A Most Important Time in American History

Bush seems to have realized that he and his war policies are making not only the Democratic leadership in Congress increasingly angry, but that the people of this country have just about had it with him. His nomination of Michael B. Mukasey, a man that is not part of Bush’s inner-circle, is a testament to the fact that he realizes that the Presidency is not the all-encompassing “unitary” branch of government that he once believed it was. It’s about time that this President realized that the executive branch is only one of three equal branches of the Federal government. He should have known that from grade school, but unfortunately Bush was one of those children that were “left behind” that he so often speaks of.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the Senate would not consider the nomination until the executive branch forwards the documents that the committee subpoenaed. In fact, Senator Leahy wrote a statement to that effect on August 20th of this year. He had said in the past that he would try to issue a “Contempt of Congress” citation to Vice-President Cheney if he failed to deliver documents relating to the NSA’s illegal wiretaps, so far he has yet to make good on that promise. This is the first paragraph of Senator Leahy’s statement:

“Today was the deadline for the Administration to comply with the Judiciary Committee’s subpoenas for documents related to the legal justifications for and President’s authorization of the warrantless wiretapping program. The Administration failed to adequately comply, despite our granting an extension of more than a month past the original return date. The Administration has produced no documents, no adequate basis for noncompliance, no privilege claims, and no complete privilege log.”
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200708/082007.html

So why haven’t we seen contempt of Congress citations issued to the executive branch? It has almost been a full month since the administration failed to meet the deadline imposed by the Senate. On his own website, the Senator has this statement; “Sen. Leahy, therefore, has no hesitation in condemning the President for secretly and systematically violating the law.” Now the Senator states that he will not allow the confirmation of Mukasey to continue until he receives these documents. This is a far cry from the contempt of Congress citation. If he allows the confirmation hearings to move forward, then with all of his bluster and his threats, the good Senator from Vermont will have proved himself to be just another spineless Democrat that has failed to exercise their oversight responsibilities under the United States Constitution.

The time to ease the pressure by the people of the United States has not yet arrived. The demonstration in Washington on the 15th of this month was only a beginning. We have so far, accomplished nothing in the way of reigning in this administration. I sincerely believe that we have caught Bush’s attention, but without a Congress that will do what they have been charged to do under the Constitution, we cannot stop the demonstrations and the public outcry. This could well be the most important few months in the history of this nation. This President, along with his Vice-President, has us on the road to another foreign adventure, this time with Iran. This country can ill-afford another misadventure in the Middle East. We have wasted enough of the taxpayer’s money and needless deaths of our soldiers along with the deaths of a million Iraqi’s on a war predicated on a lie. It is apparent that we cannot trust this administration to tell the American people the truth. How can they expect us to complacently go along with another war based on the same lies that they told us about Iraq? This is just commonsense. It doesn’t take an expert in foreign affairs to understand that Iran poses no significant threat to the people of the United States.

There is a mass rally scheduled for September 29th at Washington DC. If you need more information you can head over to http://www.warresisters.org/demos.htm and check that site out. They have information on bus tickets, housing and events that will take place during the demonstration. They also have flyers and leaflets that you can download and print. This seems to be very well coordinated and they have on their site a number of demonstrations and vigils that you can attend in your home state listed at the site. The group that runs the site is “War Resisters League”.

It is not just the specter of war with Iran that American’s should be concerned about. While it is essential that we don’t attack another nation as we did in Iraq, the threat to America goes much deeper than this. We are seeing “By the People and for the People” become just another quaint axiom that came from another time and means nothing in today’s world. We can’t afford to let that happen. Too many Americans have let the federal government run amok with no congressional oversight and more importantly, with not much input from the American people. This must stop if we want to keep some semblance of democracy. The government works for the people, not the other way around.

This is how I see it.

