Today's Excuse

Numbers are strange things, they can be used in a lot of ways. But the bottom line is numbers by themselves don't lie, and numbers do add up.

According to recent reports, attacks against US 'Coalition' forces are up 25% in Iraq. Violence of every kind is up, from roadside IEDs to kidnappings to rockets launched even into the 'Green Zone.'

Since April 9, 2003, the day Saddam's metal statue was toppled in Firdis Square, any attempt at a real plan to bring and maintain peace, repair infrastructure, restore electricity, serve up clean water, and lend a hand to the Iraqis' restoration of order to their torn country seems to have been overridden by some in our administration.

Let me repeat that. The kinds of things that would have truly helped a post-invasion Iraq were scuttled and replaced by things that have created an ever-growing disaster.

I can only hope it has not gone past the point of no return.

But back to the numbers and the excuses... I remember we were told that the Iraqi insurgents (well, they called them terrorists) hated freedom so they were going to up their attacks. And sure enough, the attacks increased. Then we were told they would fight the return of 'sovereignty' (what a laugh) and things would get worse before they would get better. And so they did. And now we are told that the enemy (notice, Iraq is now our enemy) will do anything to prevent 'democratic' elections (again, what a joke), and will increase their attacks. And so they are. And again, we are being told things will get worse before it will get better.

Two and a half years of things getting worse is a long time, for our soldiers and for the peoples of Iraq. After the phony election in January, I imagine there will be another reason to explain the ever-widening insurgency.

Does it never occur to our neo-con neanderthals that there is a legitimate reason for the attacks? (Aside from the ones they themselves are perpetrating, of course... but that is another blog for another day.) We came, we saw, we overthrew. Now, why don't we get the hell out? Why don't we offer real help? Why don't we tell Iraq we will not stay, they have to take care of themselves? We did what they couldn't do: we removed a corrupt man from office, one we had installed ourselves. Now it is up to them. We broke it, but we can't begin to fix it while we are feasting off the carcass that lays rotting in the desert.

There are other reasons we can no longer fix it.

We lost our moral authority when we broke the basic rules of civilization and attacked a country that had not attacked us, and in fact didn't even have the means to attack us, to arrest one man. We lost our aura of righteousness when we ordered the dogs unmuzzled and the lightsticks anally inserted and the fake electrical wires attached to extremities. And we lost the support of the rest of the civilized world when we told them to shut up if they didn't go along with what we were doing.

So today's excuse is just like yesterday's, and we keep on doing things that make it worse, like bombing Fallujah and Samarra and the area around Tikrit and north and south and east and west of there. Since when does bombing a people make them friends? We say we want to win hearts and minds. What we are doing is akin to performing brain surgery with a sledgehammer. There, that'll fix it.

I can't believe Bush and Company are so stupid that they don't see this. Therefore, there is only one conclusion: they do see, and this is exactly what they want. More war, more resistance, more reason to ethnically cleanse those troublesome Sunnis and Shias. More excuses to keep our troops there under false pretenses, while we build massive embassies and bases and pipelines and gorge ourselves on the profits of war. Did you know that we have written into their law that their farmers cannot keep their own grain to use as seed for the next planting? Know why? So giant agri-business has yet another ready-made market for their genetically-altered products. Makes me want to scream.

When I joined the Air Force, I never imagined we would be sent across the world to make an enemy so we had to stay there and fight and die for Monsanto, Halliburton, and the Carlyle Group.

Where to Begin?

I watched, via the net, Al Gore's address to Georgetown University that he gave on October 18, 2004. CSPAN has it, if you want to watch. All the memories from 4 years ago flooded over me. At the time I was strongly in support of Gore and engaged in spirited debate with others on the forums that CNN hosted at the time. You had to be careful what you said or the moderator would suddenly kill your login. That happened to me a couple of times... but what I remember most is the final retort from the right, when we beat them back with how pathetic a choice Bush would be for President. They said, "Look, for you worst case scenario is he is in office for four years. How much harm could he do in four years?"

I think many of us know the answer to that now.

The US, once revered and respected and regarded as a symbol of freedom and tolerance and liberty around the world, is now reviled and mistrusted and regarded with fear and loathing.

Who would have thought it only took 4 years to do that?

