Truth or Consequences

Frank Rich, returning to the NY Times OpEd page today with "Bush of a Thousand Days", writes,

... the [Iraq] war's failures were manifestly foretold by the [Bush] administration's arrogance and haste during the run-up.

A new defense or press secretary changes nothing. The only person who can try to save the administration from itself in Iraq is the president. He can start telling the truth in the narrow window of time he has left and initiate a candid national conversation about our inevitable exit strategy. Or he can wait for events on the ground in Iraq and political realities at home to do it for him.

There is something wrong with the picture when a self-professed born-again Christian—Bush #43—refuses to 'fess up. People who continually berate the immorality of the left on sexual orientation, a woman's right to choose, the quality of end-of-life, etc., etc., etc. ... seem to have a hard time with "the truth".

The Old Testament commands its adherents to not bear false witness. Jesus commands his followers to seek the truth.

In opposition is Jack Nicholoson's wacko character, Colonel Jessup, from A FEW GOOD MEN, "You can't handle the truth."

Had enough?!

Throw the bums out!

2006
The Year of the People

We have HAD ENOUGH!

An open letter to our elected public servants:

United States Senator Arlen Specter of Pennslyvania asks, "Where is the outrage?" I can tell you where the outrage is by quoting David Sabritt's letter to the Editor of NY Times, published today, Saturday, April 29:

"Many would agree that President Bush lacks the intellect, judgment and engagement with complex public issues that an effective administration needs in its leader. But we miss the point if we simply blame the president for being himself.

"Shame on the political machine that offered us a vacuous and mediocre candidate and marketed him (in both elections) by the manipulation of divisive symbols!

"Shame on those in both parties who lacked the courage, when it was needed, to expose this emperor's nakedness! Shame on all of us for not demanding much, much better!"

I would follow it up with a quote from former Democratic Congressman from Indiana Tim Roemer's OpEd piece, "Enough Already":

"AMERICANS have clearly had enough of the Bush administration's record: 7 in 10 say the nation is headed in the wrong direction."

We the people ARE outraged and

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

2006
The Year of the People

Throw the bums out!

Sincerely,
Hilding "Gus" Lindquist

On genocide

As I wrote over on Vanity Fair's forum, V.F. Dish, under the thread "Rallies Will Focus Attention On Darfur Genocide":

I am against genocide and for exposing it wherever it exists.

I was thinking of going to one of the closest Native American reservations (or an enclave of a tribe that has been denied status) and quietly reminding myself of the history of my nation.

This is not to say that what is going on in Darfur is not evil (to use our President's word), but I am afraid that the world has an ongoing example of the benefits of a ruthless policy of genocide, a policy of a people who have yet to be redeemed by remorse, confession, and repentance.

We are not followers of Jesus of the New Testament or Gandhi of our era. We are followers of Joshua of the Old Testament:

But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, [are] consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

So the people shouted when [the priests] blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

And they utterly destroyed all that [was] in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

- Joshua 6:19-21

(King James Version of the Old Testament, Bible;
www.blueletterbible.org)

For Jesus taught us:

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

-Matthew 7:1-5
(King James Version of the New Testament, Bible;
www.blueletterbible.org)

Links to Vanity Fair:

Home page:
http://www.vanityfair.com/

Forum/V.F. Dish:
http://boards.vanityfair.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1

Message:
http://boards.vanityfair.com/message.jspa?messageID=16892#16892

Note: Vanity Fair's website has a great forum for sharing opinions with others ... and having them read! -ncswede

Coming Event: The October Surprise

"George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to be little the administration can do to avoid being ranked on the lowest tier of U.S. presidents. And that may be the best-case scenario. Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history." -Sean Wilentz, "The Worst President in History?", Rolling Stone Magazine

Are we all collectively holding our breath wondering what kind of an October surprise the bozos in the Bush Administration will come up with to keep from losing either the House or the Senate or both on November 7 ... and stay out of prison?

