Marie Foster: Irony

Wed, 23 Jul 2003 20:16:59 GMT

Too Much Irony

Somehow this piece just touched so many issues that I have found to be particularly ironic lately that I had to blog it.

As I was waking up this morning listening to NPR I listened to Bob Dole (a Republican I have always admired) talking about civility in political discourse. I had to google civility and politics. Not only did I find his speech, but too many good articles to link to directly. I think that I might need to add this to my list of common google searches.

I don’t know about you, but I support the idea that I don’t want my taxes going to support companies who outsource all the decent paying jobs overseas. For a long time I worked really hard to ‘buy American’ even though that cost me more others who did not share my scruples. Lately I have given up even trying because there is no way that one can tell if a product is even touched by American hands. This is what free trade has gotten us I guess. While the conclusion of this article tends to minimize the affect of outsourcing I would be willing to set up a tour of American rust belt communities for the people who do not see this trend as significant.

Adding a “what is good for the goose clause” to the prescription benefit proposal is indicative of how bad the idea really is. No wonder that AARP is considering opposing it.

And finally, Wolfowitz lets Iraq’s neighbors know that they are not to mess with our new colony.

Fri, 02 May 2003 03:39:56 GMT

An Interesting Article in the Nation

“Rolling Back the 20^th Century” by William Greider

His contention in a nutshell is that Bush Co. and the other neoconservatives have as their goal to return America to the era of McKinley. I am still thinking over all the implications of his article.

To be honest some of my thoughts about the need to reduce the influence of the Feds in all aspects of our daily lives have resonance. However, the full scope on the America that I have come to know would not be something that I would want for my grandson. Repression of everyone but the privileged classes is one of the hallmarks of America that McKinley represented.

I have been working at putting up into my blog the diary of my Grandfather. He was born just after the civil war just as I was born after WWII. I have to admit that I have been forever changed by reading his daily account of the problems that he had to overcome to have a family in those hard times where he was often separated from his wife and children for months.

Bush Co.’s nostalgia for this past history fails to account for the differences between the turn of the 21^st century and the 20^th. During the turn of the last century we still had much of the West left to open up for expansion and resource extraction. We no longer have that. What we do have is the rest of the world. Perhaps that explains the imperialist approach as exemplified in the documents prepared by the Project for the New American Century.

Another difference is that I do not believe that the American people will stand still for drastic income re-distribution. While many of the programs of the New Deal did not live up to their promise, they did provide a good standard of living for the majority of Americans. That standard of living is under threat by these Draconian measures that are being full court pressed by our current administration. It will be interesting to see what comes from the battle over the tax cuts. If Bush does not win his full measure of cuts I am sure that he will make that a campaign issue especially if the economy is even marginally starting to improve.

What is more troubling to me is that the issues are not open to debate. Effective discussion in this country is deadlocked by ideological language differences. If it does not end in some kind of violent revolution I will be surprised.

Tue, 22 Apr 2003 20:48:38 GMT

US Policy on Iraq a Moving Target?

Where we were going at 1:00 am April 22, 2003?

Watching the news aggregators from our most popular search engines is fascinating. It would be fun to keep a log of them over time as they seem to document the official statements of Administration Officials, leaks, etc. I think it is even possible to detect trends on issues by watching these headlines and stories.

Last night at 1:00 am I did a Google News Search on Iraq. The trend that I picked up is that Bush is preparing to 'do a runner' on Iraq. Rumsfeld is no longer trying to prepare the American people for a long period of 'assistance' to help the Iraqi people set up their government.

The INC has gotten its military training and is in place. I think it is possible that they have been set adrift as well given the fact that the military who has been training them does not seem to know of their existence. *boggle* As far as Chalabi goes he must be feeling pretty schizophrenic by now.

Predicting things is always pretty damned tough. If we do pull out in the next few months I won't be surprised I guess. I expect we will be knee deep in some other conflict by then. We after all, do war best.

As of 1:36 pm April 22, 2003

The trend is pretty much around the issues of war reparations, dropping sanctions so that the oil money can be used for rebuilding Iraq, the rising influence of the Shiites in the formation of a new government. There is also coverage of the progress made by Jay Gardner in getting social systems working in Baghdad. Two Middle eastern papers have an interesting take on things as mentioned in an article from Dar Al-Hayat and one from Middle East Online.

