ok, this shit is going to damn far now

OK, now I'm getting highly pissed off at the shit going on in Washington D.C. and TelAviv. The shit is getting pretty damn deep. And it is going to be us, the "average" Americans who will suffer for the bullshit that is going on in those cities.
What is the old fart (me) going off about now? Oh, nothing much, just the facts that Israel is "pushing" and pushing bloody damn hard to get US, as in America, to attack Iran for them.
They have said that if "we" don't do it, they will be "forced" to attack Iran on their own. Oh, the poor fucking little babies! Dear me, if we won't fight another of their goddamn asshole wars, they will be "forced" to do it themselves. Well. my reply is this, let them go right ahead and do it. BUT, once they do, and even before they start, WE (as in America) tell the whole world, that WE (as in America again) have nothing to do with this shit and further, that WE (yep, America again) have told them not to do this idiotic mission, which will be considered by the rest of the world, including America, to be a war crime, crime against peace, crime against humanity, and other violations of international laws.
If they then go ahead with this bullshit war against Iran, they will be on their own. America will NOT jump to defend the aggressors, Israel, if they attack Iran. No sir, not this time folks. Better yet, never again. America should NEVER defend any aggressor nation period. That Israel has gotten away with this shit before no longer matters. We have to demand that our "leaders" do not fall for any more bullshit propaganda from Israel. We have had enough of their shit and we refuse to be their proxy military force. They sucked us into Iraq for sure, now they want us to bomb the shit out of Iran.
Why do they want this? Well, they have nukes. Israel is the only country in the Middle East who has nuclear weapons. They are dead scared that Iran may get one some day. This would be unacceptable to the Israeli government as they would no longer be the sole possessor of those nasty weapons. They would not be the "top dog" in that region. They cannot accept that others might be even close to having a military capable of being even with theirs. This same bullshit attitude has infected the government of America. It is way past time to end this childish game of "king of the hill" and grow up and act like adults, stop playing in the little kiddies sand box.
According to some sources, the plan is to attack between the election in November and the inauguration in January. Why then? Well, it would "lock" America "having" to defend our "ally"(???) Israel. We would have to defend them from the Iranian retaliation. Why? Hell, if they attack Iran, why would we be obligated to back up the aggressors? Do we have a "mutual defense" agreement with Israel? I haven't seen one.
Another report mentioned that Israel has a much more powerful military than Iran has. This makes an attack on Iran a "good deal" for some "think tank" idiots. Also, the Israeli military IS more well supplied with modern equipment that Iran has. This is fact so far.
Another reason for an attack on Iran in the near future. The Iranians have on order a new, sophisticated air defense system from Russia. This system would make an air attack on Iran, by Israel or America, very costly to the attackers. See, "we" must attack Iran soon, before they have a decent defense system in place.
Now, to me, this all sounds like a school yard bully. Or, it sounds just like the sort of shit that W. Shrub would get behind fast. Same difference to me, W or a school yard bully. Yes sir, pick the weakest kid around you and slap the shit out of him. Why? Well, because you can. No real reason needed. After all, that weak kid might take karate lessons some day and be able to kick the shit out of the bully, so kick his ass now, before he can fight back.
No, this sort of goddamn bullshit, so typical of the right wing assholes in Israel and America must stop. And it must stop NOW. If we here in America let this happen again, there will be nothing left of OUR constitutional republic. We might as well just turn ourselves in at the nearest police station and get sent to the camps.
one short note to end this for now. I am NOT anti-Jewish in any way. I am not anti-Semitic either. That means, if you look it up in the old Oxford English Dictionary, that you dislike Jews AND Arabs! Yes sir, BOTH the Arabs and the Hebrews are Semitic peoples. Therefore, a true anti_semite would dislike BOTH Jews and Arabs. Just wanted you to know that for the next time you are critical of the Israeli government and some asshole calls you an anti-Semite for your comments.
Now, my closing note. If Israel keeps pushing us into their damned wars, there is a very good possibility of some serious anti-Jewish feelings being expressed here in America. It may not get as bad as, say, Nazi Germany, but it could get quite bad nonetheless. I just wonder if the folks at AIPAC or the ADL or other groups like them have even considered this possibility. Hell, if I can even think of it, there must be some folks who are much smarter than I am who have thought about it. Do they want to open that pandoras' box? I sure as hell would not. But then, who the hell am I? I'm just an old (60) former US Marine/Vietnam vet who is permanently disabled from a work injury. Yep, only have a community college degree to my "educational accomplishments".
Well, that is enough for today.
semper fi

a death and other tings

Hi all. It has been longer than I wanted since the last entry here. Life has kept me a bit busy of late. Old pain hasn't been very helpful either, but that is my problem.

