Picking a Fight With a Cowboy

The web site of the new right think tank, The Heritage Foundation, has taken aim at one of my previous articles with a fusillade of fallacy, distortion and regurgitated Bush propaganda. I am disappointed. Consigning this drivel to the intellectual dustbin is light work.

Len Hart of [The Existentialist Cowboy, published in OpEdnews.com] wrote a scathing piece this yesterday entitled "Terrorism is Worse Under GOP Regimes," in which he claims that terrorism rates are worse under Republican Administrations. Hart states:

"So much so that one would think GOP regimes cause terrorism. According to FBI stats, terrorism has been worse under GOP regimes at least since 1980. Reagan's "War on Terrorism" caused terrorism, or at least, made it worse. During a period of two years, terrorist attacks against the United States very nearly tripled."
First a Sourcewatch precis about Heritage.

Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a New Right think tank. Its stated mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of "free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." It is widely considered one of the world's most influential public policy research institutes.

--Sourcewatch
I will address the Heritage Foundation's "refutation" point by point.
Measuring success or failure by the number of attacks makes little sense.
Of course it does! What other yardstick is there? I suspect GOP candidates would cite a decline in terrorism, had there been one, as a measure of success. Alas! When the reverse is true, the GOP is left with a tired old tactic: numbers don't tell the whole story! Except when they are on your side, that is. What does tell the whole story? Heritage hasn't a clue.

Consider Iraq?the location of the majority of terrorist attacks against Americans. Does the volume of attacks mean we are losing the war on terrorism? No, it means the United States freed 25 million people, and some of the Baathistts and other insurgents who keep them terrorized don't appreciate our efforts.

Evidence that you failed to read my article which addressed "terrorist incidents" from the Ronald Reagan administration though the administration of Bill Clinton, a period of time under study by the FBI. If you factor out current Iraq violence, not reflected in the FBI study cited, I daresay none of the attacks could have been attributed to Iraq. Your statement is simply incorrect. Secondly, it does not address the issues I raised in my article.

Secondly, your statement that the "United States freed 25 million people" is so vague as to be ludicrous. Where? When? And what is the methodology? Did you interview all 25 million and pose the question: are you now free? Some methodology please! In fact, most Iraqis say they were better off under Saddam. [See: Iraqis Say They Were Better Off Under Hussein]

They [Baathists] want to be in charge again, and both American and Iraqi soldiers stand in their way.
Certainly not the Iraqi soldiers who were disbanded by Paul Bremer. Besides, what right have we to be in charge? We are not Iraqi. It is not our country! The US attack and invasion of Iraq violated every principle of international law and US criminal codes.

I rather think Heritage, with this kind of "logic", is making my case for me. When the US behaves irresponsibly, when it flouts every principle of law, it cannot expect passivity from conquered states, territories or races. There is a perfectly logical reason that incidents of terrorism increase during GOP regimes. GOP imperial polices cause terrorism!

Finally, your use of the term "insurgent" is loaded and emotional, and one suspects that that is deliberately the case. The term "insurgent", likewise, implies an illegitimate resistance. It's loaded. Even so, you cannot possibly know that to be the case with any methodology in use.

Even more can be said of your incorrect use of the term "Baathist". You seem to use that term as if it were synonymous with "terrorist". That is blatantly misleading. You neglect to mention the fact that remnants of Saddam Hussein's army, largely Baathist, were pro-US military until Paul Bremer issued the infamous "de-Baathification" order! At that point former "Baathists" and former Iraqi military personnel literally went underground. We made of them an enemy. Was it done deliberately?

You stated:
Baathistts and other insurgents who keep them terrorized don't appreciate our efforts.
Would you? Had you been a Baathist? Who made of Baathists an enemy? There was no "terrorism" in Iraq until Paul Bremer issued the infamous "de-Baathification order" and the dismantling of the army. The army at that time was for the most part very pro-US, a fact left out by Heritage. What useful purpose was served by Bremer's orders? Your examples, rather, support my case --not those of Heritage.

It is hard not to conclude that both groups were thus forced "underground" as the US military brass had warned. Bush did not listen to them. Bush's record of utter failure and incompetence in Iraq supports my broader thesis: US policy during GOP regimes are a direct cause of what the right wing conveniently and politically calls "terrorism". Moreover, since you've put the topic on the table, it supports my more narrow case that Bush incompetence, specifically, is the root cause of anti-American violence in Iraq today. Clearly, the situation has gotten worse during the duration of the illegal American occupation.

Report blasts US for failures in fighting terrorism.

A just-released report slams the federal government for failing to coordinate the work of US law enforcement agencies overseas to fight terrorism. The Government Accountability Office found that in one country a lack of clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency may have compromised several investigations intended to identify and disrupt potential terrorist activities. The GAO did not name the country in its report.

Let's consider the effect of Bush/US policy in Iraq. Clearly, there was no "insurgency" --legitimate or otherwise --prior to the US attack an invasion, a violation of the Nuremberg Principles and, likewise, US Code: Title 18: Section 2441. US policy, GOP policy, is the root cause of the current violence in Iraq. We have succeeded only in further radicalizing the Middle East!

How does that make us safer? It doesn't! Just as Ronald Reagan who threatened "terrorists": "...you can run but you can't hide!", Bush has made terrorism worse:

~
Last time I checked, effects always follow causes. It was Conan Doyle's character, Sherlock Holmes, who said: "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." I would add that the burden of proof is upon those GOP regimes most notable for their exploitation of terrorism to put forward some credible evidence that GOP/US policies of imperialism and aggression have made the world safer in any way. Otherwise, we have only the numbers of dead to support the common sense conclusion that GOP policies have never worked and are not working now. In fact, those policies are at the very root cause of terrorism and anti-American sentiment in general.

Significantly, the Heritage Foundation dare not use its own best defense: terrorism is worse under GOP regimes because GOP regimes exploit terrorism and the fear it causes. They literally cook the books by loosely defining "terrorism" itself. If it is done, it is done to alarm the public and justify numerous abrogations of civil liberties and due process of law. But would the Heritage Foundation dare admit this?

ADDENDUM:

Congressman Ron Paul makes a valid point: the GOP has lost its way. What he says about the GOP having opposed "entangling alliances" may have been true in the past. The GOP under Bush/Cheney, however, has literally auctioned off the government of the US to large corporations whose imperial behavior has earned our country several lifetimes of enmity and terrorism. The CIA would call this "blowback". If the Heritage Foundation cannot see the facts for its ideology, then it is just being naive or worse --uninformed. And it dares call itself a "think tank"! Whatever do they sit around and think about?


As Monty Python used to say --and now for something completely different. You all know my enthusiasm for the writing of Matthew Stevenson [See: America's Indebted Prosperity on this blog], though I have not yet completed my review of his collection of essays, Mentioned in Dispatches: The Travel Essays of an Expatriate American (www.odysseusbooks.com). Matthew is just back in Europe from an author trip to New York. For Cowboys in Geneva, Matthew has organized a book signing this week at Payot Books in Geneva, Switzerland. Don't miss it.

Additional Resources:

PBS Frontline: Episode #1
PBS Frontline: Episode #2
PBS Frontline: Episode #3
Terrorism is Worse under GOP Regimes
The Four Biggest Myths About the US War Against the People of Iraq
Iraq: Only Losers Get Charged with War Crimes
Pentagon Wages Deadly, Silent, Toxic War on US
The Existentialist CowboyConservative LiesRule of LawWhy Conservatives Hate AmericaGOP Crime SyndicateBush

Al Gore Asks us to...

Take the 7.7.07 Live Earth Pledge...

SiCKO

DFA - Sign the Health Care for America petition

What's next?

The Secret Government

Bill Moyers (1987)

Commanche Company?

A Harrowing Day for G.I's in Iraq says the NYTimes.

BAQUBA, Iraq, June 25 — The enemy was a phantom who never showed his face but transformed a neighborhood into a network of houses rigged to explode.