My god, the drumbeat of revelations about the Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal, their prized pets—G.W. and Karl Rove—and the token Christian being readied to be thrown to the lions, Condi Rice ...

Starting with the full article referenced above:

The Worst President in History?, by Sean Wilentz, in Rolling Stone Magazine

A Spy Speaks Out, on 60 Minutes, CBS News:

"(CBS) When no weapons of mass destruction surfaced in Iraq, President Bush insisted that all those WMD claims before the war were the result of faulty intelligence. But a former top CIA official, Tyler Drumheller — a 26-year veteran of the agency — has decided to do something CIA officials at his level almost never do: Speak out.

"He tells correspondent Ed Bradley the real failure was not in the intelligence community but in the White House. He says he saw how the Bush administration, time and again, welcomed intelligence that fit the president's determination to go to war and turned a blind eye to intelligence that did not.

Why Iraq Was a Mistake, by Lieut. General Greg Newbold (Ret.), TIME Magazine:

"Two senior military officers are known to have challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the planning of the Iraq war. Army General Eric Shinseki publicly dissented and found himself marginalized. Marine Lieut. General Greg Newbold, the Pentagon's top operations officer, voiced his objections internally and then retired, in part out of opposition to the war. Here, for the first time, Newbold goes public with a full-throated critique:"

And Carl Bernstein's outspoken, courageous, and rational call for an investigation to find out the truth:

Senate Hearings on Bush, Now, by Carl Bernstein, Vanity Fair:

"In this VF.com exclusive, a Watergate veteran and Vanity Fair contributing editor calls for bipartisan hearings investigating the Bush presidency. Should Republicans on the Hill take the high road and save themselves come November?"

We the people should never outgrow the demand for the truth from our elected leaders.

Or are we a bunch of cowards? Are we going to sit back while Rummy and Cheney concoct the next plot to take over the government through fear? (What other reason can there be for keeping Rumsfled around, except his loyalty to the Neocon cabal now afraid of landing in prison if they lose the House or the Senate or both in Novemeber?)

It’s simple. We demand the truth. We call and write our elected officials at all levels and tell them, “WE WANT THE TRUTH! AND IF YOU WON’T GIVE IT TO US, WE’LL ELECT SOMEONE WHO WILL!”

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 (King James Version of the New Testament, http://www.blueletterbible.org)

Or do we buy into the line from the Jack Nicholson's wacko character, Col. Nathan R. Jessep, in A FEW GOOD MEN, "You can't handle the truth!"?

We don't have to violate the law to honor the pledge of our founders:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." - Signers of our Declaration of Independence.

But we do have to exercise our rights as free citizens of the country that still remains the beacon of hope for a free world with liberty and justice for all. Or we could lose it all to a bunch of bozos.

My god, how did an emotionally stunted garden variety schoolyard bully (with a brain) like Karl Rove ever wind up working in our White House for our President? Is everybody at that level of politics so interested in their own selfish goals that they can be picked off like that, one by one? I just shake my head in disbelief every time I read Karl's political history.

The genius of the two is Carl Bernstein ...

Now we know, don't we? Carl Bernstein was the brains behind outing Nixon and the Watergate crooks.

Ol' what's-his-name—Bob Woodward?—was the pretty boy with the connections and a hankering for the bright lights ... lately looking and acting like a deer caught in the head lights ... ain't it kinda strange how G.W. gets that same look?

Anyhow, read "Senate Hearings on Bush, Now" by Carl Bernstein at VANITYFAIR.com ...

Read it NOW!

New Jersey's state government is out of control financially ...

New Jersey's state government is out of control financially. The reason can best be described as "Democrats run amuck." Clearly the Republicans, a la Governor Christie Whitman (1994-2001), didn't help, but the onus is on Democratic Machine Politics.

