Meddling

meddle - to interest oneself in what is not one's concern. Webster's.

There is a lot of talk these days, on the part of various U.S. dignitaries, about meddling. Condi Rice, for example, has warned repeatedly that Iran should not meddle in Iraq. She has also warned Russia that they should not meddle in the affairs of their former satellites. Bush, just yesterday I think it was, warned of "an erosion of democracy in Venezuela and Boliva" (ignore the unbelievable stupidity of this remark) and consider the rest of his statement, they should not meddle in the affairs of other countries. Similarly, Bush/Cheney/Rice/Rumsfeld are concerned that Arab countries should not meddle in Palestine, China should not meddle in Taiwan, and, in general, no other country should meddle in the affairs of the United States, and so on and on.

Is this not carrying hubris a bit too far? What, for example, is the U.S. doing in Iraq if not meddling? What were we doing when we meddled in Iran and installed the Shah? When we meddled in Venezuela, Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Afghanistan, and so many other countries? Indeed, it is fair to say we are the most persistent and troublesome meddlers of all time.

If I were an Iranian, knowing that Iraq was occupied by a hostile U.S. I would certainly regard it with "concern." I should think the Iranians have a lot more business meddling in Iraq than we do. If I were in Venezuela I would certainly be concerned with U.S. meddling in Bolivia and other countries. Likewise, if I was Russia I would certainly be concerned with what is going on in the Ukraine. So how is it that we can warn all the rest of the world about meddling when we are constantly, incessantly, brutally and militarily meddling all around the world?

Does this not imply that everything that goes on in the world is our concern? And does not that imply that we believe we should control events everywhere? And does that, not in turn, imply that we regard outselves as an empire. THE empire! Thus it is that we don't meddle whereas everyone else does.

The fact is, meddling is hardly descriptive of what we do. Meddling sort of implies a kind of busybodiness, a sticking your nose in where you don't belong, something like the neighbors telling you how to treat your lawn. We don't meddle. We attack and destroy, murder and pillage, overwhelm with military force, demand obedience, threaten and starve, replace entire regimes, expect to be obeyed or else. I guess you can't call that just meddling. But it certainly is amusing to listen to Condi and Bush and Rumsfeld try to tell Russia and China and Iran to stop meddling. American hypocrisy truly knows no bounds. Think of it. It would be hysterically funny if it were not for the fact that we have lunatics sitting on the most powerful weapons on earth.

Don't f... with the Lone Ranger!

Anyone remember Karl Rove?

You know, Karl Rove, the evil brain behind the no-brained George W. Bush. The guy who looks like a marshmallow with glasses but inside is a seething mass of vicious unprincipled hatred for all things democratic. It was announced some time ago that he was to be indicted for his involvement in the Valerie Plame affair. Leopold assured us this was a done deal and it was only a question of a few days. My wife and others insisted Rove would be indicted soon. I said I'd believe it when I saw it on some kind of national news (even the ass-kissing major media presumably couldn't ignore this). So...I haven't seen it. Now it appears perhaps I won't ever see it.

So what is going on? I find it impossible to believe that Rove is entirely innocent of being involved in the outing of Plame. Is he perhaps striking a deal with Fitzgerald to rat on Bush/Cheney in return for leniency? Is the prosecutor's case so weak he doesn't think it will win? Is Fitzgerald biding his time going for bigger game (think Cheney)? Is Rove not cooperating because he knows Bush will pardon him anyway? Do liars and cheats thrive in the Bush/Cheney era? Do bears do it in the woods?

I have no idea what is going on with respect to Herr Rove. I do believe that Rove, Libby, and others were intimately involved in outing Plame and the impetus to do so came from Cheney. This seems to me to be so obvious as to not be much of a problem for a superprosecutor like Fitzgerald. But hey, like I say, what do I know?

In the meanwhile we continue to deal with the two problems designed to keep our attention away from the real problems: immigration (a problem totally without any quick solution) and gay marriage (a total non-problem but sure to keep out minds occupied with trivia instead of Iraq, the national debt, health care, etc.). We'll probably find flag burning back on the agenda soon - especially now that Hillary has joined the chorus (I guess she likes the company of idiots).

A very wild and premature prediction: Al Gore will be the next President and Bill Clinton will become Secretary of State. Keep your eyes on global warming and the environment - winners in 2008. The wheels are already turning.

There is no here, here

No doubt you all remember Gertrude Stein's statement, "there's no there, there." Why this was regarded as profound escapes me. This, I think, is in the same category of adored prose as Fitzgerald's (or was it Hemingway's), "the rich are different. Yes, they have more money." I could never understand why either of these was ever considered anything other than rather stupid things to say, but said by famous people. What do I know?

When it comes to here, however, I think there is no here, here, at least not anymore. I was born here, raised here, and still try to live here. But the "here" of my life and experience did (does) not consist of endless war, endless lies, endless secrecy, endless war crimes, endless debt, endless incompetence, endless stupidity, endless graft, endless warprofiteering, endless greed, endless corruption, and endless support of the status-quo. So, the here I have experienced no longer exists. There is no here, here, as far as I can tell. Confused? So am I.

I know nothing of economics (which is, as far as I can tell, truly a "dismal" science). I also know nothing about business, especially big, huge, corporate business. So will someone please explain to me how it is that Toyota, Honda, and now Kia, can build billion dollar plants to manufacture cars in the United States when American businesses claim they have to outsource or move overseas? And, on a more inconsequential matter, how can furniture stores sell furniture with nothing down and no payments or interest for X months? I have wondered about this for a long time. I once saw some graffiti that said, "please help Peter Rabbit, please." That's the way I feel about this. So please?

As there is never any real news on weekends or CNN let me close with this gem from our handicapped fake President. He has apparently signed something or other designating May 29th (Memorial Day) as "a day of prayer for permanent peace." As the so-called Bush doctrine calls for permanent war, and as Bush/Cheney's military-industrial complex expects, even requires, permanent war, this would seem somewhat hypocritical. Actually, this goes beyond the bounds of just the normally hypocritical Bush/Cheney crap, reaching up into the stratosphere of hypocrisy, the apex, so to speak, of hypocrisy, indeed, even the super-duper of hypocrisy. This is the hyper-arrogant, "when you're slapped you'll take it and like it" hypocrisy.

Remember, though, he might be a little slow, but he's a regular guy just like us. The kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with. People like him. May the Great Mystery have mercy on all our souls.

People like him?

Karl Rove, evil Rasputin of the Bush/Cheney Administration, claims that in spite of his low poll ratings, "people like him" (Bush, that is). I guess it depends upon what "people" is. Certainly I don't like him. I don't actually know anyone who likes him. Of course I live in the reddest of red states but even here I've never heard anyone claim to like him (of course I don't move in circles where that might occur). At the same time Rove makes this claim there is a piece on Buzzflash that claims people are fed up with Bush's "personality." I don't know how you reconcile these claims. It does seem to me that with a favorable rating of 29% and apparently sinking there can't be too many people who like him. What do I know.

In an effort to keep morialekafa from sinking even further into a darker funk of despair, depression and hopelessness, let me try a joke. If you have heard this before, forgive me. If you are put off buy mild bathroom humor, forgive me. If you are sick to death of the "nightmare years," forgive me. I did what I could to keep him from getting elected. I did what I could to stop his insane and unnecessary "war," I marched, I wrote letters, I did my puny best. Anyway:

There was this man who became upset because his farts went "honda." This wasn't really too bad but it was very irritating and he could not understand it. So he went to his doctor.
The doctor examined him, and interviewed him, and concluded he had no idea why his farts went "honda."
He sought a second opinion, and then a third, and no one could come up with an explanation.
Finally, in desperation, he went to a Chinese doctor. This venerable old soul examined his behind with great care and then announced, "abscess!"
Abscess?
Yes, "abscess make de fart go honda."

Yeah, I know. I apologize. I am desperate. I think I first heard this from some folk singer.

It seems the fighting in Afghanistan is now worse than it was in 2001. Another Bush/Cheney success.

Iraq now has a new cabinet - except for two or three of the most important and controversial positions. Progress? Bush/Blair will try to use this as an excuse to exit if they can. As in Vietnam we can claim victory and leave (except, of course, for the billion dollar embassy and the permanent bases).

Ethnic cleansing is now going on in earnest in Iraq. People who can afford it are leaving the country. In areas where there are minorities they are being forced out under penalty of death. The country is breaking up, predictably, into three separate groups, Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites. Civil war continues. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice continue their "winning ways." Progress, Bush insists, is being made. I guess it depends upon what progress "is."

Six thousand National Guard troops to the Mexican border is being exposed for the utter nonsense it is. Sensenbrenner and his lunatic supporters apparently will not give in to any form of humanitarianism, preferring to label 11 million or more hispanics as felons to be sent back to Mexico (the effect of this on the Mexican economy would be disastrous but who cares about stuff like that).

There is at least some reason to believe that Al Gore may consider running once again for President. Personally, I think he is the only viable Democratic candidate. I hope he does it, even though I think he would be crazy to do so. If he does he will be making the greatest personal sacrifice for his country probably in history. Who would want to have to clean up after this disastrous Bush/Cheney debacle? He (or she) would have to do everything that would be virtually impossible to do - raise taxes, somehow reduce the obscene national debt, curb corporate power and control, restore America's standing in the International community, do something important about global warming, stop warrantless spying, deal with rampant corruption, prosecute war profiteers and criminals, a corrupt Supreme Court, and etc. In order to do this he/she would obviously be seen as a failure no matter how successful they were (because, of course, it would be an impossible task). It will involve a personal sacrifice so profound as to be virtually unthinkable. If Gore would agree to take this on we would have to swear allegiance and support no matter what agents of destruction attempted to stop him. If not Gore, who? Think about it. Hillary? McCain? Frist? Biden? Kerry? Edwards? Lieberman? Jeb? Oh, I know, just the person - Rice (try not to throw up).