And the soldiers from Comanche Company’s First Platoon confronted this elaborate and deadly trap.

But what drew me to this story was not the G.I.'s plight — that, unfortunately, is all too ordinary.

What struck me was the name Comanche Company. Isn't it the height of arrogance to co-opt for our imperial army (and yes, I use the term deliberately) the names of peoples we have already destroyed? Some day in the future, will we have an al Qaeda company?

Speaking of al Qaeda, have you noticed how now everybody we're fighting in Iraq is al Qaeda?

The platoon’s push began shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday, as American forces continued their effort to wrest the western section of this city north of Baghdad from Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

All subtle distinctions gone. We're fighting al Qaeda. And every good citizen will believe it.

another tuesday post for peace

i was thinking about peace because of a question bluegrrl posed recently- "How do we create a language of peace, where our words and actions mesh with our values?"

and i thought to myself, "i don't think it's possible." i have been saying that we should lead by example and be the peace we want. i don't think it is possible in america. there are too many people who don't care about others. there is too much self centered greed where folks are not willing to sacrifice at all for others. there are too many folks in this country who feel that they are superior to millions of other people- simply by virtue of being american.

what would it take for peace? people not taking what isn't theirs. greed is the root of war. oh sure, we dress it up in fancy names but it is still greed. why did we go to the middle east? to take what wasn't ours. why are people continuously killing each other in africa? greed. when combined with that feeling of superiority- it has horrible consequences. only when people realize that they aren't the center of the universe and that they are not entitled to have things- especially things that aren't theirs to begin with- will there be a shot at peace. when people realize that we are all the same underneath the skin and that the outer trappings don't matter- will there be a chance for peace on earth. when people realize that we all have to pull together in order to save the whole world- not just america- will there be a chance for peace. i have a feeling that a snowball has a better chance of surviving in the gobi desert.

cross posted at life's journey; the peace train; the sirens chronicles forum

Workers Have the Right To Remain Silent: A Podcast Interview With the ACLU's Bruce Barry

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well the Independent Bloggers Alliance and Worldwide Sawdust.

“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.”

So reads the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. However, the Constitution does not prevent employers from encroaching upon the free speech of their employees. Even so, most Americans assume their right to free speech is protected in all aspects of their life – including their jobs. The reality is quite different.

A factory worker named Lynn Gobbell was fired in 2004 when her employer, a George Bush supporter, objected to her John Kerry bumper sticker. Edward Blum, a stockbroker with Paine Webber in Houston during the 1990s was fired because he actively opposed affirmative action on his own time. A flight attendant with Delta Airlines lost her job when the airline disapproved of her personal blog. Those are but a few examples cited by Bruce Barry, the author of Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression In the American Workplace, published by Berrett-Kohler.

Barry utilizes case law and history to illustrate how freedom of speech has diminished for Americans at their jobs. A Professor of Management and Sociology at Vanderbilt University as well as president of American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Barry contends the legal concept known as “at will” is perversely imbalanced in favor of employers. In his introduction Barry writes,

“Work is where most adults devote significant portions of their waking lives, and where many forge the personal ties with other adults through which they construct their civic selves. Yet work in America is a place where civil liberties, including but not limited to freedom of speech, are significantly constrained, even when the exercise of those liberties poses little or no threat to the genuine interests of the employer.”

As the 21st century progresses, a whole generation entering the workforce have public personalities from the Internet and blogs. Increasingly, ordinary citizens through online access are having their opinions published in editorials and websites that employers may find objectionable or potentially damaging to their business. Meanwhile, traditional free speech issues on the job remain such as union organizing and lifestyle discrimination.

Barry respects the desire of employers to maintain efficiency and preserve the profitability of their business. He also doesn’t believe employers are conspiring to undermine the First Amendment. Rather, Barry contends that American civil society could benefit from a conversation about the imbalance that currently exists in favor of employers. He further advocates that employers themselves would benefit from not reflexively terminating employees based upon speech.

Barry agreed to a podcast interview with me about his book and the issue of free speech in the workplace. Among the topics covered during our conversation were the different protections for public and private employees, his opposition to the "at will" doctrine and how free speech in the American workplace differs with our counterparts in other democracies. I also asked him about the specific risks to bloggers and what we can do to strengthen our rights.

Please refer to the media player below.



This interview can also be accessed via Itunes by searching for Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Katie Melua duets with Eva Cassidy

Eulogy for my Aunt Dorothy

My Aunt Dorothy loved words.
She loved to write, read, create, speak and have them.

In the last five or six years Dorothy and I played more games of Scrabble than anyone here could imagine, except perhaps, Tom and Jan, Dorothy’s next door neighbors, who had to have heard us arguing about a word one of us had just played. Dorothy and I were both somewhat amazed that they had never come over to check and see if the argument had ended in fisticuffs. Of course it never did, much to my relief.

Last count we were at about 400 games. That, my friends, is a lot of words. But it wasn’t just about the love of words that she and I shared. It was also the love of coffee. And competition. And companionship. And caring. And her cooking (she loved to cook and I loved eating her cooking.) ...And it was about the laughter and even the tears. Which, when all combined; competition, companionship, caring, cooking, laughter and tears you get a sense of why most of our nearly 400 games took anywhere between three to four hours to complete.

One time when I won two games in a row Dorothy accused me of reading the dictionary before I came up to visit. Of course I never read the dictionary, not like one reads a novel or the newspaper anyway, so I asked, “You mean did I read the entire dictionary before coming here?” and she said, “Of course I mean the entire dictionary! Is there a half-dictionary out that I’m not aware of?”... To which I replied “Are you crazy? Of course I didn’t read the entire dictionary! Just the Q, X and Zs.” And we would laugh. Oh my! How we would laugh.

Dorothy, even before words, above all else, loved to laugh. Hers was infectious; a big, warm and brassy laugh... the kind of laugh that comes from an unbridled joy of living; undeniably full of her special brand of love.

I remember having to pick up the Scrabble board and letter tiles from off of the floor only once. Once due to my playing a triple/triple word score on my next to last play. Next thing I knew words were flying. Figuratively and literally... all over the kitchen. As a matter of fact for a month or so after her tossing the letters everywhere we played our games minus one of the “E” tiles. I told her to make sure to keep an eye on Feister, her dog, when she’d take him out to go to the bathroom. Just in case. We were both convinced that he’d eaten the letter “E”. All Dorothy could say was, “How lucky for you that it wasn’t a Q, X or Z!”

Eventually, like most things with Dorothy, the letter was missing because Uncle JC had come in and hidden it from us. She said, “Your uncle may have passed on, but believe you me he’s still playing his little pranks!” Now I think you see why Dorothy and I spent half of our time together arguing, crying, sleeping, eating, and playing Scrabble and the other half laughing. …I am, after all, one of JC’s nephews, right?

She eventually found the letter behind the tv stand. I said, “What? Did JC come in and tell you not to sweep back there?” She laughed, flipped me on the ear, and then we promptly fell into a blistering game of Scrabble with all the tiles while watching The Price is Right….

Aunt Dorothy kept a meticulous score sheet of our games, too. This is the second notebook full of scores. The first notebook is missing; no doubt hidden away by Uncle JC.

Dorothy, like her husband, loved children. I think she realized long ago that they need us most of all. She knew that the children required words spoken with kindness and love. Dorothy may have loved to cook, but she never minced her words. If she thought it, felt it, or imagined it, you can bet your bottom dollar you’d hear it, much to our and the children’s delight. She loved children and she let them know this by her unselfish, unflinching contact with them. Any child that ever spoke with Dorothy surely felt her warmth, whether she was disciplining them, merely conversing with them or pulling their chain they knew they were safe in her presence by her words and grace.