My up front bona fides are simply that I am a registered Democrat, and have been since moving to New Jersey in September, 2002. And I believe it is up to Democrats to clean house in keeping with the age-old wisdom of removing the log from my own eye before worrying about the sliver in someone else's.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Matthew 7:3 (KJV)

This is planned as (1.) a continuing series of posts until we have real change or I am unable to continue, and (2.) another voice in the growing chorus of New Jersey's citizens who recognize the need to change the course of our state's government.

Two recent pieces in The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, have spurred my efforts here:

An editorial on Sunday, April 16, "It's time to rethink Abbott":

"The state must take responsibility for spending Abbott money in a way that accomplishes the goal of educating children."

And prior to that an OpEd column by Paul Mulshine on Tuesday, April 11, "The governor shouldn't let the court govern":

"The story of how New Jersey first got its income tax in 1976 is a classic in this genre, said Schoenbrod. The chief justice, Richard Hughes, had failed to get an in come tax passed back when he was governor in the 1960s. Once on the court, however, Hughes ordered the schools closed so that Gov. Brendan Byrne could go to the Legislature and win passage of an income tax to solve the "crisis" his fellow Democrat had created."

I believe it is time to bypass the politicians and start a citizen to citizen discussion about the governance of our great State of New Jersey.

From dictionary.com:

gov·er·nance n.

1. The act, process, or power of governing; government: “Regaining a sense of the state is thus an absolute priority, not only for an effective policy against... terrorism, but also for governance itself” (Moorhead Kennedy).
2. The state of being governed.

My illegal immigration "solution set"

1. Bust the employers of illegals. (Have some high-profile arrests and convictions with real sanctions including prison for repeat offenders. These violations are the stuff of sweatshops and child-labor violations.)

2. Secure our borders as much as possible.

3. Enact and enforce whatever additional fair labor laws are needed—including effective national ID in order to work, along with the right to organize as a union without the threat of deportation. (I think the trade-off between being allowed to organize and requiring an effective national ID in order to work would get us the ID we need.)

(Note: My response to those who are worried about national ID's is that passports have been around a long time. I have had one for years. And there are still so many ways to exist in the cash/barter economy below anyone's radar—if you can get along with those around you—that having a way to limit the unscrupulous sweatshop/child labor violaters is worth the trade off—in my opinion.)

4. Provide a humanitarian (but a realistically tough path to citizenship that does not simply grant amnesty) resolution for the workers already here—and who come in the future—who demonstrate a commitment over a reasonable length of time to becoming assimilated.

5. At the end of the day (some rational time period), aggressively deport those illegals who have not met the conditions for living here legally. (I believe effective implementation of 1 through 4 will reduce significantly the number we have to deal with in 5.)

Because of the results of the 1986 legislation (aka amnesty), this time we have to start with tough enforcement against employers and as much securty on our borders as possible. 1 & 2 are absolutely necessary, as well as 5 in time. 3 & 4 should be negotiated as to final resolution.

We cannot succumb to apathy

Too many are saying in their comments and posts that there is no hope. We cannot succumb to apathy.

We cannot succumb for we know that each one of us can imagine what ought to be, and we can struggle to make that oughtness the isness of our existence.

It is in this, the individual's creative awareness of possibility, that we are human. In choosing what ought to be, out of possibility, we are moral creatures. (Choosing not to choose, to simply accept what we are told, is a choice ... as soon as we are aware of what is possible.) In striving (or not striving) to make what we believe ought to be, real, we show character.

We imagine, we choose, and we strive ... positively, negatively, apathetically ... we cannot escape the responsibility of our individual humanness.

While the reasons for my choosing what ought to be, transcend my momentary self in that I consider others whom I care about as well as my future self, I choose by acting in the present. And I am the actor who acts. Even if commanded to act, I have the choice of refusing to act on command.

What the Neocons want us to believe is that if we act individually it is self-defeating, that we must line up behind a leader to have power. I would suggest to you that is also an individual choice. And that by each of us vigorously exercising our autonomy in full view of each other, we discover our collective strength in our common values as well as in the differences we bring to the human community.