I like Al Gore. I believe he is most probably our only hope. I think he would be crazy to do it. I hope he does it. After all, he was legally elected President in the first place.

Abandon all hope, Ye who live here

It has been obvious for quite some time now (certainly since 9/11) that the inmates are in charge of the asylum. How else can you explain the hopeless mess Bush/Cheney have gotten us into? There is no point in reviewing all this: the lies that led us into an unnecessary "war," the completely mindless tax breaks for the obscenely wealthy, the attacks on the environment, the denial of global warming, the scandals upon scandals upon scandals, treason, war crimes, lies upon lies upon lies, endless unjustified claims of secrecy, warrantless spying on U.S. citizens, and on and on. Even though all this is perfectly obvious by now to anyone with even a partial brain nothing happens to curb it or even to seriously investigate it. It has become so bad I think we may, indeed, have to abandon all hope.

Consider what is going on at the moment. Forget Iraq. Forget Afghanistan. Forget North Korea, Iran, whatever. The problem is immigration (no one seemed to worry much about this until a couple of weeks ago even though it has been a problem for years and years). Suddenly it has become urgent. The response (thoughtless and basically useless) is to build a billion plus dollar fence for three or four hundred miles (this will leave an even longer fence to built eventually). Why do they want to build this useless, stupid, provocative three tiered fence? Why, because they don't want to just enforce the laws that already exist about hiring illegals (a much more sensible and far cheaper solution). Why don't they want to enforce the laws? Because the corporations and agribusinesses that thrive on this primitive system of near slavery might have to pay a little more for their help). Why will the fence help (if, indeed, it even will help), because we will also instigate a "guest worker" program, an idea even more stupid than the fence and one that has proven in Europe to be an abject failure. Happily, it appears there cannot possibly be an immigration bill this year.

Now, if this immigration farce isn't enough to distract you from Iraq and Afghanistan (where things are much worse now than they were a year ago), involve yourself in the attempt (again) to make marriage strictly a business between one man and one woman (a constitutional amendment). This is, of course, a complete waste of time as it is already known that it can never pass in the Senate. But it does keep one focused on utter nonsense instead of anything meaningful, like "war," starvation, war crimes, the national debt, illegal wiretapping, the best Senators and Representatives money can buy, the obscene and out of control national debt, treasonous "outings," intelligence failures, and scandals as far as the eye can see. (and even farther).

There is no knight in shining armor mounted on a great white stallion waiting in the wings to rescue us. Hillary Clinton has reduced herself to a hopeless buffoon, McCain is even worse. Frist, Santorum, Biden, Lieberman, Kerry, Edwards, and others collectively don't seem to have the wherewithal to get elected god gave a horse's ass. The Republican party is in big trouble but the Democrats don't seem to care much. They are even going out of their way to prove just how toothless and cowardly they really are.

Of course from the Bush/Cheney point of view the useless fence isn't useless at all. Who is this one billion plus dollar fiasco going to benefit? Why, those very same defense and other contractors who ripped off billions in Iraq and New Orleans,who else? And just think, this will be a never-ending source of taxpayer dollars because there will still be hundreds of miles of fence remaining to be built along the Mexican border (miles to go while you still reap) and then (mana from heaven) even more miles to be built to keep out those dangerous Canadians with their high-powered marijuana. When we are finished building the fences we can consider thoroughly mining both coasts. Then finally, in one unprecedented technological American innovation, we can build a dome over the entire U.S. (that certainly ought to keep us safe from those terrorists with their shoe bombs and box cutters). The future looks secure if you are a greedy, unprincipled, warmongering, Republican corporate whore, with no more regard for your fellow citizens than for cannon fodder.

I am still waiting for Rove to actually be indicted. I will only believe it when I see it on national tv or in a major newspaper (not that they could be trusted to get it right, or even report it at all). Man, these are happy times.

A Passion for Liverwurst - short story

Watch 'n Wait: I sooo hope you are right. In the meanwhile:



Lady Brownsville-Fox was a large and imposing woman. She could not fairly be described as fat, but was just plump enough to be sensitive about her weight. She was often on whatever diet fancied her at the moment. Of course none of them lasted for more than two or three days, but she always felt better for having made an effort. Recognizing she was not beautiful, she dressed fashionably in expensive clothing, attended carefully to her hair and jewelry, and used makeup intelligently to emphasize her complexion, by far her best asset. If one were called upon to describe Lady Brownsville-Fox in a single word it would have to be as “dignified.” Dignity was the most outstanding feature of her personality and was immediately recognized by all. She was one of those British ladies who would much prefer to die than give up her dignity. Paradoxically, she professed to like best those individuals who were honest about their vices. She did not apply this standard to herself.
Lady Brownsville-Fox had a secret vice, a passion for liverwurst. When desire overcame her she went secretly to a Jewish Delicatessen and ordered a liverwurst sandwich. She pretended it was for her husband and her personal distaste was communicated by holding the package at arm’s length until she left the Deli. Of course she always consumed her sandwich in private, as it certainly would not do to allow anyone to see her eating such a questionable “lower-class” delicacy. Similarly, while she had been carrying half a liverwurst sandwich in her purse for part of the morning, she realized she would have to dispose of it before boarding the plane. Furtively, with regret, she took a huge bite out of the very center and casually tossed the remainder into a convenient garbage disposal before taking a seat in the waiting area.
Lady Brownsville-Fox was returning to London after visiting her mother in Miami. After her father died, her mother had rather startlingly, in fact, shockingly, remarried too quickly to be entirely respectable. Not only that, she married a handsome but decaying American that, in his retirement, was little more than an expensive beach bum. After several years Lady Brownsville-Fox barely recognized her mother, now burned dark by much too much sun and wrinkled like a raisin. She thought her mother was completely, as they say, “dotty.” Nonetheless she felt duty bound to visit occasionally even though she did not like the United States, especially Florida.
Lady Brownsville-Fox was proud of her independence, symbolized most importantly by the fact she had demanded to keep her own name when she married, even though her husband bore a much more renowned name. Of course she kept a separate bedroom, bank account, and even a small and private vacation cottage. Likewise, she did not always accompany her husband on his many diplomatic trips abroad. Thus she did not understand her mother’s subservience to her husband, especially as she knew they must exist primarily on her mother’s money. How else could they afford the large elegant house on the beach and the yacht moored nearby? She also knew, or at least thought she knew, that her mother constantly nourished her mate’s fragile ego. Lady Brownsville-Fox believed she had a gift for understanding people. She could just look at a couple, even for the first time, and understand what motivated each of them and what their lives were like. She thought this ability came from the Brownsville side and was infallible.
It was while she was indulging in such thoughts the dog first appeared. A large and quite handsome German shepherd on a leash. A man in uniform was on the other end of the leash. The dog went directly to her handbag and began sniffing excitedly. The Officer looked carefully at Lady Brownsville-Fox and tried to lead the dog away. The dog persisted until the officer was forced to ask, “Ma’am, what do you have in that bag? This dog is trained to find drugs and he sure seems to think he has found some.”
“I beg your pardon,” Lady Brownsville-Fox replied. “Do I look like the kind of person that would be carrying drugs?”
“No Ma’am, but why else would the dog be so interested in your bag? Would you mind if I just have a look?”
“Yes, I do mind, but go ahead and look. And be careful, there are important papers in there.” She angrily handed over her bag.
The officer looked carefully, and finding nothing suspicious, returned the handbag. “Sorry, but I had to know.” He forcibly removed the dog and the pair moved on.
Lady Brownsville-Fox was not stupid. She realized immediately what it was the dog smelled. But of course she could never admit to carrying a liverwurst sandwich in her handbag, no matter what. She breathed a sigh of relief, a sigh that was unfortunately premature as a few minutes later, as she moved through security, the same dog attached himself vigorously once again to her elegant handbag. The checker searched the bag and found nothing while Officer Sampson watched with interest.
“Do you have any explanation for why the dog would be so interested in your handbag,” Officer Sampson asked. “Might you at one time have carried drugs or something in there the dog could be smelling?”
“Of course not,” Lady Brownsville-Fox snapped. “I have no idea why the stupid dog might be interested in my bag. There must be something wrong with him. I think this is outrageous. Perhaps the dog was not well trained. Does he never make a mistake?”
The Officer, knowing the dog was extremely well trained, and also experienced, was suspicious. “I’m sorry Ma’am, but you’ll have to come with me.”
“Come with you? Where? Why should I come with you?”
“I want to have you examined by one of the women. It will only take a short time and perhaps we can clear this up.”
“Clear what up? This is absolutely outrageous,” Lady Brownsville-Fox spoke in a loud and agitated voice. “I am to be examined like a common criminal? This is quite unthinkable. I refuse.” She was so angry she began to sputter and search around for sympathy.
“If you refuse I will have to place you under arrest,” the Officer said firmly. “Come along now.” He took her by the arm and began moving her toward a nearby door. She acquiesced as she could not resist without making a scene.
“Officer Gannon, please search this woman thoroughly,” he instructed a large uniformed black woman . “I think she may be concealing something.” He closed the door to what appeared to be a large dressing room.
“Now just take it easy. This won’t hurt a bit,” the black woman said kindly. ” I’ll have to ask you to remove your clothing. You can hang your things there.” She motioned to some hooks on one wall.
“Remove my clothes!” Lady Brownsville-Fox exclaimed. “Never! Do you know who I am?” she demanded.
“It doesn’t matter to me who you are,” the Officer said calmly. “This is my job. If you refuse to cooperate we will have no recourse but to arrest you. Please cooperate. It will only take a couple of minutes and there’s nothing to it.” She looked carefully at Lady Brownsville-Fox and, having been raised in the streets, knew intuitively this was a mistake. There could be no way such a person would be, or even could be, concealing drugs or anything else. Nonetheless she had her orders. “Please ma’am, just take off your clothes and let me have a look.”
Lady Brownsville-Fox was so upset she began to turn red. “I’ll have you know my husband is the Earl of Sandhill! He is presently the British Ambassador to Luxembourg.” In spite of her much cherished independence Lady Brownsville-Fox was not adverse to appealing to her husband’s name and authority when it was needed. “He will complain to the Airline. You won’t have a job much longer.”
Officer Gannon looked directly into Lady Brownsville-Fox’s eyes. “You are not cooperating,” she said. “And you are now threatening me. Do you know how much trouble you could be in? You could go to jail for this. I suggest you calm down and do as you are told. I could, you know, ask for assistance, and we can forcibly remove your things and search you.”
Lady Brownsville-Fox suddenly realized the seriousness of her situation. No matter what her husband might be able to do she did not want to go to jail. She removed her expensive travel jacket and wriggled out of the skirt, hanging both items carefully on the hooks provided. She stood there in her overly feminine lingerie, now just a somewhat dumpy, frightened, middle-aged woman.
Officer Gannon looked her over carefully. She felt her initial appraisal was right. There was no way this pathetic woman could possibly be hiding anything. She felt sorry for her. “Okay, put your things back on.”
“She’s clean,” Officer Gannon reported. “There’s nothing.”
Seated on the plane at last, Lady Brownsville-Fox observed a ripe middle-aged man being very oversolicitous to the fading beauty that was obviously his wife.
He’s not in love with her, Lady Brownsville-Fox concluded. He has a mistress or a lover. She knows it but is enjoying the attention.
She leaned back into her comfortable first-class seat, a humorless but triumphant smile of victory on her face, her guilty secret secure.