All of the articles (not just the two mentioned above) are very interesting reading.

Sun, 20 Apr 2003 19:13:58 GMT

Bamboozle Who?

Who are we trying to fool? Mohammed Mohsen Zubaidi proclaims himself the mayor of Baghdad. The military spokesmen there claim to not know who he is. Other sources state that he is part of the Iraqi National Congress and an aide to Chalabi. Chalabi is a close associate with the Bush triumvirate (Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz).

Now it appears that the US military is in the process of training the military wing of the Iraqi National Congress. Who is it that we are trying to deceive? The Iraqis will figure this out probably faster than the US population. Sounds like Punch and Judy, no?

Sat, 19 Apr 2003 21:07:10 GMT

Who is Mohammed Mohsen Zubaidi?

According to many sources this individual proclaimed himself the mayor of Baghdad.

Many of the cited resources claim to not know who he is or how he came to be in Iraq or basically anything about him. American officials seem to be disclaiming his authority. He seems to have some money or at least whatever it takes in Baghdad to get a radio program going that is broadcasting anti-Saddam/pro-American information.

Others claim that he is an ‘aide’ to Ahmed Chalabi the head of the INC (Iraqi National Congress one of the exile opposition groups). Mr. Chalabi has been the center of a fire storm of controversy over his connection with Bush insiders. There has been speculation for many days that the Bush administration intends to set him up as interim leader of the ‘not-occupation’ government in Iraq. But there has been nearly as much denial of that by administration spokespersons. It is all so very confusing.

That Chalabi was flown to Kuwait by US forces seems undeniable. Was Zubaidi also a part of the INC contingent? If we do not support Chalabi’s presence, how come we provided the air fare?

In my way of thinking it is probably in the best interests of the US to have a pro American government form in Iraq.

But the problem can be seen as circular in many ways. Saddam himself was considered pro American pretty much up to the time he decided that he needed to get his own ‘pay’ for taking care of our little Iran problem and invaded Kuwait.

Can Americans really allow the people of Iraq to form their own government absent from our meddling to be sure that they “get it right”? How does any country who has taken the bold step of invasion to accomplish regime change manage to support without being seen as meddling? Somehow that idea of being hoisted on one’s own petard seems relevant again.

Fri, 18 Apr 2003 07:39:06 GMT

OK… Let Me Get This Straight

Bechtel is getting the contracts to rebuild Iraqi infrastructure. This is the same Bechtel that the Iraqis named in their declaration as a source of their chemical weapons technology.

My-oh-my. Isn’t that special.

Thu, 17 Apr 2003 18:14:47 GMT

Liberalism Dead?

At 57 I have been political since I first saw a Buddhist monk immolate himself in Vietnam. He and a few others managed to bring down the Diem regime by appealing to the compassion that exists in most people. I saw how one person or a small group could "change the world".

I quested to find a place in several movements. Worked for a bit with the Democrats in Seattle but found the group to be cliquish and the process devoid of anything other than expecting lockstep loyalty to what superiors were saying. My knowledge for example of mid level bureaucracies was never tapped to help develop strategy to counter claims made against liberals (tax and spend being a good example). I felt more like a cog in the machine than I did in almost any other social group I was involved with. I kept holding up my hand but was never called on.

Counseling Nam vets was what I did best.

I opted to vote but not participate in party politics. I saw my values trashed by people like Rush Limbaugh with nary an effective counter attack launched by liberals who seemed to be unable to concentrate on any set of core values and appeal to the grassroots for support.

Instead, I saw Democrats co-opted into big money politics. I saw them taking money from the same interests that the Republicans did. This choice further led to them being discredited. That seemed to me to be a good GOP investment strategy. The US spent the USSR into oblivion. The GOP spent the Democrats into a cage.

Our population is aging. My Baby Boomer demographic is not only the largest single group, but we tend to vote with higher percentages than others. As a part of the natural aging process we are tending to become more conservative as we *gasp* solidify.