First off, I wish to mention the passing of the husband of one of the readers of this small "corner" of the Internet.
Dr. Charles Beattie died recently. He was a highly respected anesthesiologist.
He had been the chair of that department at Vanderbilt University even. You can view their tribute to him at the following link.
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=6442
His family and friends and the medical community will surely miss this fine human being. Their loss is ours also.

Now to some "other" new news.
Old Mr. McClellan has a new book out. By now, I am sure most of you who stop by here every now and then know this already.
Well, now for my "take" on this matter so far. I have NOT read the book yet. I do NOT wish to part with my own meager income to "freshen" his bank account either. I may read it if the local library in Glenmora ever gets a copy of it.
Why should you or I help his bank balance? No reason at all as far as I see things. IS he really telling us anything that we don't already know from reading the truth from the Internet these last 7 + years? I doubt that much of what he has to say is really "new" to most of you folks.
My opinion, it is a "tell all" that won't quite tell that much. What he has to say has already been made known to serious readers of various Internet sites for years. WE knew that Shrubbie lied. WE knew that Cheney lied. WE knew that Condi lied. WE damn well knew that Rummy lied.
Why then would WE be "shocked" at any "new" revelations of lying by this criminal administration?
Well, MAYBE if you work for Faux Noise of Crap Nuts Network or some other "big media" outfit. Sure, they might be "shocked" by this book, but hell, they are liars also. No honor among thieves is how it seems to me.
Oh, the poor little feller. He is getting flack from "high sources" over his "revelations" in this book.
Well, sir, tough shit! You pays your money and you takes your chances. What did this little twerp expect? That he would be greeted as a "liberator"? Sure thing there Scott, just like our troops were in Iraq. Oh, wait, you say our troops were NOT greeted as "liberators". That they have been, and currently are viewed as "occupiers"? Well, well, well. How about that shit there Scott. Guess you aren't all that "liberated" either are you?
Be careful there Mr. McClellan, Cheney just might give you a more permanent "liberation" before he is done.
To me, this book is just another example of the rats departing a sinking ship. I won't be surprised if more of the neo-crazies are working hard right now on "their" versions of the facts seen through their odd coloring of events. Screw them also.
My suggestion, do NOT buy any of these type of books. Let the publishers have to deal with huge stacks of unsold copies of the screeds of these damn criminals. McClellan is as guilty as any other member of this most criminal administration ever. Let him do without for a change.
What have they done for our troops? Medical care for the wounded? Where? The "great" VA? You mean the "wonderful" center piece palace of Walter Reed? Right!
You mean those VA or GI "benefits" that Shrubbie keeps cutting? The "new" GI Bill that even McCrazy is against? Wow, Scott, you and your old bosses sure do "support the troops" now, don't you? Fucking goddamn asshole little shit. This disgusting criminal gang and their "associates" like McClellan make me want to puke all over the damn keyboard!
They are the most disgusting of the absolute bottom feeders we have had the displeasure to endure in many years. Hell, this goddamn bunch of assholes make Nixon and even Bubba Clinton look good! And that is something that is very hard to do.
No, let this little turd whine all he wants, just don't buy his book. Let him do without his "benefits" the same as they make our troops do without.
Fuck the entire goddamn criminal gang and their hangers-on in both houses of Congress.
Stop letting our "elected" representatives treat US like employees. THEY work for US. Read the Constitution if you don't agree. THEY are OUR representatives. NOT our bosses, and we had best stand up and tell them so, or we will soon have nothing left for ourselves. No constitutional republic, no economy, not even much of a country left if we fail.
Just the way this pissed off old Marine/Vietnam vet feels today.
semper fi

Who in the HELL are these supposed Americans any way?

