Rummy's talking about WWII ...

OK, let’s take a look at WWII ... the war we won.

I. The president was a Democrat: Franklin Delano Roosevelt or FDR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

“In July 1941, Roosevelt ordered Secretary of War Henry Stimson to begin planning for total American military involvement. The resulting “Victory Program,” under the direction of Albert Wedemeyer, provided the President with the estimates necessary for the total mobilization of manpower, industry, and logistics to defeat the “potential enemies” of the United States.”

II. FDR selected General George Marshall to lead the military into war—a war we won, by the way:

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

“On September 1 1939, the very start of World War II in Europe, he was selected by Franklin D. Roosevelt to be Army Chief of Staff, a position he held until 1945. In 1944, became the first U.S. General to be awarded 5-star rank, otherwise known as General of the Army. This position is the American equivalent in rank to Field Marshal. Marshall once joked that he was glad the U.S. never created a ‘Field Marshal’ rank during World War II, since he would then have to be addressed as ‘Marshal Marshall’.

“During World War II, Marshall was instrumental in getting the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps reorganized and ready for combat. Marshall wrote the document that would become the central strategy for all Allied operations in Europe, selected Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander in Europe, and designed Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.”

III. Harry S. Truman as a Senator (another Democrat) made sure we got a bang for our taxpayers buck—in the war we won (but I repeat myself shamelessly):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Truman_Co mmittee

“He gained fame and respect when his preparedness committee (popularly known as the ‘Truman Committee’ ) investigated the scandal of military wastefulness by exposing fraud and mismanagement. His advocacy of common-sense cost-saving measures for the military attracted much attention. Although some feared the Committee would hurt war morale, it was considered a success and is reported to have saved at least $11 billion.”

The problem with the Bush Adminsitration is that they think competence is loyalty to them. And the Republican Party is still the party for what big business wants and opposed to what we the people need.

I wish they would have run this war like WWII ... maybe we’d be winning. Selecting competent generals to fight the war and having strong oversight to eliminate egregious fraud would have made a HUGE difference ... don’t you think? That is, if we were fighting the right enemy—in the first place.

Balancing left and right wings ...

Some thoughts ...

If the ruling oligarchy of our country gets us working stiffs to start elbowing each other in pursuit of individual ownership AND lose sight of the power of consensus among workers on labor issues, then we struggle from weakness against their strength ... and the balance of the "dialectic" inherent in capitalism between asset capital plus knowledge capital on one hand vs. labor on the other is thrown out of kilter toward wealth as power ...

I believe it is the potential win-win game of the marketplace that energizes capitalism ... when and where both sides believe they get what they want ... which is possible in the market ... where the seller gets his/her price and the buyer gets his/her product or service ... both are satisfied ... and will trade with each other again.

The problems arise when either side gets the upper hand.

But trying to have a so-called "free" market is impossible as long as there are significant externalities (costs to the marketing comunity that are unpaid out of the price of goods and services or rents ... such as we see in the tobacco companies avoiding the costs of health care for the diseases smoking and second-hand smoke cause).

What we are left with is reason and attempting to have as rational a market as possible.

The gibbersih of the free market and the Invisible Hand taking care of the common good is simply a ploy by the oligarchy to amass wealth and power ... sending the economy into a tailspin sooner or later due to the imbalance of power ... as plane that has lost a wing on the left.

It is also true if labor gets the upper hand and too much power ... losing the wing on the right.

Note: Posted origianlly as a comment on the Vanity Fair website: V.F. Dish
http://boards.vanityfair.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1&start=0
under thread, "In response to minimum wage righties push for $2.13 an hour"
http://boards.vanityfair.com/thread.jspa?threadID=15802&tstart=0
Posted: Aug 18, 2006 9:43 AM

Some hypotheses ...

Freedom comes when leaders aka centers of power have to contend for the loyalty of the people rather than command it ... and within the range of options under the umbrella (within the spheres of influence) of these contending leaders, the individual can make choices.

The most frightening thing to any leader who seeks power is the freedom of people not to be loyal to a leader.

Neither democracy nor the marketplace are zero sum games—win-lose. They are win-win games if played rationally, and that is why they create their own energy.

And...

It isn't profits that drag down the marketplace. It is the externalities—the costs not paid for out of the profits—that drag down the marketplace.