War's Causualty: The Truth

You’re doing a heck of a job Davie, you too Crock. (“Whisper to the people; “’Ol Crock, he’s a good man, he just doesn’t understand that you have to tell the Iraqi’s what they want to hear, instead of scaring them with negative stuff”, wink, wink, nod, nod).
That “report” was the whole ball of wax. The United States of America is making “progress”. We have been making “progress” for a long time now. I guess you could say we are a “progressive” nation. I guess you could say anything. Most people involved in the decisions of this war have done exactly that, said anything and everything. The amazing part of this is that anything that has been said about our efforts in Iraq has already been said and it hasn’t made any difference at all. This war is what it is and any effort to change the reality of the war makes no difference at all. You can’t change reality by denial, no matter how you package it. Someone should just come out and tell George that “progress” isn’t being made by simply saying so.

Can you believe that I have been reduced to writing about something that any child should have learned as one of his or her first lessons in life? Why do I feel compelled to write this? I imagine that the reason I feel that I should is because it is glaringly obvious that GWB doesn’t understand the difference between reality and fantasy. Reality hasn’t been an icon of the Bush Administration since the beginning, but actually witnessing a four-star General rearranging facts and figures to paint an assessment of an occupation that is tenuous at best, into something it is not, reminds me of old Superman comics and the “Bizarro World” issues.

That small minorities of Americans believe the reports and the propaganda doesn’t surprise me. You will always have those that will defend the President on the principle that he is the President and should have the support of the people. The same goes for those that disagree with him because he is from a different political party than they are. The part of this entire debacle that is unfolding, isn’t the people that agree or disagree with the report, it is the way that the mainstream media gives the statements made by Crocker and Petraeus weight by failing to question their assertions.

Frankly, I am embarrassed by the need to write this. I am embarrassed by this need I feel to actually ask the major news venues why they are treating this “report” as if it were “news”. I am also mystified over the major networks treating this “dog and pony show” as something that has any degree of veracity. This reminds me of the day that Colin Powell committed moral suicide with his Powerpoint Presentation at the United Nations.

Why is it that seemingly intelligent and otherwise moral people will allow themselves to be used by this President? What makes someone whom has spent his or her entire life in public service commit seppuku in plain view of the entire world? Is it all about money? Is it about power or conviction? How could anyone hold the conviction that occupying Iraq is important enough to flush his or her entire life’s work down the toilet? Looking at this from the opposite perspective, could I be so wrong in my opinion that being in Iraq is morally reprehensible and against every moral precedent that we hold dear? I have never seen anything like this. I remember Vietnam as if it were yesterday. The arguments made then were as ridiculous as the ones made today, but even the networks in that time reported both sides. The reporting might have been skewed, but the anti-war side did get more than video clips of arrests.

If this is the case, if we are not being shown both sides of the story, then why are we fighting in Iraq? It can’t possibly be for freedom. If we were a free people we would be getting both sides of the war debate. Bush says we are fighting for our “freedom”. How can we fight for something that we don’t possess? Since the beginning of this “war”, it has been the freedom of American citizens that has been under attack. Since the first plane flew into the WTC, our rights have been steadily taken away from us. What purpose does that serve? The American people seem to be willing accept this, yet we protest the erosion of democracy in Russia and China. Why?

The media outlets, in order to get their license to operate, must devote a portion of their airtime to the “public good”. This was at one time strictly enforced. I believe that it should be enforced again. Time should be given to the anti-war movement. The MSM is not giving both sides of the argument. The American people should also start paying attention. If people ran a business like they run this country, they would be filing for bankruptcy.

The General and the Ambassador should be ashamed of the things they have told the American people. We are not making “progress”. How can you possibly make progress in an occupation? American forces will occupy Iraq until we decide to end the occupation. We are not fighting for their freedom, nor are we fighting for ours. We are there so that we project American power in the Middle East. The rest of the administration’s rhetoric is nonsense.