Can reality be denied?

A very interesting confrontation is beginning to take form. As you may know, Al Gore is touring the country with a documentary called An Inconvenient Truth. This is, I am told, a fine discussion of global warming (I have not yet seen it). Big Oil, however, is paying big bucks to something called The Competitive (Comparative?) Enterprise Institute to produce at least two ads suggesting that Gore and others are merely alarmists and there really is no global warming. As every respectable scientist in the world believes human activity is, in fact, causing the dangerous warming of the planet, it will be interesting to see if the oil giants manage to totally contradict reality. The fact that they are even trying is shameless beyond belief. This is not a case in which people are arguing which is the best way to cut up a chicken. This is a serious business which will affect everyone living on this little planet of ours. The oil barons apparently don't care what happens to us eventually as long as they can continue to make their obscene profits (I guess they think they can take them along on the rapture). Al Gore should have been our President in 2000. Does anyone really think we'd be in this complete mess if justice had prevailed? Only in America, I think, could the most qualified person ever running for President be passed over for an utter fool.

Former Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, also former head of NSA, has come out and said there is no legal justification for what Bush/Cheney are doing with respect to illegally spying on American citizens. Interesting that no one seems to be much concerned about it. Democrats are just as bad or worse when it comes to such things. We seem to have developed an entire race of do-nothing Representatives and Senators. Oh, wrong, the Senate did something. They voted for the most stupid quick fix for the immigration problem they could find. Build a big fence (they probably won't fund it so perhaps it doesn't matter). I can only repeat: INCUMBENTS OUT! No matter who replaces them it can't possibly be as bad as it is now.

There is a documentary out called Bagdad E.R. Excerpts were shown on Democracy Now. I confess I cannot watch it. I tried but there is no way I will watch it. The Pentagon, which apparently gave it its blessing initially has now come out against it. They fear it will cause veterans to relapse into post-traumatic stress and even make people not want to serve at all. Wouldn't the latter be a blessing? It just makes me sick and more opposed to Bush/Cheney and their horrific "war" than ever. I sincerely hope I can live long enough to see them pay the consequences for their unbelievable murderous reign. I cannot understand how they can sleep at night. They clearly lack some basic human qualities that most other people have - like empathy, compassion, reason, decency, conscience, shame, guilt, and so on.

Well, maybe he isn't

I'm sorry but I just cannot keep up with the Rove story. First it is reported that he is going be indicted. Then it is suggested that he might not be. Then it's on again and now it's questionable once again. What the hell is going on? What I want to think is that Rove is being offered a deal - rat on Bush/Cheney and go free, refuse and go to jail. But what do I know. Nothing. I'm from Wallace, Idaho. Speaking of Idaho, there is a list of states on Buzzflash that purports to tell you how they feel about Bush. Idaho is the only state that doesn't even appear on the list. So much for Idaho.

Karl Rove seems to think that people really like Bush even though his ratings are somewhere approaching below zero. Rove thinks it's just the Iraq "war" that is bringing him down. Rove apparently moves in precisely the same circles as Laura (somewhere in the misty light). I guess Rove thinks the American public is too stupid to understand that Bush is a pathological liar and a generally disgusting human being, to say nothing of a war criminal.

One of my readers (I think I only have two or three, but they are really good ones)suggested that I conider the Army Civilian Inmate Labor Program (which I was only very dimly aware of). So I googled it. I didn't have time to pursue it in depth but I can tell you that it frightened me no end. It's true, there is an official policy that allows the Army to set up "camps" on Army bases where prisoners (from prisons and jails) can be held to perform labor services for the Army. Apparently at least 12 of these "camps" actually exist and vary in size from pretty small to pretty large. I saw no indication that these were somehow voluntary possibilities for prisoners (but honestly I haven't had time to really look into it). What is even more frightening is the fact that there exists a possibility for other than prisoners to end up in one of these camps (like, perhaps, anyone who doesn't agree with Bush/Cheney?). When you also remember back a few months (or maybe longer) that Halliburton (or some subsidiary) was awarded big contracts to build huge facilies for housing people (in case of national emergencies) it does make you wonder. One of these, I believe, is being built nearby in the Okanaugan.

I hate to be an alarmist or unnecessarily paranoid but I can't help it. I was opposed to an all volunteer army to begin with as such an army is not beholden to the nation but, rather, only to whoever pays them. I didn't think this was a good idea (although I don't think the draft is a good idea either). I don't like the fact that the U.S. has also been hiring mercenaries in Iraq and even here in New Orleans. I don't like the fact that the Bush/Cheney Administration has been trying to use the military for various domestic reasons. And I don't like sending National Guard troops to our southern border, thereby militarizing the border with Mexico. As I don't believe a single thing this Administration says I cannot be comforted by their contiually insistence that we should somehow "trust them." I don't. I think they are the worst bunch of liars and hypocrites, to say nothing of greedy bloodsucking war criminals that ever existed (at least in the U.S.) and I WANT THEM GONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. EVEN SOONER.

What Iraq "war?" What national debt? What scandals after scandals after scandals? The critical and urgent problem is immigration reform. But we can't leave our Corporate masters without their mass of cheap labor. They might have to raise the minimum wage. My god!

Bush on Immigration

For the first time in six years I actually watched a speech by George W. Bush. I confess I only watched it because I thought he would fall flat on his face. It was a tricky subject. For days this speech was touted as an important speech on the problem of immigration, especially Mexican immigration. How would Bush handle it? How could he please his ultra-right base that wants all illegal immigrants labeled as felons while at the same time pleasing the more sane members of the United States? What would he say? Would he take a genuine leadership role? Would he continue to insist on a guest worker program? Amnesty? Whatever. Actually, I thought he did pretty well, everything considered:
He appeared to be very clean. He must have had a recent shower.
He wore a nice suit (one of his $2000 jobs, no doubt).
His makeup was fine
His tie was nicely knotted (Laura?)
He read his 17 minute speech flawlessly off the teleprompter (he has really improved at this over the years).
He even seemed, for a change, to understand what he was reading (I found this a pleasant surprise).

So what did he say? Did he demonstrate the leadership that everyone said we needed on this monumental issue? Well:
He said immigration was a problem
He said it was imperative to act (why this is imperative is not clear as it has been going on for decades with nothing but benign neglect)
I guess it is now imperative because it has become a viable political issue and, as a political issue, cannot be ignored.
As a response to this (now suddenly emergency issue) we will send 6000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border.
It is not very clear what they will do, but they will not be actively engaged in actually arresting anyone, detaining anyone, or otherwise acting as law-enforcement personnel. They will simply offer "support" to the border patrols. And yes, we have enough National Guardsmen to do this without negatively affecting other duties, such as getting murdered in Iraq, dealing with floods and national disasters, and so on.
And, this is to be simply a temporary measure, until another 6000 border patrolsmen (or women) can be trained and funded (where the money is coming from to do this has not been discussed. No doubt we will just borrow another billion or so from China).

Having now effectively gained control of our border:
How to deal with the millions of illegal aliens already here without labeling them and all who support them as felons subject to deportation (how you might arrest and deport eleven or more million individuals when you are stone broke is not too clear).
Furthermore, if you were to deport them all who would provide the cheap labor necessary to keep a lid on decent wages? We'd have to have a guest worker program (as far as I know all guest worker programs have failed dismally).
But what about those aliens who have been here for a long time, have families, homes, pay taxes, and so on? Well, if they qualify, and if they pay a $2000 fine for having entered illegally, and if they learn to speak English, and whatever, they can eventually "earn" citizenship.
But this would constitute "amnesty" critics say. No it wouldn't say Bush and his supporters (all three of them).
Except for a very brief mention of it he said nothing about enforcing the laws against hiring illegal aliens (can't upset the corporate masters).

In other words, Bush said nothing that has not been said for days on end. He provided no leadership, no new or viable ideas, no solution other than a temporary band aid that probably won't even be funded. He will not even have satisfied his racist, fundamentalist "base." He will have, for the moment, done nothing at all. But, hey, things could be worse (maybe).