The main fault of capitalism is its tendency to legitimatize externalities. While monopolies are always a problem, they are not in any way market capitalism. It is the desire of owners to avoid paying the real (rational) costs of producing goods and services that lead to them forming monopolies, i.e. controlling the marketpalce.

There is no such thing as a free market. There can be more or less rational markets depending on how well they pay the costs of producing the goods and services sold and of the market itself in rents.

I hear the jellyfish are making a comeback.

www.truthdig.com comment #18309 by Hilding Lindquist on 8/15 at 4:21 am

What should be clear to the world by now—and for which the “wall” is the perfect icon—is that the Neocons - Rapturists- Zionists (NRZ’s) have a mindset of domination, not peaceful co-existenance.

While watching the credits roll at the end of Oliver Stone’s movie, The World Trade Center last week, I was taken in by a feeling of sorrow over the opportunity we had lost in the pursuit of world peace. I remembered the outpouring of worldwide compassion and support for my country ... that I personally refelt as the movie unfolded ... and that we have now pissed away in brutal pursuit--not just of revenge--but of power.

The choice by our Neocon inspired leadership to use this moment in history to pursue world domination rather than world peace says it all.

This is the madness that motivates these folks ... the NRZ’s as I call them.

The question becomes (which should be easily answered by a “Christian” nation): If we don’t act on behalf of peace when we are strong and can do something, when will we?

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” -Matthew 5:9

Turning to the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel: It’s clear that we (the USA) were egging Israel on as a planning exercise (an experiment?) in reviewing our options vis-a-vis Iran.

Anyone who says Israel won is delusional or lying.

Yet who believes our President is not still on a path to Armageddon in the Middle East?

Forget who is right or who is wrong. When those who actually are the strongest abandon the pursuit of peace, the world is doomed as a safe place for human beings.

I hear the jellyfish are making a comeback.

On the Middle East conflict between Hezbollah and Israel

Some talking points amongst the din and clatter and shouting:

Hezbollah is a engaged in a violent struggle with Israel.

Israel is engaged in a viloent struggle with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has not abided by UN Resolutions.

Israel has not abided by UN Resolutions.

The major issues (as I see them) are:

- The right of Israel to exist (adoption of the Partition Plan by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947.)

- The right of return (International Law and decreed by UN Resolution 237)

- The withdrawal to th 1967 borders with an end to the state of belligerency (decreed by UN Resolution 242)

- The sharing of Jerusalem (Decreed by UN Resolution 252 and others, such as 476)

- The exchange of prisoners.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_UN_resolutions_concerning_Israel

The nature of the conflict is clearly documented in the UN Resolutions in response to that conflict from the establishment of the State of Israel up until today.

The question is: Will the Arab states agree to stop their belligerency against the State of Israel if Israel agrees to and abides by a specific set of conditions in a two-state (Israel and Palestine) solution?

Amongst other acts, by building the wall and usurping land that would belong to Palestine under Resolution 242, Israel lays down a marker that it is unilaterally setting the conditions of the two-state solution ... and justifying it by pointing to the perpetual belligerency of those aligned against her.

Amongst other acts, by Iran and other Muslim states/groups saying Israel should not exist and or challenging the wall (amongst other issues such as the Sheba Farms land), they challenge Israel and her unilateral solution ... and perpetuate a state of belligerency against Israel.

This has all the earmarks of a tribal pissing contest based on who is the most violent so who must be the most feared.

Unless these issues are resolved peaceably, the conflict will continue ... a conflict Israel may have hoped to win via the transformation of the Middle East by military means a la the Neocon plan to remake Iraq as a western-style democracy ... which, by the way—in case anyone is paying attention—is failing miserably ... and could be why Israel may feel the need to prove that she is tougher than the USA when it comes to things like war.

So now that Israel and her ally (my country, the USA) have stirred up the hornets nest in the Middle East with their ill-conceived ventures (Iraq and Southern Lebanon), Israel wants the international community to bail them out ... when, as history shows, Israel does not have a good track record herself in abiding by the wishes of the international community.

It’s like Israel is pouring fuel on a fire close to a gasoline storage tank and calling up the fire department saying, “You better get over here and stop this fire before the storage tank blows up.” ... “No, we didn’t start it. The neighbors did, but it was so small we knew you wouldn’t come and put it out until it got bigger.”