Until the MSM, politicians, the administration and everyone else starts talking in plain terms about the situation, we will continue to skirt this issue and this needless occupation of a sovereign state will continue. We didn’t “surge” we escalated. We aren’t fighting a “war” we are continuing an occupation. We are not fighting for anyone’s freedom, we are fighting for an American presence in the region. The terrorists are not going to “follow us home”: they are already here. They live in the White House.

This is the way I see it.

What is the Truth on Iran?

The old saying “There are two sides to every story” may have been true throughout the ages, however in this day and age there are more than two sides. You have the government take, what you see, and the truth. They are rarely one and the same. The most blatant and deceitful lie nowadays is being told about Iran. Last month, I heard General Pervez Musharraf tell Wolf Blitzer that Iran is “cooperating” with Pakistan in their operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban. During the same week I heard Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Malaki that Iraq and Iran have “good” relations and that Iran is helping in the fight against al Qaeda.

On that same note Hamid Karzai and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President met on August 15th , with Karzai describing Iran and Afghanistan as "two brother nations with common interests, cultures and histories", he told reporters: "The present condition of the region demands more exchange and negotiations between Tehran and Kabul. In this trip economic cooperation, especially over Iran's participation in Afghan development plans, will be discussed."

President Bush, with an excellent record of telling the truth to the American People, told us however, that Iran is supporting the Taliban and al Qaeda. Look folks, my elevator may not go all the way to the top on some things, but somebody is definitely “misstating” the facts. Either Iran is helping to fight al Qaeda or its helping and arming them according to the White House.

In this case you have three different leaders of three different nations, telling the world that Iran is a “solution” in fighting al Qaeda, a Sunni organization that calls for the eventual destruction of all Shiite Muslims. On this note, it seems just a little odd that al Qaeda and Shia Iran would lock lips with each other while the leaders of all three nations that are currently fighting insurgencies led by al Qaeda are telling the world that Iran is helping in the war on terrorism.

Why would Afghanistan’s Karzai lie to the world about Iran helping them when the Taliban and al Qaeda and the Taliban are shooting at his troops and NATO and US Forces? That would be a stupid thing for him to claim if it weren’t the truth.

The Guardian, in a story about the Karzai-Ahmadinejad meeting said this of Iran:

“Iran gave Washington informal help in overthrowing the Taliban government following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Months later, Mr. Bush killed any prospect of a thaw in relations by labeling Iran as part of the "axis of evil", along with Iraq and North Korea.”

Now we have Bush shouting fighting words about Iran in Australia and Iraq that the they are behind al Qaeda’s so-called resurgence in the world. If you can take that at face value, than I have a nifty little bridge back in Brooklyn that I can sell you.

Despite US suspicions, Iran, which has one of the world's highest drug-addiction rates, argues it has legitimate interests in combating the influx of heroin and opiates from the Afghan poppy fields. There are also at least 2 million Afghan refugees in Iran. The issue has caused recent tensions after Tehran forcibly sent around 100,000 back to Afghanistan, arguing that they were illegal migrants and a huge drain on the Iranian economy according to the Guardian.

Are we really going to let Congress get away without countering this Administrations wild and convoluted lies about Iran in this seemingly run-off for another war? Little has been said about Iran’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a body created by Russia and China to address regional security, foster economic integration, and counter US influence in central Asia. Nations that have partnerships with the nuclear nations of Russia and China wouldn’t seem to be an “easy” target. Nations in coalitions tend to support each other, militarily as well as economically.

Congress needs to pass a joint resolution to stop Bush and Cheney from starting a war with Iran. This isn’t just something that would be a good thing, I see it as a critical step that Congress must take in order to make sure the entire Middle East and maybe the world doesn’t suffer the consequences of a much wider and deadlier war.

Presidents must realize that the power to wage war is the responsibility of Congress, not the executive branch. If a nuclear strike were launched against us, that is one of the few times that a President can retaliate; an invasion or starting of hostilities would be other exceptions. This President will take any and all measures to convince the American people that Iran is funding and supporting the terrorists that are fighting us in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush has lied so many times that his credibility level is about at the same level as whale-s**t, and that’s at the very bottom.