Now Dorothy would say that “grace” is the wrong word to use for her because it doesn’t sound right, or it’s too short and not worth enough points, which is why I wish she and I were playing scrabble right now so maybe I could come up with a word that started with a Q, X or Z that meant “grace”. Yes. If a child had talked with Aunt Dorothy they knew that they had been graced with her unique sense of humor and unwavering love.

We agreed on many things, even politically, but if we got into a debate over it her favorite line was, “You’re just trying to get me riled up so I’ll lose the game!” You see, Dorothy, in my experience, loved words, but hated losing. I think much of it was due to the fact that she despised numbers. Words, in a sentence, she could change the order and come out with something altogether different… except perhaps “Dorothy, you lost that game.”, but numbers…? Well numbers were a problem for her, because, as she put it, “It doesn’t matter how you arrange them they just keep adding up!” She often said things that reminded me of Yogi Berra. But it was her loathing of numbers that was just another reason that Aunt Dorothy seemed ageless; she’d rather subtract than add, rather celebrate anything before being reminded that it’s her birthday.

--Regret… There’s a word for you… probably not worth much in Scrabble, but I can tell you, because I know if for a fact, that Aunt Dorothy lived without regret. So, today, I say let us celebrate Dorothy’s memory as one without regret, neither ours, nor hers.

After all,

Regret is nothing if not a heavy rain waiting on a storm cloud.
Regret is nothing if not a beautiful hat waiting on the wind.
Regret is nothing if not a face waiting on a mirror.
Regret is nothing if not a kind word that stays inside the mouth.
So let us not regret, instead let us celebrate all of the selfless laughter and joy and kindness and beauty that we shared because of this incredible woman.

--The artist, poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran finally reminds us that,
our joy is our sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which our laughter rises is oftentimes filled with our tears. The deeper that sorrow carves into our being, the more joy we can contain. When we leave hear today and onward, as Dorothy would surely have wanted, let us know that when we are joyous, to look deep into our hearts and find it is only that which has given us sorrow that is giving us joy. And when we are sorrowful let us look again into our hearts, and we shall see that in truth we are weeping for that which has been our delight. …Aunt Dorothy Schell.

© 2007 mrp/thepoetryman

Type rest of the post here

Civilian Death Statistics in Iraq & Afghanistan Compared

Interesting Statistical Comparisons

Every 9.62 days, there is an equivalent amount of casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan as September 11th.

There are 9.65 Virginia Tech shootings in Iraq & Afghanistan everyday.

There are 1.61 Madrid bombings in Iraq & Afghanistan everyday.

In 11 days as many Iraqi & Afghani civilians are killed as the entire amount of American military personnel killed since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2002 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Note: There is some discrepancy between various sources on the amount of civilian casualties since the US-led invasion in March 2003. A study in October of 2006 listed over 650,000 killed (see Washington Post article below) while other sources vary from 400,000 to just over 60,000 (see British-government funded Iraq Body Count below). I computed 250,000 by averaging several sources, though I personally feel this is a low number.

Update: The differing methodologies among these studies led to these wide variations. For example, the lowest figure from IBC is based solely on media reports of violent deaths, while the Lancet study surveyed random families in Iraq and includes non-violent war related deaths, such as those dead to lawlessness and collapsed infrastructure. I computed 250,000 to use as a useful estimate by averaging these sources, though I personally feel this is a low number when talking about the impact of the US invasion on Iraq.

Sources

Forgotten victims by Jonathan Steele, the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/comment/story/0,11447,718647,00.html

Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_of_the_U.S._invasion_of_Afghanistan

Iraq Body Count, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/.

Iraq death toll 'soared post-war', BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3962969.stm

Casualties in Iraq: The Human Cost of Occupation, Antiwar. http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000 by David Brown, Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html

July 7 London Bombings, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings



Originally posted on PBH.

Who stands up for America?

Spoken before the US invaded Iraq...
To view the video

thanks sarah!

American Aries: Search Kindly!

charitable donations should all be free, easy and have every penny go to what you donate for.

THAW - Theatres Against War

Back in 2004 THAW had the honor of being awarded an OBIE which included a grant of $3300. For several reasons - the fact that we have an entirely volunteer staff, the goodness of attendees at our free THAW events over the years that have been so generous when the hat is passed around for donations, and the low overhead that we try to maintain in all of our work, among other things – almost all of our OBIE money has remained in our bank account. A few months ago members of the Steering Committee met, and thinking the money could be of better use in the hands of theatre artists in war zones, it was decided that a THAW “scholarship” would be established using a portion of the money. In the amount of $1000, this “scholarship” will be given to an artist or group of artists making theatre in conflict or “post-conflict” areas. In order to decide where the money goes we are reaching out to THAW members, asking them to nominate potential recipients. These nominees may come from anywhere in the world that you feel is in conflict, be it military, racial, economic, etc. Once the nominations have been received, the Steering Committee will then meet to decide on the recipient. It is our hope that this modest financial award will be of great aid to artists struggling in adverse conditions. To nominate an individual or group, please send an email to thawaction@yahoo.com with the following information (and please write scholarship in the subject line):

1.Your Name:

2.Your Theatre/Organizational Affiliation (if any):

3.Your Contact Info (Email/Phone):

4.Nominee’s Name (specify if individual or group):

5.Country the Nominee lives/works:

6.Nominee’s Contact Info (Website if available):

7.Your relationship to the Nominee (or how you became familiar with their work):

8.Briefly describe why you think this person(s) should receive the THAW Scholarship and how the money might be spent?:

9.Are there any obstacles to the nominee receiving the funds? If so, how will the money get to them?

10: Please add any other info you find relevant (links to articles, personal story, etc.):

Please submit nominations by June 30th.

In solidarity,

THAW Steering Committee

Help Close the School of the Americas

In the next two days, Congress will vote on an amendment to close the notorious School of the Americas/WHINSEC. The School of the Americas, funded by our tax dollars and located at Ft. Benning Georgia, has trained -for more than 60 years- over 60,000 Latin American Soldiers in torture, psychological warfare and war against civilian populations. Many of the tactics of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay began at the SOA to be used on civilians and those working for justice in Latin America. This school has graduated the worst human rights abusers in Latin American History. Rep. McGovern (MA) and Rep. John Lewis (GA) will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the SOA/ WHINSEC and stand up against the legacy of torture as a part of US Foreign Policy!
Last year, in a similar vote, ANSWER activists made a decisive difference in challenging the school. We are continuing to support the work of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), which has carried on a long campaign to shut this institution down.

Call on your reps to close the School of the Americas

RESTORE HABEAS!

Send Both Houses of Congress a Message to Restore Habeas!

post for peace now!

i used to like summer. when i was younger. and thinner. i haven't liked summer for several years now due to a variety of reasons, not least of all that it is significantly hotter than i remember it being when i was younger and thinner.

i worked with kids for many years and we dreaded the summer because there was no structure- not a good thing when you are responsible for someone else's kids. and- it's hot. let's face it- you can always layer but you can only be so naked. so, i was sitting on my porch among my living, breathing vegetables wondering if they too were sweating- and i kept thinking how much i didn't want my way of life to end. selfish for sure. but hey- i'm human.

here i was still able to sit on my porch and watch my neighbors across the street chat on their porch, and hear the neighbor next door coughing as he sat on his (a bit rear window i know but hey- it's my neighborhood). other places in the world people are able to tend their gardens and sit on their porches and enjoy their way of life too. and we all do it at the expense of others. i wouldn't mind being able to jump in the car and drive for no reason if doing so didn't harm the planet. i wouldn't mind going to the store and buying cool stuff if it didn't mean that another human had to suffer to make it. the world doesn't have to be this way. we don't have to torture and exploit each other. we don't have to try and force others to our way of life or use them as a means to our ends.

i am a fellow human being on this planet and i am ashamed of my fellow humans. ashamed because it could be me on the other end. we can have peace in the world. we can have it if we want it. we can be the peace we seek and we can spread it. if we have the will.