Well, it ought to be clear to everyone involved that sooner or later this is could go nuclear (the gasoline storage tank blows up) if it is not resolved peaceably. It already is nuclear on our side (Israel and the USA) a la Kipling: “Whatever happens we have got/The Gatling gun and they have not.” [sic].

So why aren’t we (the USA) hard at work trying to resolve this peaceably while we still have the clout to do so? This is where the debacle in Iraq rears its ugly head. The billiant idiots devising the Project for the New American Century actually believed they could transform Iraq and thereby set in motion a transformation of the Middle East.

Now because the results of the Neocons’ blind ignorance and wishful thinking are that the region is tipping into a chaotic state and truly threatening to Israel, the Neocons are saying we have to escalate the conflict lest Israel lose. "Pour more fuel on the fire! Then the fire department will HAVE to respond."


Dah!

This conflict CANNOT be settled militarily.

We have to be more creative than that ... but the Neocons - Rapturists - Zionists (the NRZ’s) are yelling, “Bring it on!”

Is it any wonder that the world worries about us when we elect a president like GW?

In one respect the Armageddonists are right. That battle will cleanse the world ... trouble is, it’s the jellyfish who will have another go at, not the human race.

911: The "Do Nothing" Conspiracy ... as a movie

Here's the pitch:

A small group of Neocons (SGN) high up in the Bush Administration learn of an Al Qaeda plot to hijack planes and crash them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the White House.

The SGN'ers recognize this as the perfect event/opportunity avoid a protracted political struggle to implement the Project for the New American Century, and begin to immediately distract attention from the Al Qaeda plot. This is easily done because of turf battles between the State Department, the CIA, the FBI, and the Pentagon.

But they can't simply leave it entirely in the hands of the terrorists ... so they tweak the operation a tad ... like make sure a plane does not reach the White House, limit the number of casualties in the WTC plus assist the the collapse of the buildings, and—because the Pentagon is such a damn hard target to hit correctly (the section recently rebuilt for the task)—send in a airplane as a drone.

But oops, one or more of the SGN'ers realized that he/she/they can make a lot of money by placing put orders on the stock of the companies that will be involved BEFORE 9/11 ...

And oops again, that damn outer wall of the Pentagon doesn't collapse on impact ... so it becomes harder and harder to make believe that a 757 hit it ...

And oops, some kids start putting the pieces of the puzzle together ... in a video no less ...

And oops, the NORAD tapes are released ... and the 911 Commission heads say they were lied to ...

But not to worry ... the public is convinced there was no active conspiracy to plan and execute 911 from the beginning to the end involving the whole Bush Administration ... so everyone breaths a huge sigh of relief and lives happily ever after ... with the riches God showered on them ... but oops they realized they couldn't collect on the put orders, so they just have to benefit from the common good under the guidance of the Invisible Hand.

Whadaya think?

If we abandon reason and transparency in a democracy, voting doesn’t count

Written as a comment in response to the Ear to Ground coulmn "Press ignores church's role in Bush's policies", August 3 on www.truthdig.com:

Comment #16866 by Hilding Lindquist on 8/05 at 12:16 pm

Re: Comment #16825 by Stephen Smoliar on 8/05 at 7:51 am

In turn regarding: Comment #16617 by Hilding Lindquist on 8/04 at 8:11 am
(See Even the butterfly makes a difference below.)

“I have to take issue with Hilding Lindquist: ‘voting is the packaging that comes with the gift of reasoning between informed participants.’ The best packaging for the ‘reasoning between informed participants’ is CONSENSUS.”

Maybe I wasn’t clear enough—or go far enough in my explanation. You see, “reasoning between informed participants” is the process of forming consensus/agreement. And voting is the means by which we indicate whether or not we have reached consensus/agreement. The last time I was in a consensus building group (fairly recently, I’ve just taken the summer off from my group activities) the larger we were the more we used a show of hands or some other voting mechanism to indciate how close we were to consensus/agreement.

My point was that coming to consensus/agreement (deciding as a group) through informed reasoning by the participants is the substance of democracy (there’s some history here). The mechanism for marking who is in agreement and who is not—voting—is simply that.

However, because we are dealing with millions of diverse people—who probably will never reach a true consensus on any specific agreement—it does not mean we have to abandon informed reasoning between the participants.