We need a Socratic approach it seems to me to address some issues:

While capitalism is the best system, why is it not creating the abundance for all that it purports to do?
How can we shift the center of the political spectrum to pick up small to medium business people who are getting shafted along with most individual workers in this country but who seem to think that their best interests are represented by the GOP?
How can we appeal to people’s real compassion for the marginalized groups in our country? How can we counter the Reagan strategy of making them the problem instead of the victims of our failed economic system?
We need to point out that instead of decreasing the size of the federal portion of our government; the Republicans are increasing it at a faster pace than ever.
We need to counter the claim that what happened on 9/11 was an attack on the American people instead of an attack on the institutions that maintain the status quo of most individuals in the world. This one will be the hardest I think.
We must drop back and sacrifice some of our most cherished sacred cows to get out in front of arguments instead of being pulled along by them.
We must learn to capitalize on the low voter turn out that has benefited the GOP.
We must stop patronizing people who are marginalized. They tend to see why liberal stereotypes have validity better than we do.

Can liberals rise out of the ashes? I don’t know. If we can not deal with these issues I don’t think so.

These are my thoughts and mine alone? - Marie L. Foster

Thu, 17 Apr 2003 05:40:26 GMT

When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History

by Thom Hartmann

The last three paragraphs read:

“Today, as we face financial and political crises, it's useful to remember that the ravages of the Great Depression hit Germany and the United States alike. Through the 1930s, however, Hitler and Roosevelt chose very different courses to bring their nations back to power and prosperity.

Germany's response was to use government to empower corporations and reward the society's richest individuals, privatize much of the commons, stifle dissent, strip people of constitutional rights, and create an illusion of prosperity through continual and ever-expanding war. America passed minimum wage laws to raise the middle class, enforced anti-trust laws to diminish the power of corporations, increased taxes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals, created Social Security, and became the employer of last resort through programs to build national infrastructure, promote the arts, and replant forests.

To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is again ours.”

Read it all here.

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 21:55:55 GMT

Iraqi traditions and values

I was taken by this phrase (the Blog title) from a current news article concerning the discussions of the various parties about what they wanted to see in a new Iraq now that Saddam no longer has control.

It occurred to me that I do not really know what those values might be. What I do know about Iraq has been filtered through many veils. Most of what I have read has been written by non-Iraqis. While much of this information is very good. I hope soon to be hearing more Iraqi voices talking about what they want to have in a post conflict Iraq. And while I think that the ex-patriot voices have a place, I hope that they are secondary to people who stayed and suffered under Saddam's regime.

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 21:29:51 GMT

Back at the Ranch

The prez just changed the rules about how our own national heritage (our public lands) are to be protected from looters. According to an article in the LA Times, written by Elizabeth Shogren, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) no longer needs to evaluate any piece of land that developers want to exploit for commercial purposes for their “wilderness qualities”. I believe that this means that Bush et al believe that short term use of our heritage for mining, or drilling for resources is more important than preserving those areas that could have value as recreation areas or just for set aside for the future of our nation. Since there is one piece of land in this country that I have an association with and a deep desire to protect I am feeling very sad over this.

I have requested from the Times the ability to reprint the article as you have to be a subscriber to read it on-line. While the subscription is free, they will take information from you that they promise not to divulge to third parties and only subject you to adverts when you are on their pages. In their defense on this, I have had a membership there for a long time and have never been subjected to any computer hijack activities.

If you are a member or wish to fill out the form to join you can read the article in its entirety here.

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 20:12:46 GMT

Don’t you hate it when things just get untidy?

As Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show used to say….

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!

We manage to occupy the Oil Ministry while the antiquities of our human heritage are carted off by looters.

ALERT! NEW CONSPIRACY THEORY!

Art collectors of the world are behind the attack on Iraq!

I feel dizzy.

Sun, 13 Apr 2003 16:34:49 GMT

Unintended Consequences

As a social worker dealing with families in all kinds of stress situations I had to become as prescient as I could be to avoid them (unintended consequences that is). My knowledge of the uncertainty principle came into play often as I tried to retain a balance between the members of my peer group who sided more to one end or the other of the spectrum of family autonomy versus child safety.

What are the unintended consequences of the action that our country has taken by attacking Iraq? I can not wash my hands of the blood from the bodies of Americans and Iraqis because I said “don’t do It” as loud as I could or because I was ignored by those hell bent on some agenda that I am not even sure that they understand that they have.

Perhaps Iraq will deconstruct itself from the capricious and arbitrary boundaries that the European Colonial powers created there when the Middle East was ripe for conquest again. We can speculate on this and ponder. I just wonder if we really can let that happen.