On another front, have you noticed that nothing can be investigated anymore? Not Libby, not NSA, not 9/11, not anything, because anything you want to investigate these days involves sensitive national security secrets that cannot be compromised. How convenient. I guess this means we will never be able to investigate Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, or anyone else in this Administration. How wonderful for them. But don't you feel that maybe you might be just a bit "short-changed?"

Hillary and McCain, I fear, in their quest for power, have both gone completely "off the dead end." Can't someone tell them, politely or not, they have already "flunked out?" If they haven't the American electorate has - again.

I guess he is

Today is Independence Day in Paraguay, for those of you who need reminding.

My wife informs me that Rove is definitely indicted as it was apparently announced on Friday. Why something like this would be announced Friday afternoon, which is when bad news is usually announced, I cannot say. I will believe he is indicted when I see it reported in a major newspaper or news broadcast. Some think Rove will now break down and spill the beans over the whole rotten mess. I hope so but won't believe it until I see it.

Laura Bush says she does not believe the American Public despises her husband in spite of the polls. She claims that where she travels people continue to say "stay the course," and praise Bush. So where does she travel and who does she talk with? Obviously the few loonies that would support our moronic President even if he were caught having sex with a goat on the White House Steps. They would no doubt argue it would be good for the economy - you know, a fertility rite. I guess when you have a total imbecile for President you can't expect much more from his wife. I must admit, he has learned to read by now at about a 7th grade level. And he reads, with pretend sincerity, any kind of outrageous trash they put in front of him.

According to something I read today some 91% of Democrats can be said to be unhappy with the Democratic leadership. So what does Hilary do? She joins in against flag burning, tries to compromise on abortion, joins forces with Rupert Murdoch and in general turns to the the extreme right. I guess she thinks the unhappy Democrats want the leadership to be more like Republicans. I'm sorry to say it, but Bill and Hilary have completely sold out to the right. I guess those huge book advances put them into a different frame of mind (so to speak). When I see Bill hugging former President Bush it makes me sick.

Of course this is bad, but nothing compared to McCain's sell-out to the far right. His commencement address at Falwell's "University" was mostly a defense of the Iraq "war" (a totally indefensible event). McCain is a hypocrite and an opportunist of the worst kind, to say nothing of a genuine warmonger.

So they found handwritten comments by Dick the Slimy on a New York Times article published days before the Plame scandal broke. So what? It was obvious from the very beginning, even to the less astute like me, that Cheney would be behind it. I cannot believe what seems to surprise people these days: Bush/Cheney lied us into "war," they lied about WMD's, they lied about torture, about the connection between Osama and Sadam, and etc., etc., etc. Why any of this should continue to surprise anyone is totally beyond my primitive comprehension. These guys, from Bush/Cheney to Rumsfeld/Rice, and all the rest of them are, and have been, liars and war criminals from the very beginning. So, Nancy, by all means let us not impeach them or censure them or make them accountable for their murderous illegal, immoral, unconstitutional, unconscionable, horrific deeds. Let them move to Paraguay with the blood on their hands and their ill-gotten fortunes.

Our country and political system is sick and beyond redemption until we are rid of this miserable cabal. Where is a Washington, Lincoln, or FDR to save us now?

Is he or isn't he?

One article I saw claims that Rove has told Bush/etc. that he is going to be indicted. But another article seems to indicate this is not definitive and that Fitzpatrick has so far only requested an indictment. So what is it? Will he be indicted or not? What I want to know is what difference does it make? Rove is at the moment only a political advisor. So unless they put him in solitary confinment what would keep him from continuing to do the same thing? This would seem to be the case whether he resigns or not. Or am I missing something important here?

The Iranian President (or whatever he is) sent a long letter to Bush suggesting they get together and talk about their differences. Bush, predictably, refused. After all, why whould you try to discuss your problems when you can just continue to threaten to bomb them if they don't do exactly what you want? This is a classic case of Bush/Cheney "diplomacy."

Condi Rice and Donald Rumstupid have refused to allow the Red Cross access to our various prisoners hidden here and there in torture chambers around the globe. Hiding prisoners from the Red Cross is a war crime. Oh well, this is the Bush/Cheney Administration. What do they care about war crimes. One more, more or less, can't make much difference.

The White House is criticizing the Chinese for their military spending. Can you believe this? An administration that is spending more on the military than all of the rest of the world combined is criticizing another country for military spending? Chutzpa doesn't even begin to describe this. Neither does arrogance and stupidity. In fact, I don't know if a term even exists to describe something so intrinsically insane.

McCain/Falwell. Hilary/Murdock. What does that tell you about the condition of American politics? Sadly, it tells me much more than I really want to know. If it comes down to a choice between Hilary and McCain you can count me out.

This brings me to Nancy Pelosi, who, if the Democrats would happen to actually win back the House, would be the majority leader. She has promised the corporations there will be no attempt to impeach Bush/Cheney. You get that: SHE HAS PROMISED NOT TO ATTEMPT TO IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY!!! What in the hell is this all about? Even if she does become leader what gives her the right or the power to decide for all the rest of us what might happen to Bush/Cheney? Personally, I don't think they ought to be impeached either. They should be immediately arrested for war crimes, sent to the Haig, and tried by the International Court. In case you haven't noticed by now, there is something rotten in Denmark (and above all in the United States).

I have a suggestion for the elections in 2006 and 2008: VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT! NO EXCEPTIONS! Our political system has become so corrupt, so overcontrolled by corporate interests, so beholden to special interests, there is simply no other alternative - unless, of course, you are partial to fascism and dictatorships.

Oh, yeah. The Israelis are going to unilaterally decide the borders of Israel and Palestine (no doubt with the collaboration and blessings of the U.S.). I bet that is going to work just fine. Just continue to keep your heads up there where the sun don't shine and all will be well.

God, it's great to be home.

Why all the fuss?

So....it turns out that NSA has been collecting a huge data base consisting of virtually all phone calls made in the U.S. Some profess to be outraged at this blatant violation of law and constitution. Remember, Bush told us that they only illegally wiretapped phone calls between suspected terrorists, not phone calls between U.S. citizens. Now we know this is not true. They wiretap illegally everyone. So, ho hum. Bush admitted previously he was illegally wiretapping. No one did anything about it. There is no reason to suppose anyone will do anything about this latest escalation of illegal wiretapping. Oh, yeah, Arlen Spector will make noises about doing something but he won't actually do anything. And Democrats will express some outrage but they, too, won't do anything. I mean, after all, what is this, the seven hundred fifty seventh scandal of the Bush/Cheney Administration? We have now apparently reached the point where nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to surprise anyone and there is simply no point in trying to do anything about it. As Democrats are powerless (but don't really seem concerned to do anything anyway) and Republicans control everything and have no intention of giving up power no matter how corrupt their administration, we can only expect more expressions of outrage and more meek surrender to incompetence and criminality. The big four, Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice, continue to screw up everything they can while demanding the rest of the world do everything they can to be not like us (be democratic, moral, upstanding, etc., etc.).

The Palestinians had a democratic election. No one has suggested it was anything but legitimate. Hamas won. The U.S. and virtually everyone else has now refused to support them. So much for democracy. We are witholding aid, including medical aid, to punish them for democratically electing their own candidates. While I am not certain of this, I believe using medical aid as a weapon is most probably another war crime. Oh, well, what's another war crime to this administration? Sanctions, that's the ticket. We all know how successful sanctions were against Iraq (some 500,000 innocent children dead) so now we will use them against the Palestinians and perhaps against the Iranians as well. Who cares if a bunch of children die, after all, we know from our own genocidal experience that "nits make lice."

One of the absolutely worst movies ever made was Waiting for Mr. Goodbar, starring one of the worst actresses ever, Diane Keaton. The interesting thing about this movie was that there was not one single character with any redeeming virtue whatsoever. This seems to be the case now with respect to our political situation. There is no Mr. (or Ms.) Goodbar. I fear my depression may be changing into hopelessness (and hopelessness is what we must fear above all). God, these are wonderful times, the first years of the 21st century, the NIGHTMARE YEARS.

No final straw?

Well, morialekafa is back from his time in Norway. It turns out he has many more relatives there than he ever dreamed. It was wonderful but we are very tired.

I must say I am amazed to learn that nothing much has happened in my absence. You know the sayings, "the straw that broke the camel's back," and "that is the last straw," and etc. Apparently when it comes to the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice Administration there is no such thing as the last straw. One might argue that after the Republican brownshirts disrupted the vote count in Florida and the Supreme Court gave the election to Bush that was the last straw. I guess it was only no straw. Then there was the invasion of Iraq, against the wishes of virtually the entire world, still not the last straw, then torture, then Katrina, the out of control national debt, outing Plame, the medicare fiasco, prostitute in the White House, Abramoff, DeLay, Frist, etc., etc., etc., and still no final straw. If each of these had occurred in any other administration it would have been finished long ago - but not this one. Talk about teflon!

So now we have Bush still pretending to be Presidential, Cheney pretending to be Vice-Presidential, Rumsfeld pretending to be Secretary of Defense, and Rice pretending to be Secretary of State, all ignoring the obvious fact that virtually no one but the apparently totally demented has any faith anymore in anything they do. Talk about surreal, this is surreality carried to a previously unknown dimension. Even Rove remains unindicted. Republicans, I guess, have a true soft spot in their hearts for war criminals and liars.

Pelosi, I read, has said no impeachment (democrats assume they will actually win something for a change). I agree. No impeachment. Why bother with anything so time-consuming when they could simply be arrested and tried for war crimes as they ought to be?

You cannot believe how wonderful it was to be away from all this nonsense (read horror) for three weeks; no television, no news, nothing but scenery and relaxation. At least we haven't bombed Iran as yet. But the elections are drawing near and the Republican war criminals are becoming more and more desperate. I am too tired to deal with all this at the moment. But I am very happy to be back. This is truly an unbelievable moment in American history. It may even be the last moment unless something happens soon to turn things around. Happy days are not here again - yet.

