The blog of a North Country Swede!

Friday, June 30, 2006

We SHALL overcome!

Our Declaration of Independence has been, still is, and will be more than a good theory. It clearly declares a set of transcending ideals that guide us in our tumultuous struggle to become what we ought to be in the face of our “isness”.

There is no perfect state of being for humanity, because our evolution is like the expansion of a balloon’s surface, the more we experience, the more we know, and the more we know, the more we experience because out of our knowledge (our “awareness") we create new ways to experience.

Who and what we are as Americans can be demonstrated in the interactions of a set of contemporary Americans at different times in our history ... for me a good example is the period of Eisenhower (as Supreme Commander under FDR) - Truman - McCarthy - Eisenhower - Kennedy - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ... a turbulent period in our path forward--ever forward through twists and turns of buffetting opposing forces--guided by our ideals set forward so clearly by individuals at the dawn of our great nation who declared “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.”

Our heritage contains no greater words than these:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Bushco is a boil on our backside to be lanced and healed ... an ugly sore to be sure, painful and threatening ... but we have overcome horrible things done in our name before at great cost and suffering to ourselves and--sadly--to others ... but that is exactly the point ... we press on to what we ought to be, clearly stated at our beginning.

It is an honor to have been born and lived my whole life in a nation that once allowed slavery and where the strongest example of our ideals during my lifetime was provided by a black man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, teaching us the power of peace and nonviolence.

We SHALL overcome. That is the enduring value of the transcending ideals of our Declaration of Independence.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

"Let Facts be submitted to a candid world"

"Specifically, today’s Supreme Court ruling held that the president overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees."
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20060629_supreme_court_tribunals/
Doesn’t this mean that the Bush Administration has in fact violated the applicable laws AND the Geneva conventions? Doesn’t THAT then mean that they have committed war crimes or at least SOME crime, like breaking the law is a crime, isn’t it? And isn’t it obvious that the Bush Adminsitration conspired to do so?

Or am I missing something here?

Our Declaration of Independence clearly states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I mean, how basic can you get?

The Declaration also reads: “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

“He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.”

Sound familiar? And what was that English king’s name?

Ah yes, George, wasn’t it?

Is that ironic ... or absurd?

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

The NY Times and freedom of the press ...

Liberty is an ideal that transcends our “here and now” existence while enriching us here and now. Freedom of the press along with freedom of speech are protected in the FIRST Amendment of our Constitution, and are cornerstones of our liberty.

Quoting wikipedia.org: “The First Amendment only explicitly disallows any of the rights from being abridged by laws made by Congress, but as the first sentence in the body of the Constitition reserves all law-making ("legislative") authority to Congress, the courts have held that this extends to the executive and judicial branches.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_amendment

In other words, the executive branch of government SHALL not (is FORBIDDEN to) infringe upon freedom of the press.

Have we the people become such wimps that we let these clowns “rule” us?

And conservatives put up with the likes of these Neocons?

Note: Written as a comment in repsonse to the report, "Robert Scheer: A Disgraceful Attack on the New York Times" on truthdig.com.

Lest we be cursed forever.

Haditha, Falluja, Abu Gharib are only some of the most obvious horror stories of our war in Iraq. And to our eternal shame we go about our lives as if nothing is happening ... those of us who are not directly involved ...

Is there a greater sin for a people?: To not care about what is being done in our name to innocent men, women, and children through no fault of their own, only that someone acting on our behalf has labeled them our enemy?

And we are not caring with our eyes wide open to the suffering. There is no way we can say at some future time, "We didn't know."

My god, where are the prophets to call us to repentance? To decipher the handwriting on the wall? We have become the Ghengis Khan of our age.

We are NOT a Christian nation in the meaning of Jesus as the Christ, the Prince of Peace. What we are is a "Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho" nation, slaughtering the men, women, and children along with the animals ... every living thing in the name of Jehovah.

God save us from ourselves! Lest we be cursed forever.

Please read:

The Occupation of Iraqi Hearts and Minds

A Dig led by Nir Rosen on truthdig.com


&

Ugly Americans in Iraq

by Nir Rosen on truthdig.com

Check out Nir Rosen directly at:
http://www.nirrosen.com

Go get 'em, burghman!

Neoconservatism is Straussian fascism, an intellectual mirror image of the Nazis developed by Leo Strauss in response to his sense of horror regarding Nazi Germany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Strauss

From my point of view, I agree with Kevin Phillips in AMERICAN THEOCRACY, in that we have already passed the tipping point in this country. Corporations have achieved an imbalance of power over "we the people" out of their ownership of the wealth that "we the people" created for them. The myopic self-interest of these organizations in pursuing their own benefit without regard to the effect on the community/the world will bring this all crashing down on all of our heads.