Please read the following article. It will be looked into by me at the end of it. My "take" on this article and what this government of ours is up to, or is that "down to"?

May 6, 2008

Condi Stomps the Mullahs

Philip Giraldi

The war drums are again beating. It's beginning to look like the neocons have cranked up their useful idiots in the Bush administration for a fall offensive, target Iran. And maybe also Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians.

The bad guys' list, which is remarkably similar to a roll call of Israel's enemies, seems to have expanded both vertically and horizontally at a time when the U.S. military is using paper clips and chewing gum to hold together its efforts in Iraq. The critique of Iran has sharpened and intensified and new friends of Iran have been discovered in Afghanistan and Gaza. Even Venezuela is accused of being a tad too close to the mullahs, criticized by the State Department for having "deepened relations" with Iran and establishing a weekly flight connecting Caracas with Tehran via Iran Airlines. Lest there be any misunderstanding, doing business or even talking nice with Iran will not be tolerated.

It is not clear where the resources for a new war will come from, particularly if Tehran is audacious enough to resist, but some in the White House and Pentagon seem convinced that unleashing death by means of bombers and cruise missiles is enough to bring the hated mullahs to their knees. It is surely no coincidence that Iran was featured in the annual State Department report on terrorism that came out on Wednesday, which says,

"Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism. Elements of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were directly involved in the planning and support of terrorist acts throughout the region and continued to support a variety of groups in their use of terrorism to advance their common regional goals. Iran provides aid to Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraq-based militants, and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan."

That summary includes just about everybody that the United States dislikes, and all of them are now conveniently linked to Iran.

Iran was also excoriated last week by the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the director of the CIA, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Everyone was on message: "Iran is killing our troops!" And then there is the supporting chorus from Israel, with Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz claiming that "Iran will have nuclear bomb technology by the end of this year." And from Sen. Hillary Clinton: "I will obliterate Iran." In George Orwell's 1984 there was an obligatory "Two Minutes Hate" every day in which the enemies of the Oceania state were pilloried. Iran currently endures much more than the required two minutes.

One of the most discouraging aspects of the new wave of Iran bashing is the climbing on board by the so-called realists in the Bush administration. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is frequently cited as a force for reason and restraint, presumably reflecting the misgivings of some flag officers for a broadening conflict in the Middle East. But the more demonstrative of those officers, most particularly in the person of Adm. William Fallon, have been removed and replaced by those more amenable to the wishes of the administration, namely Gen. David Petraeus, whose moral code appears to be limited to whatever the White House tells him to think. Gates said last week that the dispatch of a second aircraft carrier group to the Persian Gulf would serve as a "reminder" to Iran. His words were echoed by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who warned Iran that "it would be a mistake to think we are out of combat power." Sounds a bit like "all options are on the table."

Meanwhile, the chief of operations for the senior U.S. military staff, Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, broadened the indictment of Iran, citing Tehran's support for the Taliban: "There is indication that the Iranian support of the Taliban has continued." Ham did not provide any details of what Iran sends or how much, a hallmark of accusations directed against the mullahs. Nor does he appear to be aware of the fact that the Sunni Taliban and Shi'ite Iranians are hardly close friends, having a long and bitter history that features massacres on both sides, including the killing of 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 by the Taliban.

The intelligence community has also been widely considered pragmatic in its approach to the Middle East, but consider CIA Director Michael Hayden's latest: "It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq." It is worth asking what precisely Hayden means as director of Central Intelligence when he refers to something as "his opinion." Does he have hard evidence that the Iranians have put out an order to kill Americans? Or is he saying that Iran's leaders, fearful of the presence of 150,000 U.S. troops next door and a naval flotilla on its doorstep, would like to see the enterprise fail so the soldiers and sailors will depart? And what does "to facilitate the killing of Americans" actually mean?

But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tops the field. Known for her inability to articulate a foreign policy based on U.S. national interest, Rice sits on the political fence most of the time, a Gucci boot dangling on either side, but recently it was believed that she was preaching moderation. Not so any more. The worst national security adviser and worst secretary of state in memory has now added to her laurels. Her understanding of what is taking place in the Middle East places her only one notch above the comprehension level exhibited by her boss.