The economy was booming, and projections were for trillions of dollars of surplus. The looming baby boomer Social Security disaster had been averted. Kids could go to college, it was a job-seeker's market, the onerous federal debt was being paid down.

Who would have thought this bounty could be undone from top to bottom in only 4 years?

Then there's the environment, education, health care, the state of our military, the trust or lack thereof in our government, international treaties, loss of liberty, the media control...

Bottom line is, four years has been more than enough to screw with America as we knew it. Four years has been more than enough to set us back at least 20 years. I am appalled at what Bushco has managed in 4 short years. There are some things that cannot be taken back. Preventive war, once struck, is not something you can erase with a presidential directive. The albatross all of us have been hung with can never be unhung.

That being said, this election year I won't just be sitting at my computer sharing my views in a community of others. I will be heading for a "swing state" to put my old boots on the ground to GOTV for Kerry. My knees aren't good anymore, and I haven't done any training to get ready for exertion. But I will do what I can, in word and in deed, to overturn the Selected resident of the White House.

I know how bad the last four years were. I simply cannot imagine four more.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

I read a brief article in my Web browsings titled, "Everything Didn't Change on 9/11." The author was at least hopeful that our Constitution still exists, the flag still flies, and the hearts of Americans are still by and large magnanimous, caring, and freedom-seeking.

Sadly there are some not-so-hopeful things that remain unchanged -- corporate greed (how delicious that by law, corporations are faceless and monolithic), income disparity, and endangered species among them.

You'd have to be Iraqi to see another rerun from pre-911. US-appointed Iyad Allawi, according to today's Sunday morning talking heads, wants to "take out Fallujah" before our election. Our military is supposedly more than ready to help him. I am reminded of the post-Desert Storm months when GHW Bush encouraged the Iraqis to overthrow Saddam, and Saddam grew in evilness by putting down that rebellion, creating mass graves we now seek.

It seems to me the Iraqi people haven't changed. They see Allawi, for plenty of reasons, as just another ruthless dictator appointed and supported by the US. Instead of the Republican Guard, he has the American military at his disposal to slaughter these dissidents.

The words in the Who's song apply equally well to the people of Iraq and the people of the United States. It may take a revolution here before the powers-that-be recognize that 9/11 didn't change everything.

"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

Getting Revenge on the Dead

I've seen this quote a few times now, included in reports about the recent penetration of the Oz-like "Green Zone" and the twin suicide bombings:

The National Security Adviser, Qassem Dawoud, said: "This cowardly act will not go unpunished. We shall strike them ... we shall smash them."

First, dying for what you believe in is hardly a cowardly act, is it? I mean, we give our highest honors for bravery and courage to our troops who put themselves in harm's way, and more oft than not Medals of Honor are distributed posthumously.

Second, how in the hell do you punish someone who is already dead? Yeah, yeah, I know Qassem means they want to go after the support system for those who try and take others with them as they commit this act.

But who has stopped to think how against human nature it is to kill oneself? What does it take? People who are so desperate, so void of hope, or so mentally depressed that they see their own death as a positive measure -- or maybe even a final pain-killing measure -- would strap explosives onto themselves and then detonate them. The human being, marvel of creation, could not have survived this long if suicide was easy.

I remember the story about Thich Quang Duc, in Saigon in 1963, dousing himself with gasoline and setting himself alight. And I remember thinking, "There is no greater sacrifice than this..." There was much to be said about whether or not Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation was right. But you have to admit, at least back then, it meant something.

And So Here We Are, At a Nexus

I participated in a survey online a week ago, and one of the questions was, "How would you feel if __________ is elected?"

Options of course were Kerry or Bush. The radio-buttoned list included terms like "hopeful" and "depressed" and "angry" and "joyful."

To be perfectly frank, I will be severely depressed if Bush manages to score the big one on November 2.

At the same time, I will be trying my best to be optimistic if Kerry wins. Recent statements made by him and by Edwards give me great pause, especially in regards to their attitude towards Israel. How can any thinking, feeling human being witness the massacre of the Palestinians (children! for God's sake, children!) without feeling something seriously wrong is going on there? And then the dynamic Democratic duo's hostile statements towards Iran?