In Bergen I noticed there is an inordinate number of bald headed men. There is also an inordinate number of infants. Does this mean the old claim that bald headed men are more virile might be true? In Oslo I observed an unusual amount of long-legged women. What, if anything, does that mean (I am finally losing "it")?

Escape from the surreal

As of tomorrow (Easter Sunday) morning, morialekafa will depart on a three week vacation where he will not have to deal with the absurd situation and surreality that presently characterizes life in the U.S. If lucky, he may be able to escape even any news at all for a while.

Let's see, it is perfectly clear by now to anyone but the totally demented that Bush/Cheny/Rumsfeld/Rice/Powell and others deliberately lied us into an unnecessary, illegal, and immoral "war." Although most everyone knows this, no one seems willing to do anything much about it.

It is also perfectly obvious that the torture that went on at Abu Ghraib was not simply the result of a "few bad apples" but was, in fact, the result of policies handed down from above, particularly from Donald Rumsfeld. No one seems much interested in pursuing this.

Dick Cheney is now known to have been the instigator of the "get Wilsom" movement that resulted in the treasonous "outing" of his wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA operative. Bush himself is involved in this through his "declassification" of suppositively secret information. Not much happening on this front either.

Israel continues to use their overwhelmingly superior armed forces to destroy targets in Gaza and are now talking about re-entering that unfortunate place. They continue to grow their illegal settlements in the West Bank and to build their illegal wall, ignoring for the nth time the UN and the rest of world opinion. Bush/Cheney and the neocons continue to unconditionally support these criminal actions.

There is growing talk about impeachment. But that seems to be all it is - just talk. The Republican controlled House will never even consider such a thing and the Democrats are seemingly unable to even seriously criticize the present incompetent Administration or offer any suggestions for what to do.

Jack Abramoff is apparently "spilling his guts" which is presumably going to implicate many others - but so far, nada. The wheels of justice move slowly, if they are really moving at all.

Tom DeLay is supposedly going to jail but I suppose if they put him in charge of Budget and Management to replace Bolten he may get off the hook. Never underestimate the Hammer.

There are increasing calls for Rumsfeld, the most incompetent Secretary of Defense ever, to resign. Bush, of course, continues to support him because to do otherwise would be to admit to failure which he simply cannot do even though his stubborness is resulting in more lost lives on a daily basis. Six retired Senior Generals have called for his resignation and it is perfectly obvious they speak for a great many others who cannot freely speak out. Rumsfeld's pet Generals are saying the retired Generals are acting inappropriately. So by all means let us continue to act appropriately and kill and kill and kill. Aside from a few American troops the casualties are just uncounted "towel-heads."

Oh, yes, there is the problem of Iran. The talk is we are about to drop bombs on their nuclear facilities, maybe even nuclear bombs. Now this is an idea so insane that it truly boggles the mind. Bush/Cheney insist this is an option and refuse to take it off the table even though apparently senior players are threatening to resign if they don't give it up. The idea of attacking Iran in any way whatsoever given the current condition of American troops and the fact that our country is verging on bankruptcy does not seem like a very good idea.

There is growing awareness that the official version of 9/11 is most probably not true. More and more questions are being raised by more and more people, and these people are not just conspiracy kooks, but serious scholars who would like to know the truth. I wonder if the American public would be "able to handle the truth?"

Things on the immigration front aren't going too well either. On one extreme side there are demands for blanket amnesty for all illegals. On the other extreme there are those who want felony charges brought against all 11 or 12 million illegals, rounding them up and deporting them forthwith. How easily this would be to do escapes me. In between there may someday be found a solution - but it will have to satisfy our corporate masters who demand slave labor. The outlook here is not promising.

Now that the national debt has reached almost 9 trillion, and there is no let up in spending on Iraq or anything else, it will be interesting to see where we go from here. I guess we will just have to admit be being a third world country and admit we just can't pay. That ought to thrill the rest of the world.

Bush continues to make almost daily speeches trying to get support for his failed "war" and policies. No one is listening anymore but he keeps right on. Cheney, the real President, has a popularity rating somewhere below Jack-the-Ripper, but he occasionally comes out of his secret hiding places to give a speech to carefully picked sympathetic audiences (can there really be anyone still sympathetic to this evil man?) Everyone (well, virtually everyone) knows he is a war profiteer, a pathological liar, and a really lousy hunter, but he continues on unfazed.

We are still interested in knowing how it is/was that a known male prostitute with no Press Credentials was allowed to participate in Press Conferences for months and also have access to the White House under very questionable circumstances (at least I am still interested in knowing this).

Then, there is till the question of voting machines. Will they or will they not determine the 2006 elections? Given the climate of opinion at the moment how could Democrats lose? They may find a way. They seem to try very hard to lose elections.
When you think of elections think of Ohio and Florida. That should refresh your memory.

I am being told by "she who must be obeyed" that my tax man is insisting on attention right now.

Be advised that I really appreciate my readers, both of them (well, there might be a few more) and their comments. I trust that you will have straightened out this mess by the time I return. I may be swallowed by a whale but that will surely not be as strange as the surrealistc situation we presently experience.

Gold Star Economy

Anonymous: The answer is yes. Even Hamas has now agreed, provided Israel gives up all their occupied Palestinian land (which I doubt they will ever do).

I saw somewhere today that the CEO of Exxon has been given a 400 million dollar golden parachute. This is on top of the 50 million he received in compensation last year. I don't care what he did, these are utterly absurd compensations. Of course all of the CEO's of major corporations make these truly big bucks. The top honchos at Disney I'm sure probably make somewhere around 100 million per year, maybe more. You might think they could take a bit less and maybe lower their prices for all the children they lure into their clutches each year. Then there are people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and such, who count their money in billions rather than mere millions. Quite frankly, I don't understand this, nor do I believe it has any contact whatsoever with reality. First of all, what does one do with, say, 100 million dollars a year? Could anyone really spend that much even if they tried? And if so, what could they spend it on that would be in any way other than conspicuous consumption (bigger mansions, bigger yachts, expensive cars, drunken orgies, etc.)? Those who make this kind of money seemingly just can't get enough. Think of people like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. They have so much money they couldn't pssibly spend it all but they go right on making more commercials and more and more money. What do they do with it all? Oh, I know, they give to charity and set up foundations, and support causes and all that. And I'm sure that for most of them these are noble motives (but they still must result in enormous tax breaks). Don't misunderstand, I'm not criticizing these individuals for what they are doing. After all, that's the way the system works. I just think the system sort of stinks. Let me make some suggestions.

Do you remember when you were in grade school and you used to get gold stars (maybe I'm the only one old enough to remember this). That is, if you brushed your teeth every day, or read enough books, or learned your penmanship, or whatever, the teacher would give you a gold star. There was a big cardboard disply where you could see your gold stars and compare them with everyone else's. And you could be really proud if you had more gold stars than anyone else.

Why should we not institute a similar practice for those who succeed in making so much money they don't know what to do with it? I don't know how much money one needs to have enough, but it is clear that many nowadays have more than enough. Just for the sake of the argument, let's say that 50 million a year is enough (I think this is more than generous). For every 50 million more they get a gold star and the general fund of the United States gets the money. Then there could be an elected high-powered group that would decide how the money would be spent. Let's say they decided to spend it on some project having to do with stem cell research. They could make it public and say, "this valuable research is being made possible by the fantastic success of Joe Blow." That way Joe Blow would get his reward, be famous and appreciated, and, because he has so damn much money he wouldn't even know the difference.

Similarly, how much money does a billionare need? It seems to me that once someone has a billion dollars that ought to be enough. For every billion more (or even every 100 million more) they get a gold star and their surplus money goes toward the public good. I know, I know, Bill Gates and some of the others actually do donate large sums to different projects, and I certainly appreciate the fact that they do so. But with such huge sums of money why should how it is used be left up to the whims of individuals? If Bill Gates was allowed to maintain a billion dollar bank account do you think he would really miss all of those other billions? We could over time make it even more rewarding to produce money for the public good than just to make it for the sake of making more.

This gold star system would enable a society to maintain its capitalistic motivations while at the same time providing more for the needs of the less fortunate. It would not eliminate the gap between the rich and the poor but it would certainly make it less offensive and destructive. Maybe we could even fix the potholes on my country road: "These potholes were fixed due to the fantastic ceative and entrepreneural skills of our own revered citizen, McDonald Frump."

Think about it. Cheers and goodnight.

Anti-Semitic?

First, how many high-powered, battle scarred, experienced, retired Generals does it take to unscrew a Rumsfeld? As of now six (count 'em) such Generals have said publicly that Rumsfeld is an arrogant, incompetent jerk (well, not in those precise words). It is perfectly obvious there must be many other senior officers who, because they are still on active duty, cannot come out and say the same thing. We know that Murtha, for example, was not only speaking for himself when he said we should rethink our strategy, but also had the ear of many senior military people. Bush continues to ignore any criticism and maintains his claim that Rummy is "doing a heck of a job." Bush is apparently constitutionally unable to accept advice or to admit that he might have made a mistake. This situation can only grow worse.

Two Professors, Mearsheimer (Harvard) and Walt (Chicago) recently published a paper on the Israeli Lobby. Basically, they pointed out that there is such a Lobby and that it has a great deal of influence on American Foreign Policy, particularly in the Middle East. From the response to this paper you might think they said the Jews killed Jesus and ate all the first born babies born in Babylon. They have been roundly accused of Anti-Semitism by virtually everyone.