There are many reasons why the current economic system will fail, but the most important one--from my point of view--is that under the current legal structure of corporationism (which is a monopolistic form of capitalism), corporations do not have to pay all the costs of bringing their goods and services to market. These unpaid costs are called externalities and can in some instances--such as strip mining for coal in West Virginia--exceed all other costs involved in production ... and are never paid for out of the price of the product by the corporations that do the damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

Because of externalities there is no such thing as a free market in today's global economic system. And as soon as you hear one of these so-called economic geniuses start talking about "the free market" WITHOUT mentioning how to wring externalities out of the system, you know they are blowing smoke up your backside. (In point of fact, second hand smoke is STILL an externality of the cigarette business.)

I believe in capitalism and a market where financial capital, knowledge capital, labor AND consumers can contend with each other on an even playing field for the goods, services, AND profits of the system. That is the underlying dynamic system that has produced the concept and reality of growing wealth that we have had up until today in a crude fashion ... that the coprorationists in bed with the Neocons now seek to manipulate and control through monopolistic practices for their own greedy purposes. There is nothing "free market capitalism" about these people at all ... except their use of the label to bamboozle the rest of us.

So there ... go get 'em, burghman!

Note: Originally posted as a comment in the thread, "DOJ Coming After The Fourth Estate?", on the Vanity Fair forum, V.F. Dish at:

http://boards.vanityfair.com/thread.jspa?messageID=17814#17814

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Give 'em Hell, Molly!

Note: Originally written and posted in response to Molly Ivins' column, "Bush's Hawaiian Education" on truthdig.com in which she wrote:

"In case you haven’t been following this, the Superfund is broke and has been largely inactive for four years. The fund was allowed to run dry when Congress failed to renew the tax on polluters. You may not believe this, but the oil and chemical companies complained mightily about being asked to pay for the cleanup of messes they had created. What a concept.

"Other environmental controversies continue to simmer all the time—out of sight, out of mind. Just one more regulation chopped here, just one more law changed there, just a little information hidden.

"But do be sure to give Bush credit for declaring the already protected Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument. That’s a good thing. Is there an election any time soon?"

Election? Shouldn't there be a modifier in front of that like in "rigged election"?

You know if what is going on now doesn't make "we the people" angry enough to take our country back from the self-serving myopic elitist oligarchy (the Oil Neocons) now running things ... then we the people don't deserve to be in charge around here.

What these Oil Neocons don't seem to understand while preaching free markets is that having a closed clique in power (oligarchy, dictatorship, divine right of kings/queens, etc.) is conversely proportional to a creative, vibrant society ... if their power goes up, the society goes done. In simple language, for all their vaunted brilliance, they're idiots! Actually, they are plain old garden-variety greedy bastards.

You know, a person might even acquiesce for awhile --like under the rule of a benevolent king--if the Neocons weren't so damn incompetent. They've taken a darn good country--one of the best (if not THE best) ever--and run it into the ground.

And then they try to tell we the people that we shouldn't be upset?! Are they kidding us?

Give 'em Hell, Molly! The Good Book promises that the Truth will make us free.Election?
"During a speech by Truman attacking the Republicans during the 1948 Presidential election campaign a supporter yelled out, 'Give 'em Hell, Harry!'. Truman replied, 'I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell.' " -wikipedia

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Comments on PBS Frontline's "The Dark Side" about Dick Cheney

Well, it`s clear that the quagmire in Iraq belongs unequivically to the Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld gang. I think Frontline did a pretty good job of credibly documenting who is responsible for getting us here and how they went about it.

What was Cheney thinking? That`s not too difficult to figure out. He and Rumsfeld believe in the effectiveness of military power to achieve strategic goals when the President has unimpeded executive authority.

And they had a goal: to protect our nation`s access to oil, the energy we need for continued world domination without resorting to nuking the opposition … which would have really, REALLY bad consequences.

Too bad they screwed it up.

Wow, did they ever screw it up! Iraq didn`t have WMD (weapons of mass destruction) ... nor were we welcomed with strewn flowers at our soldiers feet … and now Iran is allying itself with a government of Iraq that we USHERED in while Iran thumbs its nose at us on nuclear technology … and North Korea stockpiles nukes as it prepares to launch a longer range missle … and Russia and China increase their influence vis-à-vis our global interests.

