the rest of the world. Until you do this, you are fake Christians in my opinion.
Oh, and one more thing. STOP telling ME that I MUST believe in Jesus. Bull crap. I can believe what ever I choose to believe or not believe. If you have found "the one true" religion, great. I am very happy for you. Just don't try to convince me that I must believe it also.
Live and let live. I do NOT try to get anybody to believe as I do, please do me the same favor. Do unto others, etc. I try to live that way, now it is the turn of all you religious folks to do the same.
semper fi

Iran and the "real id"

Well, Iran has made it back into the US news again. Yes, I am slow in this reply to the "latest" news(?) about Iran. I figure it is best to wait a few days and let things sort themselves out rather than do a Faux Noise type comment immediately without benefit of really knowing what happened. So, for that, I guess you can call me reactionary or un-American or at least anti-Faux Noise (aka Fox News).
The entire "affair" now seems to have been a manufactured job. Many of the commentaries have pointed out that the audio does not match up with the video. Well, what the hell you folks want? The bloody damn neo-cons want another war, this time with Iran. They will do whatever it requires to get that war. We, who still think for ourselves, must do whatever we can to prevent this from happening.
The neo-crazies are the REAL anti-Americans here people. The neo-cons hate our freedoms. They despise OUR constitution also. Oh, they "talk" about democracy and freedoms, but only if THEY control everything. If we follow their "rule", then all will be well in the world.
Bullshit! The neo-con "plan" is for American dominance of the entire world. With them in charge of it all. They are a lunatic bunch of homicidal maniacs, but they will never do any actual fighting. No sir, the dying and fighting are the "jobs" of the "lower classes" of Americans. The neo-cons are too pure to be involved in the actual goddamn dirty work of actually fighting the wars they wish for. Fucking chicken shits is what they really are. Goddamn school yard bullies, nothing more than all talk and no guts for the job when push comes to shove. Fucking cowards, that is your precious neo-cons. Cheney included as number one coward. No balls at all. Five fucking deferments? You bet, he had "other priorities" during Vietnam. Hell so did ALL the troops in Vietnam. We called those priorities, getting back home in one piece.
Now, I have no problem with an honest coward. Some folks just have no stomach for hard, dirty work. But an honest person will admit this up front. The neo-cons are dishonest. They talk big, but never will get their lilly white hands dirty. Hell no, that is what the kids of the working class and poor folks are for. Clean up the mess made by the neo-cons. Well, time to cut them loose. Let the neo-crazies fight their own fucking wars. Bet there will be way fewer wars that way.
Now this "real id" crap. People born after 1964 are to be looked at closely when they apply for a drivers license, or get one renewed. Us old folks, like me, who were born before then won't see any change for some years down the line.
This is, we are told, to make it harder for illegal aliens to get a drivers license. Oh joy. They are here folks. They have jobs here and kids in our schools. Why the big deal over drivers licenses? Well, Homie Land (in)Security has to do something to justify the huge amounts of funding it gets every year. Building that border fence won't take that much money and won't take too long to build, so, the drivers license deal is born.
Actually, this "real id" is not a new thing. It has been around for some time now. Sort of an "on then off then on again" type of thing.
We should all be against this crap. Do we really want to be like some foreign countries? The kind like in some movies, where every time you go out and about, some fool with a uniform (think your average rent-a-cop) can stop you and ask for "Your papers please"? Do we, in America want that sort of bullshit? I do NOT!
People, we are becoming way too paranoid. This is America. We supposedly love our freedoms. This crap will limit our freedoms. It is more government bullshit and will NOT in any way make any of us one bit safer.
Just my 2 cents for today.
semper fi