The Neocons are a bunch of thugs

Initially written April 11 as comment #6883 in response to Molly Ivins report "The Daily Drip of Special Favors for Special Interests" on truthdig.com.

2006: The Year of the People aka Throw the bums out!

The Neocons use the tactics of a street gang or junior high rich kid playground bully to gain power and we let them! My god, what have we become!

Get a grip, America. The Neocons have no claim on enlightenment. They are a bunch of thugs. Look at their tactics: they reward loyalty and punish disloyalty allowing no dissent, focusing on expanding the power base. I mean they openly say, "If you deviate from the talking points, we will cream you."

There is nothing rational about what is going on in our country. I would amend Lincoln's words as follows: “Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices [AND FEARS] of the people until all wealth is aggregated in few hands and the republic is destroyed.”

We are so afraid of losing our good jobs that we, in fact, are losing our good jobs.

We are so afraid of someone we label undeserving having healthcare that we are losing our own healthcare.

We are so afraid of terrorists that we have become terrorists. (Look up the definition in the dictionary.)

The list of the negative outcomes of our fears is endless, because that is what happens when people are afraid.

We the people have exchanged our birthright of inalienable rights for all, for the porridge of material wealth. The lesson (from the Neocons' Fundamentalist Christian Bible, by the way) is that by doing so, we lose both our rights and our wealth.

You gotta read Jane Hamsher!

You gotta read this ...

Does Fred Hiatt Even Read the Washington Post?
By Jane Hamsher

Posted Sunday, April 9th, 2006 at 2:26 pm on firedoglake.com

Apartheid in the State of Israel?

Intially written on April 9 as comment #6806 in response to a Reports post by Norman Solomon, "Foreclosing a Media Debate on U.S. Policies Toward Israel", on truthdig.com.

Also, read comment #6818 by "Frank - an american Patriot".

Well, here goes!

But seeing as how I am already retired, 67, and with a chronic life-threatening illness ... I am not too worried about the backlash from the Israeli cheering section. In fact, they will probably understand that a little notoriety will merely provide welcome attention at my stage of life, get the blood flowing and prolong my existence.

I read the “working paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt that was excerpted last month in the London Review of Books.” It made a lot of sense to me and fit my take on the news from the Middle East and elsewhere during my lifetime.

Granted, I’m not a Middle East Scholar. I’m a member of the working class, born a Swedish-American farm boy in Duluth, Minnesota back before World War II and raised by a mother who firmly believed that the establishment of the State of Israel was a sign of the imminent Second Coming of Jesus.

But I’ve read the newspapers all my life and I can’t escape the similarities between the modern State of Israel and the recent history of apartheid in South Africa. And whenever the issue of apartheid is brought up as a yardstick, there doesn’t seem to be a consistent rational discussion from the “Israeli” side of the issue relative to the facts. Rather there seems to be a lot of agitation and yelling of slurs at the person who has the temerity to suggest that we examine the facts. Isn’t that in itself a sure sign that argument is on target and has hit a sore spot? Why don’t those who disagree simply refute the argument?

Another big point to this little ol’ farm boy ... how come we get so excited about everyone having “the bomb” except when Israel got it?

I mean, I am sure the deterence effect of Israel having “the bomb” hasn’t escaped the notice of others in the region. I mean, the deterence effect of North Korea having “the bomb” certainly hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice.

Note: And now we want to toss the nonproliferation treaty overboard for India’s sake?

Somehow this idea of Chosen People of God (the Judaic-Christian God, by the way) having a Manifest Destiny has gone far enough. (Like watching children starve to death as we impose globalization on the world is not exactly my idea of Jesus’s message.)

The message behind the showdown in the Middle East was given by the same God (earlier phase of development?) through Joshua at Jericho:

Joshua 6:21 (King James Version) “And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword”

A religious viewpoint pumped up on the steroids of oil

Initially written on April 9 as comment #6794 in response to to a Ear to the Ground post, "Revving Up for Airstrikes on Iran?",on truthdig.com,
.