Voices in Conflict on ABC World News

TELL CONGRESS IT'S TIME TO PASS NATIONAL HEALTH CARE INSURANCE

Now is the time for us to all come together and call for passage of H.R. 676, the National Health Care Insurance Act.

TAKE ACTION: National Health Care

The Unholy Triangle: George Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and al Qaeda

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well as crossposted at the Independent Bloggers Alliance and Worldwide Sawdust.

Foreign Affairs published a sobering article by Bruce Riedel in their May/June issue entitled, “al Qaeda Strikes Back.” Riedel, a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution retired last year after 29 years with the CIA.

Essentially, Riedel outlines al Qaeda’s resurgence while the Bush Administration has undermined our geopolitical position with their foolish war in Iraq. Hardly a dove, Riedel believes it is essential to our national security for al Qaeda to be “decapitated.” I agree with him. al Qaeda is a clear and present danger as a manifestation of radical Islam.

Among the failings of the Bush Administration is how their incessant fear mongering has jaded Americans about the very real dangers of terrorism that still exist. What’s required is tough minded, realistic leadership that neither exaggerates dangers for political gain nor ignores threats as President Bush did in August 2001. The last thing this country should do is hand our enemies what they want: war with Iran. Riedel issues the following warning:

“The biggest danger is that al Qaeda will deliberately provoke a war with a ‘false-flag’ operation, say, a terrorist attack carried out in a way that would make it appear as though it were Iran's doing. The United States should be extremely wary of such deception. In the event of an attack, accurately assigning blame will require very careful intelligence work. It may require months, or even years, of patient investigating to identify the plotters behind well-planned and well-executed operations, as it did for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1996 attacks on the U.S. barracks at the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were wise to be patient in both those cases; Washington would be well advised to do the same in the event of a similar attack in the future. In the meantime, it should, of course, continue do its utmost to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and from fomenting violence and terrorism in the Middle East by using tough diplomacy and targeted sanctions. And it should not consider a military operation against Iran, as doing so would only strengthen al Qaeda's hand -- much as the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq have.”

I have a different take on Riedel’s warning. To be blunt, the Bush Administration will not be “deceived” by a “false flag” from al Qaeda. Rather, Bush and Cheney are hoping for a pretext to avoid a humiliating withdrawal from Iraq. With Republicans ready to jettison the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy in September, a war with Iran would be quite timely and convenient.

Another false flag may be weapons smuggling into Iraq through Iran by operatives sympathetic to al Qaeda. Either way it is important to remember the antipathy that exists between Iran and al Qaeda. Iran has sponsored al Qaeda’s rival Hezbollah in Lebanon. After 9/11, Iran cooperated with Washington against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan out of their strategic self-interest. They view al Qaeda as a threat to their hegemony as well as potential catalysts to instability on their borders.

Tragically, the world is at the mercy of an unholy triangle as the motivations of Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Bush Administration and al Qaeda are converging. Ahmandinejad is besieged with problems. He’s terrified of dissent as domestic dissatisfaction with his regime intensifies. A war with the “Great Satan” would be a welcome distraction, as Iranians will surely rally to him if attacked.

al Qaeda of course thrives on instability, chaos and any act that reinforces America’s image as an imperialist at war with the Islamic people. They’re laying in the high weeds to capitalize on instability in Gaza and Lebanon as well as exploit vulnerabilities in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration is sucking wind and hemorrhaging support. The Republican Party is poised to pull the plug on Iraq in September. Bush and Cheney are desperate to avoid withdrawal and defeat in Iraq on their watch. A war with Iran would make extricating ourselves from Iraq nearly impossible. Of course our military, stretched to their limit in Afghanistan and Iraq is in no shape to prosecute any war with Iran. But the Bush Administration may be thinking that a controlled air war can be managed and strengthen their political position.

As we’ve also seen, the Bush Administration is not overly concerned with details such as blowback, the fog of war and the heavy lifting of managing the aftermath once hostilities are initiated. Perhaps they’re also hoping war with Iran will distract from the publicity surrounding their scandals. These people are eminently capable of deluding themselves that a controlled air war is viable and just the tonic for their problems.

Ultimately what I’m wondering is this: is America stupid enough to allow it? At this point I have little faith in the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership. It also doesn’t appear that the frontrunners for their party’s 2008 presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton nor Barak Obama possess the intestinal fortitude to stand up to aggression against Iran. They’ll sit back and see which the way the wind blows.

I don’t like cynicism and believe it’s important to work for a truly progressive majority that is sensible and mature. I will not abandon my efforts as an activist to accomplish the ideals I believe in. However, as much as I prefer optimism, we’re on a collision course with calamity. It’s like watching a pile up happening in slow motion on the freeway while George Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Bin Laden crash their cars after binge drinking at an all night keg party.

Peaceful Happy Father's Day!

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil war veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across America other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day". In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Jonson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.

morning cuppa

a good friend emailed this to me this morning- because it reminded her of hubby and me. i can only hope that i am the change that i want to see. i am capable of it.

"This is not the time to throw up our hands, nor to exhaust ourselves over-defining our problems. It is time to choose our lives. In so doing, we’ll have a rippling impact that will make all the difference."

American Dream Project

i would add- we should stop getting stuck in one mode. we all need to get a grip, grow up and move forward. we have debated ad nauseum the illegalities and evilness of bushco. we know that he and his admin are working on world domination and a centralized government with america at the helm. we don't have to keep ploughing the same row. what we need to be focusing on is not converting the masses- these folks are willfully ignorant. granny said that a friend of hers deliberately 'tunes out of political things.' we must accept this as the norm and move on. we need to concentrate our own energies on positive rather than negative. what is it that we CAN do in the face of insurmountable odds? can we singlehandedly take out bushco? no-and the dems won't for political reasons. we CAN take a handle on the environment and become more self sufficient. we CAN continue to think critically and independently in order to leave a legacy behind that is positive. we CAN squirrel away knowledge in order to leave it to future generations who may get the rewritten neo con version of history. is that capitulating? no- it is sowing the seeds of revolution and rebellion. it is sowing the seeds of democracy for future generations. we need to continue to fight but let's be realistic- we may have to go into guerilla mode.

my point is this- the thinkers among us know that bushco is as bad as many of the other repressive, controlling regimes out there and not as bad as others. the bottom line is- american democracy with the constitution as our foundation- no longer exists. we need to get over it and move forward. we are not going to be able to regain what we have lost. we have to work with what we have- until and unless we start electing REAL leaders. we have to let go of the destructive hatred and focus on what we need to do. progressive means moving forward- not spinning our wheels and rehashing everything eighteen times. it is up to us to be the leaders we want and stop relying on weaker minded politicians to do it for us. we don't have that luxury anymore.

THE ZENING OF DUBYA

Carrying vitality and consciousness,Embracing them as one,Can you keep them from parting?Concentrating energy,Making it supple,Can you be like an infant?Purifying hidden perception,Can you make it flawless?Loving the people,Governing the nation,Can you be uncontrived?

Tao-te Ching


The year is 2015 and the country is in its seventh year of progressive leadership by President Kucinich. Under his guidance our nation has become less dependent on corporate governance and more respective of the Constitution. Wind turbines have replaced oil as the primary source of energy throughout the land, electric sidewalks substituted for autos in urban America and international trade agreements given a new definition which defer to the labor rights of the world. Along with these changes his Department of Peace has earned the respect of nations globally, restoring calm in the Middle East by emphasizing negotiated agreements over cataclysmic militarism.


More important than any of these upgrades though was Kucinich's decision to persuade a federal judge to include in his sentencing of former President Bush a provision to teach him Zen meditation. Bush, removed from office by the impeachment process in 2008 was subsequently convicted of crimes against the Constitution the following year. He was sent to a secret offshore federal security lockup specializing in non-violent behavior modification of prisoners to serve a ten year jail term.

I pick up the story for you in March of 2009 as the disgraced Bush stands before a judge in a federal court room.