At long last, the elections have started.........sort of

Well, yippeeeeee. The election "cycle" has finally had the official start. It seems to me they have been running for president for the last three years, at least.
I have a comment or three about it, of course. I also have one observation to pass along. First off, the "observation" as it were. Earlier today I caught a quick glimpse of a headline to the effect, Is America color blind? It was referring to Obama winning the Iowa caucus.
My short answer, NO. Why? Well, I read a very good commentary about Senator Obama on Counterpunch the other day. Of course I cannot find the article to give you the link, I'm still looking for it.
Basically the article had the premise that it was time for a change and as Obama is not of the "boomer" generation, he is younger, the young voters were energized by his candidacy. Well, I hope they are. Honestly. Having more Americans involved in the election process has got to be a good thing. If none of us bother to vote, then we will be stuck with whatever the "powers that be" decide to stick us with. Yes, I KNOW that things aren't really much different than that today. I keep hoping we will get REAL change, and having the young people joining the process is a plus in my opinion.
I even have a cousin, whom I email regularly who told me this past summer that he was leaning towards Mr. Obama. My cousin is a few years older than me, so even us "boomers" like him.
I have yet to decide who/whom to back for president. By the time Louisiana has its primary the field will probably be quite a bit smaller than it is now. And, we have had Senators Dodd and Biden quit already.
Getting back to the Counterpunch article, the writer said that it was time for the "boomer" generation to step aside and let the "kids" (my words here) take command.Well, this is how I felt (bet many "boomers" felt this way also) when Billy Bob Bubba Clinton ran back in 92. We were tired of the World War Two generation (in the person of papa Bush) running things. Hell, I was so wrapped up in "one of us" running for president that I even voted for him instead of for the candidate from the "Peace and Freedom Party". Big mistake, but, heck, I'm only human.
Now one could say that "our" generation has "only" run the show for going on 16 years now. Eight years of Billy Bob and now going on eight years of the Shrubster. Not a very long time in power. But, one must also ask, and be damned HONEST about the answers here, just what have "we" done with our "turn" at being in charge.
OK, what have "we" done? Well, we had the first lady "chair" a secret gathering to set national health care policy. It went nowhere fast. We bombed in Bosnia and Kosovo. Two small countries in the Balkans that America has no business messing with. Thanks Billy Bob and Hi-Larry. Yes, Ma Clinton pushed Bill to bomb. And of course Mad-ass Albright asked old General Powell why we had that big army if "we" weren't going to use it. Of course old Mad-ass also said she thought it was "worth it" that our sanctions after Gulf Wart One (thanks papa Shrub) had killed an estimated 500,00 Iraqi children. Worth it? The un-necessary deaths of 500,000 children was worth it? Who the goddamn fuck is this bitch? Oh, she was our damn-bastard to the UN and Secretary of State. See who preceded Condi? Holy shit! Where do we get theses assholes from? Granted Mad-ass was born in what was Czechoslovakia, so maybe her ideas of a constitutional republic may differ from ours. Maybe human suffering, in her opinion, is different from my idea of it. We cut and ran from Somalia on Bill's watch. We continued to kiss the ass end of Israel, of course. We bombed Iraq on a regular basis. There were those "no fly" zones, remember? We fired a few cruise missile at Sudan, we thought bin-Laden was there. We fired a few cruise missile at Afghanistan, we thought bin-Laden was there. We had old Greenspan as head of the Fed, setting the stage for the dot com bubble and our current housing/credit bubble.
We invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. We have threatened to bomb/invade Iran. We have made Pakistan even worse. We have allowed Palestine to degrade even further, how much worse can that poor country(?) get?
Those are just a few of the things that my generation has done while "running the show". Maybe it IS time to have the next generation step up and have a shot at running things. I don't think they could do much worse.
OK, now for another "take" on the Iowa "election". I caught a glimpse of that headline asking if America is "color blind" because Obama won. I do not think so. I wish it were, but I really think he won because people DO want change and there was not very much else to choose from in the donkey gang.
Poor Hi-Larry. The ONLY group that she really won was with women over 60. Poor Hi-Larry is having a hard time of this election. The majority of the establishment types was that she would have a "cake walk" into the nomination. Oooops! Not to be by the looks of things. Apparently the folks in Iowa didn't think very much of her "experience" as first lady and her short time as a US Senator from New York. Well, bless her little heart. Sorry Hi-Larry, but you are toast. Go back to New York, suck up to the bankers, corporate big shots and the defence contractors.
Obama HAS connected with college kids at least. It has been reported that they went back to their home towns for this caucus and voted for him. This is unusual as the college folks don't usually do this sort of thing during their school breaks. We tend to think of them having one big party while on break. This winter, in Iowa, they voted! Outstanding!
For democracy to truly function, we NEED and engaged, informed citizenry. Looks like we have that in Iowa. No we will see how it goes in the next primaries.
Look for the Clinton gang to take every cheap shot in the books, and some that aren't in the books, at Obama. This is going to get very nasty. Hi-Larry hates to lose.
On the elephant side, Huckabee won. Yep, the Baptist preacher beat the Mormon business guy. Both are former governors, if that means much. I have a very hard time trying to imagine either as leader of more than a pack of demented cub scouts, but that is me. One could always vote for Dr. Ron Paul. He is still running as a Republican. Of course, he has been excluded from the TV debates set for tomorrow on the Faux Noise Nutwork. No surprise there. The establishment does NOT want him to have any real shot at the nomination.
Any way you look at this deal, it is going to be fun for those of us who sit back and watch it all open up. You can bet the farm that both gangs will be throwing tons of mud at each other, if they haven't started already. Make sure you wear your rain gear while watching this election process folks. As Justin Raimondo says, get out the popcorn and find a comfy chair, it is going to be fun watching this one.
semper fi

Follow on to the Pakistan entry

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

Follow on to the Pakistan entry

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

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

Merry Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, back to the "homegrown Terrorist" bill.

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