Last Tuesday, Rice spoke in Washington at the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee. She said, "But perhaps of deepest concern, the leaders of Hamas are increasingly serving as the proxy warriors of an Iranian regime that is destabilizing the region, seeking a nuclear capability, and proclaiming its desire to destroy Israel." Rice also described a new "belt of extremism" that includes Hamas, the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon, militants in Iraq, and "radicals even increasingly in places like Afghanistan." Per Secretary Rice, that it is "supported overwhelmingly by Iran and to a certain extent Syria, but particularly Iran, gives this conflict a regional dimension it has not had before."

Rice's problem is that she is spokesman for a worldview that has blinders on. For her, there are no degrees of bad guy, and as they are all terrorists anyway, it is impossible to talk to them. All who oppose U.S. or Israeli policy are subsumed into the same enemy, which conveniently reduces foreign policy to a simple formula that neatly lumps together a whole range of groups with different antecedents and objectives. It is a vision that guarantees failure and that actually makes more terrorists than it succeeds in eliminating, as Rice's own annual report on terrorism concedes. While Rice's ignorant message was undoubtedly reassuring to the American Jewish Committee, it should not comfort the vast majority of Americans who are not threatened by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi militants, Syria, or the Taliban. Nor are Americans threatened by Iran unless U.S. policymakers and their neocon drivers make it so by firing the first shot. And there is no hope from the Democrats. Barack will do whatever it takes to make The Lobby like him, and Hillary's finger is already on the trigger. Eighty million Iranians will be obliterated as soon as that 3 a.m. phone call comes in. One presumes that John McCain will not even wait for the phone call.

OK, for the record, Mr Giraldi was a CIA officer. That either gives him or takes away from his credibility. Depends on how you view that past employment. To me, I say it reinforces his credibility  as he knows what he is talking about.

Now what really gets me wound up is this, just who the fuck do "we" think "we" are?  I mean, here is Condi, the worst national security advisor and probably the very worst Secretary of State ever in America, telling anybody and everybody that if they even "talk politely to Iran, they will end up on "our" shit list! What the fuck!!!????  Since when did "we" get to tell the entire world who they can or cannot be nice to?

Now, I know that Shrubbie thinks that he is on a "mission from God", but he is NOT. In fact the ONLY Americans who ever were on a true "mission from God" were the Blues Brothers, the original movie, not the sequel. And even they don't really count as Dan Ackroyd was born a Canadian! Little Georgie is NOT on any "divine" mission. No sir!

I used to get highly pissed at the odd fundie "Christians", you know the type, they go to these non-denominational churches that meet in old warehouses and other old industrial type buildings, with names like "Cornerstones" or "Vineyard Fellowship". They are the ones who, despite the real truth of our founders, claim that America is a "Christian nation". Well, it is NOT and never was, nor was it intended to be. The founders were, for the most part Unitarians and/or deists. A very few were from any Christian church, and none of them put "God" in the founding documents. They DO mention a creator, but wouldn't a Christian demand that God be named? The founders did not do so. They even included the separation of church and state. They did not want the state telling you how or whom to worship, nor did they want any church telling government how to govern. It should have worked to the advantage of both sides.

Well, when I lived in Ontario, California, the city ran a couple of neat programs for the citizens of the city. One was all about the police department and how it worked. The other was about the various city agencies and how they worked. Both of the courses were about 13 or 14 weeks long, once a week for about 4 hours each meeting. Very interesting and was worth our time going to both programs. Sherie and I got involved with city government during that time. We went to city council meetings and got active in the city. Nothing of any "big deal" just active citizens looking into how and what our city was doing.

Any way, there was one of those "Christians" in the group we were in during the classes. He kept trying to tell me, a heathen, how America is, was, and always would be a true Christian nation. I argued that he was wrong, brought in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to prove my points. I even got books from the city library to show the beliefs of many of the founders. Shot his "balloon" full of holes. Hey, I was a Marine, and every Marine is a rifleman!