There are apparently some other unintended consequences going on here. Pat Buchanan is drifting left it appears. Maybe we have reached some kind of tipping point?

Sat, 12 Apr 2003 03:27:05 GMT

Have we come to this really?

The following was a series of posts on a pub style forum where I hang out.

First post:

“You've GOT to be kidding me. What fags

(Sorry for the homophobic name calling, but I can't think of any better term to describe Sony at this point in time)"

Note: As I was reading that, I noticed a banner ad on the page that I was reading.

I have not figured out how to upload images yet but it said the something like: Are you for or against the President. It had a fairly decent picture of Mr. Bush with check buttons for ‘for’ and ‘against’.

After clicking on the banner I posted the following:

When you see the banner ad about if you are for or against the President, click on it. It won't hurt you. I am so durned proud to be an Merican.

I am working on getting this onto my blog.

btw... I prefer 'male' to 'gay' as a pejorative. Somehow it seems so much nobler to put down the group who is at the top of our still wonderful country. Besides which I love men. They really do know how to take a gender slur as a joke.

Fri, 11 Apr 2003 05:00:32 GMT

Irony of the day

When Ronald Reagan was elected there was a lot of talk on the left about his 'hawkishness'. I did not get the same sense of unease in this area regarding Bush's election. Mostly what I heard was how inexperienced he was coming in and all.

If there is an election next year (think martial law), let us force the political parties to choose someone who is an independent thinker and not subject to being unduly influenced by policy wonks.

Thu, 10 Apr 2003 23:48:15 GMT

Continuing Saga of George

So far, my Congressman, George Nethercutt (GOP) has not chosen to respond to my inquiry as to why he voted for the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003". I found the part about putting VISA and Master Card e.g. ahead of kids when it comes to divvying up assets a bit strange and I was hoping he could explain to me how doing so was being compassionate.

As I was making sure that my facts were correct so that when he does contact me I will be prepared, I found out some more interesting things about this legislation. This bill was supposed to prevent rich people from sheltering their income by buying expensive houses before filing for bankruptcy by placing a cap on the price of the digs they can purchase. This did seem to me to be more consistent with the bills rather lofty title. It appears however that my optimism was premature. The bill does not prevent people from buying a very expensive house to use as their primary residence in states (e.g. Florida) where there is an unlimited homestead exemption . What an exploit! (we can call this the skipping out clause I guess). [1]

OMB liked the bill too.[2]

I am sure that there were lots of good people who found something they could like in this bill.[3] In fact, if I calm myself and totally rid my body of any suspicion of ulterior motives or political payback to a campaign contributor, I am left wondering if the problem with our inability to get good laws is that they try to be everything to everyone.

After trying to read the names of all the groups (50+) who opposed this bill for one reason or another I think I may have figured out why he supported it. Some people seem to think that anything that NOW is against must be good as NOW is evil. The remaining 49 or so like MADD, virtually every group of non-partisan bankruptcy lawyers, judges, academics, charities, etc. had serious concerns including NOW.[4] Of course, this only my theory, and I would love to know but he has not answered my letter.

Anyway -

It has been about 10 days. So instead of sitting around waiting by my mail slot, I have been trying to find out more about him on the web. One of my more liberal friends called me the other day letting me know that while we have been focused on Iraq the Congress has been busy here at home laying waste to our environment, contributing to the massive loss of jobs we have been experiencing, working on the trickle down theory for like the 3^rd time, adding more regulations that stifle innovation at the small business level, and generally creating havoc with our individual rights.

They have also been hiring lots of people to work in Washington DC it appears however, as George has kindly pointed out lots of job opportunities for his constituents with the feds at the same time he shares our pain over the fact that we just do not have any jobs here. I thought that the GOP would be working a bit harder by now getting rid of wasteful programs. But, maybe they have taken care of that and I just have not noticed.

Getting to know George has not been easy. I had hoped to have the second part of my essay on him done by now. If you have not read “George I” you might want to catch up. I will have more as soon as I can.

[1] (US Chamber of Commerce ) As I read it what Congress did was make the time period that a person can do this longer (pre-planning counts when it comes to finances). It did not require that those states which have an unlimited exemption reform that to be uniform with states that do. This may help explain why Florida is doing so well comparatively speaking.