There have been a number of studies out that demonstrate that a group of people each one of whom makes an individual decision about something like the jellybeans in a jar will produce an average that is pretty close to the actual number ... even though there are outliers way off the mark.

Central to all this is transparency ... the people have to be able to see the jelly beans in the jar in order to make an informed estimate.

Stephen ends his comment with, “This takes us back to the hypothesis that our problem is not that America is not a population of ‘informed participants’ but that the mass media are doing everything they can to keep them from BEING ‘informed participants!’”

I don’t know of a time when the population of these United States was not being misinformed by yellow journalism, end times evangelism, corporate interests, labor interests, political interests, war machine interests, etc., etc., etc.

The one thing that I know that motivates the “population” of our nation to take action is the loss or the threatened loss of there livelihood ... or some part thereof.

What the Neocon corporationists have accomplished to date, is put us firmly on the path to a major upheaval due to the continuing economic degradation of labor.

Maybe they actually believe they can turn the United States into a banana republic with a huge split between economic classes dividing them into owners (i.e., those who own enough to support themselves and their families) and workers… but the workers have no place to go but into the streets.

(Of course there is always the prospect of another World War to bail ‘em out.)

And I also believe that the primary “creative” dialectic in a capitalist society (which gives it its vibrant strength) is between the interests of asset and knowledge capital on one side pursuing their self-interst (with their own little sub-dialectic contributing to the mix) and the interests of labor on the other side pursuing its self-interest. (Give either side the upper hand, and you got trouble.)

But I digress. What I do believe is that if we abandon reason and transparency in a democracy, voting doesn’t count.

Blessed are the peacemakers ...

Taken from comments written in response to "The Photos That Damn Hezbollah", in Ear to the Ground,, August 1, on www.truthdig.com:

Comment #16496 by ed_tru_lib on 8/03 at 2:55 pm

Ah Hilding-I didn’t say Israel. I said Jews. Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob) predate Saul by more than a millenium. I had to assume you meant bully, since you were obviously comparing the other kid to hezbollah.
We’re in complete agreement though about how they should have learned from the old testament. Being ready AND ABLE to defend themselves just a few years sooner could have prevented the holocaust.

And it was to Abraham that Jehovah promised the Land of Israel ... which was then taken by force by Joshua because the God of the Children of Israel had given it to them so they "owned" it.

The seeds of this violence go back millenia ... and it all seems to rest on the concept that my God is stronger than your God ... of people with tribal mindsets, each tribe believing it was chosen by their God. (And strangely in this case, all by the same God.)

As little boys behind the barn we used to call it a pissing contest. What do you call it?

Regarding the playground: You see, the mother realized there might be more to the story (See A playground story) ... the father did what most of us do, assume the fault of the other party. The story is a little bit of a Rorschach test or maybe a gestalt is a better description, because the "isolated in the neighborhood" concept sort of gives a certain outline.

I personally believe that much violence (however started) is in the instance of the specific act of violence, unjustified ... which is not to say that a strenuous defense is unjustified ... but too often it is in the iconic form of the husband who after hitting his wife, says, "She had it coming." or "She made me do it."

As a supposedly Christian nation with the example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of our authentic heroes ... for us to be the sole vote on the UN Security Council blocking a call for an immediate ceasefire is morally indefensible ... in my judgement.

Regarding the holocaust: I am sorry that millions of innocent Jewish people lost their lives in the death camps of Germany located in Europe.

As the offspring of Swedish immigrants to the United States, and having learned the history of the Western Hemisphere, I am also sorry that millions of innocent native people lost there lives at the hands of Europeans.

Is their moral equivalence between those two events of genocide? I don't know. I have never examined them with making that determination in mind.

What I do know, is that I respect Ghandi more and more every day. Because he knew ... as I believe ... that tit for tat violence never ends, it ... escalates ... and with nukes already in the Middle East and more on the way ... we have to figure out some way to stop the cycle of violence ... "It stops here!" ... which -- according to what is attributed to a man named Jesus -- is the responsibilty of the strong. "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."

Who can be stronger here on earth than God's children?

Even the butterfly makes a difference ...

