The strange case of Osama bin Laden

I realized today that I have reached the rock bottomn of depression over the state of this administration and the world. There was an article on Antiwar.com entitled "How Large is the Defense Budget." While I don't know how large it is precisely, I do know it is larger than all the rest of the world's defense budgets combined. I knew I would not be able to even read about it and it has continued to depress me all day. Our defense budget is absolutely indefensible. It is obscene. It is insane. And for what? To produce huge profits for companies to manufacture items we will never, ever, need. We are at the mercy of an enormous military-industrial complex that we were warned about - but obviously didn't listen.

What is with Osama bin Laden? How is it he has never been captured, even though he has presumably been pursued by the greatest military organization in the world, plus help from many other countries, including Pakistan where he may, in fact, be living. This makes no sense to me. And how is it that he surfaces at just the right moment to help George W. Bush? Remember, last time he surfaced just before the election. And now, with Bush suffering from one scandal and problem after another, he surfaces again to remind the world that he is still alive and operating his terrorist base. This can only help Bush who will use it to argue how it is that we are under imminent attack from terrorists, only Republicans can defend us, and blah, blah, blah, bs.

I guess one could argue that bin Laden wants to keep Bush in power as he is such a numbskull and plays always right into bin Laden's hands. That is an argument that makes some sense to me. But what if bin Laden is in fact a deliberate player in the ongoing international scene? He must have been at one time a CIA "asset" (when they were fighting the Russians with our support). What if he is still a CIA asset? That would certainly explain why he has never been captured. And he would be playing an important part in keeping the Bush administration in power. And given the massive drug trade internationally, the pipeline problems in that part of the world, the involvement of American corporations with billions of dollars at stake, he may be an important player in all that as well. How about the attack of 9/11 that promoted Bush from a nonentity president to his glorious "war president" status?

I confess I don't usually think this way. I have never been a conspiracy buff. But after five years of the Bush/Cheney administration I fear I am prepared to believe anything. Having been fed nothing but lies endlessly, unprecedented secrecy, vicious attacks on anyone who even questioned this criminal enterprise, nothing, absolutely nothing would surprise me.

On the local scene: Tonight is the local Democratic party and fundraiser. It has been snowing all day. I fear it will affect the turnout. Perhaps not. Someone named David Weigel with reasononline.com predicts that "Butch" Otter is going to win the Idaho governership by a landslide. He thinks this because Otter opposed the Patriot Act (along with Larry Craig), that somehow this will make him a local hero. I suspect Weigel doesn't know much about the situation here in Idaho. Otter might win but I doubt it will be a landslide. Personally, I think he won't win. Brady is a strong candidate. Vote Brady for Idaho!