They have a law in Florida that basically says that it is not illegal to commit fraud to do it either. Florida has just taken a mighty leap in my general opinion as being one of the two states with the most whacky legal system. Texas is the other. Brings an all new meaning to the phrase “Come On Down!”

[2] It appears that there was some sort of compromise around the issue of the homestead exemption that was worked out in some bipartisan fashion. Maybe the Democrats were promised a nice piece of land in Florida as well.

[3] People who sell furniture were pleased that the bill made it hard for someone to buy an expensive piece of furniture just before filing, and then claim that it had depreciated in value, which ended up sticking the furniture guy rather badly. (This was called cramming). It might explain why a lot of people that drive BMW’s after filing for bankruptcy whereas they drove a Toyota before.

[4] Here is what he says about Women’s issues on his official site. Note: Women’s issues did not make the cut.

Thu, 10 Apr 2003 22:03:21 GMT

Where the buck really stops.

I have been thinking about my cousin who was a Navy pilot during Nam. He flew off an aircraft carrier in the bay of Tonkin. When I first saw the movie, Top Gun, I suddenly realized that Tom Cruise was a less handsome version of my cousin.

The family was very proud of him. My uncle Jack was particularly proud as he and other engineers at the Bremerton Naval Base were the ones who invented the steam catapult that basically shoots the plane into the air. When my cousin flew home he would fly his jet over our houses and dip his wings in salute. He was pro war and did not like the fact that there was protest back here.

I have no idea what he is feeling now. I do wonder though. He did not like the fact that I was counseling vets much. He knew my feelings. After he came home we grew more distant. I do remember a couple of conversations with him however.

I remember that he told me that if they had unspent fuel or napalm they had to dump it before they ‘hit the deck’. They were told not to dump it at sea. They were also told to avoid areas where our troops were. I got the impression that they were not told specifically to dump it on civilian areas. But, if you think about it, this was all there was left. While he did not say so specifically, I know it bothered him a lot.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 22:27:34 GMT

ISN'T IT IRONIC?

With apology to Lorenz Hart - lyricist

I've never met you, yet never doubt, dear;

I can't forget you, I've thought you out, dear.

I know your profile and I know the way you kiss,

just the things I miss on a night like this.

If dreams are made of imagination

I'm not afraid of my own creation.

With all my heart, my heart is here for you to take.

Why should I quake? I'm not awake.

Isn't it ironic?

Music in the night, a dream that can be heard.

Isn't it ironic?

Moving shadows write the oldest magic word.

I hear the breezes playing in the trees above

while all the world is saying you were meant for love.

Isn't it ironic

merely to be young on such a night as this?

Isn't it ironic?

Every note that's sung is like a lover's kiss.

Sweet symbols in the moonlight,

do you mean that I will fall in love per chance?

Isn't it satire?

My face is glowing, I'm energetic.

The art of sewing I found poetic.

My needle punctuates the rhythm of irony.

I don't give a stitch if I don't get rich.

A custom tailor who has no custom

is like a sailor, no one will trust 'em.

But there is magic in the music of my shears.

I shed no tears, lend me your ears.

Isn't it ironic?

Soon I will have found some girl that I adore.

Isn't it ironic?

While I sit around my love can scrub the floor.

She'll kiss me every hour or she'll get the sack

and when I take a shower she can scrub my back.

Isn't it ironic?

On a moonlight night she'll cook me onion soup.

Kiddies are ironic

and if we don't fight we soon will have a troupe.

We'll help the population,

it's a duty that we owe to dear old France.

Isn't it satire?

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 21:52:50 GMT

Another phrase… sadly not mine however.

For some reason the phrase "Hoisted on his own Petard" has come unbidden into my consciousness. I need to pursue why that is.

Petard. This word, borrowed from the French, was derived from the French verb peter (pronounced "paytay") meaning "to break wind", and the noun pet has the secondary meaning, "the report of a gun". The first meaning can be readily divined. It obviously involves noise-making of dubious social desirability.