And the Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld solution? “Stay the course!” And they say it with a straight face.

What’s the definition of insanity? When we keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

Note: Originally written (slightly edited here) as a comment (Hilding Lindquist | 6/20/2006, 11:18 pm EST) in response to the "Open Thread: Watching Dick Cheney" thread in the National Affairs section of RollingStone.com.



OK ... my conservative views.

I don’t believe in running a deficit to pay for a war or earmarks for congressional districts.

I don’t believe in nation-building in other nations that have not attacked us or were no real threat to us.

I believe in a republic with separation of powers between the branches of government, each branch working to uphold, preserve, and protect our Constitution allowing us to be governed by law.

I believe that leaders should not ask of others what they have not been willing to do themselves.

Regarding torture, let me quote wikipedia on conseravtism: “To a conservative, the goal of change is less important than the insistence that change be effected with a respect for the rule of law and traditions of society.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C onservative

To me, torture is a radical departure from the law and traditions of our nation and civilization itself.

I voted for Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy. I admire FDR–who led us during our victory over the real Axis powers, Harry Truman–who drew the original line in the sand on international communism, and Ike–who while governing well, warned us in the end about the very military-industrial complex that now threatens our future. I have never voted for a Clinton and I never will (most likely outcome regarding the future).

And I firmly believe that Bush is so far out of his depth that it defies belief. How anyone who actually knew the man could have let him become President of these United States is a question the current Republican Party will have to answer sooner or later.

Most Americans are far more complex creatures than the Liberals or Conservatives that the Neocons would like to paint us as … dividing us by fear of each other while they (the Neocons) subvert our democratic republic to rule by THEIR elite oligarchy (a path clearly spelled out in Neocon papers outlining their startegy).

Note: Written as a comment (Hilding Lindquist | 6/20/2006, 4:10 pm EST) in response to the "Gitmo and the American Soul" thread in the National Affairs section of RollingStone.com.

Monday, June 19, 2006

"Stay the course!" ... the new iconic phrase for failed governance

I do believe G.W.'s "Stay the course!" will go down in history as the new iconic phrase for failed governance. Like when things are really getting screwed up, someone will ask, "What do we do now?" And someone else with a good supply of sarcastic wit will reply, "Stay the course!"

Maybe someone will even come up with a little jingle:

If what you`re doing causes grief,
Stay the course!
If you`re headed toward the reef,
Stay the course!
Just be loyal through and through,
Do what Bushie tells you to,
And forget the warning brief,
Stay the course!


It brings to mind another phrase in the opposite vein:

"During a speech by Truman attacking the Republicans during the 1948 Presidential election campaign a supporter yelled out, 'Give 'em Hell, Harry!'. Truman replied, 'I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell.' " -wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_'em_Hell%2C_Harry%21

Go get 'em, Junior!

That may be a wee bit disrepectful of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but I got so exited when I read his interview with PRWeek.com yesterday (June 19) that I couldn't help myself. Check it out:

Interview: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Journalist Q&A
PR Week USA Jun 19 2006 11:00

It's all about the election fraud in Ohio ... and he's gonna go after the bastards who did it!

From the interview:

PRWeek: Is there a next step?
Kennedy: I've been meeting with attorneys... to devise a litigation strategy. And I would say that very soon we'll be announcing lawsuits against some of the individuals and companies involved.

PRWeek: Who exactly would that litigation be targeting?
Kennedy
: I wouldn't say, right now.

PRWeek: The election is over. Is it too late now?
Kennedy
: There's another election soon. And as the Times [just] reported, the same people are up to the same shenanigans.


Read Kennedy's RollingStone article, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?"

Murtha's right, Rove's wrong

We all should be questioning the ability of those who got us into this mess to get us out of it.

In what other field of endeavor would we continually go back to the “professionals” who had failed so dramatically? Would we let someone continue to build a house for us who hadn’t laid a foundation? Would we let them finish a bridge that went nowhere? (Oops, sorry ... maybe some of us would do that!) I mean, my god! We should be laughing these clowns off the stage of power. Cheney gave us the iconic event for their efforts, “The gang who couldn’t shoot straight”. (Some of us STILL didn’t get it.)

The mess? As I have stated before, no one has to document it for any of us any more: A quagmire of an insurgent war in Iraq with no viable exit strategy that restores stability to the Middle East, paying for this war by expanding the deficit, failing to adequately respond to Katrina and its aftermath, ... and those are three of the most obvious examples, any one of which leads to the rational assumption that someone has failed miserably ... and that assumption would have been made WITH Congressional investigations, I suggest, at almost any other time in our national history.