Is it not the case that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land, and has been for years? Is it not the case that they have systematically attempted to take land and water from the Palestinians? Is it not the case they are building an illegal "wall" that will incorporate Palestinian land? Is it not the case they have been and continue to be opposed to the creation of a viable Palestinian State? Is it not the case they have oppressed and humiliated Palestinians for years? Is it not the case that at this very moment they are firing on the Gaza strip, killing civilians at will with their overwhelming military superiority? Is it not the case that Israel has ignored all U.N. resolutions for years on end, far more egregiously than even Sadam Hussein? I could go on but you get the point I am sure.

It is my understanding that at least 25% of Israeli residents are not Jewish. It is also my understanding that American Evangelicals are more supportive of Israel than are many Israelis. It is also the case that many Israelis do not support the policies of their own Administration. So what is it that is Anti-Semitic about criticizing Israel? Personally, I don't care if Israel is populated by Jews, Abyssinians, Ethiopians, or Congo Pygmies, what Israel has been doing, and continues to do to the Palestinians is wrong, criminal, and not much better than genocidal.

If you think there is no Israeli Lobby, and it has no influence on American Policy, I suggest you stop drinking the kool aid and ask yourself why we continue to blindly, uncritically support what has become a criminal regime? It is said that only the U.S. can solve this problem. So why don't we?

The Farce Continues

Bush and Cheney continue to appear at public events such as baseball games and such, and they also continue making speeches (especially Bush who seems to be on a non-stop speaking tour), but for all intents and purposes, no one is listening anymore. It is now no more than a charade where they pretend to be our chief executives and for some peculiar inexplicable reason we continue to go along with the gag. By now everyone knows they have lied shamelessly and continue to do so. The latest revelation has to do with Bush's claim that "we have found WMD's" (in the form of mobile biological labs). Two days before he made this claim it was unanimously decided by those who were investigating this matter that they were definitely not such labs. So now Bush's unprincipled defenders are saying something to the effect that in only two days there was no time for this information to have penetrated the White House. This would seem to be a poor defense, given the fact that Bush went on claiming this same erroneous claim for another year. Someone questioned whether Bush was ignorant or just out of the loop. I suspect he was both. We seem to be witnessing Bush's emulation of Captain Queeg.

Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, has now claimed that Iran could produce enough enhanced uranium for a bomb in 16 days. Where do they find these guys? What do they feed them or give them to smoke? As all the experts claim Iran could not have a bomb before anywhere from 3 to 10 years it would appear that Rademaker is stretching things more than just a bit. But of course the Republicans desperately need another "war" if they are to stay in power and out of jail so I guess it is understandable. It will not be understandable if they are allowed to get away with this utter bullshit once again.

Still another retired General has now said Rumsfeld should resign. What the hell, what do Generals know? Rumsfeld's mixture of arrogance and incompetence is truly a thing to behold. Nice job Rummy! Keep up the good work. Things are really going well in Iraq as you, Bush, Cheney, and Rice seem to uniquely understand. The rest of us, along with the known world, just doesn't get it.

Another kudo for the advertising world. They are now using children in ads promoting the use of coal for energy. I think I have now seen at least three versions in which children proclaim how much coal we have, have coal technology is great, and etc. Do you think these kids truly understand the arguments for and against the use of coal? Now, I know that if adults were saying these same things they probably wouldn't know any better than the children. But somehow you expect adults in advertising to be paid liars. I don't think that using children in this way is ethical. That is, you might expect that adults who make their living whoring in this way would know it was unethical to lie about such things and do it anyway. But children? I don't think so.

I guess I'm just an old fuddy-duddy. I remember when one didn't have to apologize for being an American. Oh, I forgot, praise Bush, the one Bush, Bush is great. Face West when you do your daily prayers to Bush. West, where the sun goes down, symbolic of death and the end of the day and other such things. East is where the day and life begins, West is where it all ends. How appropriate.

How about some resignations?

Whatever happened to decent people? A decent person would surely resign the Vice-Presidency with ratings like those of Dick the Slimy. Let's see, last I heard he had only an 18% rating with the American people. Since then it must have gone down. When he threw out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game he was apparently roundly booed. He is known to be up to his eyeballs in the Plame scandal. He has been a nakedly prominent war profiteer. He should resign. And the fact that he doesn't proves just what an evil, greedy, power-mad, maniac he is.

Rumsfeld is another. More and more Generals are criticizing him and suggesting he has been a resounding failure as Secretary of Defense. That he has been a failure is perfectly obvious to anyone with even half a brain. Bush continues to not only support him but to make the outrageous claim that he has done a fine job. Not only should Rumsfeld resign, so should Bush. It is obvious that none of these incompetents will resign as if they did so they would probably end up in prison. But not only that, they won't resign because they don't give a damn about the United States or its citizens. All they care about is power and the money they can wring out of us to give to their corporate cronies. I defy anyone to name even one thing the Bush/Cheney Administration has done for the American people (as opposed to the corporations that control everything).

The Pakistan Frontier Post has a long article beseeching "rational Americans" to prevent Bush's insanity from running its course and attacking Iran. Are there any rational Americans listening? Are there even any rational Americans anymore? There don't seem to be any in either the House or the Senate.

I refuse to even comment on the question of immigration. Because of corporate greed and benign neglect for years and years we now have a problem that is virtually unsolvable. You can be sure that whatever happens it will make things worse. Way to go, corporate whores.

On a more comical front, if you are amused by signs of mental illness, consider the case of Katherine Harris.

Oh, yeah, Iraq. Remember Iraq. Things are going so well there it has virtually disappeared from the pages of our major newspapers. After Bush/Cheney and Rumsfeld's resounding success there I guess the troops will be coming home soon. Just in time for the Iran adventure. God, it must be great being a "war" President.

I also no longer intend to comment on Bush/Cheney's lies. I just assume, and you should too, that anything and everything they say is a lie, and no exceptions. It always has been and continues.

Old scandals resurfacing?

It appears that one of my favorite White House scandals may be resurfacing. Apparently the Secret Service has anounced that there are questions about the presence of Gannon/Guckert in the White House on numerous occasions. There are times when he signed in but didn't sign out, times when he signed out but hadn't signed in, times when he was present even though there was no press conference, and other times when no one seems to know why he was there. Why this is coming up now I have no idea. I find it strange that these questions were raised over a year ago and then seemingly disappeared until now (see morialekafa 2/19/05, 2/24/05, 3/08/05, 4/24/05). Is it not a fascinating mystery? Here is a guy with no real Press credentials who attended routine Press Conferences for months, asked softball questions at awkward moments, apparently had the run of the White House at times, and was at the same time a known male prostitute. Was there no connection between his prostitution and his strange employment? Was the Secret Service simply unaware of his background? Did they even bother to check? Who sponsored him? Who enabled him to get passes into the White House. What was he doing there when there was no Press Conference? How in the hell did something like this happen? I had assumed that like all scandals involving this Administration this one would just disappear like the rest but perhaps not. I have to agree that compared to other scandals of this Administration this one is basically small potatoes. Perhaps I am just too voyeuristic but I really would like to know what this is all about.

Aren't you relieved to know that President Bush leaked classified information because it was in the public interest to know that something that was not true was true? This is surely the most dishonest, corrupt, incompetent, disgusting Administration in American History. But they certainly have chutzpa (in fact, I think they only pretend to have it as nothing about them is genuine or honest in any way).

I have always found advertising of any kind to be unutterably stupid, and those who make their living at it the scum of the business world. But they have now found an ad that pushes their contempt for consumers about as far as even theoretically possible. This is an ad for mortgage loans. A young woman says she has taken out a mortgage on her house to pay off her credit cards - and now she is pleased that she is "out of debt."

The ultimate insanity

In an interview today with Wolf Blitzer, Seymour Hersh reported some of the most disturbing things I have ever heard about the Bush/Cheney Administration. According to Hersh, who is usually pretty honest about such things, among the options on the table for Iran is the use of nuclear (bunker buster) bombs. Apparently many military people have insisted this option be taken off the table. Bush/Cheney have refused. Hersh claims that senior military people have said they will resign if this option is not abandoned. If this is true, and I suspect it is true, the only conclusion one can come to is that Bush/Cheney are insane. Indeed, this is insanity carried so far as to make ordinary insanity look normal. Have they no idea of what would happen if the U.S. were to drop nuclear bombs on a country that would be defenseless against them? As the U.S. is the only country ever to use nuclear bombs, to do so again would pit the entire world against us. No one, not even the British, would be able to justify such an outrageous attack on a sovereign country that is, in fact, no real threat to the U.S., and most certainly not enough of a threat to justify such an absurd action. When you consider that Bush apparently believes that (1) Iran is a threat to the entire world, and (2) that only he, George W. Bush, can stop them, and (3) he has to do this before his term in office is up, IT IS TIME TO REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE NOW! IMMEDIATELY! There must be some provision for removing people from office when they are known to be absolutely insane. And as Dick the Slimy is behind this it is obvious that he is even more insane than Bush. Not only are they insane, they are violently insane and are bent on attacking the entire world. I have lived for quite a long time. I have never been so frightened. I don't believe there is even time for impeachment. Bush/Cheney should be arrested for war crimes and put away where they can do no further harm to our nation. Then they should be tried for their war crimes, preferrably by an international court. If this means Hastert would become President, okay. He is so bumbling without DeLay to tell him what to do he could not do much damage, and DeLay is not going to be in much of a position to run things. What ought to happen, of course, if there is truly any justice in the world, would be for Al Gore, who actually won the Presidency in 2000, to be installed as interim President until there could be another election. At the moment, and under the circumstances, it would be insane to attack Iran at all. To attack them with nuclear weapons is an idea so insane it needs to be stopped immediately. Iran is not an imminent threat to the world and certainly not to the U.S. Iranians are not suicidal or stupid. Even if they had a nuclear bomb they would hardly run out and drop it immediately on Israel or the U.S., knowing the retaliation would mean the end of times for them. I suspect it is Israeli hysteria that is behind this business. Is the U.S. military simply to be employed at the will of Israel? Are we just an extension of the Israeli military? Iran is said to be years away from a nuclear bomb. There is absolutely no reason to be attacking them or dropping nuclear bombs on them, any more than there were genuine reasons to attack Iraq. If the U.S. Congress doesn't stop this NOW it means World War III. And this time no one will win. Bush/Cheney, the neocons, and the religious nutcakes that foment this will get their wish - Armagedon. Bush/Cheney and the neocons will not, I am certain, experience the Rapture.