In Medieval times, an excellent noise-maker was the petard. It was an explosive device used in siege warfare. It was shaped like a bucket, filled with gunpowder and closed with a stout wooden lid. During the night, soldiers who were called "petardiers" , would sneak the device against the gate of the besieged fortress, light the fuse and run. If the soldier was not fast enough in his getaway, he could be blown up by his own petard. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", one may recall the well-known lines: "hoisted on his own petard".

I also am anxious to check up on what the US Congress has been up to while we have been distracted by the events in Iraq.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 21:39:39 GMT

I think that I may have come up with a nice one-liner.

"The problem with politicians is that you have to be one to compete"

Can one copy write a turn of phrase?

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 21:00:10 GMT

I need to s l o w down

Part of my worry about Iraq has been the messages that are being transmitted to the world. I have a need to feel that our nation is regarded fairly for some reason. I don't mind another country having a difference of opinion and sharing it in order to persuade. I don't want us to appear arrogant.

What I find hopeful in this article is that it appears that our administration knows that if you expect your critics to lower their defenses, you need to make a gesture. That is why I support a STRONG inclusion of the UN in Iraq.

What I find slightly unsettling is that for the first time I think (I may have missed it) is the admission that a strong reason for an attack on Iraq was an Israeli type of message to the world.

I have always admired the Israelis in lots of ways. They have lived surrounded by enemies who are out to 'push them into the sea'. I guess I have understood their position concerning pro-active involvement (It does not hurt to be one step ahead of your enemy). I supported that aspect of the 6 day war for example. And in a way, I have accepted the argument that they needed a bigger 'buffer' zone to protect their people.

What it seems to me hurts them with people who really watch what is going on, is that when you displace the people who had no real choice in what the Arab leaders did you appear to be making a naked land grab. This I think, is what the settlements have represented to the Palestinians who, I believe, rightfully feel agrieved by this land confiscation.

Anyway, if he is saying that we 'did the Iraq thing' to show those people, or countries, or terrorist groups out there that we can play by their rules vis a vis 'shock and awe' tactics, then did he let GW know that?

You know, sometimes I get the distinct impression that Cheney, Wolfowitz, et al do not really have confidence in GW in being more than a Reagan type of 'talking head'. If that is the case could they get him some acting lessons? Most of those 'vocal critics' have directly charged that getting GW to run was a way to get Cheney in charge when they knew that he did not have a chance in hell in beating Gore himself.

Baby Bush is getting better when he talks to us. But he still looks too much like a deer caught in the headlights to instill any confidence in me. Maybe they should just drop the pretense and let Dick sit in the big chair. The strain of all this Iraq business seems to be having an affect on GW's health as he is looking kind of unthrifty to me.

Cheney talks about plans for Iraq post war

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 18:01:21 GMT

What is bar none the best about radio to me is the ability to track back to the post or link that brings people to this little site.

I learn much by studying that.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 14:04:24 GMT

I keep forgetting to put in attribution to posts I take from my news aggregator. Radio puts that at the bottom for some darned reason. I got this from a site called Hate Central which is a tongue in cheek name... not the real place for Rush to find the person who is really behind all us pinko-commie types.

Finally -- a Democratic candidate with the balls to stand up to ShrubCo...

Yes, I know Howard Dean has been doing it all along, but he can't win next year. When John Kerry finally spoke up this week, it was a very big deal for a number of reasons.

First off, Kerry is about the only Democrat with the money and clout to launch a serious run toward the White House -- unless you count Bradley, who I still long for, or Gephardt, who puts me to sleep at the mere mention of his name.

Second, Republicans who call Kerry "unpatriotic" or "un-American" or "French" will look utterly stupid. None of the GOP slugs who fired back at the Bay State's finest have ever served a day in the military -- so when they try giving the run-around to a guy who's got a fucking Purple Heart, it's going to blow up in their grill. Kerry can shout at Bush all he wants, and there's very few people on the Republican side who can sling mud back. When someone who's been IN a stupid war speaks out against THIS stupid war, people have to respect it.

The big thing that came out of Kerry's "regime change" remarks (my favorite soundbite of the year so far, BTW) is this -- Americans have forgotten the true definition of patriotism.

Webster's defines patriotism as "love for one's country." That love can include flag-waving and all that -- but it should also include dissent when our leaders fuck up. This country was built on dissent and on the challenging of authority. We'd all have British accents and really bad teeth now if Americans never rose up against tyranny.