FEDERAL JUDGE: You're here in front of me today having been convicted of crimes against the people by a jury of your peers. Are you repentant of your thievery and nefarious actions against them, Mr. Bush ?

CONVICT BUSH: This is a kangaroo court and makes a mockery of freedom. You're just a little tyrant carrying out the dictates of the communist liberals who control you. Is this how you treat the Supreme Commander of the United States ? I demand personal justice at once !

FEDERAL JUDGE: One more outburst like that and you'll be escorted from the room by the guards who brought you here today. Obviously, you're unremorseful and your obstinate remarks lead me to believe you would benefit from exposure to a psychotherapy program. Therefore, I'm ordering you to serve a ten year sentence with the possibility of early release in 2015 if you chasten your attitudes by incorporating the practice of Zen into your lifestyle. Do you have anything else to say, Mr. Bush ?

CONVICT BUSH: All broad-minded people are fairies and my Dad will take care of you ! Besides, he'll just buy me a pardon and make sure I'm treated royally during my incarceration. It'll be like living in a country club. Let the party begin.


We now fast forward to the Fall of 2014. Inmate Bush has been living the past five years in CELL BLOCK W on the planet Saturn where he was transported after his condemnation. This prison wing was established to house fellow white collar criminals who had dutifully carried out the illegal schemes enacted throughout his Administration. Dubya has just been brought to a holding room for a preliminary evaluation before beginning psychotherapy treatment of his condition.




GUARD: Please proceed to the table in the middle of the room and be seated, Prisoner 666. A mentor will be in shortly to begin preparing you for your attitude adjustment.

CONVICT BUSH: This better not be physically painful. I demand to have a lawyer present under my Geneva Convention rights !

COSMIC: Greetings Earthling, Bush. I trust your stay on Saturn has been tolerable to a degree so far ? You probably noticed there's less of an emphasis on human desires here. This is deliberate and was your initial preparation for the type of mental reconditioning I wish to discuss with you today.

CONVICT BUSH: Please, help me guard ! I'm trapped in the room with a little green person. He's not white like me and I have a phobia of anyone who's different from myself. I'll write you a check for $1,000 immediately if you call my Daddy and let him know what's going on.

COSMIC: Your anxiety level really is elevated, Earthling Bush. I think you'll benefit immensely from practicing the type of daily introspection I'm about to introduce you to. Let's get started.

CONVICT BUSH: What's it all about ... can't I just take a pill, gulp a shot of whiskey or indulge myself in some pleasure with the opposite sex ? These methods always worked for me in the past.

COSMIC: It states in your psychological profile you're primarly motivated by GREED, ACCUMULATION OF MATERIAL POSSESIONS and SEXUAL DESIRE. The thoughts your brain produces to achieve these ends leads to your adverse behavior towards other existences around you. Do we agree, Earthling Bush ?

CONVICT BUSH: I'm a captitalist. I believe it's necessary to divide and conquer all those who get in my way of attaining this goal. Some people have called me a selfish pig but my behavior is no different than the peer group I hang out with.

COSMIC: Aaaaah yes ..... we're starting to make some progress with your realization of what makes up your conscious ego. The narcissistic sentiments created there in your mind have become the essence of your personal karma which guide your negative rationalizations. Teaching you how to let go of these dark patterns will free you from their false precepts, wash away your unpleasant emotions and harmonize you with all that is good about the universal cosmic order. Are your ready to begin ?

CONVICT BUSH: Well, I have been tossing and turning in my bed at night while getting only five hours rest. Is this some of that voodoo, Buddhist nonsense I've read about in the prison library ? I'm a fundamental Christian and the Lord is my Savior !

COSMIC: Don't worry, Earthling Bush. The technique I'm going to teach you will retain all the good thoughts you've had in the past while cleansing you of the impure associations causing harmful tension. The goal is to strengthen your mind by merging it with your body through daily self-contemplation so they become a complete individual focused on what's presently occurring naturally around you. Rather than being solely controlled by your prejudicial thoughts from the past, I'm going to show you how to eliminate them. It will reorient your current egocentric temperament to a unified self, free of personal desire and unlimited in its need to foster good will towards others. You will become one entity like the cosmos we live in, constantly growing and adapting the positive qualities you discover. Does this seem appealing to you ?

CONVICT BUSH: What you say sounds logical but I like my personal beliefs and think they will be difficult for me to overcome.

COSMIC: What is reasoning but a system of words produced by our brains to justify our behavior. Some of them translate into ill fortune for others and its this kind of flawed, exclusionary rationale that can be transcended by practicing Zen meditation every day.

CONVICT BUSH: I'm feeling guilty about all the blood I have on my hands to become rich and powerful. If this will rid me of those thoughts, I'll give it a try.


COSMIC: Your first step is developing a disciplined routine which emphasizes correct body posture and breathing patterns. Take this small cushion and sit cross-legged facing the wall. Next, gently breathe in and out from your lower abdomen while casting your eyes exclusively on its rhythmic movement. This method helps you consolidate the mind/body experience by concentrating on the stomach while thoughts flow freely through your cerebrum. As they quickly stream by and dissipate, the mind fuses with your organic host uncluttered by the outgoing harmful ideas. You become a consolidated entity, making visceral decisions with a humane understanding of everything outside of your personal existence.

CONVICT BUSH: Wow .... I'm starting to feel more relaxed already. All the dollar bills and dead bodies drifting by seem to have disappeared into some unknown abyss. Are they gone forever or will they come back ?

COSMIC: Those mentations are the source of your maladaptive behavior in the past and causing inner-conflict now. As your mind and body becomes one they will gradually recede forever reinvigorating your persona with ideas that nurture everyone you encounter in the future. Occasionally, you'll backslide into your old habits but by diligently applying the methods of introspection I've shown you today you'll eventually overcome your privileged demons. Return now to your living quarters in peace, knowing you have learned how to free yourself from the frustrations that have plagued you. I'm available for consultation anytime you request my help.

After seven months of daily practice, Prisoner 666 has made remarkable progress in rehabiltating himself. He's awakened each morning and fervently applied the meditation skills I showed him in the Fall of 2014. During this period, I've reported his gradual improvement to the judge who sentenced him and we both agree Convict Bush's new positive habits qualify him for early release. The story resumes just as my Starship touches down at the Crawford ranch in Texas and the door to his emancipation swings open.

EARTHLING BUSH: Hey ... what's that big orange ball in the sky ? Have the terrorists exploded a nuclear device in my backyard ?

COSMIC: That's the sun, Earthling Bush. While you were away President Kucinich cleaned up the environment and now it shines radiantly in the sky once again for all to admire. The heat it generates is no longer locked in by a ceiling of smog in the atmosphere and the adverse effects of global warming have disappeared. Go ahead ... take a deep breath and experience the delight of inhaling fresh air again.

EARTHLING BUSH: I never realized clean air could be so invigorating nor did I believe I'd ever find inner peace before meeting you. Now when contemplating my navel in the morning while ventilating I can relax even more with each respiration I take. Thank you, Cosmic.

COSMIC: Don't thank me ... it was you that took the initiative to change your life. I just reacquainted you with some tools for moving beyond yourself. If you act as one being, mind and body combined you won't foolishly chase after bad desires that limit your potential. Like the universe, you become one entity constantly altering your beliefs and actions in search of ways to improve the existences all around you. I must return to Saturn now. You're former Vice-President is in need of my help.

EARTHLING BUSH: Goodbye brother Cosmic ... there's always a bunk bed here at the ranch for you.

COSMIC: That's not really necessary, Earthling Bush. You can repay your gratitude to me by teaching the proficiencies I've shown you to your family members and oil industry friends.

peace now! and this is why

More Archaeology Damage...

The minarets of the Askariya Shine
A series of blasts have destroyed two minarets at an already damaged Shia shrine in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra. The explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Ashariya mosque at about 9:00 am on Wednesday.