Well, I used to do that quite a lot, defend the founders and deflating the "America as a Christian nation" bull crap. No longer though. I am thinking seriously of quitting that line of "work". Why? Because I now think they are right. I believe that America IS a "Christian nation".

Oh, charlie, you say, how can you think that? Well sir, it is damn easy. Follow along with me. The Christian "book" (I was raised as a Lutheran and do remember a few things from that time) tells them that before they criticize their neighbors' house as being dirty, they had best make sure that their own house is very, very clean. Does America do that? No way Jose!

So, how does that little item above qualify as America being a "Christian nation"? Easy, it shows that America is hypocritical in its' foreign policy. OK, you say, but how does that tie in? Right here. Most "Christians" are hypocrites. And I will give a prime example.

The church we went to up to my freshman year in high school (I had a job by the next year that required me to work Sundays) was across the street from a donut shop. Now they had an early church service, a break, then Sunday School, another break, and then the second church service.

My friends and I would go across the street to grab a donut and coffee after church, before Sunday School. As we walked across the parking lot, we would  hear the "good Christians" expressing themselves to each other as they drove out of the parking lot. Almost always some poor driver would try to make a left turn out of the lot onto the street. It was a four lane street, two lanes each way. Now this is usually a bit frustrating even today in most cities as the traffic flow always makes this maneuver a bit of a challenge. To hear the drivers behind this left turning driver knowing they had just been in church not five minutes ago was an eye opener. They were cursing like drunken sailors, or sober Marines (LOL). Good Christian values? Hypocrites! Therefore, YES, America IS a "Christian nation", and woe be unto any heathen country!

Just look at the recent "statements"  from Hi-Larry of the Clan Clinton. If Iran were to attack Israel (something that the Iranians know would be suicide) she would "obliterate Iran"!!!! What the hell???!!!!!!!??? Since when did "we" become the protector of that country? Yes, I know, I know, many, many years ago. Yeah, sure, right. Hells bells people. Do you want your kids or grandkids to die for a foreign country?

I don't have any kids, our only child died after just being in this world for six weeks. If I did have kids, I would not want them to die for this country, let alone some foreign country that is the most powerful in the area of the world where they exist. Israel has the most powerful military in the entire region of the Middle East. They don't need us to threaten their enemies for them. They do that job quite well enough themselves than you.

But, the "good Christians" (aka hypocrites) eat this shit up like manna from heaven. Just look at the nut case who is backing old McCrazy for president. The Rev. Hagee. There is a nut job for all times folks. He is looking forward to the "big battle" that will end everything!

Now, I STILL remember that Jesus, the "founder" of Christianity, said to "turn the other cheek". Also there was something about loving ones' enemies and other such "nonsense". The oddest(?) part of HIS teaching being that odd bit about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. To me, that means that the Rev. Hagee, McCrazy, Hi-Larry, and of course this entire criminal administration would not mind all that much of some other "fun loving" Christian nation who just happen to have a few spare nuclear weapons laying around with nothing to do, were to drop them on us. After all, they are willing to do this to the Iranians, so, following the do unto others bit, turn about would be very much fair play. Wouldn't it? Sure it would charlie, and just what the hell ARE you smoking in those home made cigarettes? "Wacky backie"???

Well, think about it. Seriously. Damnit! I mean if they are going to be "true" Christians doesn't this work? I look at it like this; if I want to punch Tom, then I ought to accept that Tom also wants to punch me. Do unto others, being the rule here. Why doesn't this apply to the Rev. Hagee? McCrazy? Hi-Larry? The Shrubbie gang? Israel? Oh, wait, it does NOT apply to Israel. They quit before the New Testament. Sorry about that, my bad. The "leadership"(???) of America is the most arrogant, stupid bunch of fools ever assembled in one country in the entire history of the planet. Arrogance and stupidity, now THAT is a lethal combination folks. My worry is that it will be America that is destroyed. Yes, I do place my country as more important. I would bet that the citizen of every other country, places his or her country as the most important. It is human nature to do so. Each of us feels that our family is more important than any other family. What I mean here, is that we take care of our own, before we take care of others. That is just human nature, or so I think it is. No harm, no foul, just the way people are. A statement of fact and NOT in any way, a judgement.