Some 230 years later, we're facing it again. Actually, we're imposing our will on the rest of the world. A nation founded by the opposition to oppression has become the great oppressor. We are way too down with OPP. (Sorry...bad alliteration joke.)

Unless the world gangs up on us (which would likely mean the end of our planet's existence), the only way to stop the snowballing empire, the Axis of Oil, is from within.

Our public school system has been euthanized by Dumbya's No White Christian Child Left Behind Act. Our civil liberties have been castrated by the Benedict Arnold Patriot Act. We're going to be in debt up to Manute Bol's ears for decades to come, which will serve the GOP's primary aim -- if there's no money, the Dems can't afford much-needed social reform for those of us who make less than $200G a year. And we're in the second of four (at LEAST) pre-planned wars, which will only serve to cripple us economically and completely piss off the rest of the non-Tony Blair world.

If Bush's squad of Petroleum Gangstas gets its way, the dictionary will soon tell us that patriotism means "blind agreement with those whytgize in power." We're watching the Bill of Rights go up in flames, and we're too blinded by this faux flag-waving frenzy to see it happen. No one even seems to care -- they're too afraid of "evil" to question anything.

Pretend for a second that this administration DIDN'T help carry nyneleven out (it's a stretch, yes, but play along). Has ANYTHING we've done since then made us less of a target? Quite the contrary. It's amazing how propaganda can completely blind the blind.

Which is why we NEED people like John Kerry to speak up. When you or I say something, we're an un-American hippie evildoer conspiracy theorist who probably funds terrorists. When a prominent senator and decorated veteran says it, no one can dismiss that.

Here's hoping the rest of the so-called "left" (which really no longer exists in Washington) grows some testicles and leads the fight from within. Because if they don't, no one will -- and 2004 might be the last presidential election we ever have.

Right now, Kerry has my vote. Actually, anyone who can knock this fucker out gets my vote. I'd like a good president -- but for now, I'll settle for regime change of any kind.

You should all be doing the same. If you're not white with at LEAST a six-figure income, this president is doing nothing to help you...and he's driving America as we knew it off a cliff.

An airbag won't save you -- hit the brakes NOW.

-- O

[Hate Central]

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 07:59:01 GMT

In the room the women come and go,
Talking of Michelangelo.

This piece from Britain’s Guardian illustrates some of the ambiguities of war. Seems like an application of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle to me.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 07:30:17 GMT

I love Pesky the Rat. I got the following from here

President Bush says America
to release first IPO on Tuesday

The President today took time away from the war to announce yet another neoconservative-inspired economic policy. Bush, speaking from the Rose Garden, says that Tuesday, April 6, the United States of America will switch from a constitutional democracy to a corporate model by offering shares for sale. Initial offering price is expected to be $17.76 a share.

"This is gonna be really nifty," said Bush, "I'm so excited I almost wet my pants."

Aids close to President Bush later admitted "almost" might have been an exaggeration.

The new plan basically works this way: Americans, now known simply as "potential investors", will be able to buy shares in USA Inc. Voting rights, as in most corporations, will depend on the number of shares purchased. However, there are two classes of shares: FOG shares (Friends of George), and Commoner shares. Commoner Shares can be purchased by anybody, but FOG shares can only be purchased by Friends of George W. Bush. FOG shares carry two billion percent more voting power than Commoner Shares.

President Bush plans to use the extensive skills he acquired in two years of partying at MBA school to reform many other aspects of American. Bush's spokeman, Ari Fleischer, listed several priorities:

Replace all media outlets with large water coolers.
Monitor all Investor communications. Any Investors who surf porn sites are to be immediately promoted to Governor. Once all Governorships are filled up, said Investors are to be placed in charge of the U.S. Treasury (now the Finance Department).
All those who choose not to invest will be optimized. This includes individuals too young to invest, too poor to invest, or to ugly to get an Investment Representative to look at them long enough to accept their investment.
No severance packages are available. However, Investors assigned to the War & Peace Department will be equipped with golden armani parachutes.

All those interested in a prospectus can write to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC. Potential Investors are warned that past performance is no guarantee of future success.

[Pesky the Rat]

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 03:43:25 GMT

So... Just Who Is George Nethercutt Anyway?

In an ongoing series of articles, we attempt to answer this question.

Part I