Monday, August 26, 2013

Me and Kati (2)

Well, Kati, I didn’t appreciate the blood and guts you left on the carpet in my study this morning. I know it was you because you uncharacteristically did not appear this morning for breakfast (having apparently filled your belly with some critter).  From the remains it appears to have been a pretty good sized feast, I guess not another squirrel because you usually leave the tail, perhaps just a large mouse. Anyway, at these times I think you are disgusting, but then I remember you are a cat, not a politician. Blood, by the way, is impossible to clean up completely so it will remain as a symbol of your success as a carnivore.

It seems, Kati, that we are about to once again engage in violence in the Middle East, this time in Syria. The claim is that Syria has used chemical weapons against their own people, killing women and children, and this is a crime so heinous that it must be punished. They say there is evidence that President Assad did this, and perhaps there is, but I remain skeptical as I don’t think he is stupid and if he did use such weapons it would have been almost unbelievably stupid. Anyway, of course we don’t know, probably never will know, and don’t have anything to do with it in any case (a majority of the American people are against any involvement in Syria, but who cares what they think about it). Never mind that a few years back we furnished chemical weapons to Iraq, they used them against Iran, and we did not condemn it. And never mind that we have used illegal weapons, including drones, that kill innocent people virtually every day. And never mind that some of our weapons poison the areas in which they are used so that babies are born deformed. We, Kati, are “good,” and they are “bad.” It is really very simple.

The real problem with Syria, I think, is that Syria is an ally of Iran, and Iran, at the moment, is evil personified, at least in the eyes of Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran, according to “Bibi,” (who controls our policy in the Middle East) has been within a few months of building a nuclear bomb ever since (I think) 1972. Iran claims they are not doing any such thing, there is no evidence they are, but the paranoia of Israel is so profound as to render them incapable of anything even close to reality, No, Kati, that is not true, they know perfectly well Iran is not a threat to them, or us, or anyone else, except that they might gain too much influence in the region thus challenging our hegemony in the area. Of course the so-called “peace process” currently being staged between Israel and the Palestinians will go nowhere, it never does, never will, never can, as long as Israel has anything to do with it. If there is ever to be a solution to the problem it will have to come when the International community imposes one against the Israeli intransigence and backs it up with international force. Similarly, there can never be a solution to the problem as long as the U.S. is involved as the U.S. is not a disinterested third party, favoring Israel so blatantly as to render the situation hopeless.

The Republican Party, quoting Shakespeare, is at the moment “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They speak of impeaching Obama, although never specifying the grounds for such an action, they talk of killing Obamacare, an impossibility, they threaten to shut down the government (again) which would probably destroy whatever is left of their Party, they let their foremost nitwits blather on about such nonsense that even you Kati, would laugh out loud (if you could laugh). As they are completely devoid of any useful  ideas they continue their irrational (basically racially motivated) attacks on Obama and their policy of non-cooperation. If you wish to understand the demise of the Republican Party, along with the increasing demise of the U.S. as a nation, start with St. Ronnie and consider the behavior of Republicans since that time. Under the tutelage of Karl Rove, the unmitigated evil and stupidity of Bush/Cheney, and now the incredibly damaging behavior of the Tea Party and the gigantic international corporations, is it any wonder we have become not only an international pariah but also a failing state? Not to worry, the Banks and others are doing very well Indeed.

Come, Kati, let’s go to bed and reflect happily on the fact that we don’t have much longer to put up with the (in)human condition.

   “But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.” 

 Suzanne Collins

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