That’s the way I see it.

This is a Movement People, Don't Ever Doubt it!

What’s good ABOUT America? I’m so tired of hearing what’s bad. I know what’s bad. What is bad is that the pharmaceutical Companies, the Defense Contractors, the Insurance companies and the behind the scenes bankers’ control our governmental polices which are bleeding the middle class to death. Our government is destruction bound, using every resource they have in their arsenal to kill other human beings. Politicians are just that, politicians that just aren’t listening to the middle class, at least from the liberal/progressive side. I don’t think they are listening to their own base. I’ve heard many a Republican say that we are heeded for disaster, internationally, domestically and economically.

So what’s good? My wife told me this morning that we are a “service economy, that we don’t produce anything and the first sector to go in bad economic times is the service sector”. I beg to differ. Industry is still alive, if not well in this country. We still produce more airplanes, cars, computers and heavy machinery such as earth moving equipment than any other nation in the world. (I shouldn’t have mentioned this, once the bankers read what I’ve said they’ll outsource all of that too).

What’s good about this country is that there are still people that care and want to change it for the better. Whatever we have become, there is always the chance that we can turn the direction that this nation is taking around, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this. I know that the Democrats and their refusal to stand up to the Administration dismay many. I feel that too. I’m sure many are just as disgusted by the top front runners, backed by corporate money (not Hillary?) wiping out the field by gaining all the “face-time” on the MSM. I have been watching this with interest, watching how people respond to pure crap that Hillary spews. She recently went to Yearly Kos and proclaimed that she is a “Progressive” oh pleeeaze! She’s about as progressive as Dick Cheney.

I listened to John Edwards recently. Let’s face it, unless there is a big upset in the Democratic Primaries, Gravel and Dennis are toast. I hope I’m wrong. Let’s see. I’ll be voting for Dennis if he starts picking up steam, If I’m wasting my vote in the SC Primary, I’ll go for John Edwards. I’m beginning to like what he’s saying. He said that he doesn’t accept corporate money and he recently said that the insurance companies, the big pharmaceutical companies run America and it’s got to stop. OK John, you got me so far, I’m listening…

What’s right about America is the people you love that live here. What’s right is our ability to question authority. What’s right is what’s coming in September. This is the start people. This is the second time I’ve done this, like many of you out there. I see the anti-war progressive movement clarifying and melding into a force to be reckoned with. I saw the same in the early 70’s. This General Strike 9/11 is only a “baby-step”. It has to start somewhere. Let’s use this opportunity to make a statement. Let’s use it as practice for bigger and better ways to express our frustration with a Deaf Congress and a sick out-of-control Executive branch.

We can express our contempt for Bush and Cheney in September by attending the rallies and stating rallies in every city for the people that can’t make it to NYC or DC! This is what’s right with America. These rallies aren’t “sponsored” by Boeing, Prudential or PPA (the Pharmaceutical Partnership of America). The people of America sponsor it. It’s a grassroots partnership of Americans that want to be heard. That’s what’s good about our country! This is a movement, don’t doubt it for a minute! Unless something alters the current reality, this movement will grow larger and larger until there are demonstrations in every city, every town. There will be a permanent display of the anti-war movement that the mainstream media can no longer ignore. This movement will be an in-your-face, do or die expression disgust with this administration and with Congress and their do nothing attitude. If we accomplish nothing, at least we can show the rest of the world and this government that we won’t blindly accept authority when the policies go against everything we believe.

It takes Americans time to get angry. I mean really angry. They are getting angry now. I hear it day in and day out, and remember I live in South Carolina, the belly of the beast. So remember the good things about this country. Don’t dwell on the bad. Believe me, we’ll change that sooner than later.

That’s the way I see it.