Written as a comment in response to the Ear to Ground coulmn "Press ignores church's role in Bush's policies", August 3 on www.truthdig.com:


Maybe the mainstream media is finally wakening up to the insanity of Fundamentalist Christians (FCs) and their obsession with the Rapture aka The Second Coming of Jesus Christ aka The Return of Jesus Christ. I was raised one—an FC ... my mother actually believed her children (like me and my siblings) would witness Christ’s return. FCs believe that they will be raptured BEFORE the seven years tribulation ... so bringing about the Battle of Armageddon and the destruction of the world as we know it, is not a problem for them.

The flip side of GW’s insanity is his concept of democracy. He thinks it’s a contest with ballots instead of bullets. And whatever you do to win the election is OK, as long as you win ... THAT is the American way.

GW has absolutely no comprehension that voting is the packaging that comes with the gift of reasoning between informed participants. If their is no gift, the packaging is not simply worthless, it is a hoax.

A HUGE problem in all this is that all movements have momentum, social movements as well as physical movements ... and the Neocon movement has enough power and wealth wrapped up in it, that altering its course—let alone stoppeing it—take an tremendous amount of time and energy in oppostion.

The tendency in the face of some seemingly overwhelming struggles is for the individual citiizen to become discouraged and ask, “What can I do against such odds?”

The answer comes out of the recent understanding of chaos theory AND the two thousand year old teaching attributed to a man named Jesus: “If we have the faith of a mustard seed we can move (redirect) a mountain (a boulder rolling down a mountain).” That is, if our faith is the basis of our actions.

No one has an excuse to not do whatever he or she can. Choosing to not do anything is a choice.

Even the butterfly makes a difference.

A playground story ...

The little boy, crying, comes up to his father on the side of the playground.

“Daaaaaaaad,” the boy wails.

His father reacts immediately and picks his son up and puts him on his lap. “What happened?” he asks.

“That boy over there.” The boy pauses and points to another boy playing in the middle of the playground. “He hit me.”

‘Well, go hit him back,” the father says, puts his son down and pushes him forward.

The wife and mother having overheard the exchange comes rushing forward, sweeps up their son and looks back at her husband. “Are your crazy? Do you want to start a riot in this neighborhood?”

“But our son can whip that kid’s butt.”

“And his big brother’s, and his friends? It’s just us and our son here.”

“But we’re stronger then they are.”

“For now, here, at this time and place." She paused and then said, "Let’s hope we’re smarter, too.”

Addendum: There’s a book out titled, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum. How can I get a copy to the Israeli Security Cabinet? I think they are still replaying Joshua at Jericho ... which is soooooo OLD Testament. Israel is stuck in its tribal past.

Israel and the Neocons are willing to use nuclear weapons in pursuit of their goals

Written in response to a comment posted by "Nathaniel Turner" in comments to Robert Scheer's report, "Israel’s Dependency on the Drug of Militarism" on www.truthdig.com:

Comment #16362 by Hilding Lindquist on 8/02 at 8:18 pm

Re: Comment #16230 by Nathaniel Turner on 8/02 at 8:40 am

“Unfortunately, the insanity that clearly grips Israel means they will likely resort to attacks on Damascus and Tehran and then to use of their nuclear arsenal when all else fails.”

The sooner we all realize this is what we are faced with, the sooner we can get on with the business of restoring sanity to our world: Israel and the Neocons are willing to use nuclear weapons in pursuit of their goals.

Each of us has the potential to be the pebble that redirects the boulder rumbling down the mountain. None of us can hide behind the disclaimer, “What can I do?”

The message of Jesus (attributed to a man named Jesus) conforms to our new knowledge of chaos theory. If we have faith of mustard seed, we can move (redirect) the mountain.

I keep telling everyone, Israel’s replay of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho in the name of Jehovah is so DAMN Old Testament. Israel is stuck in its tribal past.

We can only hope that somehow, someway ... someday

There is more to democracy than voting.

There was an OpEd column in the NY Times, July 29, regarding the ideas Baruch Spinoza introduced in the 17th Century:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/29/opinion/29goldstein.html

We—I mean, us ... the good old vaunted USA—have abandoned reason in our pursuit of what we ought to be, and with it our posture of a rational broker of the world’s future. We can only hope that somehow, someway ... someday we will escape from under the grinding power of the concentrated wealth now imprisoning us.