Somewhere today I saw a heading to the effect that the leak would strain Bush's remaining credibility. What remaining credibility?

Paralyzed

Despite overwhelming evidence that the current Bush/Cheney Administration is guilty of multiple impeachable offenses and war crimes, to say nothing of gross incompetence when it comes to governing, virtually nothing happens to do anything about it. This does not seem to me to be a case of the wheels of justice moving too slowly but, rather, that the wheels of justice no longer move at all in the United States. This is the direct result of one party control and reveals a terrible flaw in our two party system. When the founding fathers created our remarkable three part political system, where the three different branches would serve as checks and balances on each other, it apparently never occurred to them that it would be possible for one political party to control all three branches and thus hold absolute power. As at the moment the Democrats have no effective power, no supoena powers, etc., they are rendered helpless. Nor, I think, did the founding fathers imagine a situation in which American politicians would place party above national interest. But that is what has happened. Republicans alone have the power to change this nightmarish situation and refuse to act. The only solution (if in fact it even remains possible) is to vote them out of office entirely. As many of our leading Democrats seem to be aiding and abetting these Republican criminals the rule of thumb ought to be INCUMBENTS OUT, NEW BLOOD IN. It basically comes down to a battle between corporate power (and naked greed) versus democracy and human rights. If we continue to allow labor and land to be treated as commodities no better than pork bellies and chicken fat we are surely doomed.

Enough is enough?

Our local Democrats at their monthly meeting last night decided to sponsor a billboard that will say "Enough is enough, vote Democratic." This is an okay idea and I have no doubt they will do it when the time is ripe. But I question the claim that enough is enough in this particular situation. I think it should say "Enough is more than enough." If Bush has committed an impeachable offense, that is enough. But he has committed many impeachable offenses: lying to Congress and the American people, starting a premptive "war" (the absolutely premier war crime), torture, war profiteering, hiding captives from the Red Cross, using cluster bombs and phosphorous on civilians, illegal wiretapping, leaking classified information, gross incompetence, and I don't know what all else. You may want to argue that technically some of these are not impeachable offenses. It doesn't matter, they are war crimes and that should certainly be impeachable. Thus, enough in this context is far more than enough and he and his sidekick, Dick the Slimy, should either resign forthwith or be impeached. It is not going to happen because the Republican party continues to protect him. This means to me that the Republican party itself is guilty of war crimes. They alone at the moment have the power to do something about this terrible situation and refuse to do anything.

Bush's poll numbers continue to decline day by day. They have now apparently reached 36%. I cannot understand how he could have such high ratings. I think I have figured it out. Trying to come to terms with this strange statistic I have created the Lew Langness insanity/idiocy/oblivious/popularity index. The basic problem is that it is seemingly impossible for Bush to ever attain a zero rating. He will always have some supporters no matter what (even, I gather, if he was filmed strangling children on the White House steps). How do you then account for the 36%. Simple. We know that some percentage of the population is insane (I don't know offhand just what this percentage is but it probably approaches maybe 10%. We also know that probably a similar percentage of people are idiots. Then there is a substantial number of people who are simply oblivious (I would put my mother-in-law in this category, for example). I suspect that if you added these people up it might come close to 36%. There is every reason to believe that insanity and idiocy are more prevalent among Republicans than Democrats so this would result in a relatively higher figure than for the public at large. I guess you couldn't argue that Republicans are more oblivious than others because frothing at the mouth and yelling inanities would seem to indicate they are not (completely oblivious, that is). Anyway, I'm pretty sure that you could count on a 36% popularity rating for Bush no matter what. This is his "base." What this also means is that among other more normal ordinary citizens his popularity rating must be close to zero. You see how it works. Simple if you know how to do it. I am a genius. My wife thinks I am a nut. Well, obviously people don't always agree. If they did Bush could not possible have any popularity rating whatsoever.

WAR CRIMINALS BELONG IN JAIL, NOT THE WHITE HOUSE!

How much more?

How much more do we need to know about the criminal, immoral, dishonest enterprise that is the Bush/Cheney administration? Now we learn that Bush deliberately leaked classified information for purely political reasons. I guess we can add that to the long list of impeachable offenses of which he and Cheney are obviously guilty. Does anyone care? Doesn't seem like it. Patrick Fitzgerald is said to have evidence of a conspiracy in the White House to out Valerie Plame. If he has he doesn't seem to be very interested in doing anything about it (I keep hoping that he is going to strike big time but so far nothing other than Libby). How many impeachable offenses does it take to get the Republicans to screw in a light bulb (in their small, smooth brains)?

And oh, yes, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, things continue to go well in Iraq. We are making "progress," and if things aren't going too well it is all the fault of the Iraqis themselves. They just can't get their act together. What would you expect from a bunch of dumb Arabs who had a high civilization when we were still trying to invent fire? If they were so smart why didn't they invent pants? I just don't understand why a nation that was never really a nation in the first place, and has now been completely destroyed and occupied against its will, has no viable infrastructure, rampant unemployment, few medical facilities, a serious brain drain, and who knows what all else, can't just snap to when told to do so by someone as important as Condi Rice? What's with these losers anyway?

Condi admitted that we have made tactical mistakes, perhaps thousands of them, in Iraq. Rumsfeld, befuddled as usual, doesn't know what she is talking about. He doesn't know of any mistakes. The fact that many, if not all of our major generals consider him an abject failure (although for obvious reasons most of them can't really speak out publicly) doesn't faze either him or the dimwit so-called Commander in Chief. As Rummy's close friend, Dick the Slimy, lives in a galaxy far away, he doesn't seem to be very interested (after all, it takes a hell of lot of time just counting all your money when you've got a sweet racket like his).

The House and Senate are said to be close to agreeing on a new Immigration Bill. All of this after just a few hours of discussion (just pass something, for god's sake, and get this monkey off our backs). This bill, if it actually does get passed, will almost certainly be virtually useless, unenforceable, and a complete travesty. But as that is what will be intended I guess from their point of view it will be a success (after all, the only point of this whole effort is to insure cheap labor for the corporations that control both our country and the world).

Yes, things are going just swimmingly here in the good old U. S. of A. Only if you are a multi billionaire, that is. The American dream is not only dead, it is putrefying. Five dollars and fifteen cents an hour is a generous wage. Think of all those starving Africans and others that would be happy to get such luxury. People here just never seem to be satisfied. Our local Democrats want a billboard that will say "Enough is Enough, vote Democratic." I'm holding out for "Die Republican Scum."

Cheers and best wishes. Spring is about to be sprung.

Cynthia the Brutal

I hate commentators who pontificate about things they really know little about. But tonight I have decided to join them and speculate about something I know little about, Cynthia McKinney and her apparently dastardly attack on a Capitol Policeman.

Let us begin from what I understand is the beginning. Congress/man/person/woman McKinney is a Black woman duly elected to the House of Representatives. There are only 12 black women in the House. As I understand it, she was hurrying to some business or other and bypassed a metal detector (Congresspersons routinely are allowed to do this). However, in this case, a Capitol Policeman did not recognize her and tried to stop her, apparently by touching her (grabbing her? restraining her? pinching her?) in what she describes as inappropriately. How do we understand this: a) he didn't recognize her as a Congressperson, b) all black women look alike to him, c) he was confused by her new hair style, d) he doesn't realize there are any Black Congresswomen, e) she was probably carrying a briefcase, not something a Black woman ought to be doing, f) he actually knew who she was but decided to harrass her anyway for some reason.

Now, why did he not recognize her? Capitol Policeman are supposedly trained to recognize all Congresspersons not only by name but by face. So, was he too new to have done his homework? Was it, as she claims, an act of racial profiling (she along with other Black Congresspersons have been stopped like this before)? In any case, if he stopped her, and if she explained who she was (which she should not have had to do) why did he not simply apologize and let her go? I guess he did let her go, but only after she hit him in the chest with her cell phone. Apparently he did not arrest her.

What I want to know, and what we do not now know, is: a) was the Policeman hurt in any way? b) was there any bleeding? c) was he knocked down? d) did he require medical attention? e) was he taken to a hospital? f) is he in critical condition? g) is he expected to live? h) was he mistaken by Congressperson McKinney for a marshmallow?

I only ask these ridiculous questions because (hold your breath) Republicans have requested this episode be taken to a Grand Jury! Think of this. A Black Congresswoman, one of only twelve such women, with a very distinctive appearance, who has been stopped before (because apparently Capital Policeman cannot believe she is actually a Congressperson), in a moment of anger, actually hit a Policeman in the chest with her cell phone. My god! What a crime! It makes the umpteen zillion scandals of the Republicans pale into insignificance. What illegal war? What DeLay resignation? What Abramoff scandal? What Plame outing? What illegal torture? What idiotic President? What evil Vice President? What incompetent Secretary of Defense (State)? What war profiteering? What Iraqi Civil War? What complete disaster? A Black Congresswoman had the temerity in a fit of anger to actually strike a Policeman who apparently was unable or too inept or unwilling either to defend himself or apologize for an obvious simple mistake (if, indeed, it was simply a mistake).