Well, I sure as hell was wound up this morning. That is what happens when I read crap like Condi telling the world "how to behave" or big bad "Merica will get them. What a damn hypocrite she is. But, she works for this criminal enterprise we call our administration, so she has to be such a critter, or she'd be in the unemployment lines. This is NOT to defend her, she is not qualified for the job she holds, just like the rest of the administration!

I'll close this for now. I don't know if anyone got to this part, probably bored to death long ago. Well, sorry about that, not.

semper fi

All my cats are "PC"

Well, I have been "threatening" to do this for a while now. Today, it comes true. Yes, this post is about my cats. And, yes, all of them are "PC". In their case "PC" means they are "pesky critters", and for cats, that is normal. If there IS a normal for cats.

Might as well start at the beginning of the current cat crew who inhabit the house with me.
About a year ago, mam cat, now called Buttercup, appeared in the yard. I had seen her a time or two, when one day she came close to me. It was obvious that she had been someones house cat before as she wasn't really afraid of me. (Not an easy thing to do for cats or humans.) I got her some food, as I had had cats before and just lost the last of my "California cats" at the age of 15 a few weeks before plus the little dog, Beau, only eats cat food since Miss Peach and Little Bits entered his life, I had enough for this "new" cat as well. She ate it quite fast and looked at me to say, "Got any more of that?". Well, of course I fed her more. Then she went off towards the woods to the Northwest of the house. A few hours later, she returned. Aha, more food. This continued for a few days, then one day as I was going in to get her some food, she followed me inside. OK, I thought, this might work. She stayed about 30 minutes and let me pet her, which she really liked. Then off she went. A few hours she was back and we repeated the last visit. Just about dusk, she left again and didn't return until morning. This went on for about a week. One morning as I was going to the mail box, I noticed two small orange blurs on the porch. As I came back with the mail, there they all were, mama and two small kittens. So, she had suckered me! Hit me up for food and some attention to decide if I was OK for her kids! Well, she and her kids moved in. Guess I have a soft spot for cats.
Before I could get her to the vet to have her spayed, she was pregnant again, and had four kittens, all girls.
Well, as soon as she had weaned them, off to the vet we went. Now she had had the last set of four out in the woods again and I didn't know exactly how old they were. I tried to figure as close as possible, but, two of them ended up pregnant before I knew what was going on. I tend to be rather slow some days, old age getting me I suppose.
Well Foxie had two kittens on 14 March. One of them died within 24 hours though.
A few days later, Gracie, one of the four girls, died. I think and the vet agreed, that she must have had some sort of birth defect. We tried all we could to save her, but, no dice.
On 25 March, Miss Loxie had five kittens! Now I have Beau and 12 cats to keep me company. Or rather to make sure that I don't get much peace and quiet. LOL!
Miss Patches has been to the vet and has been spayed. Her sisters were going as well before I realized they were pregnant. They shall go as soon as they wean the kittens.
The oldest "baby", Foxie's only survivor, is five weeks old yesterday. He/she is really scooting along now. Very playful and extremely curious. A bundle of energy and even likes being near me. Imagine that! The others are closing in on four weeks this coming Tuesday. Time flies when you're having fun.
The most interesting thing about this whole "family" is the way the two girls have interacted with the babies. I had made a nice box for each of them and they were very happy with that arraignment for a week or two. One day, Foxie had moved her kitten to another box, so I placed her cushion and towel in it and she was set. A few days later, I went to look in on Loxie and hes kids. They weren't in their box! They had moved in with Foxie and the "scooter". Now that was OK by me and they all seemed happy, still are in fact. Well, it was their choice. I change the towel every day so it stays nice and fresh form all. But here is the really neat part, as far as I see it. Both mothers nurse all the babies. Loxie will nurse the "scooter", and Foxie nurses Loxies' babies. Right now, Loxie is nursing two of hers and the "scooter" while Foxie is nursing the other three. Sort of like "team mothering". I had never seen cats do this before and I think it is very neat of them to do this. It may not be all that unusual among sisters in the cat world, but I had never witnessed it before.
Critters, they are truly amazing. When you consider that tiger with the little pigs, well, it starts to make you wonder why people can't be more like that. We are supposedly the only animals who think about things, yet we can't seem to get along with those who are the least bit different from us. I think my "PC" cats could teach us all a few good lessons here.
Just my quarters worth on this subject. Next time you go anywhere, say "hello" to somebody who is "different" from you. Smile at people, watch their reactions. It just might start a new trend of civility in America, or any place else where you might live.
semper fi,charlie