Note: First written as Comment #15867 by Hilding Lindquist on 7/30 at 5:20 pm in response to www.truthdig.com Ear to the Ground article,
"Welcome to the New Middle East Paradigm"

My god, my god, why have we forsaken thee?

I take a summer break ... and all hell breaks out!

When are we going to learn that it is up to the strong to end the cycle of violence!

Are we not a Christian nation? Didn't Jesus teach, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God"?

What is happening between Israel and Hezbollah is total insanity on Israel's part. Of course Hezbollah started it IN THIS INSTANCE by capturing the Israeli soldiers ... but, my god, Israel then decided to make heroes of Hezbollah through collective retribution toward the civilian population of Lebanon?

And now after making a complete mess of everything, Israel wants the UN to come in and bail them out with a peacekeepng force?

Sure thing, stir up the hornets nest and then run for cover.

Any metaphor quickly loses relevance in this situation.

Let's be clear. Hezbollah IN THIS INSTANCE stung the Israelis first. Dah! Let's not even ask why, let's just stipulate first causes. How does that justify collective retribution against the civilian population ... something Israel is saying is justified because the they claim the civilians are hiding the Hezbollah soldiers?

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions collective punishments are a war crime. Article 33 states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

By collective punishment, the drafters of the Geneva Conventions had in mind the reprisal killings of World Wars I and II. In the First World War, Germans executed Belgian villagers in mass retribution for resistance activity. In World War II, Nazis carried out a form of collective punishment to suppress resistance. Entire villages or towns or districts were held responsible for any resistance activity that took place there. The conventions, to counter this, reiterated the principle of individual responsibility. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Commentary to the conventions states that parties to a conflict often would resort to "intimidatory measures to terrorize the population" in hopes of preventing hostile acts, but such practices "strike at guilty and innocent alike. They are opposed to all principles based on humanity and justice."

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

Addendum added July 31, 2006 at 11:25 AM

As Bob Herbert writes in today's NY Times OpEd Section, "Yes, Virginia, the world is going mad."

He's writing regarding the spread of nuclear weapons capacity/capability ... it's all about escalating the tolerance for violence.

On the other hand, maybe we're simply reverting to Jehovah as God ... forsaking our the enlightenment taught by Jesus, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."


King James Version, Old Testament, Joshua 6:17-21:

"And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

"And ye, in any wise keep [yourselves] from the accursed thing, lest ye make [yourselves] accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

"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."

http://www.blueletterbible.org/

Which version of God do we follow? Which do we forsake?

One of the valuable lessons we learn from the New Testament is that the strong must break the cycle of violence ... if it ever is to be broken. If we allow the bullies to have their way, we subscribe to fear and the jungle rather than hope and civilization.

It isn't just the lessons of their prior occupation and the ten years earlier bombing of same village with the same outcome that Israel has failed to learn, it is the lessons of their own ancient history.

Violence ALWAYS sets in motion payback, until someone is willing to step forward and say, "It stops here."

How many times do we have to crucify the Christ in us before we learn the lesson?

Now that the Supreme Court has spoken ...

Congress will have to weigh in on what Bush and Company—led by the MBA President—have been doing in George's name.

They've been avoiding it, spending their time on spending our money to ensure their re-election with tactically (strategically?) placed earmarks. Somehow the Neocon Republicans thought "core values" meant public-purse projects in the home district. (Of course there's nothing new in that! They are—above all else—politicians.)

So now the Neocon Republicans are going to actually have to vote on their interpretation of the meaning our REAL core values, CLEARLY stated in our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights ... and, oh yes, since so many of them keep calling us a CHRISTian nation, maybe the will get around to reflecting on the Christ's Sermon on the Mount ... Jesus's CLEAR statement of HIS core values.

There is so much divine right of kings (George as God's Chosen leader with unimpeded executive authority) and OLD Testament (Jehovah smiting the heathen, Joshusa killing every living thing in Jericho) rhetoric spewing out of these Neocons that it is hard to believe that they are either American or Christian.

Could it be that they are wolves wearing lambskin? (Good Christians will REALLY appreciate that metaphor.)

Dr Yoo, I assume ...

Thoughts on the day after tomorrow, July 4, 2006:

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

Dr. John Yoo, I assume you are a brilliant idiot.