On another note, I have recently been reading about Peak Oil. That term means the time in the life of an oil field (or even, more generally, in the life of the world's -finite- oil supply) when the ability to get oil out of the ground has reached its peak. In short, good times have stopped rolling. And nobody is talking about what this really means for the US, or the world's, economy. Nothing happens without oil. No transportation, electricity, manufacturing, no nothing. What happens when a commodity grows rare? Prices escalate. Mother earth only has so much black milk in her breast, and we've milked her for too long. We are about to be batted away from the everflowing crude, sent out on our own.

Dunno 'bout you, but I'm really glad I learned in my 20's and 30's about how to garden, raise beef cattle and chicken, grind wheat and run a greenhouse. I feel very sorry for everyone living in a city about now.

Oh, one more thing. The "Green Zone" in Baghdad has apparently been hit twice today by suicide bombers. Somehow they smuggled explosives in and two backpack-toting men blew themselves up in nearby public shopping areas, killing a few and wounding some more. Some idiot official in Iraq's capital city made an asinine statement to the effect, "These cowards! We will make them pay!" Duh. It is cowardice to carry a bomb and blow away one's own life for something they believe in? Duh. How will you hunt them down when they are already dead, man?

Abu Ghraib

The recent images, the ones that someone knew were wrong, of humiliation and torture and gloating, are burned in my mind, much like the utterly fantastic fireworks of shock and awe. I've been cringing for almost two years. I am truly ashamed to be American today. I've had a sick twisting stomach feel since it became clear, to me at least, that the dickhead in the Whitehouse was dead set on sending our military might on a desert exercise. That was around October 2002, it became clear they were going to do it, no matter what we said, no matter what the inspectors said.

So now, we have caused mass graves in Fallujah's stadiums. We have slaughtered in a variety of ways a ten thousand count of innocent Iraqis. We scooped up and still hold over 6 thousand in the prisons of the former dictator. They are subhuman to us, dogs to kick, flies to pull wings off of, two-dimensional beings we may number but never name. Who cares anymore about things like the Geneva Convention? Don't like the way we do things? Tough shit. What are you going to do about it?

Bring 'em on. We can take it. The troops, they are my guys and girls, my sons and daughters and brothers and sisters. They wanted an education, to go to college and make something of themselves, so they sold themselves to the military machine. And they are getting an education but not one that enlightens or enriches, not one that rewards with understanding, compassion, self-knowledge and transformation. No. They are coming home broken, corrupted and fouled, angry and lost. They'll hide, a lot of them, out of shame and fear and dreams that won't leave them alone. Others will find the taste of blood and danger the most intoxicating, most real addiction and they'll sign up for more. Some will break down completely and end their lives. May as well, the big sleep is the only peace. Their babies will be DU-deformed anyway.

And nobody stands up to say, "I take responsibility."

The buck keeps floating around like a balloon. Bush bats it to Cheney who bumps it over to Rumsfeld who scowls at it and tosses it toward the Pentagon. The Generals are getting really pissed about that by now.

Who will stand up and take responsibility? Maybe I should. Enough hand-wringing. Enough expressions of disgust. I did that to you, Iraqi man. I made you naked and covered your head and snickered as I made you spank your monkey. I piled you in that pile and pissed on you, kicked you in the ribs til you thought they were broken, made you think you'd be electrocuted. I kept you on your knees for so long that the skin broke and you lost track of the pain. I tossed you out in the yard, handcuffed and headbagged, naked in the rain like so much garbage.

I did it to you and so it was also done to me.

I'm so sorry.

Thought for the Day

Trying to win the "war on terrorism" with overwhelming military force is like trying to get rid of houseflies by burning down houses.

Net result? Plenty of garbage for houseflies to breed in, and no safe place to live for the former inhabitants of the houses.

How long will it be before we address the real reasons for terrorism?

Tell Me the Story Again?

Why did we invade Iraq, again?

I mean, at the beginning, back when we were in such a rush that we couldn't give Hans Blix another month or two, when we thumbed our noses at France and Germany who tried to offer an alternative UN resolution, why did we tell the world to go to hell, we'd do it our way if we wanted?

It's too damn bad that we'll never hear Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld or Wolfowitz or Perle or Rice tell us the real reasons. Such information would not be understood by us peons, and must be kept secret and separate. Or is it that they don't have the balls to tell us?