Can you hear me now (actually, Kevin Phillips)?

We are expanding the war in the Middle East (rather than, say, North Korea) because of a religious viewpoint pumped up on the steroids of oil:

G.W. is a Messianic True Believer who does not doubt the Fundamentalist Christians literal interpretation of the end times prophesied in the Bible.

He believes in the actual Second Coming of Jesus to straighten out the mess we humans create hear on earth BECAUSE we are unwilling to become born-again Christians. (The corollary view is that the ONLY way to help human beings is to first bring them to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.)

He believes in the final climatic battle between the forces of God vs. the forces of Satan aka good vs. evil in the Battle of Armageddon taking place in the Middle East.

He believes he is ordained by Almighty God (of the Judaic-Christian Bible) to lead us in these troubled end times. (... and that these ARE the end times.)

He believes he has the inherent authority in a time of war to decide what it is we need to do to protect and defend the United States of America.

He believes he cannot allow the Democrats to regain effective control of one or both of the Houses of Congress if it means that the Democrats allow our destruction by not resisting the forces of evil in the world as strongly as he does.

He has already rolled the opposition on the core values that keep us free. (The election of 2000, preemptive war, selected suspension of habeas corpus, torture, circumvention of judicial review of spying on citizens ... )

Where are the men and women who are willing to standup for our founding principles of inalienable human rights and the separation of powers in a republic? Are we going to allow this man--Bush #43--to shred our constitution?

I strongly suggest that everyone reads Kevin Phillips book, AMERICAN THEOCRACY, and get ready for a big event that allows G.W. to impose martial law and suspend habeas corpus.

Coming next: The Battle of Armageddon

Initially written on April 8 as comment #6777 in response to the Ear to the Ground post, Scott Ritter Argues That Iran Poses No Real Threat, on truthdig.com.

To put it bluntly, the Neoconservative Cheney/Bush Administration is headed toward widening the war in the Middle East. Read Seymour M. Hersh's article, "THE IRAN PLANS: Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?", in the coming April 17 issue of The New Yorker and now available on the internet.

The reasons leading to a war with Iran are:

1. We are losing the war in Iraq.
2. The Republicans are in danger of losing one or both Houses of Congress.
3. The Executive Branch of our government has a plan to impose martial law in order to win the war for oil in Mesapotamia and avoid going to prison and the other negative outcomes (for them) of 1 & 2.

Oh yes, and the Messianic vision of George W.—including the Second Coming of Jesus and the end times Battle of Armageddon—fits a concept that is still deeply rooted in the soul of our nation, we have been Chosen by God to fulfil a Manifest Destiny .

My bets? Heavy against the Second Coming and for the Battle of Armageddon.

G.W. and the Separatiton of Powers concept

Written as comment #6729 in response to a Ear to the Ground post, "Bush Channels Nixon in Libby Scandal", on truthdig.com,
posted April 6.

Bush hasn't bought the line of the Neocons about the Imperial President, he is the puppet on the end of the line.

Under the United States of America concept of the separation of powers—written into our Constitution—we the people have assumed that the legislative branch of government—the branch theoretically closest to the people—has the power to set limits on government. This is confirmed in at least it's powers to (1.) override an executive veto and (2.) impeach and thereby remove officials of the executive branch.

The fact that Bush #43 has asserted executive power does not diminish the power of legislative branch. It is the failure of the legislative branch to push back that allows the executive branch to encroach on our freedoms.

Simply put, we need to elect a "push back" Congress. We need Representatives and Senators who understand their responsibilities to we the people who are the real rulers of this nation.

It really is quite simple. The Neocons are an elite group who believe they know what is best for the rest of us ... and that we the people cannot be trusted to choose the right path into the future.

Their use of religion affiliation in a political strategy is designed to tap the loyalty of religious peoples to an authority the religious deem anointed and appointed by God. In this construct the doctrine of adherence to God's Word (His authroity) kicks in, and the believers are exhorted to "stay the course" to receive the blessing of God ... the caveat being that if they don't get it here on earth they will be richly rewarded in Heaven.