Have we exchanged our capacity for critical thinking for loyalty to “King” George? “Unimpeded executive authority” ... are they (we) nuts?!

Of course Murtha’s right.

If we kowtow to Karl Rove’s bully tactics instead of listening to Congressman John Murtha, we might as well kiss our future goodby. It is hard to believe it is even an issue ... and yet it is.

Murtha is a hero and a man. Rove is the junior high schoolyard bully who kisses up to the rich kid to be able to ride in the limo to the graduation party.

Get real, America!

Note: Written as a comment in response to the truthdig.com report, "Truthdigger of the Week: John Murtha".

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Is Sherron Watkins still without a job? Or, Why is it so difficult to question ...

Why is it so difficult to question the ability of those who got us into this mess to get us out of it?

The mess? Do I have to document it for you? A quagmire of an insurgent war in Iraq with no viable exit strategy that restores stability to the Middle East, paying for this war by expanding the deficit, failing to adequately respond to Katrina and its aftermath, ... and those are three of the most obvious examples, any one of which leads to the rational assumption of failed leadership ... and would have done exactly that WITH Congressional investigations, I suggest, at almost any other time in our national history.

How can it be possible that the President (G.W. Bush)--who directly and openly led us into this mess--can even think he can say (without drawing gales of laughter), "Stay the course (with me as President and the same policies in place)."

Are "we the people" so blinded by loyalty to those in authority that we have turned off independent critical thought?

Where is our loyalty to our Constitution? To the truth, as we know it? I mean, President Bush has directly and openly lied about key issues for obvioulsy personal political motives. For instance, in response to a question in 2004 campaign when he was asked directly whether he would fire anyone in his adminsitration who leaked in the Valerie Plame case. His response was a straightforward, emphatic, and RECORDED, "Yes."

Do we no longer question those in authority because it would affect our chances of advancing up the ladder of economic success? How is that different than what we decried in communism or fascism? Like in the question, "Is Sherron Watkins still without a job?"

What is the key factor in climbing the ladder of success in the United States these days?

Is it critical thinking? Or is it loyality?

Friday, June 16, 2006

The Supreme Court opens the door to the police

From Yahoo News:

Top court upholds no-knock police search
By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 15, 7:05 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court made it easier Thursday for police to barge into homes and seize evidence without knocking or waiting, a sign of the court's new conservatism with Samuel Alito on board.


This is HUGE.

It is such a clear indicator of the direction the oligarchy in control of our country is taking us that it made me gasp when I first read the headline.

The Neocon doctrine of a powerful elite imposing their version of reality on the people rather than having reality evolve/emerge through the dynamic struggle between isness and oughtness in the lives of the people is taking hold of our political system.

The darkness of dogma is descending on the United States of America. The light coming with the dawn of an Age of Enlightenment has passed its zenith and we are headed once again into a Dark Age reminiscent of the Inquisition and forshadowed in the novel "1984".

It can`t be THAT bad, you might respond.

But it is.

This is a clear sign that those in power perceive the people to be a threat to them.

And you know what? We are.

Note: Written as a comment on truthdig.com in response to "Supreme Court Upholds No-Knock Police Search".

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Karl Rove and his "junior high bully" modis operandi

Unlike Robert Fulghum and his book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, Karl Rove might write, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Junior High.

From an article written byBy DAVID E. SANGER and JIM RUTENBERG, titled, "White House Hones a Strategy for Post-Zarqawi Era" the NY Times and published June 13:

"On Monday night, the president's top political strategist, Karl Rove, told supporters in New Hampshire that if the Democrats had their way, Iraq would fall to terrorists and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would not have been killed.

" 'When it gets tough, and when it gets difficult, they fall back on that party's old pattern of cutting and running,' Mr. Rove said at a state Republican Party gathering in Manchester."

This is the frothing of the pimple set ... the bully who wants to ride in the rich kid's limo to the graduation party. Who cares if it makes any sense ... attack, attack, attack. Whose side are you on? Winning! It's all about winning ... NOW ... for us. Fair play? You gotta be kidding me! What has that got to do with winning?

The Neocon wing (the wing nuts) of the Republican party are giving us Karl Rove and Ann Coulter to define the issues of our nation? ... to show us the path to our future?

They're joking, right? This is all one big masquerade ball, right? The adults will show up ... won't they?

Can we please end this idiocy and get back to being grown up.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

My Ann Coulter post on truthdig.com

Ann Coulter is the wardrobe malfunction of Republican politics. Bring her on! You go, girl!