I find it a total outrage that when the first "reason" crumbled like a dry cookie on the road there was no apology, not even the barest acknowledgement of the lie. All we heard was denial and then a new "reason." All we were told was that we heard it wrong the first time but that doesn't explain the need for a new reason, does it? That's what pisses me off the most.

Let's take a look -- no WMD. None. 212 days and counting.

Then actual WMD morphed into "programs" for making WMD. Still nothing. Less than nothing in fact! Iraqi scientists are saying they even lied to Saddam, they had nothing to make anything with in the first place, and were glad they could cover their lies by saying the inspectors, in the 90's, destroyed their work. That's actually pretty funny. I wonder if Bush, who never reads his own news or searches for his own information, realizes that his very advisors are dressing him in as much invisible finery as Saddam's scientists did him! Bottom line -- no WMD programs. None.

Next? Ah right, those terrorists who could hurt us. Iraq was helping them in some way, right? Nope, wrong again. No linkage. From time to time a rumor is spread, often enough so that the weak-brained who only read headlines but not the fine print seem to recall that Al Qaeda is connected to Iraq somehow. Again, bottom line -- no Al Qaeda links, no connection to 9-11. None. Never were any.

The last reason is failing rapidly, "liberation and democracy." Remember those? We've liberated the Iraqi people from their lives, their property, their jobs, their health and their standard of living (which in pre-war included electricity, gas, food, shelter...). And democracy! While we tell the world in the gravest voices how much Iraq should want it, that's not what we're giving them at all. We close their media channels, replacing them with our own. We pick their leaders for them, since obviously they can't possibly be trusted with decisions like that on their own. We are building their new economy for them, by selling off state owned enterprises to private interests (most of which are not even Iraqi). We are blockading their roads, razor-wiring them inside their villages, bashing open their doors without warrants, incarcerating their citizens without trial, and periodically when we get angry enough at the resistance, we go bomb the crap out of a marsh or a warehouse. Sound like democracy to you? I didn't think so.

We didn't invade Iraq because they had WMD or even WMD programs.
We didn't invade Iraq because they were involved in 9-11.
We are occupying their country instead of liberating it.
We are teaching the Iraqis the opposite of democracy.

So, why the hell DID we go there? It's a good question to ask. Don't be afraid to ask it.

Why Trust W to Protect You?

I've been thinking about this a lot. What is it that gives people comfort?

Sure, our unelected president fits into a flight suit. He sure sounds tough as he says, "Bring 'em on." And gosh, that "You're with us or you're with the terrorists" line was impressive.

But let's take a look at what's actually happened. Are we safer? Or are we just more afraid?

Osama bin Laden has not been caught. Supposedly, lots of 'masterminds' from all levels of his organization are out of commission. If that's so, why is every new bombing attributed to Al Qaeda? There've been plenty lately. So, the head of the organization that brought us 9-11, who has been convicted sans trial by the way, is still roaming around, and despite our efforts to dismantle his terrorist network, it seems to be functioning just fine. Why give kudos to W for this abject failure?

Since we couldn't catch Osama, we moved on to the next 'front' in terrorism (according only to the neo-cons, but hey, let's pretend for the sake of continuity here that Saddam had anything to do with 9-11 or posed a looming international threat of massive death), Iraq. We marched in and overthrew the government by force. The people resisted. We now call them terrorists. We flex our muscles, break down their doors, kill innocents with trigger-happy fingers, bomb their cities again, incarcerate thousands without a decent system to sort out the captives, torture those captives, man roadblocks (how would you feel if you had to stop and be questioned when you wanted to go to the next town to visit relatives?), decide who can be an interim leader, shut down newspapers and television stations, cleanse the textbooks and fire the teachers, and generally break rule after rule within Iraqi culture. As a result, the resistance grows and insurgents make deeper and deeper forays. So, how is this making us safer? It sure as hell isn't safer for our troops.

Let's not forget that we insulted and scoffed at all the allies we may have had in this operation. Let's not forget that we ignored millions and millions of voices all around the world. The result? More violence, more deaths, more resentment, more frustration, but no help or assistance, and no true international face on our actions. Doesn't sound to me like this has made us any safer.