It appears that you have dedicated your genius to the pursuit of power as the ultimate arbiter of human destiny. This is in keeping with the Old Testament god, Jehovah, illustrated by Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. (Note: More about this later.)

You see, John, Jesus introduced a transcending ideal, the seed of a new paradise to emerge after him. It is ideal that the Creator's strength rests in the strong nuturing the weak ... the father, the baby; the big brother, the little sister; the healthy, the sick;, welcoming the stranger; offering peace to one's enemy ... that it is up to the strong to nuture the diversity of the bioshphere.

This transcending ideal of nuturing, this "holy spirit", transforms us.

We have other transcending ideals to guide us while rejecting violence as a solution ... violence may be a defense, but it is never a solution or a tool for seeking one.

Our transcending ideals are clearly stated in our Declaration of Independence:

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.

http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm

And in our Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to our Constitution:

Original Ten Amendments: The Bill of Rights

Passed by Congress September 25, 1789.
Ratified December 15, 1791.

Amendment I
Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
Right to bear arms

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
Quartering of soldiers

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
Search and arrest

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
Rights in criminal cases

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
Right to a fair trial

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII
Rights in civil cases

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
bail, fines, punishment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
Rights retained by the People

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
States' rights

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm

Article I Section 1 of our Constitution reads:

Article. I.

Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/constitution.htm

And John, from your resumé I also assume that you have lived your adult life within the legal bureacratic systems of our nation. It has been my experience that individuals who succeed in that environment are too often those who suck up to the "powerful who reward those who suck up to them". It is a fairly standard outcome of the classroom environment where those who do best are typically those who learn what the professor/teacher wants and then provide that for the professor/teacher. On the surface this seems to be a reasonable arrangement, but when it is used to maximize power and stiffle original thought or creativity that threatens the power base, then it becomes the arthritis of aging cultures.

Gonzales, Libby, Rove, Yoo ... a set of brilliant ass-kissers. No wonder our nation has wandered so far from the transcending ideals of our founders ... ideals that should re-invigorate us in each new generation with new ideas based on original thought and creativity. Instead we are becoming brittle with the attempt to hang on to old ways (the absurdity of God as "The Invisible Hand"), old wealth (oil), and old power (a military strategy based on "we have nukes").

While Joshua won the Battle of Jericho, the victory foreshadowed the future for the Israelites at the hands of their enemies. What we now know in all human relationships from families to nations, breaking the cycle of violence is the real sign of strength. Jesus was right. Sorry, Dr. Yoo. Reality dictates awarding you a failing grade on your life.

On the meaning of being a conservative

Ooh boy! Seems like we need a little lesson in the meaning of being a conservative ... don’t you think? Not naming any names, or nothing.

“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/Conservative

Now, as my favorite Conservative (with a Capital C) Columnist (’nother Capital C), Paul Mulshine of the New Jersey Star Ledger, likes to point out, Bush and Company are NOT Conservatives. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mulshine

I could spend a lot of time listing all the ways the “Gang Who Can’t Shoot Straight” aren’t Conservative, but let me list two biggies: Conservatives do NOT believe in nation building and Conservatives do NOT believe in passing on current costs to future generations.

Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass” could help us form a parallax/gestalt of the Neocons.

Simply taking some time and exploring the heritage of these so-called “brilliant” theoreticians would smoke ‘em out for the radical bunch of neo-fascists (mirroring fascism) that they are.

Briefly, the Neocons are entwined in their machinations with monopolists cloaking themselves in free market capitalism AND religion a la God as “The Invisible Hand” to avoid having to pay the cost of the damage (the externalities) of their “legal” economic system in acquiring wealth and power. (Note: Any “brilliant” economist who talks about the current economic system as “the free market” who does not also simultaneously discuss wringing externalities out of that so-called “free market” is blowing smoke--like in the second-hand smoke of the cigarette business or exhaust emissions of burning fossil fuels--up our backsides.)

The first requirement of a democratic people is that their leaders tell them the truth. In the ebb and flow of human existence there are times to be conservative, there are times to be progressive, there are times to be liberal. It is our ability to adapt to the needs of the particular epoch in which we find ourselves that allows us to continue to survive and grow while remaining a free people through abiding by such transcending ideals as laid out by our founders in our Declaration of Independence. And as the Good Book teaches in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” http://www.blueletterbible.org

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.

"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?

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