The Neocons have consistently rewarded the loyal faithful in order to expand their political power. Think of it as a huge pyramid scheme. In their view, power is the key element. It is the struggle to gain power that is the defining human enterprise ... and if you are unwilling to use the power you have then you do not deserve to have it. And with power, you can work your will.

In terms of the Enlightenment, the Neocons are whacko! They mirror the Nazis.

Born-again Fundamentalist Christians really, really do belief that God ...

Written as comment #6462 in response to Robert Scheer's post, "Anti-Christian Conspirators Slay DeLay", on truthdig.com, April 4.

OK, folks, listen up ... by the way, I speak with a bit of experience here, having been a born-again Christian at an age when I didn't know any better (and which means I was raised a Fundamentalist Christian).

Born-again Fundamentalist Christians really, really do belief that God (a real live creature up in Heaven) is in control of the wealth distribution spigots. That means whatever they get, comes from God. (Believe me, DeLay and the folks around him must have thought they were getting closer to Heaven when all that loot started rolling in!)

Of course, for the "brethren" who ain't getting any, it's the lesson of Job. God is testing you. Stay the course and you will be richly rewarded in Heaven, if not here.

Talk about vestial virgins! Christians want gold. Wealth is the sign of God's favor. I know it is hard to believe from the outside, what with Jesus being their example and such ... but His example soothes the poor, "who we will always have with us." (Can't DO anything about those folks. They'll get theirs later.)

DeLay's faith in God (and pit bull loyality to Fundamentalist Christian Republicanism) has brought him so much success in life, he's not about to start doubting now. It's the same mentality as Bush #43's. Belief in God (and loyality to other professed believers) has turned their lives into roaring successes. DeLay from being a bug exteminator. Bush from being a drunk. They have no psychological strength to question what is now their core belief.

And they were running our nation? And we let them? And Bush still is?

If you haven't read Kevin Phillips, AMERICAN THEOCRACY, yet ... get it and read it. We the people had better get our country back before these idiots self-fulfil the prophecy of the Battle of Armageddon!

The Cheney/Rumsfeld Doctrine

A core doctrine of Strausian Neoconservatism is that if you are unwilling to use the power you have then you do not deserve to have that power. Use it or lose it.

Neocons have used this concept along with loyalty to the power-base (and the rewarding therof) to extend their political power--and now in its extension--their miltary power.

Those who would openly subvert the electoral process of our nation behind a facade of legality erected by stonewalling the truth, will not relinquish power voluntarily ... particularly when they would face prison if the truth comes out under our structure of the separation of governmental powers.

The leaders now in power will have to do something outside the electoral process to retain their power ... and they have proven themselves willing to do exactly that more than once.

Students of history understand this as the progressive process of an elitist cabal that decided--after Hitler came to power through a democratic process in Germany--that the masses could never again be fully trusted with the future of a powerful nation.

In this light, the military report on controlling the telecom spectrum commissioned by Rumsfeld is more than sobering. It should be a wake-up call to we the people.


Originally written as comment #6399 on 4/04 at 10:03 am on truthdig.com.

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20060404_us_military_telecom/

Caught between Hell and global warming

Well, it seems like more than half of us believe that God (the Judaic-Christian God) is in charge of things around here ... so if a disaster strikes then God is either testing us a la Job or punishing us a la Sodom and Gomorrah ... so do we stay the course or repent?

The Fundamentalist Christians are inclined to stay the course and have the rest of us repent.

You see, if you are a Fundamentalist Christian (I can speak with some authority on the subject, having been raised as one) then doing anything that looks like you don't believe in the eminent Return of the Lord Jesus Christ makes it appear that you don't have the faith required for salvation. Now THAT is being caught between a rock and hard place. Or should we say between the warmth of Hell and global warming?