To those who still believe W can save you: I think the only reason you are willing to give W the right to break international law, disregard our own Constitution, and continue to wave his pecker on the podium is because you've let him scare you. You've let him tell you only he can take care of this. You've let yourself be un-empowered.

The blood of all the well-meaning troops and the true innocents is on someone's hands. I'm sure W will be more than willing to share.

Something About Wars

Have you noticed there are two kinds of wars? The first kind is literal war. World Wars and Country Wars are in this category. You can identify these because the word 'war' can always be said at the end of the phrase, like 'Korean War' or 'Revolutionary War.' (One never hears 'War on Revolution' or 'War on the World.') These wars are fought with armies against entire peoples in certain regions or countries. The World Wars were so named because armies fought against multiple peoples in multiple countries at once.

Then there is the other category of war, the figurative one. Thus we see the 'War On Poverty' or the 'War On Drugs.' These wars are 'fought' against things, not peoples or territories, because there is no geographical boundary and no clear face on the enemy. These wars always begin with the word 'war' and then identify the thing or the condition that needs correcting. Unlike the other kind of war, these wars don't require massive fighting forces to win. They are best 'fought' with education, economic assistance and the creation of viable alternatives.

I propose that the 'War on Terrorism' is the second kind of war. In its pure form, it is not about territory or any particular peoples or country. It is a war against a thing, a condition. There is no clear face on the enemy. It could be anti-abortionists in the United States, elite forces in Israel, religious fanatics in Ireland, Maylasia or Saudi Arabia.

The first kind of war can be won, the second cannot. In the first, two nations can sign a peace accord, the loser conceding things to the winner. Not so, in the second. But drugs and poverty can be contained and reduced to a manageable form by applying education and economic assistance, and offering viable alternatives.

To win the first kind of war, all you need is the biggest, most powerful set of fighting forces and weapons of mass destruction. To win the second kind of war, you need to identify the root causes of the condition and cure it, much as you would with a disease. It takes intelligence, caring, generosity and open-mindedness to abate the undesired condition.

We can't win a 'War On Poverty' by bombing poor neighborhoods. The 'War On Drugs' won't end by supporting the conditions under which people get very, very rich selling drugs.

We aren't going to win or even abate the 'War On Terrorism' by bringing terror to entire peoples.

How to Kill Democracy

Just follow these easy steps and you too can destroy representative government!

1. Begin by telling calculated lies to your constituency.


2. Later on, when confronted with those lies, just deny you meant what you said.


3. Take the time to beef up the original lies with more lies. Don't forget about omissions, either. Hide the things you can't lie about.


4. Do all you can to create fear within the population. Whatever you do, don't empower the people. Make them utterly dependent on you instead!


5. Say that God is on your side. That should give you the ability to see into souls and figure out what others may be thinking or planning to do in the future.


6. With this super power, you can invade sovereign countries or jail anyone
   with impunity. After all, someone has to make sure that Democracy spreads!


7. Make sure that you don't really let the people decide anything. Hey, they may be stupid enough to think Democracy means they have a choice!


8. Whatever you do, never back down once you start heading in a certain direction, no matter how unpopular that path is. Otherwise, someone will no doubt call you a wimp, and everyone knows patriotic Democracy supporters aren't wimps.

Sorry, Makes No Sense

"Sometimes you have to use violent means to get rid of violent men to have a world without violence."

Or so says W. I've never been able to understand that rationale.

How long is it going to take before someone tells the dunce in the White House the real reason why people blow themselves up?

Haha. I hate you so much, I hate your way of life, I hate freedom so much that I'm gonna blow myself right up, right here on your doorstep.

Yeah right.

Go get 'em, double-dumb Dubya. Get them terrorists who kill themselves! Give 'em hell!

Jerk.

I Worry About the Health of America

I worry about the world my children are inheriting.

I am really worried about the serious lack of basic education exhibited by too many of my fellow Americans.

The voices in my head say all kinds of things. "Don't worry, be happy, mon!" "Damn bastards, you goddamn bastards." "Faith, what is it and where is mine?" "The hell with it." "So what?" "Lord, have mercy."