Double Standards and then some

I am not the first person to point out the double standard being applied regards Tibet and Palestine.
Both countries are being occupied by another country. Palestine has been occupied by Israel for 60 years now. Tibet has been occupied by China for 50 years.
Seeing as how the Palestinian occupation has gone on far longer, how is it that Tibet makes then news, but Palestine doesn't?
Could it be because Tibet has a Nobel Peace Prize winner? Well, Yassir Araft also won the Noble Peace Prize. That didn't seem to matter though. He died without being able to achieve peace with Israel.
Could it be that the Dalai Lama looks cool and wears that nice robe all the time? That he talks softly? The Palestinian leaders don't dress "cool", but they have spoken softly and of course quite loudly as well.
Could it be that Tibet is occupied by China, and that "we" are not quite friends with the Chinese? Why that is I have no idea. I mean, every time we shop, we probably buy something made in China. Try going to oh, say, Wal-Mart and not buying a made in China product. It can be done, but it takes some doing. I am not knocking Wal-Mart, they have prices that are affordable for the working people of America. And we all need to get as much "value" for our dollars as possible. That is, or at least was once, called "smart shopping".
China also holds right close to one trillion dollars of US debt. Yes sir, that is $1,000,000,000,000.00 in US Treasury notes. Now, if they were to, oh, say, change them for Euros, well, let's just say that our economy, such as it is, would be sunk. And damn fast too. Maybe we ought to try and stay on the "nice side" of China. Just for the sake of our old economy if for no other reason. Call it "self preservation". I call it being a good global neighbor, but who am I?
Is it just possible that the occupation of Palestine for the last 60 years doesn't get much "play" in the American media because Israel is our "ally"? Could it have anything to do with the lobby of all lobbies, AIPAC? That group (APIAC) does contribute a good deal of money to various political campaigns. Does money buy influence in America? Does a bear poop in the woods? Well, no, the bear poops in its hand and throws it into the woods. But that is another topic for another time. Maybe.
There is more public debate about the Israeli occupation of Palestine in Israel than there is here in America. There is more criticism of the Israeli government in Israel that is ever allowed in America? Why? Can you say AIPAC? Of course you can.
Now about now (if not sooner) some who are reading this (does anyone really read my stuff?) are saying, "OK, this charlie is an anti-Semite!". Sorry folks, I am NOT an anti-Semite. I AM an anti-Zionist though. Those ARE very different things, look it up if you don't believe me.
Not all Jews are Zionists. Not all Zionist are Jews either.
There are many very religious Jews who are anti-Zionist. They tend to get called "self hating Jews" by the Zionists. In America in particular, there are a large number of "Christian Zionists" as well. An example is the Rev. Hagee who has come out in support of good old John McCrazy for president. My personal opinion here, is that the "Christian Zionists" are more radical than the "Christian Fundamentalists" and that isn't easy to do. Some of those two groups do tend to overlap, but they are not necessarily the same thing.
The "Christian Zionists" also have monetary and political clout, not quite at the level of AIPAC, but getting close. Again, does money buy influence in America? Same reply again. America has the best government that money can buy, or so it seems.
Don't forget our "great" main stream media either. They follow the money also. It would seem that in America money DOES buy influence. Which could be a reason that the CEO's of hedge funds who make salaries in the billions, pay less taxes that their secretaries do. And they say that greed isn't good.
Fortunately the situation regards Palestine IS changing. There are a number of books, either out or due to be out soon, that detail the TRUTH about what went down in 1948 in Palestine. This will be a real eye opener for the vast majority of us all, not just Americans. It is way past time for this to happen, but at least it is finally happening. For that we can all be very thankful.
semper fi,
charlie

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