Police said the Shia-dominated ministry had been responsible for security at the mosque, after taking over from local security forces in April. In February 2006, the highly revered shrine was bombed by alleged al-Quaeda fighters. The attack destroyed its golden dome.

The bombing last year triggered nationwide Shia and Sunni sectarian clashes. The Askariya contains the tombs of the tenth and eleventh imams, Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan Askariya, who died in 874. Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Shias consider the two imams among his natural successors.

I've recently made it clear how disturbed I am by the destruction of the ancient buildings and artifacts...well...in any country. But we are dealing with Iraq now...and a war that never should have taken place. A failed war at that. That these things of antiquity have so grossly and negligently been disregarded by anyone that can think or has eyes in their head is beyond me. Bottom line...we cannot make these things come back to life. Which brings me to the legacy of death for this country of Iraq. Blood letting on both sides...leading nowhere...just draining into the sands of time. We must be relentless in our quest for PEACE...relentless!

I think we have a new endeavor approaching us though...a new consideration...a new battle of wills...like we needed more of that. Like Bob Dylan said back in the 60's..."when we they ever learn?" How many times must a man look up...before he can see the sky? The answer is blowing in the wind...and I think it is a cold ill wind blowing our way. No offense Bob.

Internet Neutrality...

The next time you use the Internet, type the phrase “net neutrality” into your favorite search engine. You might be surprised by all the information you’ll find on network neutrality — a topic that most Americans have never even heard of. And yet, for anyone who uses the Internet — for e-mail, online shopping, research or recreation — the principle of net neutrality is vital for keeping the Internet the open communication platform we have come to know.

Put simply, net neutrality protections ensure that network operators provide nondiscriminatory access to the network and online content. Think about it like this: When you make a phone call, the telephone company can’t keep you from talking to whomever you want, or prevent you from talking about whatever you like. Net neutrality applies the same operating principle to Internet communication.

Net neutrality is nothing new; these provisions have been in place since the Internet’s inception. Indeed, these guidelines helped make the Internet what it is: a vehicle for economic development, technological innovation and democratic communication. But if network operators, led by the telephone and cable television industries, have their way, net neutrality will be a thing of the past.

Their plan is simple. First, spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress and the Federal Communication Commission to eliminate long-standing net neutrality provisions. By some estimates, the telephone companies have been spending $1 million a week on this issue.

Second, wage a misinformation campaign that distorts the issue. For example, representatives of the cable and telephone industries argue that the government has no right to tell them what to do with “their pipes.” What these network operators neglect to mention are the enormous government subsidies that went into creating the Internet in the first place — and that continue to support network build-out, all at taxpayers’ expense.

Few people outside of Washington, D.C., know that the FCC is currently considering renewal of net neutrality rules. If these rules are eliminated, the telephone and cable companies will move ahead with their plan to create an Internet “fast lane.”

Under this scheme, content providers will have to pay network operators a steep fee to have their material delivered to computer users. Those who could not afford to pay these fees — nonprofit groups, small businesses, civic organizations, bloggers and the like — would be relegated to the “slow lane.”

This pay-as-you-go formula runs counter to the Internet’s democratic character. Furthermore, with this level of control over Internet access, network operators would have little incentive to upgrade their systems. And entrepreneurs, like those who created Google, eBay, MySpace and YouTube, would be at the mercy of network operators in order to gain access to the network. In short, monopoly control of the Internet undermines technological innovation and stifles competition.

Despite the profound implications for the way we use the Internet, there has been very little public discussion of proposals to eliminate net neutrality provisions. Fortunately, a number of organizations, such as the Consumers Union, The Free Press and SavetheInternet.com have been keeping tabs on the net neutrality debate. These groups host websites with valuable resources, including background information about net neutrality, policy analysis and tools that make it easy to contact congressional representatives and FCC commissioners on this crucial public policy issue.

We can keep the Internet open, maintain its entrepreneurial spirit, and preserve its democratic character, or we can let the cable and telephone companies privatize the Internet and allow network operators to determine how, and at and what price, we can access online news, information and culture.

Congress needs to hear from the public on net neutrality, as does the Federal Communication Commission. The FCC’s deadline for public comment is June 15. Free Press

better post for peace than mine

Fetch me my axe: Continuing the riff...

tuesday peace now! post

sitting here having my morning cuppa- and wondering what more i can possibly say about the need for peace. it completely baffles me how there are people in this country, and around the world, who glorify war and think it is a perfectly acceptable means to an end. if i stop to think about the lives shattered and lost due to arrogance and war mongering, it overwhelms me. there is never a good excuse for going to war. there is never a good excuse to start a war. some would say- we need to defend ourselves- and i would say- see above. yes, i am sophisticated enough to see that people need to defend themselves against aggression- but my point is that the aggressor shouldn't have started a war.

here's the deal: none of the nations we are currently at war with started shit with us. none. iran did not start anything with us. they didn't. in this round of war, we are the aggressors and there is no way to candy coat it. we have put ourselves in league with some of the most famous dictator states from around the world- saddam hussein included. any time a nation starts invading and occupying other sovereign nations, it should give the world pause. europe took a lot of flak in history books for not standing up to german aggression sooner. i ask you-- what is happening now?

let the scales fall from your nationalistic eyes and wake up. we are single handedly re-igniting the nuclear arms race and a recent news headline said that nuclear war is a possibility. if ever there was a reason for peace now! i would say this is it.

Another Lame Duck Cabinet Appointee...Just Say NO!

Here he goes again. Every time I gather my collective thoughts and commit to trying to be less critical of the president he goes and does something that undermines any semblance of competence I ever thought I saw in the man. Bush has appointed Dr. James Holsinger as the next Surgeon General. Holsinger has a history of prioritizing political ideology over science which seems to fit right in with other Bush appointees. How many times have we seen Bush make his appointments with political ideology as the sole litmus test with complete disregard for competence in his selections? Donald Rumsfeld, Anthony Gonzalez, Michael Brown, John Bolton and Fred Thompson come to mind.

The most incredibly arrogant part of Bush appointing Holsinger has to be that it was done under the heavy scrutiny of the Gonzalez scandal that is all about appointments with a priority on politics above proficiency if nothing else. Holsinger is the former secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The Courier-Journal of Louisville has been reporting for years that the health of Kentucky residents remains among the worst in the nation. So at least if, as a nation, our health begins to fail, we will at least know that another lame duck cabinet head will do everything he can to protect us from the evils of gay America. This guy’s past writings show his beliefs are incompatible with serving the medical health of all Americans.
In a 1991 document titled "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," Dr. Holsinger argued, in his capacity as a physician, that homosexuality is unnatural and dangerous. This document indicates that he views sexual orientation as a "lifestyle choice." This is a position that is not held by mainstream medical or scientific organizations. Dr. James Holsinger's record seems to demonstrate that he is uninterested in the best scientific information available; instead, he allows his anti-gay bias to inform his medical judgments. In past writings he has taken a juvenile homophobic stance and compared reproductive organs to plumbing parts and he seems to believe homosexuality is a "lifestyle" choice that should be "cured."
Additionally, Dr. Holsinger and his wife were founders of Hope Springs Community Church which reportedly ministers to people who no longer wish to be gay or lesbian. This type of "ex gay" conversion therapy has been condemned by almost every major, reputable medical organization - including the American Psychological Association which issued a condemnation over ten years ago. Come on Mr. President. I thought you were a uniter, not a divider. This selection, Holsinger for Surgeon General is incompetent, inappropriate and intolerable.
Perhaps 2008 presidential candidate, John Edwards said it best, “In a profession dedicated to healing and compassion, it cannot be hard to find a qualified candidate for Surgeon General who sees all human beings as equals. Instead, President Bush has sought out a nominee who will divide America. Dr. James Holsinger’s anti-gay writings and beliefs suggest that he will undermine, not advance, the cause of equality and fairness in health care.” Please email your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on Holsingers confirmation.