My god, what are you going to do when your once-thought-brilliant Neocon ideas are being flushed down the commode? Attack the 9/11 widows!

Of course.

It’s like Janet Jackson upping the ante (was she doing it on purpose?) for attention at the Superbowl. Can you top this?! (Followed in the same breath by some obscene expletive.) Forget the football game.

And Matt Lauer feeding Ann her lines on the Today Show? Can’t you just see them rehearsing that little give’n’take shake’n’bake?

Or it’s like carnival time in Duluth, Minnesota (my old home town) ... bring on the tatoo man and the two-headed calf ... come see the free show courtesy of the Neocon wing (wing nuts) of the Republican Party.

Does anyone still question how we got into this mess?

You know, a carnival may come to town ... but you don’t let it run the town, for chrissakes! It gives us some diversion for a week or so and them moves on ... doesn’t it?

“Meeting the demands of the Roman citizenry for mass public entertainment on a lavish scale, Julius Caesar expanded the Circus around 50 BC.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus

Note: Posted as a comment to Andy Borowitz's report, "Ann Coulter Challenges President of Iran to Insane-Comment Contest", June 9, on truthdig.com at
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060609_ann_coulter_iran_comment/

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Ann Coulter is the wardrobe malfunction of Republican politics ...

Of course we all should be talking about Ann Coulter ...

AND that she pushes the Neocon wing (aka wing nuts) of the Republican Party. In fact, every time we mention her we should remind everyone where she is coming from. (The same goes for Karl Rove.) 'Cuz if we want our country to follow their lead ...

Notoriety depends on staying out in front with the most outlandish whatever that IS the most outlandish whatever for the particular genre ... or class ... or type. I mean punk rock ought to have taught us something.

See, Janet Jackson quickly reached the end of the line in wardrobe malfunctions. Ann Coulter can simply utter the next most attention-getting absurdity she can think of ... and instead of being fined by the FCC, she's rewarded with another round of fame and fortune ... continuing to distract people from the real issues. Ain't it a grand old party?

American Idol and Ann Coulter ...

"Meeting the demands of the Roman citizenry for mass public entertainment on a lavish scale, Julius Caesar expanded the Circus around 50 BC."
You go, girl!


Monday, June 05, 2006

When you have a system of evil ...

"When you have a system of evil [...] the majority of good people sucumb."
- Philip Zimbardo

Prison Psychology and the Stanford Prison Experiment

Talk of the Nation, May 4, 2004 · A look at prison behavior: In 1971, volunteer students acted so badly during a study of the psychology of prisoners and guards, the study had to be cut short.

Guest:

Philip Zimbardo
*Psychology professor at Stanford University
*Conducted Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971

Saturday, June 03, 2006

It's worse than anyone could have imagined ...

Sometimes I don't post anything because I am busy at other things. Sometimes, because I am recycling my biorythm ... like in burned out for a bit.

Then there is this time.

The allegations of what happened at Haditha are so horrific that is like I had the wind knocked out of me. I am left gasping.

Then the NY Times reports,
"The commanders have told investigators they had not viewed as unusual, in a combat environment, the discrepancies that emerged almost immediately in accounts about how the two dozen Iraqis died, and that they had no information at the time suggesting that any civilians had been killed deliberately."

The report of the civilain deaths had not been viewed as unusual.

Can we grasp what that means? Going back at least to the battle for Fallujah?

An account about how TWO DOZEN civilian Iraqis were killed under questionable circumstances was not viewed as unusual?

From the Washington Post:

"At 5 p.m. Nov. 19, near the end of one of the most violent days the Marine Corps had experienced in the Upper Euphrates Valley, a call went out for trucks to collect the bodies of 24 Iraqi civilians.

"The unit that arrived in the farming town of Haditha found babies, women and children shot in the head and chest. An old man in a wheelchair had been shot nine times. A group of girls, ages 1 to 14, lay dead. Everyone had been killed by gunfire, according to death certificates issued later."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/03/AR2006060300710_pf.html


Google "Fallujah" to learn more about the roots of Haditha:

"The six weeks of fighting ended in a truce, amid reports of hundreds of civilian deaths. The agreement turned over security to a force -- the "Fallujah Brigade" -- led by former officers of Hussein's demobilized army. This enitity quickly collapsed, and control of the town has passed into the hands of insurgents."
"Al-Nazzal told us about ambulances being hit by snipers, women and children being shot. Describing the horror that the siege of Fallujah had become, he said, 'I have been a fool for 47 years. I used to believe in European and American civilization.' "