It does get a wee bit dicey when they start pushing the run-up to the Battle of Armageddon over the oil in Mesopotamia.

But then we have the evangelicals talking about being good stewards of Earth ... you know, this God-thing can get confusing.

Maybe it's like the existentialists say, it really doesn't matter if there is a God or not ... we are still stuck with being aware of our existence and—because we are aware—having to choose. That makes a lot of sense to me these days.


Originally written as comment #6392 on 4/04 at 7:53 am on truthdig.com.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060403_molly_ivins_global_warming/

Thoughts on what William F. Buckley, Jr., and the NY Times are now saying about reality ...

Did you ever have a rich kid in your class back in Junior High whom you would talk into leading skip day or something because if he or she did it then you could get everyone to do it because everyone knew we would all be forgiven if something went wrong and the rich kid was involved?

Can’t you just see Wolfowitz(sic?), Rummy, Cheney, et al coming up to Bush #43 with their Neocon strategy way back when and saying, “You can do it. You’re the man!”

Trouble is, Bush now believes it (that he has been authorized by God to lead us in these troubling times) and there isn’t anyone to tell him different without having to also tell him how they used him in the first place.

If people weren’t dying in Afghanistan and Iraq including some of our best and brightest youth, this would be laughable ... deep, long belly guffaws ... the plot of a incredibly funny farce.

And watching all our powerful leaders wringing their hands because their puppet president thinks he is the real thing and no one yet dares tell him the truth ... because they still are more interested in their careers then they are in the welfare of our nation or the world. Buckley? He’s what? 80? He’s part of what got us here, but he can’t DO anything about it except try to preserve the current power elite’s path to the future.

The NY Times still has its caveat, “Well, we WANTED it to turn out right, like a democracy.” Everyone knows Kevin Phillips nailed the motivations in his new book AMERICAN THEOCRACY: oil and the manifest destiny of God’s chosen peoples.

We sent our young men and women to bleed and die in the sands of Mesopotamia for oil and a religious pipe dream ...

Behind it all (behind the curtain?) is Cheney’s madness in believing the core idea of Strausian Neoconservatism, “If you are not willing to exercise the power you have, then you don’t deserve to have the power.” And Cheney’s power is based on the control of oil.

And Buckley is doing his best to give Cheney a free pass into the future lest we the people catch on to the real source of the madness.

These men are the axis of evil. And they do have the bomb.

Originally written as comment #6332 on 4/02 at 7:04 pm on truthdig.com at:

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20060402_desperation_in_iraq/

Illegal immigraiton is a labor issue!

The insanity here has reached Alice in Wonderland proportions ...

People who appear to be for the workers are saying we should allow a certain "class" of person (the illegal immigrant) to come and work for lower than prevailing wages under other than prevailing labor standards so businesses can reap higher profits? Or so we can have cheaper goods and services? (And because citizen workers won’t accept these conditions, it "proves" we have to have this new type of exploitation?)

Am I missing something? Oh yes, and one solution is to criminalize this class of workers ... making them even more reluctant to come forward to report illegal treatment by their employers!

Have we gone stark raving mad?

You’re right, there is ANOTHER solution ... forget about what has happened, put the counter back to zero ... reward the illegals who are here and believe it won’t happen again. That IS the definition of insanity!!!

So if a person is willing to risk their life and freedom to come to this country and give us the benefit of what amounts to cheap labor, and they do this for long enough (avoiding all the pitfalls and gotcha traps like on-the-job injury and layoffs and not getting paid ...) ... then we should reward them with full rights and status ... because, I guess, that will mean more will come to take their place in the cheap labor pool ... so we can reap the benefits of their cheap labor?

Doesn't anyone get it? That this is exploitation of people?

What is happening to our country ... that people who say they are for workers would say this is what we should be doing?

Check out Time magazine's photo essay, The Immigrant Plight

Initial draft appeared as comment #6261 on 4/01 at 4:04 am on truthdig.com at:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060328_robert_scheer_immigrants/