Making Amends In Iraq: A Podcast Interview With Marine Captain Jeremy Joseph

The topic below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal, as well as the Independent Bloggers Alliance and Worldwide Sawdust.

Is there anything the American military can do at this point to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people? Personally, I, as well as many Americans and Iraqis don’t believe any reservoir of good will remains. As far as I’m concerned, this war of choice was immoral and ill conceived from the start and I don’t believe the current escalation in troops can accomplish any good.

However, I’ve never served in the military or been to Iraq. Jeremy Joseph has. He is currently a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and a student at Washington’s Georgetown University Law Center. While in Iraq he was part of the active duty force.

Joseph postulates in his article, “Winning Hearts and Minds in Iraq Through Mediated Condolence Payments,” (subscription required) that establishing a reconciliation protocol following accidental deaths of non-combatants can help dilute an insurgency’s intensity. As a model, he cites the Dalkon Shield arbitrations and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund hearings.

The International Institute For Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) published Joseph’s article in the May 2007 issue of Alternatives. A longer version of the article shared the 2006 CPR Institute student articles’ Award for Excellence. It’s also scheduled to be published during the summer by the Harvard Law School Program in Negotiation Journal.

As Joseph notes in his article, since 2004, whenever an Iraqi non-combatant civilian is inadvertently killed in the crossfire between the American military and hostile forces, a victim’s family may apply for a condolence payment – a sum up to $2,500 when his article was first published. Yet this approach is both condescending and insulting to the victim’s families.

How can a monetary token of sympathy assuage a mother’s grief, satisfy a wife who lost her family’s breadwinner or heal the pain of a child who lost their parent from a stray bullet? Indeed, this detached approach can’t help but fuel anti-American sentiment among the Iraqi population.

As Joseph writes,

“The current condolence payment program fails to achieve its potential because it misses the opportunity for dialogue between the aggrieved Iraqi family and the United States Military (USM). This failure does not reflect callous individual soldiers or Marines, but a policy failure of too few troops to implement any meaningful process and a doctrinal failure that undervalued the winning of hearts and minds.

Consider the situation of a family whose father and sole breadwinner is killed inadvertently by a stray bullet from an insurgent-USM firefight. That family has questions to ask the U.S. soldiers:

• Who killed our husband and father?

• What happened and why?

• What is the USM trying to accomplish in our town?

• Do the USM troops actually feel sorry for the loss they have caused us? Do they even know?
  

• How are we to support ourselves now that our bread-winning father is dead?”

Joseph argues that how the military responds to these individual families serves as a tipping point to Iraqi public opinion. He therefore asks if an Iraqi family who suffered a loss will continue to support U.S. troops or instead provide aid and comfort to insurgents “who look more like freedom fighters and heroes?”

Joseph further asks if the eldest children of families the American military inadvertently killed will “pick up weapons and join the insurgency in their fight – now this family’s fight – against the USM.”

My first reaction upon reading Joseph’s article was to wonder why these questions weren’t asked four years ago. I also can’t help but wonder if Joseph’s strategy of utilizing trained mediators to facilitate reconciliation between aggrieved Iraqi families and the U.S. military is too little too late.

There is also the reality that far more personnel would be required for this program to be implemented on a large enough scale to have any significant impact. Meanwhile, it appears increasingly likely a policy of withdrawal from Iraq will gain momentum with both parties in September. But even if Republicans join Democrats in pushing for a withdrawal timeline, a substantial American military presence in Iraq will likely remain at least until the early months of 2008.

Joseph believes that with the current surge, we have sufficient numbers to at least attempt a pilot condolences program in Baghdad. He makes a compelling case that doing so is both morally right and sensible.

Overall, I thought Joseph’s article was thoughtful and believe he is sincere. More troops on the ground from the beginning combined with this reconciliation approach might have helped four years ago. Perhaps it can still make a difference in Afghanistan where a growing sentiment exists to reconcile with the Taliban in order to avoid more deaths among the civilian population. It might also merit consideration for future military engagements.

Joseph agreed to a podcast interview with me and we discussed his experience with the Iraqi civilian population, the legalities behind his program and the potential strategic benefits. I also asked Joseph if private contractors such as Blackwater could be mandated to participate in a condolences payment program and whether liberal critics of the war like myself undermined the morale of our troops in Iraq.

His answers to those and other questions were compelling and thought provoking.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST

This interview can also be accessed at Itunes by searching for “Intrepid Liberal Journal."

GONZALES EXIT

Friends,
I just called on congressional leaders to demand that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resign or be removed from office. The recent scandals involving the dismissals of eight U.S. Attorneys and the report that the F.B.I., which is part of the Department of Justice, violated the law and abused its authority under the Patriot Act to obtain personal information about American citizens are just the most recent in a series of failures.
This Attorney General puts the President above the people. He has shown a deeper fidelity to the political interests of President Bush than to the public interest and the rule of law. It is in the nation's best interest for the Attorney General to resign, and if he fails to do so, President Bush should remove him from office.
The New York Times recently called for removing Gonzales from office. Can you join me - and a growing chorus of voices - by speaking out and signing the emergency petition that Congress demand Gonzales resign or be removed from office?
Click here to sign the petition.

open thread friday- legacies

i watched the movie 'stranger than fiction' last night. excellent movie smartly done- i highly recommend it. it is not will farrell being 'blades of glory' funny but it is well written- which is a rarity these days in entertainment. i won't tell you about the movie because i want you to see it- but suffice to say it ties in with my other thoughts of the week- legacies. everyone wants to leave one- whether through work or offspring- and since i have neither- i guess i started thinking about mine. actually, i got thinking about contributing to the world and how people would remember me. i was hoping folks would remember me fondly- although i am outspoken, opinionated and downright anti-social at any given time. then i started thinking about the bigger picture.

jason giambi admitted to steroid use. i know this because i was at my favorite thinking place- the laundromat- and heard it on the tv they have on the sports channel. then, i started thinking about my mother. i am her legacy, as is my sister. she gave her life and her dreams to us because she had to take care of us. she isn't famous and she has no money- but her memory will live on because of us. she also said that we have no heroes anymore- no one to look up to in an era where steroids are the norm rather than the exception and people don't do anything without an angle- and no one wants to use their own merit to get the job done. it's about image and greed and money.

what will america's legacy be? dubya's legacy is one of corruption and war- whether he wants it to be or not- and his children are... well not the greatest legacies you could hope for. america stood for an ideal once. we never matched the idea in reality but we stood for it nonetheless. now, we are known as greedy bullies who renege on promises and refuse to play well with others- even our allies. what will our legacy be in 50 years?

what will mine be? i don't believe in having children to carry on the family name or so that you do have a legacy. i don't have any. i would think that i would want my obituary to read that i was an honest person with integrity who tried real hard to save the planet and save the american constitution. a person who helped others as best as she could and inspired others to be the best that they could be. i don't want fame or money or glory. i want to plant seeds for others to tend and grow. i want people to want peace. that is what i want my legacy to be- you?

cross posted at life's journey and the peace train

It's Just A Matter Of Time...

A female journalist killed in front of her son in her home in Afghanistan...
A leading Afghan journalist has been shot dead by unknown attackers in front of her son at her home north of Kabul. The attack came as Nato-led forces stepped up operations against suspected Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

An Afghan interior ministry said on Wednesday that Zakia Zaki, owner and manager of Peace Radio, was killed late on Tuesday. Zaki ws also a school headmistress and attended the 2003 meeting that drew up Afghanistan's post-Taliban constitution.

London-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which expressed "deep shock" at the killing, said she had received several death threats after openly criticizing regional commanders and the Taliban.

"Whether this savage act was linked to her work as a journalist or her civic responsibilities, it is vital that those who are responsible for this murder should be quickly identified and punished," it said in a statement.