It's so easy to just escape, forget about all the vile things that people seem to do. Sometimes it's hard to even imagine that people can be as cruel as they are. We torture people. How can one sleep at night? How can you look in the eyes of someone and be so cruel to them? Even more, how can we hold on to the knowledge that our fellow man can be so cruel, and reconcile it somehow?

Poignant: Someone chopped down a whole orchard of olive trees near an Israeli settlement. The aged Palestinian farmer who had planted and tended and harvested that orchard for decades was crushed. Devastated. Anguished. Whoever did it just killed that farmer, even though they didn't hack him with an axe personally.

The little things we can do to brighten, help, give back... I don't think we can make up for this kind of brutality.

Maybe it's time for another great flood.

Why are men and women in military uniforms, military vehicles, and military weaponry the ones who are in charge of "reconstruction" in Iraq?

What on earth were the planners thinking? First we invade a country on the basis that they pose an imminent threat to the world because they have the most hideous weapons in history, poised and ready. Of course that wasn't true. Next we smash the hell out of this country -- precision bombing, my ass. Thousands of civilians killed, but of course, we don't bother to even try to count the dead and the mutilated. Then we declare major combat over.

But the military, our fighting forces, the ones who don't know anything other than how to advance and kill, are given the task of winning hearts and minds while they bash doors in looking for "terrorists" who hate freedom.

The absurdity of what has been happening in the Middle East is mind-numbing.

It started with USUK's first preventive war. Saddam at some point in the future might do something bad to someone so it's alright to "take him out." No matter that he had nothing to do something bad with! He must have been considering it, right?

It followed with this inane notion that the general Iraqi populace (as if one can generalize about the peoples there) would be so grateful for our shocking and awful invasion that they would sing our praises. All the while, we let their children play with leftover cluster bombs, we hand-pick their future leaders, we sell off all their assets to the highest non-Iraqi bidder, we protect the Oil Ministry but let their culture burn, and we start building four major military bases on their land.

The absurdity continued with the idiotic idea that our fighting troops were the right people to show Iraq the essential goodness of democracy (read: corporate greed, aka capitalism).

Is it really any wonder that our soldiers, and those seen to be collaborating with them, are attacked with increasing frequency and deadliness?

There's a saying, "Don't send a boy to do a man's job." We can add to that, "Don't send a soldier to do a diplomat's job."

George W. Bush has made it clear he doesn't read newspapers, check the Internet, or watch TV for his information. He says he relies on his advisors for his information, the people he trusts the most. I call that inviting disaster. But then, George was never too smart, remember?

What sort of country is it when our leader doesn't read?

The Bushboy from Texas (along with his undereducated supporters) seems somewhat proud of the fact that he doesn't read. No newspapers, no books, probably none of those weighty reports that everyone else in the Administration takes care of for him.

I'm beginning to think that Dubya really doesn't have a clue about what is going on. Too bad, otherwise he'd see that Israel is viewed as the scariest country in the world by the EU, and the US is not far behind. Heck, we come in third, right behind North Korea which is .. yes! BEHIND Israel.

Too bad the man who claims it is vital for every child to learn how to read doesn't do it himself. If he took his own advice, maybe he'd recognize he's just Cheney's pony.

Wake up George!

Sometimes I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole and entered a wacky wonderland where the truth is told but it is a lie, where good and evil are reversed.

Now anyone who dares to disagree with the naked emperor is a terrorist, or a terrorist supporter (which is worse than being a terrorist because terrorists hide and rarely get caught but the supporters are right out there in the open, living what they think is a regular life).

It makes it so easy, doesn't it? Don't like someone? Turn them in for being a terrorist supporter. Want to discredit someone? Call them a terrorist supporter. After all, who among us wants more terrorism?

This is what happens when people are not educated. How can you think consciously about anything, how can you evaluate and discriminate and ruminate if you lack basic education in critical thinking? Heck, how can you form a decent opinion about foreign policy when you can't even find Japan on a globe? Or when you're functionally illiterate?

Today's mantra. George Bush is Pinky. Cheney is The Brain. "What're we gonna do today, huh huh Brain?"

Talk about absurd.. on hearing about suicide bombings, our leaders declare (with fervor!) that they will not rest until they "get" those responsible.

Wake up, man, they're dead already.