If Republicans are so desperate this is the best they can do to distract attention from their dismal record they have obviously hit bottom. But what a marvelous opportunity for them. They can now insist we consider the death penaly for striking a Policeman. On to the gallows! Maybe the electric chair. Even better, they can attempt to reintroduce the guillotine. Maybe they can suggest the creation of still another secret prison for uppity Black Congresspersons. I see the brilliance of Karl Rove shining over this like a benevolent Buddha looking after his flock. Hey, its almost as good as bombing Iran.

Please Cynthia, do something about that hair. Maybe if you dye it blond? Maybe if you stop trying to tell the truth, stay in the back of the bus?

I notice you aren't getting much help from your fellow Democrats. What a fine bunch

Whee!

Hooray, hooray,
its almost May,
we'll soon be rid
of Tom DeLay.

Out of the Congress,
back to work,
killing bugs,
what a jerk.

I rarely pray,
but I'm happy to say,
goodbye Tom,
don't delay.

Corny? Yeah, I know. But count your blessings. I could have gone on and on.

Can you believe it? Does justice still exist in Bush/Cheney's America? Is it true that the most dishonest, corrupt, vile Congressperson that ever existed is actually being brought down? Please don't tell me this is just another April Fool's joke. Of course he is only resigning because he doesn't want some liberal Democrat to take over his position. How does he know his resignation will bring about such a result? Is the fix still in? DeLay is such a sweet guy. How could anyone wish him ill? Too bad, Tom, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

In order to take away some of the attention to the sad case of Tom DeLay the Republicans have decided to go after a Black Congresswoman who, apparently, is about to be charged with attacking a Congress Policeman. ATTACKING A POLICEMAN! My god, what these Black Congresswomen won't do. She is said to have stabbed him with her cell phone. STABBED HIM WITH A CELL PHONE! Besides that, she has bad hair. Is this not a wonderful whacky world we live in?

Now we have the sad case of John McCain, war hero, turned bootlicker. McCain, who opposed Bush for the Republican nomination and was absolutely villified by the Republicans (he has a black baby, his mind is gone because of his torture, etc.), has since then become a devotee of Bush, hugging him, supporting him, promoting his policies, and so on. The same McCain who criticized Fallwell and other right-wing Evangelists in the past is now openly courting them. There is just nothing a girl won't do for diamonds (or the nomination). This is so pathetic it makes one want to vomit.

Iraq is engaged in a Civil War. I know, I know, Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice deny it, but its true. Of course you might want to argue the definition of civil war - that is really helpful. Just trust me, Iraq is engaged in a Civil War and it is going to become worse and worse. Whose side are we on? No one seems to know. I guess we will just retreat to our six permanent (oh, excuse me, "enduring" bases) and wait it out, protecting our stolen oil in the meanwhile.

Tucker Carlson says the idea of censuring or impeaching Bush is absurd. Tucker Carlson is the most incompetent, stupid, useless, mindless, partisan, dishonest, bow-tying dressed jerk who ever managed to get on television. Thank god I never have to watch him. I don't even like to hear about him except that sometimes it is impossible to avoid it. Having flunked out on Crossfire he somehow managed to get a gig somewhere else (Fox?). The Lord works in mysterious ways.

So long Tom. Try to avoid the slammer. But let's hope you will have a lot of company.

More flotsam

MommyDi: thanks for the tip. It was most interesting.

I confess to being confused about the Jill Carroll situation. I apparently thought the first tv interview I saw was being conducted by an independent interviewer, and when she said she had not been hit, or even threatened with being hit, she was telling the truth. Now I guess she was being interviewed by one of her captors and was under duress. She has now claimed she has no sympathy for her captors and only said what she did under duress. What I would like to know, first of all, is was she in fact ever hit or threatened with being hit? Was she lying in that interview? I would also like to know if in her previous interview she was also lying. That is, when she said there were lots of lies involved in the Iraqi situation, was she lying? This, I think, is important, because in fact there were lies. Many lies. And they continue to this day. She says she has nothing but contempt for her captors as they killed her interpreter and kidnapped her. I believe her. But does she have any similar contempt for Iraqis in general (I hope not). I assume that anyone concerned enough to get both sides of the story to study Arabic must have had at least an open mind. Don't misunderstand what I am questioning. I have only admiration for her. I believe she truly wanted to get an objective account of what was going on in that unfortunate country. I believe she does have some empathy for Iraqis in general. I believe she doesn't like those who kidnapped and threatened her. I also think she has been put into an impossible position. She doesn't dare claim to have any sympathy for Iraqis as if she does so the right wing nuts will crucify her. And if she doesn't she will probably feel somewhat hypocritical. Isn't it just great that our infallible "leader" has placed everyone in the position of either being for us or against us - no gray areas allowed. No intelligent analysis allowed. No common sense allowed. No truth allowed. Jill Carroll, don't you even suggest that Iraqis may in fact just be human beings like the rest of us - they are all vile terrorists with no human qualities whatsoever.

Still another major general has called Rumsfeld incompetent. Bush still thinks he is great. Sigh.

Rush Limbaugh, fat druggie, has stated publicly that the two black dancers who were apparently raped at a frat party were (are) "hos." Do you think he knows this from experience or is it just another example of his usual diarreah of the mouth (which, of course, it is). You are not allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre. Why is Limbaugh allowed to cry absoluely outrageous harmful "horseshit" every hour of every day? Free speech has some limits. Too bad they don't apply to know-nothing warmongering liars like fatso the druggie.

How can one do anything but laugh out loud at our attempts to cut energy use? First of all, no one seems willing to curb the auto industry from building and selling the damndest fleet of gas guzzling monsters ever created. Second, they oppose any forms of public transportation suggested. They don't even want to support Amtrak. Perhaps the biggest laugh of all: in every big city of the U.S., every night of the week, every huge building is fully lit up. I'm not sure but I think this is called "vanity lighting." Can you imagine how much energy could be conserved if all these companies could be convinced to give up their vanity?

Whoever said the U.S. had even half a brain?

What's what?

I confess that I no longer know what's what. Libby's lawyers are now trying to get Fitzgerald disqualified and everything he has done simply dropped (at least as I understand it). What I do not understand about this is why they waited until now to bring up this particular attempt. If it is true that Fitzgerald somehow exceeded his mandate surely they should have argued this previously? I think he has gotten too uncomfortably close to President Dick the Slimy.

And speaking of Dick the Slimy, one of the most evil, greedy, disgusting creatures ever to walk the earth, I do not believe that even he is insane enough to attack Iran. At least not at the moment. God, I hope I am right about this. If not, we are in for another World War, if not nuclear annihilation. Iran, even if it had nuclear weapons, is not a threat to anyone, anymore than any other country who has such weapons. A nuclear armed Iran would surely not attack Israel, knowing they would be immediately blown off the face of the planet if they did so. And apparently they are a very long way from having such weapons anyway. So, if we were to attack Iran it would not be because they were a threat, but, as in the case of Iraq, because they have so much oil (Cheney and his criminal band apparently can never have enough oil). I wonder if he bathes in it every night, or just anoints himself with it like his dimwit friend Ashcroft (you know, the eagle that flies to cover up the titties).

I guess the real question is, are Bush/Cheney and the neocons going to be allowed to continue their absolutely unconstitutional, illegal, power-grabbing ways or will someone at last stand up and stop them? Doesn't look too promising at the moment. But what the hell, it's only our nation and democracy at risk. Survivors and Lost are a lot more interesting, to say nothing of celebrities.

I also don't know exactly what's what with Jill Carroll. The interview I saw on TV where she said she had not been hit and had been treated well was not conducted under duress (at least I don't think it was). This is not to say she was not threatened previously and forced to say things she might not have believed. What I am pretty certain of is that she is not pregnant with an Arab child, and did not arrange her own kidnapping out of sympathy for the insurgents. She is no "Taliban Jill" and the attempts by ultra-right commentators to portray her as such is just plain sick (apparently you have to pass a "sicko test" in order to become a right wing commentator or an employee of Fox News).

Oh, yeah, Jack Straw apparently made a slip of the tongue and introduced Condi as Condom Rice. Honest.

"enduring bases"

Watch 'n Wait: I believe you are right, at least I sincerely hope so. Perhaps someday we shall meet in Washington D.C.

All this time I have been insisting the U.S. has been building four permanent bases in Iraq and now, according to the Independent, we are actually constructing six "enduring bases." It is not at all clear to me what the difference is between enduring and permanent. There can be no doubt, none whatsoever, that the Bush/Cheney criminals have never had any intention of leaving Iraq. Enduring bases (if that's what you want to call them) have always been part of the plan. We need a Puppet Government to ask us to stay and while that seems a bit harder to accomplish than we thought, it is still clearly the goal.

What is it with these right-wing conservatives? One of them suggested to me that Rachel Corrie "lived like a terrorist and died like a terrorist." This absurd claim is now being outdone by right wingers who say Jill Carroll is pregnant with an Arab baby, that she deliberately had herself kidnapped to raise sympathy for the insurgents, that she should never have said her captors treated her well, and etc., etc. Apparently these nitwits can't believe that her captors actually did treat her well, at least in terms of feeding her and giving her clothes and such. If this is true, and I have no reason to suspect it is not true, what would they expect her to do - lie? Remember she said they treated her well after she was released, not at the point of a gun. And if she said at the point of a gun that Bush lied about Iraq, even that is true. He did lie. And he continues to lie. In any case, it ought to be obvious that if they forced her to say certain things as a condition of her release, she would under the circumstances say such things. Commentators like Jonah Goldberg and Howard Kurtz, and others, who make such claims on the basis of no knowledge of the circumstances whatsoever, are vile beyond belief. They are even worse than vile, they are sick in their tiny little Republican minds. They apparently cannot even conceive of the possibility that these young women might actually have acted out of noble and idealistic motives, as such behavior is totally foreign to them.

GO UCLA!