Zaki's murder was the second of a female reporter in Afghanistan in a week. Shakiba Sanga Amaj, a popular television new presenter, was also shot dead in her home in Kabul on May 31.

I'm surprised that it hasn't happened here yet. Of course our media isn't overtly critical of our administration...a random few perhaps. But the tactic the White Homestead takes is to tell lies and discredit people that do completely. And there are plenty of sheeple that will follow along with it willingly. I imagine the bloggers have had the greatest impact on getting the real story out there...and 'they' are unable to control us...but they are trying to.

So the way to gain that control is to start with our rights on the internet. With Google on their side and others...they have a running tally of where we visit online...to whom we say things...and exactly what we say when we are saying it. Whew! The politicians aren't happy with us being able to communicate with each other and rally around causes that they would like buried. A perfect example would be all corruption that has happened by the Republicans and how we have pounced on those stories to make sure they get readership and as much mileage out of the information as possible. Otherwise they will leave us in the dust of their contempt.

Try as they may...we won't take it lying down if they choose to make the internet very unavailable to us. We'll fight them...and then fight them some more. Just like trying to get out of Iraq. We'll take to the streets and hope they don't kill us for it...but we'll do our very best to take our nation back from these cheats and make it whole again. I feel like Scarlet O'Hara in the barren fields after she eats the old carrot and swears she'll never go hungry again. And what was it for? It was for her beloved Tara...her whole world...everything she knew and loved came from Tara. The same is for us who care about our America...the America we were born with...where we learned to love...and where we took that from which made us. We cannot become the forgotten and the dead in their eyes...we have to beat them at their game.

The Face of the Internet...

BBC News...
Amnesty International has warned that the internet "could change beyond all recognition" unless action is taken against the erosion of online freedoms.

"The Chinese model of an internet that allow economic growth but not free speech or privacy is growing in popularity, from a handful of countries five years ago to dozens of governments today who block sites and arrest bloggers," said Tim Hancock, Amnesty's campaign director. "Unless we act on this issue, the internet could change beyond all recognition in the years to come.

More and more governments are realizing the utility of controlling what people see online and major internet companies, in an attempt to expand their markets, are colluding in these attempts," he said.

Twenty-two-year-old Egyptian blogger Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman was imprisoned for four years in February for insulting Islam and defaming the President of Egypt.

Fellow Egyptian blogger Amr Gharbeia told the BBC that the internet was allowing people to express themselves: "The web is creating a more open society, it is allowing more people to speak out. It's only natural that upsets some people."

We are in for it my friends...they just cannot stand for us to have a free hand on the internet...not only do they want to censor us...they also want to get paid for it too.

(end of post)

Bush Hears Voices / Great Moments In Presidential Speeches Compilation

tuesday peace now! post

in light of bushco escalating conflict with iran and single handedly reigniting the cold war- i have to say- when is enough enough? why are americans so afraid? why do we continue to buy into the bogus terrorist plots and orange alerts? we were a nation of go getters and do for ourselves- until a generation or so ago. what is it that has changed?

i think we are afraid of losing our stuff. how else to explain why we react so fearfully to everything? is it because a generation of americans has been raised with 'helicopter parents' who hover and smother their children and extinguish any individuality or creative thought? who knows? i do know that it is embarrassing. we are supposed to be the toughest most militaristic nation on the planet- and we cower and have to fight our wars elsewhere. how cowardly is pre-emptive striking? am i saying that i want war here? no- of course not. but i am saying that i want a free, open, really democratic republic- not a facade that has a crumbling foundation built on fear.

were we ever peaceful? no- not really. we only fought each other once- so i suppose in the grander scheme of things- that's peaceful. i would think that in a country that is so focused on facades and appearances- we would want the appearance of being peaceful at least. we focus so much on differences with other nations while trying to force conformity here. perhaps we should look around and find similarities with other nations- we might find some common ground and be able to actually and realistically work towards world peace in our lifetime.

there is really no good excuse- peace now!!!

crossposted at life's journey and the peace train

No More Honeymoon

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal and the Independent Bloggers Alliance.

Election night 2006 was a satisfying result after the calamity of one party reactionary rule. On a personal level, I juggled my day job and after hours phone banking to help in the effort. Many other activists did the same out of patriotism and desire to establish a bulwark against the corporate theocrats in Washington. It feels like another lifetime and as The Nation duly noted in their latest edition, “The Honeymoon Is Over”:

“As Congress left town for its Memorial Day recess, the euphoria cast by the 2006 election victories was gone. Disappointed by the Democrats' inability to force a withdrawal timeline into the war-funding bill, angered by a trade deal hatched in secret, dismayed at backsliding on cleaning up Capitol Hill, progressives were faced with the unpleasant reality of the new Congress, warts and all.

The slim Democratic majority in both Houses is not a progressive majority. Just as distressing as the cave-in on war funding was the continued power of the bipartisan money party. Beyond ending the war, Democrats were elected because of popular rejection of corporate trade policies and the stench of corruption in Washington. Tom DeLay is gone, but the corporate lobbies just reloaded with Democrats. When the House leadership announced a trade accord that the Chamber of Commerce celebrated as a model for giving Bush renewed fast-track authority, hopes for a new economic course were punctured. Then, House Democrats wouldn't support even a two-year hiatus that would slow the revolving door between Congress and the lobby world. (‘That's our retirement plan,’ complained anonymous legislators.)”

I largely agree with that assessment about the Democratic majority’s corporatist leanings and sympathy for the K-Street industry. As for the war, even before Democrats assumed control, I advocated for either invoking the War Powers Act or cutting off funding. Timid and feckless, the Democrats were more concerned with implementing a political strategy of bleed and win. While the ongoing war continued to bleed Bush and the GOP, the Democrats were content to pass bills that scored political points and accomplished very little. The so-called benchmarks the Bush Administration agreed to is window dressing.

Ultimately, the plug will be pulled on this war by the GOP in September. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said his party doesn’t want another election campaign about Iraq. All that remains is for some more soldiers to “die for a mistake” as the young John Kerry once put it, while the Iraqis continue to kill each other. Bush had hoped to hand off the war to his successor so defeat would not happen on his watch. How ironic that Bush's fellow Republicans who enabled him to pursue this immoral and diastrous war of choice, will have their fingerprints on our withdrawal.

But the overall problem of combating radical Islam with a foreign policy based on international cooperation and strategic logic remains. We're losing Afghanistan and getting little value from our support of Musharaff in Pakistan. Democrats deliver platitudes about sending more troops to Afghanistan after we leave Iraq. Yet they don't explain why an escalation in Afghanistan would be any more successful than the current surge in Iraq.

Meanwhile, an economic policy guided by corporatism at the expense of working people struggling to keep up with the cost of living is not being reversed. Why don’t they pass a bill overturning the hideous Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 passed by the Republican majority? Or make a push for reforming healthcare?

Granted, President Bush remains an obstacle to enacting a progressive program and more can be accomplished if the right person is elected to the White House next year. But that is no excuse for not maximizing their majority platform today to build public support and educate the citizenry. Congressional Democrats have wasted five months. Precious time that could’ve been used to aggressively advocate for replacing this insipid era of deranged privatization and cronyism, with bold initiatives designed to lift the working poor, nurture a vibrant middle class and yes provide healthcare for all.

However, the elections of 2006 were simply a first step in a long journey. Expecting a progressive reformation after one midterm election cycle was never realistic. Progressive activists, bloggers and citizens nationwide need to put their cynicism aside and remain engaged. The Nation put it best in their editorial’s closing paragraph:

“Democratic majorities have provided us with relatively progressive leaders in both houses of Congress and several aggressive committee chairs who are beginning to unearth the hidden horrors of this rogue Administration. But we still don't have the progressive strength in Congress or the leadership in the White House that can change this country's course. The serial disappointments of recent weeks are but a reminder that we've got work to do.”

We’ve only begun to fight for what is right.